Welcome to Otherworld

Welcome to Otherworld! I hope you’ll join me on my journey into this mystical realm.

I’m fascinated by the ancient Celtic idea of an ‘otherworld’ that is situated, not in some distant, unknown region of planetary space, but here on our own earth just out of sight and within our grasp…if we really believe in it and want it enough. 

Frequently, in faerie-lore, Otherworld was a subterranean world entered through caverns, hills, or mountains, and inhabited by many races and orders of beings, such as demons, shades, faeries, and gods. This magical world was divided into districts or kingdoms each with its own ruler, just like the world of mortals. 

Sometimes, the Celtic Otherworld was located in the middle of the Western Ocean, as though it were the 'double' of the lost Atlantis. Faerie women came from that mid-Atlantic world in magic boats like spirit boats, to charm away mortal men, or else to take King Arthur when he was wounded unto death. And on that island world there was neither death, nor pain nor suffering. Instead there was only immortal and unfading youth, endless joy and feasting.

Alternatively, at rare intervals, like a phantom, Otherworld appears far out on the Atlantic. As late as the summer of 1908 it is said to have been seen from West Ireland. Or a strange invisible island, inhabited by invisible, faerie gentry, is seen once every seven years near Innishmurray. 

I believe the truth is simpler and yet more complex. Otherworld exists everywhere. It is right here, alongside our mortal realm, just out of sight but easily within reach. All we need is a belief in its existence and a desire to go there.

The Otherworld in my forthcoming series for Harlequin Nocturne is a beautiful place inhabited by many races, including faeries, vampires, lycanthropes, phantoms and gods. Unfortunately, the constant battles between these warring dynasties threaten to spill over into the mortal realm.

I'd love to know what you think! Do you believe in Otherworld? Let me know:

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What Is Paranormal?

What do you consider paranormal? One free online dictionary defines paranormal as: Something very strange and not able to be explained by what scientists know about nature and the world. Another definition is: Not scientifically explainable or supernatural.

When we think about it, things we deem paranormal are pretty much anything that isn’t what the majority of humans would consider “normal”. If that’s the case, why do so many of us "normal people" love to read stories and watch T.V. or movies about something so strange?

Is it because our minds are constantly in some weird state of flux? Are we constantly and\or subconsciously working on the problems that are unique to the characters who interest us?

Maybe it has something to do with the characters’ sometimes over-the-top supernatural powers or do we just enjoy reading about people who can do all the things we would secretly like to be able to do ourselves? 

I tend to think that perhaps, it’s just that we enjoy reading stories about people who are just a little more screwed up than we are.

Over the years I’ve seen vampires and werewolves, zombies and aliens, to name a few. Each of these paranormal entities have cycled through our books and T.V. shows not to mention the big screen. After their few hours of fame, we fickle readers and viewers move along to another sub genre, almost tirelessly searching for something new, better or possibly even stranger than the last.

The best way I have ever seen the word paranormal described was in a dictionary I read long ago. It defined paranormal as: Anything other than normal. If that’s the case, my dear readers, welcome to the dark side because normal is overrated.

To see more from this author please visit www.tiannaxander.com, Twitter.com @TiannaXander, www.tiannaxander.blogspot.com, and  https://www.facebook.com/TiannaXander

Indulge Your Paranormal Lust by Margo Bond Collins

Welcome to the Paranormal Love Wednesday Blog Hop, where we celebrate paranormal romance in all its many forms! Every Wednesday, we invite authors of paranormal fiction to share snippets of their works, either published or unpublished, involving some aspect of paranormal love.

In my first entry on the Paranormal Love Features page, I noted that even those paranormal stories that don't focus on romance in some way tie in to our deep-seated connection to the sexuality of the paranormal. Sexy vampires, for example, have been with us for quite a while—and long before vampires were openly sexy, they carried a sexual connotation. In Bram Stoker's original novel, for example, Dracula has hairy palms (and for some great information about the historical connections between masturbation and hairy palms, check out this excellent article).  Carmilla, from Sheridan Le Fanu's 1871 novel, seduces her female victim in scenes of pretty heavy-duty sublimated eroticism. Lord Ruthven from Polidori's The Vampyre seduces virtually every woman with whom he crosses paths. And the blood exchange between vampires and their creations is often a heavily eroticized version of other exchanges of bodily fluids.

Similarly, werewolves and other shapeshifters appeal to our animalistic sides—the parts of us that want to let go and revel in violence and/or sexuality. And hardly a traditional monster is without its seductive side. Incubi and succubae are openly sexual, drawing energy to survive from the seduction of their victims. Early witches were said to have "congress with the beast" (or sex with Satan). And demons offered people their hearts' desires in return for their souls.

As a general rule, I would argue (as many others have) that our monsters illustrate our deepest, darkest desires. In our cultures, we create that which both frightens and entices us. And then we depict it over and over again, as many ways as possible, as often as possible, because these depictions are safe outlets for our less cultured selves.

Given that, paranormal love offers us a way to indulge the parts of ourselves that we might not openly share in our daily, structured lives. These stories allow us to be the monsters and the victims, the lover and the beloved. They allow us to delve into the parts of us we don't usually let out into the light—and in doing so, they allow us to understand ourselves, and one another, better than we might otherwise.

So if you love vampires, shapeshifters, demons, witches, faeries, incubi, succubae,  or even the occasional ghost or goblin, click on the entries on our Blog HOP page!

But before you go, tell us: what do you love most about paranormal love?