Community Corner

Author to Discuss Vampires, 'Dark Music' and Paranormal Fiction

E.F. Watkins presenting library program examining trend towards mixing genres.

It used to be vampires scared and didn't cause swooning, but writers today have found lots of fresh ideas to mine by twisting the genre—and one of the first to do so was North Jersey author E.F. Wilkins, author of the just-published paranormal mystery "Dark Music."

"I've been writing paranormal thrillers for decades--some with romantic elements--but only found a publisher in 2002 when crossing genres started to become more accepted," she said.

Some find the break with traditional elements of horror and paranormal fiction confusing, at best, and maybe a tad sacrilegious. If you're unsure if you're supposed to be friendly or frightened when Dracula calls, be sure to join Watkin's March 13 presentation at the Warren Township Library, where she'll discuss the new wave of cross-genre fiction that includes young-adult romances by Stephenie Meyer, steamy vampire “cozies” by Charlaine Harris, weird thrillers by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child and psychic-sleuth mysteries by Daniel Hecht.

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"Dark Music," Watkins' seventh novel published, is about a young, single woman who buys a Victorian house in the New Jersey suburbs that turns out to be very haunted. To get rid of the ghosts, she must solve a “cold case” more than 100 years old—the murder of the house’s first owner, a classical musician whose love life was far from “Victorian.”

Peggy Ehrhart, author of the Maxx Maxwell Mystery Series, said "Dark Music" is like “Extreme Makeover meets The Haunting.

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"And the result is a highly absorbing read," she wrote. "Watkins skillfully interweaves past and present to lead us, spines a-tingle, to a breathtaking finale." 

"In recent years I've become more interested in mysteries and my latest book makes the move from 'horror lite' to paranormal mystery," Watkins said, adding she is a member of the Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime. "Again, this is a new subgenre, because in the past mysteries were supposed to be very rational, and any ghost or psychic that appeared in the plot was a fake. But these days, with psychics occasionally helping the police, those paranormal elements have become more acceptable.

"Some novels now even have vampire and other supernatural types of detectives!" she added.

Her first novel, "Dance with the Dragon," received a 2004 EPPIE Award from the national organization EPIC (Electronically Published Internet Connection). She followed with "Ride a Dancing Horse" (as “Eileen Watkins”), and "Black Flowers," a finalist in the Thriller category for both the 2006 EPPIEs and the 2007 Indie Excellence Book Awards.

She also has written the paranormal thrillers "Paragon," "Danu’s Children" and "One Blood," a prequel to "Dance with the Dragon." All are published by Amber Quill Press LLC and available at Amazon.com. She will have copies of her books for sale at the library event, as well.

In recent years I've become more interested in mysteries (I belong to Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime) and my latest book makes the move from "horror lite" to paranormal mystery. Again, this is a new subgenre, because in the past mysteries were supposed to be very rational, and any ghost or psychic that appeared in the plot was a fake. But these days, with psychics occasionally helping the police, those paranormal elements have become more acceptable. Some novels now even have vampire and other supernatural types of detectives!

Her program “Thrills and Chills—the New Breed of Paranormal Fiction” will be presented at 7 p.m. in Meeting Room 1. Pre-registration is required; call the library at 908-754-5554, Ext. 64.


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