Win a Copy of Just an Average Vampire by Charisma Knight

Check out the works of Charisma Knight and be sure to leave a comment for your chance to win a pdf of her most popular book Just an Average Vampire



Soul Seduction Blurb:

Patience is a virtue—especially if you're waiting for your soul mate's rebirth.

Vampire Angelus Cronen loved, lusted for and inevitably lost his true soul mate over two centuries ago. She was the beautiful slave, Vivienne, who set his body on fire and branded her name on his soul. He was told to have patience during the long years that separated him from her resurrection. His lust only grew to have her in his arms again. His dark soul's deepest desire was to bring her spirit once more under his control.

First he has to conquer the dark side of his spirit, the beast within who can and will destroy his soul mate with the least provocation. Seduction can lead him to a love meant to last an eternity or cause him to murder her.

Available at http://eirelander-publishing.com/

Daywalker Blurb:

Plagued by dreams of a bloodthirsty vampire, Egyptian daywalker Akaisha soon discovers the man to be as real as her father, the Pharaoh. Abducted from her home, Akaisha discovers she must quickly adapt to her new surroundings or suffer her demise.

Realizing the necessity of obtaining a special daywalker to protect his coven during daylight hours, Lord Daegan travels to ancient Egypt with the assistance of his magus, claiming Akaisha for his own.

When in proximity of Daegan, Akaisha causes him to develop emotions, eventually melting away years of darkness. With every meeting, Daegan senses a familiar presence the Egyptian daywalker exudes.

Forty years of deception lie within the walls of Castle Daegan. With Akaisha's help, Daegan discovers hidden truths, reopening unsavory wounds deep within.

Available at Sugar and Spice Press

The Beast Within Blurb:

Ever wonder what you would do if you crossed paths with a vampire? Would he be that sweet gentleman, sweeping you off your feet without a moment's notice, or would he be the epitome of evil, the devil incarnate? Do you think you could easily bed him for one night only, and leave, unscathed? Perhaps so, but what do you do when he repeatedly seeks you out, contemplating dark plans for the future. What would you do once realizing beneath that handsome facade lurks an evil, menacing dark force?

Beautiful, and promiscuous Diana Carrington prowls the club scene with her female posse in search of male companionship. Physically drawn to the debonair vampire Julian Grey, Diana ultimately falls for him.

Their sexual attraction to one another blossoms into a full blown relationship, but Diana suddenly realizes she's in over her head with the vampire who harbors a dark secret, and a demon that may very well lead to her demise.

The Beast Within is Available at Sugar and Spice Press

Her Dark Desires Blurb:

Dremon, a five hundred year old tall, dark, and brooding vampire has been alone far too long. From the moment he laid eyes upon Anais, he read her like an open book. Swearing an oath to claim the sensual goddess, Dremon suddenly realizes she is what he has searched for his entire existence. Her exquisite looks, strong will, and fiery passion intrigues and seduces him all in one breath.

Two different beings from two entirely different worlds quickly discover they have an insatiable thirst of forbidden carnal desires. Together, they delve into the depths of the darkest parts of their souls, discovering they can never truly sate the untamed fire down below

Available at Sugar and Spice Press

Just an Average Vampire Blurb:

After discovering the courage to divorce her abusive husband, Trina Jones rises from her ashes like the legendary Phoenix. Strong-willed and determined, she rebuilds her independence. After her divorce, a string of bad luck sets her back tremendously. Faced with eviction and repossession, Trina becomes frustrated. To make matters worse, she is laid off from her job.

Vampire Cecil McKagan graciously accepts Trina into his home once he discovers her hardship. The bond between them ultimately strengthens, and the pair become lovers. However, past negativities threaten to tear the couple apart...

Excerpt:

Across the alley, on top of the abandoned building, an ancient being peered through Cecil's bedroom window. Witnessing the affection between Trina and Cecil, venomous curses escaped its lips. Consumed by hatred, and unaffected by the bitter wind whipping it's long raven locks against flawless ebony skin, the creature dug it's talons into the brick ledge on which it perched. Another opportunity would arise to drive a wedge between them, it decided as it expanded black wings and leapt off the top of the building. Enraged, it released a blood-curdling scream and soared high into the starlit sky.

****

The screech jarred Cecil and Trina from their embrace. Cecil sat up and dashed to the window. His keen senses had alerted him to something seconds before hearing the blood-curdling scream. Now, he sensed nothing.

"Was that a cat, or something?"

"It was a vampire."

"Maybe it was Izzy or Ivanna."

"No, the presence I felt was over there. And the scream, well, we vampires make those noises
when enraged. This presence seemed familiar, but I can't bloody place it." Cecil was puzzled, and then an eerie thought crept into his head. What if...?

"Cecil, you're scaring me. Stop looking like that. Are you sure everything is all right?"

"Yes." He returned to the bed and slipped beneath the bedcovers.

"Liar."

"Oh, Trina." Cecil shook his head. He looked at her, sighed, and fell against the large, goose
down pillow. Trina turned on her side to face him, running her fingers through the silky soft hair dusking his broad chest.

"Do we have more secrets, Cecil? That sound, whatever it was, caused my damn skin to crawl. I would bet my life you know what, or who, it was, and this time I would appreciate an honest answer."

"Along with living many lifetimes comes the threat of many enemies. I was a knight in England. This scar came from a werewolf attack, as I was returning from the Crusades. I fought with honor for King Richard, no questions asked."

"When were you made a vampire?"

"Almost a week after my attack. Once I returned, I learned my wife and child had been murdered by the hands of someone I thought to be a comrade. After a day of mourning, my sire introduced herself to me, taking my life as though I'd accept the monster I'd become afterward. I wished for death, but not like this. Nydia was my sire. She was a cold, ruthless vampire who hunted for the thrill of the chase. She is an enemy."

"Why would she be an enemy?"

"Oh, I'm getting to that. Trust me."

"I'm sorry for the loss of your family. Do you regret becoming a vampire?"

"For centuries, yes. Then I met you. Fate has a way of making things happen. If I weren't a vampire, I would never have met you," he said and kissed Trina on the head as she snuggled close, allowing him to continue his story.

****

Somewhere, on the other side of town, the dark shadow flew to an abandoned building next to some train tracks. The smell of revenge rolled off the human she was about to meet in waves. She hated humans, but loved them for the thrill of the hunt and their flesh and blood. This was the way she could take back that which she'd lost centuries ago. Cecil would pay for his rejections and his betrayal.

Available at Amira Press

Would you like to win a free pdf of

Just an Average Vampire ?

