Guest Blog: Fear and the Other F-Word by Jackie Kessler

BS Chick: Remember when I said there would be guest bloggers? Behold, I did not lie! Bonus points as well since this one written by the lovely Jackie (her book is coming out really, really soon) Kessler on such topics as sex and death makes a perfect SB Day entry. Read on, if you dare, to learn about sex, drugs and succubi. Well, maybe not the drugs…

Jackie Kessler: Fear and the Other F-Word

Want to know the appeal of horror? Sex and death.

You know the scene: a group of horny teenagers pair off to Do the Deed…and then a homicidal maniac or supernatural entity (usually wearing a spiffy mask of some sort) Does Them In, one by one. In a variety of creative ways. In horror, sex equals death.

Talk about killing the afterglow.

Let’s face it: there’s something fascinating about the combination of kinkiness and killing. (Fiction, people. We’re talking fiction here. I am in no way advocating sex crimes, snuff films, or Pee Wee Herman getting his public jollies watching Nurse Nancy.)

Taken separately, murder and lust are über powerful. There’s a kind of catharsis that comes over us when we read about the serial killer stalking his victim—sort of a “thank God it’s that poor slob getting chopped into itsy pieces and not me” thing. And I don’t have to explain the release we get when we read a really (really, really, REALLY) good (hot, steamy, it’s romance I swear) sex scene. (Preferably one in which the hero looks like Matt Damon. Dipped in chocolate.) But like Amazon.com says, some things are “better together”—and in this case, kink and killing is the ultimate winning combination. Hey, a climax isn’t called a “little death” for nothing.

Sex and death, baby. Terror is the ultimate aphrodisiac. Fear is another word for foreplay.

We know this, deep inside. Forget about those bad boys Momma warned us about—give us dangerous men. Evil men. Better yet, evil that’s man-shaped. (Yum.) We do so love those paranormal romances. What turns us on as much as that mesmerizing monster, the lover that we know is going to fill us, thrill us…and maybe kill us? (Well, kill some other chick. And that’s cool, as long as we get to watch.) There are tons of sexy slayers out there on the shelves, creatures that seduce us with words and lips and teeth. Supernatural paramours in all their sizzling, otherworldly glory.

But you know, we gals don’t always have to be the ones that get wooed by the wicked. We can be pretty damn evil too. And we can enjoy every second of that seduction. Women’s Lib, fantasy-style.

Move over, male vampires. Here comes the Era of the Succubus.

I hear some of you saying, “Suck you what? Can you DO that?”

Okay, Demonology 101: according to legend, a succubus is a female demon that visits sleeping men and seduces them in their dreams, sucking out their life energy in the process. (Read: an explanation for wet dreams where yet again, it’s the woman’s fault. Insert Fall of Man Parable Here.)

In other words, a succubus is a powerful woman (cough, demon) who isn’t afraid to take what she wants. As many times as she wants it. And she won’t quit until she’s satisfied. Yeah, so chances are that means when she’s done, her lover sort of died. Shrug. Hazards of the job. The succubus is all about sex.

And death, of course. But this time, it’s the guys who get seduced, the guys who fall into bed with the wrong woman, the ultimate Femme Fatale who’s going to claim his soul.

Hey, the guys ain’t complaining. At least they’re going to die happy.

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Jackie Kessler is the author of HELL’S BELLES (Kensington/Zebra Books, January 2, 2007), a humorous paranormal romance about a succubus who runs away from Hell, hides on Earth as an exotic dancer, and learns the hard way about true love. Sex, strippers, and demons—what’s not to like? Read the first chapter on Jackie’s website: Jackie Kessler - Paranormal Romance Author.