Maybe because with the exception of the time travel part, no one has any special powers and there are no supernatural creatures?

It’s what I alluded to earlier when trying to distinguish futuristic v. paranormal romance – again, in a futuristic storyline, there’s no “magic” as such, any additional abilities just comes from it being a more technologically advanced culture. I think.

Does anyone think Anne Rice should be on it? I read one of her books years ago, but it seemed to have some romantic elements.

I was a huge fan of Rice’s early vampire books back in the day. There is something very romantic about them (The Vampire Lestat in particular) and yet I couldn’t call them romances. I do think that Linda Lael Miller’s vampire romances were influenced by Rice’s works, though.

I have such a hard time seeing Outlander as a paranormal. I;m not sure why.

Does anyone think Anne Rice should be on it? I read one of her books years ago, but it seemed to have some romantic elements.

I sort of agree with the posters above who think Sweet Starfire is more of a SF/futuristic romance than a paranormal one, though it’s a fairly thin line that keeps shifting. I remember liking it and her Gift of Gold/Silver books, so I think they’re worth hunting down.

The Nancy Collins books sound interesting, esp with the Anita Blake comparison. Though Anita isn’t actually a vampire, unless I’ve missed something!

Li

Merlin’s Legacy: Daughter of Fire by Quinn Taylor Evans (1999) – The first novel in a series of six, this is another one that I love and still sits on my shelf today. It’s very old world English and has a great twist, not on Merlin, but on his progeny and their lives.

For me, I have a couple of classics:
1. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon (1991) – I love her series. She’s the only author I’ve gone out and been at the bookstore when her hardcovers come out. Usually I wait until the paperback comes out or I go to the library, but not for her.

2. Forever and the Night by Linda Lael Miller (1993) – she was my first paranormal romance that I can remember and I love the series. Her vampires and warlocks are interesting and yet she gives us more than just romance with them.

3. The Irish Princess by Amy Fetzer (1999) – Another great start for a terrific trilogy. While I don’t believe the first one has as much paranormal aspects as the following two novels, it’s still gives us a great story with interesting characters that still capture my attention today. Granted, it’s not that old, but I would still consider it a classic.

You have a spreadsheet? I don’t even have a spreadsheet for my grades or my mutual funds, let alone my romance reading. I have so much to learn!

I did read Sweet Starfire, about 6 months ago, and thought it was a sweet but generic romance in superficially built SF world. Still, JAK gets all the credit for being one of the first.

The question of whether it’s a paranormal at all is interesting — in the link to TMT in the above, Prof. Frantz says a true paranormal has to have a lot of “normal”, which creates a tension with the “para”, often between the H/H. This one doesn’t.