Recipe: Low Fat Chilli

This is my own recipe, based off a standard chilli con carne recipe. I came up with it because I wanted something substantial, that was low fat so I could have it on my fast days for the 5:2 diet. This can be made so it is vegetarian, although I use Worcestershire Sauce so my version isn't.

Low Fat Chilli
Ingredients (serves 2 ~225 kCal per person)

• 200g Quorn Mince (210 kCal)
• 1/2 can Red Kidney Beans (200g) (112 kCal)
• 1/2 can chopped tomatoes (200g) (32 kCal)
• 1 small onion (chopped) (~28 kCal)
• 1 carrot (grated) (~25 kCal)
• ~1/2 punnet of mushrooms (sliced) (~20 kCal)
• 200 ml veg stock (you can use beef stock if you prefer) (~20 kCal)
• 1 tspn mild chilli powder (you can add hot chilli powder or chilli flakes if you like it hotter)
• a dash of Worcestershire Sauce (for vegetarian version use something like Soy sauce)
• spritze of oil (~5 kCal)

Instructions

1. Spray the bottom of a sauce pan with a spritze of oil.
2. Add the chopped onion and cook on low with the lid on until it has softened.
3. Add the mushrooms and cook until they are also going soft.
4. Take out just over half the mushrooms and set aside for later.
5. Add the tomatoes, stock, chilli powder and Worcestershire sauce and bring to the boil.
6. Take off the heat and blitz to a smooth sauce with a hand blender (you can miss out this step if you like it chunky, but I find it makes for a much thicker chilli this way).
7. Return to the heat, add the reserved mushroom, kidney beans, Quorn and carrot. Cook for about 20 mins.

For the light option serve with a green vegetable like kale or broccoli, or a green salad.

If you're not worried about the calories you can serve it with rice or bread and a handful of grated cheese :).

Heroes and Villains Blog Hop

Welcome to my post for the Heroes and Villains Blog Hop, I do hope you enjoy my selection. If you click the link or the image you will be taken to the master post for the hop run by Dani and Jackie.

First the Villain

So I really have to wax lyrical about my favourite villain, but before I do I have to say, I'm not usually into villains. I can appreciate a good one, but they are very rarely my favourite character. This gentlemen is definitely my favourite, hands down, without any competition.

The villain I am talking about is Loki of Asgard, adopted son of Odin and true son of Laufey, of the Avengers movie universe.

We first meet Loki in the film Thor. Now I am not going to lie, the first time I saw Thor I was not impressed, in fact I complained about it on my LJ, but the second time I saw it I realised something fundamental, I had been paying attention to the wrong brother. King of ironic given the overall plot of Thor.

In mythology Loki is the trickster god and he is the trickster in Thor as well. He is the younger brother, the shadow to Thor's heart winning bravado, and the brains of the operation. Thor is not an imbecile by any means, but he is brash, loud, proud and a bit of a tit at the beginning of the movie. Thor ends up banished, Loki finds out he's adopted and a Jotun (Asgard's ancient enemy) and winds up king, because Odin falls into Odinsleep and you can just tell that's not going to end well.

What I love about Loki is how broken he is. In Thor he could have become a laughing lunatic (which if you look at the original script is how he was written), but he doesn't, he just breaks more. He is the lost son trying to prove he is worthy, even if he goes about it in entirely the wrong way. Loki's actions ultimately make Thor a better person and at each point, if one thing had been different, Loki could almost have come out the good guy.

It also helps that he's played by Tom Hiddleston who is one of my favourite two actors ever (check out my Tom Hiddleston label to find out why). Tom's range and love for the character is what makes Loki so engaging to watch. Loki has depth and it's impossible to simply hate him no matter how bad he gets. Tom is also gorgeous, which helps :).

Loki's second outing comes in The Avengers and he's changed a bit by then. We're never shown quite what happened to him as he fell through the void or everything the Chitauri did or did not do to him, but he's more than a little crazy.

Personally I think a lot of the Loki we see in The Avengers is an act. The plan was too complicated and too full of holes to actually be viable and I'm a firm believer he wanted away from the Chitauri and back to Asgard and attacking Midgard was a good way to do it.

That's not to say he's still not more than a little cracked. He kills lots of humans and doesn't seem to give a damn about it. Loki is way over the line and a long way down the path to becoming the creature of chaos he's supposed to be. However, even after all he does he's still my favourite character. He has moments where there is sanity in his eyes, moments when Thor's words almost get to him.

