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[From VBC: We’re very excited to have Jeaniene Frost on the blog again today. And we’re so anxious for Once Burned, her spinoff book featuring Vlad. It comes out in June and at the end of this post there’s a chance to win advanced copies. With that, we turn it over to Jeaniene.]
I’m fresh off a superhero high after seeing The Avengers this weekend, but aside from my new found love for The Hulk, the movie also got me thinking about the attributes of larger-than-life heroes and heroines. If you haven’t seen The Avengers yet, I’ll describe the members of the team. There’s Ironman, a “genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist” named Tony Stark who fights evil while wearing an incredibly high-tech suit; Thor, demi-god of the planet Asgard, whose hammer-wielding badassery is only eclipsed by his mighty biceps; Steve Rogers’ Captain America, a formerly brave yet scrawny man who was transformed into a superhuman through breakthrough genetic tampering; The Hulk, whose non-mean-green-and-ready-to-ream personality is mild-mannered scientist Bruce Banner; Black Widow, former Russian spy Natasha Romanoff who uses her looks, wit, and lethal fighting skills to save the day; and Clint Barton, nicknamed Hawkeye, a S.H.I.E.L.D agent whose skill with a bow and arrow makes Legolas look like a child playing cowboys and Indians. Although not a fighting member of the Avengers, the mastermind behind them is Nick Fury, human director of the espionage agency S.H.I.E.L.D.
What I particularly loved about The Avengers is that three of the six superheroes are regular humans. See, my books feature supernatural creatures – in this case, vampires – fighting evil and finding love with humans. I get asked a lot about compatibility issues in a human/nonhuman relationship and I think the movie gives a great example of how being compatible has more to do with will, perseverance, and bravery than with matching supernatural abilities. Black Widow doesn’t have any otherworldly abilities – or a high-tech Super Suit – yet she’s critical to the success of the Avengers because of her other strengths. Same goes with Hawkeye. Tony Stark, even without his Ironman suit, is still instrumental to the team because of his intelligence. Sure, having the ability to withstand injuries that would kill a normal person (Captain America), or a huge magical hammer (Thor), or enough strength to throw a demi-god around like a rag doll (The Hulk) are also critical, but they’re not enough to defeat the villain and his army without those extraordinary yet “regular” Avengers.
As I said, I’ve played with the same themes in my books. My vampires may have abilities like super strength, telekinesis, mind control, or the ability to fly, but that doesn’t make their human counterparts less extraordinary, in my opinion. Take my upcoming novel, Once Burned. In it, my heroine Leila is a human whose exposure to a massive dose of electricity left her with some unusual abilities; namely, her body gives off voltage and she picks up psychic impressions through touch. While those abilities initially throw her together with my hero, a pyrokinetic vampire named Vlad (yes, that Vlad :)) it’s her mental fortitude that impresses Vlad the most. Without that, Leila would have been merely another tool he used against his enemies. But her inner strength proves so captivating that even the uncrowned Prince of Darkness ends up drawn into the most high-stakes battle of all: falling in love.
I’m going to assume that everyone agrees mental fortitude is important, but just for kicks, if you could have any supernatural ability (flying, mind control, pyrokinesis, telekinesis, shapeshifting, a big magic hammer, Hulking-out, etc.) what would it be? Everyone who answers will be entered to win one of two advance reading copy of Once Burned.
CONTEST DETAILS AND RULES
1. To enter, you leave a comment on this blog post answering Jeaniene’s question above.
2. You do not need to follow Vampire Book Club to be entered, but we sure do like it.
3. This contest is open internationally.
4. Contest closes at 11:59 p.m. CST on June 3, 2012.
5. The winners will be selected using Random.org. Then each will be contacted via email and given 48 hours to claim her prize. If we do not hear from the winner(s) within that time, a new winner will be selected.
6. Entrants must be at least 18 years old or have their parent’s permission to enter. Please review our privacy policy, if you have any questions as to how Vampire Book Club uses your information. (Short version: we’ll only use it to contact you for this contest.)
