Archive for the ‘Fantasy’ Category

Cat Marsters—The Original Sinner: Striker

When I first wrote Striker he was going to be a villain, plain and simple. He had one function: to tempt my heroine, Chalia, away from the man she loved. Striker had varous magical powers and he wasn’t above using them to get what he wanted. When he got angry he’d explode things. Like buildings. People. Cities.

I kinda liked him.

And that was the problem. I wanted him to be the bad guy. I even tried to kill him off. But I couldn’t do it. Well, I did, but no one stays dead for long in my books. At the last count, Striker had been declared legally dead three times. He’s still walking around.

But herein lies the rub. I can’t make him a romantic hero. He kills people for fun. He once cut someone in half, vertically, with a sword made out of fire. Got angry and flattened an entire city. He explodes pickpockets. Kills people for looking at him a bit funny. He’s a psychopath. A proper unhinged nutter. He’s a villain. So why do I like him? Why does everyone else?

Well, he’s hot for one thing. A giant walking pheromone. But we’re not that shallow, are we? He’s funny, for sure—he has a very nice line in sarcasm. He can do anything. I mean quite literally, anything. Travel through time (what, like it’s hard?). Kill immortal beings. Being people back to life. Make it snow, just because Chalia says she likes it.

Is that it? Do we like him because he loves his woman? He’ll quite literally do anything for her, up to and including mass homicide (she’s never asked, but he’s waiting for the opportunity). Making it snow is nothing: when she died he brought her back to life. When she decided she wanted a baby, despite the gods attempting to keep him from procreating by making it physically impossible for the only woman he loved to carry a child (okay, so he can’t do everything—cut the guy a break, he’s a homicidal maniac, not a fertility expert) he travelled in time to change the course of history and befuddled the gods out of noticing until the baby was born.

Or do we feel sympathy for the devil? Striker was, after all, once an ordinary person. A very good-looking, smart, rich, and mischeivous person, but with no more inclination to mass murder than you or me. And then a random accident got him stranded in an alien world for twelve years, all alone and with just a few magical powers lent to him in order to survive. Telling himself every day he’d get back to the woman he’d left behind. Thinking of the one and only night they spent together. Pickling in his own madness. By the time he returned he was lean and hard and strange and cold, and he might still have turned into something resembling a human being were it not for the fact that his One True Love had buggered off and got engaged to someone else, and told him in no uncertain terms that she wanted him out of her life.

So he flattened a city. As you do.

The thing is, he does love Chalia, but that’s about his only redeeming feature. And it’s not much of one. He loves her selfishly, like a child loves. He doesn’t want to share her. It’s kind of hard to figure out whether he really loves his daughter or not—even I’m not entirely sure if he does, or if he just takes care of her because Chalia wants him to. I wrote about Striker’s relationship with his daughter, Chance, in my first Ellora’s Cave book, Almost Human. She doesn’t know what to make of it, and neither does he.

She knows her father is the most evil man in history. That’s going to give a girl quite a complex.

Excerpt from Mad, Bad & Dangerous, available now ffrom Ellora’s Cave.

