WIP it, WIP it good.

Thanks Danielle for the Post suggestion!

So I have been writing madly before the Australian school year begins, the aim is to get my WIP completely polished and done in a few weeks (my poor critique partner is going to have her hands full at our next meeting!)

As you may know, this WIP about a different side of my magical world - but keep your eyes peeled and you may see a familiar face!
The focus is in this book is on a magician Warlord, from the South East Asian country of Laos - and let me tell you, the hero, Warlord Cain Dath  is proving to be a complex guy to write!

So for this week's post I'm doing some character profiles. They're useful things, not only for the reader anxious to get a taste of the book, but for me to make sure I'm staying true to my characters despite the difficult circumstances they find themselves in!

HERO
Name: Warlord Cain Dath
Age: approximately 34 yo.
Home: North of Nam Khan River, the jungle, Laos.
Profession: Magician Warlord.
Personality: Quietly ruthless, determined.
Quote:

 It took a second but rage exploded. The thinly veiled panic that had dogged him daily since Sabra had escaped erupted. “What?” Was all he could muster before he gripped Jürgen by the collar and dragged him closer. They were face to face. Cain could smell the scent of aufhocker oozing through the pores on Jürgen’s face. Canine, a bit human and a lot sour – the smell just made him furious. “Fuck you Jürgen! How could you?”

Jürgen struggled like a puppy in his grip, reluctant to fight but desperate to be free.

“It was an accident.” His German accent was guttural. “I was fighting with Maggie, and Sabra opened the door, I swung my claws to catch Maggie, but your woman stepped in my way.”

Sweat bubbled on Jürgen’s brow, the scent now rancid. Cain struggled not to tighten his grip on his neck and strangle the life from the damn aufhocker.

“I should kill you for this…” Cain hissed. “I’ve killed men for much, much less. You know it.”

HEROINE:

Name: Sabra Westwood

Age: 23 yo.

Home: Rockingham, Western Australia

Profession: Payroll Clerk

Magical ability: Chameleon.. and something else.

Personality: Positive, quick to laugh, determined.

Quote:

I suddenly became aware of the artistic sculpture of muscles beneath his snug shirt. I really wanted to have a holiday fling. No, actually if I want to be uncouth - I was gagging for a shag. It had been months since I’d been with a man, and I didn’t like it and nor did my body. My pulse began to race at the mere thought of touching the raw hard muscles that moved so enticingly beneath the white of his shirt. He must have read something in my eyes, and he smiled quickly, offering a flash of wolfish teeth. Something swooped inside me and I found myself barely able to suppress a gasp.

 Let it be said, I am not modest, but I’m not a beauty by any means, not in Australia and certainly not in Laos, where the girls all seemed pretty and petite. Yet the look in the man’s eyes was appreciative and dare I say it - bordering on desirous?  Perhaps he was just a gigolo? Did they have such things in Laos? They’d certainly had them in as we’d toured through Thailand. Then thought came unbidden, did I want to become another western notch in a cocky bar-boy’s belt – for a paltry hundred thousand kip? Yes actually, I rather liked the idea. The notion of handing over the equivalent of twenty Australian dollars to get my rocks off seemed like a better idea than returning to Perth single as well as sexually frustrated.

I really like Sabra. She's fun to write as you may gather from that excerpt :)

Now below are some images that I like to look at for motivation (manspiration images are excluded!)

Jungle in central Laos.

Nam Khan River 

 

 

Chameleon

chromatophore cells (colour changing cells)

Vientiane, Laos

 With that, enjoy!

Magical Redemption - Sneek Peek!

 

 

 

 

 

Better late than never, I always say, so after a week's delay Magical Redemption will be on sale Wednesday 7th November!

On Wednesday, an excerpt of Magical Redemption will also be available to read over at the Darkside Down Under, so be sure to check it out.

In the mean time, here is an excerpt to whet your appetite.. and guess what? The Satyrs are back!

 

“What do we have here?” a snide voice asked from behind. “You will not find a hospital around here that caters to...his kind.”