7. Though unlikely, Vampire Book Club has the right to change or cancel any giveaway at any time without prior notice.
8. Vampire Book Club is not responsible for prizes lost or damage in transit.
9. Big thank you to Jeaniene Frost for providing the two ARCs of Once Burned.
If I could have a super power, I’d probably choose flying, because as a child, I always wanted to try it out, and I still think it must give you the feeling of freedom 🙂 But of course, I wouldn’t be disappointed if I got the ability to go invisible or read minds, either 🙂 I’d be great if I could switch my mind-reading ability on sometimes just to see what people really think 🙂
It might have something to do with my long years of Buffy obsession, but I think I’d want fighting skills.
I would like to have mind control. I can tell them not to hurt me, hurt someone else, if they are in pain, i can control their mind not feel it. I think i’m just a control freak! lol Thanks for this opportunity to win, and i loved the avengers too!
Ahh! So exciting 😀 okay, if I could have any superpower it would probably be (although probably not as impressing as time travel) I would want to be able to run super fast, mainly because I’m always late for everything and it’s normally because I walk slow. Haha. It could also mean that I could get to the other side of the world fairly easy making traveling/holidays easier. That’s about it for me. 😀
I love what you said about her and her powers. Often it seems humans are perceived as weaker in novels, and I don’t really enjoy that, though I can see why some superhero’d think so. (Or a bloodthirsty monster.. etc.)
If I could I’d probably want to see the history of objects (and people, because I’m evil like that) I tough.. Though only on demand. Wouldn’t want to go nuts, after all. Then again, maybe I’m already too much a dreamer and would spend all my time touching stuff (or people, LOL) which .. yeah. Controlling water would probably rock as well. I mean.. How many percent of the human body is water? I would definitely never need to be worried of being alone in the city when it’s dark or something like that, so there is that, but also.. well, I think if there was a superpower like that, the person who had it, could help lots of people. 🙂
Thanks for giving away ARCs. I loved that guest post. Will watch the Avengers asap with a friend of mine. Hehehe!
Superpower – that is tough one. If I could have any superpower I think casting spells.
The Avengers movie was “EXCELLENT”. Thor is very yummy….
Thanks again for the giveaway.
Jenn
This is a tough question to answer since their are powers I want to have. I guess the power that is my current favorite is pyrokinesis.
If i had to choose a super power it would have to be Mind Control so when someone is getting on my nerves i can send them a thought to just go away leaving me with a smile on my face and when i want my boys to clean there room i would send them a thought so they would think it was there on doing… yeah that would be great…
I think it would be mind control for me. I think that would be the coolest power.
First I loved the Avengers! I am a big Thor fan (specially without his shirt), but in this movie I thought that the Hulk stole the show!
Superpower I would want most….timetravel! I love history, and would love to go meet and see some of the things I have read about. I could also go back and win the Lotto! LOL JK
Thanks JT for offering up the books for the contest and thanks to Vampire Book Club!
Hmmm…, I think I would like shapeshifting abilities so I could shapeshift these extra pounds off my body!
Going to see Avengers this weekend.
I’d want to be able to read minds, not necessarily control them because I’d be too tempted to do bad things if someone annoyed me. So just knowing their thoughts would be good enough for me to act on without impressing on them.
I would want to be able to teleport! If I wasnt wasting gas money I would have more money for books!!
I’d like magical powers, like Jeannie. I dream of Jeannie & Bewitched was my favorite show growing up, so that’s still what I’d love. The ability to be invisible would be cool. I’d love to see what my kids are like when I’m not around. I loved Avengers!
I would love to have the ability to travel across space and time and bring people with me. I have this really intricate daydream of my hopping to Paris during the roaring 20s.
I would love to be able to shapeshift into any animal! I think that ability has always been my favorite. Though Telekinesis is pretty awesome! Thank you Ms. Frost for the chance to win a copy of Once Burned! I am very excited to get my hands on a copy!
