Guest Blog and Giveaway with Kathy Kulig

The Nature of the Shapeshifter Beast
by Kathy Kulig

Shapeshifters, vampires, ghosts, demons and angels are making their appearance in paranormal romance. I’ve written about them all (except angels) and readers can’t seem to get enough. I know I don’t get tired of reading them or writing them. As long as writers continue to come up with amazing new worlds, discover new twists into the dark realms, create compelling characters and soul wrenching situations, we’ll be sucked in again and again. Yay!

Shapeshifters can be found in mythology and cultures all around the world. Some of these creatures are harmless, many are potentially malevolent. Here are a few I found interesting. There’s a Leszi, also seen it spelled Leshy. This is a Slavic woodland creature covered in dark hair made out of vines and grass. They can shift into any form—man, bear, wolf, or other forest animal. They’re mischievous and have been known to kidnap women. Japanese Yama-Uba is a hideous old hag that can shift into a beautiful woman to lure her victims. Then she shifts into a mass of snakes and eats her quarry. Sounds like someone’s nightmare. Need a folktale with a little more romance? The Selkie, an Icelandic, Irish and Scottish myth, transform from seal to human. Sadly, they can only have brief contact with humans—a good set up for a romantic tragedy—and then they must return to the sea. Male selkies have great seductive powers over women.

And a couple Norse dragon myths: Lindworm is a serpent-like dragon that stalks the countryside devouring cattle or feasting upon the dead in cemeteries. Nidhogg is a dragon that gnaws at the roots of Yggdrasill, the world tree.

A lot of this information I found in a reference book called “The Cryptopedia, A Dictionary of the Weird, Strange & Downright Bizarre” by Jonathan Maberry & David F. Kramer. This is a great source for stirring up paranormal story ideas.

I’m so impressed by the creativity of paranormal authors who can take an old myth and create a story with a new twist or make up an entirely new one.

Many of my stories have a variety of shapeshifters—a man with a 300 year old Celtic curse shapeshifts into a stage but he can be a man only beneath the moonlight. I’ve used a twist on an ancient Norwegian myth where a person can don the skin of any animal and become that animal by willing it so. In this particular mythology, I’ve had a shapeshifting mountain lion, wolf, bear and leopard. My demons also have the power to shapeshift, an ability mostly used as a disguise to hide their presence on earth. My demons have been a coyote, falcon, wildcat and one has the ability to appear as any other human. Imagine the trouble he can get into.

When I wrote DRAGON WITCH, I wanted to write something different. A friend at work does origami. She travels all over the world to origami conventions. She made me an origami dragon. Funny because I never told her I liked dragons. I have him on my desk at work. Of course, I looked at him and thought dragon shifter! This creature when in human form has a voracious sexual appetite. I set the story on another world, because It has always been my dream to write a SciFi-like story. Then I added another love interest, an interstellar transport Captain—a hunky guy that the biologist/witch heroine had a steamy affair with and she can’t for the life of her forget. Toss them all on this planet in a desperate situation where lives are at stake, and that’s the set up for DRAGON WITCH. I hope you’ll enjoy it, because I had a blast writing it.

BLURB:

Biologist and witch, Jaida Chel combines nature magick with herbal science to protect Kai, the last shapeshifting dragon on her world of Somerled. But when Captain Brayden Stokes reenters her life not only is Kai’s life at stake, but so is Jaida’s secured position in the colony. Brayden and Jaida can’t resist the sexual heat between them, even though she knows a relationship would be doomed. Fleet pilots don’t stay planetside for long.

Jaida is torn between Brayden and her dragon and companion, Kai. When Kai morphs into a human twice a year, his sex drive is ravenous. He must mate for twenty-four hours or die. Unrestrained passion between Kai and Jaida temps Brayden into a forbidden encounter. With Jaida’s sassy, wicked ways, the three cross boundaries, exploring eroticism beyond their imagination. When secrets and betrayals are revealed, Brayden must risk everything for one last chance at love.

BUY link http://www.jasminejade.com/p-8624-dragon-witch.aspx

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Select any ebook (except the new release Dragon Witch) from Kathy’s back list.

Wild Jade, Seducing the Stones, Desert of the Damned or Damned and Desired.