Was this how Striker had become so terrible, so powerful and so dangerous? Was this why he’d rampaged through Euskara twenty years ago, murdering Magi and stealing their power, flattening cities, roasting people alive—just to mirror his own pain?
What the hell could have hurt such an inhuman man so badly?
He found himself on the ground, back in his human body, staring at the scryer in his palm. It glowed red then the face resolved into Striker’s visage.
“Who the fuck are you?” he asked.
The same shock of fear and disgust ran through Bael, but far less powerfully than it had before. “Why did you do it?” he asked.
“Do what? Who are you?”
“Kett’s— I’m…a friend of Kett’s,” Bael said through the bad taste in his mouth.
“Oh yeah.” Striker’s mouth twisted cruelly. “You ran away.”
“You murdered hundreds of my people.”
Striker shrugged, as if he couldn’t see what the two things had to do with each other.
“Why did you do it? You flattened the city of Vaticano twenty years ago. You stole power and tortured innocent people. Why did you do it?”
Striker shrugged again. “What are you, a groupie? I did it ’cos I wanted to, kid. I enjoyed it. I’d do it again—”
“No, you bloody wouldn’t,” came a female voice, the voice of the brunette at Nuala’s house. Chalia. Chance’s mother…
Understanding stabbed Bael in the heart.
“You did it for her,” he said slowly. “Because she hurt you.” With every word he became more certain, the knowledge creeping into him like fog.
Striker’s face turned to granite.
“Because she did something to you,” Bael went on. “Because she hurt you so badly it screamed inside you, and all you wanted to do was make everyone else feel as much pain as you. To hurt and maim and burn and slash and kill, because that’s what she did to you. And she never stopped you. She stops you now but she didn’t then. And you went on sucking power out of people so you could destroy more and more, bigger and bigger, until you’d destroyed a city and killed thousands—”
A jolt of power suddenly surged through the scryer, like the shock from ungrounded metal, making Bael flinch and lose his thread.
The view on his scryer tilted, as if someone else had taken hold of the device, and Chalia’s face appeared, pale and shocked.
“It was you,” Bael said, and her lovely dark eyes swam with fear and guilt and pain.
“What did you do?” Bael asked her.
Her hand went to her throat, lovely and unlined even twenty years after Striker had burned and destroyed cities in her name.
“I got engaged to someone else,” she said distantly. “Who are you?”
“Baelvar.” The world had narrowed to the scryer in his hand and the anger pulsing through him.
Chalia regarded him through the scryer. “You’re Kett’s mate, yes? The Nasc. With power.”
Bael clenched his fist and looked away.
Striker laughed softly. “What did she do?”
“Someone else,” Bael said.

Bio:

Cat Marsters lives in Essex and belongs to a pride of adored cats. On occasion she can be persuaded to admit ownership of a demon puppy (but not if you suspect your flowers have been trampled). She enjoys watching TV and films that showcase the looks and talents of Richard Armitage, David Tennant and Hugh Jackman, reading books that make her laugh, dyeing her hair, and talking about herself in the third person.
Cat has been writing all her life, but in order to keep herself rich in shoes and chocolate, she’s also worked as an airline check-in agent, video rental clerk, stationery shop assistant, and laboratory technician. She’s still aiming for the fairytale cottage of her childhood dreams, and asks all potential Prince Charmings to apply in writing with pictures of themselves and their Aston Martins.

Buy link: http://www.jasminejade.com/p-8185-mad-bad-dangerous.aspx
Website: http://catmarsters.com
Blog: http://etaknosnhoj.blogspot.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/K8JohnsonAuthor
Facebook: http://facebook.com/catmarsters

Hero, Villain – or the Guy You Simply Want to Throttle?

There are good guys, and there are bad guys. And then there are the guys who are spend so much time doing the right thing by other people, that they’ve got nothing to spare for the rest of their lives. Little details, like sleep, or vacations, or family. Heaven forbid he should spend time relaxing – gasp! – with the heroine.

He’s still a hero: strong, resourceful, protective, willing to give his life for those in his care. Exactly who you want in your life, right?

Wrong. That’s who you want to throttle, if he spends all his energy elsewhere. Where’s the time for a little relationship forming, let alone romance?

Jake, the hero of THE SHADOW GUARD, is just such a workaholic. He’s a homicide cop, the head of his city’s squad. If somebody gets murdered, Jake’s the lucky fellow who gets called out in the middle of the night. The victims’ families call him up at any hour to ask how the investigation’s going. If the judge grants him a short break from testifying in a courtroom, he’ll rush to chase a lead on another case. He hasn’t taken a week’s vacation in years. His only hobby is online gaming, a pastime that permits enjoyment at very strange hours.

