Indie Authors Monthly Magazine For Authors and Readers discussion

Random query - which PN creatures do you wish would be used more in fiction and why would they be an excellent focus for a book?

Well I for one wish Trolls and Goblins were used more. Growing up I always found Trolls and Goblins freaky. You don't really find paranormal fiction based around these creatures. I'd also love to see more stories around the demon aspect or witches. And another, aliens. I would love to see more alien stories whether they are good or bad. I've been working on a new series based on alien encounters. I really think so much potential lies unexplored.

I know I'm in the minority, but I reckon the ugly guys deserve their time in the moonlight! Why must all paranormal creatures be super sexy extraordinarily attractive sluts? Where are the goblins, trolls, golems and others? They never get a break nowadays.

I agree whole-heartedly with L.L. There are so many wonderfully unpleasant and deformed creatures in folklore that are very underutilized. Also, is anyone with me in thinking there needs to be a place in literature for the not-so-pretty varieties of vampires? You know, the kind that look like the guy in Nosferatu but way worse.

Hello, just joining the group. I think we should look at non-European cultures for inspiration. There are some great ones there. Like the pennagalan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penanggalan) which is a type of (usually) female vampire from Southeast Asia. They detach their heads at night, and the heads fly around with their entrails dragging behind. Or the ramanga of Madagascar which, in addition to blood, eats nail clippings. There was also a good book out by Jewell Parker Rhodes called Yellow Moon which involved another type of African vampire.

I think Aztec/Incan/Mayan mythological inspirations would be really interesting. A lot of conceptions of bat deities, jaguars, ect. that you wouldn't want to mess with.

The most common creatures I see come up are vampires, werewolves, witches and fairies. Zombies have also been on a hot streak lately as have angels. I like the idea of trolls or non-European monsters as Morgan suggested, like Chupacabras or Windigos (probably not spelling those two right). L.L. and Meri, your comments struck home for me. I was so tired of the sparkly vampire trend, that I wrote a short story series featuring a really cranky, old, unattractive vampire that has trouble keeping up with modern society. In one of the later stories, I also featured a wereferret. No sexy werewolves for me!

Good on you, J. It's nice to know that my opinion isn't quite as minority as I'd thought ;)

hmmm I feel a 'troll romance' coming on. We could be starting a new trend. Uglies unite!

Harpies, minotaurs, werecreatures which aren't cats or wolves.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_...

Good for you, J! Wereferret, now that's a good one.

I started a story with werealligators once. I never did finish it, though. Maybe I should.

World of Darkness had werealligators in the swamps of New Orleans, nasty bstds they were too.

I suppose in theory a person could be transformed into anything. Were hamster doesn't quite have the fear factor.

I don't know, my hamster was pretty scary. He ate fingers like hamburgers.

ROfl. Actually mine just escaped all the time.

If you want a book about a type of troll read the trylle trilogy.

I agree with Heather. I would love to see Aztec/Incan/Mayan creatures! They would make some kick ass creatures.

Olivia I freaken love that series! I was thinking about that while reading these posts!

I personally like that some creatures are underused. It gives us writers a chance to delve into different worlds. I like knowing that some the creatures I've employed in my books are novelties to others. I love when a reader writes to me and says, 'I've never heard of that before!' :)

Rosanna, what creatures to you use in your books? How did you decide to use these creatures? Did you go looking for unique creatures, or did you happen across them and think, hmmmm, someone should really write about harpies (for example)?

I personally would like to see something like harpies. Also banshees would make for an interesting creatures-feature. Everything else gets to be sexy and forlorn so why not shrill death harbingers?

Hello all, new to the group and found this topic a good one to break the ice with!

Gargoyles are another one we don't see much of, though I recently read a decent one featuring a new twist on the gargoyle myth.

@Courtney: Funny you mention the beansidhe, as my co-author and I will actually be main-featuring one in our novel series, planned for our fourth book! :D I personally love their mythos and we wanted to put a new spin on it.

J. wrote: "Rosanna, what creatures to you use in your books? How did you decide to use these creatures? Did you go looking for unique creatures, or did you happen across them and think, hmmmm, someone should ..."

Harpies would be awesome, J!

One of my series is about selkies from Orkney, Scotland. Even though I acknowledge many are familiar with the myths of these seal shifters, I still get a lot of readers emailing me to say my books were the first selkie books they'd encountered. That's a wonderful feeling, knowing you exposed a reader to a new subgenre or mythos. :)

Rosanna, wow, seal shifters. That could make for some pretty interesting plots.

J. wrote: "Rosanna, wow, seal shifters. That could make for some pretty interesting plots."

It's been fun for me to write, that's for sure. :)

I remember a cool story about a swan with a feather cloak she shrugged off to become a woman. There was twisted manga called Ceres that covered the legend that I found interesting.

Courtney wrote: "I remember a cool story about a swan with a feather cloak she shrugged off to become a woman. There was twisted manga called Ceres that covered the legend that I found interesting."

There are so many wonderful sea creature stories out there, Courtney. I must admit, I love water myths.

Personally, I'm fascinated by Golems. I think the potential there for amazing paranormal stories is almost limitless!