Just leave a comment on this post for

your chance to win

One of Those Days and Winners

So the author scheduled for today never sent anything, either she forgot or her PR person that scheduled it didn't let her know....anyway

I have two winners that have not gotten back to me yet from Lisa Lane's guest blog

rebecca and Arlene you guys each won a pdf of one of Lisa Lane's vampire books, I need your emails to send those

Please email me at eroticroxanne @ yahoo. com to claim your prizes

and Congrats to Rosie who won a copy of SheWolf by Teresa D'Amario, the $25 gift card contest is still open until May 1

Burned by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast

'Burned' is the seventh book in the House of Night series by P.C. and Kristin Cast....

"Things have turned black at the House of Night. Zoey Redbird’s soul has shattered. With everything she’s ever stood for falling apart, and a broken heart making her want to stay in the Otherworld forever, Zoey’s fading fast. It’s seeming more and more doubtful that she will be able pull herself back together in time to rejoin her friends and set the world to rights. As the only living person who can reach her, Stark must find a way to get to her. But how? He will have to die to do so, the Vampire High Council stipulates. And then Zoey will give up for sure. There are only 7 days left… "

The New York Times-bestselling mother-daughter writing team of P.C. and Kristin Cast again prove why they have become a major force in teen fiction. With over 3 million copies of their books in print, a well-publicized film option, an updated interactive website, daily-growing fan base, the Cast duo will command your attention with every page turn.

Download the song from the book trailer free http://www.houseofnightseries.com/pages/downloads.html#songs

Read the first chapter of the book free http://www.houseofnightseries.com/pages/burnedxrpt.html

Learn more about The House of Night series http://www.houseofnightseries.com/index.html

Two New Erotic Paranormal Anthology Releases

The new Circlet Press anthology which contains my story "A Last Goodbye" is now available for purchase.

Like That Spark is a collection of short stories that explore the sensuality and eroticism of the moment when two characters finally realize they are meant to be together. These are tales of relationships and the beginnings of romantic and sexual connections. The stories here will challenge you and your notions of what constitutes a relationship in the first place. You will not find the common tame romance tale here.

Here erotic connections are represented by the science fiction and fantasy worlds; a realm of infinite possibilities. Nothing is ever as it seems. There are mythical kingdoms, distant planets, futuristic cities, surreal dreamscapes, sultry bedchambers, and even the furthest reaches of space to tempt and entice you.

Table of Contents:

Clear Sight in the Double Full Moon Night by Shawn Erin

A Balefire Chronicles Short Story: Poisonous Passions by Cynthia Gael

A Last Goodbye by Roxanne Rhoads

ToyGirls of the Personal Genome by Giselle Renarde

The Shock of the New by D Mark Alderton

Navigator by Kathleen Tudor

Passive Resistance by Josephine Myles

You can purchase Like That Spark at All Romance Ebooks, Fictionwise, Smashwords, and Scribd

It will soon be available for sale on the Circlet site and at the Amazon Kindle store

Spirit Lovers 2 published by Xcite is now available.

It contains my story "Halloween Surprise"

This was a quickie surprise publication for me from submission to publication the process took about a month-which was super fast in the publishing world

Hope you'll all check it out

Here's a blurb:

A collection of five erotic short stories with paranormal themes.

Widow’s Walk
By Giselle Renarde

In all the time Marley's produced and starred in his web-only paranormal series, Ghost Hunting on a Shoestring, he's never encountered a spectre like this one! Lottie haunts the Widow's Walk of a New England house, where she waits for her lost-at-sea fiancé to come home. As Marley discovers, rumours of Lottie's despair have been greatly exaggerated. She wants a man – any man – and this girl takes what she wants!

Halloween Surprise
By Roxanne Rhoads

Alcina and Estra are ready to enjoy everything Halloween has to offer them – food, fun, and, most of all – the pleasures of the flesh. After enjoying each other’s bodies for hours they decide it’s time to find a man. Luckily for Michael he’s the one that happens to cross their path. After quickly deciding that he is exactly what they were looking for, they convince him to take them back to his place for a wild Halloween ménage ‘a trios. He ends up getting more than he bargained for with a sexy, but shocking, Halloween surprise.

Third Time Lucky
by Kitti Bernetti

Sally can't seem to forget her old lover. Maybe it’s something to do with the day he jilted her at the altar. Something makes her journey back to the same old church every year to try and exorcise her demons. But for Sally, a mysteriously warm evening and a careless stroll through the eerie churchyard catapults her into a sinister world she had never imagined, one which co-exists on the fringes of our own. The extraordinary and unsettling lover she encounters there offers her delights she can only dream of, but what does he expect in return…?

The Washstand
By Elizabeth Coldwell

The Victorian washstand is a real bargain, but Ros never wonders why it might be quite so cheap – until she's woken by splashing noises in the middle of the night. Soon she is being visited by a ghostly figure with an exhibitionistic streak. But who is he – and how far will Ros have to go to grant him the release he craves?

The Tree
By Roger Frank Selby

An accomplished but plane-wrecked aviatrix, stranded on a desert island, would have a bleak sex life – one would imagine. But as all hopes of her rescue fade, naked in a leafy glade, she finds solace among the branches of a strange tree surrounded by exotic mushrooms. And who could resist toying with and sampling mushrooms shaped like … that?

Her waking relationship with the tree, its soft boughs and her playthings become woven into increasingly vivid dreams of a Viking invader. The mighty Bork and his longship crew are on an eternal quest to ravish her, until finally, reality itself is called into question.

Right now at Xcite they are running a special buy 2 ebooks and get 1 free

Winner Wednesday

Cate Masters is the winner of Slipping the Past by DL Jackson

angie has won a copy of Ardeur edited by LKH

and Stella (Ex Libris) is the winner of Afterlife by Naomi Clark

Lisa Lane chose Rebecca to receive a pdf copy of Blood and Coffee and Arlene to receive a pdf copy of Twins of Darkness- I need both of your email addresses so she can send those to you, email me at

eroticroxanne @ yahoo. com to claim your books

Congrats everyone!

Guest Blog and $25 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway with Teresa D'Amario

Hi everyone! I'm Teresa D'Amario, and first let me say thanks to Roxanne Rhoads for having me here at Fang-Tastic books. It's so cool to be a shifter among vamps, that's for sure. Just guys, keep your fangs over on the other side of that white line. I think that keeps us all safer that way. Seriously, it's great to be here, and I so love this blog!

For those who don't know, my new release has hit the virtual shelves, and Dark Succession is a big hit. The second book in my True Mates series, it takes up just a few months after SheWolf ends, and tells the story of Ryland and Nora, both characters introduced in SheWolf. But don't worry, if you haven't read SheWolf, you will NOT be lost in Dark Succession.

