One of the most compelling and sought-after romance books are shapeshifter romances. Do you love shifter stories? I do! Shapeshifter books have been a hot topic in romance for quite some time. What makes creatures that can change from human to animal and back to human again, so appealing?

I have a few thoughts but would love to hear what you think. How many types of shifters have you read? What’s your favorite? Dragons, wolves, bears, lions, leopards, tigers, deer, eagle or more. I even read one about a shapeshifting seal.

So, what makes a shapeshifter story element so HOT!

1. Readers, including me, love Alpha male characters. Brooding and troubled heroes and courageous heroines who can tame them. The rugged kick butt kind of guy who can battle evil, protect love ones, love intensely and save the world. He’s a primal, fierce being when his animalistic side emerges. Imagine the power and strength of predatory animals, then consider what a human male/female would be like possessing some of these traits. That makes for a powerful character.
2. Many shifters possess super powers, like heightened senses, Superhuman strength or other mystical powers. Birds and other mythical creatures can fly. Who wouldn’t want the power to fly? Some may travel through dimensions, move objects or read minds. They demonstrate keen eyesight, hearing or the ability to run fast. These animal traits occasionally transfer to their human form.
3. Conflicts and drama in these books are cranked up on high. A character’s human side may not always agree with his animal side, adding more dynamic struggles. Fights between two shifters or shifter vs human kick up the tension a notch.
4. Paranormal and Fantasy world. The paranormal or mystical quality of these stories are interesting and compelling. Fans of paranormal and fantasy worlds are fascinated with strange, unusual or bizarre settings. Add in non-human creatures, an adventure and steamy love story—what’s not to love?
5. Mythology, folklore and ancient history all report various shifters. I love the mythology and folklore that authors create. Some of these stories are based on actual mythology, other make up new realms. I used the Norwegian folklore of the Eigi Einhamr in a shapeshifting series, yet to be re-released soon. In this folklore, humans can wear the skin of any animal and change into that animal. Many people believed in shifters or believed that they were one. (more on that below).

THE OTHERKIN

Put fiction aside and look inside our real world. Within some subcultures, there are people who seriously believe that they are not human. These ‘otherkin’ are considered non-human and come in all shapes and sizes.

Some people claim that they’re truly vampires, not cosplay, pretenders or wannabes. Others call themselves theriomorphs (shapeshifters), some say they come from another world or other dimensions. There are those who claim they’re animal but can change into human form. Not sure I see the difference. It’s a wonderful, strange world we live in.

What are your favorite shapeshifter creature and/or books?

Share below in comments. I have a few shifter books and a backlist series that I’ll be releasing soon. My current shifter titles:

Dragon Witch and The Shifter’s Spell are two of my current shapeshifter stories. I have more coming. Visit my website www.kathykulig.com to learn more.

Dragon Witch is book one in the Dark Realms series.

A sexy space pilot on a desperate mission. A headstrong biologist he loves. And a dragon shifter caught in the middle as their worlds collide. Passion, love, greed and betrayal threaten their survival. When worlds collide, can love survive?

Buy at:
Amazon https://amzn.to/2x1aFAi
iBooks: https://apple.co/2JT6Q6y
BN: https://bit.ly/2HzW72R
KOBO: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/dragon-witch-1

About the Author

Kathy is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of steamy paranormal, contemporary, and suspense romance. She’s a science geek by day and escapes into her writer’s world at night. Kathy’s books are passionate, emotionally-charged and always have a happy ending. Some of her fav things: walks on the beach, traveling, curling up with her eBooks, binge watching Netflix series and having dinners out with her darling husband. She lives in Pennsylvania in a 100-year-old Victorian house with a garage built out of reject tombstones.

Readers can find her:
Web site: https://www.kathykulig.com
Blog: https://www.kathykuligblog.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kathykuligauthor
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/kathykulig
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/kathykulig
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1221829.Kathy_Kulig
Hot News Mailing List: https://smarturl.it/KathysHotNews

This is a busy, busy time for this author.

I have the usual family duties stepping into high gear—kids getting ready for school, which means tons of babysitting while my dd buys school supplies and clothes and runs the boy to football practice.

My dd and I have made a new friend in the nearby subdivision who’s into arts and crafts like we are, so we’re gearing up to produce stuff! Yes, I’ll be making more jewelry! I’m prepping to reopen my Etsy store and get ready for a Fall chock full of art fairs. So, my first priority is to organize my art room, which fell into complete disarray this past year. Good God, it’s a huge task.

My editing biz is in high gear. I have more clients now than I really want, but I think that’s a good thing. I’m busy, busy.

