Special Guest Post by Paranormal Author Cate Dean!

Paranormal fiction is extremely popular and has been for the last few years. Cate Dean sits down with us today and talks about why she writes it. Enjoy!

You will find contact information, buy links, book description and a small excerpt below the post. I suggest you give Cate Dean's books a try!

Writing the Paranormal

 I grew up loving the spooky, the otherworldly, the supernatural. So it’s no surprise I ended up writing in the paranormal genre. For me, sitting down to write is an escape from the everyday, and a chance to create characters with not only unusual, but paranormal quirks.

A Gathering of Angels, Book 2 of The Claire Wiche Chronicles, is paranormal suspense – a cast of characters that are not all human, thrown into a tense, fast-paced situation. I am incredibly visual, so I write the story as I picture it in my head, and readers have also found reading it to be a visual experience.

For me, this is one of the most compelling genres simply because the people who inhabit it are not average, or even normal. In my books, I chose to go a bit sideways – instead of vampires or in-your-face witches, I chose a witch who is – more, an apprentice witch who casts more mistakes than spells, and a Jinn with a dark past.

They grow and change with each story, and because they are more than human, they can change in unique, unexpected ways. As a reader, I find that type of character fascinating, and fun to know. As a writer, I find it an incredibly satisfying challenge.

Paranormal is filled with as many stereotypes as other genres. My goal when I started writing The Claire Wiche Chronicles was to be as original as possible, while still fulfilling the desire readers of this genre have for the different. Claire and her friends have quirks, histories that make them unique, yet an appeal that has my readers coming back for more of their story.

I write the paranormal because I love it, plain and simple. Nowhere else can I have a conversation with a friend or fellow writer like this: “I was refining my version of Hell yesterday.” Or scare myself silly researching my own story. (I consider that one of the perks. ;-))

I read it because it is always surprising, often bone-chillingly scary, and one of my favorite ways to fall into another world.

Thanks for hanging out with me today!

Cheer,

~Cate

Author bio:

 Cate Dean has been writing since she could hold a pen in her hand and put more than two words together on paper. She grew up losing herself in the wilds of fantasy worlds, and has had some of her own adventures while tromping through the UK, and a few other parts of the world. A lover of all things supernatural, she infuses that love into her stories, giving them a unique edge. When she's not writing, she loves cooking, scaring herself silly in the local cemeteries, and reading pretty much anything she can get her hands on.

Website: http://catedeanwrites.com

Facebook page: http://facebook.com/catedeanwrites.com

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/catedeanwrites.com

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5694181.Cate_Dean

Amazon Author Central:  http://amazon.com/author/catedean

Book blurb:

 Claire Wiche sacrificed everything to keep her friends safe, revealing her true self. She expected the final battle to be the end for her. But she is back, breathing - and threatened by an enemy she doesn't have the means to fight.

An enemy bent on vengeance and possession, whatever the cost.

Trapped, alone, Claire has to find the strength to stand against what she knows she can't defeat. And the courage to face the people she thought she left behind.

*Includes a short preview of Back in Black, Book 3 of The Claire Wiche Chronicles, coming in Fall 2012.

 Buy links:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Gathering-Angels-Claire-Chronicles-ebook/dp/B008SUUSEW/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1347461183&sr=8-5&keywords=cate+dean

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-gathering-of-angels-the-claire-wiche-chronicles-book-2-cate-dean/1112378402?ean=2940014924696

Kobo: http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/A-Gathering-of-Angels/book-Dzj9rYOW6UerNvfDOMgMkA/page1.html?s=fCuBV5WsN0uJ6Mj8Y_j1sA&r=2

Short excerpt:

    Sitting on the edge of the bed, Annie Sullivan tapped three sleeping pills out of the bottle and into her palm. After a short debate, she added another one. She set the bottle on the side table, dropped the pills in her mouth and chased them down with a long swig of beer.

It didn’t help any more than water, but it did make her head fuzzy a little faster. At least, that was the excuse she would give to Marcus if he ever found out.

He watched her like an overprotective brother. She wanted to slap him down for it, but she knew he was worried. Going into the fourth month after losing Claire, Annie looked like she was the one who fell into Hell.

She scrubbed at her face, then climbed into bed and stared at the ceiling, waiting for the pills to take effect. For the dreams to yank her in.

It didn’t take long before she was pulled under, slipping into smoke and shadow. Into a dream where she wasn’t alone.