I think Loki is playing the long game and I can only hope the movies continue to build his character in Thor 2: The Dark World, coming in November. Here's a little piece of artwork I did just after The Muppets came out and Tom Hiddleston raved about the movie on Twitter - since Tom's going to be in the next Muppet movie I think it's doubly relevant :).

Now to the Heroes

I can't choose just one for this, so I am going to list a few :).

Thor

I couldn't really have Loki without Thor and I think he's an idiot in the beginning of the movie that bears his name, but then that's the point. The way Thor grows as a character is superb and I love him in his own movies and in The Avengers.

He is loyal and brave and courageous; he loves deeply, will walk through hell for his friends and he's awfully pretty as well. I am very much looking forward to seeing the more mature Thor in The Dark World.

Aragorn

He's my favourite character from the Lord of the Rings movies. He's handsome, brave and downright badass through the whole thing.

What I find amusing is that I don't really fancy him when he's dolled up as king, I prefer the scruffy ranger hands down :). He's also the crossover character, the one who is human, only not quite and I love that about him. I really wish Tolkien hadn't written the appendix about him and Arwen, because they have such a fabulous romance.

Buffy

How could I have a list of heroes without Buffy? She was a revolution and a truly great character. The fact that she is not perfect, she is not the ultimate brain as well as being the ultimate slayer.

I love her for her faults and for her strengths. She's a teenager and she acts like one. Sometimes she sulks and yet at other times she shows more bravery than most people could ever imagine. She is strong yet vulnerable and she is always ready with a one liners.

Black Widow

I'm not totally obsessed with Marvel, promise, but I couldn't leave out Black Widow. This is one woman who can take on gods and win. She is totally awesome and she has no super powers. Her abilities are human and so well honed that she is a master assassin.

In a fight you want this woman to have your back.

Sapphire and Steel

These two are from an British 80s TV show and are an integral part of my childhood. They are agents of an unknown force for good and are elements as their names suggest. Some might say they are not heroes, but if Black Widow counts so do these two. They prevent destruction when time breaks through into the real world causing all sorts of supernatural events. If you have never seen this show and you enjoy sci-fi with a touch of paranormal that will scar you for life, this is the show for you. They keep talking about a remake and I think it would be really good.

Belgarion

This boy is from The Belgariad by David Eddings and I so, so, so love him as a character. He is just a boy dragged into events he cannot understand; in his case, the ongoing war between Light and Dark that has been raging for millennia with gods and wizards and demons and devils. The Belgariad is by far and away one of my favourite book series of all time. When he turns out to be far more than just a orphan farm boy it's not a surprise, but it is perfectly done and still he's more confused than competent. He faces a destiny that would scare the bravest warrior and he really doesn't know how to be a hero.

I could go on, I have so many favourites, but I'll stop here. Thank you very much for reading. I look forward to seeing everyone else's choices in the hop.

Den of Eek! eBook in aid of Geeks vs Cancer now available

Last year I was lucky enough to take part in Den of Eek, run by the lovely people at Den of Geek. This was a live evening with twelve authors (3 of us from a competition Den of Geek ran, the others established writers) reading aloud their works of horror written specifically for the event in aid of the Geeks vs Cancer appeal.

All of those stories have now been put into an eBook, which is also being sold for Geeks vs Cancer appeal.

The Den of Eek! ebook is now available to buy

The link above goes to Den of Geek's post all about the book with links where to buy it. This is a great cause and all the stories were fabulous so it's a great book too :).

Authors:
Clayton Littlewood
Leila Johnston
CJ Lines
Sarah Pinborough
Natasha Duncan-Drake (me :))
James Moran
Mary Hamilton
Joff Brown
Neil Jones
James Brogden
Johannes Roberts
Kevin McNally

Review: Byzantium - Vampires and blood, but really very little gore.

Title: Byzantium
Cast:
Saoirse Ronan ... Eleanor
Gemma Arterton ... Clara
Sam Riley ... Darvell
Caleb Landry Jones ... Frank
Daniel Mays ... Noel
Jonny Lee Miller ... Ruthven
Summary:
Eleanor and her mother Clara flee from their run down flat to an off season coastal resort town when the past starts to catch up with them. Clara support herself and her daughter the only way she knows how, using her body, but she meets Noel, the lonely owner of the one time grand, but now run-down guesthouse, Byzantium and she and Eleanor move in. Meanwhile Eleanor meets Frank and wants to reveal her long kept secret; she will be sixteen forever and she and Clara are over 200 years old, surviving on human blood. However, they have not run far enough as the past meets the present.

