Thank You, Twilight!

As I was preparing my blog post for this month, I saw one that I drafted last November and never posted. Do I wait another six months or do I post it now? The sun is shining brightly through the window and I can hear my kids playing in the backyard...

***

What am I thankful for?

An incredible husband, three wonderful children, supportive friends and a loving family. I'm really very blessed.


But let's get real.

I'm thankful for the dream Stephenie Meyers had of a boy and a girl laying in a pretty meadow, a dream that turned into the Twilight story.

I'm not ashamed to say I'm thankful for every moment I was able to slip away into the town of Forks and lust over a vampire and a werewolf. I'm thankful for the screaming matches between me (a real person) and Bella (a fictional character) because it meant I was invested in the story I was reading. I'm thankful for the movie franchise and the people in charge of casting, for giving me the delicious eye candy known as Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner. (It took me a couple of years to get over my guilt about the latter one--he was so young! He's 20 now- guilt be-gone.)

I'm thankful for the last movie in the Twilight series, although I'm sad that they're gone. [I'll relive every glorious (and not so glorious) moment on blu-ray. :-) ]

But mostly, I'm thankful for a set of books which introduced a new generation of girls to reading and hopefully, to reading romance.

This past weekend, I was thankful for other Twilight fans who joined me at the movie theatre for the Twilight Saga Marathon, all of the movies, back to back, leading up to the release of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 2. It was so much fun, to be surrounded by true fans. We laughed, shared stories, cried and gasped. People are not shy about making fun of these movies, so to be with other women who felt like I did was liberating, and the camaraderie was quick and strong.

When the credits rolled, I was reluctant to leave the theatre, feeling that this was truly the end of an era. But I don't regret any moment of the past four years spent as a Twi-Mom. It was a blast.

I can't wait for the new story that will capture my imagination and love as thoroughly and completely as the Twilight Saga.

Happy Thanksgiving!   Enjoy a beautiful spring day!

Werewolves and Shapeshifters

The concept of shapeshifters exists in every culture around the world. They take many forms and obey a diverse set of rules depending upon the specific culture. Since my forthcoming book, "Collector's Item," involves shapeshifters, specifically werejaguars, I thought I'd share a little of my discoveries and ruminations upon the dual-natured in a series of posts.

This first post will deal with my perception of the concepts of  "were" and "shapeshifter."

There is the much discussion about difference between shapeshifters and weres of whatever animal (werewolves, werejaguars, werefoxes). To my mind, shapeshifter is a generic, major classification-type term. It describes the shared trait among the dual-natured - the ability to change their shapes. That said, the weres, selkies, kitsune, etc. are all forms of shapeshifters.

Another thing to note is that shapeshifters have two classes--those who are humans shifting to animal form or animals who shift to human form. Animals who shift into human form more often than not do so for malicious reasons, to prey upon humans in some manner. In the majority of myths involving humans changing into animals, the change has a very negative origin--curses, punishment, flight from an angry god, take your pick. In myths or stories where the change is not one-way/permanent, the "descent" into animal form is nearly always viewed as a "bad" thing.

Werewolves are the ultimate of the bad transitions, and what makes werewolves unique among the shapeshifters is their infamous connection to the moon. Of all the shapeshifters I have encountered in my research, only the werewolves are under the curse of the full moon.

It seems the rest of the shapeshifters are in control of their change, deciding  when and where they shift. Sometimes even choosing "what" they change into when they shift. Not surprising, even shapeshifters who can control their changes are not viewed with anything less than a jaundiced eye. Some are considered truly evil, such as the Native American skinwalkers and the Korean kumiho to name a few, using their abilities to prey upon others.

My werejaguars in "Collector's Item" are not your standard weres. Their transformations are not controlled by the moon and, even more unusual, the jaguar side of my weres have their own personalties and thoughts. The human side is in control, but the animal form is self-aware. Sounds a bit schizophrenic, but in my world, shapeshifters carefully nurture their young, helping them to accept their animal sides in a symbiotic lifestyle. However, the human side is ALWAYS the side in control. It's not an easy thing to accept and some do not gain control of their animal sides. Those who fail are called Unadapted and in "today's" world, they are treated with a drug that suppresses their animal selves completely, enabling the Unadapted to live normal human lives.

Next month, I will share tidbits about some of the Asian shapeshifters. Until then, be careful when you're outside on a full moon. That howl you hear may not be the neighbor's dog.

NEWS FLASH! I'm thrilled to announce that "Collector's Item" will be released by The Wild Rose Press on May 17th!

Denise Golinowski is a reader and writer of fantasy and romance. Her first enovella, The Festival of the Flowers: The Courtesan and the Scholar is available now through the Wild Rose Press. Her second enovella, Collector's Item will also be released by The Wild Rose Press May 17, 2013. You can visit her blog at Golinowski's Gambol.