If I had to choose one aspect of writing paranormal or urban fantasy romance as my favorite, I’d have to say the world-building. All authors, regardless of genre or sub-genre, engage in world-building to some degree, but those of us who write paranormal, urban fantasy, futuristic and sci-fi novels? World-building on steroids!
One of the things that appealed about building the Underbelly Chronicles’ world was answering “What if?” questions. When writing Taste Me, one of the first matters I had to consider was my characters’ origin story. If I was going to propose that mythological creatures were real—and I was—how did they come to exist in the first place? Did they evolve here, alongside humanity, or did they come from someplace else entirely? I found the scope of the latter idea to be much more fertile ground from a story-telling perspective. What if, long ago, a spaceship crashed here, marooning the survivors? What if, given the behavior they observed in the local population, they influenced our history and mythology so they could coexist with the locals, hiding in plain sight?
The survivors—incubi, succubi, sirens, Valkyrie, vamps, werewolves and faeries—all have biological strengths and weaknesses that prevent any one species from becoming too dominant. In the Underbelly world, Valkyrie are gloriously physical creatures, possessing hyperactive metabolic, adrenal and hormonal systems and living by the adage, “Food, fight, f*ck”—but their body chemistry gets seriously out of whack if they can’t expend all that excess energy. My vampires are allergic to UV rays, eat food, and yes, drink blood—only because it’s a biological imperative. They cannot ‘make’ other vampires with their bite, but biting—and being bitten—are highly erotic. They possess massive personal glamour, and the strongest among them can influence others’ thoughts—unless they’re dealing with a species with innate buffers, like the faeries. Physically tending toward frailty, faeries compensate with strong empathic powers, and they’re revered as healers, therapists and artisans. Werewolves, the only shape shifters in the Underbelly Chronicles world, give the Valkyrie a run for their money in the physicality department. They are vocal, exuberant, and can shift to lupine form at will. Incubi and succubi must absorb emotional energy for sustenance, and emit pheromones which render them sexually irresistible. Sirens manipulate and amplify emotional energy with their voices. All the species share enough of a genetic base that they can mate with and reproduce with each other—and they have, for centuries.
Given the characters of the Underbelly Chronicles share the planet with humans, they can’t remain entirely separate from us. They have human friends, they have jobs, but their number one priority is keeping their true origins secret. They are some aspects of earth culture they’ve completely assimilated into, but others that are distinctly separate: their ruling council, hospitals, their justice system, their spiritual beliefs, and cultural institutions, including definitions of romantic and family relationships which are rather more flexible than ours.
As a writer, I get to create species, cultures, institutions, and re-interpret history to suit my own purposes. I get to visit this world I’ve created, again and again, every day I write. What could be more fun?
Read an excerpt! (mature readers only)
TASTE ME BY TAMARA HOGAN – IN STORES MARCH 2011
One of the things that appealed about building the Underbelly Chronicles’ world was answering “What if?” questions. When writing Taste Me, one of the first matters I had to consider was my characters’ origin story. If I was going to propose that mythological creatures were real—and I was—how did they come to exist in the first place? Did they evolve here, alongside humanity, or did they come from someplace else entirely? I found the scope of the latter idea to be much more fertile ground from a story-telling perspective. What if, long ago, a spaceship crashed here, marooning the survivors? What if, given the behavior they observed in the local population, they influenced our history and mythology so they could coexist with the locals, hiding in plain sight?
The survivors—incubi, succubi, sirens, Valkyrie, vamps, werewolves and faeries—all have biological strengths and weaknesses that prevent any one species from becoming too dominant. In the Underbelly world, Valkyrie are gloriously physical creatures, possessing hyperactive metabolic, adrenal and hormonal systems and living by the adage, “Food, fight, f*ck”—but their body chemistry gets seriously out of whack if they can’t expend all that excess energy. My vampires are allergic to UV rays, eat food, and yes, drink blood—only because it’s a biological imperative. They cannot ‘make’ other vampires with their bite, but biting—and being bitten—are highly erotic. They possess massive personal glamour, and the strongest among them can influence others’ thoughts—unless they’re dealing with a species with innate buffers, like the faeries. Physically tending toward frailty, faeries compensate with strong empathic powers, and they’re revered as healers, therapists and artisans. Werewolves, the only shape shifters in the Underbelly Chronicles world, give the Valkyrie a run for their money in the physicality department. They are vocal, exuberant, and can shift to lupine form at will. Incubi and succubi must absorb emotional energy for sustenance, and emit pheromones which render them sexually irresistible. Sirens manipulate and amplify emotional energy with their voices. All the species share enough of a genetic base that they can mate with and reproduce with each other—and they have, for centuries.
Given the characters of the Underbelly Chronicles share the planet with humans, they can’t remain entirely separate from us. They have human friends, they have jobs, but their number one priority is keeping their true origins secret. They are some aspects of earth culture they’ve completely assimilated into, but others that are distinctly separate: their ruling council, hospitals, their justice system, their spiritual beliefs, and cultural institutions, including definitions of romantic and family relationships which are rather more flexible than ours.
As a writer, I get to create species, cultures, institutions, and re-interpret history to suit my own purposes. I get to visit this world I’ve created, again and again, every day I write. What could be more fun?
Read an excerpt! (mature readers only)
TASTE ME BY TAMARA HOGAN – IN STORES MARCH 2011
Hot, sexy urban fantasy romance by a new author with talent to burn…
He Wants Her So Badly He Can Taste It…
Ever since their tempestuous fling years ago, incubus Lukas Sebastiani has known that siren Scarlett Fontaine was meant to be his. But when you’re a sex demon with an insatiable desire, relationships are way more than complicated…
Her Siren Songs Bring Men to Their Knees…
Rock star Scarlett Fontaine desperately needs a break after a grueling tour. But with murder and mayhem surrounding her band, and the one man she never thought to see again put to the task of protecting her, life is going to be anything but peaceful…
Every encounter between them creates more turmoil—and heat—until Scarlett pushes Lukas to the boiling point, and unleashes forces that go way beyond anything she can hope to control…
Her Siren Songs Bring Men to Their Knees…
Rock star Scarlett Fontaine desperately needs a break after a grueling tour. But with murder and mayhem surrounding her band, and the one man she never thought to see again put to the task of protecting her, life is going to be anything but peaceful…
Every encounter between them creates more turmoil—and heat—until Scarlett pushes Lukas to the boiling point, and unleashes forces that go way beyond anything she can hope to control…
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Tamara Hogan loathes cold and snow, but nonetheless lives in the Minneapolis exurbs with her partner Mark and two naughty cats. When she’s not telecommuting as a quality and process engineer for a global networking company, she writes urban fantasy with a sci-fi twist. Taste Me was a 2009 Daphne Paranormal Winner and Golden Heart paranormal finalist under the title Underbelly. For more information, please visit http://www.tamarahogan.com/ .
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