The Living and the Undead

 

ALT

Paranormal Romance #2: The Living and the Undead

Welcome! This is the second article in a series on my blog about paranormal romance. Today we’re looking at a modern romance classic: vampires and humans. So let’s light some blood-red candles and get started.

Paranormal Romance #1: The Living and the Dead: Ghosts and Humans

What’s your (blood) type?

Your standard vampire comes with a few stock traits: ageless immortality, a need for blood, heightened strength and speed, an aversion to sunlight and religious items, and of course, otherworldly beauty. But you can modify these tropes however you like. In the real world, lovers come in all shapes and sizes. Perhaps instead of increased speed, your vampires have mojo for music. Maybe they get moonburns instead of sunburns, and feed on something other than blood—maybe you have a vampire who’s even allergic to blood! And it’s up to you how alien you want your vampire to be. Do they blend in well with humans or do they give everybody a sudden urge fill their pockets with garlic? Do they try to blend in well with humans or do they turn into a mist to escape social situations? And remember, you don’t even have to have the standard origin story: your vampire doesn’t even have to be undead.

(Check out some unusual vampires that might make good characters.)

A dark, brooding presence

Vampires also tend to have a stock personality, which can be summed up as angst. It must surely be difficult to be immortal and watch your friends die of old age and to be ostracized by society for feeding on humans (even consensually). But really, vampires could be anybody, including those with naturally sunny, upbeat personalities. A vampire could be a travel blogger, using their immortality to see the world. Maybe they’re a paleontologist because it makes them feel young to work with creatures far older than themselves. Maybe they just want to develop a super-strong sunscreen so they can go surfing when all the hot chicks (gender neutral) are at the beach, or discover a blood substitute so they can be an astronaut who doesn’t need to snack on their space station buddies.

Source of life

Read the rest of this article on my blog

DannyeChase.com ~ AO3 ~ Linktree ~ Weird Wednesday writing prompts blog ~ Resources for Writers 

Image credit