Fantasy Tuesdays: Creatures

Bookworm with the uni-horned dragon(?)

One of my favorite things about fantasy worlds is the creatures. To list all the creatures in such worlds would probably be near impossible. There are too many to count. Some of the more well-known creatures that appear in fantasy are:

Dragons

Elves

Trolls

Goblins

Fairies

Phoenixes

Winged Horses

Centaurs

Basilisks

Unicorns

Merpeople

Seriously, the list could go on and on. One of my favorite books that includes fantasy creatures in them is Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander (a.k.a. J.K. Rowling). As a fantasy writer, I love using well-known creatures as well as lesser known and even made-up ones. In the Phoenix Trilogy, I have dragons, phoenixes, centaurs, griffons, woodwoses, karshiptas, hippocampi, and more. In the Foxwick Chronicles, I have dragons, phoenixes, and unicorns. In my Gravity series (space fantasy romance), so far I have daimons, pegasiflies, and the draken to name a few.

I'm not sure which would be my favorite fantasy creature. I'm probably leaning more toward dragons, since I'm very fond of dinosaurs.

What is your favorite fantasy creature? If you're a writer, what fantasy creatures do you use in your stories?

Be Our Guest: Nicole Zoltack on Fantasy Creatures

Today I'd like to welcome Nicole Zoltack to my blog. Her newest book, Champion of Valor, comes out today! Take it away, Nicole.

Hi, everyone, Nicole Zoltack here. First I want to thank Cherie for having me here today and kicking of Champion of Valor's blog tour!

Today I want to talk about fantasy creatures.

Fantasy creatures have their roots in myths and legends and throughout history. Unicorns are mentioned in the Bible. Chinese culture holds dragons in high regard. Tales of the Loch Ness monster have been told for generations. Paranormal creatures, especially vampires and werewolves, have become so popular right now.

But how did most fantasy creatures get to be a part of those myths and legends in the first place?

When we don't understand something, we tend to try to explain the parts that we can, or compare to something we understand. When people in the Middle Ages came across a giraffe, they first named the creature camelopard because they thought of the giraffe as half-camel and half-leopard. How about the leopard itself? It was thought to be half-lion and half-panther.

Those are some real hybrids. Some hybrids are mythical. Mermaids, for instance. The minotaur. Centaurs. The less common icthyocentaurs (centaurs with dolphin tails).

Are all of the fantasy creatures just that - a fantasy? No. For years, sailors talked in hushed tones about the Kraken, the great sea monster. Recently, the giant squid was discovered for the first time. Another hybrid creature - that of a zebra and a giraffe - was thought to be legend, but has been proven real and is called okapi.

Who knows what creatures we think of only existing in legend could be discovered tomorrow? Personally, I'm not going to go out climbing snow-covered mountains to find the Yeti.

I would love for pegasus to be real. What fantasy creature do you wish would step out of fantasy and into the world of reality?

Be sure to leave a comment to be entered to win some signed post cards and magnets. Each comment during the Champion of Valor Blog Tour gives you an entry for the grand prize: a copy of the entire Kingdom of Arnhem trilogy - Woman of Honor, Knight of Glory, and Champion of Valor.

A pegasus would be really cool, although I'd love for us to find a phoenix or a dragon. 

In honor of Nicole's newest release, I will also be giving away a copy of her first book in the trilogy, Woman of Honor. To enter this and a chance to win signed post cards, magnets, and the possibility of the entire Kingdom of Arnhem trilogy, all you have to do is comment below.   

I will announce the winner on May 31st.

Nicole Zoltack loves to write fantasy/paranormal, romances, horror, historical, for adults and young adults, novels, short stories, and flash pieces. She doesn't want to get boxed in by genre -- she might be claustrophobic!

When she isn't writing about girls wanting to be knights, talking unicorns, and zombies, she spends time with her loving family. She loves to ride horses (pretending their unicorns, of course!) and going to the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire, dressed in period garb. Her current favorite TV show is The Vampire Diaries.

To learn more about Nicole and her work, visit her website at www.NicoleZoltack.com or her blog at http://NicoleZoltack.blogspot.com.

Links:

Website: http://www.NicoleZoltack.com

Blog: http://nicolezoltack.blogspot.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Nicole.Zoltack

Facebook fan page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Nicole-Zoltack/93384618347

Twitter: http://twitter.com/NicoleZoltack

MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/scarlett9284

Publishers: http://www.desertbreezepublishing.com

http://www.quakeme.com/

Champion of Valor Buy link: http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/-strse-160/Nicole-Zoltack-Kingdom-of/Detail.bok

My books on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=nicole+zoltack&x=0&y=0

Are: http://www.omnilit.com/storeSearch.html?sortBy=bestSelling&searchBy=author&qString=nicole%20zoltack

Barnes and Noble:  http://productsearch.barnesandnoble.com/search/results.aspx?WRD=nicole+zoltack&box=nicole%20zoltack&pos=-1&ugrp=1

Sony: http://ebookstore.sony.com/author/nicole-zoltack_151913