Cecilia Tan - Guest Blog and Contest

PVN welcomes back acclaimed author Cecilia Tan who is here to discuss the role of dreams in The Incubus and the Angel the latest installment in her engaging, erotic, paranormal Magic University series! 

[see contest information at the end of the interview]

In the Land of Dreams: Incubi in Magic University

by Cecilia Tan

I was always told in fiction-writing classes that a dream sequence was somehow "cheating." Then again these are the same writing classes that told me not to write fantasy or science fiction at all. I have always loved dream sequences and have always wanted to put my characters into lucid dreams. I started playing with this a little in MIND GAMES, my
paranormal erotic thriller (just out in trade paperback from Red Silk Editions) in which our telepathic heroine finds herself visited (sometimes stalked) in erotic dreams by someone from real life.



Imagine my thrill then, on seeing the movie INCEPTION, in which the
main action of the movie takes place inside dreams! When I saw the
film, I had already turned in the manuscript of my latest paranormal
romance (now in ebook from Ravenous with a Red Silk paperback due next
year), The Incubus and the Angel, and I thought, "surely if this film
can succeed so brilliantly with so much taking place in dreams, then
surely my novel will be OK!"

I had been worried that maybe too many scenes took place in the dream
world, but now I think readers will indulge in it just fine.

The Magic University books (The Incubus and the Angel is the third in
the series) take place at the hidden arcane arts college on the
Harvard campus. In my world, magical creatures being spoken of in
myths and legends are usually real, but not always in the way that
mundane folk think. For example, there are no vampires in my world,
but there are magicians who can train themselves to live very long
lives on a single drop of blood per month if they forego having sex.

The same is true of incubi and succubi. Myth has it that these demonic
beings visit in the night, having sex with humans, sometimes giving
them erotic dreams. In the world of Magic University, dreams are very
powerful. People have prophetic visions in dreams sometimes, and
overall in the world of the subconscious, a magic user is closer to
his or her inner power.

An incubus or succubus is created when a person desires another so
much that they pursue their desire through dreams. It's as if each
time they are thwarted in reaching their desire, they leave behind a
horny "ghost" in the dreamworld. The incubus or succubus continues
seeking satisfaction until it finds a dream it can enter where it has
sex with the dreamer. Sometimes the dream visit of an incubus is very
pleasurable, other times frightening, as the spirit cannot be denied.

And although the sex is purely mental, not physical, it can have
magical consequences. As Kyle learns in his studies, in the world of
sex magic, virginity holds great power. But a friend of his who is
visited by the incubus finds that a pendant she wears that was white
when she was a virgin has turned black. Of course, how do you catch
something that only exists in dreams? Sleep and dream yourself. Our
hero pursues the incubus across the erotic dreamscape himself.

I hope everyone who reads the book has sweet dreams afterward.

About the Author: Cecilia Tan is a writer, editor, and the founder of
Circlet Press.. She is the author of many books, including Mind Games,
The Hot Streak, White Flames, Edge Plays, Black Feathers, The
Velderet, and Telepaths Don’t Need Safewords, as well as the Magic
University series of paranormal erotic romances, and the currently
ongoing web serials The Prince's Boy and Daron's Guitar Chronicles.

She has the distinction of being perhaps the only writer to have
erotic fiction published in both Penthouse and Ms. magazines, as well
as in scores of other magazines and anthologies including Asimov’s,
Best American Erotica, and Nerve. Learn more at http://blog.ceciliatan.com.


Related Links
The Magic University Series: Info page

Print Book buy links:
Mind Games
The Siren and the Sword
The Tower and the Tears


Ebook buy links:
Mind Games
The Siren and the Sword
The Tower and the Tears
The Incubus and the Angel

CONTEST

One lucky winner will receive an ebook copy of one book (winner's choice) from Cecilia's Magic Universe series.

To enter the contest answer this question: Do you believe in lucid dreaming?

Be sure I have access to your email.

Contest is international and ends Sept. 24, 2010.