Shifter Membership Application Process

[This humourous post is inspired by a conversation with my husband wondering when, exactly, dragons became shifters instead of purely mythological creatures.]

Setting: A dignified library full of law tomes. A silver-haired Alpha werewolf enters. He uses a cane, but looks fully capable of using said cane as a weapon. His eyes are shrewd. With him is a stylish middle-aged female lawyer in a blue business suit and skirt. Her smile is rather... sharp. The old alpha sits, the lawyer consults a stack of official-looking papers.

Old Alpha: I remember back in the day when the only shifters were werewolves. We didn't call it the Shifter Council either. It was the Werewolf Council, pure and simple. Sometimes we'd get a vampire who could turn into a bat, but we kicked their asses.

Lawyer: I don't believe vampires turn into bats anymore. Nowadays the authors usually give them mind powers.

Old Alpha: Because we kicked their asses!

Lawyer (rolls eyes)

Old Alpha: I didn't mind so much the weretigers and werelions--that Curran fellow is a Predator--but when did dragons become weres?

Lawyer: Shifters. And at least eight years ago.

Old Alpha (sigh): Who's on the docket tonight? Mongooses? Were-dolphins? Were-octopuses?

Lawyer, straight-faced: Were-mongooses are in. Curran vouched for them and were-hyenas. Tonight we have a junior applicant. The form says siren.

Old Alpha: Well, send her in. (Pause while a handsome young man walks in) It's a him. What will these authors think of next? All right young man, speak up. What's your name?

Siren: Ryan Sullivan, sir. I'm from Nicole Luiken's young adult novel Through Fire & Sea.

Old Alpha: And what form do you shift into? A fire truck?

Siren: No, sir. Merman. Half-man, half-dolphin.

Old Alpha: No half-forms allowed.

Siren: But--

Old Alpha: Next! (After the siren leaves the room) How did he get on the docket? Mermen were ruled out years ago.

Lawyer: Sorry, sir. His author appears to have given him a silver tongue.

Old Alpha: Looked red to me.

Lawyer: A figurative silver tongue, sir. He's very persuasive.

Old Alpha: Damnfool authors. Who's next?

Lawyer: Ah, another applicant from the same author's series, book two this time. He claims to be a gargoyle.

Old Alpha: He changes into a statue? That's ridiculous.

Lawyer: I believe he's more of a rock-man. (She signals and the next applicant enters, a boy almost identical to the siren who just left.)

Old Alpha: Weren't you just in here?

Gargoyle: No, sir. That was my otherself. My name is Jasper.

Old Alpha, waves a hand: Demonstrate your form.

(The young man transform into a gargoyle made of red jasper stone: a tall humanoid with fangs and claws.)

Old Alpha, frowning: It's not an animal form.

Lawyer: The new law says 'shifter'. And he does shift form. He has claws and fangs.

Old Alpha: But no tail! I rule against admission.

Lawyer: But sir, were-bears don't have much for tails and we let them in years ago.

Old Alpha: We did?

Lawyer: Yes, sir. Sherrilyn Kenyon made a strong case. And Fang Kattalakis vouched for them.

Old Alpha: Fine! Provisional membership granted. Anyone else?

Lawyer: A phantom. Same author. He can levitate and become invisible.

Old Alpha: For the love of the moon, no! Tell him to try the Superheroes Guild next door. They'll let in anybody.

There is one True World, and then there are the four mirror worlds: fire, water, air, and stone. And each has a magic of its own…
In the Fire World, seventeen-year-old Leah is the illegitimate daughter of one of the realm’s most powerful lords. She’s hot-blooded—able to communicate with the tempestuous volcano gods. But she has another gift…the ability to Call her twin “Otherselves” on other worlds.
Holly resides in the Water World—our world. When she’s called by Leah from the Fire World, she nearly drowns. Suddenly the world Holly thought she knew is filled with secrets, magic…and deadly peril.
For a malevolent force seeks to destroy the mirror worlds. And as Leah and Holly are swept up in the tides of chaos and danger, they have only one choice to save the mirror worlds—to shatter every rule they’ve ever known…

Buy links

When the Skeptic Became the Believer

For most of my life I didn't believe in ghosts. That changed back in 2008 when I went on vacation in Vermont.

