I picked up a set of Paranormal Romance paperback books that looked like possible ones to sell online, only to find myself pulling out a couple to read. (There I go again, ‘playing’ with the merchandise…)
One that caught my attention was PARALLEL ATTRACTION by Deidre Knight. Now I don’t know about you, but I think of paranormal as ESP, telekenesis, and will stretch it for the magical, such as vampires, werewolves, witches and such. However, I DON’T consider aliens from another planet ‘paranormal’. And that’s what the bulk of the characters are – from another planet. 
I suppose, though, calling it Science Fiction Romance wouldn’t sell as well. (Something about polar opposite markets maybe?) Your typical Sci Fi reader isn’t usually found over in the Romance area of a bookstore and vice-versa, at least not without some prodding and pushing by the people peddling them.
I guess Paranormal Romance sounds a little more melodious to the marketing mavens, so that’s where books like these are herded, into the same corral as the others they can’t quite categorize. But consider the surprise of the reader who’s expecting a little more fantasy and magic instead of sci fi freedom fighting in her/(his) book. (Maybe they should come up with another category after all…?)
All in all, though, this book is actually quite good, for both genres, and I’m looking forward to finding the sequel by Deidre Knight, PARALLEL HEAT.
