Christine Feehan's Blog - Posts Tagged "shapeshifter"
Sex, Sex and more Sex
Yes, there’s sex in my books. Some of the books have more than others. Some have sex that’s more erotic than others. I write romance. And, frankly, I think there’s nothing wrong with sex. It’s a part of nature. It’s human. It’s a way to express how you feel for someone. Or a way to show them that you want to take care of them.
I know some people skip sex scenes and some of them love intimate scenes. Both of those reactions are absolutely fine and correct because they are personal choices.
My leopard books are particularly wild and erotic. They have to be. I do extensive research on leopards and the characters, who shift into leopards, would need to possess some of those traits. They are passionate. And they are animalistic in the way they behave. It makes sense for the sex scenes in these to be more erotic and intense.
My Sea Haven books, the Drake Sisters and the Sisters of the Heart also have sex in them. And yes it is also passionate. But, it’s not raw, wild sex in the same sense as the leopard books are.
Sex has to make sense according to the character. Who they are, what they believe, what they feel, their life-filters, their situation. I don’t put in sex just for the sake of having sex in my books. It is meaningful. It adds to the overall story of the characters. It’s there for a reason; to be part of a beautiful story of love.
I know some people skip sex scenes and some of them love intimate scenes. Both of those reactions are absolutely fine and correct because they are personal choices.
My leopard books are particularly wild and erotic. They have to be. I do extensive research on leopards and the characters, who shift into leopards, would need to possess some of those traits. They are passionate. And they are animalistic in the way they behave. It makes sense for the sex scenes in these to be more erotic and intense.
My Sea Haven books, the Drake Sisters and the Sisters of the Heart also have sex in them. And yes it is also passionate. But, it’s not raw, wild sex in the same sense as the leopard books are.
Sex has to make sense according to the character. Who they are, what they believe, what they feel, their life-filters, their situation. I don’t put in sex just for the sake of having sex in my books. It is meaningful. It adds to the overall story of the characters. It’s there for a reason; to be part of a beautiful story of love.
Writing Shapeshifter Stories
I’ve always loved shapeshifter stories and knew that I would write one. Now, I’ve written twelve and I have ideas for so many more.
The idea of people who could, not only turn into an animal, but who had those animal traits and lived by the rules of that type of animal’s lifestyle, intrigued me.
I read many stories in which the person just happened to shift into some kind of animal, but they were otherwise unaffected by that animal. I wanted stories of people who were truly merged with that animal on such a fundamental and profound level that you could feel it when the traits of the animal began to manifest while that person was in human form. And, when in animal form you felt that the personality and beliefs of the human were somewhere deep inside the animal.
When I decided to create my own shapeshifter world I chose leopards for many reasons. One was that I love leopards. I love the majesty of them, the grace and power. They are both beautiful and dangerous all at once.
As I began my extensive research on leopards I realized that leopards from different regions have their own differences from one another. That’s part of the reason I chose the Amur leopard for my Texas leopards. Amur leopards can be found in Russia. I’d already researched Russia and even the Russian mob for other books, so this seemed both natural and fun to write.
Amur leopards are growing extinct. Sadly, there are less than 100 Amur leopards left in the wild. These leopards are one of the most endangered. They are strong predators. I wanted to bring these amazing animals to people’s attention and I wanted to be able to discuss the issue of their slow extinction without it sounding like a lesson.
Mitya Amurov, the hero of Leopard’s Wrath, embodies all the traits of an Amur leopard. So much so, that he doesn’t trust himself. With good reason. Leopards have terrible tempers. They are very dominant. They take what they want or what they need to survive.
Mitya, in my mind, is an example of a shapeshifter character that merges and blends both human and animal. You feel how Mitya struggles to keep his leopard and his leopard traits under his control, which isn’t always possible. It couldn’t be. Not if I’m being true to the rules I’ve set up for my world. The leopard needs to be equally dominant at times. It needs to push at Mitya, insisting on having its way.
The one thing both Mitya and his leopard can agree on is that Ania Dover is special. She calms them. She calls to them on a basic level. And, they want her. Need her. With her leopard pushing at her, recognizing Mitya’s leopard, a sort of dance begins. Sometimes volatile. Always erotic.
