So I was working on my new project and decided to include a shapeshifter. I wanted to see what sort of shapeshifter people had an interest in, so I headed over to the Google Keyword Planner and typed in the word "shapeshifter". I expected werewolves, werecats...Actually almost anything other than what came up as the most searched. Reptile Shapeshifters.

Seriously? I mean, ignore the obvious phallic symbolism, snakes are just...Ew! So many have a fear of snakes the condition has it's own name: Ophidiophobia

Now, I could see this if it was referring to dragons, but just everyday reptiles? Is it just me? Am I missing something?

I will admit for those that write erotic romance, this could be an easy transition...But ew!

Anyway, what are your thoughts? Is this an untapped genre just waiting to be exposed? Or are you with me on the ew factor?

And if you want to keep up to date on my newest project which includes zero reptile shapeshifters, you can sign up for my mailing list...Oh, and you get a free book too!

So, now that I'm working on a new project, my assignment every night is to read as much as possible. If you ever want to be a writer, this is the most important thing you can do. So, I've added a few more books to my never-ending TBR pile and started reading Scent of a Mate by Milly Taiden....

Loving it! I'm not even halfway through it and I'm hooked! It's not for the faint of heart or for those that don't like their romance on the more graphic side, but I think it's turning into a very enjoyable read!

Scent of a Mate by Milly Taiden

Mission: Scent a Mate

 
Jordan Alvarez knew that a promise to her best friend involved staking out the local wolf pack’s scenting ceremony and recording the graphic details, but she was the writer and the only one with the balls to finish the task. No one would know that four human women had sneaked proof of their rituals, or at least, that was the plan until Aric Wolfe showed up. 

Mission: Stake a Claim
 
Aric Wolfe knew his baby sister was up to something, and expected her best friend, Jordan, to be in on the chaos. He finally had an opportunity to lay claim to a mate that had been under his nose for years. Jordan’s scent called to both the man and the animal, and he was done fighting the call of the beast. It was time to mark his mate. 

Mission: Survive an Alpha

 
When a good intention creates a problem for the Wolfe family, Jordan finds herself being stalked by a woman intent on claiming Aric as her own. Battle lines will be drawn, love will be put to the test, and Aric will have to fight Jordan’s strong personality to keep her alive. Two alpha hearts seeking control will either find the balance or risk losing their love forever. 

Mature reader warning: Adult content including but not limited to: Violence and raw sexual language and actions. 

***INCLUDES: Bonus short (A Hero Scarred) from Milly writing as April Angel***

Available from: Amazon | Amazon UK | B&N | ARe | Smashwords

Learn More at MillyTaiden.com

Last week I asked readers which sort of heroine they preferred a virginal damsel or an independent wild child. Well, so far the results are almost unanimous.

Drum roll please...

The winner is the independent wild child. It seems readers are ready for a woman that can stand on her own feet. It's okay if she's sowed some wild oats as long as in the end she finds her true love.

Do you agree? Comment below or add your thoughts to the original survey!


Want to participate in more surveys and get a FREE copy of my paranormal romance Possessed? Sign up for my mailing list!

I've been toying with several ideas for my next book and a story is finally taking shape. It looks like my next novel with be part of a series and it will be a paranormal romance. This is the most exciting part of the creative process, everything is new and anything is possible. This is also the most frightening part of the process because...Well, ANYTHING is possible.

My characters are really starting to develop their own personalities, but before it goes to far, I have a question and I hope that you can help me out...

Okay, in all my crazy research for my books, I sometimes come across things that I just have to pass on and this time I've found some good ones.

I came across a story last week about the grave of Timothy Clark Smith. He was burried with a head stone with a window looking down into the grave.Yuck!

The grave is in Evergreen Cemetery and due to Smith's fear of being burried alive he designed his tomb to have a window in the headstone so that people could verify that he was in fact dead and not burried alive.

This fear, known as taphephobia, is a very real thing, possibly brought on in part by Lazarus Syndrome or the spontaneous return of circulation after failed attempts at resuscitation. Though it occures rarely, people fears it enough to have coffins made where a string could be fed through and attached to a bell on the surface so that if they were unlucky enough to be burried alive, they could ring the bell for help.

Smith died in 1893 and was burried in his specially designed tomb with the window looking down the concrete shaft into the coffin squarely at his face. Now, due to moisture and age, you can only see a few inches into the grave, but by all accounts Smith remained dead.

How creepy is that?

So, if you've followed me at all the past couple of weeks, you know I posted a question to readers as to what the most overlooked paranormal creature in literature was. Well, according to the results, everyone would love to see more shape shifters and surprisingly...vampires.