The avengers was amazing!! Thank you so much I would love to win once burned. I would want shapeshifting 🙂
telekinesis. That seems unusual and exciting to me. Although flying would be great also. Thank you so much JF. I enjoy your blog, even when you aren’t giving anything away.
If I could have a superpower, it would probably be shapeshifting. My sister already believes I would make the perfect werewolf. I think it would be awesome!
This was is a fantastic contest. I am glad to be a part of it. I cannot wait to read Once Burned!
On a side note, I have yet to see the Avengers, but cannot wait to see it!!
I hear a lot of people comment that the Hulk stole the show, though my heart belongs to Thor. Oh Chris be still my heart =)
Fun question! I would want to have the ability to bend time, you know slow things down or speed them up. And if time travel were included in that then all the better!
Shapeshifting of course 🙂
If I ever had a supernatural ability, it would be to posses energy and manipulate darkness and shadows. The reason why I want to posses the energy ability is because, let’s think, energy is an invisible force, and it is indeed invisible to the human eye, as well as it its everywhere surrounding us. Us humans have energy! So…with that, I’ll be able to take hold to either steal energy from my surroundings or the energy of others and use it against them…or myself…which..would be sort of like telekenesis. (Cool!)
Now, as for the power to manipulate darkness , has there ever been a power such as this?! (Oh yeah, Raven from Teen Titans and others) I mean, there are many things you can do with this! I could do some Ninja Stealthy kind of tricks to scare people, and much more.
If I could have superpowers it would definitely be shape shifting. I think it would just be the coolest thing to morph into something else totally different thank human. I have dreams about it sometimes, lol. Anyways, thanks for the chance to win Once Burned!
I’ve always wanted to have telekinesis as a superpower, because aside from the fact that it’s kick-ass, it suits my couch-potato tendencies perfectly. 🙂
I am not sure if this is a superpower but what I would like to have is the ability to teleport somewhere instantly. I love to travel and see new places, however I hate the traveling part. I don’t like to fly and the monotony and time required to travel by car is awful, plus I am prone to motion sickness. I would love to cut that whole part out and be somewhere instantly.
I would like to have a inner power that would make me desirable to all supernatural beings. I love them all for there unique and differant talent s. I would be a collector if supernaturals! 😉
The Avengers was awesome!
If I could have a supernatural ability, it would definitely be telekinesis. 🙂
I am selfish and can’t limit myself to one. As I read my fave paranormal romance books, I am a bit envious of the telepathic conversations between couples, many a time this would be nice. As a nurse, mind-control would be great to help people calm and be able to tolerate procedures and stressors. Lastly, shape-shifting is where its at! 🙂
i can’t wait to see avengers – i would love to be able to communicate telepathically – including reading other minds – being able to see your true friends 🙂
Vlad is my fav – love Cat and Bones, but Vlad when Cat was living with him stole my heart
Speed-reading. I know – it’s not on the pre-approved list of superpowers above, which I hope is acceptable. It’s not that I don’t enjoy my time reading but simply that I don’t have nearly enough time to read all that I’d like. Really, there’s such a wealth of information and entertainment that I’ll never get around to enjoying – but not for lack of trying;) Thanks for the giveaway opportunity!
I would like a healing/energy-staminaboost power. Super heroes still get bruises and injuries that they need to wait for their super healing to healing. This way we can go kick more monster-bad-guy butt with me in wings healing my teammates given them an energy boost
I think it´s tricky choosing between powers. Telepathy could be useful, but i wouldn´t want to hear everything ALL the time. Seeing the future, also useful, but to know when your time is up? *shudders*
I think i´d like to be able to protect myself and my family, like a shield. Or to fly, =) Or a mastermind like Iron Man, but without the heart condition LOL
best wishes, Linda
I think right now I would like the ability to heal. At the beginning of the year my mom had her lower left leg amputated and it’s not healing as fast as it could. With this power I would be able to help her heal so she wouldn’t be in so much pain. After that I think I’d like the ability to shapeshift as long as I could shift into anything I wanted.