I have a very tight schedule for new releases. Books on pre-order that aren’t yet written! Gah! And more with luscious covers I can’t wait to share! How about the titles, huh? Any strike your fancy? Short stories: Stepbrothers Stepping Out — With His Client, Taking Dicktation. Books: S*x on the Beach ( a SEAL story!), Montana Bounty Hunters: Hook, Montana Bounty Hunters: Wolf, Montana Bounty Hunters: Animal…

As for the writing? I still have a few books left from the closings of Kindle Worlds, Ellora’s Cave, and Samhain to revise and get out the door. Which leads me to this…

Lion in the Shadows

When a teen dies inside an unexplored cave, it’s Lani Kimmel’s job to bring him out. This is not a pleasant job, but one she’s handled many times as a member of the local fire department and an expert in cave rescues. The trek into the cave awakens a creature that will push this no-nonsense woman’s boundaries of belief and test her newly emerging love for one man.

Rafe Chavez, the new sheriff in this small Texas town, has already staked a claim on Lani. He’s a man with a goal in his sights, and he’s not letting anything get in his way—until he dreams about an Indian brave who died in that unexplored cave, savaged by a mountain lion. When his dreams cross into reality, Rafe realizes he may be possessed by the Indian’s spirit—but the spirit isn’t alone, and it wants Lani.

Just when Lani’s resistance to his erotic persuasion crumbles, Rafe must push her away to protect her from another creature that has also cast its gaze upon her…

Pre-order your copy here!

LIS is a strange little story—highly erotic, mixed with touches of action and horror, and it’s got a foursome, kinda. I almost go there…

You’ll have to read it to see what I’m talking about. 🙂

Science fiction is popular for both writers and readers of erotic romances. The reason is simple, at least it is for me. Give me a fictional world and I’ll design it to meet any number of needs. The rules, regulations, and social standards modern people live in won’t get in the way of characters’ desires because they don’t exist. Domineering men and submissive women or the other way around (which doesn’t happen much in erotic romance) don’t require justification when that’s standard operating procedure. I don’t have to justify why a man places a woman over his knee and repeatedly applies his hand to her ass. Everyone, readers included when they suspend belief, simply accepts that this is how things are. A woman doesn’t yell “insanity” if the man in her life treats her like a small child. Instead, she gets the norms of the world she finds herself.

Okay, that’s all well and good. A woman wears a collar and crawls on hands and knees behind the hunk who commands her to.
But what’s their physical world like?

Setting is vital to me, the most important thing in many ways. I can’t start a story until I know what the characters’ world looks like. And here’s a secret. I suck at creating fictional worlds. If you’ve read some Vonna Harper erotic fiction, you may have noticed I don’t put my characters on distant, exotic planets with complex social and political structure. Instead, I tend to rely on the corner of the world I know.
Case in point, one of my recent releases is Midnight Touch. Much of this story about a couple each with a heavy load of emotional baggage takes place in eastern Oregon. No urban center or exotic city for me because those things do nothing for me. Give me wide open spaces every time—spaces where the limited number of residents live their isolated lives in private. Sara’s dead ex-husband was a domineering SOB who got away with treating her as he wanted because there was no one for her to turn to or confide in. She seldom saw anyone and didn’t know whether she could trust those she did. I didn’t need to invent a planet because I had remote ranching country with more cattle than humans. I know what eastern Oregon’s high desert land looks like because I’ve been there. No need to try to figure out where water and other necessities come from. I’ve seen the wells.

I also know the hero doesn’t belong there, but he has no choice because Sara needs him in ways only he can understand.

As for the reasons—looks like you’ll have to read Midnight Touch to understand, hint, hint. You might also wind up with a darn good idea what eastern Oregon is like.

Vonna

Romance can be like an addiction. People crave it. Some people have it in their lives but desire more. Some want to explore new aspects of it that they have not experienced. Still, others who have only heard about or seen it from afar strive to introduce it into their lives. Books are a perfect way to do all of these things. And the best part is, readers can choose how it happens.

Want to be whisked back in time or catapulted into the future? Fine. How about being swept off one’s feet in a realm or universe that does not exist? It is possible. Perhaps it high action adventure on the rolling seas or the three of not knowing what lurks around every corner with that special someone at your side. Not out of the question. Or maybe love in the here and now with a sexy co-worker is the fantasy. Done. Romance novels have something for everyone.