During the summers, I take a "self-cation". Just me, myself, and I. A stress-reducing week to see parts of the US I'd never seen. Plus I take copious notes for forthcoming books.

Vermont is one of the loveliest states I'd ever visited. My primary goal was to see as many of its covered bridges as possible.

One of the most haunted bridges is Emily's Bridge. I reached it near the end of one long day, then went into town to find a motel.

That night, I woke myself around 4 a.m. screaming, "Who are you?" I can still feel the cold hand that had lifted mine high over my head. A hand that had released me the moment I was awakened.

My heart was pounding so hard, I couldn't go back to sleep. I was terrified that hand would return, or worse.

Eventually, around seven, I finally gave up and crawled out of bed. Still groggy, I thought a shower would help. I set my bottles of shampoo and conditioner near the tub, and tried to erase the memory of that night underneath the spray. As I washed my hair, I thought I heard a thump, but I knew I was alone, and I knew my door was locked and bolted. However, when I went to reach for the conditioner, it was no longer where I'd set it. Thinking I must have accidentally knocked it over, I got out of the shower to look for it.

It was sitting in the middle of the bedroom floor. And it was standing straight-up...as if someone had placed it there. I knew that if I'd knocked the bottle off, it could have possibly rolled that far, but there was no way in hell it could have sat itself upright.

Needless to say, from that moment on, my skepticism evaporated. And to this day, although I never thought the ghost or spirit that was attracted to me meant me any harm, I do think it was playing with me.

It's an experience I'll never forget.
***

Now Available as an Audio Book!

ZONATON
Sensuous Sci-Fi Romance
Narrated by Audrey Lusk
Length: 6 hrs, 1 min

She was the child of his heart. Then she grew up to become the love of his life.

A hundred years ago, the last people of Earth landed on planet AR617b. It was their only hope after being forced to flee the dead planet that was once their ancestral home.

The native inhabitants of AR617b, known as gerons, are sentient creatures that resemble a cross between dragons and griffins of old Earth lore. When they initially tried to destroy the settlers, a deal was made to ensure both species' survival. It was decided that each year, every five-year-old human child must take The Walk across a hundred meter field. If they don't stop or run, they will arrive safely on the other side, and be allowed to grow up and have families of their own. But if they break the rule, the gerons will kill them. Unless, by a strange quirk of fate, a geron decides to Pair with the child, taking and raising the human as its own.

 

Emmala took The Walk, and found herself adopted by one of the older gerons, an immense silvery-white creature named Zonaton. For the next fifteen years, he cared for her, protected her, and loved her. But now Emmala's real family wants her back, and they will do everything they can to have her returned, even if it means killing Zonaton, and starting an all-out war with the gerons.

 

What neither the settlers nor gerons realize is that there is another alien species watching and waiting for the two combatants to go into battle. Because when they do, that will be the aliens’ cue to destroy everyone and claim AR617b for their own.

Warning! Contains green fire, arrogant assholes, plunderberries, child abuse, rectangular spaceships, shadows on the wall, and a love so great, it defies death.

Click here for excerpt and buy links.

The Lure of Dragons

What is it about dragons that appeal to us? Is it the mystique because we have no idea if such creatures actually existed? Or is it because they're mostly associated with the medieval period, which we've come to romanticize these past few decades?

For hundreds of years, we've been enamored of these fire-breathing, flying behemoths. You can find dragons on artifacts, in paintings, and on icons. They're on tapestries and wood carvings, and you can find them on armor.

Hollywood has given us a whole slew of dragon movies in the past, including the more recent How to Train Your Dragon. We collect dragon artwork, jewelry, and clothing. We buy dragon candles, dragon toys, stuffed dragon animals, and all sorts of knick-knacks (like my specially made glass dragon seen here.)

And now, romance authors (yours truly included) have brought them into mainstream fiction.

The most popular way dragons have invaded romance fiction is as shape shifters - man changing into dragon form, and back. There are also stories where the dragons "share" souls with humans.

