Thanks to everyone who made yesterday’s release day so perfect! And although I’ve had to cancel my trip to West Virginia for Lora Leigh’s RAW due to illness, I still have friends scheduled to take over this blog for the next few days. I might poke my head in the door occasionally, but I will be resting for the most part. Thanks again for your support and all your wonderful comments concerning Four Sworn! ~DD

Paranormal Logistics In a Semi-Normal World
by Fiona Jayde

As a writer, I love the art of world building. As a reader, I eagerly devour different worlds and customs and rules other writers create to spin their tales. I love seeing how fellow authors take common elements of vampires, werewolves, angels, witches, heaven and hell and everything in between and make it unique and sparkling. But being me, I always wonder about the logistics. Are there bathrooms in hell? Don’t people (and by people I mean angels, demons, weres of any species, witches, humans and humanoids) need to clean up after steamy love making? When weres shift, what the heck happens to their clothing and other personal items?

I’ve ran into that last problem head first when planning my paranormal series. My Bloodwolves (or Lycks) shift into fairly large wolves, and I had to make the hard decision to either somehow let them keep their clothing, or follow the rules of physics (such as they are) and make the clothes tear off. Torn clothing does leave a lot of nice possibilities for those steamy love scenes. But in reality (again—forgive the word), who wants to run around a city buck naked?

Nakedness aside, how do paranormal creatures live? Do they have money? You need at least a couple of bucks to buy a fresh bag of blood (we’re talking good vampires here—baddies will just eat and run). Do werewolves/angels/witches work? Pay rent? Buy toothpaste?

With so many excellent examples before me, I turned to the masters. Angela Knight in her Mageverse series allows her weres clothing to “meld” to their bodies– they chalk it up to magic, simple and clean and brilliant. JR Ward’s vampires have access to millions—probably because they are so old they’ve had ample time to mature their investments. Buffy the Vampire slayer got a job at a fast food joint to pay the bills. And Spike had a nice crypt—and though we never did see a bathroom, one would assume the undead don’t have need of facilities.

All these choices have significant effect on the characters and their conflicts, and overall storylines. In my case, I decided I liked torturing my characters. Which meant that they can’t just shift on a whim in plain sight because it can be embarrassing getting stuck in one’s own pant legs. With no opposable thumbs to help take those things off.

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The first installment of a kickass paranormal series, Night Haven introduced readers to the world of vampires, bloodwolves and pulse pounding action.

Coming September 21 to Samhain Publishing

Desire cuts both ways…
Nothing gives Dina more pleasure than leaving the vampires she hunts to the mercy of the dawn. And yet most humans she is sworn to protect seem all too happy to offer up their necks. She has vowed never to be like those needy creatures yet, three months ago, she allowed a vampire to kiss her. The memory still makes her body burn—and her skin heat with humiliation.

For over twenty empty years, Luke has lived in a world of dead pleasure and burning sunrise, feeding off those who long for immortality and taboo thrills. Only his art makes him feel half-alive. Until one night in a dark, moody nightclub, where a reckless, amber-eyed bloodwolf left behind her clean, sharp scent—and an ache in his blood nothing but another taste can ease.

Finally, with the chance to purge Luke out of her system, Dina moves in for the kill. But she comes to a horrifying realization. She can no longer shift, and the desire to taste him—body, soul and blood—is making her crazy. As an enraged bloodwolf threatens to rip them both apart, she may just be crazy enough to trust Luke with her life.

Warning: Contains interspecies lust between a bloodwolf and a vampire, and desire thick enough to cut with a blade.

Read an excerpt here!