Tasting Fire is
the story of the
Pari people and how
the existence of shape-shifters
in the world changed
how humanity looks at
itself and its environment. It's also
a love story between
Kai Tenzin, the leader
of the Pari, a
man whose ancestor's
DNA was merged with
that of an Asian
Snow Leopard, and Dr.
Rae Hales the beautiful
American scientist
he hires to try
to hide the tell-tale
DNA from modern science.
Tasting Fire is not your average paranormal shape-shifting romance. I created a plot that revolved around the hypothesis that if there were shape-shifters, how could they realistically come to exist? I researched methods of bacterial transmission and eventually came up with the idea that if shape-shifters throughout history were caused by an infection, it would have to be difficult to catch, otherwise everybody and their grandmother would be a shape-shifter. That was how I decided to make the infection come from a thermophilic (heat loving) bacteria that lives only in hot springs around the world. You can't catch it from another shape-shifter, but you can inherit the condition from your parents. This method of transmission gives rise to the many different mythologies of shape-shifters that have evolved from every culture on the planet.
As Dr. Rae
Hales, my heroine surmises
“if the Pari are
real, doesn't that mean
they could all be
real?” (Hint ...more sequels) I treat shape-shifting in the books
as a medical condition. It has
significant physical, social and economic side effects that arise from the
condition and the thrust of the book deals with that.
There is no magic in Tasting Fire by
design. This forced me as a writer to
develop a strong plot and create fully developed characters. There is humor, adventure, passion, and
intelligence. Tasting Fire is not a
light read. If you want a book where the
hero and heroine fall into bed within the first two minutes of meeting each
other, than this is not the book for you.
If you are looking for a rich, textured story, full of world building
and character development, and if you want to lose yourself in an intelligent,
romantic, sexy, adventure, this is your book!
Links
Amazon
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Blurb
Shape-shifters have always walked the earth. Shrouded in myth and folklore, hiding in the shadows, watching and waiting. Advances in modern science are now about to reveal them to the world. Kai Tenzin is the self appointed leader of the Pari people. He and his kind evolved from the most reclusive predators on earth, the Asian Snow Leopard. They live and hunt in the most fearsome and rugged terrain known to man, the Himalayas. As a young man, Kai left his small village where the mountain touches the heavens, determined to do anything to protect his people. When he is forced to enlist the aid of the beautiful American scientist Dr. Rae Hales, the last thing he expects to find is a woman who will ensnare his heart and endanger them all. Their action-packed adventure will take them around the world to discover the truth behind the legends and reveal the future of humanity.
Excerpt
Rae took
an admiring look at
the vista below as
she dropped her heavy
pack on the ground. The mountains
in the distance looked
purple and the desert
brush spread out below
them like a master
oil painting.
It was awe
inspiring to human
eyes. Rae
wondered what would
it look like to
a snow leopard. She suddenly
realized many a
biologist would sell
their very soul for
the opportunity she
had at that moment. Rae turned
to Kai who had
been sitting on the
ground with his pack
and fishing around for
lunch and asked him “what is
it like when you're
in your Shan form
out in country like
this?” Kai
rewarded Rae with
the most brilliant
smile she had yet
seen to grace the
handsome shape-shifter's
face. He
seemed truly delighted
to discuss the subject
with her.
Kai stood up
to answer Rae's question. He addressed
the human scientist. “It's like
nothing you can
imagine Rae. Every sense
is in tune with
the planet.
See that tree
over there” he pointed
a few yards away
at an ancient gnarled
pinyon.
“Yes”
Rae replied. Kai walked
up behind Rae and
put his hands on
her shoulders and directed
her to look even
closer at the tree. He whispered
intimately in her
ear as if they
were in a church
or another sacred space
“when you look at
that tree with your
limited human vision,
the average person can
certainly appreciate
its form and color. A biologist
like yourself would ask
what type of tree
is it and how
old it is. A philosopher
might ask who may
have sat underneath
it in the past
or who might sit
underneath it in
the future.
All of you
might even wonder when
will it die. That's the
limit of your human
perception.
When you're in
Shan form every single
leaf will bid you
a glorious greeting as
you walk up to
the tree for the
first time.
Every drop of
sap tells you the
history of the
tree's life like an
intimate biography
written in the
utterly sensual language
of scent.
The tree itself
will tell you if
it's healthy or sick. You can
smell if the water
that nourishes it is
bitter or sweet. If you
deeply pay attention
you can smell every
animal that has ever
been there.”
Kai looked to
Rae like he was
experiencing a spiritual
moment and Rae suddenly
realized he was. The enthralled
shape-shifter continued
to explain to Rae
the nuances of the
animal world
“when you are
ready to move on
to another place you
reach up with your
powerful claws and
dig deep into the
bark to mark the
tree with your scent. It's added
harmoniously to the
scent of hundreds of
other animals.
You do this
not just to mark
your hunting territory,
but to tell every
animal after you have
left this world that
you lived and breathed
here at one time
in the great mystery
that is life. That is
your only immortality
in the animal world. There are
no monuments to mark
a man's ego, or
family albums for a
mother to remember her
children by, but
neither is there
hate, nor fear of
the future or regret
of the past. You are
fully alive in each
and every moment. It's a
wonderfully free existence. I wish
I could truly share
it with you... words,
words pale in comparison.” Kai looked
so happy at that
moment.
Rae was so
moved by what he
had just shared with
her that all she
could do was reach
out and touch his
wrist. “Thank you!” she
whispered.
Kai nodded at
her in acknowledgment,
but he was too
emotional to even
speak.
BIO
My name is Shelly Holt and
I live in the middle of the harsh and unforgiving Mojave desert. I write my
stories looking out of a window that shows sweeping desert views. Outside is a
barren and severe landscape, yet inside my head lives a world filled with
exotic shape-shifters come to life, pulled from the pages of myth and legend,
ready to entice and seduce any reader brave enough to take them on.
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