Temptation Eyes by A.J. Llewellyn and D.J. Manly

DJ: What is the fascination we have with werewolves? It's an intriguing question. It seems more straight forward when discussing the vampire lore. We are attracted to the vampire because mortal beings are concerned with aging and death. The vampire cannot die. They don't age either. Who needs beauty products?

  

AJ: I need beauty products. I don't like scaring people much. But I digress. I agree that vampires always seemed sexier than weres.

DJ: But the werewolf, um? There seems to be something else at play here. Would you say werewolves are just as popular as vampires? The jury is still out on that one.

  

AJ: Sorry, got distracted playing with my beauty products for a moment. Until I started reading werewolf fiction and then wrote some, I didn't think weres were sexy. I saw a photo that was really hot and it changed everything for me!

DJ: The idea that a seemingly ordinary human being can transform into that of an animal at the sight of the moon is quite phenomenal. It begs the question that with all our striving to be "cultured" and "civilized" is there still vestiges of the old prehistoric hunter, lurking deep inside our psyche. The thought of that makes us cringe and yet somehow is appealing. 

  

AJ: I agree. When I realized what a phenomenon shifter fiction was, I wondered, does making them animals make M/M more palatable for some readers? I mean we have were penguins and ducks now! But then I realized sex on the page when the characters are in animal form is not common. Still, I do wonder about the fluffy aspects to some shifter fiction. There is nothing fluffy about our weres, DJ!

             

DJ: The dichotomy of the civilized human and the wild animal shows us quite plainly that underneath all of us is the beast, waiting to be unleashed from convention and custom, ready to rip off our clothes and go running through the forest, free and without constraints that are put on us by society.

AJ: I think that's true. Also, it's that aspect of "the devil made me do it" - a mainstay of erotic fantasies.

DJ: Spurred by nature, the werewolf is not responsible for what he/she does when in the  form of the wolf.  All acts are beyond our control. Perhaps with our busy lives filled with multi  tasking and a zillion responsibilities, the lore of the werewolf will continue to grow in popularity. And who knows, soon you too could be outside howling at the moon!

  

AJ: Absolutely. I keep discovering new - well to me, anyway - werewolf legends, such as the one I used in my 'Tame' series for Amber Allure. There is a certain river that if people swim across allegedly turns them into werewolves. Also, in some parts of Argentina, people believe their seventh child is a werewolf. A century ago, people kept killing their kids so the mayor of each town became those children's godparents, in order to give them prestige and protection. That tradition still holds to this day - especially around election time!

             

DJ: Temptation Eyes by A.J. Llewellyn and myself, presents a different yet familiar slant on the popular werewolf genre. We hope you like it.

  

AJ: Here is the synopsis: 

Owen was born into a Were family, and like those before him, he is expected to turn on the full moon of his twenty-first birthday. And there are especially high expectations concerning Owen’s shift from boy to wolf, given that his birthday falls on the night of the full moon itself.

But when the full moon rises on that fated night, nothing happens. While others around him change, he stays the same, forced to run for his life from the angry pack. Needless to say, Owen is a disappointment to his family.

But then a mysterious and sexy stranger with wickedly tempting eyes comes to stay at Owen’s mother’s boardinghouse, a stranger regarded as suspicious by the clan, who apparently knows that there is far more to Owen than his failure to shift... 

DJ: The title Temptation Eyes comes from the song, Temptation Eyes by the Grassroots and is dedicated to the memory of their lead singer, Rob Grill. 

  

AJ: DJ loves Rob Grill. Not more than me, I hope!

             

DJ: The Grassroots was one of my favorite groups as a very young child. It was the first album I ever owned. I was totally in love with Rob and his wonderful voice. I dedicated this book to his memory.

  

AJ: You just made me all misty-eyed.

             

DJ:  I hope you enjoy the story as much as we enjoyed writing it.  And be careful going out under the full moon. It does crazy things to people.

Xx

D.J.

AJ: We really have found some new twists on old myths here. We hope you enjoy Temptation Eyes, part of the GROWL! Pax. For more information, please click this link: http://www.amberquill.com/AmberAllure/TemptationEyes.html

Aloha oe,

A.J.

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Temptation Eyes by A.J. Llewellyn and D.J. Manly is now available at Amber Allure.

If you'd like the chance to win the entire pax collection, just leave a comment on today's post. On Saturday, a winner will be picked at random from all the comments made this week on the blog. Comment on all, and that's multiple chances to win!