Online gaming is also where he first met Astrid, THE SHADOW GUARD’s heroine. Unfortunately for his usual love-‘em-and-leave-‘em style, she’s the widow of a man who adored her. If he wants any kind of long-term relationship with her – even as a fellow guildie to game with – he’ll have to pay attention to her.

Enough that she won’t throttle him.

Coming April 2011 to Kensington Brava

Excerpt from THE SHADOW GUARD by Diane Whiteside, ©2011

“Can you make it to the station by eleven A.M. tomorrow morning, Astrid?” Jake asked.

“What?” Astrid rolled onto one elbow and stared at him. The bedclothes were still jumbled around their ankles, thanks to the last round of sex. Her sweat-streaked, naked body gleamed like an offering to Argos’s gods under the nightlight’s distant glow. Glowing like a pearl, her skin was touched with rose and amethyst from his nibbles. She didn’t look entirely real except for the growing fire in her emerald eyes.

Had they ever flashed at him before? Truly flashed, like fireworks or an old-fashioned gun, which needed fire to set off the gunpowder?

No, that had to be impossible, just like the golden lights he’d seen spinning around him when they had sex.

“Why are you asking me right now about eleven A.M. tomorrow?” Astrid said carefully, clipping her words as if she were handloading a shotgun.

Jake refused to wince. “That will will give me a few hours to clear my desk, then go through my files, and figure out the best place to utilize your services.”

“Utilize my services?” Her breasts heaved, bringing her nipples up toward his mouth.

He kept his gaze steady on her face. If he looked down, he might remember just how responsive they’d been an hour ago and how she’d pulled his head closer to encourage his attentions.

“Jake, it isn’t even one A.M.,” she pointed out. She jerked her thumb at his high-tech alarm clock, which blazed the time brightly enough to compete with the sun and monitored every governmental radio channel, to boot.

“Murder investigations are damn important,” he shot back. Umbrage pushed heat toward his skin and into his voice but he beat it back. He needed to make Astrid, more than anybody else, understand. “Murders happen every hour of the day and night. They need to be solved fast before the killer escapes.”

“Jake.” Astrid laughed as if she couldn’t find words, the sound sharp as water erupting from a hot skillet. “Jake, when was the last time you went for twelve hours without thinking about your job?”

“What does that have to do with this?” He gaped at her, genuinely astonished.

“Come on, Jake, you can tell me.” Her voice softened to an irresistible lure.

“Not since I became a homicide cop. So what?” He’d never admitted this much to the departmental shrink.

“It’s the middle of the night, you have a naked woman in your bed who’s very willing to have sex with you–and you want to talk about your job?” She ran her fingers lightly up his thigh and rested her hand on the old bullet wound in his hip. “Does this strike you as maybe a little odd?”

“Not really.” He shrugged but kept watching her, torn between irritation and the urge to claim her. Better not mention how often the other sergeants teased him about always being online to the station.

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Bio:
By day, Diane Whiteside builds and designs computer systems for the federal government. By night, she escapes into a world of alpha males and the unique women who turn their lives upside down, whether the setting is historical, contemporary, or time traveling somewhere in between. Diane is thrilled and grateful readers enjoy these escapades as much as she does. She invites fans to visit her website at www.dianewhiteside.com, where they can also contact her.

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The Shadow Guard – April 2011
Excerpt

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Female Fantasies-

What they are and why some need to be reintroduced into the public mind

By-Cynnara Tregarth

When Selena asked me to write a topic for discussion, at the time the group was talking about fantasies. What struck me is often we hear of only a few of the top fantasies about sex that women have. Some have a taboo status placed upon them and today, I plan to rip that status and throw it away. Why? Because as long as sex is consensual and the woman is the one who wants it- then there’s no reason for people to think ill of it. Sex is healthy, sexual fantasy is fantastic. So that said, let’s talk about the top fantasies for women.

