The Vicious and the Virile by Luki Belle

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A collection of short horror stories, The Vicious and The Virile VII offers a captivating combination of unique and varied short stories emblematic of the dark fantasy genre.

Karan Lloyd Hamilton: when touring a fictitious national park in India a wealthy American couple, Judas and Priscilla Hamilton are attacked by tigers and get physically separated. The mortally wounded wife, pregnant with male twin, dies giving birth in the wilderness to healthy babies. Only one twin is found and returned to Judas who survived the attack. The grieving father returns to America with his newborn and the corpse of Priscilla. The boy, Karan Lloyd Hamilton, grows up to be a Wall Street investment banker. He bears a physical scar from his traumatic birth which has transformed Karan into a predator by night in the streets of Manhattan.

Kartik Shiv Yuvarajan: the second twin boy of Judas and Priscilla Hamilton did not die but was taken by the mystical tribe of the national park. The tribe hides the baby until he is stolen and given to a tour guide of the park, Arjun. Afraid of the consequences of taking the baby to the American embassy, Arjun adopts the child, gives him the name Kartik Shiv Yuvarajan and then returns to his ancestral village. Kartik bears a similar mark upon his body like his twin Karan. This mark brings about strange physiological changes in Kartik and leads to unexpected events that threatens his life in the village. Arjun must now decide whether to let Kartik know of his identity or whether to flee once again with the teenager.

Hounds of the Monks: a warrior flees with his family to save his daughter from the lustful, cruel king of the land. When the king’s army gives chase to bring back the young girl, the warrior separates from his wife and daughter to protect them. Mother and her girl seek shelter in a monastery only to realize that the holy surroundings may be equally dangerous.

Desert Frogs: a film producer with her adolescent twin sons and a film crew travel to a fictitious nation, Gapharkh, to shoot a few scenes in the country’s legendary desert. A civil war is imminent in Gapharkh between the military regime and the nomadic tribe of the desert. Unexpected connections quickly form between the twin boys and the nomads while the war heats up in the backdrop as the film crew rushes to complete their work. Discovering that there was a dark motive behind allowing the foreign film crew to shoot in the desert, the producer desperately tries to escape Gapharkh with her sons and her crew.

Stolen Princess: Rosemarie, a young woman rescued from prostitution, finds herself alone and homeless when her husband is lost at sea and her in-laws throw her out of her husband’s home. Rosemarie’s fate momentarily worsens when she is raped and almost killed but, miraculously, she is saved by strange old women who take Rosemarie to a secluded, enchanting island. The heavenly place seems like freedom until Rosemarie realizes that there are sinister forces around her who intend to keep her captive in the isle. Rosemarie’s past may be her only salvation.

Bastard of the Mist: Angeline a young widow, arrives at a remote and beautiful rehabilitation center for veterans to work as the assistant of the institution’s co-founder. Angeline is supernaturally gifted. Her dark powers clash with evil forces that exist in the forests surrounding the institution when she discovers a sinister plot by her employer Professor Kvalish, a man with a mysterious past. An unraveling thus begins and threatens the existence of everyone at the rehabilitation center.

Nature’s Call Girl: in a futuristic Earth a global war is ongoing between humankind and nature. Here, a fictitious country Parakrytheon, has built a nation devoid of plant and animals with artificially created weather to protect its humans from natural predators. On a fictitious island Kamin, humans live harmoniously with nature and beast. This place has the resources that Parakrytheon needs to defeat its natural enemy. Twin brothers Hagaath and Laksha, and their sister Kamina, are the means to this end.

Read an Excerpt

“Never did I think you would go so far as to work for fighting like this…never!! Your life, the life I gave you has come to this??!! You are putting yourself in danger every night like this?? For all these years?? How can you do this to me? To us? When you could have had such a different life that…” Arjun said angrily while crying to Kartik and pacing around the young man.

“Yes! I could have had a different life!” Kartik said abruptly in a harsh tone implying everything that had remained a secret about his identity.

