Let’s face it. Paranormal romance has an expectation of love scenes. Depending on the author, that can be a fade-to-black scene, left to the reader’s imagination, or it can be blow by blow, full-on, spicy sex.
For me, it has always depended on the character. For example, Fane Anghelescu, my Hellhound Alpha, has a forceful personality, although he would not attack a female. However, he is an incubus, and increases his power through sex magic. For him, the more enjoyable and involved the act, the power he will generate, as this illustrates:
Taking a shower … such a simple, everyday action. And yet, with you my little Hunter, that simplicity is more. The pulse of your blood in your neck, as you tilt you lips to mine. Your lips, slightly parted, inviting me to taste, to savour your passion.
The feel of your body beneath my hands, lithe, yet your skin slick with the woody scent of liquid soap. My hand is beneath your chin, holding, imprisoning, but who is the prisoner? Who is the captive? Is my little Hunter caught, and has she entrapped the wolf? Does the wolf care?
Love did not make me weak. It gave me purpose. It showed me the value of caring. And no matter what, your love and the memories of our moments together will remind me and keep me strong
In comparison, we have Casimir, the so-called Psycho Gosselin. By his own admission, he has done things which are despicable. He acknowledges that he is far from saintly. It would not be wrong to say he despises that character he must portray. Only with other members of the Hellfire Pack can he let his guard down. He had never expected to find a Mate, so to realise that Daniela is his Mate makes her all the more precious to him. In return, Daniela appreciates the image he must portray. With her encouragement, he is able to close the chasm of misunderstanding with his sister Alix.
When it comes down to it, every author needs inspiration, so I shall close with the video that gave me just the ambiance I needed for Gavril and Aaleahya, the leads of the Cwn Annwn. With them, it was a love affair that lasted over 200 years until Aaleahya was killed. In ‘Alpha’, Gavril is wondering whether he will find his Mate, or will he suffer the fate of his own dam? A trip to the Carpathians and he meets Aaleahya, a Roma girl. There was no need for him to be the stereotypical ‘alpha male’, because they were so well matched. She was a strong female, for all that her Mate was older than her.
When do you realise that you have to reset the chessboard of your life? I have never viewed being an author as something that would make my proverbial fortune. If I had a few people who liked my books, that would be great, since I intended to write alongside having a day job.
But, as Mercedes Lackey said, great plans only lead to great funerals. It is always a good idea to allow some flex. In changing jobs back in April this year, I did not expect that my new employers would have lied to the extent that they did over the need to run a busy town centre store on my own. Also, I didn’t expect that my boss would be that clueless in terms of a lack of days off in a working week. I worked ten days. She said it could have been nine, and then I could have two days off, but she missed the point: by then, it was too late. I am on the autism spectrum. I had a meltdown. That means my memory goes sideways at the very least. Then again, the same boss suggested that it was my responsibility to find someone to replace me when I phoned in sick.
I found another job, but similar issues occurred. This time I had ‘declared’ being a person on the autistic spectrum. However, the area manager felt that I should still be able to remember everything during one of the most disorganised training periods I have undergone. she also did not take into account the cognitive function issues of a diabetic hypo.
Where does that leave me? Unemployed, and able to spend time on my writing for the first time in over a year. Hence resetting the chess board.
Where does it leave my future subscribers and readers of my books. The good news is that FINALLY, I can finish some of the first draft stories, and I have a new short story in a soon-to-be-published anthology (link below). This story was born from wanting to have a story featuring the British Royal Marines, and orca-shifters, because I thought that of all the animals which could be shifters, no one had covered orcas to any great extent.
“Shift You Not” will be out in January 2023 as an e-book. Other plans include taking part in an author event in Cambridge on 7 October 2023 at the Holiday Inn Express in Histon, which is just of the A14 trunk road, with plenty of car parking. Again, tickets may be bought from now.
So that is all for now, dear Readers. It is decidedly cold in my house at the moment, as with the cost of living issue, coupled with being unemployed, I have been trying to avoid putting on the heating. I have admitted defeat and the heating in going on, while I need to find a wooly hat.
I hope that you have a pleasant end to 2022, and I shall do my best to be a bit more regular in my posts.
Apologies if that comes across as toxic positivity. As someone who has encountered mental health issues, nothing riles me more than the toxic negativity set, or those who want to close their eyes to the world around them. Why have chocolate ganache as a first image? I used to have a real hang-up over making ganache properly. I have used the time to work it out.
Cooking: Ganache
COVID-19 has changed both the world and our own personal spheres. At the moment, I am on furlough from my retail job as a Store Manager in The Works. That is likely to be the case until ‘Easter’, although whether than means before Easter, the beginning of April, the end of the school holidays? Who knows? Everyone says we can learn lessons from what is happening, and some have. As the events of the past few days in the American Capitol have demonstrated, some can’t and won’t learn about how the world has changed.