1. Threesome with two men- that’s right, the idea of two men pleasuring a woman is a top fantasy. More importantly, if the men are heterosexual, it makes the sex all about her. For women, this fantasy becomes something forbidden because of the love factor. But between consenting adults and following the rules in play, it can be a great sexual fantasy come to life. Why is it a deep fantasy? Most women can’t think of bringing another man into their beds if they have a spouse or significant other. Yet, the idea of being pleasured by two men, having them desire you to please them as they do so to you is completely intoxicating. As someone who has indulged in this fantasy, let me tell you, it’s one that if you have the chance- you should do so- at least once in your life.

2. Threesome with another woman- Believe it or not, this is a popular fantasy. It’s not because a woman’s bisexual, but because she is bi-curious. The idea of two women and a male together is a normal male fantasy, but at the same time, the idea of two women sharing a male, taking turns pleasing him and helping each other along in the process is a great fantasy. What’s more important, most times, the man gets to sit on the sideline watching while the two women pleasure each other first, learning what turns each other and themselves on at the same time. You almost feel for the male, except there’s titillation factor we’ll talk about later.

3. Exhibition- It’s later and here we go. There’s something about being an exhibitionist that is both forbidden but fantastic. It’s the idea of stripping for your lover, showcasing yourself for undivided attention in a sexual manner that turns women and men both on. For most women, they would never consider publicly exposing themselves in such a manner, but in private- it’s a turn on like none other. If you’re a male, encourage your woman to strip for you. Encourage her to lap dance for you, making her feel like a sexy dancer seducing the man she’s chosen for the night. The problem with this is most of us women have self esteem issues and we need encouragement to let out our inner porn star. Once it’s out though, be warned, we might go from the bedroom to the living room. Ladies, take a chance on this fantasy- the rewards are great and the risk, honestly, is minimal when done in the privacy of your own home.

4. Voyeurism- We love to watch hot, raunchy sex. In fact, though we might make noises about porn, we actually enjoy a good portion of it. For women, it’s not just the visual titillation that gets us worked up and ready for a round of hot sex. It’s the idea of watching the seduction, watching the act itself and the emotions showing on the lovers’ faces that gets us wanting some of that goodness for ourselves. This fantasy is way underdone in fiction because many people don’t know how to convey the sexual tension for the woman watching the scene. Many women don’t just watch the scene, but engage in masturbation as well. With the idea of exhibitionism, the idea of watching sex excites us, we are too often told we’re not supposed to be as visual oriented as men are—but oh well, it happens anyway. Bring on the peep shows!

5. Sex with a Stranger- Believe it or not, this is a huge fantasy that seems to have gone out of disfavor of late. Why? I’m not sure, though there is the fear of sexually transmitted diseases and such. In the romantic fiction world, one of the best series done by various authors was the Wrong Bed series by Harlequin. The reason I enjoyed it? It allowed me to enjoy the idea of having sex with a stranger and slowly falling in love with him once I’ve connected with him beyond that one night stand. For most women, it’s the ultimate fantasy- sex with someone we might admire- a rock star, a movie star, an author. The idea is we know of them but we don’t know them. It’s a turn on like none other. Yes, we love having sex with our significant others, but the idea for one night of hot sex with someone we might never see again, it’s the ultimate in uninhibited sex. Seriously- when you know you’re never going to see this person again, you let that wild side out and it can be the most amazing time in your life. I wish more women would take the time to experience this either in person or vicariously through great romance novels. It gets one stimulated and ready to pounce on that person you love as they walk through the doorway.

6. Role-Playing- I lumped this together in one area because there are many variations on a theme in this category of fantasy. From the teacher/student to the boss/secretary, the idea here is to be someone else and have passionate sex with few limitations. Though we know that teacher/student relationships are taboo, the idea here is the fantasy of seducing someone in power. It’s dressing up in the short plaid skirt, the tight white top and pretending to faun over the teacher trying to teach you physics to being the tight-laced boss in form-fitting skirt and jacket and having a male secretary do everything necessary to get you out of that outfit, the fun is in the idea of breaking the rules without really breaking the rules. We love to imagine and pretend we’re someone else. It’s what we do when we read fiction novels. With sexual role-playing, we’re putting that pretend into a semi-reality that leads to sexual fulfillment for both people involved.

