The Romance Reviews

Friday 9 March 2012

IF YOU LIKE... Para-Fantasy Romance

What is Para-Fantasy Romance? Or, in my case Para-Fantasy Erotic Romance... yes, if you don't like erotic romance, then stop here. Although the rough-draft 'excerpt' below -- from my next Indie release -- is 'mostly non-erotic' in nature, and you might enjoy it if you like action scenes.

First, Para-Fantasy is a word/term I made up about a year ago, or so. Paranormal Erotic Romance didn't seem descriptive enough of my books, plus all of the WIPs I have waiting in the proverbial wings.

My *happily ever after* stories are a fusion of subgenres like many are these days... and includes: fantasy, paranormal, futuristic, sci fi, time travel, westerns [cowboys, etc.] ~ the supernatural, superheroes, goddesses and gods, shapeshifters, were-beasts, extraterrestrials, vampires, witches and magical creatures of all stripes and types ~ as well, myth, magick and miracles are themes ~ there are other-world, other-dimension and other-time settings ~ and, oh yeah, gotta have action, suspense and mystery. ~obviously, I do a lot of world building~

As a disclaimer [always good these days] ~ If, by chance, 'Para-Fantasy' is being used elsewhere I don't know about it. The term originated in my over-active imagination.
~~~~~~

Wanna taste of Para-Fantasy Romance?

This 'rough draft' chapter from what will be my first *ShapeShifter Seductions Presents* erotic romance, is Indiana Jones inspired. As well, my hero, Dontoya's ancient American Indian heritage is featured. And, of course, the strength of his inner black cougar shows up.

As a bit of a set up, Dontoya realizes to protect Sherilyn, the heroine, from her enemies, he needs to have the same mental connection with her as Zance, his partner, does. For that, he must retrieve the Ring of Union, as it was called in the ancient times by his tribe. However, the ring is actually an advanced technology that has been lost to most of humanity.

The challenge: the ring is located deep inside his family's home during the Great Deluge, 12,500 years ago. The fifty mile stretch of cave tunnels and immense caverns is in the Grand Canyon, an area currently off limits to tourists, and guarded by private corporation mercenaries. Not only that, a group of Dontoya's original tribe separated themselves, remaining in their family caves. To keep themselves hidden, they will kill anyone who intrudes.
~~~~~~

An 'unedited' excerpt from my WIP ~

HER MIDNIGHT STARDUST COWBOYS

Chapter Twenty-Seven ~ Swallowed Him Like a Great Serpent

Almost upon him, the enemy braves mind-hurled their large silver blades, tipped with rattlesnake venom. Dontoya slowed abruptly, then spun imitating a cyclone. The energy field he flung around himself simultaneously, caused the six knives to swerve and miss.

Rattlesnake Spirit had warned him, looming before his mind's eye briefly.

With another Tasmanian-devil spin, as Zance called his ability, Dontoya launched inside the secondary tunnel, a natural part of the cave system. Too late, he realized all the traps had been activated because the Pruezi invaders had attempted to gain entry, but failed.

Since the four traps were located closer to the palatial cavern, Dontoya raced forward, once again relying on his cougar sight. With the luminescence of the main tunnel fading, the inky darkness enveloped him.

Odors swamped Dontoya's nostrils telling him the eco-system of the cave remained vital. Also, nearly seven months ago one of his cousins had walked the tunnel on a learning journey.

His training took over, and a layout of the three mile, gently snaking tunnel appeared before his mind's eye. With each trap clearly defined, he would be able to rapidly switch off the mechanism and transmute the magick. Or, if that wasn't possible, he could use his skills to escape. So, he hoped.

Pacing himself for the long run, Dontoya listened for the pursuit of the six braves, but their footfalls could not be heard. If they weren't chasing after him, then...

His gut roiled and tightened, a sure signal that something more dangerous lay ahead. With his gaze cutting through the darkness, Dontoya saw the first glyph, as depicted on the map inside his mind. The code was a warning to the members of his family about the trap ahead.

