Guest Post: Atypical Shifters, Atypical Approach – Forgotten Menagerie & Cari Z

So, I have a confession to make: I have no creative process. At least, not a reliable one, and I think that helps me when it comes to making up stories that are meant to take readers outside the norm.

A lot of the thoughtful writers I know have systems. They have set places they go to write, set things they like to drink or eat while doing that, ways of developing their inspiration in the form of listening to songs or browsing through photos, some of them even keep spreadsheets... it's not usually a concrete kind of thing, but there is at least a thing. The spark that gets them started has to come from somewhere, right? It has to be fostered and grown and remembered, and this is how they go about it. Not me.

This isn't to say there's no method to my madness once I get going, but the initial inspiration for the story itself? That can come from absolutely anything, out of the blue, a strike of lightning, or the slow culmination of months and months of truncated thoughts on the same subject. There is no consistency. There just is.

For my story "Dangerous Territory" in the Storm Moon Press anthology Forgotten Menagerie, the inspiration for my novel shifter character came while I was watching The Princess Bride. I confess, as ridiculous and cheesy as they are, I love the ROUSes (Rodents of Unusual Size), and while I watched everyone's favorite Dread Pirate Roberts rolling around on the ground with one of them, well... ideas happened. But I don't care for rats, and since I was setting my story in an alternate-history American west, I decided the animal to use instead was a mongoose.

Yeah, I know they're not indigenous to the Americas, I know the above makes no sense if you think about it... you see? What creative process? I draw connections between things that cheerfully ignore history, biology, and zoology, and a whole bunch of other sciences that I profess to love and yet abuse constantly—I'm SORRY, okay?! Physics still isn't speaking to me, and let's not even get into poor religious studies. Anyway, I then use those connections to create entirely new paradigms for the worlds in which I set my stories.

All illogic aside, I do take my world building very seriously, and while the pickiest of nitpickers might take umbrage with my continuity issues, I think most of us are willing to roll with discrepancies for the sake of a stronger narrative. "Dangerous Territory" was a wonderful story to write, the first time I've ever use the West—as in the Wild Wild West, not the American West of the present day—as a setting, and even though I've taken plenty of liberties with it (so many liberties, oh, how I <3 freedom) I love the rustic, hard-scrabble foundation that many of us know so well. There are cowboys and cattle and cowboys and gunslinging and cowboys and giant snakes, and did I mention cowboys? Because you can't have a western without them, or I'm just not expansive enough to create a new paradigm that excludes them.

Why? Because cowboys are hot! Add in tribes of shifters that are strong enough to keep the United States from ever becoming united, a Louisiana that still pays homage to the French crown, and an independent nation of Texas (just what they've always wanted), and it's a brave new world.

Why? Because cowboys are hot! Add in tribes of shifters that are strong enough to keep the United States from ever becoming united, a Louisiana that still pays homage to the French crown, and an independent nation of Texas (just what they've always wanted), and it's a brave new world.

I think that was what appealed to me most about the idea of doing a story dealing with atypical shifters. There were almost no expectations attached to it, nothing about packs or alphas that I had to adhere to for the sake of reader expectation. I understand reader expectation; I have it myself when I read about certain subjects. When the story is expressly meant to be outside the norm, though, it's rather freeing.

I hope readers enjoy what I've put together in "Dangerous Territory", as well as the rest of the Forgotten Menagerie anthology, on sale now at Storm Moon Press. With every story I write, I think I get a little braver.

"This is a new country we're building up. There's no room in for weaklings—men or women!" --The Virginian











Cari Z is a Colorado girl who loves snow and sunshine. She just got back from two years of living in West Africa and is still delighted by the magic of hot running water and the glory that is Wi-Fi. Check her blog for info on new releases, upcoming projects, and works in progress.

Review: Cambion Epi 2: Black Magic Woman by Cari Z.

Dark Around the Edges (Cambion #2): Black Magic Woman by Cari Z.
Storm Moon Press
Short Story: 43pgs
4 Pants Off

Blurb:
Tracking Porter Grey means making a deal with Lynlis Syfer, a witch with a gift for finding the unfindable. It takes something special to catch the eye of a woman like that, and so Devon and Rio split up in order to blacken the eyes of Lynlis' two main rivals. But that just gets them in the door. To secure her help requires a sacrifice that may be higher than the boys can afford.




