Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Tatted Up!

I got my first tattoo when I was twenty. A rose on the ankle with the Greek letters of my sorority through the stem. My cousin, who was always a fabulous artist, decided that he could make more money by inking his art on people. So I ended up a guinea pig worked on with a homemade tattoo gun held together by electrical tape. Hey, I was in college and things like infection and pus really didn’t bother me.

My second tattoo came a few months later in the form of an armband with my sorority and brother fraternity Greek letters. By the time my third and fourth were tatted onto my back and shoulder my cousin had evolved into colors and my imagination had stretched past college organizations. Upon leaving his chair a mermaid on a moon and a phoenix were inked into my body.

Tattoos.

They’re an addiction and I find them as sexy as a pair of strong thighs and pretty eyes.

They express who a person is, they’re personality and experiences. My first two are symbols of my youth but my last two illustrate my heart. I love fiction and the beauty of fantasy. It’s why I write. To create those dreams even though they’re in the form of Alpha heroes and strong women instead of mythical creatures. I still believe in heroes and happy ever after.


Tattoos on a hero tell a story. In Jessica Lee’s Desire to Die For, the vampire brotherhood bears the infinity sign pierced by a dagger on their bodies. It denotes their status of warrior and their kinship to the Enclave. In Jessica Andersen’s Final Prophecy series, her Mayan magi bear tattoos signifying their family lineage, individual power and mate. One of my favorites—and oh so sexiest—is Gena Showalter’s Lords of the Underworld. Every lord represents a demon from Pandora’s box and they carry a huge demonic butterfly on various parts of their bodies. Whether it’s on a shoulder, stomach, chest…*sigh* What should be feminine is dangerous and erotic. Delicious.

Tattoos can help create a hero or heroine’s history or even foretell their future. Or, in the case of Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Acheron, they can become characters in the story. Who doesn’t know the Atlantean god’s dragon tattoo that morphs into the ever-hungry demon, Simi?

So does a tattoo make your mouth water? Who’s your favorite tatted hero? Do you have one—tattoo or inked hero—of your own? Share!

15 comments:

Wynter said...

Okay, I have to admit, tats are not my thing. I saw a really creepy movie when I was a teenager called Tattoo where a psycho stalks then kidnaps a woman and proceeds to tattoo her entire body. Totally ruined the ink thing for me. But I've seen authors make great use of them in creating character.

Savannah Stuart said...

Acheron is definitely my fave tattooed hero! I just love Simi and her crazy barbeque eating antics ;) My real life hero has about five (he was in the Marines, I think it's a pre-requisite or something, lol). And I have one too. It's a dove carrying an olive branch and it's on my back. When/if I sell to NY, I'm getting another one. No I'm not gonna tell what yet :)

Sherry said...

I don't have a favorite person with tattoo's but I do like them. I think they look better if you don't cover your entire body with them. I like to still be able to see some skin under the ink. I have two tattoo's on my chest they're of wolves. In one of them the wolf is howling at the moon. In the other it's a wolf head and part of the moon it's almost has a foggy or smoky look to it. Sometimes I want another one and sometimes I wish I didn't have the ones that I've got.

Jessica Lee said...

I love tattoos on a man as well. They can be super sexy. But I agree with Sherry, I still like to see a little skin too. lol I haven't got one yet, but I'm thinking a certain dagger and infinity symbol might show up in my future. *g*
Great post, Naima!

Stephanie Adkins said...

I love tattoo's on a man, but not when they cover most of his body. One or two of them on a pair of muscular biceps really gets me going though. *wink* I've always wanted a tattoo, but I haven't gotten up the courage yet to get one. LOL

Sarah said...

I love tattoos & think they can look really hot but I'm not keen on full body tattoos. I finally got my first tattoo done last year on my left shoulder blade (the breedmate birthmark from Lara Adrian's Midnight Breed series) & I love it. I'm planning on getting my second tatt done in a couple of months - it will be a dragon on the small of my back & I have designed it myself so it will always be special to me.

I just wish my other half had a couple of tatts too - I think he'd look really sexy with them but he hates the idea of getting anything done so I guess I'll just have to use my imagination hehehe

Naima Simone said...

LOL! Wynter, thank goodness I did not see that creepy movie before my first tattoo! Now you know I have to go look that up, right? Hee-hee-hee! Too funny!

Naima Simone said...

Hi, Savannah!
Don't you just adore Simi? Sherrilyn Kenyon was ingenious when she created her! She's hillarious!

My husband has two tattoos and three brands--yes! Brands! I don't have two myself...why would you think that...I didn't say anything...The man is sexy!! As Toni Braxton would say, I luvs me some him! LOL!

I also luvs me a mystery and so now I have to hound you to find out what the secret tattoo is!! And you'll make NY! No worries there!! Now...about that tattoo...*evil eyebrow wiggle*

Naima Simone said...

Hi, Sherry!
Oooh sexy! I couldn't get tattoos on my chest because my cousin does mine and he absolutely refuses to go to places covered by tank tops or shorts! Hee-hee-hee!

I too don't really care for "sleeves" but I saw this really amazing tattoo where this guy had a mural of the "X-Men" characters that covered his entire back. It was so awesome!! Then again it could be that I really like the "X-Men", the cartoon that is! I'm just not going to go there about the movie...

Naima Simone said...

Hi, Jessica!
Your vampires are super sexy!! LOL! Oh did I mention that already that they are super sexy? Uber sexy?? I must confess I too am planning on my next tattoo...I'd say it's going to be my last but then I may have to repent later...Unlike Savannah (WHAT'S THE TATTOO, SAVANNAH??) I am going to debut it right afterward!

Naima Simone said...

Hi, Stephanie!
LOL! Go for it! Go for it!! They're lovely--and a wee bit addictive...for me anyway...

Naima Simone said...

Hi, Sarah!
Cool tattoo!! I love Lara Adrian's series and I know just what you're talking about! Awesome! Ooooh! I'm practically salivating over the dragon tattoo. I love dragons!! Will you do a reveal once you have it done? Or at the very least post your drawing of it!

As for your husband's imaginary tattoo...LOL! I'm sure you can come up with some interesting tatts and places! Hee-hee-hee!

Laurann Dohner said...

I don't have any but I'd like one on my hip, hidden on the side. I even know what I want...I'm just afraid I'd get the 'bad' tattoo artist who turned my sexy image I want put there into... well, something not so sexy. (I had a friend who got inked by someone with a good rep and it turned out bad). I think hidden tattoos are sexy...the kind you only see when the clothes come off. LOL. My husband will never get one. True story... I had to lay on top of him in a dentist's chair once because he is afraid of needles and I knew he wouldn't throw me off him to distance himself from the dentist trying to numb his mouth. LOL!

Dalton Diaz said...

I'm tattoo free, too. Just couldn't see myself loving any design for the rest of my life. And the pain didn't thrill me. Belly-Button piercing - that's sexy!

Michelle Polaris said...

Oooh, I wish I were brave enough for a tattoo. I think I could work my way there, but my DH does not like them and that takes a lot of the sexy potential out of it for me. Boo on him. Oh well, I'll just have to keep picking up stories that feature tattoos. Jacqueline Carey has developed a fantastic culture in her novels where a religion based on love and different forms of sexual preference involves acolytes who acquire tattoos over their entire backs as they become practioners of the art of love. Their society is deliciously sensual, although her books are long and slow paced in the tradition of classic fantasy. Carey's fans have devoted a lot of time to sending in their own pictures of tattoo art based on this world. I love it. Talk about fan involvement.