Shifters, Part 3: Using Magic to Shapeshift

In The Dictionary of Mythology by J. A. Coleman (Arcturus Publishing Ltd., 2007) the description of a werewolf included:

werewolf

It is said that those who can become werewolves also practice witchcraft when in their normal human shape.

So today, that is what I am going to talk about. Shapeshifting using magic.

This isn't commonly featured in paranormal romance novels, however I have read it before: both instances involved one of my favourite writers, Christine Warren. The first was in Wolf At The Door. In this book, Sullivan Quinn, a werewolf, meets an intoxicating fox woman, Cassidy Poe. Fox women, in Christine Warren's Other series, are able to shift into foxes, but only through the use of a specific kind of magic.

Likewise, in her tale Heart of the Sea, offered on her website or here for free, selkies are witches who are able to transform into seals by a combination of witchcraft and their magical seal skins.

So let me dive in a bit about selkies, which are more commonly seen in literature than fox women. If you're wondering about the folklore behind fox women, while I am not entirely certain about Warren's thinking on the matter, the Japanese have a myth treating foxes rather like fairies, where they are able to transform into humans. Read more about the kitsune myth here.

The selkie myth originated along the Atlantic Ocean, in places like Scotland, Wales, etc. They can be males or females, and it is said that if you steal their skin they are unable to turn back into seals. Warren's short story, in my opinion, is a very interesting depiction of selkies.

More resources include:

• The Wikipedia page
  
• The Monstropedia page
• This website on the heritage of the Orkney Islands

Does anyone else have some examples of paranormal romances in which magic is used in order to shift?

Clara.

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Shifters, Part 2: Inborn Abilities

We've all read books like this. This is the books featuring werewolves (or werecougars, werelions, werejaguars—you get the picture). I classify these books as "inborn abilities" because in these books, these creatures are all born with the ability to shapeshift (which usually manifests for the first time at puberty).

But for a moment, I'm going to sidetrack to werewolves. In the original myth, this is a disease, one which causes the person to shift into a wolf-like monster upon the full moon. This disease is spread through the werewolf's bite at this time. The Dictionary of Mythology by J. A. Coleman (Arcturus Publishing Ltd., 2007) describes a werewolf as:

werewolf

a human said to be able to change into a wolf

In those cases where men were turned into wolves by others, it was said that, if they refrained from eating human flesh for eight years, they would be restored to their human form.

Other animals take the place of wolves in those places where the wolf is not feared. Examples include the bear (North America), boar (Greece/Turkey), crocodile (Africa), fox (China/Japan), hyaena (Africa), jaguar (South America), leopard (Africa), lion (Africa) and tiger (Borneo/China/Japan).

In European belief, a werewolf removes his skin and resumes his human shape at daybreak and will die if the skin is found and destroyed.

A German story says that a person wearing a belt from the skin of a wolf or a man who has been hanged will become a werewolf.

In the lore of some North American Indians, werewolves can be either men or women. It is said that those who can become werewolves also practice witchcraft when in their normal human shape.

I'll come back to that last bit in the next post. But this, the stuff of horror films, is rarely used in romance. Nonetheless, let me give you some good references to look into:

• The Wikipedia page
  
• The legend
• Lore vs Science for Lycanthropy
• Different mythologies for werewolves
• The Werewolf in Lore and Legend by Montague Summers
• The Werewolf Book: The Encyclopedia of Shape-shifting Beings by Brad Steiger
• The Book of Werewolves by Sabine Baring-Gould

But, as I mentioned, rarely do paranormal romances follow this example. More likely, being a werewolf is hereditary—and the werewolf gene is dominant in half-breeds. Depending on who you read, the werewolf lore can be the "inner beast" which grants the bearer strength; the werewolf is able to shift into a wolf form either on the full moon or at will (although in almost all cases, the full moon still pulls at the beast inside them); the werewolf is able to shift into a half man, half wolf form.

Some of my favourite authors who write books with these kind of shifters are:


L. K. Below

His Familiar Touch (in Paramourtal)



Kresley Cole

A Hunger Like No Other

Wicked Deeds on a Winter's Night

Pleasure of a Dark Prince



Lauren Dane The Cascadia Wolves series



MaryJanice Davidson The Wyndham Werewolf series



Sherrilyn Kenyon

Night Play

Unleash the Night

Dark Side of the Moon

Bad Moon Rising

No Mercy



Christine Warren

Big, Bad Wolf

Wolf At the Door

She's No Faerie Princess

Howl At the Moon

Walk on the Wild Side

Born to be Wild



Next week, I'll be talking about shifting as a part of witchcraft, but for now:

What are your favourite shifter romances?


Clara.