Arjun immediately realized the intention behind those remarks and became quiet, but Kartik was only getting started.

“I know you know the truth about my identity, about my parents, about where I belong! But I NEVER, NEVER, EVER asked YOU TO TELL ME WHAT I UNDERSTOOD WAS YOUR SECRET! WELL THIS IS MINE!!” Kartik said extending his arms, his voice getting louder.

Tears ran down Arjun’s cheeks, he shook his head “Why? Why beta, why this?” he whispered in a broken voice.

Kartik pressed in his lips. He had put on a clean pair of clothes and had transformed back to his human self and looked towards the dirty soil below his shoes and nodded.

“My truth…you will hear my truth now…” he looked up at Arjun “…it was the only way to keep you alive, me alive and to keep the women in the brothel safe…I fight, you all stay safe. That was the deal I made with the gang leader nine years ago!”

“But why did you not tell me??!” Arjun stepped closer to Kartik “We could have left! We could have run away from the slums…to somewhere else…we could have been safe! Why did you not tell me!!” he shook Kartik’s arms, crying uncontrollably.

“Because I have a curse in me!! I am a tiger, I have a disease, I have to release myself to turn into a beast and everywhere I go this beast must be able to come out and I cannot run from myself bapu ji!!!” Kartik said agonizingly and crouched down in front of Arjun, shaking his head.

Arjun exhaled, half in shock, half in relief of the realization that his suspicions about Kartik’s abilities had finally come out.

About the Author: Luki Belle works in the media industry. In addition to The Vicious and the Virile VII, she is the author of three other novels: The Delicate Affair of Colonel Baquiste, The Sexy Seven Supernaturals, and Shakti of the Illuminated Lotus. Storytelling has been a fixture since Luki's childhood when she would listen to stories told by her grandparents, parents, sisters, and cousins reading to her from diverse cultural fiction books. Paranormal characters existing as and amongst humans-while exalting in their mystical powers-have always fascinated Luki. She loves to explore magical, futuristic, fantastical, and ancient realms in her stories where her human and supernatural characters are thrust together, and their conflicted and tormented natures collide.

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Vicious-Virile-VII-Freaky-Stories-ebook/dp/B0DCDKMMV6/ref=sr_1_2

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The Sexy Seven Supernaturals by Luki Belle

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Pomotions. Luki Belle will be awarding a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Five Things You Might Not Know About Luki Belle

1) My fiction writing passion started because of a failed attempt to paint an imagery. A former colleague of mine commented on my paintings and said that I needed to “take the lid off myself” meaning to be more expressive and not to be shy. You see I am a self-taught artist. I realized that what my colleague was saying was for me to be more dramatic in my artistic expression because he intuitively pointed out that I had the desire to express more. However, I knew that I did not have the skills to illustrate my inner thought process, in art, because I was teaching myself and lacked the knowledge to make my paintings appear more dynamic. Shortly after that conversation with my colleague, I had a terrible nightmare which produced a recurring vision of a haunting scene. I wanted to materialize that vision into art, as a way of self-healing from that terrible experience. While doing so, I quickly concluded that my humble painting skills were limited, and I needed to express this haunting vision into words to get the therapy I was seeking. That got me started on writing out that recurring scene which I kept seeing in my mind after my nightmare. Those initial words, to find self-healing, led to a twelve-year writing project and produced my first fiction book which was recently published as my third novel (after The Sexy Seven Supernaturals).

2) I used to be very scared of the dark and of ghosts as a child. Now, I produce my best writings in a dark room with just a few candles and all my three published novels have paranormal themes.

3) English is my second language, and I am an incredibly slow reader.

4) When I write it is like spiritual meditation for me, a direct connection to Divinity and I savor each writing session because it allows me to connect with the Supreme.

5) I am not an engaging or even an interesting storyteller when I have to verbally do it impromptu, whether it be verbally telling a fictional story or retelling an experience from the past about me or about others.

