New Kid On The Block

I'm Ashley Ladd, new kid on this block, so aka the newest deadly vixen. My hubby could've told you I was a deadly vixen for the past thirty years. Now it's just official.

I'll be with you on Saturdays from now on. Sorry I'm a little late today, I just found the invitation. But now I'm official. :)

Several of my stories have paranormal heroes, heroines, and creatures. In fact, I'm working on an edit of a vampire romance due to be released by Ellora's Cave (hopefully) soon. It's called "Truth, Justice, and the Vampire Way" or TJVW for short.

In TJVW, the heroine, Genevieve, is an 800 year old vampire queen fighting to keep her family alive and she's looking for strong new vampires. Tony, is the MUCH YOUNGER man, and the newest vampire. At first, he rebels at the idea of his undeath, fighting dangerous werecats, and losing his immortal soul, but when he realizes it comes with super powers and a very sexy older woman, he begins to come around. It was a lot of fun to write.

Can you tell I adore super heroes? And vampires? I absolutely adore Clark Kent/Superman. My Tony wants to be the new Superman.

TJVW will be my third published vampire story. It's the sequel to "Blessed Be" also published by Ellora's Cave. At New Concepts Publishing is "Eternal Damnation".


Still, even though I adore these kind of paranormal creatures, I think witches are my favorite paranormal creature. I absolutely adore the Charmed Ones and all they can do. I thought Samantha's adventures in Bewitched with all her witchy friends and relatives were a blast, too. Even before Charmed aired, I longed to be a witch and wished I could twitch my nose or brew up a spell to make magic. Flying wouldn't be a half bad power to have, either. So yep, witches are my favorite paranormal character.

To date, I've written one story with a witch, and surprise surprise, I call it "Wishcraft". It's available at Total-E-Bound.com In it, Felicia dabbles in love potions. She also puts up with her crazy ghostly relatives who haunt the house. When her high school nemesis wants Felicia to make the man of Felicia's dreams fall in love with her, somehow the potion gets screwed up and Jeremy falls desperately head over heels for Felicia.

I love action and adventure with my romance so paranormal characters are so ready to provide it, you'll find many in my stories - the ones already published and ones still to come.

In case you don't know me, I write for Ellora's Cave, Total-E-Bound, and New Concepts Publishing. My websites are:

http://www.ashleyladd.com

http://www.ashleyladd.blogspot.com

http://www.myspace.com/ashleyladdromancewriter

http://twitter.com/ashleyladd

and of course

http://www.thedeadlyvixens.com

You can also find me blogging at:

Hitting The Hot Spot on the 5th of every month

Rom Erotica Writers on the 19th of every month

I'll be stopping in and out today to chat with anyone who leaves a comment. I'd like to hear what your favorite paranormal character is and what is your favorite paranormal story.

Stay tuned for the release date of Truth, Justice and the Vampire Way. Meanwhile, you can check out my newest releases at TEB, "Night of the Senses" and "Secret Admirer".

In the coming weeks, we'll talk more about werecats, vampires, genies, and of course ghosts and witches. However, since St. Patty's Day is soon upon us, we'll discuss all those quirky, irksome, and naughty leprechauns next week. Please join me and be ready.

I want to thank my fellow blog members for inviting me to join you. I'm so happy to be here with you.

Ashley

Please Welcome Author...Elizabeth Black!!

The contest to win a copy of the book of erotic short stories "Monster Mash" is now closed, and a winner was selected last night (Thursday). If you'd like to buy "Monster Mash", please go to this link and pick up your copy. Elizabeth Black wrote "Sweet Spot" (erotic horror) and "The Face In The Mirror" (paranormal erotic romance) for "Monster Mash".

Monster Mash - Whiskey Creek Press Torrid

If you are interested in the book of unusual mythology, called "Like A Myth", in which Lizzie's short story "Mud Licker" appears, it is now available for sale at Circlet Press. Here are links for you to purchase the book:

Like A Myth (Palm/ereader format)

Like A Myth (PDF format)

"Like A Myth" will be going live on the Amazon Kindle Store and at Fictionwise in the next 2 weeks.

Once again, thank you so much for visiting Elizabeth Black's blog The Countess, the Deadly Vixens blog, and entering this contest. Have a happy holiday season and a happy 2009.

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Paranormal Creatures You Don't See Every Day
By Elizabeth Black

Vampires and werewolves are very popular with women who like paranormal erotic romance. We can thank Anne Rice for making vampires sleek and incredibly sexy, unlike the way they had been portrayed before her Vampire Lestat came along. Prior to Lestat, vampires were deadly and scary walking corpses. Not at all sexy. Christopher Lee and Frank Langella helped to make vampires sexy in movies.

I have never been all that turned on by vampires. I found Rice's books to be too wordy, but I did enjoy Poppy Z. Brites vamps. However, Brite writes horror, not erotic romance. So, when I decided to create some paranormal characters, I looked towards the unusual. There are already too many vamps and werewolves out there, and I didn't want to add to the slush pile. So I looked towards other, lesser known folklore.