7. Being Dominated (Sexual submissive) – Most women fantasize about having a man sweep them off their feet, tell them how to please them, and to pleasure them however the male wants to. We want to submit and not always be the balancer of everything. We want to give in and be told what to do, how to do it, and leave the sexual fulfillment up to someone else to think on. For most women, they perceive this fantasy as being a slave of love, being pleasured and bringing pleasure to their lover. This storyline is very popular currently in erotic romance and for good reason- women love alpha males and how they care for those they love. There’s something about being claimed and possessed that reduces a woman to goo sexually. We admit it—we like being made into sexual goo. Especially when it comes with multiple orgasms.

8. Dominating another (Sexual Dominant) – This fantasy hasn’t received its just due in the erotic romance world. There are damn good authors who write fem-dom romance- Joey Hill, Lena Austin to name two, that make you want to demand your orgasms and tell the lover in your life that they don’t get any release until you get yours. That’s right; we’re talking about female sexual dominants. We have this fantasy in our mind and in our soul. It’s not about taking control everywhere in life- it’s taking control in the bedroom and demanding our orgasms and for the submissive to please us in the ways we determine will be pleasing to both of us. It’s about commanding respect, telling our lover exactly what we want and reinforcing it with strength of character and toys. It’s about bringing pleasure to us and our lover by being the one to direct the action. This means before you get to have your orgasm—we get quite a few of our own. This is one fantasy that needs to be brought back and in force.

9. Rape- This is a taboo fantasy to the umpteenth degree. The weird thing, it’s one of my favourite fantasies and it is so for many other women as well. Why? Why is the idea of having our power and our sex taken from us such a thrill? Because even in our fantasies, it’s still done with mutual consent. It’s a fantasy usually in the form of someone we trust pretending to be a stranger or finally not taking “no” for an answer. It’s the idea of being forced to do those things we find kinky and erotic but are too afraid to initiate them on our own. We’re not condoning true rape, but it’s the concept of it- the idea of having your will taken from you, to have your deepest and darkest sexual desires to be brought out and forced upon you—that’s what makes it a deep abiding fantasy for most women. In fact, what makes it more unique is that it’s something we’d only consider doing with someone we absolutely trusted and no one else. This fantasy is one that has to be written correctly to have the evocative impact that is both emotionally satisfying and sexually arousing—something that many authors fear to try because of the complexity of the issue and its taboo status. For me, this taboo so needs to be broken.

These fantasies are the kinds that women have daily. Some are more prominent in our mindsets than others. Some are hidden away because women aren’t supposed to enjoy it. But we do. It’s why we’re a growing segment in the pornography industry- demanding porn with plot and stories that satisfy our sexual fantasies, not just men’s. Notice that these fantasies can be done in a variety of ways, thus appealing to all women regardless of age, ethnicity, health, or beliefs. These are fantasies that allow us to fulfill our needs as women and to make them taboo because of the excesses of society is just wrong.

I for one would enjoy seeing more stories dealing with fem-dom. I’d love to see a well done story with a controlled, consensual rape fantasy that both titillates and distinguishes itself from true rape. Fantasies are just that—the acting out of things we know can’t be done in real life, but under the guise of “Let’s pretend” and with people we trust and care for- we can indulge in role-play and other fun things that will free us sexually and allow our creativity as a person to grow.

Female fantasies often take second stage behind men’s because our society is male-oriented. That’s slowly changing so that things like sex toys, porn, and more are evolving towards equality between the sexes. It’s important that we also indulge in our fantasies just as much as we allow him to have his. Why? Because it’s a good mental health process and in the long run- it gives us the urge to push further, to do more and to realize we’re worth it. We truly are.

Cynnara Tregarth
www.cynnara.com
www.leagueofamazingwriters.com