When I wrote SheWolf, I had no intention of telling Ryland's story. He has a seriously bad problem with first impressions, and he always comes across very rough and edgy. Okay, he is rough and edgy in real life, but it's funny how fast he worms his way into your heart anyway. While working the edits on SheWolf, it hit me, the next book in this series had to be Ryland. Some of my fans and readers wrote, insisting he be next, even though I hadn't announced I was already plotting out his story. I think it's because Ryland is the kinda bad boy you love to love. He's wild and aggressive, he's hot and he's confident. And he's strong. So check him out.

Part of my excitement with Ryland was also creating the Book trailer. Take a look at it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXO9kVbBkF0

I did my best to show you the high level of danger and tension in the book and let you get a good look at how I see Ryland.

In addition, here's the blurb, plus a little teaser to help you get the feel for Ryland's story:

Nora Hunt is the daughter of former pack leader Sean Hunt and niece to Kieran Hunt. Emotionally and physically scarred after being held captive for weeks, she's finally ready to move on with her life. But when she meets Ryland, she discovers not only a world of darkness and pain, but discovers Ryland may not be any better than those who held her captive all those weeks.

When Ryland Keegan steps in as Alpha of his dead brother's pack, he inherits a pack of savage rogue wolven, as well as a legacy of violence, lies and five women held captive within the pack's confines.

But when Ryland's pack members start dying one at a time, he must decide if Nora is the catalyst or the killer. Can he trust his True Mate? Or will he be relegated to a life of leading the dregs of Wolven society?

Excerpt:

“What do you want?” Nora was tall compared to most shewolves, at almost six feet, one inch, yet still he towered over her. He moved slowly, giving her every opportunity to run, his eyes watching her every move. Running almost seemed like a good idea. But then again, he might give chase, and she wouldn’t stand a chance. She tilted her head back to stare into his eyes. She lost her balance and was forced to step back.

“I want to know,” he leaned in, whispering, “why you were in the bar.”

“My car broke down.” His scent moved from her lungs to her blood. The mix of masculine power and leather worked like an aphrodisiac, striking with a force that nearly brought her to her knees. His heat burned against her flesh, though they were still inches apart. Nora longed to lean forward, hungry for more.

"Why did you run?" He cocked his head, curiosity shining in those glittering eyes.

She wasn't about to tell him it was because she'd caught his scent and had found it shockingly attractive, something that had never happened to her before. "I didn't want to infringe on another wolven's territory." Well, it was true. To a point.

His nostrils flared, he inched closer, his breath whispered against her ear. He rumbled low in his chest.

“I don't believe you,” he murmured. His breath played across her skin and goose bumps rose. “I think you’re like all the rest.”

She narrowed her eyes. “What do you mean?”

“You’re like all the other shewolves who come through town, looking for an alpha to fuck, in hopes he’ll offer to mate.”

His words splashed over her like cold water. He was wrong. And she would tell him so.

Just as soon as her breath returned.

His sharp fangs grazed the side of her neck, and she fought the urge to tilt her head in offering.

She shook her head. “I’m not like the others.” Small, powerless words.

His soft, taunting laugher rolled through her, her muscles turning to water.

“You want me, you know you do. You can’t hide it.” He inhaled deeply, his nostrils flaring. “So what’s it to be, little rabbit? Do I fuck you and send you on your way?”

He was teasing her, pushing her, and, while she knew what he was doing, she couldn’t stop the cold flush of anger. “I’m different from the others. I don’t want you.”

“Really?” He cocked his head and met her gaze.

Her hands drew up to his massive chest. Hard, powerful muscle lay beneath his black shirt. It was almost distracting enough to make her forget her goal. Higher and higher her palms slid.

His eyes narrowed, watching. Waiting.

“Yes, really.” She gasped the words, took in a deep breath, and continued, her voice stronger. “Unlike those mangy bitches, I have a brain, and my brain says no.” With her hands on his shoulders, she slammed her knee upward. He twisted to the side, and she just missed his groin. Nora drew her arm back and let loose, the sharp crack of her palm against his cheek so gratifying.

His eyes widened, and he stepped back, the dull red imprint of her hand evident on his face.


While on yesterday's blog at Paranormal romance, Ryland was interviewed and asked who he thinks he most resembles among actors. I hadn't really thought about that, so I thought I'd ask the readers here what they think.

So leave a comment or question, and tell me what actor you believe Ryland most resembles.

And if you do, you’ll be entered into my $25.00 gift Amazon gift card contest, winner to be selected on or around 1 May.

Also, one lucky winner will receive a copy of SheWolf, book 1 of the True Mates series today.

Entry Rules:

1. Every question receives 5 entries into the contest.
2. Every general comment receives 1 entry into the contest

3. Following me on twitter – receives 10 entries into the contest

4.Follow Roxanne on Twitter-receives 5 extra entries

5. Following this blog (click on the follow link on the right side), 5 entries

6. Joins my facebook fan page: receives 10 entries into the contest

7. Emails me at desertpetiri@aol.com with proof of purchase for Dark Succession – receives 25 entries into the contest.

Make sure you add up all your entries because my math realllly sucks.

Win a Pdf of Wings of Desire by Arianna Skye

Au Revoir Historical Romance, For Now at Least

I absolutely love history. I was a history major in college until I got sucked into the world of technology—not quite how my heroine in Wings of Desire did, unfortunately. Bummer! Who doesn’t want a hot faerie man whisking them through a computer screen and into a mysterious faerie world? Instead, I spent my time chatting it up with other geeks and nerds all over the world. But anyhow, I digress. Because I’ve always been a history buff and took many history classes in college, I assumed I would start my writing career off with a historical romance. I’ve always held a fascination with the Regency period and the mores and customs of the time. I even did my final research paper on Jane Austen for my English History class. This earned bonus points from the professor since it was right after the Clueless movie was released. For those who don’t know, Clueless was based on Jane Austen’s Emma.

But things don’t always happen the way you expect or want them to. I did fully intend to write a historical Regency. I got about three fourths of the way through until I finally realized it was going nowhere fast. I was at 65,000 words and the hero and heroine had yet to consummate things. I then toyed with another idea based on my days in chat rooms and got really excited about it. I tried to balance my writing time between the two projects, but eventually Wings of Desire took over. I’m a lover of all sorts of fairytales, especially The Princess Bride. My favorite part of the movie is the humor. So it was only natural that my fairytale would have humor as well. My humor tends to lean more towards sarcastic and snarky, though.

Matter of fact, my next soon to be published book, Beauty School Demon (Coming Spring 2011 from Sourcebooks) written under my other pen name of Sidney Ayers continues my irreverent and snarky sense of humor. And even though I’m now writing mainly humorous and light fantasy paranormal romance, I still try to incorporate some history into my novels. After all, history is what shaped us into what we are today.

BLURB for Wings fo Desire:

A fairytale, but not the kind your mother used to read you!