Hence "Mud Licker", coming soon from Circlet Press. "Mud Licker" will appear in the "Like A Myth" anthology, which will be released in 2009. The story is a hot and sexy romp based on Japanese folklore. Suffice to say this odd little creature lives in bathrooms, and cleans them up - with his two foot long tongue.

Imagine what else it can do with that delicious tongue, and you have a good idea what happens in my story.

I have discovered a treasure trove of unusual characters that I would likely someday use to create more erotic fiction. I have a special fondness for Japanese folklore because it is so unusual. Here are a few that caught my attention (from Wikipedia).

Agloolik: In Inuit mythology, Agloolik is a spirit that lives underneath the ice and gives aid to fishermen and hunters.

Bakezōri is a creature from Japanese folklore. It is a straw zori sandal which has been transformed into a tsukumogami, a yokai (spirit creature) which was once an ordinary household item. It runs through the house and chants "kararin, kororin, kankororin!"

Cambion (Medieval folklore)- In medieval legend, a cambion is the half-human offspring of the union between a human male and a succubus (succubus pictured above), or of an incubus and a human female.

Funayurei (Japanese) - Ghosts of people who drowned at sea
Fylgia (Scandinavian) - Animal familiar
Grigori (Christian) - Fallen angels
Kamikiri (Japanese) - Hair-cutting spirit
Kupua (Hawaiian) - Shapeshifting tricksters
La Sayona (Venezuela) - Female ghost that punishes unfaithful husbands
Makura-gaeshi (Japanese) - Pillow-moving spirit
Nando-baba (Japanese) - Old woman who hides under the floor in abandoned storerooms
Shokera (Japanese) - Creature that peers in through skylights

Those creatures listed sound much more interesting to me than vamps or werewolves. Also, one of the creatures on that list also makes an appearance in "Mud Licker". Buy "Like A Myth" when it comes out to see which one it is. I've put up the Whiskey Creek Press Torrid book "Monster Mash" as the prize today because of my story, "Sweet Spot". It's based on a very odd creature from Irish folklore. Suffice to say that if you ever venture to a particular cemetery in Ireland, don't stay after the mourners leave because you will meet up with a bogie that is particularly nasty. I understand that the cemetery in question has since been torn down.

Once "Mud Licker" is out, I'll post buy links.

Here's an excerpt. Enjoy!

Breathing slow and steady, she dozed off. The warm water made her feel drowsy. As she rested, she felt something soft like a finger between her big and middle toes. The finger moved in between each of her toes, massaging gently with slow, fluid movements. Nanako moaned at the delightful touch. She hadn't had a dream like this in a long time, and it was nice to have a pleasant dream rather than a stressful nightmare for a change. The finger pressed against her arches in a back and forth motion, making her skin tingle. Ah, you found one of my erogenous zones. I love to have my arches massaged. Eyes closed, she enjoyed the gentle touch.

The finger slid down from her toes and wrapped around her ankle, using that slow, back and forth, very gentle motion. There was something strange about the massage that at first she couldn't put her finger on because it felt so good, but she soon realized that she felt as if something licked her feet! Curious, she pulled away the washcloth, and opened her eyes.

Crouched at the foot of the tub was a small, misshapen creature, the color of brick, with long, spindly arms, legs that stuck out like tree limbs, and a thick tongue stretched out nearly two feet. That tongue wrapped around her left ankle.

Nanako screamed. The creature shrieked, leaped high into the air, and crashed against the ceiling.

"Get away from me, you pervert! Sick, toe sucking pervert!" What the hell is that thing?

It knocked the feng shui plaque onto the floor. The basket of soaps flew across the room as the creature crashed against the walls. Surprisingly, the lit candles stayed in place, casting the creature's shadow around the room. Flaying her arms around her body to keep it at a distance, Nanako slid about the tub trying to gain some traction. The creature banged the lid of the toilet open against the tank, and jumped into the blue water. Nanako leaped from the tub, and slammed the lid down. The creature banged against the lid, trying to get out. Terrified, Nanako sat on the lid to keep the thing safely inside the toilet. Her body jumped each time the thing slammed against the lid. In retaliation, and also overcome by fear and disgust, she flushed the toilet.

Wary that if she stood too soon the creature would emerge from the toilet and bounce around her bathroom again, she sat still and tensed, holding her hands against the lid to prevent it from coming up. Her heart thumped hard in her chest. Now I know why the rent is so cheap.

Whiskey Creek Press
Elizabeth's Myspace
Elizabeth Black Yahoo Group
Lizzie's Sexy Newsletter

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If you're interested in winning a copy of Whiskey Creek Press Torrid's e-book anthology, Monster Mash, which features Elizabeth's short stories Sweet Spot and The Face In The Mirror, leave a comment! One lucky winner will be announced later today. Good luck!