First of all I have to say this was not the film I thought it was going to be. From what I had seen about it I expected it to be more action packed. That being said I really enjoyed it. This is not a teen vampire film; it has a little teen angst, but it deals with very adult themes and is much more character driven than action or lots of plot or romance. I would call it a literary fiction vampire movie, rather than a genre vampire movie, although it has aspects of both. Now I don't usually like literary fiction type things, but this I thought had just enough action to keep me interested.

The characters are superb. There was not one actor in the film who didn't carry off their role, from Gemma Arterton as the practical and sometimes desperate Clara to Jonny Lee Miller as the arse of a man Ruthven, they all did superbly. There were a couple of characters that weren't fleshed out at all, but I still think they held up for what they were there for.

Let's start with Gemma as Clara. The first thing you see Clara doing in the film is lap dancing and that basically underlines her whole character. She uses her body to make money because that is all she knows and she will do anything to support her daughter.

Towards the beginning one of the other characters says something along the lines of 'All these years and you have learned nothing' and it seems sadly true in some ways. Clara survives and tries to be the best mother she can, but her life seems stuck in a cycle. Gemma brings all the desperation and raw love and pure survival instinct of Clara to the screen so very well. She was outstanding.

Then we have Saoirse as Eleanor, a much quieter character. Eleanor was brought up to be a good girl, to tell the truth and to be honest and pure. She is the opposite to her mother and she longs to be able to tell her secret.

She is in no way pathetic; she accepts who she is, but Saoirse shows us the longing in Eleanor so well. She tries to stay away from Frank because she knows she can never make connections, but fate brings them back together. It is only over time she succumbs to the temptation to tell him her secret.

Noel, Darvell, Frank and Ruthven are also well written and well acted characters. I connected with them all and wanted to know more about them, which is always a good sign.

The plot was also original and highly interesting. The vampire parts were different, especially the way they became vampires and the whole setup was beautifully done.

That being said, I do think the film suffered from errors in pacing. I was never bored, but there is a lot of the movie where nothing really happens.

The film starts with a bang, there is angst, tension and excitement, but that's only the first ten mins or so. Once Clara and Eleanor reach the seaside the film kind of just bobs along. There are small flashbacks, but really the audience isn't given huge amounts of information until the last twenty mins of the film. The film ends with as much of a bang as it began and I think they could make an absolutely stunning sequel, but I doubt they will.

The whole premise is that it's kind of from Eleanor's perspective and there are things Clara hasn't told her daughter so the audience don't get to know them either. Then at the end we have a point of view change and we get Clara's missing pieces and it's huge. I think there should have been more flashbacks and more detail in them about how Clara and Eleanor came to be. It would have given a little more tension without being thoroughly annoying and could have moved the middle section of the film along a bit.

The bad guys are menacing, but I think if we'd had a bit more about them they would have been more so and then the excitement would have been higher even if the reveal was still left to the end.

I would definitely watch Byzantium again and I will be purchasing the blu-ray when it eventually appears. This is a good film. I recommend it to vampire fans.

Get Healthy Blog Hop - cycling in the mornings.

Welcome to everyone surfing around the Get Healthy Blog Hop, I hope you are finding many interesting pieces of advice.

Now I'm a writer so I have a very sedentary profession and about a year and a half ago I realised this was very bad for me. I hate to think what shape my heart was in and I knew I needed to exercise more.

Hence my husband and I bought an exercise bike. Now this is nothing special, but I thought I'd share some things I have found over time.

Now I know such things can be very boring and I thought to myself, I'm a writer, I'll write while I pedal. My husband even made me a little stand to attach to the bike so I could use my laptop. I soon realised this didn't work at all.

When I first started I was in terrible shape, I couldn't even do 15 mins at the lowest setting without quietly dying in the corner. I really needed something to distract me so that I wouldn't hit that wall.

As I said, I tried the writing. It didn't work because I had to sit there and just think from time to time, which gave my brain a chance to notice I was doing exercise and my legs hurt.

I also tried music. This worked for some songs, but not for others and I still kept noticing I was pedalling.

I tried watching vids on my laptop. Still not enough to keep me distracted.

Then finally I tried reading. This I have found is the perfect solution. Reading takes all of my brain and occupies it while I am pedalling away and usually I find that at the end of my program I am hot, sweaty and have not remotely noticed how much time has past.

Of course I have to be careful in my choice of book. It has to be one that I am totally engaged in, so there has been the odd time I have climbed off the bike, picked a new book and started again :).

