Juicy thoughts, Deb. I like your brain. That particular Buffy/Angel thing never hit me until you said it, and it is a bit depressing, because you map that whole Victorian sex-is-bad thing onto it perfectly.

And, yeah, as long as the column doesn't read like the ramblings of a cranky, hungry, needing-sleeping woman that makes no sense, it's good. And a second yeah, to it making you think be the purpose, at least partly.

I like it, Amy, and it does sum up neatly why I tend to be "meh" about paranormal romance.

And, yeah, as long as the column doesn't read like the ramblings of a cranky, hungry, needing-sleeping woman that makes no sense, it's good. And a second yeah, to it making you think be the purpose, at least partly.

Then I think you're good to go.

Yay.

And thanks for the reads, everyone.

it does sum up neatly why I tend to be "meh" about paranormal romance

I want them way darker than they ever are. Vampires who don't bite, never have, who are all soul-having and dripping with guilt over something they never even did? Does *not* work for me.

Very good column, Amy, despite the fact that Deb is right. For that matter, the fact that chipped Spike could hurt Buffy would map quite well to the vamp or victim mentality re: women's sexuality.

I like the hero dark, but sometimes I like the heroine dark and those are even harder to find.

those are even harder to find

Well, yeah, because the heroine being dark means she Enjoys Sex and Therefore Must DIE.

She can't possibly be the heroine if she enjoy giving a werewolf the occasional blow job, surely?

That's why it was fun to make Munch a vampire(not intending to pull the conversation completely in the fic ditch, but...) not only was he born into a tradition that's not terribly concerned with an afterlife...he is by profession and politics a very skeptical man. It was interesting to write about somebody losing his soul when he wasn't sure he ever had it. And he got a huge laugh out of anybody's first time being soul-altering. "...and after the third time, it's actually good, instead of just saying it is..."

She can't possibly be the heroine if she enjoy giving a werewolf the occasional blow job, surely?

Which is why I was so bummed when Anita Blake became a porn star in those books. For awhile there she had the potential to be exactly that—a tough heroine who dug dark sex.

Raises hand sheepishly.

I like the porn star. I'm just surprised her publishing house does, too. Anything else with that much sex, only gets published on-line.

I haven't read any of the Laurel Hamilton books, but then, I find I actually read very little these days. It's not snobbery, either; I've just been on a writing roll of extreme proportions for the past four or so years, and when I write, reading basically moves to the bottom of my "look, 24 hours in the day and I should probably keep five of them for sex and sleep" priorities list.

Also:

It was interesting to write about somebody losing his soul when he wasn't sure he ever had it.

It made for interesting reading, as well. I'd love to see a series of short stories or even novells based on an original character with that level of scepticism, who finds he or she can't let go of it, even after death.

Not to hijack the thread, but I have a London Calling question and I would like the takes of at least a couple of my WIP readers.

I'm thinking about writing a new, very short prologue to the book. Since there's a long lead-up to the crime itself, and since this is a mystery and the crime should be brought to the readers' attention sooner than I've done it, the prologue would follow the theme of the book's hook into the title, and be a phone message.

Except, instead of it being JP checking his phone messages, the way it is for the rest of the book, it would be JP is flat meltdown, getting Lieutenant Patrick Ormand's answering machine on his desk at SFPD, swearing at the top of his lungs, remembering the nine-hour time difference between Cannes and San Francisco, realising it's four in the morning back home, hearing the instruction to call Patrick's cell phone (he's a cop - it's always on), waking Patrick up, letting him know Bree and Dom have just been booked for being implicated in the death of a racist bodyguard, swallowing his mistrust of Patrick and asking for official help.

I think it works, assuming I do it right. And I'm so comfortable with the voices and the characters and the set-up, I can't see myself not doing it right.

Opinions?