"Death. Pestilence. Famine, " she declares as the very first words of "Dreamfever, " the fourth in her series of MacKayla Lane fantasy novels. A moment later she invokes "my fourth lover -- War, " slipping into a paragraph that carries its own spectacular resonance:
"He caresses my skin with hands of fire. I char, my skin blisters, bones fuse from sexual heat no human can endure. Lust consumes me. I arch my back and beg for more with parched tongue, cracked lips ..."
Whew.
That was two years ago. Since then, Moning's ardent fans -- the "Moning Maniacs" who follow her in print and across the internet -- have been clamoring for the fifth installment: "Shadowfever." And in typical Moning style, the book launch will be anything but staid.
For three days -- Sunday through Tuesday -- she and the Maniacs will headquarter themselves in and around New Orleans' Le Pavillon Hotel, 833 Poydras St.
The centerpiece event comes Monday from 4 p.m. until midnight, when Moning signs copies of "Shadowfever" that readers have pre-ordered from Octavia Books, her partner in these events. The next morning, presumably after soaking her cramped fingers in a bowl of Palmolive, Moning will lead a pair of hour-long discussion sessions.
"Shadowfever" has been kept under the tightest of pre-launch wraps. No advance copies have been released, only teaser passages on Moning's website (www.karenmoning.com) and elsewhere. The author herself, for all of her popularity, is a bit of a cipher.
She lives in northern Georgia, but won't say precisely where for fear of prompting a cluster of Maniacs showing up in her driveway ("they tattoo my words on their bodies, " she said of her more committed admirers). Age? She won't say, though her latest publicity picture shows a striking woman with abundant blonde curls clad in a form-hugging white St. John suit.
Born in Cincinnati, an alumna of Purdue University, Moning made her professional reputation as a romance novelist. Readers gobbled up her Highlander series, and have been just as eager to consume the Fever books: "Darkfever, " "Bloodfever, " "Faefever" and "Dreamfever."
That last title carries double meaning because, no kidding, Moning says the entire series revealed itself to her in a single dream.
"It came to me in 2,000 pages, five books, names of characters -- I even knew what the names of the books were, " she recalled during a recent phone interview.
"I woke up and said: 'I don't want to write this; it's not what my fans expect.' So I ignored it. But after a few months it was driving me crazy; it was disturbing."
As Moning tells the tale, the "Fever" series was not so much written as channeled. "There were days when I felt I was just taking dictation, " she said. "I'd have a scene that I'd think about the night before -- I'd get up and say, 'OK, I'm here, ' and 20 pages would pour out."
To maintain narrative clarity -- essential when conjuring an alternative universe populated with exotic denizens of good and evil -- Moning "kept a running time line for the whole thing. Six years ago I knew exactly how the (final) book ended. "
Along the way she learned how to edit herself ruthlessly, and to rely on the advice of her musician-husband, Neil Dover. "My golden rule is, if I think it's really smart and clever and brilliant, cut it, " she said. "Because my ego doesn't belong in telling a story."
Despite having all those Maniacs as devoted literary constituents, Moning insists she doesn't pander to her readers. "They're in the foreground of my brain, but not sitting on my shoulder as a critic, " she said.
Asked whether the whole "Harry Potter" phenomenon has helped her own cause, Moning answered that yes, "I do think it has done a lot for me. A lot of readers, after Harry Potter, were looking for the next series they could live in. Harry Potter created a hunger."
Now that "Shadowfever" is about to be let loose upon its savoring public, Moning is contemplating her follow-up. "I have at least three books to tell in my world, " she mentioned, plus at least one graphic novel in a collaboration with Brazilian artist Al Rio.
Meanwhile, Moning is content to pull back for awhile, pleased that "Shadowfever" is out the door. When it was completed, "I felt the most intense rush of satisfaction, " she said. "I was true to the vision."
Shadowfever Launch Party
What: Karen Marie Moning signs and discusses 'Shadowfever.'
When: Signing is Monday, 4 p.m. to midnight; talks are Tuesday starting at 11 a.m.
Where: Le Pavillon Hotel, 833 Poydras St.
Cost: To attend the signing and author talks, a copy of 'Shadowfever' must be purchased from Octavia Books, 513 Octavia St.
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