2024 COVERS

2024 covers

Welcome to the Dark Side!

We are writers mainly from Australia and New Zealand who write speculative fiction with romantic elements. Be it fantasy, paranormal, dark urban fantasy, futuristic and everything in between.

Thursday 3 May 2012

Magic Thursday: Special Guest ~ Ju Dimello


Up until now, all the posts have been only about our DarkSiders. However, we have decided we will start to feature some special guests. 

Please make welcome our very first Special Guest,
Ju Dimello!!


Ju has just had her debut book, Fiery Icicle published by Ellora's Cave. She's here talking about hot hunks, and has also kindly offered a giveaway of her book. 


Take it away, Ju. 



Parading hot hunks as paranormal heroes 
aka creating a character



A couple of days ago, my writing friend said: My characters ‘speak’ to me as I write their story. Do yours? If so, what’s it like to have a vampire breathing down your neck? *grin*

I love writing romances where creatures of the night roam free, albeit carefully amidst humans (which, btw, is the reason for the above mentioned vamp). Her question made me think about my character related research. And in case you’ve wondered how a character comes to life in an author’s mind, here you go!

For me, my characters get fixed only after I decide on eye-candies to go with them. Imagine patching up a male character in mind like: He should be a hunk, he should be pleasing to the eye in addition to fulfilling usual cliché of tall, dark and handsome. Kinda…boring, don’t you think?

Instead, what do you think of when I mention Chris Hemsworth (the actor who acted as Thor) or Daniel Craig? Rippling muscles, drool worthy six packs, striking face with lighter hair. The latter, as a potential, say, wolf shifter, would have seen the world, knows what it is to live on the high-edge and be able to balance his normal and his beast sides. See...how easier it becomes to paint a picture in mind when we have visual eye-candy to inspire the artist within?


What do you feel about Sean Connery in the same context? Maybe battered, but certainly not broken ;) He would be a worthy Elder or past his prime Alpha when it comes to leading the pack with his wisdom and strength. Maybe it’s the way I’m wired as a writer or as a woman who takes time to appreciate beauty, but if any vampire looks like Michael Fassbender in the movie X-men first class, he’s more than welcome to breathe down my neck ;) LOL! Speaking of X-men, how can we not mention Wolverine :p


I <3 myself a tormented hero and presently searching for a hot actor to fit that role. Got a suggestion or two? Drop me a line..I’d love to hear from you!



Short Blurb:
This story contains a half-fae intent on claiming his woman, a half-demon bent on resisting her and a passion that's hot enough to melt the alpine snow

Excerpt:
She stole a peek at him, only to be caught. Heat unfurled in her stomach in response to the slumberous intent mirrored in his eyes. His honeyed gaze turned molten as it swept over her, spreading warmth. A slow grin lit his features, brightening the whole place. The brilliance of a summer sun couldn’t compete with the natural brightness of his fae-aura.

“Hey, baby.”

Rat. Thought he could charm his way into her good graces, did he? This time, she’d stay strong and show him, though the nervous flutter in her belly threatened otherwise.

Unmindful of her silence, he dropped his voice a few notches, the growl meant only for her ears. “Miss me?”

“Why should I?”

“Liar.” He leaned in close to her ears, pushing her hair away, nipping an earlobe. “You think I can’t observe your quick breaths? The way your eyes darken when you glance at me. ”

She hoped he didn’t observe the flush heating up her cheeks while her pulse roared in her ears. Finding her stable ground took more than a moment. “What if I’m not interested in anything you have to say?”


I thought I’d share a short version of the blurb and excerpt of Fiery Icicle, my debut release, while a longer one can be enjoyed on the Ellora's Cave website

You can also find me at the following places:

Website
Blog
Twitter
Facebook

If you’re impatient to grab a copy, you can always hop over to EC Website or Amazon or AllRomanceebooks.

~~~
Thank you so much, Ju. So glad you could join us.

Remember leave a comment to be in the running for this great giveaway.


4 comments:

  1. Hey Ju!

    Awesome to see you here at DSDU. It's an awesome, if slightly spooky, place.

    Big congrats on your debut! Headed over to Amazon next to nab myself a copy.

    Now, you had me at Hugh Jackman, Chris Hemsworth and even Connery, who absolutely my favourite mature muse. Definitely spoiled for choice!

    I've been loving me some Sam Worthington lately, ever since Avatar. Another Aussie to add to the hunk ranks.

    So much man candy, so little time... ;)

    Be good! E x

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you for the warm welcome and adding another drool-worthy suggestion to the ever growing list, Em! And yeah...so much man candy, so little time ;)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi Ju, sorry I'm late. Lots going on. Thanks for joining us and bringing along the lovely heroes with you! Henry Cavill in Immortals had a bit of angst going on. Yes, it's just an excuse to go ogle - ahum - I mean, admire Henry.

    Congratulations on your debut!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm all for excuses to ogle ;) Why pretend otherwise..hehe :) Thanks for another fantastic actor - who looks good with his sword...ahem....

    ReplyDelete

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