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Guest Blog and Giveaway with Kathy Kulig

Demons and shapeshifters. Why do those creatures of mythology and folklore continue to turn up in sexy romance novels? I think partly because the heroes who possess these traits are the tortured heroes we are drawn to and fall in love with. They usually have a superhuman strength that can be both an asset and a flaw and is an automatic set up for wonderful conflict in relationships and romance novels. There is something forbidden and yet compelling in supernatural creatures. There is no end to the exciting and sensual ways these paranormal beings embrace the dark power of human desire and sexual lust.

Blurb for Damned and Desired:

She’s a demon, he’s a shapeshifting leopard. From their first meeting in the Arizona desert, passion ignites and trouble begins. As a demon, Sakari Lock must harvest lifeforce energy through sexual seductions to sustain her exiled world. But when Sakari meets Brad, she breaks the number one rule of Anartia—don’t get personal with your quarry.

Physician’s assistant Brad Montag is drawn to Sakari’s lustful advances with a blazing desire he can’t explain, unaware of how dangerous she is. No matter how enticing, she’s a complication he doesn’t need until he can conquer his past and regain control of his shapeshifting abilities. Sex this wicked and good can only lead to disaster.

When immortals from an alternate dimension try to free their exiled world, Brad is caught in the middle of a battle that could destroy not only him, but the land he loves.

Buy Link: http://www.jasminejade.com/pm-8075-327-damned-and-desired.aspx
ISBN: 9781419924699

Excerpt:

Aiming the flashlight around the area, he looked for tracks, footprints—human or animal. He saw both. “They were here.”

“Seen enough?” she asked.

He looked toward another group of rocks. “Let’s check that out.”

“No!”

“Why?”

“This place doesn’t feel right.”

He didn’t want to make her feel uncomfortable or scared but his instincts told him there was something here that needed to be investigated.

“Sakari, what aren’t you telling me?”

She didn’t answer.

“All right. I’m telling you. There’s nothing for you to worry about. I need to change one more time and then I promise we’ll go.”

“Brad, no! It’s not safe.”

Brad threw the pelt over his shoulders defiantly and immediately shifted into the leopard. Something was here and he was going to find out what if she wouldn’t tell him. In animal form, he felt that magnetic pull like he had before. With his senses more keen to the environment, his hackles stood out sensing danger. Could it be an electrical storm in the area? He glanced up at the night sky and saw brilliant stars. Not tonight.

Then he heard a scream and smelled the animal before he heard the yip and snarl of another predator.

Coyote.

Spinning around, he crouched in position ready to lunge at his attacker. Coyote leapt onto him with more forced than he’d expect from a skinny animal. The leopard had to out weigh him by eighty pounds or so.

Claws dug into his shoulders and teeth dug into his foreleg. He yelped in pain then rolled and let his weight force Coyote to release him. He knocked the coyote down with his wide paws. Powerful teeth clamped onto the coyote’s back, but the sly creature wrenched free and pinned him on the ground, jaws tight around his throat. In any moment, his throat would be ripped out.

Brad slipped out of his leopard form and felt the teeth of the Coyote at his throat. Son of a bitch.

“Stop it, Dante!”

Coyote was caught off guard and released his grip, gazing down at him. Brad focused and managed to shift again. With his hind legs, the leopard maneuvered in a position and again rolled on top of Coyote. His assailant was powerful and strong but the leopard had muscle and weight on his side.

“Stop it, now! Both of you!” Sakari cried.

Then the leopard sensed another predator. While he had Coyote pinned on the ground, he heard a shriek and saw the flash of wings. He looked up.

A falcon swooped down, talons extended and knocked him off Coyote.

Scrambling to his feet, Coyote prepared to attack the leopard and as he leapt in the air to do so, the falcon swooped down again and clipped Coyote on the ear with its sharp talons. He yipped and rolled away. The leopard started to attack Coyote, then saw the futility of it as the falcon swiftly circled and aimed for him. He backed off.

Both Coyote and the leopard kept their distance to avoid further attacks by the third adversary and occasionally glanced at the falcon overhead. Finally, the falcon landed between them and Sakari appeared, naked and beautiful, her chest heaving as she attempted to catch her breath. She glared at them with a deep frown as if daring them to start fighting again.

“Are you two finished with your pissing contest?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
http://www.kathykulig.com
http://www.kathykulig.blogspot.com

Thanks so much for having me Roxanne!

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