Thursday, July 7, 2011

Guest Blog & Giveaway: Sherry Soule

UFI welcomes Sherry Soule Author of Beautifully Broken. Thanks for Joining us!!



Why I love the Paranormal Romance Genre

By author, Sherry Soule

I have always had a love affair with all things dark in fiction. Paranormal Romance in both YA and adult is my favorite genre. So, why do I love this genre? It makes me feel. It awakens a stronger emotion in me than any other genre. Not that I don’t love reading other genres, I do, but none have the same effect as Paranormal.

The coolest part for me as a writer is that you can do things in Paranormal novels that are not accepted in other novels. You can suspend disbelief in this genre. (In the world of fiction, you are often required to believe a situation, which you would never accept in the real world. Especially in genres such as fantasy, horror, and paranormal, things happen in the story that you would not believe if they were presented as fact. The action routinely goes beyond the boundaries of what you think could really happen.) In paranormal fiction, you can step out of the ordinary world where everything is predictable and step into a world that is mysterious, thrilling, and unexplainable. Whether we step into that world willingly or we are dragged in there by our hair—kicking and screaming, we are always in for a succession of thrills, scares, and surprises.

In my novels, I mix several different genres. I love the excitement of getting my heroine into scary situations where I’m not even sure how she’s going to get out of them. However, in my stories, the hero doesn’t suddenly show up and save her—she saves herself. I also love building sexual tension between the two main characters. Adding in the passion, the heat, the lust, and the budding romance…then throw in a demon or supernatural element throughout, and that makes for some damn good reading.

I was able to come up with my top three reasons as to why I love Paranormal Romance.

1) Fear & anticipation—I love that feeling of being scared, of having my heart beat faster, of that dread that something horrible is going to happen, and the building suspense. Reading Paranormal is the safe way to achieve this thrill!

2) Not the norm—I don’t follow trends by reading whatever everyone else is reading. I like reading about haunted houses, ghosts, demons—while others are reading the Oprah selection. Not that I'm judging anyone's choice in reading, you should ONLY read what you love, whether it’s trendy or not.

3) Terrifying circumstances—I like the emotion that comes from extending my imagination to include ghosts, demons, and other supernatural creatures. It’s that continual “what if.” What if you saw ghosts? What if a demon brands you with a mark as his? What if an opening to Hell was directly under your house? What if you found out you were born into a family of witches and inherited magickal powers?


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Author Bio:
Sherry Soule has won numerous awards for her short stories and now writes fulltime. She adores cats, loves scary movies, and lives on peppermint mochas. She is an active member of the SCBWI, RWA, and YACHATLIT. 

Sherry writes young adult, horror, and paranormal, but no matter what genre she's writing, there has to be an element of romance. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her family and her black cat, Charm. Her family would like you to know that she’s not a morning person, rarely cooks, and loves all things supernatural. 

Her debut novel, Beautifully Broken will be released July 1, 2011
Sherry currently writes both adult and young adult tales of magick, ghosts, romance and demon slaying.
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Beautifully Broken
Spellbound #1
June 30, 2011

Thirteenth daughter. Heritage witch. Demon slayer.

They say every town has its secrets, but that doesn’t even begin to describe Whispering Pines. The townsfolk are a superstitious lot and the mystical disappearance of a local teen has everyone murmuring about a centuries old witch’s curse.

Sixteen-year-old Shiloh Ravenwolf is a heritage witch from the Broussard family, a family both destined and cursed. When she takes a summer job at Ravenhurst Manor, she discovers a ghost with an agenda. That’s where she meets the new town hottie, Trent Donovan, and immediately becomes spellbound by his charms. Yet she is determined to discover the connection between them before it’s too late.

Finally, Shiloh's met someone who is supercute and totally into her, but Trent may be the next victim on the supernatural hit list. And Shiloh is the only person with the power to save him. Complicated much?

It sucks to have a destiny, especially since Shiloh would rather spend her summer being a normal girl who worries about clothes and boys, not the supernatural. But she’s never been
normal and the stranger things become the more her own magical senses awaken.