Dontoya shielded himself from the energy of the ensnaring curse, then focused on the trap meant to cage an intruder, and seal off further entry into the tunnel. He shot a mental beam at the mechanism, delaying the trigger just long enough. Behind him two sets of old-fashioned bars spiked downward.

Preparing for the next trap, Dontoya shouldered his rifle, and lengthened his racing stride. He heard the stone slabs begin to slide apart.

When an oppressive weight landed on him, Dontoya created etheric wings to defeat the attack of this curse. Mentally lifting himself, he leaped over the widening, nearly six foot gap.

Landing on the other side, far from the edge, he swiftly regained his speed. Had he missed, he would be plummeting into a stone prison, and the water would be rising quickly.

The next trap he faced was a holo field, an advanced technology that held an enemy in suspension, and manifested his worst fears repeatedly. Screaming, then begging for mercy were the end result. That, and eventual insanity.

Dontoya knew the trick to sailing through the field. He'd practiced enough times under the direction of his father. Blanking his mind, he waited until he observed the field's wavering glimmer.

Sherilyn, he spoke silently as he ran toward it, his stride easy and rhythmic.

Dontoya immersed himself in his memory of her, and felt the unique glow of his mate's spirit. As the subtle drag of the field touched his face, he closed his eyes.

At that instant he relived his orgasm with her. An inferno of pleasure smoldered through him. He felt as if the power of the sun moved through him again and again, just as it had before.

Sherilyn. Mate.

Too soon, Dontoya became aware he had emerged on the other side of the field, and now ran in an area of the tunnel that inclined upward. His footfalls slipped on the moister surface, so he lessened his pace.

In the same moments, the faint stench of bat guano from a colony located in another section of the cave sharpened his senses again. His warrior's focus returned full force.

The final trap would blast a trumpeting sound, the frequencies designed to bring an enemy to his knees. If that failed, a vibrational weapon would deploy, searing the interloper's nerves.

To overcome this agony, and move through the disabling sound, Dontoya knew he needed to lighten the weight of his body as he did when levitating. His imagined wings would not carry him this time. His challenge was that he rarely practiced this particular spiritual art, not having any real use for it in his current rancher's life.

Regret at not having done so, would not serve him now, he drily reminded himself. Instead, he thought of Sherilyn, the beautiful mate he and Zance had waited for, and sought for more years than either one them cared to count.

Ruthless determination seized Dontoya. His cougar claws and fangs nearly erupted, and his ferocious desire for her scorched his blood with the need to conquer anything or anyone.

With his heart drumming for his mate, Dontoya sensed for the next action of his enemies. As warrior, he psi-felt no immediate threat so he eased his pace, comfortably jogging.

Despite his physical exertion, Dontoya concentrated on slowing his breaths. To defeat the ancient-technology trap, he had to become invincible in a different way by using his inner strength.

Altering his mind-set to one of universal peace, he mentally hummed until he vibrated. Once in tune with the One Great Spirit, Dontoya prayerfully offered up his flesh, and seconds later, he felt his strides lengthen and float. His boot moccasins barely touched the cave floor.

Making certain he maintained his internal hum, Dontoya pierced the darkness with his cougar gaze seeking the glyph that would warn him of the trap. As he glimpsed it, another warning punched the pit of his stomach hard, and he was jerked off stride.
Someone had breached the sanctity of the cavern, but only the first entryway.

Deliberately locking away that 'knowing' for now, Dontoya regained his oneness with Spirit. Using every ounce of his shamanic discipline, he summoned the lightness of his body, and once again the sensation of floating claimed him.

Even to his gaze, the last trap would be invisible. His only clue would be the distance traveled as the glyph's code signaled.

Dontoya fought to keep his breaths slow and sacred, in time with the spin of the universe. Yet he knew...

The trap's frequencies grabbed for him. There was no sound of trumpeting, but the electro-magnetic crackle that surrounded him hissed like a cave-full of angry snakes.
As if flames licked at entire body, his skin burned. Still, Dontoya launched himself upward. He flew into the void suddenly yawning before him, and the trap swallowed him like a great serpent.

Transcending the needles of pain being driven into his flesh, Dontoya raised his frequency, entering cosmic consciousness, as his new-age friends called it.