Rhiannon Kinsley's life goes from boring to downright crazy when a freak lightning bolt strikes her laptop. To make matters even more bizarre, strange words and symbols flash across the computer screen and she hears a mysterious voice. Time to call the men in white coats!

Then Cerne Silverwing, an intriguingly sexy man, appears. He insists she’s a faerie princess whose fate will determine his own. What a crock! Now she knows who really needs those white coats. With the Dark Faerie forces threatening their kingdom, Cerne kidnaps Rhiannon and brings her to Fey, a land where magic knows no bounds. He's performing a duty to save his kingdom and nothing more—a duty that will bring him his wings and the strengthened magic that comes with them. If he doesn’t unite with the princess as her consort, those wings will never grow. But this princess grew up in the land of laptops and instant messages, and she’s convinced they're both crazy. Despite their differences, the two are thrust together to defeat the whip-wielding Dark Faerie Queen before she takes over their kingdom. Passion and peril aside, will Rhiannon and Cerne discover their true destiny?


Publisher buy link: http://eternalpress.biz/book.php?isbn=9781770650299

Amazon buy link: http://www.amazon.com/Wings-Desire-Arianna-Skye/dp/1770650377/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1267665

To show my appreciation, anyone who comments is eligible to win one of two e-Book copies of my debut novel Wings of Desire, a fantasy erotic romance available now from Eternal Press.

Monday Musings: April 26, 2010

Another cold and rainy weekend discouraged me from working outside in my yard. I'm going to have a jungle by the time anything is able to get done.

However I did get a lot of other things done- somewhat.

Like shopping for my daughter's birthday. The first of a manic month of birthdays and events in May. My two youngest children have May birthdays as does my husband plus there's Mother's day...and this year my oldest is a senior so we have prom, pre-graduation meetings and events and we're planning for graduation and an open house. Wow. That's a lot to do added in with everything else I have to do on a day to day basis.

After a long day of shopping, cooking and cleaning my family relaxed while watching Avatar.

Wow, now I see what the big deal is about the movie. The visuals were stunning and the story- touching. I seen the Na'vi as a sci-fi version of the Native Americans and a conglomerate of other native and indigenous tribes around the world that have been destroyed and taken advantage of by people who felt they were entitled to take whatever they wanted and who gives a shit about the "savages".

Did you know that The Pope (way back in the day) actually said that the Native Americans (known as Indians back then) were not human, they were nothing but savages, less than human beings so that it was alright to kill them? I believe that much, much later the Catholic Church and a later Pope recanted that statement and apologized. I think it was too little too late considering most of the tribes of indigenous North Americans were all but wiped out.

Then in Avatar there was the whole "fight terror with terror speach given by asshole GI Joe (whatever his name was). Really? The Na'vi were defending their home.

Anyway that's my take on Avatar.

So now I am off to try and squeeze some work in before getting into more party planning activities.

There will be lots going on this week at Fang-tastic Books, it's a full week of authors and giveaways including: Arianna Skye, Teresa D'Amario, Belinda McBride, Charisma Knight and Sapphire Phelan.

A Review of Shadows of Myth and Legend by EJ Stevens

.25

I love poetry, I especially love poetry that is lyrical or that creatively puts words together in a manner that I find pleasing.

The poetry doesn't have to be stuffy or take itself too seriously for me to be a fan, in fact I like it better when it doesn't take itself too seriously.

The poetry of EJ Stevens is dark, sometimes lyrical and always interesting. Stevens beautifully paints images with words, tells stories within the poems and holds onto a magical quality that is quite stunning.

But is it stuffy and serious? No. Is it something you might find in a literature class to decipher? Probably not. Thank goodness. I've had enough of that.

I just want to sit back and enjoy the flow of the words, the haunting world of myth and legend, of paranormal creatures and beasts of times long gone that Stevens has immortalized in the written word.

And enjoy it I did.

If you enjoy poetry as I've described you'll enjoy Shadows of Myth and Legend too.

Review of A Certain Wolfish Charm by Lydia Dare

A Certain Wolfish Charm is the writing duo known as Lydia Dare's first book in the werewolf trilogy featuring the Westfield Brothers.

A Certain Wolfish Charm features the eldest brother, Simon, the intimidating Duke of Blackmoor.

Like most dukes Simon has his flaws; he's annoying, cranky, entitled, loves to drink, gamble and hang out in irreputable establishments with a certain type of woman. But this Duke has a reason to be cranky, especially when the moon is full.

Lily has been caring for her nephew Oliver but the older he gets the harder he is getting for her to handle. Thinking he needs some male guidance she tries to contact Oliver's guardian, Simon Westfield the Duke of Blackmoor. The Duke tries to dodge her inquiries every chance he gets but she, being the stubborn and resourceful woman that she is, finally puts herself in the middle of his life...and his home. Simon can't ignore her now. And to his dismay he doesn't want to, though he knows he should or he will risk his animal nature being discovered.

Lily finds Simon to be annoying, a complete rake and...utterly irresitibale. Will she be strong enough to steer clear of the temptation?

An engrossing read, I can't wait to devour the other books in this series.

A fast paced book that kept me wanting more. A classic, almost gothic, style historical romance with a paranormal twist.

A Review of THE DARKNESS AND THE NIGHT: BLOOD AND COFFEE

The Darkness and the Night Blood and Coffee is Lisa Lane's first book in the trilogy published by RavenousRomance.com

Labeled as paranormal romance or dark romance, I'd have to say The Darkness and the Night Blood and Coffee is more horror with a dash of romance tossed in combined with a touch of erotica.

It is full of darkness, death, and a bit of gore along with an underlying storyline consisting of a weird romantic love/hate relationship between the two main characters- Billy and Karen.

He loves her, turns her into a vampire, leaves her, comes looking for her, is supposed to extract revenge on her due to her father's involvement in the death of one of Billy's family members but neither of them can fight the powerful bond connecting them.

It's a wicked strange ride into a dark world of forbidden sex, vampire cults, and demon hunters and the weirdness that dwells within our minds.

Lisa Lane has managed to combine it all into one fascinating read that defies conventional genre labeling. She's a great storyteller with a wild imagination and if you are interested in something dark and new this is a book for you.

Maybe we could label it as a horroticamance?

THE DARKNESS AND THE NIGHT: BLOOD AND COFFEE
LISA LANE
ISBN#: 978-1-60777-129-6
December 21, 2008
Ravenous Romancewww.ravenousromance.com
Now offered as an E-book and in print

Inside Information with D.L. Jackson & Win an e- Copy of Slipping the Past

Hi, my name is D.L. Jackson. I'm an author, daydreamer and world-building fanatic. I rolled several ideas around before I decided on what I wanted to blog about and came up with one thing, the thing all writers like to talk about the most, their stories.

