A new book release and beastly heroes

I finally have a new book out. My hero is a little different from the normal romance hero. He is half-wolf and half-man. Does that make him any less appealing? I don't think so and neither does the heroine. :) The Wolf Queen is a new twist on Beauty and the Beast and the Greek myth of Lycaon the werewolf.

Cursed by Zeus to live in the body of a wolf, Lycaon found a way to change his shape into a human form, but he can't quite get rid of some wolfish qualities. I think of him as savagely handsome like Jason Momoa in Game of Thrones. I decided to go all the way with making my hero look the part of a beast, but still make him appealing. A Beauty and the Beast story doesn't work for me unless the "Beast" actually looks the part like in the B&TB series in the 1980s with Ron Pearlman as the Beast. I wasn't going to wimp out and make my hero too handsome when he's supposed to be cursed with a beastly appearance.

Book Title: The Wolf Queen

Author: Kelley Heckart

Author website: http://www.kelleyheckart.com

Genre: Greek myths/fantasy/werewolves/romance

Release date: 12/17/15

Page Count: 246

ISBN-13: 978-1519606242

ISBN-10: 1519606249 

ASIN: B019HML564

Kindle Buy Link: http://amzn.to/1Mk95rZ

Trade Paperback Buy Link on amazon.com: http://amzn.to/1Mk9aMc

Blurb

The Wolf Queen

Book 2: The Arcadia Series

A new twist on Beauty and the Beast and the Greek myth of Lycaon the werewolf. A Bronze Age fantasy, adventure, and romance set in Arcadia, the wild forests of the goddess Artemis… Game of Thrones meets The Iliad…

A tormented wolf man… A mysterious girl with a terrible secret…

Alara, a princess from a foreign land, is forced to wed the sorcerer-king Aramon, a power-hungry warlord, who discovers her dark secret and wants to use her to create an invincible army. When she meets Lycaon, she must decide if she should trust the cursed, tormented half-man half-wolf who might be her enemy or her true mate.

Lycaon, once a great king until he was cursed by Zeus to be a werewolf, is drawn to the mysterious princess. He is torn between helping Alara escape and using her to gain power over those who despise him.

Secrets abound and old enemies are reunited to battle Aramon before his terrible plan is unleashed. Time is running out as the dark moon approaches. Soon, Arcadia will be overrun with an unstoppable, vicious army unless Aramon can be defeated. To prevent his victory, the cost is high. As Lycaon’s affection for Alara grows, it becomes more difficult for him to decide which to save: Arcadia or her.

“Ms. Heckart draws the reader into the pages and enchants them with her words.”

Karen McGill, Coffee Time Romance

Excerpt (PG):

Although she had been warned of Lycaon’s band of misfits, seeing them watching her with cold eyes made her skin crawl. “Y-you are a goat man.” She stared in astonishment at the horns, the pointed ears, and goat legs with hooves covered in thick brown hair. Despite being half goat, he was the most handsome man she had ever seen with bright, slanted blue eyes and shoulder-length dark brown hair, some strands knotted into warrior braids. A belted loincloth covered little, revealing a muscular upper body.

He raised a bushy eyebrow. “I prefer satyr.”

The other odd-looking people laughed.

She opened her mouth to speak again, but the circle parted and a man stepped forward. A hood covered his head, so she could only see glimpses of his face—a flash of fang-like teeth, fierce eyes, and lots of dark hair. She shrank back from the man who looked like a mix of human and wolf.

“Who in Tartarus are you, and what are you doing in my lands?” His voice sounded like a vicious snarl.

Transfixed by his appearance, she wondered what the rest of his face looked like beneath the hooded tunic. Towering over her, his muscles strained against the dark brown woolen tunic and deerskin leggings he wore. Masculine power encircled him like a god’s nimbus, in the proud way he carried himself, and in the way he commanded their attention, for even his companions stepped back and looked at him with reverence, even the giant who barely stood taller than what glared at her now.

Alara eyed his large feet covered in laced up leather boots, afraid he might kick her, his anger at her quite apparent by the claw-like hands, partially covered in fingerless leather gloves, fisted at his sides. All she could see were his eyes, framed by heavy, dark, forbidding eyebrows, fixated on her from within the hood. Ice blue and emerald green rings. Fiery golden flecks. Intense and feral. She would never forget them. He held back his anger, but for how long? “I-I came…” His fierce stare made her forget her speech.