Leopards embody passion and when that explodes within the confines of a human body, that passion owns them.
Leopard's Wrath is out now!
Let me know what you love about shapeshifter books. Which of mine are your favorite? Who else writes good shapeshifter books?
The idea of people who could, not only turn into an animal, but who had those animal traits and lived by the rules of that type of animal’s lifestyle, intrigued me.
I read many stories in which the person just happened to shift into some kind of animal, but they were otherwise unaffected by that animal. I wanted stories of people who were truly merged with that animal on such a fundamental and profound level that you could feel it when the traits of the animal began to manifest while that person was in human form. And, when in animal form you felt that the personality and beliefs of the human were somewhere deep inside the animal.
When I decided to create my own shapeshifter world I chose leopards for many reasons. One was that I love leopards. I love the majesty of them, the grace and power. They are both beautiful and dangerous all at once.
As I began my extensive research on leopards I realized that leopards from different regions have their own differences from one another. That’s part of the reason I chose the Amur leopard for my Texas leopards. Amur leopards can be found in Russia. I’d already researched Russia and even the Russian mob for other books, so this seemed both natural and fun to write.
Amur leopards are growing extinct. Sadly, there are less than 100 Amur leopards left in the wild. These leopards are one of the most endangered. They are strong predators. I wanted to bring these amazing animals to people’s attention and I wanted to be able to discuss the issue of their slow extinction without it sounding like a lesson.
Mitya Amurov, the hero of Leopard’s Wrath, embodies all the traits of an Amur leopard. So much so, that he doesn’t trust himself. With good reason. Leopards have terrible tempers. They are very dominant. They take what they want or what they need to survive.
Mitya, in my mind, is an example of a shapeshifter character that merges and blends both human and animal. You feel how Mitya struggles to keep his leopard and his leopard traits under his control, which isn’t always possible. It couldn’t be. Not if I’m being true to the rules I’ve set up for my world. The leopard needs to be equally dominant at times. It needs to push at Mitya, insisting on having its way.
The one thing both Mitya and his leopard can agree on is that Ania Dover is special. She calms them. She calls to them on a basic level. And, they want her. Need her. With her leopard pushing at her, recognizing Mitya’s leopard, a sort of dance begins. Sometimes volatile. Always erotic.
Leopards embody passion and when that explodes within the confines of a human body, that passion owns them.
Leopard's Wrath is out now!
Let me know what you love about shapeshifter books. Which of mine are your favorite? Who else writes good shapeshifter books?
The Leopard Series: Leopard’s Rage
I always wanted to write a shapeshifter story and in 2002 I got my wish. I wrote a story called The Awakening in a novella entitled Fantasy along with Sabrina Jeffries, Emma Holly and Elda Minger. I enjoyed writing the novella so much I thought I’d try my hand at writing a full novel. Wild Rain was my first full novel in the Leopard Series and the hero and heroine, Rio and Rachael, were in the forest surrounded by danger. What fun!
Now, I’ve written my 13th Leopard series novel – Leopard’s Rage ! The leopard shifters are still in danger but now we’ve add a mob element and so much more!
We’ve seen many different types of leopards over the years. Cloud leopards, Amur leopards and now a Strawberry leopard just to name a few. I’ve been writing a lot about the Amur leopards lately and the hero of Leopard’s Rage, Sevastyan falls into that category. He’s Amur leopard from Russian with a horrific past that he has fought hard to survive and overcome. I thought it would be fun to pair him with Flambe, a woman who helps rescue others like herself, an ultra-rare Strawberry leopard. Flambe is courageous and smart. She owns her own landscaping business. But, she’s never been mated before and something more is at play with our heroine that will challenge Sevastyan and may surprise the reader!
I love how this series has flowed over the years. Before Leopard’s Rage is the story of Sevastyan’s cousin, Mitya in Leopard’s Wrath. Before that is another Amurov relative – Timur in Leopard’s Run. You can see the progression of where these characters are going and danger follows them. And in Leopard’s Rage the danger is overwhelming in a way that brings the adventure in this story to a 10!