Our Prime Minister seems to be doing his best to ensure that the UK is cut off from Europe, a situation with which I do not agree. In the course of my working life, I have travelled to most European conference centres, and ventured out of the hotel as well. The exchange of information at international conferences is a vital part of development, or without it, we will stagnate. I worked for companies who imported their products from Europe and further afield. In the cost-cutting world of the National Health Service (NHS), the prices of those products as a result of being made abroad were key. But, who will pay when those prices have to rise due to the additional paperwork? I can’t see companies like my last employer being able to swallow that price increase.
Cooking: Vegan Stir Fry
Then again, the pandemic has brought other opportunities. Looking as someone who has been out of medical sales, but with a 20 year career behind me, I have seen the NHS change. Reduced face to face contact. Scanning job advertisements, some companies view it as an ‘opportunity’ to speak to more customers. Does that take into account that those customers are, to use the vernacular, up to their eyeballs in dealing with the pandemic? I used to work with Anaesthetists and ICU teams, those same teams at the heart of the pandemic. As the world changes, so must we.
So opportunity? Reconnecting with people. I have been talking to my old role-playing writer friends, and enjoying the flow of ideas that comes from that. Cakes? Not so much because my husband really needs to lose weight. Cookery? Yes, because I have time now to plan meals, to cook those dishes which are more healthy but take time. Working where I have been has given me a huge library of cook books. Planning. I have seen people who say there is no point in planning at the moment. But, your life is in your hands. Outline your dreams, plan your ideal holiday. If you don’t examine the ‘what if’ , then you will stagnate.
Don’t try for everything at once. That was the mistake that I made in the last extended lockdown. Pick and choose what you want to do. I have donated those craft items I bought which I won’t use, to focus on my art, writing and cookery. And yeah, that home office of mine is in for a shake-up, now that I know I will be off work until Easter … unless I find another job. Who knows? Whether you take baby steps or stride off into the wide blue yonder will be your choice. There is nothing wrong with baby steps if that is what it takes. Sales can be a game of patience. The trick is knowing when to move.
Why shouldn’t I write romance? After all, it is one of the top-selling genres. Then again, it could be compared to Hollywood, and the number of would-be actors who are working low-skilled jobs whilst ‘resting’.
It is my own belief that the worse the world seems around us, the greater the need for us to believe that there is something better. That’s where romance comes into the picture. Then again, there are things like this:
Go on, click on the rose and see where it takes you. This is something that pops up on a regular basis. As a self-published author, one might think I would run a mile from initiatives such as this. However the fact is that even M&B have to find new talent. This is how they do it, for their specific sub-genres.
Okay, so there are rules. They are looking for clean romance. No swearing and no sex. The books are 50,000 words long, which is only just above a novella. They want strong successful women and men who match them. Sweet romance. In return, even if you are not what they are looking for, you will receive editorial feedback.
That’s guaranteed editorial feedback.
What is not to like about that? So, before you diss romance, take a look at what you might gain from some of the initiatives out there.
LINKS FOR THE DIARIES OF THE CWN ANNWN AND THE HELLFIRE PACK SERIES
So … the human who had the temerity to interview my traitorous and former Alpha, Fane Anghelescu, has let me have my ‘day in the sun’. I would like to point out that for a Hell-dwelling Sumerian demoness, sunlight is vastly over-rated. Why you humans have to partially cook yourself and then decry the actions of those with darker skins is enough to make even my head spin.
Who am I? I shall let this Wikipedia give the basic outline.
In Mesopotamian mythology, Lamashtu (AkkadiandLa-maš-tu; Sumerian Dimme dDim3-me) was a female demon, monster, malevolent goddess or demigoddess who menaced women during childbirth and, if possible, kidnapped their children while they were breastfeeding. She would gnaw on their bones and suck their blood, as well as being charged with a number of other evil deeds. She was a daughter of the Sky God Anu.
Lamashtu by Niiko117 on Deviant Art
Lamashtu is depicted as a mythological hybrid, with a hairy body, a lioness‘ head with donkey‘s teeth and ears, long fingers and fingernails, and the feet of a bird with sharp talons. She is often shown standing or kneeling on a donkey, nursing a pig and a dog, and holding snakes. She thus bears some functions and resemblance to the Mesopotamian demon Lilith.
But, I digress from the subject of this post. Bad Boys and Girls. And please, not those bad boys who come good by the end of the novel. This is an ode to the ones who work so hard to ensure that your beloved heroes and heroines are able to save the day. And, let me make one thing clear. Daughter of Anu I may be, but no god dictates what I do. That is all my choice and I am a female who enjoys what must be done.
Surely we deserve to be praised for our efforts? Oh, what’s that I hear from the meat-sack hanging on my wall? I won’t win. Never! Tsk! Tsk! The loss of one skirmish does not mean the loss of the war, darlings. Far from it. After all, the Great War which should have ended by Christmas resulted in World War 2. The first Gulf War led to another. And whilst I am on the subject, thank you all so much for the fresh-killed souls.