Hi all,
I agree with Meri on the Nosferatu side of vamps. I had an idea a while back on this and its been developed a little, though took a back seat to my works in progress. I also agree with the trolls, goblins and gargoyles. I remember a cartoon about gargoyles once (many moons ago now!) and remember that it captured my imagination about them. On the sea/water topic, I've also drawn up a rough draft involving sirens, another creature I've not seen or heard much of in books.

Oh, J.M. Yes! Sirens could definitely be good, especially from a romance angle if that is your genre.

Heather wrote: "I think Aztec/Incan/Mayan mythological inspirations would be really interesting. A lot of conceptions of bat deities, jaguars, ect. that you wouldn't want to mess with."


Am actually writing a book currently using some of these concepts. It's very interesting stuff. Some Mayan societies believed in the idea of many souls in one person, or co essences. Some people had the ability to move through these other souls, changing shape accordingly.

A.L. wrote: "Harpies, minotaurs, werecreatures which aren't cats or wolves.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_..."


Oh yes, harpies are awesome!

Phoenix! And gargoyles ~

Kristina wrote: "Olivia I freaken love that series! I was thinking about that while reading these posts!"
One of my all time favourite series. Oh and if you want sirens like you say read Amanda hocking's others series called. Water song. The first book is called wake.

Olivia wrote: "Kristina wrote: "Olivia I freaken love that series! I was thinking about that while reading these posts!"
One of my all time favourite series. Oh and if you want sirens like you say read Amanda hoc..."

Yes, I love Amanda Hocking's and read every one of her Trylle series, Wake and her Hallows series. I truly enjoy her writing.

Thanks, Olivia. I'd not heard of that series but will definitely have a look now!

I've been creating my own monsters, as then it's my own unique invention. One thing I try to avoid is making them all humanoid.

I've loved zombies since the mid 90s, but this current resurgence is making me bored to see them everywhere. I've vowed to not write about them until it dies down, mainly so I'm not accused of jumping on a bandwagon!

More monsters from South/Cental America, Irish and Scottish mythology, Yetis, orcs, gollems, trolls, goblins, gargoyles, Mad Egyptian/Norse gods, djinns, sabre toothed tigers, mammoths, dinosaurs!!!

Try these books for something different:

gollem sidekick:

shaman,shifters/wild hunt: ,

reapers,gargoyles: , ,

djinns:

ghost eaters, salamanders:

superpowers/mythology: , , , ,

orcs:

magic: , ,

, , , ,

Leprechauns. Definitely leprechauns.

LOL. I can't remember, but I just read a book with a blurb that was about leprechauns,.

Leprechaun erotica.

I wish I could remember the name now!

Taniwha. From New Zealand Maori culture.

V.M. wrote: "LOL. I can't remember, but I just read a book with a blurb that was about leprechauns,.

Leprechaun erotica.

I wish I could remember the name now!"

Ewwww! *shudders*

i'd love to see more sea creatures like in Maggie Stiefvater's Scorpio Races.

You know what I hardly ever see books about anymore? Ghosts. Such a common paranormal creature, yet it's constantly overlooked. The last book I liked with ghosts in it was The Darkest Powers trilogy by Kelley Armstrong. But it still wasn't really ghostly... I miss being scared by them! Experiment in Terror was the closest thing to a scary ghost story I had in a long time, but I still don't feel satisfied. I want a modern ghost world that spices things up.

Annie wrote: "i'd love to see more sea creatures like in Maggie Stiefvater's Scorpio Races."

I agree! She made such a likable, realistic world. I'm still trying to perfect that November Bread :P

I haven't read much - anything really - that delves into (Australian) Aboriginal mythology.

L.G wrote: haven't read much - anything really - that delves into (Australian) Aboriginal mythology

I haven't read anything about Aboriginal myths either (or many ghosts books lately!) but oddly enough I did write one, due for release next year, because of this as I had been to Australia at the time (and have family there) so the idea grew from there.

J.M. wrote: " L.G wrote: haven't read much - anything really - that delves into (Australian) Aboriginal mythology

I haven't read anything about Aboriginal myths either (or many ghosts books lately!) but oddly..."

Ah, that's interesting. Funnily enough, I've seen quite a few children's picture books about Aboriginal mythology (some of them are quite striking from an artwork point of view).

J.M. what type of aboriginal myths originate out of Australia? I'm not familiar with any of those tales. It sounds interesting.

Hi J,
I don't know as many as I'd like as there are so many and they change depending on the tribe they come from. But there are stories of a Bunyip, which is a creature (appearances differ depending on the area) which lives in rivers and swamps. There is the myth of the rainbow serpent which is pretty universal, who created most of the earth, though is also blamed for sickness and death. There is also the devil dingo, from which all dingoes came from. But there are so many stories, myths and legends they use to teach within the tribes. I only really researched as much as I needed for the book I was writing but it is definitely something I would like to look deeper into because it is so fascinating.

Oooh, what an interesting thread!
I agree that there are soo man things out there! Having Aztec blood in me, I can't help but now ponder about using some of the gods. In a class I took I learned a lot about various gods. That would be so cool!
There are also some Asian mythical creatures that would be awesome! I can't recall any, but I am sure I've heard of some.