Laura Tolomei stopped by today to discuss CHANGING FROM THE INSIDE. Come on out and show her some support and leave a comment for best selling author Laura Tolomei!
Changing from the inside Is it possible?
In modern fiction, many authors have chosen a specific genre, the shape shifter one, to describe different ways of living with the inner beast and its uncontrollable moods.
As far as the genre goes, I must confess it has never been my cup of tea. Not in reading and not in writing, considering how few stories of mine fall into this category. Then again, I don’t write about vampires or werewolves either for I like to find my own personal way of portraying dark, horribly bloody stories without necessarily using ready-made creatures.
But one positive thing about shape shifters is they’re fascinating, maybe because you never get what you see. It’s the concealment, the second nature hidden deep within, the unrestrained transformation that adds to their allure and mysterious mood. And since I love to uncover what runs deep below the surface, I couldn’t resist diving in their world and uncovering the reasons of their attractive pull on readers.
I started back in 2008 with the release of “Hunted”, a short story available in one of eXtasy’s anthologies, Sanguinary Seductions. Back then, the subject was still new to me, so my POV was in third person, like someone witnessing the phenomenon, not living it himself. I guess I needed the distance, so to speak, to figure out what escaped me, which was: discarding the fantastic—not to mention improbable—explanations, what turns someone into an animal?
The answer came to me later and it’s the foundation of my novel, Bloody Passion, written in the first person POV of the shape shifter, a perspective is closer to home that digs into what happens to someone who changes skin like others change dresses and how it affected the people around them.
BLURB
There’s a hidden treasure inside everyone. Some show it, but only a few can afford it. Sometimes, you only need to know how to manage other’s treasures, even if self-destructive. But in the end, it’s like seeing yourself in a mirror. So how to explain the violence?
Bloody Passion
By Laua Tolomei
GENRE: Dark Fantasy, Gay, Horror, Ménage, Paranormal, Shape Shifting, Halloween, m/f, m/m, m/m/m
ISBN: 978-1-55487-417-0
HEAT LEVEL: 5 flames
RELEASE DATE: Oct. 31st, 2009
PUBLISHER: eXtasy Books
COVER ARTIST: Martine Jardin
My Nov. 15th new release, Visionquest, furthers my interest in the genre, though it takes a different track altogether, not concerned with the shape shifter himself, rather with his associates. Again a first person POV to follow closely how awareness progresses, from horrified revelation to acceptance, it addresses the questions and doubts that inevitably torment the non-shifters at the sight of such a radical transformation.
Visionquest
By Laua Tolomei
GENRE: Gay, Horror, Paranormal, Dark Fantasy, m/m/m/m
HEAT LEVEL: 5 flames
RELEASE DATE: November 15th, 2010-10-26
PUBLISHER: eXtasy Books
COVER: Angela White
BUY LINK
www.extasybooks.net
BLURB
It wasn’t till he took me to his bed and made love to me, for the first time—no competition between us, no unspoken challenge, no master-servant, no blood, no death, nothing but intense emotions overwhelming me with the sheer power of his feelings, a sea so deep, a tide so strong I thought I would drown as he took me face up, raising my legs above his shoulders and plunging deep before preying my mouth, too, in a never-ending kiss that took my breath, not to mention my resolve, away—that in spite of everything, I gave him what he wanted most, my soul entirely, for I knew right there and then I was sealing my destiny forever.
But in the end, what’s shape shifting if not an excuse to show a change so profound it needs the strong imagery to support what words cannot describe properly? And writing Visionquest, I realized we’re all shape shifters in one form or another, in anxious wait of the one person who, alone, can unleash our true essence, the one we normally keep hidden out of fear or embarrassment. Now this is more my cup of tea, especially since I don’t need some supernatural effect to turn my characters into something completely different from their appearance, simply let their actions speak of how they shift from one personality to the next. Take Christopher Templeton from my Virtus Saga, for instance. He’s a man of character, beauty and prestige who lives in a world where violence is unknown. Now who would think he’s in fact a bloody monster that enjoys cutting people to bits for his fun and pleasure? And even if he has the Virt to heal them afterwards, it’s still no excuse to turn from a sophisticated nobleman to a savage blood luster.
The Festival
Virtus Saga Book 3
By Laura Tolomei
GENRE: GLBT, m/m, m/m/f, f/f, Fantasy, Paranormal, Horror.