****

Multi-published author Kelley Heckart lives in Arizona with her musician husband, dog and a number of backyard “pets,” including Godzilla the desert iguana. Her stories reflect her passion for ancient and medieval time periods, storytelling and the supernatural. Inspired by the ancient Celts, her tales are filled with fierce warriors, bold women, otherworldly creatures, magic, and romance. When not writing, she works as a freelance editor and practices target archery. She can be found online at http://www.kelleyheckart.com/

To sign up for my newsletter and receive special notices like new book releases and giveaways only for my subscribers: http://kelleyheckart.com/Contact_Kelley_Page.html

Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy romance author

Captivating...Sensual...Otherworldly

http://www.kelleyheckart.com

http://kelleysrealm.blogspot.com/

http://twitter.com/CelticChick

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604

http://www.goodreads.com/kheckart

Favorite paranormal creature?

I’m working on a new series and trying to decide which paranormal creature I want to use. Vampires have been really popular, but I hear they are on their way out, though I find this hard to believe. Vampires have fascinated humans since Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Then Ann Rice’s popular vampire novels changed the way people viewed the creatures of the night. She was the first author to write erotic vampires. And recently it was the Twilight series that became popular with women of all ages. I think vampires are here to stay. I have had a vampire, a Greek vampire, in one of my series so I’m not sure about vampires for this series I am working on now.

Werewolves have also been quite popular. I have to admit that I lean toward werewolves for the series I am working on. True werewolves, not shapeshifters that can change at will, but the ones cursed to change at the full moon. Bloodthirsty beasts. Killers. What fascinates me about this type of creature is that for the rest of the month, the werewolf is human. I think it’s that beast within theme that is so attractive to me—that mixture of innocence and danger.

Faeries and angels are also popular. I have written faeries before so I want to do something that I haven’t done before. There are so many types of paranormal creatures to choose from that I will have to do some more research and decide what is best for my series.

Do you have a favorite paranormal creature that you would like to see in stories?

 

Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy romance author

Captivating...Sensual...Otherworldly

http://www.kelleyheckart.com

http://kelleysrealm.blogspot.com/ Check out my long hair hotties!

http://twitter.com/CelticChick

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604

A Greek vampire, Celtic kings, vengeful goddesses, an ancient faery curse…

All three books of my Dark Goddess trilogy are available in Print and Ebook. Set in dark age Scotland, I mixed history with a Samhain/Beltaine myth that revolves around an Irish clan and the goddesses Brigit and Cailleach.

Growing up Paranormal

Now that I think about it I was probably a weird kid. From a very young age I was fascinated with the paranormal, especially horror movies and books. I remember staying up to watch the late night scary movies hosted by various strange hosts like Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. My favorite movies were the classic horror movies, the black and white Dracula and Wolfman, and the 1970’s Dracula movies starring Frank Langella.

My décor in my bedroom included glow-in-the-dark models of Dracula and Wolfman. Not really normal for a girl, right? My collection of books included Stephen King, Robert McCammon, Dean Koontz, collections of short ghost/horror stories and Ann Rice’s vamps and witches. I was into vampires long before they became trendy and sparkly. I still have a fascination with skulls and keep my macabre collection out all year. It’s Halloween all the time for me.

Growing up a horror fan, it would seem natural for me to write horror. Not exactly. I did write some short horror stories way back when I became serious about writing, but they were never published, and for good reason. Somehow I ended up writing romance, which is strange because I didn’t read much romance growing up. I think what changed my mind was Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander. It was a romance, but it wasn’t the usual formulaic romance. I decided to try writing romance and adding the elements I like—Celtic mythology, fantasy, paranormal, magic and otherworldly creatures like faeries (not the tiny, sparkly good kind), gods and goddesses, shifters and ancient vampires. All that time spent watching horror movies and reading horror stories was well worth it.

With my love of the paranormal, horror and Halloween, it was natural for me to be drawn to the ancient Celts, the founders of Samhain/Halloween and a people linked with the mystical realm. This is how I came to write Celtic historical romances with paranormal/fantasy elements.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A Greek vampire, Celtic kings, vengeful goddesses, an ancient faery curse…

All three books of my Dark Goddess trilogy are available in Print and Ebook. Set in dark age Scotland, I mixed history with a Samhain/Beltaine myth that revolves around an Irish clan and the goddesses Brigit and Cailleach.

Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy author

Captivating...Sensual...Otherworldly

http://www.kelleyheckart.com

http://kelleysrealm.blogspot.com/ Check out my long hair hotties!

http://twitter.com/CelticChick

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604

My book page at Mundania Press:

http://www.mundania.com/author.php?author=Kelley+Heckart

My author page on amazon.com:

http://www.amazon.com/Kelley-Heckart/e/B002BMOQ3C/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0

The top ten Halloween costumes for 2011

In honor of Halloween, I thought I would post the top ten costumes this year. Happy Halloween everyone!

 

Katy Perry

Rapunzel

Amy Winehouse

Princess Beatrice’s Hat—This one cracks me up.