Romance novels are also convenient. Traditional books can be purchased, of course, but also audio for listening while motoring down the cruise way, commuting on a train, or tuning out in a boring business meeting you’ve dread all week. (I’ve done all of these things.) They come in e-form and can be read on readers, laptops, smartphones, or tablets. And they can be read anywhere—in restaurants, parks, mountain cabins, backseats, airplanes, doctors’ lobbies, police stations… Well, maybe not at the police station. If one is there, chances are probably other issues are taking priority. The point is: romance is accessible in so many forms all the time if a person only reaches for it.

At one point in history, romance novels were the redheaded stepchildren of the literary world, branded to be a dirty little secret. Publishers and critics did not take them seriously, and the genre was chalked to be nothing more than a cheap thrill. Funny that one would consider Jane Austen’s writings to be lumped as a collection of soft porn. Fortunately, those days have passed. What has not passed, however, is a clear understanding of the difference between romance, erotica, and pornography.

Actually, pornography needs to be taken out of the equation of this discussion since no one seems to be able to define what it is exactly, including the judicial system. It seems to be a vague, catchall to snare anything offensive. But what is offensive to one is not to another. The best definition I have heard of pornography is it cannot be described in words but one knows it when it is encountered. However, for fun, one standard definition of pornography is the depiction of erotic behavior that is intended to cause sexual excitement or the depiction of acts in a sensational manner to arouse a quick intense emotional reaction. Now, isn’t that a doozy? Intense emotional reaction. Hmm. Moving on.

Erotica is a simpler term. In fiction, erotica is stories that the main focus is the sexual relationship and that relationship pushes the story forward. That does not mean erotica is without plots or subplots. It simply means removing the sexual relationship would cause the story to crumble. The sex in erotica is necessary and in the spotlight.

So, how is that different from romance? In romance novels, the focus is on the romantic relationship (which may or may not involve sex) between characters. If sex does occur between the characters, it is to deepen the bond between them. Removing this element from the story would not be detrimental. However, omitting the romantic relationship would dissolve the story. Many stories may have romantic subplots or themes. However, in those, the relationship is secondary to whatever plot is happening. In order for a literary work to be considered a romance, the relationship must take center stage. For example, in a movie like Bourne Identity, there is a romantic interest between Jason and Marie. If the writers and producers wrote this out of the script, the movie still would work. Why? Because the plot is not the romance but Jason discovering his past. It is about fight scenes, car chases, and things getting blown the hell up. Viewers are more interested in if he or won’t he learn the truth. Will the villains be caught? Will Jason live or die? This movie is clearly an action suspense with a romantic subplot. Now, consider another movie like 27 Dresses. If there were no spark between Kevin and Jane, what would be the point of this movie? Write out the romance, and the movie would be less than ten minutes. This movie is a romantic comedy.

For an example of erotica in film, think of a lot of the 1980s b-movies. Many focused on overly hormonal teenager boys looking for ways to score with their female classmates or strippers. The relationships between the characters really did not matter as long as they got freaky between the sheets.

I used examples from movies, but the same principles apply to books. If one ever wonders if a book is truly a romance, just ask can the story exist without a romantic relationship between characters. If the answer is yes, it’s not a romance. With that being said, romance isn’t only fun. It brings people to life. It eliminates boredom. It allows people to feel special and that someone cares. It is not dirty or frivolous or something that needs to be hidden. And it sure as heck isn’t easy to write. Some people are fortunate enough to experience this daily, weekly, or monthly in their lives. Others may not, but that does not mean one cannot live vicariously through books. Therefore, no one should ever be embarrassed to purchase or be seen reading romance novels. Get your piece of romance. You deserve it.

Don’t forget to visit Creole Bayou again. New posts are made on Wednesdays. If you have any questions or suggestions about this post or any others, feel free to comment below or tweet me at @dolynesaidso. You also can follow me on Instagram at genevivechambleeauthor or search me on Goodreads or Amazon Authors.

Enjoy sports romance? Check out my new adult romance, Defending the Net, being released in November. It is the second in my hockey series and guaranteed to melt the ice. Preordering information coming soon. Crossing the line could cost the game.

Missed the first in my hockey romance series? Don’t worry. Out of the Penalty Box, an adult romance where it’s one minute in the box or a lifetime out is available at https://amzn.to/2Bhnngw. It also can be ordered on iTunes, Nook, or Kobo. For more links where to purchase or to read the blurb, please visit https://bit.ly/2i9SqpH.

Life’s Roux: Wrong Doors, my steamy romantic comedy, is available at Red Sage Publishing. To order, follow the link to https://bit.ly/2CtE7Ezor to Amazon at https://amzn.to/2lCQXpt.

Copies of all my books and stories are available in paper, eBook, and audio on Amazon, iTunes, Kobo, and Barnes & Noble. The links are listed in my Writing Projects page (https://bit.ly/2iDYRxU) along with descriptions of each of my novels or stories.

