Story of a Turnskin

Blurb The paranormal historical "Extraordinary Story of a

Turnskin" suggests the next theory of werewolves’ origin as well as some oddments from the Turnskin’s mind. "Extraordinary Story of a Turnskin" is about a warlock and a werewolf. Set in a transCarpathian land the story may be dated 18th century, but this medley of events, pictures and scenes could happen much earlier.

The book reviews at Goodreads.com: Bob Laerhoven Dec 28, 2014 Bob Laerhoven rated it 5 of 5 stars In Belgium, my home-country, writing about the paranormal and changelings is considered as genre fiction, but Lara Biyuts overcomes the boundaries between genres by combining a beautiful literary style - poetic and subtle - with a thrilling theme and unusual, fascinating characters. The only remark I can have on "Extraordinary

Story of a Turnskin" is that it was, at the end, a bit short. In this novelette lurks a special and fascinating novel, but also in this intense form, it is definitely not a middle-of-the-road read. (less)

Jim Dixon Dec 23, 2012 Jim Dixon rated it 5 of 5 stars "Extraordinary Story of a Turnskin" is a werewolves-themed story which sounds verisimilar, with its legendary setting and the bloodshedding, but it's light and poetic, at the same time, which makes the story most original.

Georgia Apr 28, 2013 Georgia rated it 3 of 5 stars This is not the usual story you hear or read about a werewolf. It was a nice, short read with interesting characters. You 'll meet the Werewolf, the Warlock and the beautiful maid. Nothing of what you think about these three is truly happening.

The story started interestingly. It kept on at the same pace. But I would love to read more of it at the end! I didn't quite enjoy the ending. I wish the author had shared more with me, the reader, about the fate of the Werewolf and everything around him.

Jowin C varghese Feb 27, 2013 Jowin C varghese rated it 5 of 5 stars yo..yo.. The Extraordinary Story of a Turnskin is Lara Biyuts' next cameo...

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16177335-extraordinarystory-of-a-turnskin

from the Author’s Postscript Really, what positive and instructive could be pressed out of this exotic blend of truth and fiction, which is nothing other but paranormal adventure and dark poesy? However, the conclusions may be two, at least, obvious and clear: “Never come into contact with werewolves, however nice they look and ever were to you.

Never reprove your man when he is hungry.”

Personally I love this: “Good health is above wealth.”

This writer’s credo, but others may have other ideas.

Extraordinary Story of a Turnskin.

There’s a nice title for a story! -- my reader may say.

My answer is: “A paranormal fiction should have a bizarre title.

The more bizarre, the better. But all the rest impressive titles for fiction of the sort have been taken by my fellow writers, and earlier, by the authors of romantic prose and poetry.”

Really, Vampires, Renegades, Corsairs, Pirates, Spies, Giaours, one by one, and in turn, made a raid upon the contemporary generation of readers, sliding, by moonlight, into boudoirs of the sentimental and impressionable, and creeping in researches of the learned. The modern day literature is full of the undead so much that the impressionable can hear the Vampire’s teeth chattering, behind

their shoulder, any moment, or see the hellish eye of Le Renegat, lurid with the bloody pupil, in any mirror. Frightened, I am about to frighten my reader, in jest at least, but I have neither the murky imagination of Lord Byron, nor the brilliant penkraft of Oscar Wilde, nor the wondrous obsession of Eric Stenbock, nor the tireless pen of d’Arlincourt, nor romantic insight of John Polidori nor the inspirational enigma of William Beckford, unless the inventive productiveness of Anne Radcliff whose incarnation I am, according to some reviews. Besides, the Muse of my Romanticism is so willful that this mythological personification of Knowledge and Arts often laughs when weeping and shivering. Obeying the willfulness, I leave my imagination to the Muse’s guidance.

If I want all the phantoms to vanish, if I want the undead not to dare to approach even stealthily, subtly to commit my ache feeding and wheedling I shall keep on creating, from now on -not more sweetest and new roundelays, but new bullets of silver and more aspen stakes.

Since empire is for the vampire, and for me only misery.

(Copyright 2011 by Lara Biyuts)

About the title, I would say that maybe, I should replace my “Turnskin” to something other, richer and more bookish, but I say again that impressive titles all have been taken, and the bookshelves in bookshops and libraries are abundant in bands of evil-doers and the undead so much that if only mice and moths never created Santa Hermandad against them, then the living would get no peace with them around. As for eBooks, it’s everyone’s choice, to go to the cyberspace or not to go, to give oneself to the power or to avoid the invention as baleful.

This writer’s choice is being self-published on the cyberspace.

Set in a trans-Carpathian land (remote for my readers but not for me, and peaceful not always,) my short story about the Turnskin may be dated 18th century, but this medley of events, pictures and scenes could happen much earlier. New, stylish and truly ancient, my story suggests one more theory of werewolves’ origin. Today, everyone knows that a werewolf makes a werewolf by biting a human, but what about the first werewolf or werewolves ever?

Apropos, talking of the undead… what about the first vampires of Europe?

The prose poem, below, is an opening of an old Serbian ballad, which tells one legend -- one of legends about the undead bloodsuckers of Europe. Translating it in English, I bring the excerpt to my readers’ notice as a new source of possible origin of the belief in vampires. In my view, the Ballad may be dated the time of Vlad Dracula the Impaler, and the excerpt shows one of reasons why a vampire could come into the world, if not how it was, in detail:

“From Old Ballad”

The Old King said, “My young poplar!

I am going to the war, and you’ll forget of me.

The trees at the foot of the mountain are young and thin, but your waist is thinner and lither!

Rowan-berries are red in the wind, but your lips are redder! And I am like an old oak, leafless, and my beard is whiter than foam of Danube.

You, my sweetheart, will forget of me, and I shall die of grief, since our enemy dare not killing me, the Old King!”

The Beauty replied, “I swear I won’t forget of you!

I’ll be faithful for ever!

If I break my promise, come from the grave to me and suck the blood from my heart!”

The Old King said, “Let it be!” and he went to the war.

And the Beauty forgot him, very soon.

Thanks to our modern day paranormal fiction, vampire story lovers know how a vampire is made, in detail, but even the readers

little know of a way the first vampires came into the world, and the paranormal fiction vampires remain secretive about that. True, the ancient history says about the undead, ghosts and bloodsuckers, but none of old books tells about the first vampires; as for our modern day books, any of them could ever occur to this writer to mention it in no shape or form. None of the old books of fiction, which readers and some researchers use as a source, came from Eastern or Central Europe.