Book Lovers Inc.
Romance Novel Reviews, Author Interviews, Commentary
Guest Post: Integrating Fantasy and Reality by Tiffany Allee + Giveaway
Today we welcome the lovely Tiffany Allee to Book Lovers Inc, her debut paranormal romance, The Banshee Charmer (lookout for our review which is also going up today), is releasing tomorrow (24th January 2012)! Tiffany is here today to talk about the integration of fantasy and reality, something that is not easy to pull off! Take it away Tiffany…
I have always loved fantasy stories. They take me away to worlds that are very different from the one I live in everyday, offering an escape. I also love romantic suspense and cop shows. With Banshee Charmer, and the rest of my series From the Files of the Otherworlder Enforcement Agency, I bring these two loves together.
Banshee Charmer takes place in a world where otherworlders—non-human creatures—are an integral part of the world. Creatures such as banshees, succubi, vampires, selkies, and witches are an accepted part of society. If something is
rummaging through your trash, it could be a raccoon—or a hobgoblin.
For the most part, these otherworlders attempt to go through life like normal humans. They live, love, and work. The characters I focus on work as police officers for the paranormal unit of the Chicago PD, or as special agents for the Otherworlder Enforcement Agency (OWEA)—an organization that is similar to the FBI.
In an attempt to keep this as believable as possible, not all of the normals accept otherworlders happily. Anti-discrimination laws are in place to help keep everyone on a level playing field, and dislike of those who are different is present on both sides of the field, if not pervasive.
While Banshee Charmer is not a police procedural, much of the story revolves around murder investigations. I’ve tried to stay true to the flavor of real world police investigations, with a bit of tweaking for story’s sake.
How much realism do you like in your fictional worlds? Does it help to ground you when bits of the real world are used in the foundation?
Banshee Charmer Synopsis:
When she’s sent to a crime scene and finds her second dead woman in as many weeks, half-banshee detective Kiera “Mac” McLoughlin is convinced a serial killer is on the loose. Incubi are extinct, her boss insists. But what else can kill a woman in the throes of pleasure? When her partner is murdered after using witchcraft to locate the killer and Mac is thrown off the case, her frustration turns to desperation.
Certain the killer is an incubus, Mac works behind her department’s back to chase down slim, sometimes perilous leads. While the killer eludes her, she does discover handsome Aidan Byrne, an investigative counterpart from the enigmatic Otherworlder Enforcement Agency. Mac typically runs her investigations fast and hard, but with Aidan at her side, she’s running this one “hot” as well. But Aidan knows more than he’s letting on—something that could shatter their blazing romance and add Mac to the killer’s growing body count…
Available at Barnes & Noble here
Available at Amazon
About the Author:
Tiffany Allee currently lives in Phoenix, AZ, by way of Chicago and Denver, and is happily married to a secret romantic. She spends her days working in Corporate America while daydreaming about sexy heroes, ass-kicking heroines, and interesting ways to kill people (for her books, of course). Her nights are reserved for writing and bothering her husband
and cats (according to them). Her passions include reading, chocolate, travel, wine, and family.
Places to find Tiffany:
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~*~*Giveaway*~*~
Tiffany has generously offered an ebook copy of The Banshee Charmer, her debut novel to a lucky commenter!
All you have to do is answer one of Tiffany’S questions at the end of the post.
(You can read our full giveaway policy here)
Please leave a valid email when placing your comment so we can inform you if you win.
This giveaway is open worldwide!
Giveaway ends on Saturday 4 February 2012; and we will announce the winner on Sunday.
Good luck!
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Thanks for the guestpost, I wish you goodluck with your debut, it sounds good. I like both fantasy and urban fantasy, it totally depends on the book. Of course it is more work for an author to create everything new, but then she can tweak a lot of rules the way she wants to. Using magic in a police investigation could be cool!
The book is available at Amazon today.
Thanks. I added the link 😀
I love fantasy & world building is part of the allure. I prefer stories in totally different settings (which is probably why I don’t read contemporary) & where the limits are only those @ the author’s imagination.
Yes!, anyone that can build a world properly is a winner in my Book, Urns why I read fantasy, for the worlds and the magic 🙂
I like having a bit of reality, it makes the story more believable.
zzebra138@gmail.com
I love it when I know the places in a novel! If it’s someplace I’ve lived or visited and I’m familiar with the streets and landmarks it’s especially nice because I can really picture the action in my head. One example – I had visited London and happened to read The Thirty-Nine Steps a week or two later and a small part of the story took place on the same street where I had stayed (a little out of the way place that was hard to find even with a map). I was able to follow the story down to the tube station and around London, knowing where it all began.
oops! msculp@gmail.com for the above post
I love using my imagination. So I love reading books with a mixture of the real world and fantasy or paranormal involved. It makes the book more believable and you can imagine this actually happening. Please enter me in contest.
I really like a good dose of reality in my urban fantasy or paranormal romance. Having supernatural abilities/characteristics can inconvenient at times. I like seeing how characters deal with this in the real world. For example in my current WIP there is a character who is followed by a flock of ravens. It seems ominous and gothic when in reality it just means a lot of bird poop. This guy hates always having to have his car washed.
I love both, those grounded with reality and those that are totally different. Sometimes I like to read something that is familiar and at other times, just take me away to a completely different world! :o)
tamsyn5(at)yahoo(dot)com
i love book with a lot of fantasy and just enough realism to ground it. Your books sounds great.
Thank you all for your comments and thank you to Book Lovers Inc. for hosting!
I can go both ways, but I find it very thrilling to read about a location you’ve been to in a book–it almost makes the whole story seem more real. Of course, completely made up locations are wonderful as well. 🙂
Good luck with the contest, everyone!
Sounds like a great read. I would have to say I like a little bit of the “real world” in my reading. Thanks for a chance.
sariahwalters at gmail dot com
I do like the “real world” as grounding, but if there isn’t anything “real world” then I appreciate a salient explaination. 🙂
abluestocking@gmail.com