Hello Booklings!
Paranormal Romance has been one of my favorite things to read since my husband bought me my first Sherrilyn Kenyon book when I was 18. Despite the fact that the bulk of my ghostwriting career has been Contemporary Romance, I find real-life drama mind-numbingly dull. Don’t get me wrong, a bad-boy billionaire falling for his quirky personal assistant can be fun... if he’s also a Shifter, Vampire, Alien, Demon, or Dragon. If that’s not your flavor, you could alternatively make the quirky secretary a fairy or a witch.
Whatever your creature preferences might be, if you’re planning to write a Paranormal Romance to market. These are 5 trending tropes of the genre for February of 2021.
Arranged Marriage
It’s a tale as old as time, our main character is forced to marry someone they don’t love. The reasons for arranged marriages are generally political. The talk dark and handsome Alpha has to secure a treaty with a neighboring shifter pack by accepting the daughter of their Alpha as his mate. Another reason might be to preserve magical bloodlines in the fae or witch community. This brings us to our next trendy trope.
Royalty
Another popular theme revolves around royalty. This works especially well with vampires, aliens, and Fae. Our protagonist is born, destined to carry the fate of their kind on their shoulders, a responsibility they might resent and even run away from. Another option would be to have your protagonist, who was adopted by a nice human family as a baby, find out that they’re the long lost heir to the throne of a magical society. This can combine with a rags-to-riches trope if it’s executed well.
Shifter Pack Reverse Harem
Reverse Harem is finally becoming mainstream. If you’ve followed me for any amount of time, you probably know that sexual empowerment is something I value highly. Seeing Romance authors normalizing healthy poly-amorous relationships makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I could do a whole about this all by itself, so I have to refocus myself and simply say that people are really digging the idea of a powerful female protagonist having a pack of swoon-worthy protectors at her beck and call. The one piece of advice I will give regarding this trope is to make sure that each member of the harem has a distinct personality. One can be the introspective and brooding type, the second suitor could be more playful and spontaneous, and the third could be slightly evil. I will warn you that the readers will each have a favorite and there will be heated debates on your site forums.
Academy
For me, it was Harry Potter that started it all. J.K. Rowling’s less than savory opinions aside, there’s no question that we all wanted a chance to go to Hogwarts when we were kids. Now that we’re all grown up, we want a more college-aged version of that trope. The creators of Vampire Diaries spin-off series, Legacies, as well as dozens of other successful writers, are cashing in on that fantasy, and readers are eating it up. Take a school, fill it with your choice of supernatural creatures, outline a compelling plot with a healthy dose of romance and you’ve got yourself a recipe for a hot seller!
Midlife
In the past, I’m sad to say, my favorite genre didn’t always give our midlife ladies the love they deserved. That’s why I’m so excited to see it’s now climbing the hell out of Amazon’s top 100. Authors and readers alike have embraced aging women as valid, powerful, interesting, and yes… sexy. We’re entering a new age of accepting some aspects of ourselves that previous generations shied away from. Seeing a variety of ages and body types celebrated by the masses gives me hope that our society is moving in a good direction. Two steps forward, one step back.
Honorable Mention
One thing I noticed while I was doing my marketing research for February was that there is a real demand for LGBTQ+ in Paranormal Romance. It’s under-served in comparison to the massive readership it holds. If you’re looking to fill a gap in the market, here it is!
Hopefully, these suggestions get your keys clacking. Please feel free to reach out to me on any of my social media platforms. I’m always looking for new writing buddies and I’ve always got sprints running on my discord channel.
Happy writing, Booklings!
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