» Creatures & Legends

Creature Feature: Wyvern

July 5, 2008 on 8:00 am | In Creatures & Legends | 1 Comment

What is a wyvern? Looks like a dragon, right? But it’s not.

A wyvern has two limbs and two wings. Note that many Western dragons have four limbs and two wings, while Eastern dragons often have no wings, and four limbs. Wyverns also seem a bit more reptilian than dragons to me. Sometimes they have fish tails or barbed tails, and their limbs are more bird-like than a dragon’s.

They figure prominently in heraldry, as do dragons and unicorns. Sometimes they are described as having the head of a dragon and the tail of a snake. Personally, I may have plans for some fictional wyverns I can’t divulge just yet. For sure I’ve got dragons of all kinds in my books, but no wyverns… yet.

Creature Feature: Shapeshifters in Romance Fiction

June 12, 2008 on 7:26 am | In Creatures & Legends | 6 Comments

Picking up where I left off when I last talked about cat shifters, today I’m contemplating the current popularity of shapeshifters in romance fiction. While werewolves are probably the most common and popular in romance fiction right now, there’s a lot of interest in other kinds of shifters as well. I, myself, have written dragon shifters (in The Ice Dragon and Prince of Spies) and a cougar shifter (Sweeter Than Wine).Here’s what Wiki says about shapeshifters: “Shapeshifting is a common theme in folklore, as well as in science fiction and fantasy. In its broadest sense, it is a change in the physical form or shape of a person or animal…shapeshifting involves physical changes such as alterations of age, gender, race, or general appearance or changes between human form and that of an animal, plant, or inanimate object…Shapeshifting may be used as a plot device, as when Puss In Boots tricks the ogre into changing into a mouse so he may eat him; it may also include a symbolic significance, as when the Beast’s transformation at the end of Beauty and the Beast indicates Beauty’s ability to accept him despite his appearance.”

I don’t think I’ve ever gone quite that far, though Lana’s discovery of Roland’s ability to shift from dragon to human form in The Ice Dragon does come as a bit of a surprise to her. I think it’s intriguing to find out there’s more to the person or animal one meets at the beginning of a novel. And the way those new revelations play into the story make it interesting and fantastical. Of late, I’ve really been enjoying writing a series of cat shifters in an urban fantasy setting that I hope to find a home for soon.

For some reason, cat shifters fire the imagination and make one think immediately of the pleasures of the flesh. Cats are sinuous, slinky and sexy, where wolves seem tough, mighty and all alpha. Cats on the other hand, have cunning, stealth, soft fur and a very sexy way of moving. Seems natural we romance writers would take them to our hearts and turn them into heroes and heroines in our flights of fantasy.

So out of curiosity, what’s your favorite form of shapeshifter, other than wolves? Dragons? Cats? Snakes? Sea creatures? What’s your take? Enquiring minds want to know!

Creature Feature: Cat Shifters

May 24, 2008 on 8:11 am | In Paranormal Tales, Creatures & Legends | 1 Comment

Cat shapeshifters offer a unique and interesting opportunity for fantasy writers. First, there are so many kinds of big cats to play with and many of them share common traits.

In the genus Panthera, for example, are the lion, tiger, leopard and jaguar. These are the only big cats able to roar and are sometimes distinguished as the “great cats” to differentiate them from other big cats like the cheetah, snow leopard, clouded leopard, and cougar. Another little distinction is that the babies of the great cats are called cubs, while the babies of the other big cats are called kittens. (More on all of this minutiae can be found in the Wiki entry.)

The creature I find most interesting is the cougar. Bigger than the jaguar, but not considered a “great cat,” it goes by many names and roams most of the Americas. Also called Puma or Mountain Lion, these cats are huge and very efficient predators. They learn and adapt to their environment and the kinds of prey they find there. I saw a show on Animal Planet the other day on bighorn sheep in the Canadian wilderness. It turns out that scientists were able to discover that one particular cougar in the area had learned how to efficiently hunt the bighorn lambs and for the last two years of the cougar’s life, it ate almost nothing but mutton and put a big dent in the local bighorn population. But another cougar wasn’t as smart. It fell to its death off the rocky slopes while chasing a bighorn lamb and both were found dead at the bottom, killed by the fall. So it takes a sure-footed cougar to even attempt to hunt those kings of the mountain in their rocky, dangerous domain.

