Update 2: From Juliana…I want to thank Cynthia for having me.  This was fun!  I used a randomizer thingy and the winner of a copy of Cynthia’s book, Midnight’s Master is Lea.  Please email me at my website with all your info!

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Update:  Juliana is going to send one commenter a copy of MIDNIGHT’S MASTER. Now, yes, I may be a bit biased, but I think that is an awesome prize! Thanks, Juliana!

Today, I’m happy to have Juliana Stone as my guest for demon fun.  Juliana is an author on my watch list.  🙂  Next April, the first book in her Jaguar paranormal series will be published by Avon, and, in case that series just wasn’t enough, the woman is working on a YA story, too. Busy, busy.  Welcome, Juliana!!

What Is It About These Bad Boys?

Several months ago, I decided to write a young adult book. This has been a dream of mine for a few years now. When I met my agent in fact, I had told her my goal was to be published in both adult and young adult paranormal. These are the two types of books I most enjoy reading, so it made sense.

Earlier this year I had some time before I needed to dive back into my second Jaguar Warrior book, so I decided to bring my vision of a young adult novel to life.

I had an idea, a story about a young angel who decides she no longer wants to observe humans silently from the shadows. She wants to be human. So, she makes a deal. With a demon. He will help her escape the upper realm and live as a human for one full year and in exchange, well, as with all demons, she’ll owe him.

This is how my young adult book, Ravyn’s Fall began. I had envisioned Ravyn becoming involved with a cute, hot, human boy. I would need to add some sort of conflict of course, but this is where the story had originally headed.

Then I started writing. In the first chapter I have a brief moment with Ravyn and the demon, Ezekiel. (Both of these characters are teens in human form) It was a small interaction between the two of them, but it changed the focus of the story.

My demon, was charismatic, totally hot, dark, dangerous, arrogant, did I say hot? And being a demon, of course he was bad. What more could a teenage girl want? Zeke (Ezekiel) came to life in such a way that he became the focus. He had layers, depth and truthfully? My demon Ezekiel could kick Edward Cullen’s ass from here to hell and back.

In an instant he became the hero, or anti-hero and my human boy never even made it to the page. Ezekiel brought an excitement to the story and it’s much stronger because of him. I do love me some demon!

What is it about these dark, tortured souls that call to us? Is it the “I can save him” factor? The bad boy thing? The thrill of the forbidden? And why do demons make the perfect foil for all of these scenarios?

Update:  Thanks for all the comments, everyone! I really enjoyed reading your take on the rise of demons in paranormal romances.
The winner from this post is…commenter #6, !  Congrats, Tamsyn T!  I’ll email you with prize details.

As I walked through the bookstore yesterday (I’d gotten a gift card for my birthday, and, of course, I had to spend it immediately), my eyes were caught by an assortment of books–demon books.  Now, don’t get me wrong, I was pleased to see the demon stories, especially since I have my own demon book coming out in just a few weeks! Seeing all these books made me think…oh, yeah, demons must be “in” right now.

Any idea why?  I mean, I like the demon stories because I’m a sucker for bad boys, especially the bad ones that you want to redeem.  And you can’t get more “bad” than a demon, and if you want to talk about redemption–yep, demons.  That’s why I enjoy the demons, but what about you?  Why do you like the demon novels?

And do you think demons are the new black?  Are they the next popular wave of paranormal characters?  Will they possibly dethrone the paranormal champs, the vamps?

Let me know what you think, and you could win one of these demon books that I saw on my recent bookstore travels (I’ll ship the book to you via Amazon.com):

Update: The winner of the autographed copy of MIDNIGHT SINS is…commneter, #30, Rebecca Jean! Congrats, Rebecca! And thanks to everyone for the comments!

It’s Saturday, so that mean it’s time for an excerpt. This week’s focus is on a fight scene, and, since I am in the midst of my demon month, I thought I’d share a fight excerpt featuring one of my demons.  The excerpt below is from MIDNIGHT SINS (my heroine is a demon in this book) and, as you’ll see, when a succubus fights, well, the method of attack might not quite be what you’re used to seeing.

Today I’ll give away an autographed copy of MIDNIGHT SINS to a commenter. So if you haven’t read this book yet, well, here’s your chance for a free copy!  Just leave me a comment to be entered in the drawing. Tell me, what’s the most incredible fight you’ve ever seen/read about?

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Well, damn if her day didn’t just suck.

She’d been watching the rumpled human male with half an eye, her mind on the murders, when the guy suddenly lunged for the desk on the far left.

He’d come up with a gun and every cop in the area had frozen.

