Tuesday, November 10, 2009

The Horn of Plenty - By Angel Leigh McCoy

The Horn of Plenty
By Angel Leigh McCoy


Paranormal romance has evolved (as have its readers) over the decades. When I was a girl, growing up in Midwestern cornfields, I had my view of romance sculpted by the gothic romance novels I devoured like candy. I’d pick up any book that had a woman standing against a stormy background of castle, full moon, and ominous shadows.



I’ve heard the older genre called gothic romance, gothic horror, and Gothick. The central elements of the stories were spookiness, mystery, and romance—a volatile combination. These novels are the ancestors of what we today call supernatural or paranormal romance. They invariably feature a brave and intelligent young woman endangered by a murderer or supernatural being such as a ghost.


I am grateful for the many hours of pleasure I took from them, and the inspiration they gave me to be a strong, willful woman who loves with all her heart.


I want to share three of my favorite twentieth-century novelists with you, so you too can go back and read some of the classics that broke the trail for writers like Charlaine Harris, Sherilyn Kenyon, Laurell K. Hamilton, and many others.


  • Eleanor Hibbert published her first novel in 1941 under the name Eleanor Buford. Over the years, she used many pseudonyms you might recognize: Victoria Holt, Anne Percival, Jean Plaidy, Elbur Ford, Kathleen Kellow, and Ellalice Tate. She published her last novel in 1995. Over the course of her writing career, she sold more than 100 million copies.

  • Mary Stewart wrote her first novel in 1955 and continued to write for the next forty-two years. I have read most of her books, and they rank among my personal favorites.

  • Barbara Mertz, also known as Elizabeth Peters and Barbara Michaels, published her first novel in 1966. She is still writing today, at the age of 82. Barbara wrote the hugely popular Amelia Peabody series, which to this day, has 18 volumes. Her other famous serial characters include Vicky Bliss and Jacqueline Kirby.


Next time you’re waiting for your favorite author to put out his/her next book, pull an old gem from the cornucopia provided by these novelists. Reading them is like going home for Thanksgiving; it’s an experience full of nostaligia, secrets, drama, and love.



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Angel Leigh McCoy, writer, editor, game designer
http://www.angelleigh.com


Wily speculative fiction downloads in audio and text formats, for grown-ups: http://www.wilywriters.com

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1 Comments:

Blogger Morva Shepley said...

The literature sounds very subversive: Instead of being in need of rescue, she was brave and intelligent.

December 9, 2009 at 2:51 PM  

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