What is about dragons that appeal to you?

1. What's not to love about something so big and powerful?
2. They can spout fire from their mouths, dude!
3. Hey, if it can fly, can it carry me on its back?
4. Give me a hot guy who can be my personal dragon bodyguard!

* * *
If you like dragon stories, check out the following!

 Her dragon protector. LINK.

 A dragon shifter. LINK.

 A dragon's sacrifice. LINK.

The Appeal of Dragons - Power and Sentience

I love dragons. I mean, immensely powerful beings with the ability to fly, who can fireball their enemy, but are so layered in scaly armor they’re practically unkillable (and often immortal) are already awesome. Add in magic and I’m SO on board.

The traditional image of the dragon as a monster and a powerful foe, razing villages and terrorizing innocent maidens, was badass enough, but where I really get interested is when sentience is added to the sauce. It fires my imagination when the dragon isn’t a dumb beast, though isn’t necessarily human either but rather has its own alien intelligence. In those cases, conversation with the dragon changes everything and can tip the gameboard in interesting ways, upsetting everything the hero/heroine thought they knew.

Here’s an excerpt from Through Fire & Sea of THAT MOMENT when Leah discovers the dragon is more than a ravening beast.

 

Leah woke in the middle of the night.  Sweating, she plucked at her nightgown’s neckline, trying to cool herself.  Did she have a fever?  But she didn’t feel ill, only hot like—

Gideon.

Her veins throbbed, and she knew he needed her.  Had the dragon hurt him?  Sharp anxiety sent her scrambling out of bed.  The faint glow from the hypocaust guided her down the hall to the stairs.

Once she gained the second floor, she threaded her way to the corner alcove.  Silvery moonlight bounced off the Four Worlds mirror as she squirmed underneath.  

Fear for Gideon's safety spurred her to attempt the ladder climb in the dark.  Her foot slipped once, but she hauled herself over the lip of rock.

Breath laboring, she unbarred the door.  Heat rolled over her when it swung open. 

“Gideon?” 

In the dark she saw the great diamond eyes first, then the gleam of black scales.  Even with its wings folded, it filled the fifteen-foot window.

“Where's Gideon?” she asked.

The dragon tilted its wedge-shaped head and opened its jaws, as if trying to speak.  Wet steam bathed her face.

Madness overcame her.  “Where's Gideon?”  She stabbed a finger at his empty bed.  “Gideon.  Where is he?  If you've hurt him, I’ll kill you,” she vowed.

The huge beast ducked its head as if chastened.  One corner of her mind wondered why it hadn't scorched her already, but she kept on.  “You should be ashamed of yourself.”  She dashed away tears.

The dragon moaned.

Staring into its eyes, Leah had the strangest conviction that it wanted something from her beyond bones to crunch.  

“What is it?” she asked in a more reasonable voice.  “Is something wrong with Gideon?  Do you need my help?”

In answer it touched the base of its long neck with one front claw.

Incredulity filled Leah.  “You want me to ride on your back?”

The dragon stared at her with unblinking eyes, but Leah felt a pulse of heat that seemed to mean, Yes.

Gideon needed her. As if in a dream, she set her hand on the dragon's side. Up close she could see that its scales were overlapping triangles. They felt hard and slippery, but her bare feet found enough friction to ascend its leg to the shoulder. She swung one leg over the knobby ridge of its spine, then adjusted her nightgown in a vain effort to get more comfortable. A dragon wasn't at all like a mule.

She cleared her throat.  “I’m ready.”

With an agile twist the dragon flung itself off the window ledge.  Leah screamed as the ground rushed up—

Then its membraneous wings snapped open, and their fall became a glide.  Three wingbeats took them high into the night sky.  The stars shone crisp and cold.

Frigid air whistled past Leah’s face, contrasting with the dragon's tremendous heat.  

The dragon banked left, and Leah smiled with delight.  Did Gideon do this every night?  Ride the dragon?  

Shivering, she remembered her purpose.  “Take me to Gideon,” she shouted into the wind.

She couldn't be sure the dragon understood, but its wings beat harder, carving a path through the night.  

