The Good, the Bad and the Gorgeous By Beth Kery

In his battle to resist, he found the impossible. His soul.

Christina Astor’s telepathic ability is an asset in her job as a psychiatric social worker. What’s driving her crazy, though, is her elusive, gorgeous landlord. She senses that Saint Sevliss wants her with an all-consuming hunger that’s somehow…different. Just how different becomes all too clear when his dangerous world collides with hers.

For centuries, Saint’s kind have been called vampire and werewolf. Even soulless. But their true nature remains a mystery. Bound by a magical mandate to control his bloodthirsty clone, Teslar, at all costs, Saint will do anything to keep Christina away. She infuses his gray universe with life and color, but his world—and his need—would destroy her.

When an attack reveals the true power of Christina’s gift, one thing is certain—Teslar won’t rest in his underground labyrinth until he possesses her, body and soul…

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Velvet Cataclysm released in print March 1, so today I’m going to be blogging about a major plot element of that book—the good and evil in all of us. In the case of Velvet Cataclysm (www.bethkery.com/velvet-cataclysm) and all the books in the Princes of the Underground series, that issue is highly relevant. Saint and Teslar, the hero and anti-hero of Velvet Cataclysm, are clones of one another—virtually identical biologically and yet opposites on the scale of goodness and evil. Both are paranormal creatures with superhuman powers—vampire, shafeshifter and more. A magical mandate has made it so that Saint may keep his clone in check, but he cannot kill him. Like an insidious tumor wrapped around his heart, Teslar is part of Saint—his dark half.

I’ve always liked the idea of creatively playing with the dichotomy of good and evil. As a psychologist, I realize it’s an eternal theme for all human beings. The devil and angel on our shoulders is something we all can comprehend. We all have a nasty, aggressive side ruled by impulse and greed that we need to learn to control.

The theme of the beast within is repeated throughout the ages in art, religion and myth. The author Robert Lewis Stevenson was very aware of this human dichotomy. The seeds of Jekyl and Hyde were sown when Stevenson read a psychiatric article about the unconscious mind. Stevenson wrote to a friend about the ‘beast” within that he is the “essence of cruelty and malice, selfishness and cowardice; and these are the diabolical in man.”

Remember “Good Kirk/Bad Kirk”, the iconoclastic episode of classic Star Trek? (Humorously, the commercials Shatner does for Priceline play on this). In the episode, all the good parts of Kirk get split apart from the bad. Bad Kirk is entirely ruled by id-impulses. He’s aggressive, a sexual predator, ruthless. Problem is, Good Kirk is a wimp. He’s a terrible leader who can’t make any decent decisions. This old TV episode makes a simple, clear-cut depiction of the psychological forces at play. Bad Kirk represents the id-impulses in all of it—the selfish child who doesn’t want to share, the bestial, aggressive part. Good Kirk is a manifestation of the supergo, the controlling entity, the repressive factor for the id. In the end, Good Kirk and Bad Kirk must be fused, of course. The fusion is the symbolic representation of the creation of the ego—a healthy blending of the impulsive id and the sanctimonious superego. Good Kirk may have been nice, but he needs the edge of a predator to be a decisive hero.

In the Princes of the Underground series, I chose to make these two aspects of self separated in the physical world and to add a further element—the creation of the soul. Saint considers himself soulless, doomed to an eternal life of darkness and emptiness. He craves the essence of life, represented by the vibrant, soulful Christina, but he cannot sustain life…he is a parasite off it. (The eternal dilemma of the vampire). The friction of good and evil, as represented by Saint and Teslar, is necessary for the birth of a soul. In this series, the fusion of good and evil creates, in essence, a new life form.

Do you have a favorite good self/evil self movie or book? I can imagine actors would love the opportunity to do the part. How fun it would be to let out all the stops and let your ultimate evil-self out to play.

Velvet Cataclysm is the first in the Princes of the Underground series. It is a paranormal, erotic romance from Samhain publishing. It is available now in print and ebook at your local bookstore or online. Warning: Velvet Cataclysm is a romance, but it does contain scenes of graphic sexuality and violence.

Watch the Velvet Cataclysm video:

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A big thank-you to Beth for joining us today!

To find out more about Beth, please visit www.BethKery.com. For a chance to win a copy of VELVET CATACLYSM, leave a comment answering the above question. This giveaway is open internationally. Good luck! 😀

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