Welcome to Unwritten's February blog event! Of course, this is the month of love, so I wanted to celebrate that theme as I've done in year's past. But this year, I've decided to add a scientific spin to it. All month long, talented authors from several genres will write about some aspect of love from their books as it relates to science. It could be social, psychological, biological, or anything in between. Our blog event is sponsored by "HMC by Kate", a fabulous independent jewelry crafter. Kate's giving away one of her very beautiful necklaces that I think fits our theme perfectly. She's also offering everyone who stops in a 10% discount on any item from her Etsy store. Be sure to enter the giveaway at the end of this post and check out her lovely offerings! Without further ado, please welcome our guest author:
The Difficulties in Making Interspecies
Children
by
Tara Fox Hall
Romance
in paranormal fiction wouldn’t be complete without interspecies relationships.
The most common match being a couple with one partner a human, and the other
some type of supernatural being--vampire, werecreature, faerie, demon, etc--has since expanded to many more exotic
matches, bringing the possibility of interspecies children as a logical result.
To meet that question, I’m here today to talk about the fine art of mixed-species
gestation, Promise Me style.
Interspecies
romance and the resulting children of those unions abound throughout the
Promise Me series, beginning with the union of a female werelion and male
werecougar to produce the werecougar Elle in Taken in the Night, Promise Me series Book 3. In subsequent books
comes the creation of the half-human, half-vampire male Theoron and female
Venus, and the half-human, half-werecougar male Devon. To add realism, these
“half-breed” beings are not without their own abnormalities, even in contrast
to their respective already “super human” parent. Both Elle’s and Devon’s mothers
experience abnormal rapid growth of the fetus in the last weeks of pregnancy,
and very difficult deliveries. The vampire-human hybrids present an even larger
host of problems, beginning with the necessity to invoke a magical potion to
make the normally sterile vampire father potent in the first place (female
vampires cannot have children, as their reproductive systems are too difficult
to rejuvenate with magic for the duration needed to create a viable child). The
human mother must also be both resistant to infusion of vampiric bodily fluids
necessary for impregnation, and also remain in a
partly-changed-to-vampire-yet-still-human-state to be able to become and stay
pregnant without a miscarriage, which is almost always lethal to both mother
and child. Once pregnant, a Bloodlust overcomes the pregnant human mother at
seemingly random intervals, which she experiences and channels into sexual lust.
Further, in the third trimester a heating/cooling problem presents in trying to
regulate body temperature between the mortal 98.6 degrees and the much cooler
normal temperature of a vampire. Delivery is also very difficult, with the
ready to be born child reverting to its vampire lineage in an effort to escape
the womb. Thus, most dhamphirs are planned to be born via Cesarean Section.
Also
existing as adult characters in the Promise Me series are the half-faerie, half
demon Terian, the half-werecoyote, half-werefox Serena. While the latter seems
to experience no difficulties, and only the boon of having two separate animal
forms to call her own, the former is constantly under threat of having his
demon side “take over” his faerie side, compelling him to a life of evil. This
battle for control demonstrates one of the key points of these special
children: with two “sides” so inherently different, each of these children must
find a way to be at peace with themselves, to find a balance necessary to have
a meaningful life.
****
BIO
Tara Fox Hall’s writing credits include nonfiction, erotica,
horror, suspense, action-adventure, children’s stories, and contemporary and
historical paranormal romance. She is the author of the paranormal fantasy Lash series and the paranormal romantic
drama Promise Me series. Tara divides
her free time unequally between writing novels and short stories, chainsawing
firewood, caring for stray animals, sewing cat and dog beds for donation to
animal shelters, and target practice. All of her published children’s stories
to date are free reads on www.childrens-stories.net.
AUTHOR LINKS
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/TaraFH
Barnes
and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/tara-fox-hall
Melange
Books: http://www.melange-books.com/authors/tarafoxhall/index.html
Facebook Page:
Blurb: Sar and
Theo move on from Sar’s affair with Lash, struggling to build a new life with
their werecougar son Devon. Rebuffed, Lash resumes his solitary existence,
biding his time. Ulysses lurks in the shadows launching repeated attacks on his
enemy Devlin, whose darker side emerges rampant in an effort to protect those
he loves. The vampire Danial prepares his dhamphir son Theoron for manhood,
even as Ulysses delivers a last crippling blow to Devlin in his relentless
quest for revenge.
BUY LINKS
Melange Books (PDF and HTML): http://www.melange-books.com/authors/tarafoxhall/eyeofthestorm.html
Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/eye-of-the-storm-tara-fox-hall/1120374803?ean=9781612359694
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/477503
Lulu (print copies): http://www.lulu.com/us/en/shop/tara-fox-hall/eye-of-the-storm/paperback/product-21808111.html
ENTER TO WIN!
This beautiful handmade necklace from HMC by KATE
Excellent post! When you're done the series, you might look at writing a field-guide to the species (and interspecies) of the world you've created.
ReplyDeleteThanks Tori :) so glad you enjoyed the post! Thanks again for having me at Unwritten Mysti! Good luck in the giveaway, everyone!
ReplyDelete