  

There is one True World, and then there are the four mirror worlds: fire, water, air, and stone. And each has a magic of its own... 

In the Fire World, seventeen-year-old Leah is the illegitimate daughter of one of the realm's most powerful lords. She's hot-blooded - able to communicate with the tempestuous volcano gods. But she has another gift...the ability to Call her twin "Otherselves" on other worlds.

Holly resides in the Water World - our world. When she's called by Leah from the Fire World, she nearly drowns. Suddenly the world Holly thought she knew is filled with secrets, magic...and deadly peril.
For a malevolent force seeks to destroy the mirror worlds. And as Leah and Holly are swept up in the tides of chaos and danger, they have only one choice to save the mirror worlds - to shatter every rule they've ever known...

Buy Links: 

What are your favorite dragon moments?

Will You Survive the Fire?

I'd be hard pressed to pick my favorite mythological creature, but dragons would definitely rank waaaaay up there.  I love them because they're so fierce and wild.  If their fire or poison doesn't get you, their teeth and claws will. Mix in some magic and I'm soooo there!

In fact, I built a whole fantasy culture based on dragons. Their gods are dragons and the lucky (or unlucky ones, depending on who you ask) ones can actually shift into dragons.  The first dragon I can remember writing, Chanda the White, lives in this world and she's definitely the most fearsome.  She's been cursed for so long that she doesn't even remember what it's like to be a human.

Until a lone warrior comes to her lair with magic in his blood.

For a chance to win a copy of Survive My Fire - or the other Keldari Fire book, The Fire Within - comment on this post with why you love dragons too.  I'll pick a commenter to win their choice of either book.

* ~ *

I scented him in the arid noon.  Heat waves shimmered his two-legged shape in my slit-eyed glare.  Who dared encroach on my domain?

It was too hot to stir from the cave, even for me, but the warrior's scent tormented me.  Sweat and musk, muscle and pride, oh, how tasty, how divine a feast.  Miles away and on foot, he wouldn’t reach my lair until dusk.

Sluggish, I dozed.  Dreams tormented me in the roasting heat of afternoon, memories from centuries ago of my life before the curse.  Rage crawled in the dark secret fissures of my heart, a fire stoked hour by hour.  Trapped in this prison of wing, scale, and claw, I hated that warrior. 

I would tear him limb from limb.  Shred his skin and lick his spicy blood from the unforgiving sands.  Crack bone to feast on his marrow.  I would dine on his fear, shred his dreams and char his most secret hopes.

As soon as the sun touched the horizon and shadows stretched across the red sands, I crept from my lair.

Hundreds of warriors over the years have braved my domain.  They came with sword and magic, bows and shields, hearts bursting with courage, hope, rage, envy, even lust.

They came, and they died. 

I killed them all.

This one would be no different.

Ah, but he was a cocky son of a bitch.  He stood in plain view on the highest point of my barrens.  His back to me, he stared out over the empty Well of Tears.  The Well I had not been able to fill despite an eternity of suffering.

The dying sun blazed behind me, outlining his warrior’s body, the proud tilt of his head, and then the chiseled lines of his face as he turned.  His eyes were dark eyes, shadowed and hollowed with misery.  Keldar was a hard land, a hard life, even for such a magnificent warrior.

A curved scimitar gleamed in the growing shadows, ready in his hand but not offensive.  Not threatening, not yet.  The black taamid flapped about his shoulders like wings, loose and flowing to the ground.   Leather knife straps crossed his chest, and a coiled whip hung on his hip. I could smell the sweet herbed oil used to keep the dragon hide supple.   

No fear flickered in his steady gaze.  No emotion showed on his stone face.  He stared at me, waiting.  For what?

Casually, I flicked a wing at him.  He ducked, tucked into a smooth roll to the side, and flipped back to his feet.  Impressive.  Instead of trying to knock him down, I flipped around and grabbed him with my tail as thick as his body.  Squeezing scaled muscle around his chest, I locked him in bands of living iron he couldn't possibly break.

I would crush his bones and bathe in the blood spray—

Pain. 

