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Guest Post: Urban Fantasy Romance by Naomi Clark

Naomi Clark

I suppose one of the key themes you might expect in urban fantasy nowadays is a good romance. Whether it’s the vampire bad boy the heroine just can’t resist, or the perfect mate for the alpha werewolf, I think it’s fair to say romance is a solid part of the genre. And why not? Love is part of the human condition and it’s rather nice too.

Ethan is not a one for romance. I think he would probably like to be, but with the Voice in his head urging him to do increasingly nasty and violent things to himself and others, love is definitely off the cards. But that doesn’t mean he can’t have relationships…They’re just…you know, not with human women. The single most important relationship in Ethan’s life is the one he has with his dog, Mutt.

Now, I’m a dog-lover. My family has always had dogs and they are quite simply fabulous friends. It was a bit of a surprise to me when Ethan turned out to be a dog-lover too. I don’t usually hold with the idea of “my characters tell me what to do,” but when I first introduced Mutt to Ethan, it was supposed to be a one-off incident. Ethan feeds a stray dog a candy bar, they go their separate ways, and the story moves on. It was supposed to be a quick scene to show that Ethan’s a good guy at heart. But it didn’t quite work out like that, and Mutt ended up becoming Ethan’s best (if not only) friend.

And I’m so glad! Not just because it’s fun to write Ethan and Mutt together, but because their bond is really the heart of the series for me. Whilst Ethan has Mutt to love and protect, he remains a good guy. No matter how hard the Voice pushes him, no matter how dark his life gets, Ethan always holds onto Mutt, and the fact that Mutt truly has faith in him – even if it’s a simple canine kind of faith.

Mutt is Ethan’s anchor, his proof to himself that he’s not irredeemable. And if that’s not true love, I don’t know what is.

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