Let me know which of the Leopard books have been your favorite. (It’s okay to pick more than one!) LOL
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Now, I’ve written my 13th Leopard series novel – Leopard’s Rage ! The leopard shifters are still in danger but now we’ve add a mob element and so much more!
We’ve seen many different types of leopards over the years. Cloud leopards, Amur leopards and now a Strawberry leopard just to name a few. I’ve been writing a lot about the Amur leopards lately and the hero of Leopard’s Rage, Sevastyan falls into that category. He’s Amur leopard from Russian with a horrific past that he has fought hard to survive and overcome. I thought it would be fun to pair him with Flambe, a woman who helps rescue others like herself, an ultra-rare Strawberry leopard. Flambe is courageous and smart. She owns her own landscaping business. But, she’s never been mated before and something more is at play with our heroine that will challenge Sevastyan and may surprise the reader!
I love how this series has flowed over the years. Before Leopard’s Rage is the story of Sevastyan’s cousin, Mitya in Leopard’s Wrath. Before that is another Amurov relative – Timur in Leopard’s Run. You can see the progression of where these characters are going and danger follows them. And in Leopard’s Rage the danger is overwhelming in a way that brings the adventure in this story to a 10!
Let me know which of the Leopard books have been your favorite. (It’s okay to pick more than one!) LOL
My Official Website
Christine's Facebook
Christine Feehan Instagram
(Exclusives, Sneak Peeks, Discussions and more) - Exclusive Online Community
Walking the Wild Side with Leopard’s Hunt
Leopard’s Hunt is the 15th story in my series about leopard shapeshifters. I love shapeshifter stories and was excited when my first leopard story, which was in an anthology called Fantasy with a novella titled The Awakening in 2002.
Throughout the many leopard books there have been story threads that weren’t ready to be completed or that I wanted to address again so it felt complete to me. Leopard’s Hunt has given me that opportunity.
As an author I’m so happy to be able to go back and address those things. If you’ve not read all the books, you’ll not miss out on anything. If you have, you’re going to love this extra aspect of the book.
My readers have waited for Gorya’s book and finally his story demanded to be told. And it wanted to be unique.
I have always loved the idea of having these animalistic traits blended with human traits. In this story the leopards of both Gorya and our heroine, Maya, play a significant role. I wanted readers to feel connected to the leopards and see them as the hero and heroine they are.
Gorya has been keeping a secret. Something so dangerous he has hired someone to kill him in order to keep others safe. Then, Maya and her leopard, Wraith come into his life. And the world changes.
Gorya has been given a very dangerous territory where he is challenged and threatened constantly. The old guard won’t fall in line so Gorya must put them in line or take them out completely.
Gorya is dangerous. His situation is dangerous. And now, his leopard has found a mate. There’s no going back. Hunt. Or be hunted.
I’d love to know which Leopard Series book has been your favorite so far.
Throughout the many leopard books there have been story threads that weren’t ready to be completed or that I wanted to address again so it felt complete to me. Leopard’s Hunt has given me that opportunity.
As an author I’m so happy to be able to go back and address those things. If you’ve not read all the books, you’ll not miss out on anything. If you have, you’re going to love this extra aspect of the book.
My readers have waited for Gorya’s book and finally his story demanded to be told. And it wanted to be unique.
I have always loved the idea of having these animalistic traits blended with human traits. In this story the leopards of both Gorya and our heroine, Maya, play a significant role. I wanted readers to feel connected to the leopards and see them as the hero and heroine they are.
Gorya has been keeping a secret. Something so dangerous he has hired someone to kill him in order to keep others safe. Then, Maya and her leopard, Wraith come into his life. And the world changes.
Gorya has been given a very dangerous territory where he is challenged and threatened constantly. The old guard won’t fall in line so Gorya must put them in line or take them out completely.
Gorya is dangerous. His situation is dangerous. And now, his leopard has found a mate. There’s no going back. Hunt. Or be hunted.
I’d love to know which Leopard Series book has been your favorite so far.