Authors chop for a number of reasons. We cut sentences, paragraphs and even whole chapters. There are times we have plot threads stealing attention from the main characters or we’ve created Frankenstories that have morphed from the original manuscript and really deserve a novel of their own. Sometimes we cut to tighten and sometimes we have to meet a certain word count. When I chop, I don’t toss the cuts away. Instead they find their way into the Junkyard of Unintentional Words and like all junkyards, there are treasures to be found there. Those parts and pieces can be salvaged and used to build something else.

And they have been.

So without further delay, here’s the chops that didn’t make it into the final copy and an example of a recycle to a WIP. Shhhh. Don’t tell anyone you got inside information.

From Slipping the Past, published with Liquid Silver Books, http://liquidsilverbooks.com/, comes the first cut.

Chop #1.

“Where are we going?”

Jocelyn down shifted. She’d no idea. They’d been circling the neighborhood for the last hour. Since the enforcers didn’t drive, she wasn’t sure if they were still waiting for her at the house. She knew she could never go home, but she wasn’t ready to face that reality. Plus, she needed to drop Nate. She couldn’t drag him into this, regardless what her mother wanted but there was a problem leaving him home, he was her eyes. Without him, her mother’s transporter was worthless.

“Jocelyn?”

“I don’t know. I’m trying to think.”

“You’re wasting the charge in this vehicle. We need to put as much distance as we can between us and that reaper.”

“Stop, Nate. I’m trying to figure it out.”

“You’re not ditching me.”

Jocelyn groaned and rolled to a stop in front of the house. Nate looked away from it. “Nate, look at the house. I can’t see it.”

“No. We need to get out of here.”

“Nate.”

“No.”

“Damn it, Nate. Would you look at the house? I need to see.”

Nate snorted and stared at the pavement, refusing to give her what she wanted. Jocelyn watched through his eyes as the wind caught the leaves and sent them whirling across the road’s surface in a spiral dance. For once, she wished she could see with her own eyes, but it looked like she’d have to lower herself to begging.

“Please.”

“If we keep doing this, he’s going to come out that door and see us. Then we’re done.”

“I’m done. You’re not involved.”

“Says the woman who’s borrowing my eyes to sort of make her escape—if she’d actually leave the neighborhood.” Nate huffed and glanced at the front door. “Happy?”

Jocelyn put the vehicle in first and began to drive again.

Jake glanced at the door one more time. “You better get this thing going.” Ian stepped out onto the porch and locked onto them. Jocelyn slammed her foot to the floor.

“Eyes front, Nate!”

Here’s the reworked version for a current WIP.

Seven years before…

“Where are we going?”

Jocelyn down shifted. She’d no idea, but she wouldn’t admit it, not to him. Joce was too damned stubborn, a trait they both shared.

Everything looked quiet and the lights were off, but that didn’t mean anything. Since the enforcers didn’t drive, they could still be waiting for her at the house. She could never go home.
She wasn’t ready to face that reality. She was also trying to come up with a reason to ditch him.

She couldn’t. Without him, she couldn’t see. Without him, she couldn’t run.

Jocelyn had been born with the lenses in her eyes fully dilated and was unable to take any light without suffering great pain. It didn’t make her sightless. She used other’s eyes to see the world as she’d been using his eyes to circle the house and it was getting damned old.

“Jocelyn?”

“I don’t know. I’m trying to think.”

“You’re wasting the charge in this vehicle. We need to put as much distance as we can between us and that reaper.”

“Stop, Nate. I’m trying to figure it out.”

“You’re not ditching me.”

Jocelyn groaned and rolled to a stop in front of the house. Nate turned away from it. “Nate, look at the house. I can’t see it.”

“No. We need to get out of here.”

“Nate.”

“No.”

“Would you look at the house? I need to see.”

Nate snorted and stared at the pavement, refusing to give her what she wanted. He knew Jocelyn watched through his eyes as the wind caught the leaves and sent them whirling across the road’s surface in a spiral dance. He could also hear that irritated hitch in her breath that signaled her red-headed temper was about to make an appearance. He continued to stare at the debris, not caring.

“Please.”

“If we keep doing this, he’s going to come out of our house and see us. Then we’re done.”

“I’m done. You’re not involved.”

“Says the woman who’s borrowing my eyes to sort of make her escape—if she’d actually leave the neighborhood.” One last time. Nate huffed and glanced at the front door. “Happy?”

Jocelyn put the vehicle in first and began to drive again.

The door opened and a tall reaper ducked from the entrance and onto the porch. The streetlights flickered and popped off, leaving only a set of red glowing eyes fixed on them like a laser sight.

“You better get this thing going.”

“Eyes front, Nate!” Jocelyn slammed her foot to the floor.

A change in POV and you’ve got a memory of Nate’s past.

As Last Flight of the Ark, also published with Liquid Silver Books, headed to the proof editor, I found myself mentally reviewing the metamorphosis of the story. In its last month it had grown and changed in ways I hadn’t originally imagined. At one point I’d extracted an entire plot thread. It took two weeks to unweave it from various chapters, to get the leaner meaner version that was released with Liquid Silver Books. I worked through Christmas, crammed to get it done before I traveled south to Parris Island for my son’s boot camp graduation and spent countless hours in my car on my lunch break to plug the holes I’d opened.

Chop #1:

He’d gone down to the hold to check the animals and the crew. Everyone appeared a little shaken but fine, until he’d reached the final cage. Frank blinked and rubbed his eyes. He hit the button on his com and opened a channel to the flight deck. “Uh, Captain Deluzio, this is Lieutenant Jeffers.”

“Captain Deluzio, here.”

“You might want to come down to the predator bay. There’s something you’ve got to see.”

“Roger, I’ll be right there.”

Frank stared into the bars at the naked people. They’d been wolves an hour ago. Where did the wolves go? He glanced into the other cages. Wolves. Real wolves, but what was in this cage was anything but animal.

A blonde rose to her feet. As beautiful a woman as he’d ever seen. Long legs, full breasts that didn’t have the slightest sag, platinum hair and the sweetest mouth he’d ever seen. A walking wet-dream. She stumbled toward him and placed her palms against the bars as though her fingers didn’t work, or she was uncertain how they did.

“Hello,” Frank said.

“Olo,” she repeated and cocked her head, holding his gaze so intensely he couldn’t break away. Frost and fire, sunshine and moonlight and Frank suddenly became a believer in love at first sight.

“I’m Frank.”

“I Frunk,” she repeated.

“No, I’m Frank.” He patted his chest then pointed at her. “Who are you?”

