Scholarly Yet Seductive Demons with Guest Blogger: Carolyn Rosewood

Welcome to Day #13 of
the Dark Days of Demons Blog Event
here at the Book Boost!

Win a copy of Hunted and meet erotic paranormal author Carolyn Rosewood today!


Are Demons Sexy?


Well that depends on how you look at them.


Demons, depending on what you read or believe, can be anything from Satan's imps to a spirit of happiness. In some present-day cultures demons are still feared largely due to their believed ability to possess humans. Freud believed the fact that demons are always regarded as the spirits of those who have died recently shows better than anything the influence the influence of mourning on the origin of the belief in demons.


In art they've been depicted as everything from a winged bull to a beautiful female. Stories of demons are found in literature from all over the world, including romance novels.


My husband likes to refer to the demons in my Seduced By A Demon series as the "kinder, gentler" demons. Indeed I give them great strength and supernatural powers, including the ability to slide into shadow form and evaporate, moving from one physical plane to another in the blink of an eye. But I also make them seductive and redeemable. Well, some of them, at any rate.


In Book 1 of the series, The Last Soul, the heroine Faina is a demon whose job in Hell is to seduce men into signing away their souls. The men she seduces are bad-to-bone, and she’s been working for her demon boss Mastema for one hundred and fifty years, hoping one day she’ll be made human again. Mastema tricks her into bringing him one last soul – Jace Blackmon – and then she’ll be human again. The only problem is that Jace is a really decent guy and Faina is falling for him.


I made Faina vulnerable and a bit naive on purpose. In the story, she dies in a fire at eighteen, after being forced into prostitution in her human life. Mastema, on the other hand, is evil and ruthless. But don’t worry…he gets what’s coming to him at the end.


In Book 2, Hunted, the heroine/demon is Jahi Wickes, who is a good friend of Faina’s. Jahi was hung as a witch in 1692 and has worked in her demon existence forging documents and credit cards for demons like Faina to use as they lead men to ruin. When her former guardian angel, Vassago, comes after her, Jahi is forced to give up some of her independent streak and rely on a Nephilim bounty hunter named Dagon. Dagon has been hunting Vassago for three years. Jahi isn’t a ruthless demon, but rather someone who felt unworthy of love in her human life, and now feels she deserves her fate as a minion of Hell. Until she proves herself worthy by sacrificing herself for a friend, that is.


Book 3, Playing For Keeps, coming from Evernight Publishing in November 2011, introduces Teresa. We meet Teresa in Hunted, and she’s as ruthless and cunning a demon as you can imagine. She gives up Jahi to Vassago to save her own skin. As Playing For Keeps opens, Teresa is on the run from her own king, Apollyon. If the demons he’s sent to hunt her down find her, they’ll destroy her. She wanders into a bar in a sleepy Ohio town, and convinces the owner, Damien Walker, to give her a job. But Damien isn’t an ordinary bartender, and he knows what and who Teresa is.


You’ve met a few of the demons in my series. Now let’s talk about Nephilim. Most authors write them as heroes with a bad boy nature although some have chosen to cast them as villains. I've chosen to let Nephilim play both roles in my series.


Damien Walker would bet his bottom dollar that Teresa is on the lam from Hell. He should know. He used to track demons before he was forced to give up his Nephilim bounty hunter status. Now he serves drinks to locals in a run-down bar. It's easier to mire in self-pity when you do something pointless for a living. But Teresa isn't like other demons masquerading as humans. She's sexy but scared, desperate to hide her true identity-and the reason she's on the run-from everyone, including Damien. The fact that he's drawn to her is a complication he'd rather do without, but one he can't ignore.


If you Google "Nephilim," you could spend days reading all the theories and arguments for or against their interpretation in the Bible and other texts, both secular and non-secular. Whoever or whatever they are, whether they are real or simply the product of our fertile imaginations, clearly our fascination with these beings continues because they pop up in romance novels quite frequently.


