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!

Update:  The winner of MIDNIGHT’S MASTER is commenter #13, danni! Congratulations, danni! And thank you all for taking my quiz!  Apparently, there are a lot of Dean lovers, um, I mean demon hunting lovers out there.  🙂

Ah, yes, it is the eternal question (for me, anyway)…Which guy is sexier?

The demon hunter?

Or the demon?

To find out which guy rules for you, well, you’re going to have to take my handy-dandy quiz.

Take the quiz, post your result in the comments section, and I’ll pick one commenter to win an autographed copy of MIDNIGHT’S MASTER.   (And, yes, you will see some of my Supernatural fandom in this quiz. I can’t help it!  I think I’ll just have to write a demon hunter book soon. Oh, a demon hunter novella would be fun!)

Update:  And the winner is…Commenter #21, Carol L! Congrats, Carol! Thanks for all the wonderful comments!

Today’s special demon guest (I do, of course, mean demon guest writer) is Maree Anderson. Maree is the author of a hot new demon story–and she’s going to give that story away to a lucky commenter. Maree, welcome!

Demons: The perfect heroes for really bad girls!

I’m all about challenging myself with my writing, so when I spotted an email about the Red Sage Alpha Male Novella Contest on one of my writing loops, I figured I’d give it a go. I’d never written a novella before, and I’d never written for the erotic romance market before, either. Nothing like jumping in the deep end, huh?

I wanted to write a dark, tormented heroine—a woman who’s not the norm. Leisa, the heroine of Even Demons Get The Blues, might look angelic but she’s been tagged by a Destroyer Demon and she’s got a little corner of Hell with her name on it waiting for her. She’s committed a terrible crime and she’s drowning her guilt in alcohol and casual sex. Believe me, the results aren’t pretty. She needed someone strong and determined, someone with a dark soul of his own, someone who wouldn’t be put off by the things she’s done.

And what better hero to cope with a bad girl’s past, than a badass demon?

Introducing Rez, the sole surviving Drakon Demon and the most badass Demon in my version of Hell. After 4000 wonderfully gory years of kicking demon butt for his king, Rez just can’t be bothered any more. Much to King Asmodeus’s disgust, Rez has taken up Beguiling. Still, when Rez can be bothered fulfilling his quotas, he’s a poster-boy for the Beguiler Unit. Unlike other male Beguilers, who limit themselves to attractive human females, Rez finds hidden beauty in even the most unprepossessing female package. He likes to corrupt the little “office mouse” type, transform her into a steamy temptress then unleash her upon her unwary male colleagues.

Rez cops one glimpse of Leisa and he’s a goner—he’s got that whole borderline stalker thing going on. And when Leisa picks up one loser too many, Rez is provoked into whisking her off to his lair to show her some hot demonic lovin’… after he deals to the unfortunate guy she picked up in the bar. It’s against “the rules” to kill the human, though, so Rez devises a truly unique retribution. Who said demons couldn’t have a sense of humor?

And just to make life in Hell even more interesting, Rez’s current lover, a Felinoid Demon with a jealous streak, is not at all happy about Rez’s little obsession with a slutty human female. She rats Rez out to Asmodeus, who is pissed as all Hell because now he has to “officially” deal with Rez’s transgression. He doesn’t want to have to kick Rez’s scaly lizard ass into oblivion—especially because he’s not absolutely sure he wouldn’t get his own handsome ass whupped!— but those mealy-mouthed council dickheads are gonna insist Rez is punished. Lucifer’s hairy balls, sometimes it just sucks to be king!

When good and evil are in balance, everything all peachy keen for my denizens of Heaven, Hell and Earth. But when the scales tip some truly bad shit goes down. So when Leisa accidently breaks through Rez’s defenses and bonds with him, there’s Hell to pay. Not to mention Heaven. And an even higher power that has the potential to redeem both Leisa and Rez… if it doesn’t obliterate them from existence first.

I loved writing Leisa and Rez’s story and I was thrilled to freaking bits and beyond when Even Demons Get The Blues finaled in the Alpha Male Novella Contest. I was even more delighted when Red Sage offered to publish my manuscript—it’s a June 2009 Red Sage Presents release.

And to celebrate the release of Even Demons Get The Blues, I’m offering a pdf to one commenter. I’ll put all your names into a hat and have my daughter draw the winner for Cynthia to post on her blog tomorrow.

Hope you enjoy reading about how Leisa and Rez achieve their happily ever after, against some pretty dire odds. (By the way, if you’re wondering what happened to Rez’s Felinoid ex, she tangles with a Leonine Lycan prince in Let Sleeping Demons Lie. And as for the manipulative, smart-mouthed demon king, Asmodeus? Well, he’s soooo gonna get his comeuppance very soon… mwah hah hah!)

Cheers
Maree Anderson
www.eRedSage.com
www.mareeanderson.com
www.writersgonewild.blogspot.com

Update: The winner of Anya’s bag of goodies is…commenter #70, Stacey Smith!  Congratulations, Stacey ! I’ll email you with prize details.  Thanks for all the comments!

