Monday, August 23, 2010

Guest post: Cynthia Eden

*My thanks to Cynthia Eden for stopping by and sharing her thoughts on what makes a monster. Don't forget to enter the contest for your chance to win a copy of I'll Be Slaying You (originally posted on 8/19) and be sure to check out the Q&A with Cynthia that will be up next week!

And now, let's hear it for Cynthia Eden....

Keeping Track of The Monsters

Hi, everyone! I am so happy to be with the Bite Club—thanks for having me! Today, I want to talk to you
about monsters…ah, monsters—they inspire so many stories for me!

When I write my paranormal romances for Kensington Brava, I get to write about any sort of
supernatural monster that I can imagine: vampires, demons, charmers…heck, one time, I even wrote
about the Boogeyman (though I called him a soul-eater). I can take these monsters, and I can make
them compelling, strong, sexy. The monsters aren’t always the bad guys in my paranormals; instead,
they are often the heroes.

In my “Night Watch” series, my monsters chase killers. The bounty hunters at Night Watch spend their
nights catching supernaturals who have crossed that thin line between good and evil—and they sure
enjoy that hunt!

But, in my romantic suspense stories (my romantic suspense series launched recently with DEADLY
FEAR, published by Grand Central’s Forever line), my monsters are very, very different. In these books,
my monsters are humans. They’re serial killers, arsonists, and kidnappers. These “monsters” look just
like your next-door neighbors. They seem normal, but beneath that calm surface, a strong bloodlust
waits.

You don’t have to be a supernatural in order to be a monster. And humans, well, we can certainly be
very evil.

So what scares you more? The vampires that may wait in the darkness? Or the quiet neighbor down the
street…the one that has who strange smell coming from his backyard?

Thanks for checking out my post!

Cynthia Eden

www.cynthiaeden.com
I'LL BE SLAYING YOU--Available now from Kensington Brava
DEADLY FEAR--Available now from Grand Central Publishing (Forever)

16 comments:

Teril said...

Totally that strange neighbor down the street. At least if you met a deadly vampire, he would drain you and it would be over, or you would run away with him. That neighbor on the other hand, he is just freaky and his punishment would be demented and prolonged. Maybe point the hungry vamp in his direction and he will take out the trash for the neighborhood watch.
These are amazing looking books, I will have to check them out. Thank you!

Cynthia Eden said...

Hi, Anna!! Thanks for inviting me to post!

LOL, and Teril, it's those creepy neighors that totally get to me every time. You never know what happens behind those closed doors!

Victoria said...

The person down the street scares me more. I've seen the awful things humans can do. The abuse/torture of animals for one. And when you watch the news and see what "parents" can do to their own children :(. The vampire would be getting a meal - I understand that.

Karen said...

The neighbors & in movies I'm always afraid of those stepford looking type kids. They creep me out!
You know what you get with a "monster" - vampire - werewolf etc but when someone is acting nice and can potentailly be a killer....that's scarier.

Zita said...

Those human monsters definitely scare me more. You can't see them coming, because they don't look or act like monsters at first. And they're very good at hiding in plain sight. *shudders and runs off to hide*

Cynthia Eden said...

Oh, Victoria, I so agree! Often the news just depresses me too much.

Cynthia Eden said...

Karen, those kids scare me, too! There's something frightening about "perfect" people--you know they have to be hiding something bad.

Cynthia Eden said...

Zita, I think it's the hiding in plain sight part that scares me the most!

Jen D. @ Not Now...I'm Reading! said...

The quiet neighbor hands down. At least with a supe you're expecting bad things to happen. It's always worse when you're blind sided by what's suppose to be normal.

Actually, I had a question I thought I'd sneak in. Is Immortal Danger part of the Nightwatch series?

Thanks for stopping by Cynthia. I've heard great things about your books and am looking forward to reading I'll Be Slaying You for the book club.

Anonymous said...

I'm definitely more scared about the real world and have found that since having kids I am way more concerned about stuff like that. Your entire focus shifts when you suddenly have these wonderful little beings that are relying on you to keep them safe. And every time a serial killer is caught the neighbors always say that he was so nice and normal. Makes you wonder how they get so good at that.

Cynnara Tregarth said...

I love paranormal books that help create a love of all monsters, both making them real and yet unique. I have to admit, sometimes I like being scared of the bad guys but also falling for the unconventional monster heroes.

Cynthia Eden said...

Ah...another vote for the quiet neighbor! Thanks, Jen! And Immortal Danger is a stand-alone, so you don't have to read anything before it. (Though I have written a book about one of the characters who appeared in Immortal Danger. That book, NEVER CRY WOLF, will be out in 2011.)

Cynthia Eden said...

Anna, you have brought up such a good point! I feel like I'm hyper vigilant since I had my son.

Cynthia Eden said...

Cynnara, I am all for those unconventional monster heroes! They are the best!

Jen D. @ Not Now...I'm Reading! said...

Thanks Cynthia!

LSUReader said...

It's definitely the human monsters who scare me. Those we hear about on the news, who one day go bonkers and have a shooting spree, or who are discovered to be living a calm and secret life after some horrifying crime. Honestly, I can't immagine terror more complete than what Adolph Hitler caused the world in the 20th century.