Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Do You Indulge in Imagination?
What I love most about being a romance writer is the boundless capacity to create. Imagination is defined as the mind's ability to have a mental image of something that is not perceived by reality or the senses. So then, the creation of a book brings to life that which we imagine.
Since childhood I've loved reading. My favorite childhood books were about dragons, unicorns and other such mythical creatures. I admit I still have these cherished books and reread them with the same innocent joy, the stories based on friendship and adventure. Does anyone else keep books that they'd read as a child?
I think a person's imagination is the reason women love to read paranormal romances so much. We read about creatures of fantasy and mythology, and find ourselves drawn to characters that epitomize the search for true love.
Stories can take us to fantastical places never experienced, but nonetheless real from a writer's imagination. In my fantasy erotic romance, Love's Demon Ways, the hero and heroine journey to the demon realm where things are both familiar and yet mystical.
Sindriel transported them through a demon gate to a dying apple orchard in the demon realm. Abandoned apples hung from gnarled limbs, forsaken and rotting. The leafless branches reached up over their heads, and moonlight cast shadows on the uneven ground.
Here is a short, tantalizing love scene between Ren/Vain Glory and Alexine which incorporates this unique setting:
With both hands braced on the dead tree trunk he poured a slight amount of energy into the tree. It shivered. The energy he poured into it was a potent sexual fruition that caused small green leaves to sprout along with delicate white flowers. Each flower glowed like a dazzling pearl, luminescent from within.
Alexine glanced upward when a few of the budding flowers drifted down, floating on a gentle breeze. She smiled, staring at the beauty surrounding her. “Amazing,” she whispered.
He pulled her hips tight against his, letting her feel the thick erection that demanded to be set free. He wanted her begging him to join with her. He wanted his seed deep inside her.
I enjoyed taking the hero and heroine into the demon realm. I imagined it mysterious and dangerous, full of imps and other strange creatures. Yes, I'm one of those people that love caves and dark forests where shadows rule your vision. The otherworldly appeal is undeniable.
I've written contemporary short stories before and I will again, but writing erotic romance in the paranormal and fantasy genres always draw me back. It's the indulgence of imagination that is so sweet to me. The ability to step into another world so familiar and yet so much more than ordinary. If anyone has ever seen the movie The Crow staring Brandon Lee, you know what I'm talking about. The movie incorporates both a tale of mythology and an ordinary city at night.
So tell me, how do you indulge your imagination? Do you have a favorite book or movie that takes you away on an adventure? Share your favorites with me today.
Mary Corrales


7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Fantastic post, Mary! And youre so right; Imagination in a writer's world is a part of us, a necessary and wonderfully fun part of us.

I sooooo LOVE your books! I think you have one of the most unique and creative imaginations Ive ever read.Everyone of your books are keepers!

Keep Imagining!

Hugs, Kari Thomas, www.authorkari.com

Mary Corrales said...

Thanks so much, Kari. Coming from an amazing author like yourself, I am sincerely flattered.

Hugs!

Jane Leopold Quinn said...

Hi Mary, Imagination sure is key, isn't it? I often wonder what non-writers think when they see or hear something that would make a writer dream up a story. Maybe we're nuts, after all. ;-)

Jane

Mary Corrales said...

I'll take being nuts anyday, so long as I can keep dreaming.

Thanks for coming by, Jane. :)

J.D. Faver said...

But when you get a few writers together it's like we discovered the rest of our species. We speak a different language and have unique thought processes. Fun though.
*hugs*
~JD

Andrea Teagan said...

I acan't agree with you more! I love the imagination of writing, and using mythology and the paranormal. Its like fairy tales for adults, I love it :)

Your stories look great btw!

Andrea

Mary Corrales said...

JD - Exactly, being a writer can sometimes feel like being an ugly duckling in life, then as we grow we find out we're really swans! Swans together.

Andrea - Our mind have no limits when we allow them to flourish with ideas.

Thank you, fabulous ladies, for coming by. :)