The vampire thing really shocked me. I worried that a certain YA series had killed the vampire genre. I worried that these books and the movies that followed...And then the imitators that followed...had ruined vampires for many years to come, but it doesn't seem like that is the case. Actually, vampires are still a PNR favorite, the only change seems to be a desire for them to return to their sinister roots.

It seems the brooding, sparkling vampire is out and the evil, lure you to your death vampire is back in. I for one love the idea of an undead bad guy, what about you? 


Are you ready for some vampires with real bite?

Okay, so since completing The Soul of the Witch, I've been doing some reading and toying around with some ideas for my next book. This, of course, gets my brain working overtime and I got to wondering what the most underrated paranormal creature in literature was.

Well, since I'm always looking for answers, I put out a survey to my mailing list and to my Facebook followers. The response was amazing!

So far, the leader is the Banshee.

From Wikipedia:

The banshee (/ˈbænʃiː/ ban-shee), from Irish: bean sí [bʲæn ˈʃiː] ("woman of the barrows") is a female spirit in Irish mythology, usually seen as an omen of death and a messenger from the underworld.

In legend, a banshee is a fairy woman who begins to wail if someone is about to die. In Scottish Gaelic mythology, she is known as the bean sìth or bean nighe and is seen washing the bloodstained clothes or armour of those who are about to die. Alleged sightings of banshees have been reported as recently as 1948. Similar beings are also found in Welsh, Norse and American folklore.

In legend, a banshee wails nearby when someone is about to die. There are Irish families who are believed to have banshees attached to them, and whose cries herald the death of a member of that family. Most, though not all, surnames associated with banshees have the Ó or Mac prefix, indicating their name is native to Ireland, not descended from invaders. They were also associated with the Airlie clan. Accounts of banshees go back as far as 1380 with the publication of the Cathreim Thoirdhealbhaigh (Triumphs of Torlough) by Sean mac Craith. Mentions of banshees can also be found in Norman literature of that time.

Traditionally, when a person died a woman would sing a lament (in Irish: caoineadh, [ˈkɰiːnʲə] or [ˈkiːnʲuː], "caoin" meaning "to weep, to wail") at the funeral. These women are referred to as "keeners" and the best keeners would be in high demand. Legend has it that for great Gaelic families – the O'Gradys, the O'Neills, the Ó Longs, the McCnaimhíns, the Ó Briains, the Ó Conchobhairs, and the Caomhánachs – the lament would be sung by a fairy woman; having foresight, she would sing it when a family member died, even if the person had died far away and news of their death had not yet come, so that the wailing of the banshee was the first warning the household had of the death.

The Ó Briains' banshee was thought to have the name of Eevul, and was ruler of 25 other banshees who would always be at her attendance. It is thought that from this myth comes the idea that the wailing of numerous banshees signifies the death of a great person.

In later versions, the banshee might appear before the death and warn the family by wailing. When several banshees appeared at once, it indicated the death of someone great or holy. The tales sometimes recounted that the woman, though called a fairy, was a ghost, often of a specific murdered woman, or a mother who died in childbirth.

Banshees are frequently described as dressed in white or grey, often having long, pale hair which they brush with a silver comb, a detail scholar Patricia Lysaght attributes to confusion with local mermaid myths. This comb detail is also related to the centuries-old traditional romantic Irish story that, if you ever see a comb lying on the ground in Ireland, you must never pick it up, or the banshees (or mermaids – stories vary), having placed it there to lure unsuspecting humans, will spirit such gullible humans away. Other stories portray banshees as dressed in green, red, or black with a grey cloak.

One explanation for the origin of the banshee is in the screech of the Barn owl (Tyto alba). The nocturnal hunter is known for its chilling screech and has long been associated with agricultural activities in Ireland, attracted to the rodent activity around grain stores and barns.

The banshee can appear in a variety of guises. Most often she appears as an ugly, frightening hag, but she can also appear as a stunningly beautiful woman of any age that suits her. In some tales, the figure who first appears to be a banshee or other hag is later revealed to be the Irish battle goddess, the Morrígan.

The banshee may also appear in a variety of other forms, such as that of a hooded crow, stoat, hare and weasel – animals associated in Ireland with witchcraft.

In 1437, King James I of Scotland was approached by an Irish seer who was later identified as a banshee who foretold his murder at the instigation of the Earl of Atholl. There are records of several prophets believed to be incarnate banshees attending the great houses of Ireland and the courts of local Irish kings.

In some parts of Leinster, she is referred to as the bean chaointe (keening woman) whose wail can be so piercing that it shatters glass. In Kerry in the southwest of Ireland, her keen is experienced as a "low, pleasant singing"; in Tyrone in the north, as "the sound of two boards being struck together"; and, on Rathlin Island, as "a thin, screeching sound somewhere between the wail of a woman and the moan of anowl".