Map showing location of Sumer in relation to modern landmarks of Egypt and Persian Gulf
You see, that’s what will always make things interesting. I have been around for a few millennia. You pathetic humans have a life-span of less that a hundred years, you poor things. A mere blink of an eye. Is it my fault that you have forgotten where Sumeria USED to be? No, that was all your own work. However, it is all to my benefit. You see, your omission in the sands of time means that whilst you tootle off to wage your wars for the fossil fuels so necessary to the internal combustion engine, every single drop of blood spilled on my homeland strengthens me. Every single drop. Yes, occasionally the Cwn Annwn interfere, but it is not their home turf, which puts them at a disadvantage.
Ram Boneh, model inspiration for Fane Anghelescu
I thought I had found the perfect Alpha Hellhound to be my representative ‘topside’. The problem was, an annoying little enemy of mine, an Eastern European, had the gall to attempt to outwit me. It transpired that Fane was his grandson: Hellhound mother and demi-god father. My next choice turned out to be Fane’s blasted cousin, Casimir, with a demigoddess mother and a wolf shifter sire. Honestly, it was frustrating enough to make me scream.
I have been defending myself against my enemies, who wish to thwart my plans. That’s a good word, don’t you think? Thwart. But I shall come back to that later.
That was when I found Kurt. So well behaved, so bloodthirsty, so adoring of his Queen namely, me. But I wanted more. To be in real control, I had to be able to move topside, and I needed troops who were fanatically loyal to me. So, I conceived the project.
Christopher Mason: model inspiration for Kurt Leineke
The effects of the project have been detailed in the ‘Hellfire Pack’ stories, from … Botherations, that’s right. I forgot to mention another who has turned her back on the ways of destruction, the Egyptian, Sekhmet. She had waded in, why, I can’t think, but she had. The result, I had not just one of her elites, Merysekhmet they called themselves, but two of them: Ramses and Elizabeth.
Then there was the potential from Dylann, the mate of Josh Abbott, but her Mate proved to be quite strong. He referred to himself as a ‘Marine’. Did that have something to do with it? If it did, then I will not make the mistake of using another like him.
But the project had attracted the attention of some human authorities, but only because they thought it related to my pet humans. Terrorists, they were called. Their twisting of Islam, the upstart religion that it was, was music to me. But these humans seemed smarter. Evolution has caused more trouble that it is worth. Special Forces from England, supposedly the best at what they did.
Setbacks, after several thousand years are all very well, but this was becoming a joke and a very unamusing one at that, since now I was facing one of my dear Fane’s Pack. The circle is complete, it seems. Adam Anghelescu and his Mate, a skin-walker. I could not help clapping my hands. A female with the ability to adopt the face of anyone. The possibilities were endless.
The barriers thrown up against the bad guys of a novel can be quite trying. Let’s look at some of them, because I and my brethren wish to make one thing quite clear. We are not:
Failure to consider a heretofore hidden ability of the good guys
Incompetent or lacking in intelligence
Deficient in fighting ability
Bound to be turned to the good side
Inability to learn from mistakes
The author of this book series used to write roleplay. She was asked to write a male character. However, the female who led the group never wished the character to win. Every time it seemed he would gain the upper hand, the heroine would produce some miraculous power to overcome him.
RULE #1: Don’t try to defeat us with the hero or heroine ‘pulling a rabbit out of a hat’.
Incompetence. Please, do me a favour. I am Lamashtu of Sumeria. I existed as a goddess before most of humanity lived in more than caves. I know more ways of killing than anyone that walks the world today. And, more importantly, I am capable of adapting to changing times.
RULE #2: Do not underestimate our intelligence
This runs on to the third point. If the bad guy can arm or disarm a variety of explosives, know ways to kill, know ways to torture, clearly we are not lacking in intelligence. That is why we adapt our methods.
Deficient in fighting ability. So we all have our favourite techniques, but again, please use your brains! I have been around for millenia. I am an intelligent, adaptable being. That means I can learn to fight. No one style has superiority over another. At my level of the game, I expect my opponents to be good.
RULE #3: Make it interesting. Use at least two fighting styles if we are to come to blows.
Bound to be turned to the light side: Again, why? There will always be weak choices. Fane was part of a bigger plan, as was his damned cousin. But, trust me, if I have not folded yet, why will I?
RULE #4: Turning away from the dark side is so predictable. Some baddies actually enjoy their work.
Learn from mistakes. This is particularly relevant in a series. So, the hero or heroine has managed to defeat us. Don’t you think that when we retire to lick our wounds, we will analyse how we were beaten? That returns us to the assumption of a lack of intelligence.
Four rules which my dear author uses. But, those considerations are only part of it. They are just four very common mistakes which my author has seen in roleplay and in published work. Avoidable mistakes. I am sure other people can think of a few more. Just remember these four and it is at least a start.
LINKS TO THE BOOKS IN THE DIARIES OF THE CWN ANNWN and HELLFIRE PACK SERIES
Amazon. com: 
Amazon. com: 
RULE #1: Don’t try to defeat us with the hero or heroine ‘pulling a rabbit out of a hat’. 
RULE #2: Do not underestimate our intelligence
RULE #3: Make it interesting. Use at least two fighting styles if we are to come to blows.
Katie Vincent: The Autistic Romance Author 