Night Hag – A Monster by Any Other Name By A.J. Llewellyn

Actor Boris Karloff once observed, “The monster was my best friend.”

It’s easy to see why. Monsters are outcasts. Different. Misunderstood. Just like artists, whether they’re writers, actors, musicians or painters. We put ourselves outside of society, observers of human nature.  For some people, this isn’t such a hard task. For others, the yearning to belong is strong.

Mr. Karloff embraced his wounded misfits, making good money and earning a reputation for being an utter gentleman off camera, and for his sensitive portrayals of some of the most famous monsters of fiction and myth. From the moment he donned Frankenstein’s sometimes painful, bulky costume with its four-inch platform shoes, he became someone, something else.

Frankenstein had a lasting legacy that few know about. The makeup process required to transform him contained harmful ingredients and during his acting career, he took out an insurance policy to guard him from prematurely aging.

Playing the monster however, led to a lasting love for the actor. He never begrudged Frankenstein or any of the other frightening creatures he played.

I thought about him a lot as I created my story, Night Hag for the Amber PAX™ Heavy Petting 2 Anthology stories. In this story, my lead character, Gideon has a little girl some might deem a monster. But is she really? And how do we define what makes a monster?

His adopted daughter, Gretchen is different. She’s had a rough start in life but he’s deeply attached to her and wants to give her everything denied her in her short five years on earth. Gideon sees a lot of himself in her. Gretchen is a loving child and forms a bond with a mysterious but charming 175-pound dog named Renaldo. Gideon’s rather taken by Renaldo’s Dad, children’s book illustrator, Jory Wyatt.

Can these four seeming misfits make a family? Can they work it out?

This is a sequel to my previous Heavy Petting story, Bunyip. The bunyip, named Norman makes a return appearance in this tale, but Night Hag can be read as a standalone.

Which monsters of myth do you cherish? Which ones scare you? Please post a comment to qualify to win the entire Five-story collection of Heavy Petting 2.

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Night Hag Synopsis:

The sequel to Amber Allure’s Best Seller Bunyip.

In the idyllic seaside town of Half Moon Bay, just outside of San Francisco, Gideon Hunter has just met the man of his dreams in Jory Wyatt. But how can he start something with Jory when Gideon has a monster of a problem? His newly adopted five-year-old daughter has some issues, and Gideon can’t even begin to cope with her little...idiosyncrasies...let alone fall in love. Not only that, but Jory has a few things to deal with himself. Namely his 175-pound dog Renaldo. Unfortunately, Gretchen has become attached to Renaldo, and the big drooling beast seems to have become smitten with her, too.

Jory has waited a long time for somebody as wonderful as Gideon to move to town. But can Gideon be as amazing as he seems? And is it true what their mutual friend Steve Maddox says about Gideon’s cute yet serious daughter? That she’s some kind of actual monster? Steve should know, especially since he has an unusual creature of his own...Norman the bunyip...

Genres: Gay / Dark Fantasy / Witchcraft / Magic / Paranormal / Action / Adventure 

Heat Level: 3 

Length: Novella (25k words)

Purchase link and excerpt:  http://www.amberquill.com/store/p/2071-Night-Hag.aspx

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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!