Review:
This serial is getting more awesome by the episode, and I am 100% invested in the characters. Rio and Devon have found a certain groove together, away from all the sexual chemistry they sorta just fit. After the one man rescue team Rio pulled in extracting Devon from takedown gone wrong the men (I use that word loosely) still have yet to capture their target the elusive Porter Grey, demon summoner extraordinaire. They're gonna need to bring in some big help, which might or might not put them in all kinds of danger. So with the bright lights of Las Vegas and of course the seediness, Devon and Rio has to put all their skills to the test. They will move in the circles of a black magic woman, while trying to keep their explosive chemistry under-wraps (well Devon's explosive sexuality).

I just love the adventure these guys are on while searching for Porter Grey, and every new character introduced give me feels like a kid in a candy store. Some are clouded in mystery (ahem Rio), some are so interested you hope they end up getting more page time, and others seem just a tad bit bat shit crazy (Lynlis). But even though the focus seems to be all case work all the time, we get to know Rio and Devon a little more and look at their ever evolving relationship. Makes me wonder with Devon being a Cambion (half incubus demon) can anything long-lasting become of their relationship (oh man I hope their long lasting ever loving and monogamous to each other).

So yeh, I am all types of hooked on this and can't wait to dive in the follow up story. I am looking forward to more interesting characters, explosive sex, and finding out exactly what Rio is. Man, is something other and curious minds are dying to know *me*. Love Cari Z's writing and look forward to anything that mind of hers pushes out. Can I just say "On to the next one!”.

4 Pants Off

Review: Epi #1 Heaven's On Fire

Review: Cambion Epi 1: Heaven's On Fire by Cari Z

Dark Around the Edges (Cambion #1): Heaven's On Fire by Cari Z
Storm Moon Press
Short Story: 41pgs
4 Pants Off

Blurb:
Devon's infiltration of a Chinese kingpin's lair doesn't quite go off as planned, and lands him in a dangerous predicament. Shangdi knows about Devon, and knows how useful a cambion can be, particularly to his partner, the mysterious demon summoner Porter Grey. With time running out for Devon, it's up to the even more mysterious Rio Pagani to storm the compound and pull Devon out before Porter can put his plans for the cambion into motion.



Review: 
I don't know what I was expecting, but surely I was not expecting this. And by this, I mean an awesome story packed in a few pages filled with sexy love. Then again, it’s a Cari Z. so I should have expected awesome. The serial starts off with a bang and interesting characters which puts new meaning to "I will make your pants drop". Heaven's On Fire is the explosive beginning to something quite special.

Devon has to infiltrate some seedy establishment based in the desserts of Las Vegas; he's the best so he was expecting to get it done easily. When he starts off by accessing his greatest power, he never expected them catch on so quickly and now he's at the end of a taser and being captured. Upside, the man that was his target is present but the downside he's going to need back-up (after-all it’s not really a downside). Porter Gray is the top demon summoner and he has been putting his skill to use in the den of disastrous deeds, and landing his eyes on Cambion like Devon is intriguing but you know there's no time to play. There are succubus to summon and dirty old men to entertain but Porter's demon is about to come to a standstill and he's going to have to hightail it out of there and start anew because Heaven's Lair is about to get blown to bits.

So Devon is a Cambion which is like part incubus demon and human, which means he's got the skills to make you overcome with lust and do anything. That’s my conclusion on his makeup cus I feel like there's a bit more info to come on the whole Cambion thing. Right now it’s very singular, but I feel like there is more to come. Devon at the moment just seems like a sex kitten, supposedly he is one of the best but he came off like a horny kitten to me (so lots prove in the next episode). I am very interested in his backup Rio, who's all like mysterious, big, and might be interested in Devon a little more than he's even aware of (and Devon like really likes him).

It ends off on a thrilling note, which leaves the reader begging for answers. Like "Who was Porter Gray getting all hot in the pants and misty eyed with on the phone?” Judging by his reaction to the voice, something tells me that his "boss" might be a little bit other. Lots of awesome happening so far and I am just so excited to see where the serial is going. So excited to read up on the others, because the first had humour, guns a blazing, and hot sex. Just imagine what the others will be like....

