Today we continue yesterday's sexy paranormal trend with Taste Me, the first novel of the Underbelly Chronicles by the fabulous Tamara Hogan. I persuaded Tammy to swing by and chat with us a bit about the siren and the incubus who started it all... And now, here's Tammy!
I’m a skeptic at heart, and I love reading books or stories
that propose a completely different interpretation of events than what is
commonly accepted, ‘known’ or ‘true.’ Marion Zimmer Bradley does this to great
effect in “The Mists of Avalon”, a re-imagining of the Arthurian legends, told
through the eyes of the female characters. Gregory Maguire’s “Wicked” does the
same thing, turning the familiar “The Wizard of Oz” on its ear, telling the
story from the perspective of The Wicked Witch of the West.
Are Morgaine and Elphaba “evil” and “wicked”? It kinda depends
on who’s telling the story, doesn’t it?
For much of our past, a single narrative of a major historic
event was recorded by those in power at the time the event occurred, and over
time became accepted as ‘true’ or as conventional wisdom. This leaves so many human
stories untold, so many thousands of voices marginalized. Much of our collective
human experience has been lost to the sands of time, but on the positive side,
these gaps in our historic record give fiction writers a LOT of room to move.
;-)
The prospect of winners writing history is central to the
world I’ve created in the Underbelly Chronicles. What if eons of humanity’s own
history were influenced and written by extra-planetary species marooned here
long ago, and in order to survive, needed to be able to walk freely among us
but keep their true natures hidden? What if these species created the very mythology humanity is familiar with so they could hide
in plain sight? Incubi, succubi and sirens aren’t mythological; they’re real. Valkyries,
vamps, werewolves and faeries aren’t mythological, they’re real. They have
different abilities and vulnerabilities than we do because their ancestors evolved
on other planets, on different branches of the family tree.
Nearly all of their abilities and susceptibilities have
biological roots: Valkyries love to eat, fight and make love because they have
highly active metabolic, adrenal and hormonal systems. Incubi and succubi must absorb
emotional energy for sustenance—sex energy is a delicacy—and they emit luscious
pheromones in response, which renders them nearly irresistible to others.
Faeries are highly empathic, and revered as healers and therapists. Weres, the
only shape-shifting species in the world I’ve created, are starting to exhibit
genetic abnormalities due to in-breeding. My vamps possess massive personal
glamour and the strongest can influence others’ thoughts. They avoid strong
sunlight because they’re allergic to UV rays. But they eat food, and yes, drink
blood, because it’s a biological imperative. They cannot make other vampires
with their bite, but being bitten is highly erotic.
In Taste Me, I put
a biological twist on the incubi and siren myths. I’ve long been fascinated by the medieval legends
surrounding incubi, the seemingly-irresistible sex demons blamed for
impregnating women whose husbands were away at war for years at a time. A
number of years ago, I saw a picture depicting a succubus drawing the very essence
from her lover/victim, which inspired me to create a species that had to absorb
emotional energy for survival. I then analyzed the classic siren mythology—where
sailors were seemingly so enchanted by sirens’ seductive, otherworldly voices
that they willingly wrecked their ships on the rocks to better hear their song—through
the same energy lens. What if sirens could manipulate emotional energy with
their voices?
What
happens when you pair a control-freak incubus who must absorb emotional energy to
survive with a pissed-off siren who amplifies emotional energy with her voice? Lukas
and Scarlett’s very biology puts them in conflict—and it was an absolute blast
to write.
I hope you
enjoy!
Tammy
He Wants Her So
Badly He Can Taste It…
Ever since their tempestuous fling years ago, incubus Lukas
Sebastiani has known that siren Scarlett Fontaine was meant to be his. But when
you’re a sex demon with an insatiable desire, relationships are way more than
complicated…
Her Siren Songs
Bring Men to Their Knees…
Rock star Scarlett Fontaine desperately needs a break after
a grueling tour. But with murder and mayhem surrounding her band, and the one
man she never thought to see again put to the task of protecting her, life is
going to be anything but peaceful…
Every encounter between them
creates more turmoil—and heat—until Scarlett pushes Lukas to the boiling point,
and unleashes forces that go way beyond anything she can hope to control…
Today you could win a print copy of Taste Me just by commenting here!
(The Small Print: US/Canada addresses only. Prizes awarded at midnight
Pacific. If you do not leave a contact email, please check back in the
comment stream within 24 hours to claim your prize.)