The curved blade slid into my flesh, just enough to anger me.  I slung him to the ground so hard I heard his ribs creak.  But no grunt of pain.  Not from him.

The scent of blood—even my own—brought my hunger roaring to life.  I breathed deeply and threw my head back.  Flames blazed to the heavens.  The ground rumbled and cringed beneath my claws.  Horses miles away screamed in terror and people quaked in their flimsy hide tents and whispered prayers to deaf and uncaring Gods.

The warrior before me licked my blood from his blade. 

He dared to taste my blood.  A shiver crawled down my spine.  This was no ordinary warrior.  Already, I felt a gnat's brush against my mind through the fragile blood bond he attempted to weave. 

I dared say mine was a bitter and noxious brew compared to the sweet wealth of his blood that would soon roll in my belly.  With my hunger fully awakened, I ignored my unease.  I flapped my wings and scrambled at him.

He dodged aside with a roll and then leapt, kicking sand in my eyes.  A child’s trick.  I didn't have to see him.  I could smell him: burnt cinnamon, roasted sage, sweat, and tasty warrior.
I would eat him alive.

Dragons in The Twelve Kingdoms

I'm writing this post for Here Be Magic's Dragon Week mere hours after turning in book 4 of my Twelve Kingdoms series, THE PAGES OF THE MIND.

There might be dragons. *grin*

Now... I rarely post teasers, especially of unedited work. But I've discovered - because a bunch of readers hammered the point home - that teasers are among their very favorite things to see from authors. Still, I considered excerpting a dragon scene from one of the Covenant of Thorns books. Dragons appear in all three of those, with a fairly large role in the third book.

But still...

Teasers?

SO hard to pick one that won't be a spoiler. But... here goes!

The people cheered wildly and, with an ear-splitting trumpet, the dragon flew into sight from beyond the volcano, circled, fixed on us and headed our way. Gliding on the hot air currents like a jeweled seabird, its wings outstretched an impossible length, the dragon plummeted without a sound, zooming straight for us. “Goddesses!”

Then Nakoa had me in his arms, better than an invocation of any goddess. He stood firm, even turning slightly to meet the dragon head-on. I wound my arms around his neck, missing the feel of the torque, but feeling much safer. It made no sense as that dragon could eat us both in one bite. At least Nakoa could run—that would be a logical reason for it.

Nothing to do with the fact that just the scent and feel of his skin worked to calm my instinctive terror.

Nakoa’s lips brushed my temple. “See to understand, mlai.”

I couldn’t have torn my eyes from the sight regardless. Like a fiery golden blade cleaving the sky, the dragon grew in size, lethal, fascinating, extraordinary. Ruby flames lit its eyes, taller than Nakoa—and real flames flickered in its gaping maw.

“See?” Nakoa murmured, his voice as full of awe as I felt. “Beautiful.”

It was.

A roar sounded in my bones as it approached, my heart pounding into synced rhythm with Nakoa’s. No, the roar came from the sound of air rushing over the great membraned wings. Amazingly Nakoa laughed and the dragon passed just over us, as if I could have reached out to touch it, and the turbulence of it tossed Nakoa’s lightning-threaded locks so they lashed against my cheeks. All of it welled up in my chest, a kind of terrified elation that burst out in my own laugh. All around us, the people—even Chief Tane—held their hands up to the sky, as if savoring the sensation of the passage of the majestic beast, singing out their song of awe and celebration.

****
 This week also saw the release of my newest erotic contemporary romance!

“Recommended for fans of the 50 Shades trilogy.“… “Kennedy handles her subject matter with authority (if you can forgive the pun) and makes the premise and choices of her characters entirely believable, all while grabbing her readers by their hearts.“
– LJ on Library Journal

Under Contract

Read an Excerpt

The kinkier the sex, the higher the price tag…
Ryan Black has admired Celestina Sala from afar for years, her lush body and sensual nature calling to the dominant in him. For just as many years, Celestina was off-limits—married, proud and self-sufficient. But all that has changed, and now Celestina is in debt and in need…and available. Ryan proposes a contract: he’ll pay off her debt if she gives herself to him in bed, yielding control in exchange for the pain and pleasure he’ll bring them both.
There are words for women who take money for sex, and none of them are nice ones. Celestina never thought she’d have to sink this low, but giving up control sounds more enticing than ever before. And suddenly it’s not about having to give in to Ryan. It’s about wanting to.
But when Ryan’s dark past comes to light, they may both be in over their heads. The terms of his contract say her body is his…but her heart may be another story.
One thing is for sure—now that Ryan has Celestina, he can never let her go.