Should You Read It? Hell yes...all fans of Cari Z should be picking this one up, and the story is intriguing and exciting. Who doesn't love a half-sex demon? Plus, Rio and Devon's relationship should get all types of interesting as the episodes keep coming. Really enjoyed it!!

4 Pants Off

Guest Post:New Serial Fiction "Cambion" by Cari Z

I'm so excited to be here today to announce the release of my first serial fiction endeavor! The folks over at Storm Moon Press have been pursuing this amazing format of fiction in a slightly new way. My serial, Cambion, stars badass demons and packs a punch with a blend of action, seduction, and the supernatural. My release this month is for the first episode of the entire shebang. With these serials, everything is organized by season. My Season 1 is called Dark Around the Edges, and it will have a total of six episodes, the first of which came out today. Each of the other episodes will come out once a month. The best part is that each episode is basically a short story. So, you get to read them in sequence and follow along, with the opportunity to share with me and other readers what you'd love to see most as the story unfolds.

Curious? Here's the blurb for the Cambion series, the season, and Episode 1: "Heaven's On Fire". :D

Devon Harper is a cambion, the offspring of an incubus and one of his female followers. Discovered by those who could've helped him too late to be saved from his nature, he barely survived a brutal childhood before getting a handle on his powers of seduction. Lust, sex, desire: these are second nature to cambion, and are their road to both riches and ruin. Devon has the power to bring people to their knees with a glance, to drive them so crazy with pleasure that they forget their names, and occasionally forget to breathe as well. He could use his birthright to force the world to worship him, but Devon is trying to fight against the pull, to do what he can to track down people with the power to summon a demon and stop them before more cambion can be made.

But Devon doesn't realize that the path he and his friends are following is only one strand of a web laid in place by a demon who's not content to wait on the whims of humanity to get out of Hell. Devon is this demon's key to staying above ground permanently, and when he finally catches up with the cambion, he's not taking no for an answer.

Episode 1: Heaven's On Fire Devon's infiltration of a Chinese kingpin's lair doesn't quite go off as planned, and lands him in a dangerous predicament. Shangdi knows about Devon, and knows how useful a cambion can be, particularly to his partner, the mysterious demon summoner Porter Grey. With time running out for Devon, it's up to the even more mysterious Rio Pagani to storm the compound and pull Devon out before Porter can put his plans for the cambion into motion.

Here's an exclusive excerpt from the first episode, "Heaven's On Fire"! Enjoy!

There was a succubus in a circle in the middle of the floor, inside of a beautiful body, a girl with long blue-black hair and perfect caramel skin. She was wildly contorted, her head spun so far around that Rio knew her host body was dead by now. She saw him, her irises solid green and iridescent like a beetle's wings, and shrieked. The dozens of men surrounding her, men so caught up in her distorted, wanton pain that they hadn't heard the gunshots, blinked hazy eyes and looked up. They saw Rio, they watched him shoot a guard coming up on his right, and finally they began to panic.

Rio lobbed a stinger into the middle of the room. To his surprise, the succubus managed to catch it, turn, and throw it at towards a shadowy corner partially shielded by a painted room divider just before it went off. There was a bang, a scream, and suddenly the succubus was free. And boy, was she angry.

Rio ignored her, threw in another stinger, and waited for it to clear a path through the crowd. Whoever was behind that divider was someone important enough to warrant revenge from a demon, and that could mean Porter Grey. The floor was a mess of bodies, some of them trampled as those at the edges fought their way out. Rio let them go. He was here for bigger game.

He shot three more people on his way across the room. Two of them were guards, both a little worse for wear, and one of them was a 'guest,' most likely Russian judging from his tattoos, who was too far from the stinger to be affected by it and too stupid to know better than to fight back. He fired one of the fallen guard's Glocks and got one shot off before taking a bullet to the forehead. The shot went wild anyway.

There were three more bodies permanently down on the far side of the room, but these ones weren't from Rio. They were just dead, the thin skin around their eyes stained by petechiae, their tongues gone purple from strain. Massive, very fatal heart attacks. The succubus was renewing herself. Rio hurried over to the divider and flung it aside. If she'd found Porter Grey—

She hadn't. She'd found someone else, an old, small man in a yellow robe. This, then, was probably the infamous Shangdi. His corpse, rather. Rio could tell even from five feet away that the man was dead, had just died, in fact. The succubus was still crouched over him, holding him close in a kiss. When she dropped the corpse, it was completely rigid, still locked in a state of orgasmic tension, robe tented and stained from Shangdi's dying release. His face was a rictus of agony, though. Anyone who thought death by pleasure was a good idea clearly hadn't tried it.