At a recent archeological dig in Greece, the bones of what appeared to be a giant were hailed as "proof" of the existence of Nephilim as depicted in ancient texts. It was later proven to be a hoax. According to the Book of Genesis, Nephilim are the "sons of God." They are also mentioned as giants in the book of Numbers. Scholars have called the interpretation of these passages into question.


There is no clear answer as to the meaning of the terms used. Commentary in subsequent translations of the Bible draw conclusions from books in the New Testament as proof of the nature of Nephilim mentioned in the Old Testament, but again there is no clear answer. Other ancient texts assign the term "fallen angel" to Nephilim and similar beings.


In the Hebrew Bible and several non-canonical Jewish and early Christian writings, Nephilim means the "fallen ones." They are described as a people created by the crossbreeding of the "sons of God" and the "daughters of men." Interpretations for these terms vary among scholars.


I hope you’ll check out my Seduced By A Demon series from Evernight. Even though several characters make appearances in all three books, each one is a stand-alone, so you can read any of them first. Thanks for dropping by. :)


Blurb:

For the past four hundred years, Jahi Wickes has made forged documents and credit cards for the female demons who seduce men into signing away their souls. While enjoying the parades at Mardi Gras, she's ambushed by two angels. One is her former guardian angel, and the other is the Nephilim who’s tracking him.

Dagon has been chasing Vassago for three years. His first big break comes in the form of a cute, sexy demon. When he learns the real reason Vassago is hunting her, Dagon has more trouble than he bargained for. Not only was Vassago sent to guard souls in Purgatory after screwing up his assignment with Jahi, but the person who paid him to destroy her is one of her fellow demons.


Excerpt (edited for length):

Jahi had only seen angels once before, the night before they walked her to the gallows in sixteen ninety-two. Scared the shit out of her when the pair appeared in her jail cell and asked if she was ready to face her maker. After she told them exactly how she suspected she’d be judged in Heaven, she sent them away. Jahi knew what she’d been in life, and she knew what she’d be in death.

Why were angels here now, in Louisiana, and why was this creature called Vassago after her?

The second angel clicked his fingers and a pair of dark metal cuffs appeared. Jahi flashed back to three years ago when similar cuffs, courtesy of the demon Mastema, had bound Faina’s wrists. A moan escaped her throat. The sudden thought they might not be angels after all turned her stomach hot with fear.

Once again she tried to move or evaporate, but their magic held her fast. All she could do was watch both creatures struggle over the cuffs, still bellowing words she couldn’t comprehend. Vassago was stronger, and for a few seconds it looked like he’d be the one doing the cuffing.

When the second creature had the upper hand once again, Vassago turned to look at her. If she still had blood that ran it would have gone stone cold. Jahi had never seen such hatred on any face, be it human, angel or demon.

The creature holding the cuffs took advantage of the momentary distraction to lunge again.

He raised the cuffs and Jahi tensed. Vassago opened his mouth and howled, just before disappearing in a blinding flash of purple.

The one left holding the empty cuffs let out a roar, and fresh fear shot through her. Was he also after her? Her body trembled as he ranted and swung the cuffs around, the metal making hollow, clanking sounds. She dug her nails into her palms, determined not to moan again. She would not show this creature fear.

When he finally stopped she tried again to evaporate but nothing happened.

“Just stay right there. Don’t come any closer.” Her voice shook, betraying the brave words.

The creature shook his head and the handcuffs faded, along with his wings. She watched in disbelief and fascination as his face lost its glow and took on the human form of a yummy male.

Want More Carolyn?

Visit her website here: http://carolynrosewood.com/

Pick up a copy of her book today! Click here.

Contest Time:

Leave a question or comment for Carolyn and be entered to win a copy of Hunted.


**Winners for Book Boost prizes are drawn the first week of the following month and posted in the Recent Winners box in the right hand side of the blog. Check back to see if you are a winner and to claim your prize! Please leave your contact information in your blog post!**