Finally spit out, he landed on his knees. He struggled to rise, but air left his lung in huge gasps. With his energies now depleted, he fell forward. The obsidian blade he still carried cut into his palm drawing blood.

The coppery smell enraged the cougar, and Dontoya surged to his feet. The savage spirit of his cat ran for him, and he sprinted toward the cavern's entrance, toward the enemy who waited upon his arrival.

With his heart pounding like a war drum, with his desire for Sherilyn igniting his blood to lightning, Dontoya swung his rifle into position. On silent feet, he charged around the tunnel's long sinuous curve.
~~~~~~

~~~ Para-Fantasy Erotic Romance Ebooks by Savanna Kougar ~~~



My first Indie release ~

SANTA BABY, SEVERAL STARS AWAY

~ A Short Shapeshifter Erotic Romance ~

Blurb ~

Kaily has been consumed by curiosity ever since Dylan suddenly appears in her small town. Surreptitiously, she watches the mystery man restore a rundown Victorian mansion, all while his charm and sincerity gain him the good will of most everyone. This is especially true when he volunteers to become the annual Santa Claus for the children at the town's park.

The problem for Kaily: No one really knows anything about Dylan's past or where he came from. With her attraction to him growing day by day, she becomes a driven woman. On a desperate whim, she gives herself to him as a Christmas present. Will Dylan be able to resist her waiting naked, but gift-wrapped beneath his tree?
~~~



KANDY APPLE AND HER HELLHOUNDS

Blurb ~

Kandace doesn’t know why she’s a real witch. Despite her powers, she can’t find her bio parents. When the Tuxedo Twins tempt her with knowledge about her heritage at a charity event, Kandace agrees to dance with the mysterious Supernaturals. Unexpectedly, they are threatened by the omnipresent evil she’s been warned about in her dreams. To keep from being enslaved, Kandace brings forth her greater magick. But, to save her homeworld, she needs her hellhounds.

Zolivar and Zindale, two of Hades’ most mission-accomplished Hellhounds, see a witch sliding down the bannister after her heist of a painting. Spellbound, they know they’ve found just the right Kandy Apple to lick for Halloween. With every passion, Zin and Zol woo their chosen witch. Yet, will their Triad mate stay once she learns they can’t fall in love like humans? Or, will she return to her homeworld? Their very lives are at stake.
~~~


THE TIGER'S MASQUERADE

Just Another Paranormal Halloween Anthology

Stacy wasn’t looking for a tiger-man to erotically and exotically fill her tank , then steal her heart. That is, until the Halloween ‘Call of the Wild Masquerade’ ball. But, what kind of tiger does she have by the tail?

Zyrru wasn’t looking for a human woman to un-tame his fiercest passions, and alter his royal life forever. After all, he’s only vacationing on Earth, and is almost engaged to The Princess. But her rosefire scent is irresistible.
~~~~~~



BRANDED BY THE TEXANS

Blurb ~

What can three Texans do to a woman’s body and heart?
Kylie is about to find out.
Beyond her wildest dreams.
On a parallel Earth.

It’s 2009... Kylie is on the run from the law for a crime she didn’t commit. A promising doctoral student, she’s lost everyone and almost everything, except for what she stows in her car. Now, Kylie has to salvage the rest of her life. But, where in this age of GPS tracking, TV’s Most Wanted and cameras everywhere?

It’s 2009... Dillon, Dono and Dash are three brothers desperate for a wife to brand as their own. The Union made women scarce in the Three Star Republic by releasing a bio weapons’ plague during the border wars. These tough-as-leather Texans will do anything to keep the right woman, even if they have to lasso her like a wild filly and love on her until she loves them back.
~~~



STALLION OF ASH AND FLAME

Blurb ~

Drojovv Zyan of the V’Trailuc Realm is a man-stallion of ash and flame on a mission to save his world’s crucial Earth portal from the fires ravaging the National Forest surrounding it. Pretending to be the tracker, Trail, he settles in a small southeastern Arizona town. When he gets an eyeful of the beautiful ranch owner, Seneca, he stud lusts after the Earth human, a woman he’s not supposed to take as his Mate.