Cambion: Dark Around the Edges - Episode 1: "Heaven's On Fire" by Cari Z - Now Available! Get the first episode for just $0.99 or buy the season pass for all six episodes as they release once a month (includes extras and the final compiled e-book, all for just $11.99).

Changing Worlds by Cari Z

Changing Worlds by Cari Z
Storm Moon Press

Novel: 195pgs

4.5 Pants Off

Blurb:
In this sequel to Cari Z's Opening Worlds, former starship captain Jason Kim travels to Perelan, the homeworld of his lover, Ferran, to start a life together. The ruling council of the Perels have allowed this unconventional union to continue in the hopes of strengthening relations between themselves and the humans. And while Ferran's family welcome Jason with open arms, not all of the other major families are as pleased. The arrival of an outsider to their insular, subterranean world challenges the traditions of centuries.

Tensions soar as old rivalries are rekindled in the wake of Jason and Ferran's relationship. Inevitably, something snaps. Jason and Ferran soon find themselves literally fighting for their lives when xenophobic anger pushes things beyond the breaking point. Only their devotion to one another can see them through, but a ghost from Jason's past threatens even that. With Perelan on the brink of civil war, Jason and Ferran must find a way to stand together in the face of chaos and to change the world on their own terms before it tears itself apart.

Review:
When I first read Opening Worlds in the Wild Passions anthology, it was one of my fave stories. I was so sad it was a short because it had such a great plot to be a great book. So when I heard there was a novel in the works, my heart felt super happy. Jason and Ferran had in me few short pages, just imagine the impact they would have with their own book.

Changing Worlds does include the short where Jason and Ferran meet for the first time, so interested readers can just run out and get the book with no worries. Here’s a quick recap for new readers. Jason Kim is Captain of a merchant ship and he isn’t happy learning that he will be taking on Perels as passengers on his ships. He’s not a big fan of Perels because one was a reason his relationship of a year ended suddenly. Their sexual energy envelops all around them and Jason wants no part in it. He’s an all work and a no play kind of guy, but is surprised when he finds himself drawn to Ferran and wants a relationship with him. Their happy ending doesn’t seem meant to be because Ferran will have to return home, and he will just become a thing of the past for him.

That changes when Jason is invited on Perelan, and is to be husband to Ferran. He accepts without doubt because Ferran makes him feel, and though life will forever be, different Jason isn’t willing to give up the Perel he loves. Jason and Ferran have a year to prove that their marriage is strong, and Jason has to prove to the Perels that he’s more than just an alien on their planet.

I loved reading about Perelan, and their matriarchs. These big beautiful females ruling so many around them and have their word striving ‘female power’. It’s really hard to impress mothers so Jason has his work cut out for him, when not everyone accepts his place on Perelan. So not only does he have to come to terms with his new life, but suddenly he’s fearing for his life and those he holds dear.

There is enough action to keep the reader interested, the politics and daily life of living on Perelan will keep you glued to the pages. Jason and Ferran together are lava hot, and set the pages on fire. Their road is not an easy one, but you will love the ride their journey takes you on.

Overall, I loved this book! This story is more than a human falling in love with an alien. It’s a human story, one that says love has no bounds and person is willing to do everything to protect the ones he loves. If you’re fan of science fiction, and love a little human/alien relations then do pick a copy of this book up. Cari Z is super cool and I look forward to reading more.

4 1/2 Pants Off

Guest Post & Giveaway with Cari Z

I am Excited to have the wonderful Cari Z on the blog today who was nice enough to even bring a giveaway. Changing Worlds is the sequel to Opening Worlds one of my fave stories in Wild Passions Anthology. So when I say I am EXCITED, I freaking mean it! Do give a warm welcome to Cari Z.

Title: Sex With Aliens: How Much Weird Is Still Sexy?


Sex is an act that inherently lends itself to a certain amount of strange.  When you’re physically and emotionally running hot, you say and do things that you’d probably rethink in the bright light of day.  People can get into a lot of interesting sexual scenarios all on our same-species own, but what do you do when you throw an alien into the mix?  How weird do you go?  How weird should you go?

