www.susannebellamy.com
  • Home
  • Books by Susanne Bellamy
  • PRINT BOOKSTORE
  • Under the Dark Moon
  • About Susanne
  • Editing Services
  • All the World's a Page
  • Data Protection Information
  • Subscribers Only

Romance in Horror Stories

8/11/2015

1 Comment

 
Dangerous Liaisons - The Crimson Corset

Because of their flexibility and presence in all fiction genres, romance and horror are natural companions.

No matter the genre, there’s always a place for romance … and horror is no exception. After all, sometimes romance is horror! And for those with a kinky bent, horror can provide a lot of “romance.” Vampires, for example, are peculiarly romantic because they satisfy our fascination with sex and death - and immortality. Traditionally, when a vampire ravishes you, sex is in the bite. That’s how Dracula did it. Only in more recent times have vampires begun getting it on the good old-fashioned way.


In my novel, The Crimson Corset, there are many flavors of romance, from boy-meets-girl to girl-meets-vampire, to my antagonist, Gretchen VanTreese’s version of romance which is, to put it mildly, a little rough. Gretchen is all about the kink. She likes her men (human or vampire) at her feet, tied up and manacled. She takes her favorite human toys to a place called “The White Room,” the ultimate in BDSM dungeons.


While Gretchen’s hard loving is more likely to show up in horror, tamer romance almost always has a role as well because many readers don’t see subjugation and humiliation as pleasurable and they want to vicariously experience the protagonists’ romantic adventures. But romance is heightened by danger in this genre more than any other. Where there is terror and death, there is love because what can soothe fear more than closeness to another person?


And in horror, romance may come sooner rather than later because of the simple fact that people in fearsome predicaments need one another - people are drawn together and bond very early. If you’re writing a series, this is handy because once the danger has passed, couples are likely to drift apart, so your protagonist can move on to a new love in the next book.


Romance in horror is nothing new, and it follows the same guidelines as romance in any other genre, which means that if you intend to keep your romantic duo together through multiple books, it can get boring. Think of long-running television shows like Cheers, Remington Steele, Moonlighting, and Stargate SG-1. The romances work because they tease yet rarely deliver. If they do deliver, something interferes, keeping the audience wanting more.  It’s the same in horror.


Think about the current hit show, Supernatural. Over the years, Sam and Dean Winchester have had some serious romances; Dean even spent a “year” (summer hiatus) living like a normal family guy. The minute the show started a new season, it began by breaking down the relationship. In Dean’s case, he had to leave to keep his love interest and her son safe. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to see Dean content. I want him to fight monsters. The show handles this need masterfully by letting the romance play out while the show is off the air. But this isn’t the only way to handle romance in horror.


Consider The X-Files. Agents Scully and Mulder have chemistry. Oh, do they have chemistry. Throughout the series the audience watched them eye one another, and in one gratifying episode we saw the same story from two points of view as they tell their boss what happened during a case. Scully and Mulder were, as usual, denying their feelings for one another making romance the entire point of the tale. Scully thought a sheriff was very attractive, and the sheriff returned those feelings, so as she recounted the story, the sheriff had perfect hair, the whitest teeth, and the manners of a gentleman. In Mulder’s version, the sheriff has hair growing out of his ears, Billy Bob teeth and scratched a lot. This tells us just how much Mulder wants Scully - and it drives the audience mad.


Another kind of “romance” is seen in the horror novel and film, Silence of the Lambs. Lecter and Clarice are fascinated by one another. At one point, Lecter even says, “They’ll say we’re in love.” And in a way, they are. It’s a very dangerous sort of “romance.” There’s no kissing or other physically intimate tropes. These two go far beyond that with intimacies of the mind - and there’s nothing sexier. It’s one of the most compelling “romances” in horror.


Horror is unique because it is not just a genre. It can be found within many genres, including romance. And romance is the same way. It ties into every other genre, including horror (think of Rebecca and other beloved gothic tales, or even lighter stories like The Ghost and Mrs. Muir. It includes a ghost, but it’s far more romantic than horrific.) In The Ghosts of Ravencrest, my collaborative serial novel with Tamara Thorne, we explored these aspects in great depth and we had so much fun writing it that we are working on a sequel.


Because of their flexibility and presence in all fiction genres, romance and horror are natural companions. They travel well together, and make fine bedfellows. The combination of horror and romance is one of my personal favorites, and as I look around at the age-old duality of this mix, I see I’m not the only one in love with these dangerous liaisons.
Picture
1 Comment

Elvis and Me - A Memoir by Gillian Wills

8/9/2015

1 Comment

 
Picture
Gillian Wills is a self-confessed ‘Hippomaniac’ (love this label!) with an inbuilt rescue gene when it comes to all creatures great and small. Her memoir, ‘Elvis and Me’, reveals the life changing experience that taking on a broken down racehorse turned out to be. 