I never get enough time to read, so reading while pedalling has the advantage that I get my reading time and I get my exercise in one go. When I am reading a really good book I actually look forward to climbing on the bike, rather than it being a chore. If I am strict with myself and only let myself read that book while I am on the bike, I don't  have any trouble dragging myself out of bed in the morning and into the study where the bike is situated. Reading is an incentive :).

Now, after about a year and a half, I am up to level 10 on the bike and I am reading lots of lovely books, so it's win/win.

At the moment I am reading The Vampire Legacy, a series of book by Karen E. Taylor and I am enjoying them very much. I have read Blood Secrets and am now on Bitter Blood. I have #3 to look forward to.

Now for a little bit of shameless self-promotion :).

I have a new title out this week called The Trade.

Title: The Trade
Summary: Earth no longer belongs exclusively to humans. After the hoard came demons roam the wreckage of old Earth just as humans do. Karon spans the divide, both human and demon, and, yet, neither at the same time. At the mercy of his vampire heritage he seeks a trade with a powerful demon prince and can only hope that his price will be accepted.

The Trade is a male/male, erotic, paranormal fantasy short story. It was previously published as part of the Vampire Bite Blog Hop as a giveaway and has now been edited into eBook form.

If you are interested in any of my other books, they are all listed on My Books page which is part of this blog. They span everything from YA to erotica so there is something for every one and there is nothing explicit in the book descriptions.

Some of my other favourite titles that I have enjoyed while cycling in the mornings are (all these are Amazon UK links, but just change the .co.uk to .com to see them on the US site):
Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore.
Queen of the Damned by Anne Rice
Salem's Lot by Stephen King
Dawn (Xenogenesis) by Octavia E. Butler
Nightseer by Laurell K. Hamilton

If you have any fav books you would like to share in comments, please do, I would love some suggestions.

FB3X Drabble Cascade #11 - Sons and Lovers PG13

This week our prompt word for the Drabble Cascade is eyes. If you would like to join in (everyone is welcome to) all you have to do is write a 100 word drabble or up to a 500 words flash fic of original fic, fanfic or meta inspired by the word and post it, before adding your link to the list at the bottom of the post (it's under the read more so as not to clog the feed).

Our word of the week is 'cold'.

---

Sons and Lovers

by Natasha Duncan-Drake

Jack was freezing his nuts off, which was kind of ironic given his name. If Lain made one more joke about Jack Frost, Jack was dumping his arse and that was a fact. When they had first met and Jack had revealed what he was called, Lain had laughed for a good minute and Jack had had no idea why. It was only later he found out he was dating the son of the Snow Queen.

"I'm cold," he whined, even though he was wrapped up in three big blankets.

"When we get there I promise to find some way to warm you up," Lain said and gave him a devilish smile full of sinful ideas.

It went some way to heating Jack's blood, at least a little.

"Mortals aren't designed for this place," he said, still marginally tetchy.

"You'll get used to it," Lain replied. "We're perfect together; it won't be long before you start picking things up."

They'd been going out together for nearly a year now and had been sharing a flat for the last three. Jack couldn't argue that they made a great couple, but this was news to him.

"Is that why you finally decided to bring me?" he asked.

Lain went home at least once a month and then reappeared renewed and invigorated by a trip to his native world. That was one thing that had worried Jack about their relationship, but Lain always said that he loved Earth and Jack enough to spend a good percentage of his life there. The other thing that bothered Jack was the fact Lain was immortal, but every time he brought it up Lain just laughed, kissed him and told him not to worry.

"Well that and to meet my mother," Lain replied, his white hair flying in the air that whipped over them as the carriage sped along.

Jack's mind kind of froze and he stared at his boyfriend.

"You, um, you didn't mention that before," he said, not sure whether to be petrified or just plain scared.

The Snow Queen was legend even among the supernatural community and those mortals aware of them. She was said to be exquisitely beautiful and as deadly as the ice and snow she commanded.

"Yes I did," Lain said and smiled, "when you were making supper last night."

Jack mentally cursed; he'd had the blender running for soup and he knew Lain had said something, but he hadn't caught what. He'd just hummed and smiled and now he realised he should have asked.

"Oh god, I'm going to meet your mother!" He started to panic.

"She's going to love you," Lain told him and kissed his cheek, "and I can't exactly marry a man who hasn't met Mummy."

"But she's... she's..." then Jack's brain caught up with what his boyfriend had said. "Did you just propose?"

Lain grinned and Jack couldn't decide whether to kiss him of kill him.