Shifters, Part 1: Introduction

Now we've moved onto shapeshifters! A big thanks to L. K. Below for kicking it off for me!

During the next couple weeks, I'll be talking about:

-Shifters: Inborn abilities 

-Shifters: Using magic to shift

-Shifters: Unusual animals

-Shifters: Human shifters

And to sum it all up, I have a review lined up for Mary Winter's fantastic book Twin Spirits. I hope you'll join me!

Clara.

L. K. BELOW: Why Shifters?

Last week, I spoke to you about the witches in my story, His Familiar Touch. Today, I'm going to talk about the shifters. 

For this story, the reason I chose shifters was simple: I wanted to explore the relationship between witches and familiars. In His Familiar Touch, Rikkita is unable to shift because she is a familiar. Until she finds her witch and touches his skin, she cannot use her full abilities—and she is effectively a cougar trapped in a human body. When she learns of this, she travels across San Jose on her search for her witch, and that is when she meets Derek, who takes it upon himself to educate her as to the witch-familiar relationship. 

For the first part of her life, Rikkita exists without powers. If after she touches her witch, she disappears to lead her own life, the witch would then have no powers. It is a symbiotic relationship that I tried to create between the two. Neither is whole without the other, and together, their powers are amplified. 

That is the primary reason I chose shifters in this case, but I have always been drawn to them. Why? I think it is because of their animalistic nature. While writing Rikkita, I certainly had fun using animal metaphors. She's very blunt, very direct, and she thinks in primal ways. But that's part of her charm. 

If you want to read His Familiar Touch to find out for yourself, you can find it in Paramourtal this August. Keep an eye on my blog, Twitter, or facebook page (links below) and I'll let you know when it's out!

L. K. Below blogs about her life, her works, and just about anything on her mind at lbelow.blogspot.com. You can find her on Twitter at @LBelowtheauthor or view her fan Facebook page here. Check out her debut paranormal romance story, His Familiar Touch, this August in Paramourtal!

L. K. BELOW - Why Witches?

When Clara asked me to explain why I chose witches and shifters for my upcoming release, His Familiar Touch, I had to break it into two parts. So today, I'm going to talk about the witches aspect in my Love Potion series, and later on in the week, I'll explain my shifter motivations. 

I'll admit, my decision to use them here was because they benefited the story. That is usually my motivation for making a character who he or she is. But let me explain the benefits further. 

I like witches, because they are so versatile. You can do just about anything with them. See the future? Check. Make potions? Check. Peer into someone's thoughts? Check. Travel into the past or future? Check. More or less, anything you can think of, you can make happen. 

This series originally started with Tanja. While His Familiar Touch is the second story of the series, the first one, involving Tanja, isn't yet published. They can be read out of order. But back to Tanja. When I dreamt up the series, she was the main focus. In His Familiar Touch you don't meet her, although Rikkita does set foot in her shop, Tanja's Charms and Potions, the shop which started it all. 

When I thought of Tanja, I knew that she made love potions. That was her specialty. Why? Because she isn't a very powerful witch. In fact, by opening her shop, she is going against her family's wishes, and by marrying a powerless human, she is also going against the grain. But providing her potions to the public is how Tanja makes her place in the world. Eventually, she earns her family's grudging respect. The series revolves around the witching community of San Jose, and will prominently feature Tanja's shop. 

But why are witches so great? Well, unlike shifters, witches can have degrees of power. I can make Tanja something of an outcast among her clan because her powers aren't strong. With shifters or vampires, etc. this is different. The shifter can't half morph into a wolf. Or, while that might be possible, I personally doubt that I would be able to pull it off convincingly. 

My second reason, as stated above, is the versatility of witches. In my Love Potion series, they aren't limited to one power. Tanja can make potions. Derek, featured in His Familiar Touch can see the future. Other characters can see or summon spirits, cast illusions, and so on. For this series, I like witches because I can separate their powers into specialties. I can mould each specialty to fit the personality of the caster. I love the freedom, and I love the possibility.

Now, for those of you who have never heard of my story, His Familiar Touch is set to be released in Paramourtal this August. I'll speak more about it in the shifter aspect of this blog, but in the meantime, let me leave you with the blurb:

Rikkita Martinez has never been able to shift into her cougar form, isolating her from the werecougar community -- until she discovers that shifting might be possible, with the help of a witch. Setting out on a journey of discovery and desire, she meets Derek, a distracting and irresistible man who might just have exactly what she needs.

L. K. Below blogs about her life, her works, and just about anything on her mind at lbelow.blogspot.com. You can find her on Twitter at @LBelowtheauthor. Check out her debut paranormal romance story, His Familiar Touch, this August in Paramourtal!