Hey Peeps!
You know, every now and then I see a show where some character tells another that they should stop ‘living in a fantasy world and grow up.’ And it drives me NUTS!
In an episode of one of my favorite sitcoms—Frasier—the main character infers that another geeky character should give up science fiction and fantasy so he can live an adult life. That’s one of the few instances in the sitcom where I bristle. Because so often, those of us who love urban fantasy, science fiction, and fantasy, are seen as “living in a fantasy world” and told we “aren’t facing reality”.
And you know what? That’s bullsh*t!
So, I thought I’d talk a little bit about why I love to write what I do—and who better to understand my love for the genres than my readers?
When I was a little girl—back in the 60s and 70s—all I read was science fiction and fantasy. From the time I was three, I wanted to grow up and write the books I so loved to read (yes, I WAS learning to read by then!). Well, by the time I was writing full time, urban fantasy had became a thing! And I realized I had a knack for it. Recently, I discovered that I also have a knack for writing fantasy and paranormal women’s fiction—and I love all three!
One of the main reasons I love to write these genres are that they allow me to escape into a different world—a world where magic rules, where I can interact with creatures from legend and lore and have adventures.
And the thing is, I know from what some of you have told me, you also love escaping into other worlds and adventuring with my characters! So I’m pretty sure you relate with how I feel—I’ll bet you’ve daydreamed about what YOU would do if you were in some of the worlds I write!
And you know what? That’s normal. It’s human. Fantasy allows us to escape into other worlds and gives us a break from the stress of everyday life. And everybody needs a break from their troubles—and their responsibilities. And none of this makes us any less “adult”!
As a child, I escaped into fantasy worlds because I longed to visit other realities, to catch a glimpse into the future, to sidestep into a magical kingdom. And what I don’t often tell people: at the time I also was escaping from an abusive homelife. Fantasy and SF books and shows literally saved my life by giving me hope for the future.
So, daydreaming—escaping into worlds like the ones I write—is a wonderful way to give yourself a break. And unlike the character on Frasier seems to think, we can absolutely live perfectly wonderful, well-adjusted lives as adults while still loving our fantasy worlds. And by how many people love movies like Lord of the Rings and Aliens and Terminator and shows like Buffy and Lost Girl, I know I’m right!
Tell me, how do books like mine help you take a break from your everyday concerns? What do you love best about the genre/my books? Join the discussion!
So continue reading—and never be ashamed of what you love to read! I know I’m not going to stop writing urban fantasy, paranormal romance, and paranormal women’s fiction until the day I depart through the Veil (and may it be awhile in coming!).
Bright Blessings,
Yasmine
OH! If you’d like to explore my Patreon (which is another way to help support my work), just click here to see what’s going on over there.
I’ve been in luv with books my whole life. I would spend all my allowance on books from the brochure my elementary school handed out regularly. In between I check out the max the school Library would allow me to get. As soon as I started driving I was always at one of my local public Libraries. I discovered Witchling in a Walmart 12 years ago and became obsessed. Because of having to find every book you ever put out I scoured Worldcat.org. I checked out Anthologies where I could and bought digital Novellas for the rest. When you went Indie I filled my Tablet to reread some of my Favorites again. I discover Laurell K Hamilton and Patricia Briggs because they had Stories in Anthologies you also contributed too. Fantasy, SF, UF are all I read besides my cookbooks. I luv Ember, Angel, January and Storm. Really can’t wait for the next books to drop, I pre-order them as soon as you posted about the next book you have coming out.
Can I just say that authors LOVE readers like you? And it makes us feel confident about our work when a reader reads everything we write? Obviously, not everybody will–and that’s fine–but it’s so nice to be an auto-buy author!
I love the magic, godess/ gods new lands. But most importantly your characters can be themselves and grow. Yeah there are challenges . That is when family of choice or a new love is there to help.
Someday this world will embrace “different ” and be a better place.
Please say Pandora is going to get her a** obliterated.
Rereading Souljacker.