Available July 13, 2015

• Kindle
• Barnes & Noble
• iBooks
• Kobo

Read More...

Welcome to Dragon Week!

Welcome to the Here Be Magic Dragon Week!

As a fantasy author, I naturally find dragons highly, highly relevant to my interests. They were of course highly prevalent in my reading as a child, since I read The Hobbit in my AP English class in sixth grade--and you don't get much more classic a dragon than Smaug, the Chiefest and Greatest of Calamities. I can practically recite his lines to Bilbo from memory: Well, thief, I smell you. I feel your air. And how shiver-inducing is his recitation of his prowess: My teeth are swords! My claws, spears! My wings, a hurricane! And my breath, DEATH.

I don't know about you, but yeah, I'm scared. It's official.

And I gotta say, say what you will about the issues with the Hobbit movies, but one of the things I love about them without reservation is the way they brought that scene to life. Benedict Cumberbatch's Smaug was legitimately terrifying, and the way Martin Freeman's Bilbo responded to him was equally brilliant. His expression, his body language, and a certain high thinness to his voice communicated so much oh shit oh shit oh shit this creature is enormous and he is going to eat me and OH SHIT I WISH I WERE BACK IN THE SHIRE.

With a dragon like Smaug starting me off, you can imagine that I had a huge bar to clear for all subsequent dragons that came along in my lifelong love of fantasy. Tolkien gave me a second memorable dragon in Glaurung, the dragon in the story of Turin Turambar. Later, Robin Mckinley stepped up to the plate and gave us Maur, the great black dragon fought by Aerin in The Hero and the Crown. Later still, the genre was blessed by Naomi Novik's Temeraire series, and I can say wholeheartedly that Temeraire and Iskierka are my favorite dragons in any fantasy that's been published in the last fifteen years.

Most of all I need to give a huge shoutout to Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern novels. I ate those up with spoons. I loved Mnementh and Ramoth and Ruth, and I loved that world enough that I spent years roleplaying and writing fanfic in Pern fan groups. Anyone who knows me from PernMUSH will remember me as the player of F'hlan, bronze Tzornth's rider, and I had ridiculous amounts of fun playing a soft-spoken, shy dragonrider paired with the planet's most verbose and prideful bronze.

My love of dragons even shows up in my musical fandoms as well. Those who know me as a fan of Quebecois music know that Le Vent du Nord is my favorite band in that genre. And one of my very favorite songs of theirs is "Le dragon de Chimay", about a knight who's transformed into a dragon by a vengeful witch.

Now, in the Free Court of Seattle series, a young dragon features prominently in Bone Walker. And over in the Rebels of Adalonia series, there is a desert called Dragonfell. Dragons are no longer a threat in Adalonia in the days of the Anreulag. But there was a time when they were, and the legends of the people remember.

With all of this in mind, I'd now like to share with you one of my oldest surviving short stories, "Riddle of the Golden Dragon", which I wrote in school in 1987. This is set in the early version of the setting that eventually became the Rebels of Adalonia novels, and alert readers may note the mention of the city of Shalridan here. Alert readers will also recognize an echo here of Tolkien's "Riddles of the Dark" chapter of The Hobbit--though at the end of the day, my dragon here is somewhat more beneficient than Smaug.

You can read "Riddle of the Golden Dragon" on my website, and I hope you enjoy this dragon-themed glimpse of my early writing! And I hope you'll tell me about your favorite dragons in the comments!

--
Angela writes the urban fantasy Free Court of Seattle series as Angela Korra'ti, and the high fantasy Rebels of Adalonia series as Angela Highland. Come say hi to her at angelahighland.com, or follow her on Facebook or Twitter.