She leaned forward and sniffed him. A male behind her rose to his feet and snarled. She swung around and growled in response. He sank back to the ground and rolled to his back. Frank flinched. Dang dude, grow some balls.

The woman turned back around to study him. Her gaze traveled from his boots, stopping at his groin for longer than appropriate and then up to his face. The corner of her mouth curled and a dimple emerged. Frank’s heart skipped and squeezed in his chest.

She pressed tighter to the bars, her breasts protruded through and her nipples were close enough to make more than a polite introduction. Heat washed through his body. He coughed and tried to take his eyes off her. Impossible. His gaze remained on her breasts. “You need some clothes.”

“Clothes?” She drew her brows together, as though she thought nothing of being naked. Then again, there was nothing wrong with what she was wearing. No, there was. She was a chick. No matter how he tried to be disgusted, he couldn’t. Bryant wasn’t going to like this a bit.

“Clothes”, she said softly. Her eyes lit and she reached through the bars to tug on his sleeve.

“Clothes.”

“That’s right. Your boyfriend could use some too.”

Her mouth turned into a full smile, illuminating that perfect face. She pushed on the bars and gave him a pleading look. She was beautiful. Inhumanly beautiful. Frank studied her face and contemplated if he should let her out. She didn’t look dangerous.

Oh hell, why wait for Melissa? He unlocked the latch and the door swung open. She stepped through and stopped a foot from him. She reached up, touched his jaw and moved closer, pressing her naked body against him.

“Clothes.” She tugged on his shirt.

“No. These are mine. I’ll get something to fit you.”

“Mine,” she said and pulled at his top again. She brought both hands up and sandwiched his face between her palms. She sniffed his neck and his cock twitched. “Mine, Frunk.” She obviously had no inhibitions. She pressed closer, grinding her hips into him. None at all. Damn he was going to need to bathe in ice to knock his hard-on down.

It didn’t help that he could sense her interest. Hell, any red-blooded male would have to be blind not to sense it, but he’d caught all the extras a normal man wouldn’t. Her heart pounded staccato in her chest, beating out a primitive thrum that made his body ache. And...he could smell her. Wet. Excited. She ran her hand across the scruff on his jaw, practically inhaling him while she did it. She liked him.

“Frunk,” she whispered and ran her hand down his body to grope his nuts. “Mine.”

“Whoa, hey there.” Frank pulled her hand away. No, not liked, wanted and that knowledge had his pants growing tighter. Her breath grazed his face as though she wanted to kiss him. He closed his eyes and took in her essence, waiting for her lips to touch his. Oh hell, he’d never experimented with the opposite sex before. What could it hurt?

Instead, a soft, wet tongue ran from his chin to his forehead. Frank’s eyes snapped open. What?

“Olo, Frank. I’m Sheba.” Pain rocketed through his head as the back of his skull bounced off the iron bars. Teeth clamped onto his shoulder and punched through flesh and fabric. Seconds later, everything went dark.

Chop #2:

“I can’t believe you let her out,” Melissa snarled. “She’s not human. She’s dangerous.”

“Yeah, I figured that out. After she bashed my head into the side of that cage, bit me and stole my clothes.” Frank slapped a bag of ice against the back of his head. Melissa had offered him a blanket, which he now wore wrapped around his body like a toga. “She looked pretty damn human to me. She even spoke.”

Melissa lifted a brow. “Spoke? What did she say?”

“Olo, Frank. I’m Sheba.”

“She did not.”

“Uh, think again. If that girl was a wolf, that’s a thing of the past. She’s humanoid and a quick learner.”

“Organize a team. We have to find them.”

“I’ll get dressed first.” Frank gathered the blanket around him and headed for the bay

Well, I hope you enjoyed the inside peek. If you’d like a chance to win an e-copy of my erotic urban fantasy romance, Slipping the Past, leave a comment and I’ll pull one name from the hat.

Thanks to my hosts, for letting me guest post and share some of the pieces that didn’t make it into the final novel. I hope to be able to share the stories they truly belong in, in the future.

Best,
D L Jackson

Drawn to the Dark Side with Guest Author Lisa Lane

Thank you so much for having me today, Roxanne. I love this blog, and I’m always up for a chat about vampires in paranormal romance and erotica. It is my pleasure to share with all of you my thoughts on the genre, and I’m excited to have this opportunity also to share a little about my erotic horror trilogy, The Darkness and the Night.

Drawn to the Dark Side

These days, vampires come in all makes and temperaments. Although there still exists the “classic vampire”, there are now tall, dark, and handsome vampires, sexy vampires, sweet vampires, vampires that eat food with their blood, vampires that can’t eat food at all, vampires that drink life-force, vampires that explode into dust in the sunlight, and even vampires that shimmer and sparkle in it. With all of these conflicting and competing mythos floating throughout the literary world, it can be a task to determine the best direction to take in the construction of a new vampire series. As a horror and speculative sci-fi writer, as I considered the impact of introducing yet another erotic, romantic vampire story to the fray, I had to ask myself:

· Is there a market for erotic horror romance?

· With the most popular crazes currently involving vampires that behave more human than monster, will the masses be accepting of something darkly different?

· Is there a place for speculative fiction in the genre?

Finally, after weighing the possibilities, knowing that I would be fighting my way into a niche market no matter which directions I chose to take, I decided that I would make The Darkness and the Night trilogy what I wanted in the genre: dark, gritty, speculative, provocative horror, while painting the details as realistically as I could possibly make them—a Norman Rockwell of literary horror, if you will, using a medium of words. Parts of the stories are disturbing and ugly, but in their ugliness lies a unique beauty that might not be appreciated in any other form. In the ugliness lies insight, genuineness, and heart.

In The Darkness and the Night: Blood and Coffee, protagonist of the series, Karen, finds herself flung into the vampire underworld after the Xavier family, one of the series’ antagonists, uses her in a plot for revenge against her vampire-hunting father. Karen’s transformation tests the limits of her humanity, while also pushing the boundaries between love, hate, lust, and sexual control. When the blood bond between her and the Xavier who turns her, Billy, proves more powerful than both family rivalry and Karen’s contempt for being turned, an entirely new dynamic arises. Moreover, Karen soon finds that she is pregnant (a rarity among vampires) with Billy’s child. The story’s climax comes when the couple fall prey to the dark forces within a nocturnal commune, a hidden valley that one might compare to the Land of the Lotus Eaters in Homer’s Odyssey, one in which humans and vampires alike enter, but never again leave.

In the second book, Cosmic Orgasm (campy name, but with purpose), Karen finds herself a patient in a mental institution, where even she begins to question whether or not all that she has experienced has been nothing more than a psychotic delusion. A series of events proves otherwise, and she reunites with Billy—only to find that he has changed dramatically for the worse. A minor character from Blood and Coffee makes a return as an unexpected hero, and Karen an enemies becomes an ally and, later, her lover, as she moves toward her greatest challenge yet: childbirth.

