What's in a Name?

When I submitted the second book to The Darkness and the Night trilogy, I had the title Blood and Shadow in mind.  However, an editor at Ravenous Romance was taken with a particular scene, one which entailed Karen making love to a galaxy on the Astral plane, and she was intent on naming the book after it.

One wonderful aspect to writing paranormal erotica is the boundless possibilities in which one can create erotic content.  The following scene is one of my more adventurous endeavors.  Is it good enough to merit the naming of a book?  I’ll leave that up to you to decide.

Excerpt: THE DARKNESS AND THE NIGHT 2: COSMIC ORGASM

“Don’t cry, dear,” Mona whispered, her free hand weakly brushing Karen’s face clean.

In an instant, Karen and Mona floated in an Astral void. Karen watched as Mona, now a youthful woman with colorful butterfly wings, fluttered around her.

“On the Astral, all is timeless. There is no death, only existence and lack of existence. On the Astral, memories of me will always exist, and beyond that, my soul will move on to a new and different adventure.”

A colorful, oversized jungle slowly formed around them, and Karen flew beside Mona as they fluttered and soared through the enormous overgrowth. They passed flowers the size of their bodies and trees as tall as skyscrapers. Karen realized that she too was now a butterfly, and she and Mona flew together, soaring and darting through the air.

“Everything is timeless,” Mona said, “but everything is also in a constant state of change. Nothing in this universe is constant.”

Karen watched as Mona flew into a tree, and exploded into a hundred smaller butterflies. The butterflies scattered, and Karen looked around as the scenery began to fade.

Suddenly, Karen found herself in a dark void, unable even to sense her own body. She saw nothing, but she could feel that Mona was nearby.

“I can feel my body fading,” Mona said, her voice echoing through the void. “I’ll be dead soon, but I have one last gift for you.”

Karen felt a foreign sensation pulse through her, despite her inability to pinpoint her body. Suddenly, what appeared to be a distant galaxy came into view, and Karen realized that she was a vast cluster of particles in space. Stars shone all around her, and other galaxies soon became visible. Karen looked in all directions, still unable to see any hint of her earthly body.

A cluster of asteroids flew by, inducing a light tickle across one side of her as they left ripples through space. A small portion of them fell into a vortex that seemed to lead to her center, and as they entered its event horizon, suddenly Karen felt the sweet, orgasmic sensation of deep, passionate sex. She heard an elated cry echo through the cosmos, and then realized that somehow the sound was coming from her.

The swarm of tiny butterflies came into view, and then darted away, spiraling off into the distance. There was a small flash of light as the butterflies disappeared, and then suddenly a galaxy appeared in the distance, in their place, rushing toward Karen.

She thought to brace for the impact, but there was no body to brace as the galaxy moved upon her. She felt the rush of countless sensations flowing through her as it hit, the feel of an entire universe fondling and caressing her, entering and filling her. The ripples through space danced and played against one another, vibrating through her. A deep swell of ecstasy exploded within her, and her pleasured cries sailed into eternity.

THE DARKNESS AND THE NIGHT 2: COSMIC ORGASM is available in paperback and all electronic formats and can be found at all major online retailers.  Click on the Amazon link on the right sidebar for more information.

Happy reading!

It’s the Anti-Twilight … Oh, Yes!

With the release of Stephanie Meyer’s newest Twilight film, I thought it might be helpful to remind readers that there is a deliciously dark and dirty alternative.  Originally copyrighted in 1997 as short stories in my 13-Taled Beast collection, then re-written into three full-length novels in 2008 and 2009, The Darkness and the Night trilogy is effectively the anti-Twilight.  For Twilight fans, that might not be a big draw; however, for those who like their vampires scary instead of sparkly, murderous instead of “vegetarian,” and lustful instead of chaste, have I got the series for you….

I haven’t read the Twilight saga, so I’m not going to pass any judgment on Meyer’s writing skills.  Stephen King already covered that, and I’m not one to argue with the King.  I have heard all about the series, however, and it seems to me that one either loves or hates Meyer’s work—with no in-between.  For most die-hard horror fans, reading about vampires with “traditional” family values just doesn’t cut it.  Mind you, I have nothing against anyone’s religious or family values.  I just don’t think they mesh (at all) with stories about monsters spanning from a long history of blood-drinking, village-infesting creatures of the night.  Bram Stoker surely turned in his grave when Meyer’s series got the greenlight.  What’s next, “born again” zombies who moan prayers before eating pig brains?

Conversely, The Darkness and the Night offers readers a contemporary alternative to the coffin-sleeping denizens of lore without attempting to tame the beast.  The storyline is dark and, at times, horrific.  The sex is raw and uncensored.  At times, there is raunchiness and there is gore.  Would Stephen King approve?  He’d likely call it dirty, rotten smut, then qualify that with a unabashed smirk.  I dare not put words into the King’s mouth, however, so instead I leave you with a proposition of my own: While the YA crowd gears up to gawk at vampire sparkles, join the numbers of readers who have turned to the dark side for their vampire fix.  Read The Darkness and the Night and follow the independent heroin Karen on her dark odyssey—from Stockholm victim, to self-realized monster, to suburban vampire mom—and make the comparison yourself.

Happy reading!