Caribbean Pirates

Harry Potter Costumes

Zombies

Lady Gaga

Jersey Shore Cast—My personal favorite--I think Snookie would be a fun costume character.

Twilight Characters

http://diyfashion.about.com/od/costumes/tp/Top_Halloween_Costume_Ideas_2011.htm?r=94

 

Kelley Heckart

'Timeless tales of romance, conflict & magic'

http://www.kelleyheckart.com

http://kelleysrealm.blogspot.com/

http://twitter.com/CelticChick

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604

My book page at Mundania Press

http://www.mundania.com/author.php?author=Kelley+Heckart

Do vampires make good heroes?

I have been wondering about this lately because I am working on something new and might want to draw a link between vampires and werewolves. So I started comparing the two to see which would make a better hero.

The oldest vampire myth, which is Sumerian, talks of a horrible creature called the Ekimmu, a vampire-like creature that resembled a reanimated corpse. Souls that died in a violent way in ancient Sumeria were believed to come back as vampires to torment the living.

Modern romance novels paint vampires in a much different light and I don’t know if I’m buying it. Sure, these modern vampires are a lot better to look at than their ancient, hideous counterparts, but maybe it’s an illusion so they can easily lure their victims. In Twilight, 200-year-old Edward pretty much stalks teenage Bella. That’s kind of creepy. Vampires are undead, natural predators and they are loners who prefer to hunt and live alone. Is that the essence of a hero?

Werewolves are human for the most part and they are alive. Wolves are social animals, run in packs and they mate for life. If I were a Twilight fan, I would have been in the Jacob camp. He just seemed like a better match for Bella and made a more believable hero.

Which one makes a better hero? Vampire or Werewolf?

Kelley Heckart

'Timeless tales of romance, conflict & magic'
http://www.kelleyheckart.com
http://kelleysrealm.blogspot.com/ Check out my long hair hotties!
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604

Three different women, one ancient curse…

Technorati Tags: Kelley Heckart,vampires,werewolves,heroes,twilight,edward,jacob,romance writing,writing heroes

Sexy Werewovles and Vampires, Yum!

I’m another new blogger here at NN. So, BRIEF intro – I’m an aspiring paranormal romance writer living in the western US.

My first blog is being dedicated to my favorite paranormal romance author: Kresley Cole. Since Kresley is THE REASON I started writing paranormal romances, I felt honor bound to talk about her in my first post here.

I’ve been reading romances for enough years to reveal that I’m no spring chicken. I read pretty much every genre. Paranormal was my most recent discovery. A couple of years ago I was cruising around looking for new authors to read and discovered a review of Kresley’s first paranormal novel in her Immortals After Dark Series. Read and loved. Read the rest of the series in less than a week. Currently devouring her latest release.

Now, I love many of the wonderful paranormal romance authors out there: Gena, Larissa, Lara, Christine, Sherrilyn. I’ll stop listing now. There are many more great authors out there. Don’t want to offend anyone by leaving her/him out. But the reason I’m blogging about Kresley is because her writing lured me into the paranormal world.

Today I’m reviewing the first full-length novel of the Immortals After Dark Series, A Hunger Like No Other. The series starts officially with the novella “The Warlord Wants Forever” in the Anthology Playing Easy to Get, which also contains entries by Sherrilyn and Jaid Black.

Acclaimed author Kresley Cole introduces a sizzling new series with this tale of a fierce werewolf and a bewitching vampire -- unlikely soul mates whose passion will test the boundaries of life and death.

A mythic warrior who'll stop at nothing to possess her . . .

After enduring years of torture from the vampire horde, Lachlain MacRieve, leader of the Lykae Clan, is enraged to find the predestined mate he's waited millennia for is a vampire. Or partly one. This Emmaline is a small, ethereal half Valkyrie/half vampire, who somehow begins to soothe the fury burning within him.

A vampire captured by her wildest fantasy . . .

Sheltered Emmaline Troy finally sets out to uncover the truth about her deceased parents -- until a powerful Lykae claims her as his mate and forces her back to his ancestral Scottish castle. There, her fear of the Lykae -- and their notorious dark desires -- ebbs as he begins a slow, wicked seduction to sate her own dark cravings.

An all-consuming desire . . .

Yet when an ancient evil from her past resurfaces, will their desire deepen into a love that can bring a proud warrior to his knees and turn a gentle beauty into the fighter she was born to be?

That's the Amazon.com blurb for A Hunger Like No Other. The tale begins in Paris where Emma is searching for clues to her past. She is the daughter of a deceased Valkyrie and an unknown vampire. In the eyes of her aunts, the kickass Valkyrie, Emma is a wuss. She drinks blood from a goblet and cries when she dusts the wings of a moth. Now she’s trying to flee, unsuccessfully, from a half-nuts werewolf who’s been tortured by vampires for the last one hundred plus years.