---

Fanart: Sherlock of the Spheres (Let's draw Sherlock Challenge)

So this is my latest piece of fanart. It's for the Let's Draw Sherlock challenge on Tumblr and my main post is over here on my Tumblr blog if you would like to see it in it's full glory and much larger.

This month's challenge is to reinterpret famous works for the Sherlock fandom, so I went with Galatea of the Spheres by Dali.

 

My Sherlock of the Spheres is done in Photoshop and was a lot of fun to create. Took me about six hours yesterday, Rob had to drag me to bed because I had totally forgotten the time :).

Dali has always been a favourite of mine and I wanted to do The Metamorphosis of Narcissus, but it didn't seem to suit the change up as well.

Recipe: Red Lentil Tikka Masala With Rye Barley Roti (from the Times)

This is a recipe from the Times Eat pullout special with low cal recipes. It's another one I tried for a fasting day on the 5:2 diet and it's really tasty and filling. However, the recipe is very spicy, way too spicy for me and I didn't even use the full amount of spice suggested in the original.

Red Lentil Tikka Masala With Rye Barley Roti
Serves 4 (original) or 2 (my ingredients list)
218 cal per portion (396 with Roti)

Image taken from the Times website

Ingredients
Original recipe masala paste (for 4)

• 2 tsp garam masala
• 2 tsp chilli flakes
• 2 tsp smokes parprika
• 1 tsp cumin seeds (dry fried and ground)
• 1 tsp coriander seed (dry fried and ground)
• 2cm root ginger, peeled and grated
• 1 tbsp groundnut oil
• 2 tbsp tomato purée
• salt and pepper
• handful of fresh coriander

Recipe I used masala paste (for 2)

• 1 tsp garam masala
• 2/3 tsp chilli paste (next time I'm going to use a third of this)
• 1 tsp smoked parprika (next time I'm going to use half of this)
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds (dry fried and ground)
• 1/2 tsp coriander seed (dry fried and ground)
• 1cm root ginger, peeled and grated
• 1 tsp groundnut oil
• 1 tbsp tomato purée
• salt and pepper
• handful of fresh coriander

Original recipe for the curry (for 4)

• 1.5 tsp groundnut oil
• 1 red onion, diced
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 2 tbsp masala paste
• 1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
• 250ml vegetable stock
• 200g red lentils
• 4 generous handfuls of young spinach leaves washed (~200g)
• 2 tbsp low-fat natural yoghurt

Recipe I used for the curry (for 2)

• several squirts of oil spray (the 1 cal a spray stuff)
• 1/2 red onion, diced
• 1 garlic clove, crushed (I like garlic :))
• 1 tbsp masala paste
• 200g tin chopped tomatoes
• 125ml vegetable stock
• 100g red lentils
• 2 generous handfuls of young spinach leaves washed (~200g)
• 1 tbsp fat free greek style yoghurt

As you can see I reduced the amount of oil as much as I could, especially in the curry because it was only for frying and the spray worked just fine.

Instructions

The original recipe says to use a processor for mixing the masala paste, but I used a pestle and motar because I couldn't be arsed to get it out and then have to clean it all :). If you are using the processor see instruction 2, if you are using a pestle and mortar see instructions 3 to 8.

1. Put the coriander seeds and cumin seeds in dry pan and heat until you can spell their scent rising and they are toasted. Then crush them in the pestle and mortar.
2. Using a PROCESSOR: Add all the ingredients for the paste and pulse until well combined and mostly smooth (jump to instruction 9).
3. Using a PESTLE and MORTAR: Add the oil to the crushed seeds in the mortar and mix in.
4. Add the garam masala and work together.
5. Add the chilli and work together.
6. Grate the ginger (I used one of these, which are brilliant for garlic and ginger) and add, working it in with the pestle.
7. Add the tomato purée and salt and pepper and work in.
8. Chop the coriander and add a little at a time, working in with the pestle each time.
9. Now you're on to the curry. Spray the pan and add the onion, cooking on a medium heat until it has softened, usually about 4 or 5 minutes.
10. Add the garlic and cook for another minute or so.
11. Add the masala paste and stir in to release all the flavours.
12. Add the tomatoes.
13. Add the vegetable stock and bring to the boil.
14. At this point I used a hand held blender to smooth out the sauce because I don't like lumps of onion and tomato in things, but feel free to leave out this step. Once blended return to the heat and bring back to the boil.
15. Add the lentils, reduce the heat and simmer for 20 mins (because I had blitzed the sauce it was quite thick, so I covered it while it simmered as well to keep in the moisture).
16. Take off the heat, allow to cool a little and add the spinach leaves, allowing to wilt in the heat.
17. Serve with a dollop of yoghurt and a warm rye, barley roti (see next).