There’s a “difference metric” inside my head, a special gauge for every story that measures levels of strange versus familiarity.  If I tip too far to one side, the strange and new starts to become overwhelming, and sweeps the story up into something that people read and go, “Ugh, where did that come from?”  Been there, done that, got the dubious comments.  On the other hand, God save me from the demon of banality, when there’s so much vanilla that you have to wade through it to find vague little islands of interest popping up in the tale.  Every sex act I write is a balance between the two sides, and with aliens thrown into the mix, it becomes a lot more fun fast.

I mean, it’s just a matter of how kinky you want to go, right?  How out there can you imagine?  Aliens can be anything.  Tentacles, fur, feathers.  Secretions, self-lubricating, slimy.  Buzzing, vibrating, rippling, bulging, compressing, exploding… wait, wait.  This is a person, not a sex toy.  Or a bomb.  Okay, so maybe I shouldn’t have anything explode.  And slime, yeah, that might not be the way to go. The sex can’t be bizarre just because there’s the capacity for bizarreness: it has to work physically, it has to be sexy, and it has to fit the story.

For the purposes of Changing Worlds I gave my aliens, the Perel, similar enough physiology to humans that I didn’t alter too much about the act itself.  They’ve got, as my human hero Jason puts it, “familiar parts”.  They’re also empathic, which means that they know what their lovers want, and they’ve got quills running up their spines, which means that their lovers have a direct investment in giving them what they want if they want to avoid getting perforated—in the bad way, that is.  Perels purr and grunt and growl like a human would, but their voices are so guttural that it’s shocking the first time you hear one of them come.  They’re used to polygamous, polyamorous relationships that primarily exist between males, since there are so many more males than females on their home planet of Perelan.  You want a threesome, a foursome, maybe a tensome?  Heck, let’s make it a baker’s dozen and just move from the bed to the floor!

One of the things that sets my Perel protagonist, Ferran, apart from his kind is his desire for a single spouse.  He isn’t interested in fucking a lot of people; he’s interested in fucking one person, the human he’s chosen and is married to, despite significant opposition from his own people.  Ferran and Jason are a novelty in every way to the other Perels, and Changing Worlds explores that dynamic in an environment where, as long as you marry who you’re supposed to and do what’s expected of you, sex can be almost anything you can imagine.  But even when you defy those expectations and become the first inter-species couple on a planet of xenophobes, the sex is still pretty awesome. :)

***

Excerpt from Changing Worlds

He took the suit out and laid it on the bed; then he just stood there and stared at it. Once he put that suit on, it would become his new normal. Jason already knew that he would never go back to his uniforms, but he hadn’t thought it would be so hard to let go of them either. After a moment, Ferran stepped in and slowly unfastened Jason’s shirt, pulling it back off his shoulders and tossing it away. He did the same with Jason’s pants, sliding them down his legs and off, getting rid of the shoes first. Every movement was deliberate: not really sensuous, but decidedly intimate.

Ferran’s cool hands traced up Jason’s shins, over his knees and hips, and across his abdomen as Ferran stood again. Goosebumps sprang to life over Jason’s whole body, accentuated in the slightly chill air of their bedroom. Ferran exhaled against the base of Jason’s throat, warming him, before he turned to the green suit. He redressed Jason with the same care he’d used undressing him, carefully straightening the collar and smoothing out the sleeves before he attached Giselle’s insignia to the unmarked shoulder.

Once everything was done, he stepped close and embraced Jason in the Perel way. Their right temples touched, and each of their right hands cupped the side of the other’s face, gentle and intimate. They kept the rest of their bodies at a slight distance, feeling the heat of each other, but nothing else.

“I love you,” Jason said, turning his face just far enough to kiss the edge of Ferran’s cheek. For some reason, he felt it was important to ensure that his lover had those words at the forefront of his mind before they tackled what came next.

“I love you,” Ferran replied. “You first. You always.”

 “Good.” Jason kissed him again briefly before he pulled back. “Ready for our grand entrance?”

“Ready.”

Giveaway

~Leave a comment on this post for your chance of a copy of Changing Worlds

~Include your email

~Must be 18yrs or older

~Giveaway runs until May 26th 11:59pm EST