When deciding on a romantic lead for my nymph in The Bear Goddess, I knew he had to be a follower of Zeus, and he had to be an enemy of Artemis and her nymphs. At first I was going to make him human, but that didn’t seem exciting enough for such a popular Greek myth. After some brainstorming, I decided to make my hero a centaur but this posed a problem—centaurs are known for their savagery, not to mention they are part horse. So, how was I going to create a likeable centaur and not have uncomfortable romantic scenes? After giving it some thought I came up with an idea—my hero, and a few other centaurs, could take human shape.
This worked for a number of reasons. The centaurs who could take human shape were viewed as outsiders within their centaur community and due to their unusual parentage, had milder personalities than their brutal relatives. This also made a romance between a nymph and a centaur more believable and not weird when it came time to write sex scenes. Plus, it added a level of sexiness for my hero to be something as exciting and dangerous as a centaur but also able to transform into a hunky human. In his centaur body, Kasin is powerful and formidable with a pure black horse body and in his human shape, he is still intimidating but striking and handsome with long black hair and war braids.
As a follower of Zeus, Kasin is a warrior above all else, but he also has some favorite activities he keeps hidden from the rest of the centaurs. One of these is singing. Music, unless it is a battle horn, is not allowed among the fierce centaurs. My hero also likes to take scented baths; another activity frowned upon among the hygienically challenged centaurs. I had to make him attractive to a nymph who bathed often, and I’m sure readers appreciate a clean, well-mannered hero too.
Not all centaurs have to be savage and some can be downright sexy.
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Short excerpt:
Everything had happened so fast—being caught with Kasin, being bound with silver, Kasin changing into a centaur—Callisto hadn’t had time to absorb the shock of discovering the man she loved was a centaur. Weakened by the silver chain still binding her hands, she couldn’t escape. All she could do was lay helpless in his arms while he galloped with her off into the night.
He came to an abrupt halt at the edge of a steep plateau, searching the darkened forest lit by faint beams of moonlight. The fierce set of his handsome face made her breath catch in her throat. His arms held her in a confident, strong grip. With some hesitancy, she admitted to herself that she found him exciting. He was a centaur, her enemy who she was supposed to hate, but he had never mistreated her and he saved her life once again. She could only stare at him, stunned.
The Bear Goddess on Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00P74X0WY
The Bear Goddess Trade Paperback Buy Link on amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/Bear-Goddess-Book-Arcadia/dp/1502982684/ref=asap_B002BMOQ3C_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1415503605&sr=1-7
To read an excerpt from The Bear Goddess, visit my website: http://www.kelleyheckart.com/TheBearGoddess.html
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Multi-published author Kelley Heckart lives in Arizona with her musician husband, dog and a number of backyard “pets,” including Godzilla the desert iguana. Her stories reflect her passion for ancient and medieval time periods, storytelling and the supernatural. Inspired by the ancient Celts, her tales are filled with fierce warriors, bold women, otherworldly creatures, magic and romance. When not writing, she works as an editor/proofreader and practices target archery. She can be found online at http://www.kelleyheckart.com/
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Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy romance author
Captivating...Sensual...Otherworldly
Website: http://www.kelleyheckart.com
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