Warning Labels, Blending Genres and Story Building!

My first carnal romance, Voodoo Moon, was released this week as part of The Brood Series at New Concepts. I think I broke every rule when writing this book and now it comes with warming labels, which I LOVE! My mother would be so proud!

Here's the rating that appears in red next to the buy botton on New Concepts' website.
Rating: spicy/carnal/interracial/contemporary/historical--adult situations and language, graphic violence. Sexual situation with non-heroine.

Damn! This is not your grandma's romance novel. Actually I went over to my parents' house the other night and took my kids on a night stroll. I told my mother about my latest release and the warning label..okay, well it's a rating but it sounds like a READER BEWARE LABEL to me. When I told my mother about the rating, the only sound I heard was that of crickets chirping...well, okay, it was locusts in the trees...but still...I won't be giving her a copy of this one. She saw after my last release that my writing was taking a "darker" turn. I've always loved writing paranormals but now they border on romantic horror. Can the two even exist together? I think so. What blended genres do you enjoy reading?

I'm fascinated with ghosts too and Voodoo Moon contains the true story of Annie Palmer, owner of Rose Hall Plantation in Montego Bay, Jamaica. I've been to the plantation and believe me, it's pretty creepy. As legend goes, she killed several of her husbands and called many slaves to her room. She had them all killed as well. I used the premise of this legend to build Voodoo Moon while incorporating paranormal elements, magick and voodoo rituals. Have any of you used a true story or legend to build a story? I did this with Nocturnally Vexed as well when I incorporated Jack-the-Ripper into my paranormal romance. I'd love to hear about your story building techniques.

Here's the photos of Rose Hall Plantation from the front and back. Note the back high window where Annie stood every morning giving out orders to her slaves. The first picture is her grave. The slaves built an above ground tomb to ensure that her spirit would not walk the earth. I don't think it worked. There have been many sightings of The White Witch. Her room in particular is extra spooky. Her face has been seen in the bedroom mirror. You can google her name and find many ghost photos.





Happy Haunting and Happy Reading!
~Alisha