There was the clip-clop of cloven hooves behind her. Jinx felt her skin crawl as she turned to face the speaker. Words stuck in her throat. She gazed up the heavy, auburn pelted legs and lingered for just the briefest of moments on the large, exposed genitals hanging between them.

A real, live satyr― just what she needed. She looked upward and jutted her chin. Her defiant gaze was met by curious, auburn eyes and a sharp, angular face. Curling horns erupted from a mane of hair.

“Do you like what you see?” The satyr smiled, showing perfectly-white, blunt teeth.

“No,” Jinx snapped. Using her magic, she rearranged Lucian’s dead weight.

The satyr tilted his head to get sight of Lucian’s face, and his shrewd eyes widened. “What are you doing with Lucian?” he hissed, moving forward with remarkable speed and raising Lucian’s head to examine him. The satyr was suddenly too close. He smelled like fresh hay, and his body thrummed with an unsettling energy.

“You know Lucian?” Jinx whispered. She knew with uncomfortable certainty that this satyr was the reason her magic brought them here.

“Of course I do,” the satyr snapped, his expression now concerned. “What’s wrong with him?” His amber eyes caught and held hers. Although she was fairly confident the satyr was here to help, she didn’t want to divulge everything too soon. She squirmed under his gaze.

“I can’t tell you anything until I know who you are and what you know about Lucian.” Jinx steeled her spine and jutted her jaw, again.

The auburn-haired satyr raised an artful eyebrow. “My, aren’t you a feisty one? I do like my women feisty.” He grinned and sunk into a low bow. “I am Silenus, the stag satyr of the Kuching Free Zone.”

“I’m not your woman,” Jinx said, hating the fact that her gaze was convulsively drawn to Silenus’s naked crotch. “Ugh,” she grumbled to herself.

 Silenus continued unabated. “Lucian is my friend–though, I will confess I have not seen him for many years. Time, clearly, has not been kind to him.” He narrowed his auburn eyes at her speculatively.

“You say that like it’s my fault,” she snapped.

“Is it not?” His eyebrows floated high, again.

“No,” Jinx cried.

Silenus smiled at her outrage. “Allow me to assist you,” he said and stretched out his tanned arms to relieve Jinx of Lucian’s burden.

“No. Don’t touch him.” She jerked Lucian away. His head wobbled grossly as more blood pattered from his face. Dire as the situation was, she couldn’t risk Lucian to an unknown being, supposed friend or not. “I need to test your intent first.”

Silenus’s eyebrows hit his curly hairline. “Test my intent?” A smile tugged on his lips suggestively. “I don’t think my intent needs testing. I make a habit of being perfectly transparent.” He grabbed his crotch and cupped his genitals, proffering them to Jinx.

“Christ,” she gasped and looked away.

 

 

Makes me laugh anyway, I love satyrs!

Enjoy your Monday!

 

 

 

 



 

The Naga - naughty or nice?

[Image of Devika, the Naga in "Magical Creations" drawn by me]

A strange creature stood before her (although standing didn’t correctly define the stance). The head and torso of the creature was an immensely beautiful woman, draped in a woolen pashmina. Antigone’s gaze followed down the woman’s body. She stared curiously for a long moment before her brain could accept what her eyes were seeing. The woman’s torso disappeared into the tail of an enormous snake. Antigone blinked, the creature’s skin glittered with a diamond-like sparkle under the dull fluorescence of the warehouse lighting, and her eyes, serpentine slits in an impossibly perfect face, studied Antigone with shrewd intelligence. The long greenish tail flicked and twitched, drawing Antigone’s attention to the guard of dull-eyed Hunters behind her. Antigone recognized the creature as a Naga, part human, part snake, capable of great benevolence or great malevolence depending on the mood.

[Excerpt from "Magical Creations", available now.]

Allow me to introduce you to another of my favourite Mythological creatures. The Naga (click on the link if you want to read the Wiki entry). There are many various types of Naga throughout history, so naturally I chose the type that most suited my book. In general however, all Naga's have some similar characteristics irrespective of their origins. They are all large, intelligent and snake-like.