Now he had a too-tight grip on her arm. The scent of fear and unwashed skin flooded her nostrils.

The barrel of the gun came dangerously close to her face. No, not a damn good day.

“Stay back or I’ll fucking kill her!”

The arm he’d looped around her neck tightened.

From the corner of her eye, she saw Todd. He was advancing on the man, on them, eyes narrowed, face hard with rage. He had his gun out. Cara realized if she didn’t do something, fast, her day was about to go from bad to sheer hell.

Because she sure wasn’t just going to stand there, be strangled, threatened, and then watch her cop get hurt.

Not when she could so easily stop the jerk who held her. Todd might not like the methods she was about to use, but there wasn’t much of an option.

Besides, perhaps it was time for him to see that she truly wasn’t the helpless damsel that he thought she was.

“I goin’ out of here, and I’m takin’ this bitch with me!” The guy snarled, spittle flying from his mouth.

Her hands lifted, yanked on the arm and freed her throat. “No,” she told him softly, “you’re not.” Breathing deeply, she dropped her control and let her pheromones fill the air.

The guy was so close to her that he got a direct hit. He spun her around to face him, eyes wide, mouth open.

She smiled at him. Pitched her voice low and poured on the compulsion as she said, “Kiss me.”

The gun hit the floor with a clatter as he locked his lips on hers. The air pulsed with his sexual energy. It was an energy much darker than Todd’s. And weaker. So much weaker.

But energy was energy—and the little bastard had threatened her.

So she’d take a bit of his power for herself.

Asshole.

Her hand rose. Touched his chest, and, with her kiss and touch, she pulled the man’s lust and power right out of him.

The sweet rush heated her blood. Oh, but it had been so long since she’d just let herself go. Just let herself take and take and take.

His body trembled against hers. A strangled moan bubbled in his throat and the heart that thumped beneath her hand began to slow.

Then to skip beats.

She pulled her mouth from his. Watched his bleary green eyes drift closed.

And then man fell backward, landing on the floor with a thud.

Cara inhaled deeply and caught the power still floating in the air. A faint shine lit her skin.

Sweet, sweet power.

Her head turned. She saw the stares then. The slack expressions on many of the male officers’ faces. Her gaze darted past them, caught sight of—

Smith. The ME stood near the elevator, hands fisted, mouth open, and eyes wide with horror.

Just great.

And a few feet away from Smith stood—

Another woman. A redhead. She waited between two cops, just a little past Smith. She stared right back at Cara. Not with the horror that Smith had, but with a kind of stark curiosity on her face.

As she focused on the woman’s face, the flare of her hunger and rage began to fade, and reality slowly raised its head.

Hell.But there was no going back now.

“What the fuck were you doing?” The roar came from Todd as he grabbed the gun, then secured the weapon. He caught her arms, pulling her close to him. “Cara?”

She blinked. Forced herself to meet his dark stare. Anger. No, fury. Jealousy.

Fear?

She could see it all. Swirling in those eyes. She could feel the emotions beating at her. “This is who I am.” Gyth was on the floor next to the still man, checking for a pulse. “I told you, I can take care of myself.” And punish those who threatened her.

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Want to read more fight excerpts? Then visit these participating authors:

Shelley Munro
Anya Bast
Cynthia Eden
SJ Day
Vivi Anna
Jaci Burton
Mandy Roth
Michelle Pillow
Juliana Stone
Moira Rogers
Sacha White
TJ Michaels
Maura Anderson
Beth Kery
Jody Wallace
Eliza Gayle
Kelly Maher
Elisabeth Naughton
Taige Crenshaw
Beth Williamson

Have a great Saturday! I’m off to do some birthday celebrating.  🙂

2nd Update:  The winner of Demon Dreamer is commenter #70, Armenia! Congratulations, Armenia!  I will send your email address to Vivi.  Thanks for all the comments!

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Update:  Because Vivi is so awesome, one lucky commenter will win DEMON DREAMER!!  So leave a comment for a chance to win this great story.

Today, my guest is the most fabulous Vivi Anna!!!  Welcome, Vivi!  Vivi has a new demon book that will be out soon from Samhain, and I can’t wait to read this story. I love Vivi’s Nocturnes (I’m addicted to them) and I’m eagerly looking forward to her demon world.

I’ve always thought demons were interesting choices for characters in books. Of course, they’ve been labeled as villains since the beginning of time, but now that tide is turning. More and more demons are coming out of the closet as would be heroes. Gone is the persona of evil. Reluctant heroism comes in its place.