Trail leaves her alone until her brother is in a bad motorcycle accident and she needs a hired hand. Soon both of them are threatened by a whole horde of enemies. At all costs Trail must protect her. His world depends on it, her world depends on it. And his heart comes to depend on it.
~~~



HER INSATIABLE DARK HEROES

Blurb ~

How many Superheroes does it take to satisfy the one woman who dances like a fire goddess? Answer: the four Dark Valorous Brothers of Chrontropolis.

Before the weather wars destroyed her world, Wendra was the girl next door, except for her dancing talent and her desire to become a top performer. When she is rescued from her own desperate attempt to fly inside her flame by Dark Zavier, then Claimed by the four Dark Valorous brothers, she has no idea how to cope with their primitive insatiable sexual needs, or their passionate longing to bond with her.

On top of that, her own super power, the ability to use flame as a weapon, is becoming stronger by the day, even if it remains useless against the Dark Brothers’ determination to master her. Still, how does she make her own blazing mark, in the new world of Superheroes and Super Villains?
~~~



MURDER BY HAIR SPRAY IN GARDENIA, NEW ATLANTIS

~ This story spun and formed in my imagination, turbulent as a sea storm ~ then sprang forth onto paper and onto my computer screen like Poseidon’s powerful emergence from the ocean, during a time lost to history when gods and goddesses ruled the world and the heavens above.

Gardenia, New Atlantis... The future begins here...

The story of beginning a new world on a legendary land...
The beginning of a love Sheriff Kalypso Sun Wing never believed was possible for her, especially not after a hundred years on Earth...
The beginning of a love Federal Agent Zryphus has arrived on Earth to find, only he didn’t plan on remaining in a land where women are in charge...

First Line:
The evil cloud of hair spray dominated the air in guest room 666 at Gardenia’s only motel, The Eternal Magnolia – so named because it was surrounded by a park-like acre of Magnolia trees, saved despite the cataclysmic weather, wars and land changes on Earth.

Heroine and Hero:
Sheriff Kalypso Sun Wing is 100 years old in the year 2051. A rebel at heart, an artist by soul, she survived the sterile fifties’ suburbs, the revolutionary turbulence of the sixties, the disco guru seventies. After the suicide of the man she loved, Kalypso barely survived the designer eighties, the fast-forward nineties. In the 21st century Mother Nature rebelled. Kalypso battled for freedom. She never knew why she survived. Until Atlantis rose. Once again.

Agent Zryphus Dolen Vasquoz chose an enforcement career on Earth for several reasons – his fascination with primitive worlds, to make his own way outside the family heritage, to keep official watch for his own Worlds – and, Zerculeon men find Earth women highly desirable, like the gods of old they rival in strength. Since there aren’t enough Zerculeon women, it’s a match made in intergalactic heaven. Especially when Zryphus gets a real eyeful of the Sheriff.
~~~



WHEN A GOOD ANGEL FALLS

Blurb ~

Winter Solstice, December 21, 2012 – The end of the Mayan Calendar

What happens when a world weary, worn out incarnated angel, Sedona, who believes she is merely human has three choices after her old van breaks down? Let the Nazerazzi squad of the North American Union capture her and force her into a FEMA concentration camp? Walk out into the Arizona night desert, let the wildlife have a good meal, with the hope her death will be quick? Or does Sedona trust the mysterious stranger suddenly before her? Handsome as sin and all in black, he emerges from the darkness astride a super-speed black motorcycle.

Is he her savior from the brutal hell of end times, or is he a roving cult member of the New World Order, hunting his next blood sacrifice?
Sent from heaven to help her save humanity, Zerr Dann knows the Divine is playing its last card on Earth.
~~~



ALL SHADES OF BLUE PARADISE

Blurb ~

Destiny and love can be denied for only so long...