NEWSLETTER! Want to get the latest information and updates about my writing projects, giveaways, contests, and reveals first? Click on https://bit.ly/2zJjUdb and signup today.

I haven’t taken a psychology course for mumble-mumble years but assume Freud’s teachings/theories/observations are still part of psych programs. Back when I was a student, his beliefs were presented pretty much as gospel, but I’m here to announce he didn’t know what he was talking about, at least when it came to one thing.

Back in 1908 Freud declared that a happy person doesn’t fantasize, only a dissatisfied one. Well, he was dead wrong.

As an erotic romance writer, I’ve written a lot of stories with submission/bondage themes. Not BDSM so much as capture and helplessness because, being honest here, the theme pushes my personal buttons. I’m also the product of a very conservative upbringing which means I used to ask myself if there was something wrong with me. There probably is, just not when it comes to the directions my fantasies take me. I came to that conclusion after doing some research and want to share some of what I learned since I know a lot of erotic romance readers are drawn to the same themes I am.

According to psychiatrist Ethel Person of Columbia University, 51% of women imagine being forced to have sex and another third are turned on by pretending to be a slave who must obey a man’s every wish.

What’s behind those mental journeys? Psychologists Harold Leitenberg and Kris Henning state that women who find submission fantasies arousing have no wish to be raped. Thanks to fantasy they are able to control every aspect of what happens. Via thoughts of ropes and bondage, they’re the ones in charge. University of California Santa Cruz professor Eileen Zurbriggen’s research led her to conclude that women who fanaticize about submission have a more positive attitude about sex and are less sexually guilty.

My latest erotic romance, Midnight Touch, is probably the darkest story I’ve ever written. The true darkness took place during Sara’s past when she was married to an evil man. She’s now free and determined to forge a new life, but the past won’t leave her alone. It first appears in the form of Mace Seeger who knows more about Sara and her husband than he wishes he did. He’s as trapped by a man who might not be truly dead as Sara is.

Vonna Harper
www.VonnaHarper.com
https://www.facebook.com/vonna.harper.35

You’ll just have to pick up a copy of Gargoyle’s Embrace to see! Do you love mythology as much as I do? Greek, Norse, Egyptian… I could get lost for hours in books about mythical heroes! So, I wrote one. It’s very naughty! Consider yourself warned!

Gargoyle’s Embrace

Lust trapped them in darkness…only love can free them…

Petra Pedersen has lived as a recluse all her life thanks to a shameful power inherited from the father she will never know—the power to incite lust in men and women with just a touch. Exploring the garden of the mansion she’s just inherited, she comes across a fascinating stone gargoyle whose raw, passionate expression draws her to caress its powerful body. Her imagination follows her fluttering fingers. As she closes her eyes and gives herself up to the arousal, something shifts beneath her touch.

Long ago, failure to stop a demon battle trapped Octavius in a prison of stone. Freed by the woman’s incendiary touch, he doesn’t hesitate to unleash his pent-up rage and desire in a blistering fury. Yet once the haze of lust clears, he discovers he isn’t really free after all. They are both trapped in another realm where he must choose between his last chance for redemption or returning Petra home…

Warning: Sex with inanimate objects, lusty m/m/f ménages with gods… It’s all good when the reward is freedom.

Get your copy here!

And…what readers are saying about Cochise?

“This series of books [Montana Bounty Hunters] is one of the author’s finest.”

“Cochise (Book 4) was exciting, fast paced, scary, filled with plot twists…”

“Heart pounding action and a VERY satisfying read!”

A hunt deep in a national forest forges bonds between a bounty hunter and a woman desperate to find her sister…

Get your copy here!

STRANDED: A BOYS BEHAVING BADLY ANTHOLOGY
Editor: Delilah Devlin
Deadline: November 15, 2018

STRANDED is open to all authors.

Editor/Author Delilah Devlin (me!) is looking for stories for a romantic erotica anthology tentatively entitled STRANDED: A BOYS BEHAVING BADLY ANTHOLOGY.

Why write a short story for this collection? Well, it’s certainly not about making a lot of money, so why do it at all? I have several thoughts…

Writing a short story for a call for submissions is a chance to flex your writing muscle! It can be a chance to experiment with a genre you’ve never written. If you’ve never written a story in first person but don’t want to begin by writing an entire novel using it, start short! For myself, I’ve written stories in new genres or with fresh themes that ended up being so much fun to write they’ve spawned entire series.

You have a deadline! I don’t know about you, but I have trouble keeping my butt in the chair without one!