1.    Many of us have a wish list but the practicalities of life often whittle it down to a much shorter and more achievable ‘needs’ list. Why do you think we sometimes need to allow our hearts to rule our heads?

Because our intellectual side can become too dominating which reduces spontaneity and inhibits risk taking, creativity and joy. I was pleased when a wilder Gillian revealed herself on the hillside in Green Pigeon in NSW because my analytic thinking side was strangling me.

2.    Writing a memoir in which you write about real people must be like ‘walking a tightrope’ at times when personal observations might be less than flattering. How did you deal with this element? Did you use pseudonyms? eg. Annabel the lawyer.

Yes, it is sometimes tricky so doing things like locating them in a different locale and giving them a fantasy appearance, different mannerisms, body shape, and changing their status as married or single, with or without children, offers a disguise to protect them.

3.    The powerful silent communication between horse and human, and between musicians was an ‘aha’ moment for me. You drew other parallels between training horses and musical performances. Do you believe these parallels are more to do with the way we interact in a broader sense?

If I am understanding you correctly, I do think there are parallels. The most productive state to be in to train or ride a horse is when you empty your mind of pressing concerns, upsets, and feelings from anxiety to happiness and sadness and be assertive rather than hectoring or too timid.

Unless the balance was right, and I was in that zone of stillness and openness and receptivity ─ listening if you like ─ Elvis did not engage with me productively.

As a performer trained at the Royal Academy of Music, I cultivated this ‘state’ before beginning to play, but it is also useful for so many of life’s scenarios such as in encounters with people and in coping with waiting to have an operation or giving a public talk, or when being interviewed.

4.    I enjoyed how you described the different worlds but observed they are kept separate - art, music, equine etc. Has the ability to cross between them changed in the several years since your journey with Elvis began?

The separation of these worlds in the beginning of my equestrian activities was because I was less self-realised than I am now. I feared ridicule, being disapproved of or not being taken seriously as a professional or as a horse owner. These days I am open about it.

During the period of feeling when I was feeling rather sensitive about my purchase of an unsuitable horse, doctors would preach ‘aren’t you too old to be riding a horse?’ Funnily enough, now, I am never asked that question and doctors do not question my riding activities.

5.    There are a number of key moments in your relationship with Elvis when your decisions could have gone differently. On reflection, what was the most important of those defining moments, and why?

I am a person who doesn’t very easily move on. I am very determined and committed about jobs, to projects and the adventure of Elvis. If something is not working, I will just keep thinking of another way to achieve my goals. Sometimes this is detrimental to my wellbeing, but in many circumstances it has been beneficial. There is enormous satisfaction in achieving something despite all the odds against you.

I could have sold Elvis to Miranda’s father; I could have sold him to the young woman the farrier said was a good rider and would give him a good home, especially when I was cross that he was still tricky to saddle and ride after his restart. But I was deeply involved and felt responsible for him. The other factor is that he could have been passed on to an unsuitable home or being sent to the knackery which was unthinkable having got to know his personality and sensitivities.

         I was disappointed after I got Mallory that I gave up trying to ride Elvis, but then I needed my hands, undamaged, to write and play the piano and at my age cannot afford to suffer physical disability.

6.    How do you now view the day you first met Elvis?

As an exciting, life-defining moment and one in which Rhys and I connected deeply. It was as important to me as being accepted into the Royal Academy of Music ─ except that I didn’t yet know the consequences of my purchase!

7.    As an English woman living in Australia, Wooloongabba was ‘exotic’. What makes a place ‘exotic’ to new residents? 

Well for someone like me with an intense interest in wildlife, nature and all kinds of creatures, Wooloongabba was exotic. The sight of a flock of fruit bats flapping across the sky at dusk was amazing. I loved the reptiles I saw, the tropical foliage, and the ease that Queenslanders seem to have with their bodies. Even the floods and intense heat feel special. The extreme weather is very exotic to me when our Queenslander shakes in thunderstorms. When I lived in Melbourne, I would walk around Carlton admiring the weatherboards with their iron trimmings for instance. Australians have different attitudes from the English, and I love the direct approach when in a community of people.


I loved reading about Elvis and how you changed each other's lives. Thanks so much for sharing your stories with us. 

Gillian and Elvis' story is available in print at all good book stores. 

Picture
1 Comment

    Author

    Story elements surround us every day, from new places to a favourite piece of music or an odd moment witnessed in passing that becomes a scene in our work. On this weekly post, fellow authors will share some of what inspires their stories and their lives. Sit back and make yourself comfortable with the drink of your choice as the curtain rises. 

    Archives

    June 2020
    April 2020
    November 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    September 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    December 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    October 2016
    July 2016
    May 2016
    March 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012

    Categories

    All
    Contemporary Romance
    Devika Fernando
    #motorbikes #queenofspeed #GWGibson #romance
    Multi-cultural Romance
    Seduced In Spain
    Susanne Bellamy

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.