Barbara’s talking about inspiration. . . sort of!
Inspired by an Incubus (but not directly, alas).
When people ask where I get my inspiration, I don’t usually have an answer. Inspiration works like the mind―one thought connects to another which connects to another and another, until the original thought is lost in the mist.
Not so with the inspiration for my latest novella duet, Under a Christmas Spell and Under a New Year’s Enchantment. (Yes, I know Christmas and New Year’s Day have come and gone, but bear with me. The second story in the duet came out February 1stin the UK, so it’s still pretty new. )
This time it was a fabulous history book that got me going – A World Lit Only by Fire by William Manchester. It’s about the transition from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance, and it was there that I learned that people in the medieval world believed in demons known as incubi and succubi. An incubus would have sex with a woman in her sleep (a useful excuse if she got pregnant by a lover while her husband was away on a crusade). A succubus was the female version of this awesome—um, I mean evil—demon. Sorry, but I can’t fault a creature, supposedly evil or not, whose mission in life was to provide erotic dreams.
Fast forward to the Regency, where I decided to write about an incubus and succubus (not demons, but sexy people who could send erotic dreams) who were once spies for England. They used their seductive skills during the war to catch traitors and French spies, but now that the war is over, how should they use their unusual abilities?
Well, since they were once lovers, they first have to sort out their own relationship. That happens in Under a Christmas Spell. Then they help another couple find love in Under a New Year’s Enchantment.
Here are the blurbs:
Under a Christmas Spell:
Dissolute aristocrat Lord Valiant Oakenhurst hides a sexy, supernatural secret—as a powerful incubus, he is able to influence others through erotic dreams. At an exclusive Christmas house party, his latest mission is compromised by the beautiful but deadly succubus Lucille Beaulieu. Though still drawn to his former lover, Val cannot forget her betrayal….
Hoping to atone for her past, Lucie uses her seductive powers to help couples find happiness. But she is distracted from her task by her own delicious dreams of the dark and dangerous Val.
As the riotous festivities begin, their passion is rekindled, but can a little Christmas magic restore their lost trust?
***
Under a New Year’s Enchantment
Garrick, Lord Westerly, has forbidden the hanging of mistletoe, yet the holiday house party at his country estate sizzles with sensual desire. And though Theodora Southern decided long ago never to marry, she enjoys the erotic fantasies that haunt her each night—fantasies featuring her handsome, brooding host….
Since returning from the war, Garrick has been in no mood to celebrate. But suddenly the nightmares that plague him are making way for much more pleasant dreams—dreams in which his childhood friend Theodora is very much a grown woman. The question is, has he fallen in love—or under a wicked spell?
***
I would be delighted to give a download of BOTH novellas (either Amazon or Barnes & Noble) to one lucky commenter. Just answer one of these questions (or make up your own question and answer).
Have you ever been visited by an incubus or a succubus? Would you like to be? Or, if you would rather avoid such potentially embarrassing questions, what’s your favorite dessert? (I ask this longingly. I am on a diet where I eat almost no carbs, and I do miss dessert. Go ahead, torture me!)
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Barbara Monajem is the award-winning author of the Bayou Gavotte series of paranormal mysteries, as well as nine Regency novellas. She wrote her first story at eight years old about apple tree gnomes. She published a middle-grade fantasy when her children were young. Now her kids are adults, and she writes romance and mystery for adults. She lives near Atlanta, Georgia with an ever-shifting population of relatives, friends, and feline strays.