Shapshifting would be the ultimate superpower to have! It would allow me to experience most of the other coveted powers, at least in some form, by simply shifting into a shape that would allow me to experience it! I could turn into a bird or an airplane to fly, a racehorse or sportscar for speed, a wreaking ball for strength, etc. Definately wouldn’t want telepathy, especially if uncontrollable like Hariss’ Sookie Stackhouse character!
Being able to fly sounds like fun but I’m easily distracted and losing concentration while flying probably wouldn’t be a good thing so I’d pick the ability to control time that would be nifty
I would choose the ability to heal like wolvine but also have the ability to heal others as well. I think there no greater gift then the gift of healing. I believe some of our greatest heroes are the men and women who go out there way to bring comfort and health to others such as doctors, nurses, emts, etc. Even therapist whom try to help heal the emotional and mental wounds that so many have. If I could heal all the ills that plague this earth with the touch of my hand by all means sign me up. I could also heal the men and women who put their lives on the line everyday to protect us for the evils and dangers of this world.
If I could have super power it would be mind control because I have teenaged kids and would love to be able to figure out their minds LOL
I would choose to have the ability to heal others. I like to help others when i can.
So happy Im not the only girl who loves The Avengers!! I know this isnt a super asskicking power but I would love to teleport or timetravel or both!!! But if I only got one I’d want to teleport, No c ar, no bus and no airplane just think where I want to go and puff Im there!LOL!!
I would like to have mind reading abilities with the ability to influance peoples moods also, but only if they could be turned on and off at will.
The supernatural ability I would go for is a toss up between Healing and Time Travel. I would just love to never get sick again and to help other people out of that pain. Or live/visit other times, so many historical events I’d want to see.. and of course I wouldn’t be able to pass up the chance to go back in time and read The Night Huntress series for the first time all over again 🙂
I would LOVE to be able to fly. That would be amazing. However flying alone would not be enough of a super power. Combined with super strength or a super weapon that would make a super hero.
If I could have any supernatural ability I’d have supernatural fighting skills like Buffy the vampire slayer.
I’d love to be Wolverine from X-Men. Claws, super-healing (and therefore no-aging), animal-like senses… And awesome hair. Can’t forget the hair. 😉 I can’t pick just one trait — it’s the combination of all of his powers that makes him so great. Having claws come out of your hands without the ability to heal afterwards would suck. Healing alone seems rather selfish. I don’t think I’d like the downside to having super smell every time I pass the public restrooms. And wonderful hair isn’t really a superhuman trait. I think that’s just Wolverine… So yeah. I’d like to be him.
Oh. I think shapeshifting. Love shifters 🙂
Thanks so much!
I always though it would be awesome to read minds, but I think I’d really like to be an amped-up human. Super strength, speed, hearing, smell, enhanced vision, healing, etc. kind of like our favorite vamps! Speaking of which, since I’m not sure I can make it until June (maybe I’m super-humanly impatient!) I’d LOVE to win Vlad’s book! Thanks!
Hmmm… Wonder Woman’s lasso of truth comes to mind, but I could think of much better uses for it! 😉
No, but seriously. I would love to be able to bend time. I don’t have enough time to do everything I need to with my day, so being able to take a few more hours for myself may sound selfish, but it would be useful! That, or flying. I live and commute around DC. Who could blame me?
My super ability would be super healing like Wolverine or the cheerleader from ‘Heroes’, an use my ability to rid the world of terrorists and those who seek joy in hurting others!!!
The Avengers was so so good I had to see it twice!!!
To be absolutely honest, I would love nothing better than to be Pyrokinetic. Controlling/starting fire with your mind?! How can you top that?! XD
Telekinesis. I would like to give you a really cool reason as to why, but frankly I am just lazy. I would like to be able to retrieve the cell phone I left downstairs, the remote off the desk, and the portable phone from the laundry room without having to haul my cookies up and down four flights of stairs. Having no memory left, telekinesis would make up for it nicely. 🙂