Dark and Delicious Heroes

We love our bad boys, don't we?

Lexxie touched on some of the reasons why I like to read about them and watch them in movies. It's all about the attitude. They are smart, sometimes sophisticated, don't care what others think and basically do what they want to get what they want.

And if a bad boy sets his sights on a girl? Well, we know what comes next...fireworks.

Who doesn't like to watch fireworks?

Cain, from my book, Soul Stealer, is one of my greatest bad guys. He's sexy, smart, and a loner. As the General of the Death Squad, he is required to stand guard as a person's soul rips from their body.  He is not supposed to feel for his victims or listen to silly begging for more time. He's heard and seen it all and nothing phases him.

Until the day he comes to kill Sara, a woman working against him to save lives.

Sara is the one person who gets to him and is the only woman he wishes he could spend more time with. Her goodness touches him and for a moment, he feels. A very bad thing for Death.

A good thing for love.

He will fight demons and all the Powers that Be for her, risking his own demise. Can Sara shred the hard case around his heart?

That's what I love to see--bad boys who have attitude but will let one woman in.

Fireworks.

www.kimberleytroutte.com

It's Not The Vampire You Need To Worry About.

The cast of Criminal Minds 

This month my co-bloggers will write about many different types of creatures. Most scary. And I have to say, I love me a good ghost, werewolf, vampire, bigfoot, or leprechaun story. Most of these critters are, or can be, evil. There is, however, one creature that pales in comparison to the rest. We see these creatures every day at work, school, shops, and restaurants. We see one every time we look in the mirror. As the Pogo quote goes, “We have met the enemy, and he is us.”

Obviously not all humans are evil. Homo sapiens are actually a pretty civilized lot. In spite of how it sometimes seems, most folks go about their business without the need to hurt, maim, or kill. Still, there are plenty of people out there who could give the worst werewolves, vampires, or soul sucking demons a run for their money. These are the two-legged creatures of true evil.

Some of these evil humans blur the line between human and mythology. For example the infamous Vlad Tepes, could possibly have been the inspiration for Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula. His name Dracul or Dracula is translated by some sources as “dragon” and others as “devil” or “son of the devil”. Vlad impaled millions of people alive, and is rumored to have drunk blood. Still, even today, he is considered a hero to his country.

Today we don’t make serial killers official heroes, but there are those who worship these horrible examples of malevolence. There are collectors of serial killer memorabilia. Women want to marry them (serial killers are almost always male). Some of them, like Charles Manson, for instance, have fan clubs. The reason for this gruesome hobby may someday be explained. For now, most just think those involved are somehow mentally ill. Even those of us wouldn’t be caught dead with a lock of a serial killer’s hair, love watching movies like Silence of the Lambs, and TV shows like Criminal Minds.

What’s creepier in the dead of night? When the sound of creaking and moaning reaches for you? Are you more afraid of a vampire, werewolf, demon? Or is the real threat to our being, and our sanity, that the mythological creature might come to life, or that the neighborhood animal torturer just moved up the food chain?

Sleep well tonight, and don’t let the vampires, or whatever, bite.

Cheryel
www.cheryelhutton.com

If you could see my favorites...

Or my recent searches, it just might freak you out a bit. Then again, you are reading a paranormal authors' blog, so maybe not. But I've often wondered what "Big Brother" would think if they would bother hacking into my computer and browsing the history?

Would I become the subject of an FBI watch list? A psychological intervention? Or merely a shake of the head? I'm really not one to judge.

For my last novel -- now sitting in my editor's inbox -- I found I had to look up details regarding a rather gory death. Since I don't have a medical professional in the family, it wasn't a question I felt comfortable just calling up a stranger and asking about. These days with zero tolerance run rampant, you have to be careful. However, I felt rather like a ghoul while trying to find out exactly how long someone could live after having their throat cut.

I told it was gory.

Yes, I've spent hours researching such mundane topics as the type of shoes worn by peasant women in 1700's Ireland. But other topics interest me now that my feet are firmly planted in the present and otherworldly realm of writing. These include the names of predominant demons, for example... and the best way to kill said demons -- or other preternatural creatures. Everyone knows they don't die easily. What would be the fun in that?

I've also searched for werewolf legends; ancient warriors with swords; ghosts; haunted houses; mediums; tarot readers; and dragons... all of them trouping through my computer like a Halloween parade in the making. Now I'm moving on to other gifted individuals and deciding who gets to be immortal and who must die.

A bit god-like? Writing always is. But mostly I'm feeding the imagination. Because where would we be without it?

Meg Allison