Except for her daring equestrienne competitions, Lady Sheridan lives a quiet life caring for her family's estate, staving off financial ruin and keeping her brother's misdeeds from ruining his marriage and the life of her beloved nieces. Despite all his desperate efforts, Baron Zaggry has never discovered why his Sherfantasy broke their engagement. Now, his ruse successful, Sheridan is finally his, his slave lover. He has ten years worth of denied pleasures to make up for, to savor however he erotic chooses.

[Erotic Fantasy Romance, OtherWorld, Aristocratic Intrigue]
~~~

~~~ TO BE REPUBLISHED BY AUTHOR ~~~

RED LIONESS TAMED

Intro ~

If yer partial to a futuristic adventurous romp of lust and love on the high celestial seas of space...if you have a yen for those cat shifter types, lament no longer...
And watch out if yer a bad kitty shifter roaming the galactic ports, there’s a kick-ass Lioness on your fleeing furry tail.
Year 3051, the Earth calendar used on Terra-Mars, a terra-formed moon orbiting Mars, the home world of ‘Sun Rocket’ Kahoqua of the Windgrass Clan.

Blurb ~

What does a lioness shifter do when she's suddenly trapped in an unknown space cruiser's cargo hold? Then, despite her ability to savagely defend herself, she's trapped beneath the handsome human Captain. And next, cat-scratching ridiculously, she finds herself carnal-trapped, and meow yowl! bound by leather straps in his bed?
Answer: She fights tooth and claw. Problem: The loner Captain is nova-hot at seducing her.
~~~

TANGERINE CARNAL DREAMS

Synopsis:

Corporal Kattalonia is a galactic enforcer-agent for her home world. Her father has just been accused of treason. She chases after the villain in an old rickety craft. Recovering her father’s stolen data cube will exonerate him, and halt the sale of top level secrets. The trouble, the villain’s trail leads to Yemisque, a world of tangerine carnal dreams. Great place to hide out. Great place for the erotic adventures of your choice.

Prince Ziocese, Bad Boy Extraordinaire has discovered his one woman. She shoots fire from her palm and is not an equine shifter, a mate his royal parents won’t accept.. Renegade from his world, he still honors his sacred tradition, chasing her half-way across the galaxy. He will do anything to help her, to protect her. Whether she lets him or not. Trouble is he can’t catch her to prove himself. Or, to possess her with extreme pleasure.
~~~

BLACK CAT BEAUTY

Blurb ~

A private Halloween party in a gothic mansion hidden in the Hollywood Hills. Add one party crasher, Sable Kiki, a naughty black cat with a sexy wild human side.
Her covert assignment from her devious, always-cunning father: use her seductive wiles to find out the truth from Devon Zant, a movie star on the rise to super stardom.

Posing as the superhero actor, Devon Zant, D’Torr has arrived on Earth seeking revenge for the capture of his younger brother, and to assist in stopping a powerful enemy.

The leviathan warfleet of the Altirrux wants rule of all intergalactic trade routes to Earth, endangering the survival of D’Torr’s race, and all the inhabitants of the rare blue jewel, Earth.
~~~~~~

Note: for excerpts and purchase info please click on ebook cover.
~~~

HAPPY EBOOK READING!

Savanna

Savanna Kougar ~ Run on the Wild Side of Romance ~

4 comments:

Lindsay Townsend said...

I'm a big fan or your para-fantasy romance, Savanna! And I think the term perfectly describes your wonderful, epic-romantic free- ranging stories.

I'm sorry i wasn't in yesterday to comment - I tweeted this post then the day just got away from me.

I wish you much success with your books.

Savanna Kougar said...

Lindsay, thanks! This was fabulous opportunity to solidify my own thoughts about about what I've written and what I'm working on.

LK Hunsaker said...

Hi Savanna, I love the current blending of genres into new forms! Para-fantasy should get attention, I would think.

Hope you've enjoyed your indie book experience so far.

Savanna Kougar said...

Hi LK, it was really tough getting my short story formatted because I'm not tech-oriented. However, once I got the ebook up and out there, that was a thrill. So, I'm hoping to continue.

It's sold pretty good at ARe. However, since Bookstrand dumped a lot of us Indie authors over the Paypal debacle, that puts a crimp in my personal plans. At this point, I'm hoping ARe will work.