Hi Miss Galenorn,
I would like to thank you very very much for what you just said before.
I absolutely agree with your point of view. I love science fiction, magic and multiverse. I am medium and i speak with other species all the time for real but i have only acceped them only few years ago because most of other people tell me that i imagine them and just like you tell me that i was living in a dreamworld. Hopefully i will always communicated and now i am totaly me and i assume myself.
So thank you to preserve magic in this dimension. I love moon sisters story and and I hope that all your volumes will be translated into French !!! Magic exist everywhere .
Thank you also for your sharing .
Take care of yourself and sorry for mistake in my english i’m a french woman.
Agate
Unfortunately, Pandora is a goddess…an Immortal. But the gods *can* get hurt… *grins*
I have been an avid reader since I was a child. I read whatever I caught my interest and, for many years, stayed in the adventure, espionage, mystery genre (think Clive Cussler, Tom Clancy etc.). Don’t really remember how I started reading paranormal and UF, but was a big fan of classic monster movies like Dracula, Frankenstein and the Wolfman(fun fact- we had a Lon, Bela and Boris fan group at college. We would stay up late on Sat nights when the local station would replay all their old movies).
Once I got hooked on reading fantasy, UF, paranormal and the like, I couldn’t stop. A friend introduced me to Yasmine’s Otherworld books and I have read every series since.
Reading her books, and others like her, help me determine the direction my writing needed to go in. While I can’t even dream of being as prolific a writer, I hope one day to be able to share my books with others as well.
I’m so glad you discovered fantasy, UF, PNR, etc.! It’s such a wonderful genre!
Reading was always my escape and as I got older, maybe picking the wrong person to be with, my reading time has dwindled. I have been lucky to get a few minutes here and there to read, except your books. I will stay up until the sun rises to read them. I can relate with the main characters, and love that it isn’t all roses and rainbows. Not only in their worlds but their relationships.
Unfortunately, my reading time has also dwindled as my work load has grown. But I value the time I do have to read!
My favorite thing about UF and its relatives is that it allows my imagination to run free, but not run the risk of getting lost. Seattle and Chicago are real places that keep me grounded in the real world, but the magic that Ember and Raven use, and the creatures Harry Dresden fights, aren’t. These aspects of magic and adventure take me away from the boring mundane of my day to day and, for a couple hundred pages, I can pretend I’m right there beside Harry Dresden, or Mercy Thompson, or Storm the Hedge Dragon, fighting at their side and helping them solve the problems they’re facing. Then, when I have to leave their world and come back to where I’m struggling by one day at a time, I can look back on my adventure and remember how I felt when I was “helping” Cicely comfort Rhia, when I “helped” Harry save a missing child from some bad Fae… I can take those memories and draw from them. Use them to face what’s ahead of me. In a lot of ways, escaping into a fantasy world allows me to prepare and practice for what I need to face in the real world. Then there’s the catharsis of whispering “fuego” and imagining my computer at work going up in flames.
I love the mix of magic and modern day, as well!!! I’m most comfortable with that blend.
Your books as well as the books of Anne McCaffrey, Saje Williams, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Mercedes Lackey, Wendy and Richard Pini among so many others transport me away from so many stresses and allow for a few hours each day to rest and recover from the press of the everyday world. Everyone deserves the time away and to simply toss that away is wrong. Even classic fiction allows a respite at times.
For me reading is a huge escape. Especially after I had my last back surgery. I was laid up for so long and I went through a depression. My life was turned upside down, and reading your books gave me a release. A release from my health. But then we started to see PWF and I could totally relate to hot flashes, weight gain, mood swings, menopause… I have always been a lover of anything paranormal so if this makes me not in touch with reality, I’m fine with that. I love your books and as a matter of fact I have been reading The Wild Hunt Series over and I enjoy the storyline so much. Thank-you for that!!!
Given I work with the paranormal in my everyday life, it’s not that far removed! 😉
Books are gateways to other worlds–whether it’s the world of Jane and Mr. Rothschild or whether it’s Herne and Ember! 🙂