Lachlain is the hot hero of this tale. The king of the werewolves, aka Lykae, he’s been held prisoner by the Horde, or evil division of vampires. He’s been toasted in eternal flames only to be revived by his immortal nature for many years. When he catches a whiff of his mate’s scent, Lachlain goes to incredible lengths – this is one seriously determined wolfman – to escape and find her. Lachlain is one yummy Scottish werewolf that made this reader purr with delight.

Throw together a slightly demented Lykae and a wuss of a vampire-Valkyrie and you have a very entertaining couple. Since I dislike reviews that drop too many spoilers, I won’t say more about the plot.

At the end of the novel a very helpful glossary of terms is included to familiarize the reader with Kresley’s paranormal world. It may be included in the beginning of some versions as it is in later tales from the series.

Lachlain’s POV in the beginning is a little disjointed which perfectly fits his slightly psycho state of mind. As Emma’s presence tames his wilder half, he becomes more coherent. Emma starts off as a wuss, which may be a turnoff to some readers. I’ve heard complaints that in paranormal romance the heroines are often weak bookends for the hero. I don’t find this so in Kresley’s tales and indeed, Emma’s metamorphosis is more powerful in light of her original wussdom.

One of the major appeals of Kresley’s writing is her humor. Some of the secondary characters, especially the eccentric Valkyries, are down right chuckle inducing. She also hints at coming tales with side plots but doesn’t detract from the main story by putting too much out there. I hate it when the secondary plot is more interesting than the main hero and heroine. Kresley saves the good stuff for the actual story, which I really appreciate. I also appreciate that while she drops some current cultural references into her writing, she doesn’t go overboard as some authors to to the point of being ridiculous.

So, if you’re a paranormal romance reader or writer who hasn’t read Kresley Cole, get the hell out there and read her Immortals After Dark Series. You won’t regret it and if you do, well, I’ll be questioning your taste, because Kresley's tales are excellent!

Cheers,

Lila Barton

http://lilabartonromance.blogspot.com/ For news on my work.

http://lilabarton.wordpress.com/ My writing blog - topics for romance writers.

My Thoughts On A Few Types Of Monsters

Monsters are creatures. (duh!) And as many types of animals there are in the world, monsters are varied too. Warm and cold blooded, insect-like, lizard looking, some sprout feathers whil other show scales, skin, or fur.

Have you ever heard of a Couatl? It's a flying serpentine monster, closely related to dragons (also known as "wind serpents"). Some are venomous, some boast magic, and some contain neither. They live to be centuries old, solitary, in humid jungle type environments. Couatl eat medium sized rodents (Possum, rabbits, etc.) and can weigh more than 1,500 pounds. I'd hate for one to fly over and poop on my head!

Nightmares live a solitary life and appear to be a normal black horse. But this demon is no pony! Nightmares (not necessarily a mare, BTW) perform the bidding of their evil masters—dark demons and wizards.

Flames blaze in their manes and tales, hooves burn and eyes glow. These monsters roam the world, awaiting their next order. I, however,—minor equine expert that I am-- balk at the idea of their solitary existence. I happen to know horses live in herds. I wonder if I could take one of them out with a fire hose…

I won't go into Harpies, because almost everyone knows one!

Not exactly human, Nightwalkers are reported to stand up to twenty feet tall. Most are comprised of pure evil. With incredible strength, they can crush weapons or people with little effort. The upper level and elite in their society are able to perform spells and call lesser Nightwalkers to serve them. While not all wear clothing (ooh la la), the majority are usually covered with smooth skin. The most recognized Nightwalker would be the Vampire-- not the gals standing on the corner of Anita and Ball streets.

I'm not sure why, but I love Gargoyles. By day, they go unnoticed as stone statues on buildings or columns. Historically, these flying lizard/humanoid creatures were our protectors, guarding our homes. At nightfall they come to life, befriending a lucky few residents. Did you know that gargoyles were originally manufactured with a spout to drain water away from masonry buildings? Can you guess where some of the spouts were placed?

The persona of the Werewolf sure changed over the years. They went from mouth frothing, rabid-like monsters to a sexy I-wanna-do-him creature on the silver screen. Branches of the Were family are the Werebear, Wererat, and who could ever forget (I almost did) the Wereboar. I kid you not. It's right there in Wikipedia or something. If a Werewolf's fur mats while he's in transition, will the hair pull when he transforms back to human? And does he kick his scat with his back legs like my dog does?

As many types of creatures there are in the world, like sandwiches, just as many monsters loiter about. And now those creatures have gone and mated with one another, so we've hybrids to contend with.

How about a Hobgoblin crossed with a Griffin? Well, you know what I'm getting at. It's all in our muse!