Seven haunting tales of women, young female adults, and an adolescent girl whose lives change irreversibly because of entities who come into the lives of these female protagonists, mysteriously, invited by yearnings and distresses that exist in these women and girls -

1) The Photo and the Letter: Larissa, a heartbroken young woman, finds a captivating photo of an elderly friend and becomes compelled to discover more about the bitterly written letter that was addressed to the elderly woman, who had a fascinating past.

2) Strength of Feathers: Vanessa, an orphan, who struggled her entire life to survive and achieve professional success, decides one night to overcome her fear of heights and her reluctance to be spontaneous when she meets an enigmatic, wealthy woman who has ulterior motives.

3) The Aunt: Anika, a teenage girl, niece of a notable and authoritative commander of her nation’s army, finds herself in a precarious situation when at a bloody crossroads of her nation’s history, she falls for a young, ambitious, and ruthless military man from a long-rival nation, who is about to take over rulership of Anika’s nation and her uncle’s army.

4) Ravenous: Sabrina, a young adult, daughter of a coalminer, is forced to leave her hometown with her father and siblings. Her family is taken in by a kind doctor who has mixed intentions for helping the homeless father and his three children.

5) The Bride’s Matchmaker: Mylakena, a young rural woman, comes to live in a dynamic, metropolitan city with her uncle, when she falls for two handsome, rich, and athletic young city men and realizes that her innocent infatuation has severe consequences.

6) The Picture Ghost: Elsa, a young adult daughter of a farmer, starts attending college far away from her hometown. Her poor grades lead her to a professor whose art collection draws Elsa uncomfortably close to an enigmatic stranger from the past.

7) The Old Willow Tree: Helen, a highly successful businesswoman, retires in a foreign country where, while searching for a permanent home with a garden, she falls in love with a stunning willow tree on a property that she desperately wants to buy.

Read an Excerpt

from The Picture Ghost

When Eugene came into his teenage years, the merchant used the handsome lad’s innocent charms to attract single, female guests at social events. The women were made to believe by Eugene that his benefactor, the rich merchant, was a lonely, generous, and warmhearted man. Thus, the adolescent enabled several affairs under such pretenses, for the merchant. The man, never having had the talent for pursuing women found in Eugene an indebted being who was willing to do anything for the person who gave the boy education and luxuries. Their relationship became so close that the merchant practically bought Eugene from his father, telling the fisherman that his son no longer wished to maintain ties with the village. To this Eugene did not raise much objection. However, he may have been coerced to break all ties with his biological father.

frm The Old Willow Tree

The house belonged to an architect who had built many of the prominent business structures in the country, including a famous public greenhouse in their city that showcased exotic flowers and endangered trees. The architect had designed his house and lived in it with his two sisters and wife. The latter died at childbirth along with her baby. Following the tragic event, the architect put his house up for sale. And then the facts became stories. Helen could tell that the friend was adding his own imagination and fabrications to what seemed to have happened next. However, one thing was clear. At a certain point in time, the architect had given up or had decided not to sell the house. The friend was certain it had something to do with the property. Prospective buyers had rumored about feeling uncomfortable on the premises and some had even heard a woman’s voice speaking to them and others had heard a baby crying.

About the Author:

Luki Belle works in the media industry. Storytelling was a fixture from childhood when she would listen to stories told by her grandparents, parents, sisters, and cousins, who would read to her from diverse cultural fiction books. Scary and ghost stories in particular, captured Luki as a child and led to her fascination with the concept of feeling haunted or being haunted by something or someone, whether desirably or whether uninvited. In the Sexy Seven Supernaturals, Luki explores the amalgamation between the psychological and the paranormal, enabled by the human mind through its power to imagine, visualize, and yearn. The female characters in this book each have strong or subtle conscious desires created or triggered by subconscious or unconscious distresses, leading each of them to unexpected fates.

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Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Sexy-Seven-Supernaturals-Paranormal-Stories/dp/1662939353/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0
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