Magic Thursday—Temptation in a Bottle

Boyfriend in a Bottle was the second novella I wrote and the second story of mind to sell (it was written during my GFC redundancy when I decided to write a novella every couple of weeks so I could work on characterization, plotting and structure).

I had such fun with that story that I planned to go back and write another in the same world. It took several years but I did.

Temptation in a Bottle is set in the same world but is stand alone. The only thing the two books have in common is that the heroes are genies…well slightly more than genies because they were created by the Goddess Inanna for women’s pleasure (something only a Goddess of Love would do).

So there’s hot guys in bottle just waiting to be freed to serve your every lusty desire…why did it take me so long to write another?

Well, I sold the Goblin King trilogy and two of those books weren’t written, plus there were deadlines and one year became two and then three. But the ideas for more sexy genies were there so I jotted them down determined that I would come back to them. I think I have a dozen ideas now. They may not all get written but now that I’m writing full time I’d like to write another couple.

Usually my stories are quite dark and the characters are tortured and angsty. The In a Bottle stories are a little lighter, the romance is a faster and more of a whirlwind (which is what I look for in a novella, something short and sweet with a HEA, but still with enough punch to make me care).

Temptation in a Bottle is my first new self-published story (An Elemental Tail was a re-release). I hope you enjoy it :)

Temptation in a Bottle
His only wish is to be free…
For centuries Gage has existed only to fulfill the most intimate desires of the woman who holds his bottle. Now Gage has a wish of his own—to be a real man and a have a real life even though he knows it’s an impossible dream. This time he plans to take his bottle and break it just to see what will happen.

Paramedic Sasha Watts has seen the damage falling in love does to people and she had no intention of being another of Cupid’s victims. She accidentally frees Gage without knowing what he is. After one kiss he walks away and she never expects to see him again, but the goddess Inanna has other ideas.

As punishment for breaking his bottle she erases Gage’s memory of everything but Sasha. Only Sasha can give him the life he longs for and only Gage can be the man she’s always dreamed of, but first she’ll have to open her heart and he’ll have to finish the job Inanna gave him. If he fails, he’ll cease to exist.





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Magic Thursday...Genies & Djinn

Genies or Djinn...

When you hear those words, you could be imagining a few things... You might think of Disney's blue Genie from Aladdin, or perhaps, the lady actress with the very flat tummy from I dream of Jeannie. Or you might be like me and visualise the genie from Arnott's TimTam advert.

(Forget the Timtam's lady, take the genie!)

I am very happy to note that Genies and Djinn are beginning to crop up with greater frequency in paranormal fiction (yay!) but what is the difference the difference between Djinn and Genie? Is there a difference?

Why yes, there is... allow me to elaborate.

Djinn

 

 

You may (or may not) be surprised to learn that the term Djinn (sometimes Jinn or Djinni) hails from Islam.
According to Verses in the Qur'an and the Hadiths (traditional collection of the actions and sayings of Muhammad the Prophet), the Djinn are a mythical race of creatures who roamed the earth before humanity began.

 In this tradition, it is stated that the djinn were created of fire without smoke, men were created of clay, and angels created from light. Additionally the djinn are not visible to humans, but may be perceived in the movement of air and the sensation of an electrical current.

The djinn are also shape shifters. According to Islamic belief, they may take on a human or animal form (cow, scorpion, bird). Interestingly, for those of you who read my Hell Hound post last year, the djinn may also choose to appear in the form of a black dog.

When in a corporeal form, the djinn is obviously forced to obey the laws of nature and physics,  it is therefore possible to destroy a djinn in a corporeal body, unlike when they are in their natural form and invisible.

Interestingly, within traditional beliefs, djinn are considered a complete race of beings, and may be found as male and female. They are able to procreate with one another to produce child-djinn.
Djinn tend to occupy places usually not inhabited by humanity, often deserts and wastelands. Some djinn may develop a preference for living in rubbish bins, or on a much more sinister note - cemeteries.

Like humans, the djinn appear to be capable of free will, making their decisions according to their own preferences. They also maybe of a religious nature, in that they follow a major religion, not necessarily Islam, but Buddhism or Christianity if they prefer.

Some djinn choose to be malevolent and aggressive towards humans. In  Malaysia for example, if you are having a problem with a troublesome djinn, you may call a Bomoh (witch-doctor) to come and capture it for you. There are reports in Malaysia of Bomoh's capturing as many as nine djinn in a single house. They apparently captured them and placed them in bottles... (if you'd like to read an article about it, click here.)

(alleged captured djinn in bottles)

Hmmm, wait, did I just say captured in a bottle? Is this sounding a bit familiar?

Yes, you're correct... the more westernised fantasy notion of the Genie, stems from myths about captured djinn.
We are all familiar with the tales of "Aladdin", "The Fisherman and Djinni," "Sinbad the Sailor", and "The Book of One Thousand and One Nights" - all of which have captured djinni in them. It is these tales that have formed the basis of the westernised genie. The djinn in the stories mentioned above all had the ability to give their masters wishes - and it is from these tales that the genie as we know it evolved.