With cryptic messages from a pesky wraith, she will begin to understand the mysterious significance of the strange mark branded on her wrist, and decide how much she's willing to sacrifice to protect the other teenagers in town.

Unfortunately, for Shiloh, not all ghosts want help crossing over. Some want vengeance.

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Find Sherry and her books
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Winner will receive
- One e-Copy of Beautifully Broken




 RULES
1)  Leave a question or comment for Sherry =)
2) This giveaway is open to both US and International readers
3) Must leave an email address so I can contact you.


Giveaway Ends 7/14/2011 at 10pm EST
Winner will have 48 Hours to reply to my email or I will pick another
Winner chosen randomly with the help of random.org

16 comments:

  1. Hi Im your newest follower and thrilled to have stumbled upon your fascinating blog. You've reviewed some very interesting books lately and have so many great giveaways.
    A comment for Sherry - I love that your heroines, fight for and rescue themselves. Im always looking for strong female characters in a book. And I wholeheartedly agree that one should only read what they love and enjoy - whether its trendy or not!

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  2. Oprah selection *shudders* I never liked reading mainstream :) Paranormal all the way. Thanks for this giveaway and a chance to read a new author. I'm in!
    impy80(at)hotmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  3. There are so many things about a certain son (usually 7th), but this is the first time I have ever heard of a 13th daughter.
    rickimc[at]aol[dot]com

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  4. While I agree mostly about reading the norm, I did find the road by cormac mccarthy (that was unbelieveably an oprah selection). Once in a great while you do find something interesting while reading outside what you normally do.
    I would love to read your book.
    twoofakind12@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi, Sherry-

    You're a new to me author, but since we have very similar top three reasons for reading paranormal romance I'll have to look up your books.

    acm05atjuno.com

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  6. Paranormal romance is also my favorite genre. I haven't read your work before. This one looks interesting. I was taken by the name of you female character. How do you decide on names for your writing? If you were to change the name of one of them, does it change the character for you?

    Thanks for the chance to win the book.

    valerie(at)stuckinbooks.com

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  7. Paranormal romance is also one of my faves! There can be depth involved.

    Vivien
    deadtossedwaves at gmail dot com

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  8. I like dark fiction and paranormal is where I can find most of them. In fact, the darker the better. The appeal with danger, mystery and a tormented hero/heroine is that there is so much at stake and so much to be redeemed.

    Wishing you much success with your release.
    Cambonified(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  9. I have only recently discovered paranormal romance and now I can't stop! Beautifully Broken looks wonderful, thank you for sharing!

    liedermadchen(at)hotmail(dot)com

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  10. hi sherry1
    the cover so faboulous, love it ^^
    thank you for the giveaway ^^

    kris[dot]lilis[at]yahoo[dot]com

    ReplyDelete
  11. I love paranormal romance also. It can create an awesome reason for the main characters to not be together but often throws them into each other's paths for ultimate tension. The synopsis to your book sounds like one worth reading. Thanks for the opportunity to receive a copy.
    Amy @ www.bookgoonie.com
    bookgoonie at yahoo

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  12. Thanks for hosting this great giveaway.
    New follower.
    Lauren's Book Bag

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  13. I have always loved PR too. It is such a great genre to read. :-)

    Hope you all enjoy my book.

    http://sherrysoule.com/

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  14. Lani Wendt Young: well, it is nice to have a strong hero-type rescue us at times, I think it is important to be able to rescue yourself, too. LOL

    I have to admit that I love it when Bill or Eric comes to Sookie's rescue. So hot!!! :-)

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  15. Thanks for the giveaway!
    While I jump the shark and read all genres pretty much, PR is my first love.
    I'm a follower on GFC-Lisa Richards


    (\___/)
    (='.'=)
    (")_(")

    alterlisa AT yahoo DOT com
    http://lisaslovesbooksofcourse.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for stopping by =)