In my own writing, I’ve created a few different big cat shapeshifters. Many of you have already read about Matt Redstone, a character from my novel, Sweeter Than Wine. He’s a werecougar and has the cunning, speed and agility of the cat, even in human form. He’s also really sexy, just like the cat. In my little world, he’s the youngest of a group of cougar-shifter brothers and I plan to feature each of them in upcoming works. I’m also working on an urban fantasy world, inhabited by leopard and tiger shifters, as well as Others. More on that, when news becomes available.

For now, I continue my research into the ways these big cats are related and the fantasy of how to make them purrrrrrrrr.

Creature Feature: Royal Black Dragons

May 17, 2008 on 7:01 am | In Dragon Knights, Creatures & Legends | No Comments

I was recently asked what makes the dragons I write about different from others and thought I’d answer the question here, in a “Creature Feature.” Hope that’s okay with you all.

In the Dragon Knights series, there are many varieties and hues of dragon, but the only black dragons in existence are the Royal Blacks. They are the shapeshifters - beings of noble blood, born and sworn to protect both humanity and dragonkind.

They rule with an understanding born of the fact they are both human and dragon. The founder of their line, Draneth the Wise, intended it just that way, so the dragons and humans could live in harmony and work together to protect their land and people against the forces of evil.

In my Dragon Knights series, the time has come when this partnership will be tested utterly. The last of the wizards have returned to continue their war against each other, using humans and other creatures like the venemous skiths as pawns in their deadly game. King Roland, Prince Nico, and their brothers will lead both the dragons and people of their land into battle… and beyond.

I hope that answers at least some of the questions about the Royal Blacks. I’ll post more in another feature about wild northern Ice Dragons and the precious and rare Snow Dragons, so stay tuned…

Creature Feature: Nessie

April 25, 2008 on 8:59 am | In Creatures & Legends | No Comments

The Loch Ness Monster… Nessie… A phantom, long-necked creature rising out of the mists of a dark Scottish lake. Creepy, right?

Many stories have been told over the centuries and many theories exist as to whether or not Nessie really lives deep in the cold waters of Loch Ness.

Some speculate Nessie could be an elasmosaurus, a kind of plesiosaur, or a decendant thereof. They were thought to have become extinct at the same time as most dinosaurs. They were aquatic reptiles with long necks and bodies up to 46 feet long, according to fossil evidence.

Could there be a last lingering few of these creatures living deep in the waters of Loch Ness? It’s a tantalizing mystery to ponder. So tell me, do you believe in Nessie?

Creature Feature: Werewolves in Romance Fiction

March 29, 2008 on 9:00 am | In Creatures & Legends | No Comments

Some of you may notice that I’m recycling a few of my “creature feature” posts from the old Fantasy & Enchantment blog that’s now been folded into the Beyond the Veil blog. I figured since that other blog is now defunct, but these posts are still kind of interesting, I’d post a few here and there. Enjoy!

What is the mystique of werewolves? When I was growing up, they were scary creatures from old movies that would tear you to pieces and howl at the full moon. But today they’ve morphed (pun intended) into something more: romantic heroes who turn shaggy every once in a while. A pet, guard dog, and husband in one - what a time saver!

Here’s what Wiki has to say about the topic: “Werewolves, also known as lycanthropes, are mythological or folkloric people with the ability to shapeshift into a wolf or wolflike creature, either purposely, by using magic, or after being placed under a curse. The medieval chronicler Gervase of Tilbury associated the transformation with the appearance of the full moon; however, there is evidence that the association existed among the Ancient Greeks, appearing in the writings of Petronius. This concept was rarely associated with the werewolf until the idea was picked up by fiction writers.”

Of course, I’m guilty of being one of the aforementioned ”fiction writers” who have “picked up” on the werewolf phenomenon. I’ve also read a lot of werewolf and shapeshifter romance books written by my contemporaries and there are subtle differences in the characterization of the affliction between one author and another, particularly in the way the shifters change. Some authors have the change be total, from human to wolf. Some go from human to some weird wolf-like creature, like the werewolves in most of those old movies. In my case, I have given my characters the ability to shift from human to wolf, but they can sort of pause in the middle to that half-formed creature that has the strength and senses of the wolf and the ability to talk and walk upright like a human. Of course, I didn’t make it easy for them to do it. (The details are in my book, Lords of the Were.)

So what’s the allure of the werewolf? Is the idea of magic made flesh? Is it the wildness of the untamed wolf mixing with our domesticated lives - spicing it up a bit, if you will? Is it the return of the Alpha Male and the desire for his dominance - if only in our escapist fantasies? I really don’t know, but I suspect it might be a little of all three and some other things I haven’t thought of besides. What’s your opinion?