I spent my Monday in the company of monsters.

Monsters, demons, and beasts, to be exact.

My main character was chasing down a monster (for the good of humanity, of course) and she’s a descriptive type of woman.

Sleep may be far away tonight!

The first hint I get that someone will enjoy reading a book is when I get caught up in the writing of it. When I see the characters and the creatures (still shuddering) so clearly before me that they have a life of their own.

Writers create the many parallel universes that other writers once imagined on the page.

For every character and plotline, there is an entirely new world opening up and being born between the covers. It it vivid and alive, like any living and breathing creature is.

But today, it’s all about the monsters.

For instance, did you know that the Irish came up with vampires long before anyone else? No, no, not some Romanian thing. First of all, before Bram Stoker, the concept of the vampire was female. And she lived right in Ireland, seducing and draining men. (Because, why not?) This one wasn’t really to spooky in a post-Twilight, sparkly vampire world.

In Norway, it isn’t Sirens that cause shipwrecks. Nope. It’s a freaky, shipwrecked fisherman. He rides the waves and shrieks like a banshee. All who see him drown. They call him Draugen. Please don’t ask me how to pronounce that.

Chimera today means something that doesn’t exist. But this mixed up beast was a rampaging terror in Greek mythology. I suppose, with the lion, goat and snake mixture there really weren’t a lot of good-tempered moments for this one.

Chupacabra, ghouls, boogeymen and scary stories all come from some sort of social consciousness. Many are intended as cautionary tales or warnings to ensure good behavior, but what if?

Supernatural fiction is the rabbit hole that starts with the words, “what if” and only ends when the answer is found.

Happy Monday, and blessings to you all!