Veronica sez: It’s my pleasure to introduce a Guest Contributor
today- Greta van der Rol. We met in the Science Fiction Romance Brigade but we
both also spin paranormal tales from time to time and she’s got a fascinating
post for us about were-tigers. Take it away, Greta!
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Readers of paranormal romance are used to the concept of the
'were-beast', a shape-shifter who can change from an animal to a person.
Usually the idea is that the were-beast and the human are one and the same,
morphing from one shape to the other, sometimes at will, sometimes because the
moon is full (or something).
I've always had something of a problem with that. I enjoyed
(if that's the right word' the scene in An American Were-wolf in London
when the MC changes from a man to a were-wolf, and it's clearly a very painful
and rather messy business, being as how, although dogs and people have the same
bones, the configuration is totally different. Think knees, ankles, toes and
things. Not to mention tails. Sure, fiction is about suspending belief but I
usually write science fiction, so I've come up with a slightly different
approach to my were-tiger-person relationship.
Just imagine you're a were-tiger, a being that exists in two
dimensions, human in one, tiger in the
other, with sometimes a bit of mix and match between the two – if you can keep
control of the tiger part. Because that tiger part is a killer. He's savage,
he's solitary and his urge is to rip out throats if he can get a chance. None
of this full moon nonsense, you can change whenever you wish, and sometimes
when you don't wish. You're walking around with this thing as part of your
psyche. It can talk to you in your head, a constant companion, a constant
threat.
Raja Asoka Bhosle (Ash for short) is a billionaire Indian
businessman who can trace his ancestry back to the rulers of the Maratha Empire. He also
hides a secret. He is the last of an ancient line of were-tigers stretching
back over a thousand years or more, protector of the jungle in his native land.
While he jet-sets the world brokering deals in Hong Kong, New York and London,
he fights the illegal poaching trade which has so decimated tiger numbers.
Like tigers, were-tigers are solitary and they don't
tolerate competition. But they do need to mate with another of their own kind.
Tigers in the wild are facing extinction and were-tigers are even rarer than
tigers. In all his years of looking, Ash has never found another. If he can't
find a suitable mate, his were-tiger bloodline will end with him.
Sally Carter is an Australian doctor, escaping her broken
heart by taking on a six-month contract in a foreign country. She's always
liked tigers and what the hell, she might get to see one in the wild while
she's over there. But she's only been in India for five minutes when she learns
that the society and culture are about as different from middle-class Melbourne
as it's possible to be. And there's a mysterious, legendary Black Tiger. All
superstitious nonsense, of course. Then the dreams start. Pretty soon, Sally
starts to doubt her own sanity, as the creature stalks her nights. Her days are
busy, dispensing Western medicine in the face of prejudice, but always on the
edge is Raja Bhosle, handsome, reserved and totally out of her league for far
too many reasons.
Ash fancies Sally, oh yes he does. But she's European. She couldn't possibly carry the were-tiger gene. Besides, his mother
doesn't approve. She thinks he should marry a nice Indian girl. So what will he
do when he falls in love with the wrong girl? Will he be the last of Tengai's
were-tigers, or will his family obligations overrule his heart?
Come along with me to exotic places – an Indian tiger
reserve, a raja's palace, the slums of Mumbai, the bright lights of Hong Kong,
and the streets of Melbourne. You'll go on a tiger hunt on the back of an
elephant, chase a poacher through a stinking slum, prowl through a Hong Kong
alley, attend a Hindu funeral and a Christian one, and you'll probe the secrets
of the tiger temple.
Fancy a small sample? Sally's having one of those dreams.
Sally walked along a jungle
path, trees crowding on both sides so thick their branches met overhead. The
only sound she heard was the soft shuffle of her own footsteps, muffled by
undergrowth. Unease started as a prickle in her back, as though hidden eyes
watched. She picked up her pace, her heart beating faster, her mouth dry. Cold
light shone ahead of her. The moon? The light disappeared, blocked by a huge
shape. She halted. Oh God. A black
tiger stood on the path, the massive head lowered. Glowing golden eyes glared at her. Her heart pounding, she turned
and ran. The beast bounded behind her, the heavy paws thumping on the ground.
Thud… thud…
All profits
from the sale of the book will go to the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation to
support tiger conservation.
What's my next project? Black
Tiger is a stand-alone novel but there's plenty of room for more stories
about Sally and Ash. The sequel, White Tiger, a work-in-progress, is
about the plight of the six thousand or so tigers in America, kept in
backyards, circuses, inadequate private zoos and the like. Here's a taste of
the book and what it's about.
Thanks for having me. It's been a
blast.
Veronica sez: It was our pleasure! And here's the blurb for Black Tiger:
He
haunts the jungle – and her dreams
When Dr. Sally Carter travels to India to regroup from a
broken heart the last thing she wants is to fall in love. But Raja Asoka (Ash)
Bhosle is entirely too attractive to ignore, even though she knows it can only
end in tears. Hers.
Ash guards his forest and the precious creatures within
it, protecting the rare tigers from mindless slaughter, and a secret that lives
in legend. From the moment he sets eyes on the Australian doctor, he wants her,
even over the objections of his mother and the unsuitability of her cultural
heritage.
While Ash fights tiger poachers, Sally struggles against
cultural prejudice. Can the Legend of the Black Tiger be the bond that brings
them closer together, or will it be an impossible belief that rips them apart.
The closer Sally comes to understanding what the legend means, the more
frequent the nightmares become. Is she losing her sanity, or is there more to
Sally than she herself knows? The answers lie buried in her past.
4 comments:
What a great concept, Greta. Reminds me of Dr. Jekyl & Mr. Hyde, the beast striving to get out.
Your book sounds great and what a terrific cause to support.
Thanks, Diane. I guess it is a bit Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. I hadn't really thought about it that way, but yes.
Thank you for commenting.
Really enjoyed the whole concept of the were tigers! Thanks for being our guest today - great post!
Thanks for having me.
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