It’s a promotional opportunity! If selected, you’ll be joined by 12-15 other authors for the launch, sharing your audiences and, hopefully, picking up new readers along the way. Having your story in the collection is another chance to be “seen.”

And remember, you retain the rights to your story, so you can republish it for individual sale or give it away to attract subscribers to your newsletter. You might even decide there’s more story to tell and expand it into a novel!

Here’s what I’m looking for…

STRANDED: A BOYS BEHAVING BADLY ANTHOLOGY will include stories that satisfy the reader who craves stories about women who find themselves in extremely challenging circumstances—vulnerable to the elements and/or to their rescuers! But don’t create damsels in distress who don’t have an inner core of resolve to save themselves. Heroines must be strong characters, otherwise, how will they attract and capture the love of a strong alpha hero?

I’m eager to work on my next delectable anthology—this one filled with stories about women who find themselves—STRANDED. Your heroine could be a castaway on a desert island, have her car break down in the mountains, be stranded in the ocean while snorkelling, crash land in the jungle or on an uninhabited planet… Don’t limit your imagination to these ideas! Have fun with the concept.

I’m open to any subgenre of erotic romance you want to write. I’ll accept contemporary, historical, science fiction, or paranormal stories, and I won’t be picky about whether the stories are hetero, LGBT, ménage… Basically, you, the author, can go anywhere your imagination takes you so long as 1) the woman is in jeopardy, and 2) the story is a romance, and 3) you have a bad boy somewhere in the pages! Should you write that LGBT story, consider making the couple’s adversary or helpmate a roguish man—because, hey, I’m looking for men who behave badly.

The anthology will be sold at a low price—my intent is exposure for you and your writing. The more readers reached, the better! You will retain the rights to your story, so that, at a later date, you can republish your stories individually.

I’m seeking hot and inventive stories from authors with unique voices, and above all, I’m looking to be seduced by tales filled with vivid imagery and passion.

Published authors with an established world may use that setting for their original short story.

This is erotic romance, so don’t hold back on the heat. Stories can be vanilla or filled with kink, but don’t miss describing the romantic connection between strong-willed individuals learning to trust and love one another. A deep sensuality should linger in every word. Keep in mind there must be a romantic element with a happy-for-now or happy-ever-after ending. Strong plots, engaging characters, and unique twists are the ultimate goal. Please no reprints. I want original stories.

How to submit: Prepare your 2,500 to 5,500 words story in a double-spaced, Arial, 12 point, black font, Word document (.doc or .docx) OR rich text format (.rtf), with pages numbered. Indent the first line of each paragraph half an inch, and double space (regular double spacing; do not add extra lines between paragraphs or do any other irregular spacing). U.S. grammar (double quotation marks around dialogue, etc.) is required.

In your document at the top left of the first page, include your legal name (and pseudonym, if applicable), mailing address, email address, and a 50-words or less bio, written in the third person, and send to boyswhobehavebadlystranded@gmail.com. If you are using a pseudonym, please provide your real name and pseudonym and make it clear which one you’d like to be credited as. Authors may submit up to 2 stories. I will respond no later than December 30, 2018 with decisions.

Payment will be $25.00 USD ninety days after publication at the end of that month.

Who am I?

Delilah Devlin is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of erotica and erotic romance. She has published nearly two hundred stories in multiple genres and lengths, and is published by Atria/Strebor, Avon, Berkley, Black Lace, Cleis Press, Ellora’s Cave, Entangled, Grand Central, Harlequin Spice, HarperCollins: Mischief, Kensington, Kindle, Montlake, Penthouse, Running Press, and Samhain Publishing.

Her short stories have appeared in multiple Cleis Press collections, including Lesbian Cowboys, Girl Crush, Fairy Tale Lust, Lesbian Lust, Passion, Lesbian Cops, Dream Lover, Carnal Machines, Best Erotic Romance (2012), Suite Encounters, Girl Fever, Girls Who Score, Duty and Desire, Best Lesbian Romance of 2013, and On Fire. For Cleis Press, she edited Girls Who Bite, She Shifters, Cowboy Lust, Smokin’ Hot Firemen, High Octane Heroes, Cowboy Heat, Hot Highlanders and Wild Warriors and Sex Objects. She also edited Conquests: An Anthology of Smoldering Viking Romance, Rogues: A Boys Behaving Badly Anthology, Blue Collar: A Boys Behaving Badly Anthology, and Pirates: A Boys Behaving Badly Anthology.

Direct any questions you have regarding your story or the submission process to me at boyswhobehavebadlystranded@gmail.com.