I’ve liked the possibility of demons as heroes. There is so much angst to deal with. I mean hello, you’re a demon. Talk about your damaged hero. Wow! And after I read Lilith Saintcrow’s first Dante Valentine book, I was in deep love with a demon hero. Her hero Japhrimel is outstanding. I also have to admit, the demon in Kim Harrison’s Hollow series, Algaliarept fascinates me on all kinds of levels. Although he is extremely dangerous and I wouldn’t want to cross him, I find I’m just a wee bit attracted to him.

So, when I was talking to my BFF Kim and Delilah about writing a series of linked books together and what kind of hero I wanted, I said Demon immediately. I knew I could do something special with him. So the great and powerful Malvo came to be and I loved every minute of exorcising him from my mind and putting him down on paper.

He’s two parts dangerous, one part damaged. But one hundred percent delicious. He can conjure at will and possesses unimaginable strength. But deep down inside he yearns for something more. It was that more that I played upon. It was what drove the story.

DEMON DREAMER, coming from Samhain Publishing, July 14, is Malvo’s story. I hope you will come along for the ride. It’s guaranteed to be wild.

Today it’s my pleasure to have the talented Elisabeth Naughton here for some demon fun.  But Elisabeth isn’t talking about the good, sexy demons…no, sometimes, demons can just be bad. Elisabeth is also going to give us a sneak peek at her new paranormal series, and she’s giving away two fabulous prizes–so read on to learn how to win!

Welcome, Elisabeth!

The Non-Heroic Demon

Thanks so much to Cynthia for having me here today! It’s very fun to be talking about demons. I *wish* I could say I write those super sexy have-to-have-me-some-of-that type demons, but alas, I don’t. What do I write? Really gruesome Underworld demons (or, as I refer to them – daemons) you definitely wouldn’t want to run into late at night in a dark alley.

My new paranormal series – Eternal Guardians – doesn’t launch until May 2010, but here’s a sneak peek. The first book in the series, MARKED, is the story of a mythological warrior – a descendant of Heracles (Hercules) – one of seven warriors (or Argonauts) who protect his race. (Now Theron is super sexy have-to-have-me-some-of-that!) A vengeful god is out to destroy their world, and one lone woman in the human realm is their only hope. She, linked to both worlds though blood and history though she does not know it yet, is marked to complete the prophecy that will end the god’s immortal reign.

That vengeful god (Atalanta) will do whatever it takes to reap her ultimate revenge on my Guardians. And the army she’s amassed in her fight is made up of hideous beasts from the Underworld called (you guessed it) daemons. These daemons are nothing more than humans once trapped in the Fields of Asphodel (Purgatory) who, through magic and a pact, have pledged their allegiance to Atalanta in exchange for a second shot at life. Some were truly evil and knew they were headed to Tartarus to be tortured at the hand of Hades. Some were just plain stupid. And when I said you wouldn’t want to run into a daemon in a dark alley? I wasn’t kidding. A daemon has the body of a man, the face of a lion, the ears of a dog and the horns of a goat. He’s also huge, easily seven feet tall and over 300 lbs. He’s fast, not easily killed, and he will stop at nothing to destroy the Guardians and their entire world.

Of course, there’s a catch. (There’s always a catch, isn’t there?) If a daemon is killed a second time, his soul is sent straight to Tartarus where he will be tortured for all eternity. Atalanta doesn’t much care because as far as she’s concerned there are always more souls in the Fields of Asphodel she can recruit to her cause, but a daemon cares. A daemon definitely cares. And Hades? Oh, he’s just sitting back waiting and watching. A soul is a soul to him. One way or the other, he knows they’re all headed his way. The question becomes simply, when? And just how low into the depths of hell can that particular daemon be pulled.

I love writing paranormal stories because the possibilities are endless. Like I said before, my demons are definitely not sexy and there’s no real way an above described daemon could end up a hero of a story. (Though I’ll never say never because you know what? Anything’s possible in paranormal). What I find fascinating about demons is that every writer writes them differently. As my editor was recently quoted as saying in Publisher’s Weekly, “Demons are the new vampires.”

Okay, so I have TWO prizes to hand out today to two very lucky commenters. The first is a copy of my recent RS release – STOLEN FURY.

(I know, I know, this book isn’t paranormal, but I don’t have arcs of MARKED yet. Hopefully this book will tide you over) – and the second is this beautiful necklace!

In case you can’t read it, the inscription on the swirl says “There is nothing as strong as tenderness and nothing as tender as true strength.”

Leave me a comment to be entered into the drawing for both!