It’s day 2 of my Month Long Promo Tour for Soul Struck, the third book of the Warlock Brothers of Havenbridge series. In the first two books of the series, I introduced the reader to my versions of vampires (or vampyren as I call them) and the fae. Well, it should come as no surprise that for Soul Struck, I’m adding to the mix yet another magical species—shifters.
And just like I did for vampires and fairies, I shook the shifter mythos up and tweaked a genre many of us have come to love.
So, today, I wanted to give you a brief introduction to my contribution to shifter lore.
Shifting is the result of a magical spell
In my world, there is no genetic mutation or a wolf bite that turns an ordinary human into a shifter. In fact, shifters can’t turn others into shifters. They are born with the ability to transform into an animal, which is a result of a transmutation spell cast upon a tribe of humans by a powerful sorcerer named Sersie in 695 B.C. In her desire to create an army to do her bidding, Sersie inadvertently created a new magical species capable of tapping into the most primitive abilities of all—natural magic.
Shifters transform into an animal according to their magical race not their genetics
Sersie’s spell created four races of shifters—mammalians, avians, aquatics, and reptilians. Two wolf parents create another mammalian, not necessarily another wolf. Shifters transform into the animal spirit that calls to their soul the strongest on the day of the first shift, which is reminiscent of what happened to the human tribe upon which Sersie first cast her spell. Two wolf shifters could produce a child that transforms into a lion or a bear.
Shifters don’t live in packs; they live on a magical island
After the shifters were freed from Sersie’s control, the magical community created Aeaea, a magically shrouded island, where shifters could live in peace and remain safe from other sorcerers. Shifters have called Aeaea home since 690 B.C. and have no desire to return to what they now refer to as Human’s World.
Shifters don’t have an alpha; they have a Beast King
All shifters, regardless of type of animal they shift in to, answer to the Beast King, who is considered the most powerful shifter in the community. He is charged with protecting his people from magical and human threats. He rules Aeaea with the advice of the Were Council, but ultimately the Beast King’s word is law.
Shifters don’t have to completely transform; they can partially shift
While shifters can transform their entire bodies into the animal that has called to their spirit, they also have the ability to shift only part of their body. Arms can turn into wings, mouths can shift into beaks, and hands can turn into claws. Shifters only partially shift in extremely dangerous situations that call for immediate action. If a shifter maintains a partial shift too long, it could result in death.
So there you have it, my brief introduction on shifters as I have created them for Soul Struck. I hope I’ve piqued your interest. Let me know what you think about my take on shifters. I’m anxious to hear your thoughts, and if you want to learn more about shifters in the world of the Warlock Brothers of Havenbridge, I hope you’ll consider picking up Soul Struck.
The Soul Struck Giveaway Contest
All you have to do is leave a comment to this post, and your name is entered to win a free ebook from my backlist.
At the end of the blog tour, one lucky winner will win a $50 Amazon gift card!
Blurb:
Like the electricity he commands, Pierce Blackmoor streaks through life on raw power and pure sexual energy. His conquests on the battlefield and in the bedroom form his foundation, but that bedrock crumbles when his younger brothers’ abilities surpass his own. Pierce finds himself at an all-time low, and clawing his way back to the top becomes his only concern.
Pierce’s plan to reassert his dominance, however, takes a backseat when he wounds Kale Aquilo, an emissary of the Beast King, lord of all shifters.
Kale’s beguiling nature shoots like a lightning bolt straight to Pierce’s soul, and when the soft-spoken Kale relays that a virus is killing his people, Pierce abandons his quest for power to do something he has never done before—protect someone other than himself.
As Kale, Pierce, and his brothers struggle to find the root of the magical virus spreading plague across Aeaea, the shifter island, they face a gauntlet of old and new foes. Soul struck, Pierce and Kale must uncover the truth behind the conspiracy gathering in the shadows.
Buy Link: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=7203