To kickoff my 30 Days of Demons, it’s my pleasure to have national best-selling author Anya Bast here.  Anya’s got some great demon info to share  from her books and one lucky commenter will win a bag of goodies. (Anya, you rock!)

The Demons of the Elemental Witches Series

Demons seem to be a whole new trend in urban fantasy and paranormal romance these days. Sometimes they turn up as the good guys, the bad guys, or sometimes a shade in between. The demons of the Elemental Witches Series are shade in between. Well, except for the Atrika. They’re pretty much all bad.

There are four demon breeds in my worldbuilding for this series:

The Ytrayi (E-TRAY-EE) – The leader caste. Loyal and operating on a strict Code of Conduct, they rule things in their world. The leader of the leaders is called the Cae. His name is Rue.

The Syari (S-YAR-EE) – The scholar caste. They are the archivists, holders of knowledge and do all magickal research.

The Mandari (MAN-DAR-EE) – The builder caste. Responsible for creating and maintaining the structures in the capital city of Ai and in all of Eudae. The buildings are made of lavender and rose marble, sometimes black or gray, and are built in columns, gentle slopes and arches. The palace, called Yrysvront, is majestic in its architecture.

The Atrika (A-TREE-KAH) – The warrior caste. Genetically engineered by an unknown hand, they are brutal and unforgiving. They are also like passionate children, following their whims no matter the destruction they might cause. Their favorite food is rotting meat and they have a nasty habit of cannibalizing their enemies on the spot in battle.

In my series the elemental witches are a hybrid of human and demon. Long ago, during the early days of human civilization, the daaeman, (who reside in an alternate reality called Eudae), opened a portal to Earth and came through it to interact with human beings.

In the beginning, it was a free-for-all on humans. Some of the demons hunted them for sport, others respected humanity and helped them improve their societies, and still others fell in love with them. For the ones who fell in love and wanted to marry and have children, there was a problem since the basic difference in the genetic makeup between humans and daaeman didn’t allow for mating. Human women couldn’t carry daaeman babies.

Out of this need, the daaeman constructed a magickal solution, using the four elements as a base. The children born of these unions were demon/human halflings and their magickical abilities were tied to one of the four elements used in the spell—earth, air, water or fire. They became the elemental witches.

It was decided that the daaeman were interfering too much in the evolution of humanity and so they withdrew from Earth, closing all the portals. When they did this, it shrouded the origins of the elemental witches in secrecy. The elemental witches learn about how they came about only midway through my series, when the witches begin interacting with the daaeman once again.

There’s a little interesting side-effect of the hybrid demon/human condition. The elemental witches with an overabundance of Ytrayi genes tend to be the good guys—the coven witches. Those with the Atrika genes tend to be the baddies—the Duskoff warlocks, who have turned their back on the tenet of harm ye none and betrayed the coven.

But there are the quirky ones, like Micah, who definitely has a bunch of Syari in him. And there’s Jack McAllister whose father was the head of the Duskoff, yet Jack never inherited his father’s baddie leanings.

So there are no blacks and whites in this world, just shades of gray, which is the way I like it best. Makes it far more interesting, and, I think, more realistic.

In Witch Fury the threads I’ve pulled between the Duskoff, the coven witches, and the daaeman throughout the series will finally weave together in an explosive mix. The Atrika and the warlocks have things planned for the coven witches and it just might end them.

Thanks so much for Cindy to inviting me over to talk about the demons of the Elemental Witches series! I’ll give away prize of a grab bag of goodies (sounds fun, huh?) to one commenter just ’cause that would be fun. You can talk to me about anything. Just go ahead and shoot. I’ll be here to answer any questions you might want to ask.

(Taken from the Red Sage blog)

Kidnap This Logo!

And You Could Win!

“To celebrate its Fifteenth Anniversary in June, Red Sage is throwing a party! Every party needs presents, and here’s a gift that could win you the July Secrets anthology and Calista Fox’s new novel, Object of Desire!

Here’s how to play the party game.

Anyone can play! All you have to do is “kidnap” this logo and post it on your blog or website. Copy and paste the jpg image of the anniversary gift to your own blog or website to kidnap it. Be sure to include these instructions so people know how to play!

Invite your readers and friends to send an email with the subject line “Ransom Note” to eRedSage@gmail.com. Inside this email, they must include a link back to your kidnapped logo.

Then you and your friend will both be entered into a drawing to win free trade paperbacks! Every time one of your readers sends a ransom note with a link, you will be entered again! Each Ransom Note is worth two entries in the drawing — one for the person who sends the Ransom Note, and one for the linked blog or website. And you both can win!

Want more chances to win? Invite your readers and friends to kidnap this logo, and then you can enter again by sending a Ransom Note linking to your friend’s blog or website!

The more times you enter, the more chances you have to win! But get your entries in by June 30. We’ll be drawing the winners on July 1!

Group blog or website? No problem! Just be sure to sign your post so we know who the winner should be!

Good luck, and have fun!”