[Naga Kanya statuette from Nepal, guardian of riches from the Deep]



Naga's can be found in Hindu and Buddhist mythology and folk law. Some are described (like Devika) as being human from the waist up and serpentine from the waist down. Other depictions give them seven heads, or describe them as simply massive snakes.

Carved stone Naga's can be found in many Hindu temples in India and Southeast Asia, and the balustrade leading to the main entrance of Cambodia's Angkor Wat is composed of stone Nagas. The Ancient Cambodian kings claimed to be descended from the union of a banished Hindu prince and a serpent woman. Which is a pretty cool claim to fame, if I do say so. 

Personality wise, again, the Naga varies. Some are considered to be kind and benevolent protectors, whilst others such as in the Hindu epic Mahabharata are the venomous persecutors of other creatures. In Tibet it is said that Naga's dwell in the lakes and underground streams, and guard magical gems/precious stones. They are also said to protect the purity of the water and natural environment - and fiercely retaliate against any who disturb it... I think we could do with some of these Nagas in Western Australia! 

If you're interested in Naga's there are some interesting sites out there;

http://www.khandro.net/mysterious_naga.htm

http://www.thailandsworld.com/index.cfm?p=192

Naga Images

DemonSpawn - are they as bad as they sound?

[True form DemonSpawn, drawn and poorly coloured in by me.]

The man who stood before her was handsome in a slick, dangerous way. He had dark chocolate hair, smoothed back from a high, clear brow. Antigone studied him for a moment—his eyebrows (almost certainly manicured), hovered over his interested but assessing light-brown eyes. He was tall with broad shoulders that nipped into a narrow waist. His long legs were clad in darkcolored
trousers, but startlingly his feet were bare.
“Dobreden?” Antigone asked after a long moment, “Who are you?”
The man had little time to reply before Rio muttered his explanation.
“Tiggy, this Lucian, he will be your handler.” He sounded displeased.
A hot bubble of irritation swelled within Antigone. “Handler? What am I? Some sort of animal?” she retorted angrily but suddenly stopped. It was then that Antigone noticed something about Lucian that wasn’t at all normal, slick, or handsome. Her brow furrowed, and a deep crease appeared.
“Keep looking,” Lucian smiled.
Rio sighed, and sank down on one of the pale green sofas that rested by the window.
Antigone stared, blinked, and stared again. Lucian, was a black void, not one rainbow hue was visible where his soul should have lain.
“What on Earth are you?” she murmured and stalked around him, like a cat around a new and scary toy. “You’re not a Magical Construct,” she added warily.
“No, definitely not,” Lucian replied, seemingly enjoying her intrigue.
“Are you a Nephilim?” she asked, knowing that the soul of a Nephilim was not visible to others.
“No, try again.” A wicked smile grew on his lips (which absurdly, Antigone now noticed were rather sexy). Antigone stared blankly at him, although her mother had put considerable time and money into her education, she simply could not guess what Lucian was.
“I give up,”
“DemonSpawn, you stupid cow,” Rio grumbled.
 
Excerpt from "Magical Creations" - Available now!
 
DemonSpawn are, (in the world of "Magical Gains" and "Magical Creations") the offspring of a human and demon, most notably the Incubus. I've written about two DemonSpawn characters, Lucian, the character from "Magical Creations" and another from "Mimosa Black" (coming December!)
 
 DemonSpawn have the capacity for great good, or great evil depending on their inclination. Powerful beings, who can change to 'true form' at will, the DemonSpawn (of an Incubi) gain control over people (particularly women) through sex.   They can travel via dreams, and have metaphysical relationships with women in sleep. Demons and DemonSpawn are the only creatures who can control a Hellcat. At times of heightened arousal or anger, a DemonSpawn's eyes will flash red.
 
Clearly depending on the temperament, being DemonSpawn is not as bad as it sounds... at least not in my books!
 
If you loved Lucian in "Magical Creations", you'll love him even more in "Magical Redemption", my work in progress which I really must get back to writing.