New-agers
believe that everyone has psychic abilities and that those who
aren't aware of their gifts are actually suppressing their
talents and intuition. Why? Possibly fear of the unknown or
ultimately fear of the other side. When and if we are given a
message, we suppress our instincts due to prejudice and censure.
Just think back on all those times you've said to yourself, "I
knew that would happen. If only..." Whether those were a psychic
messages could be debated by skeptics and theologians, but it
helps to explain our fascination with intuition (and the unknown)
in our lives and our fiction.
Unlike the Oracle of Delphi who made her living as a seer in
a cave, the modern day heroes and heroines in our books who are
gifted with psychic abilities are usually ordinary people who
must cope with an extraordinary talent. It's certainly a far cry
from those historical characters who were denounced as witches
and burned at the stake for being different There is no longer a
stigma attached to clairvoyance. Instead of being regarded with
suspicion and fear, those with psychic abilities are deemed to be
special, and expressing one's individuality is now seen in a
positive light. And those who have a talent for foretelling the
future or healing the ill, certainly have something special to
offer those around them. It is this quality of being special that
appeals to us most in romances which feature characters with
psychic talents. When we read these books, we temporarily become
the characters we read about, and don't we all secretly yearn to
be ordinary and extraordinary at the same time? Of course, the
books appeal to us for another reason too. As we live in the
present and reflect on the past, we always wonder about the
future. We think we want to know what's going to happen next.
This fascination with wanting to know what will be in our future
is reflected in our interest in this type of fiction (even though
fiction is imaginary to begin with). There's something intriguing
about the idea of a character tampering with destiny, which is
exactly what the authors who create the stories do in the first
place. The desire to have power over our destiny is what keeps
this genre's authors writing and us fans reading.
What's The Appeal?
The romances listed below feature characters who possess
wide-ranging psychic abilities. The heroes and heroines in these
romances have amazing talents: they can read other people's
thoughts, predict the future or heal the sick. Some of the books
feature characters who can see ghosts or visualize a murder
before it takes place. Whether the ability is a gift or a curse,
the love relationship always takes precedence. And the talents
these psychics have only enhance the characters' relationships
with one another.
-Kate Ryan
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