Genies

 

 

 

The term Genie is clearly derived from the word djinn.
According to the Online Etymology Dictionary (awesome resource!) the noun "genie" was first referred to in the 1650s, "tutelary spirit," from French génie, from Latin genius (see genius); used in French translation of "Arabian Nights" to render Arabic jinni, singular of jinn, which it accidentally resembled, and attested in English with this sense from 1748.

However, in more recent fictional works (including my own) the word genie has taken a shift from the mythical race of beings found in the Qur'an, to being an individual person (usually a sorcerer or magician), who has been cursed by another magician / sorcerer and placed in a lamp and or bottle as punishment for some crime. Once released the genie must bestow three wishes upon their new master.

Of course, in fiction, the author has a great deal of literary license over this subject, and so you may well find the distinction between Djinn and Genie not so clear cut as I have laid out here. This is, of course, a natural part in the evolution of myths. Myths and the beasts they encompass are in a constant state of movement; they ebb, they flow, they shift and change constantly, according to different authors, cultures and beliefs - which is why mythology is so fascinating in the first place!

 

And on that note, I bid you a Magic Thursday!

PS... if you want to read more about Genies and Djinn in paranormal romance, a number of our Darksiders have books about them.

Nicola E. Sheridan - Magic Series
Erica Hayes - Demon Chained
Jenny Schwartz - Out of the Bottle Series
Shona Husk - Boyfriend in a Bottle

If there is anyone I've forgotten add your Genie book to the comments!

A Bite of...Magical Redemption

Today for our fortnightly 'A bite of' segment I'm introducing myself -  Nicola E. Sheridan with my book Magical Redemption, which as a happy coincidence is being released today!

How would I describe my book in five words?
Quirky genies, sexy demons, different.

What inspired me to write it?
Magical Redemption is the third in a series about Genies.
I was inspired by my sub-character Lucian from my previous release Magical Creations. Lucian was rather mean, but tried to redeem himself in the last book and so I thought I'll give him his redemption in his own book - though he really has a lot of work to do!
I also was desperate to write about some of the random mythological creatures I've come across in my research, particularly the Malaysian mythological beasts like the pelesit (evil grasshopper!), chupacabras, Hellcats, Nagas and Bomohs. I write for fun and interest, and this book typifies that.

And here's the snippet!

Lucian was in a world of pain. How long had he been hanging there? He didn’t know. The icy, London air sliced around his barely clad body with the precision of a surgical blade. He shivered.

From his invisible cell, he could see and smell people eating at a cafe. A few brave-hearted souls ate in the icy alfresco, huddling around their hot cappuccinos, oblivious to the tortured man hanging invisibly a few meters above them. Lucian’s stomach screamed with hunger.

“Hester. Fess,” he groaned, hoping against hope they would return. “Come!”

Lucian closed his eyes then sunk his chin down onto his chest. He bit his lip to stem the agony. His hands strapped high above his head were dead from lack of blood. For the millionth time, he cursed himself for his foolishness―he should never have betrayed the Family.

After several excruciating hours, Lucian reopened his eyes as he heard a soft padding on the cell floor. Bleary-eyed but relieved, he registered the forms of Hester and Fess.

“You came back,” he croaked.

The two Hellcats stared implacably at their master. Their coats, more flame than fur, flickered in the growing dark as they stepped closer. The odor of burning toast filled the magical cell.

“Did you bring anything?” Lucian gasped at the ripple of agony smashing down his spine as he raised his head.

Hester, the female Hellcat, dropped a bottle of water on the invisible cell floor. Lucian looked down in pain. He saw the heads of pedestrians walking beneath him. He looked at the bottle as it

rolled uselessly on the transparent floor.

“Hester, I can’t drink that. My arms are trapped.” He groaned and wrestled for a brief moment with the magical constraints that hung him. The Hellcat snarled and bared ebony teeth. She looked annoyed. “Fess?” Lucian asked. The second Hellcat stalked up behind his mate with a dead pigeon in his mouth. Its neck was broken, and a tiny but swollen tongue protruded from its parted beak. A low moan slipped unbidden from Lucian’s mouth. “How am I supposed to eat or drink this?”

The Hellcats’ red eyes reflected nothing but irritation. Previously, they had tried tugging Lucian down but had only succeeded in tearing the muscles in his arms and destroying the hems of his trousers.  Some part of Lucian wanted to be thankful for their efforts to bring him food and water, but the other part was furious at their inability to help.

Lucian’s throat burned with thirst. He caught sight of the bottle of water, again. This was torture upon torture.

“I’m going to fucking die here,” he cried.

If you like the sound of Magical Redemption, it will be available at all good booksellers sometime today.

In the meantime feel free to check out my other Genie books; Magical Gains here, and Magical Creations here

You can find me at my website: www.nicolasheridan.com , follow my rivetting tweets on Twitter @NicolaESheridan,  and catch up with me on Facebook.

Additionally I blog regularly about myths and mythology over at my blog; www.magicalgains.blogspot.com

Have an awesome Wednesday!