Book three, Twins of Darkness, follows the upbringing of Karen’s fraternal twins, seemingly human at birth, but far from it. An Astral experience in Cosmic Orgasm, in which Karen makes love to a galaxy, has left one of the twins with nearly god-like abilities, able to travel through time and space, manipulating reality as she sees fit and born with a level of intelligence that far surpasses her infant body. Her twin brother is also deceptively inhuman, and as the two mature, they prove that not all of the sheltering in the world can keep them from coming into their own and following quite terrifyingly in their mother’s footsteps.

So, I ask you, the reader: what do you look for in your erotic or romantic vampire fiction? Do you prefer classic horror, sweet, shimmering re-creations of the mythos, or something entirely different? Leave your thoughts for a chance to win an electronic copy of Twins of Darkness, which has received glowing reviews across the board and has been called “superb” (Cerebral Reviews), “effortless reading” (The Deepening), and “beyond the imagination” (Bitten by Books). Thanks for stopping by, and good luck!

For more information on The Darkness and the Night trilogy, you can check out my erotica page or stop by my blog, or you can go to my author page at Ravenous Romance or Amazon.

So what draws you to the dark side?

One lucky reader has the chance to win a pdf of The Darkness and the Night: Blood and Coffee

To enter just leave a comment on this post with your contact info

Happy reading!

Lisa

Character Naming with Raine Delight

How do you name your characters?

Well that question stumps me each and every time I am asked that. How do I name my characters…well for one thing, my characters have a mind of their own. If I say Character A is named Max, he will turn around and say “My name is Dax, not Max” and frankly over power my muse’s desires. I can try to get a word edgewise in but it is a losing battle. I learned early on to give them free reign on their names and personality traits. I like to be surprised by their comments and desires. One day I was working a WIP (work in progress) and found myself instead of dealing with a vampire like I originally planned, he wanted to be a were-tiger instead. Needless to say after butting heads with him, I found myself agreeing he works better as a tiger, especially if he is a rare white tiger with no pride. Hence forth, my next Devon Falls story, Moonlight & Magic was born and I am currently trying to finish it.

You can find more on it on my website http://authorrainedelight.com/

In my Haunting Magic story (out now at Aspen Mountain Press, Amazon Kindle and other places), I tell a tale of a wolf shifter named Rodrick Dracon. Now he was a fun character to create. He was the playboy of Devon Falls and loved the ladies. But alas, destiny has a way of slapping you in the face when it decided that its time to settle down. When fate picked his mate, the feisty and annoying Jaxon, lots of sparks fly and passion boils over. These two characters struck me when I mentioned them in Fiery Magic as secondary characters. They had so many sparks flying, it was any wonder that their story just had to be told. Here is the cover of it:

Isn’t it gorgeous? I love this cover so much. Besides, who doesn’t want to check out the guys butt while drooling? *laughs*

My inspiration for my characters tends to revolve around Johnny Depp. Anyone who knows me knows I love this man’s acting ability. He plays a wide variety of parts and always seems to deliver a stellar performance each time. So basically all my heroes tend to look like him and go from there. J Though I have to say some things caught my imagination like what would happen if gamma rays from space hit earth and wiped the planet out…what would happen to the few survivors? That made me think and since I was watching POTC with Johnny, I created my Space Pirates- all alpha male, dominant and sexy fun. :-)

So I have a question for you readers, what character’s name was the best you heard or the silliest? I look forward to hearing your answers.

Here is an excerpt of my best selling Devon Falls title, Haunting Magic. You can check out the book trailer at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8G5qDzyllY

ADULT in nature:

Rodrick Dracon is the twin heir to the Dragon Inn. When he finds himself longing for a mate after being footloose and fancy free, he finds himself drawn to the most obnoxious, brassy woman he has ever met: Jaxon Sinclair. She is the one woman who doesn't melt when he goes by or hangs on his every word. She is just aggravating and down right sexy as sin! Soon the sparks fly, passion goes into boiling and Halloween approaches. Can a wolf shifter get this woman to heel before the full moon? Or can Jax turn the tables on this ladies man and tame the wolf?

Excerpt:

Jax was stunned by the clenching of her pussy as he traced his finger down her nose. If she didn’t know better, she could have sworn there was a flare of interest in his eyes; though it could have been that she was moon mazed or something. Jax tried to still the weak kneed response to him touching her as she tried to form an annoying response.

“You can boil water? Oh My God!” Jax looked up at the darkening sky then back at Rod. “Wow the sky hasn’t fallen yet. Did you pay off Heaven or something? Has Hell frozen over and no one told the Devil?”

The smile that played on her lips had him growling low in his throat. Jax didn’t know what to think when Rod yanked her to him and said, “You have a death wish don’t you Jax? You really don’t want me to show you that I can do that and so much more.” The last was said so low and as he nipped her ear, Jax felt her bones turn to mush. He turned her on, no two ways about it and damn it, why him? He has to be the most annoying man on this planet yet he also was sexy as sin and damn it to hell and back, he made her want him with every inch of her being. Trying to shove away from him was like trying to hit a rock with an open palm. He was an immovable object and his eyes, she could have sworn, glowed faintly.

“Will you please let me go, you ass?” Jax tried to keep her voice strong and pissed off but dang it, he was making her stomach do flips every time he nipped her ear. “If you really want to prove to me you can cook, fine. I swear it is like your male ego got in a snit or something.” She huffed and blew her breath out when nothing else seemed to make him let go, though if she was honest with herself, she liked his hands on her body, not like she was going to tell this idiot that. No telling what else he would do with that information.

“Is it possible that I can go grab some food before I die of starvation? I swear if that was your goal tonight, Rod, you are not doing a very good job.” Jax said as she felt his hands glide down her arms then let go, the lack of his touch almost had her keening for more. This attraction she had for him was getting out of hand, especially as she and Rod rub against each other like oil and water.

Her treacherous body leaned into him before she caught herself and as she glared at him, she didn’t know what the hell was going on tonight but for some reason tonight he was determined to drive her insane.

“Go get your take out, Jax, but tomorrow, make no plans for the evening. I got something to prove and frankly, I am more than happy to show you what else I can do besides what you may perceive.”

You can purchase Haunting Magic at the following places:

Aspen Mountain Press:
http://www.aspenmountainpress.com/more-hot-reads/haunting-magic/prod_112.html

Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Devon-Falls-Haunting-Magic-ebook/dp/B002W14EVG/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=digital-text&qid=1259592317&sr=1-2

ArE: http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-devonfallshauntingmagic-184676-142.html

1Romance: http://1romanceebooks.com/erotica/devon-falls-haunting-magic/prod_585.html

Win It Wednesday: Ardeur edited by Laurell K Hamilton

This week I have something extra special- a mid week giveaway.