ISBN: 978-1-55487-614-3
HEAT LEVEL: 5 flames
RELEASE DATE: July 15th, 2010
PUBLISHER: eXtasy Books
COVER: Angela White
BLURB
Prisoner of their whims, it was impossible to resist them further. With a shock of pleasure, she realized they were her masters—not just one, but both—to which she surrendered herself....
BDSM BLOODY EROTIC M/F
They did not have to go very far. His room was right at the top of the stairs and he pushed her inside, locking the door and leaning on it to watch her walk to the center of the room. Intrigued, he followed her seductive ass sway for a moment, feeling the urge to possess it until the knife he was already holding, reminded he had more serious pleasures in mind than a mere fuck. “All right, sleeping beauty, stop where you are and take your dress off.” He sneered. “Wouldn’t want to ruin his gift, now would we?”
She started to turn around, but…“Just take the damn thing off where you are.”
Frozen in her tracks, Ylianor had a second’s hesitation before she began removing the sexy dress. Then as if to defy him, she moved the long, silky hair over her shoulder, so he had the full view of her bare back and ass.
As if reading his mind, she trembled under his close scrutiny, though she did not dare utter a word.
“Afraid?” He sneered coldly.
“Of you?” Ylianor threw back her shoulders. “Not anymore.”
With an abrupt move, he grabbed the long hair and pulled her head back, exposing her tempting neck. “Well, you should.” The blade trailed on her neck before going down her back to bite the flesh, lightly at first, then deeper the further down it went. “I don’t take kindly to anyone stealing my lover from under my nose.”
Unflinching, she challenged him openly. “Jealous ‘cause he wanted to play with me for a change?”
“Don’t flatter yourself.” The blade dug deep in her flesh just as he bent to brush his lips on her ear. “He was ready to kick your sorry ass out just yesterday if I recall.”
She stiffened in his embrace. “But he changed his mind.”
“Only because he has better uses for you now, but how long will it last?”
“As long as I can seduce him into playing our sex games.”
“Honey, he fucked with Jeff now, not with you.” The mere name made him angrier than he cared to admit, so he increased the pressure on the blade, drawing the first drop of blood. “How long since he’s touched you, fucked you without me being around? And the pity fuck in the stables doesn’t count!”
He felt her crumble for a moment, ready to burst into tears as if she wanted to let go of the despair he was trying to provoke, both physically and mentally, but at the last second, she straightened up, offering more flesh to cut and finding the strength to continue defying him, in spite of her weak position. “Tonight he’ll be mine alone and he would’ve been earlier if you hadn’t monopolized him until now.” Her brilliant green eyes flashed in amusement. “But I’d be careful if I were you because your time’s running out, too.” She spat. “In case you haven’t noticed, he’s the leader, so everyone will be after him, whether you like it or not.”
“Unlike you, dearie, I’m not afraid of competition.” The thin red lines on her back widened like a fine web and he watched them fascinated, tracing their borders with the knife, then moving it to the left, he started a fresh slice. “Because I have none. And thanks to Arthur, I learned to work my way around all those annoying sons of bitches that are going to bother him.”
“Whatever you do, you’ll never get rid of me.”
“Maybe I’ve got to hand it to you.” Impressed and amused at the same time, he cocked his head in mock admiration just as the blade penetrated deeper. “You’ve been more persistent and bothersome than any of Arthur’s pesky boys, always hanging round him for a word of approval or a quick fuck, whatever came first.” Licking his lips, he ran the pointy blade on her skin. “Even using my knife didn’t get you gone.” Suddenly furious at the thought, but more with what he felt he had to say simply because he could not ignore the truth anymore, he slashed her arm, wanting to hurt her for the first time since he had started the dangerous game. “Damn you! Ever since I first cut you up, I haven’t been able to take my mind off it or to how much you turned me on, to the point I wanted you so badly, I would’ve fucked you if he hadn’t been there.”
The green eyes blazed in triumph, but her mouth remained sealed, in spite of the pain she must have felt.
“But maybe it’s because you like it even more than I do.”
But like I said, this is the shape shifting intrigue and as long as there are people so different as to catch our imaginations with their unexplainable personality changes, I guess the genre will stay alive and well.
Laura Tolomei
www.lallagatta.com
