Guest Blogger Jessica Aspen

Thanks for having me as your guest today Bernadette. I had a great time with the interview on Tuesday and today, blogging on my theme in romance.  Leave a comment today on Warrior Princess and register it HERE to enter to win prizes. I’m giving away books, chocolates and more, in celebration of the upcoming release of Little Red Riding Wolf, my sensual novella due out on February 18th.

The Messages in Romance

As an author on a killer blog tour, I’ve found there are certain questions that interviewers often ask. One of the most prevalent is: What is the theme of your book or books? This was a difficult thing for me to come up with as a writer. It is part of who you are, and part of what makes your books special. And sometimes it doesn’t just mean having a theme in a particular book, but having a theme as an author. What are you passionate about that makes your writing special?

For some authors you’ll find their themes take on almost a cultural feel. They write solely about small towns and the relationships within them. Or they write about military families and the challenges they face. For me, it is the theme that love is about personal growth between two people. That the person whom you fall in love with, really deeply and truly in love with, is the person who makes you grow.

When I sat down to write my first book, I didn’t know that I was going to write about this message. I didn’t have much in mind at all, beyond knowing it was going to be a romance. Needless to say, that book is still unfinished. It didn’t have what it takes to make it all the way to completion. It didn’t have heart. And more importantly, it didn’t have my heart.

So what I am so passionate about that it has made it into every single one of my books? It’s the idea that your soul mate is the one who challenges you to be your best. The one who makes you look twice at your thoughts and beliefs and decide to make changes in yourself and your life. The one person who not only helps you to change, but also the person whom you help to change. You might ask how this works in paranormal romance. After all there are werewolves and adventure and action taking up so much space, how can an author also have a message of personal growth?

In my novella, Little Red Riding Wolf, Red is not just a werewolf. She’s also a daughter, wrestling with separating from her overprotective family. She’s unsure if she can or should break away and worrying if it will hurt her mother. Evan, her forest ranger hero, comes from a background where he’s been on his own a long time and he doesn’t understand why she even is worried about her family. She should consider her needs first. I think you can see how he can help her become more independent while she can help him see the value of family even with the werewolves and shape-shifting and action.

It took me awhile to realize that this was my theme that would underlie all of my writing. I find it romantic in my personal life, and as I wrote my next few books I realized that I look for it in all the books I read. I’m disappointed when it’s not there. I want men and women to help each other grow. My message is what I find truly attractive in a relationship, strength through togetherness. That’s what I find romantic.

Jessica Aspen writes paranormal romance near the foothills of the Colorado Rockies. Her books are full of elves, were-wolves and sexy men who walk on the dark side of the knife. She loves dark chocolate, walking the dog, hiking and is obsessed with her new lap-top. Jessica is also obsessed with writing and learning about writing. She is a member of RWA, CRW, FF&P and PRO. You can find Jessica the first Friday of the month at http://ParanormalFreebies.com and most days during the week at http://jessicaaspen.com

Follow Jessica on twitter @jessicaaspen and on Facebook.com/Jessica.Aspen and don’t forget to enter her contest HERE to win novellas, chocolate and more!

Come into the woods with Little Red Riding Wolf, Jessica Aspen’s spicy paranormal novella due for release February 18^th from Passion in Print Press. What if Little Red Riding Hood was a werewolf and a sexy forest ranger wandered into her woods?

Fraternizing with humans is taboo, but when feisty werewolf Red runs into hunky new forest ranger Evan Brewster, she jumps on the opportunity to let loose her desires. Evan is stoked when he meets the petite red haired hottie, and combined with his new discovery of wolves in Colorado, thinks his career and life are made. Then Red pushes him away, her hostile brother threatens his life, and things begin to spiral out of control. Caught between her sexy lover and her pack can Red trust Evan with her secrets, or must she sacrifice her human lover and her heart?