I don't usually do Win It Wednesdays but this is a special giveaway. Laurell K Hamilton is one of my favorite authors and this collection of essays about her and her Anita Blake series is just awesome.

I love intellectual discussions on the books I read. I have a literary background (having suffered through several honors English and literature classes back in college and high school) and I sometimes miss looking at books and dissecting them, when I normally now read purely for entertainment purposes.

Laurell K Hamilton and Anita Blake brought me back to reading- fiction anyway. For many years I was an avid reader then my life changed and reading wasn't something I had time for. Not unless it involved research, work, or was just your basic magaizne reading. I didn't read mucg fiction anymore. I had gotten bored with what was available I guess.

But I just kept hearing about Anita Blake.

So finally I went to the library and found LKH's books on the shelves. The only Anita Blake book they had was Cerulean Sins. I was shocked, entranced and completely hooked. Finally a book that got me excited about reading again. I finished that book then ordered the entire series and read them in order from then on. And now I read every book that comes out- faithfully.

Laurell K Hamilton brought me back to reading and introduced me to the world that is now known as urban fantasy (ya'll can pretty much thank her for creating this sub genre and giving us the first true kick ass supernatural heroine). You can also thank her for leading me back to the world of paranormal fiction books which eventually led me to create this site. Funny how things work isn't it?

Anyway this book rocks and to showcase that I am offering this wonderful Win it Wednesday giveaway.




Ardeur

14 Writers on the Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter Series

Edited by Laurell K. Hamilton

Laurell K. Hamilton’s Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series is a literary sensation, thanks to its strong female hero, well-fleshed (both literally and literarily) characters and unabashed attitude toward sex. The world Hamilton has created is powerfully compelling and stunningly complex—and it gets deeper and richer, and more perilous, with every book.

Straddling the series’ dominant themes of sex and power, Ardeur gives Anita fans a deeper look into the dynamics, both personal political, that have kept readers fascinated throughout the run of the series. Why is the ardeur the very best thing that could have happened to Anita, personally (aside from all the sex it requires her to have with hot men)? How is Anita’s alternate United States a logical legal extension of our own? And as the series continues, what other bargains might Anita have to make with herself and others in order to keep the people she loves safe from harm?

The book contains these essays:

Giving the Devil Her Due by Nick Mamatas
Girls Gone Wild by Heather Swain
Ambiguous Anita by Lilith Saintcrow
Dating the Monsters by L.Jagi Lamplighter
Bon Rapports by Marella Sands
Mom! Something's Sucking on My Neck! by Cathy Clamp
The Other Side of the Street by Alasdair Stuart
The Domestication of a Vampire Executioner by Natasha Fondren
Ardeur's Purpose by Devon Ellington
Trying the System by Melissa Tatum
Are the Fangs Real? by Mikhail Lyubansky, Ph.D.
Death Becomes Her by Sharon Ashwood
Death's Got Your Back by Vera Nazarian
Showing the Scars by Jacob Clifton

Open to US Shipping

Contest Closes Tuesday April 27 Midnight EST

Winners Announced on Wednesday April 28

+5 entries for being a Fang-tastic Books Follower

+5 entries for blogging about this contest

+5 entries for including a link to this contest on your blog, twitter,
or Facebook

+5 entries for adding my link back button to your blog

+5 for being a @RoxanneRhoads twitter follower

Winner Wednesday

Sherry won the copy of Dark Harmony by Lilly Caine

Anna ♥ and Gabrielle Lee won copies of A Certain Wolfish Charm by Lydia Dare

and

elizabeth won Shadows of Myth and Legend by EJ Stevens

Congrats everyone!

Worldbuilding for the Undead (Or, Do Wraiths Eat Bacon?) with Naomi Clark

Whilst AFTERLIFE was doing the rounds at my writers' group, one key issue that kept coming up was wraith physiology. My main character, Yasmin Stoker, is a wraith who can take either the form of a human being or mist. And this became a huge sticking point, because everyone wanted to know if she had a fully functioning human body when she's in human form. Does she need to eat, sleep, use the toilet, etc? Does she breathe? If she has lungs, a heart, whatever, where do they go when she turns to mist?

And the answer was mostly, I don't actually know. I wrote the first half of this book for Nanowrimo 2007, so at the time it was just a case of "get the words down, sod it if it doesn't make sense!" So I didn't stop to think about whether or not Yasmin had human needs whilst in human form. I know she sleeps (mostly for narrative convenience; a character who's awake 24 hours a day requires a lot more plot than I had at the time). I know she eats human food, but she doesn't need to - it's a comfort thing. The chapter that really sparked off the debate for my writers’ group was one where Yasmin is in bed eating a bacon sandwich. Do wraiths eat bacon? Inquiring minds wanted to know and I had no answers!

Most of the other undead creatures in the book were pretty well developed by that stage in the writing. I knew my vampires, my Lich Lords, my ghouls; how they functioned, what they needed to survive, and what could hurt them. Yasmin was a bit different and I hadn't really figured out all the answers by the time I finished the first draft. Having spent hours agonising over whether or not she had kidney stones and could digest bacon, I came to the conclusion that I might be overthinking things.

But how can you ever be sure? How much detail is too much? Are these the tiny details on which an entire book will rise or fall? Or are they the tiny details that readers will overlook because they accept that we're dealing with supernatural creatures?

I started to set the rules for Yasmin more firmly in place as I redrafted with my group’s feedback, figuring out how much physical damage she could take, what happens to her bacon sandwiches when she turns to mist, and whether a vampire could kill her. And in the end, I think I resolved all the burning questions. I swear though, if I ever have to spend another writers' group meeting trying to explain why vampire sandwiches are not going to happen, I'm scrapping the whole book. It's bacon all the way.

About Author Naomi Clark

Naomi Clark lives in Cambridge and is a mild-mannered office worker by day, but a slightly crazed writer by night. Her short fiction has appeared in ezines from Midnight Times to Dark Fire Fiction. She has a perfectly healthy obsession with giant sea creatures and a preference for vodka-based cocktails. When she's not writing, Naomi is probably either reading or watching 80s cartoon shows, and sometimes she manages to do all three at once. Her debut novel, AFTERLIFE is out now from Damnation Books, and the first of her URBAN WOLF novels, SILVER KISS out now from QueeredFiction.

Visit her livejournal at http://naomi-jay.livejournal.com/

Follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/naomi_jay

Interested in AFTERLIFE?

One lucky reader has the chance to win a pdf copy of

Naomi's ebook AFTERLIFE

All you have to do is leave a comment on this post