Now I do have to say I haven't tried to make the rye barley roti because I was going for the really low cal option, but I'm including it for completeness and it looks tasty :). If I do make them I'll come back and edit the post with any observations I make.

Ingredients
Makes 8

• 100g wholewheat flour
• 50g barley flour
• 50g rye flour
• 1/2 tsp rock salt
• pinch chilli powder
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/2 tsp caraway seeds
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 120 ml water

Instructions

1. Mix all ingredients to a smooth dough.
2. Leave to rest for 20 mins
3. Knead well (this usually takes a good ten mins if doing by hand) and divide into 8 balls.
4. Rolls each ball into a disc on a floured surface to prevent sticking.
5. Spray a heavy frying pan with oil and heat the rotis on each side until cooked through.

May Monster Madness #7 - Fiction - Hunting the Hunter PG13

Blog #7 for the May Monster Madness Blog Hop. Click the link or the image to visit the master post for the hop, or scroll to the bottom of the post to see the linky list.

So for the last day of the blog hop I've written a short story for you all. Since I raved about vampires so much I thought it should be a vampire story. This one actually turned out quite differently than I expected, but I'm rather pleased with it anyway.

I must warn for mentions of rape and the brief mention of child abuse because I know those trigger some people. The story is suitable for teen audiences and up. Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoy it.

Hunting the Hunter

by Natasha Duncan-Drake

The bar was a dive; not really the place to be wearing an Armani suit, but Gregory had only had to deck one patron with a quick display of mixed martial arts for all of the others to leave him alone. He had learned long ago that if anyone remembered him they would remember the suit, not his face. He made sure to change it up a little each time he ventured out and he always affected a different persona to make sure he was never connected back. That was part of the game.

This time he was the tired businessman drinking himself into a stupor. He knew for a fact at least two of the patrons were waiting for him to collapse so they could steal his wallet, but they were going to be sorely disappointed. He'd already seen the man he was after.

His mark was 6'2'', dark haired and well turned out compared to most of the crowd in the place, which wasn't saying much. It was clear the man carried with him a mantel of fear as even those drinking with him were not as relaxed as they pretended. Gregory could see it all in the way they sat, showing bravado, but making minute movements every time their alpha dog so much as shifted his eyes. Gregory could read them like a book and all he was doing was looking at them; he was not impressed.

May Monster Madness #6 - The Monsters In Me

Blog #6 for the May Monster Madness Blog Hop. Click the link or the image to visit the master post for the hop, or scroll to the bottom of the post to see the linky list.

There are monsters in me, metaphorically speaking, and I suspect there are monsters in everyone. That's not to say we let out monsters out, but they are there.

The Vampire

The leach, the bloodsucker, I know I have one inside. It comes out when I just want to take something and not give back. I don't think I'm a selfish person; I like to give, sometimes more than I like to receive, but there is that part of me that is selfish. It's part left over survival mechanism, part laziness and occasionally I have to fight against it to bury the monster back inside.

There's also the sexy seducer of men ... well men translates to my husband and that's all I'm going to say or it would be TMI :).

The Werewolf

The animalistic, wild side of the human psyche. I don't have to fight this one much, I'm not a violent person by nature, but just occasionally I do explode. Usually at this point there is just shouting, but occasionally throwing things comes into it as well. I think I've only actually done this a couple of times in my life, but beware any who push me that far.

As for baying at the moon and shape shifting: I'm a writer, we all signed up to be lunatics, but we mostly shape shift with words.

The Zombie

Rather than 'Brains!' my call should be 'chocolate!' :) I can't drink caffeinated coffee or caffeinated tea because they don't agree with me, so if I have a bad morning start I reach for the chocolate. I'm actually quite a morning person, but every now and then, after a really later night the zombie comes out ;).

The Mad Axe Murderer

You should read some of my horror based fiction - that's where my mad axe murderer comes out :)

The (Little) Devil

Now I definitely have one of these, but she doesn't get to come out much because there's an angel balancing her. My devil pokes fun at other people and laughs at things she probably shouldn't laugh at, but they never get to the outside because the angel points out how making fun would hurt someone and how so-and-so really isn't funny if I think about it.

My devil is more about slightly wicked fun like dirty jokes and innuendo than anything else. I have a very dirty mind; I blame my mother :).

So those are my monsters, do you have your own?