As you may have gathered from my early review of Karina Cooper’s All Things Wicked (which hits stores today), I’m a bit enamored with her Dark Mission series. She has the attributes I look for in all my favorite authors: precise writing, remarkable character development worth getting invested in and both creative and gritty world-building. So, of course, I had to pick her brain on just how New Seattle was formed, what makes her characters a good match and real uses for pyrokinetic abilities. . . . → Click here to continue reading Karina Cooper Q&A & Giveaway: Magic, Seattle and happily-ever-afters
|
||||
 10 comments  Author Q&A, Paranormal Romance  crossover, Dark Mission, favorites, giveaway, interview, Karina Cooper, magic, Paranormal Romance, witches
 Allison Pang brings a clever plot, unique world, fascinating characters together and spices it with dashes of humor and sex. Basically, it’s some badass urban fantasy. The second book in the Abby Sinclair series will be out in a few months, but I needed a fix of Abby, Ion and Phin. Luckily, Allison was willing to indulge my questions. . . . → Click here to continue reading Allison Pang Q&A: A Sliver of Shadow, Phin the Unicorn, names and more 4 comments Author Q&A, Urban Fantasy Abby Sinclair, Allison Pang, demons, exclusive, Fae, interview, unicorn, urban fantasy
Katie MacAlister writes about sexy vampires… and sexy dragon shifters… and her characters have a wicked sense of humor. (You quit reading after “sexy vampires,” didn’t you?) I love her sense of humor and her ability to keep the wry wit in her paranormal novels. With her ninth Dark Ones novel Much Ado About Vampires just hitting shelves, it was time to corner the super busy author and get a few details on the latest vampire hero, his conflicted beloved and just what’s next in the series. . . . → Click here to continue reading Katie MacAlister Q&A: Dark Ones, sexy vampires and a dragon fix 4 comments Author Q&A, Paranormal Romance Dark Ones, exclusive, interview, Katie MacAlister, Light Dragons, Paranormal Romance, vampires
Read on to hear Kevin Hearne’s thoughts on friends for Atticus, getting inside Oberon’s mind and what we can expect from Tricked. Oh, and there’s a sweet giveaway at the end. . . . → Click here to continue reading Kevin Hearne Q&A: Mythology, Oberon and Atticus’ hotness (& Giveaway!) 19 comments Author Q&A, Urban Fantasy exclusive, Fall Into Urban Fantasy, giveaway, gods, interview, Iron Druid, Kevin Hearne, urban fantasy
We asked several Blood and Other Cravings contributors to tell us: What draws you to the idea of vampirism and vampires? . . . → Click here to continue reading ‘Blood and Other Cravings’ author roundtable (& Giveaway!) Read on for Jeaniene Frost’s thoughts on what’s off-limits in Night Huntress, ghosts, Vlad and even Mencheres and the BDB hanging out. And, following the Q&A, VBC will be offering up a copy of One Grave at a Time (review coming later this week). . . . → Click here to continue reading Jeaniene Frost Q&A: Ghosts, Witch hunters, Bones and Vlad (& Giveaway!) 113 comments News & Notes, Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy exclusive, Fall Into Urban Fantasy, ghosts, giveaway, interview, Jeaniene Frost, Night Huntress, Night Prince, Paranormal Romance, urban fantasy, vampires
 Author Melissa Marr (Photo Credit: John Marr) There are times when I finish reading a book and can’t stop the questions from bubbling. That’s what happened when I finished reading Melissa Marr’s adult paranormal novel Graveminder. It was creepy, a bit romantic and had a world it was easy to fall into. You can read my spoiler-free review to hear me gush and to enter to win a copy (today’s the last day to enter), but today is a treat because Melissa was kind enough to indulge my questions about wanderlust, the land of the dead and her Graveminder characters. Vampire Book Club: Claysville gives life to the fear of townies everywhere: the inability to leave small towns. Why do you think we fear growing old within our hometowns? Melissa Marr: I don’t think everyone fears it. Lots of people seem perfectly content to sink their roots in and live where they are. Others have wanderlust or the desire to explore. I think that’s the same urge that leads us to new inventions, discoveries, or works of art: the human need to expand our experience. In some people, that expansion can happen without physical movement, but for others, it manifests in the need to depart the familiar physical space. Vampire Book Club: And was it one of your fears growing up? Melissa Marr: Yes, for as long as I can remember, I wanted to go. I still love to move and to travel. The idea of settling back where I grew up—or most anywhere I’ve lived—is a type of terror. I have great memories of everywhere I’ve lived, but I want to move forward so going back or staying still terrifies me. I very intentionally tapped that fear for Bek.
Melissa Marr: I’m fascinated by death lore. One version of the afterlife is that it’s defined by the individual (an idea that I discovered recently that the TV program Supernatural played with in an episode). I took that to the next logical step: what if all of those individual definitions co-existed in a singular space? The landscape becomes informed by the eras of those who populate it, so it is neither x nor y, yet it is simultaneously both of them. Vampire Book Club: One of the things I loved about Graveminder was the slow reveal. We knew slightly more than Rebekkah, but still learned along with her. Was it hard to hold back on the details of the Graveminder/Undertaker relationship? Melissa Marr: Not at all. It’s the same strategy I employ in everything I write. A character can only know what s/he knows. Ideally, a story—and life—is a journey of learning, so when I write I’m trying to stay true to that reality. My YA series, for example, uses different protagonists in different books. Some repeat, of course, but to me, the idea of only hearing one side of any story is akin to only getting to talk to one person. No matter how much I enjoy that voice, I’d get bored—in life or in my writing. Vampire Book Club: I appreciated the dynamic flip of the hero being open with his feelings, while the heroine fled from hers. Why do you think we, as readers, needed to see Byron put all his cards on the table? Click to continue reading Melissa Marr Q&A: Graveminder, wanderlust and the land of the dead
Chris was kind enough to take the time to answer our questions about his patriotically-inclined vampire assassin, creating lizard-human hybrids and how the most evil people usually think they’re working for the Greater Good. Vampire Book Club: For those new to the series, can you tell us how the idea for Nathaniel Cade was born? Chris Farnsworth: In 1867, a young sailor was convicted of killing his crewmates and drinking their blood. The papers called him a vampire. President Andrew Johnson pardoned him for reasons unknown, and he spent the rest of his life in an asylum for the criminally insane. But that’s just the cover story. Nathaniel Cade was actually turned into a vampire and later sworn by a blood oath to serve every President of the United States and to protect the nation against supernatural threats. In over 140 years, he’s gotten pretty good at killing other monsters. Vampire Book Club: Let’s just get it out of the way: How cool was it writing the Snakehead transformations? Seriously. Chris Farnsworth: Honestly, I loved it. It’s the mad scientist in me. I could never hack it as a real scientist — too much work, too much cautious experimentation, way too much math — but I have always loved the idea of mismatching animal parts to form an abomination that would cause disaster if it got into the wrong hands. Vampire Book Club: Cade has the morality one might see as very human, but it’s very clear he’s not one of us. How do you find the balance? Chris Farnsworth: Cade’s morality is entirely self-imposed. There’s very little, even in his oath, that prevents him from doing exactly what he wants. And with his physical and mental advantages, it would be very easy for him to simply sidestep the few constraints he does face. (This is why Dracula is so frigging hard to kill.) But Cade hangs onto his ethical code like grim death precisely because he knows it’s fragile. He may be a monster, but he takes pride in the knowledge he doesn’t have to act like one. Vampire Book Club: For a man with a political background, Cade’s handler Zach can be rather trusting at times. What makes him a good match for Cade? Chris Farnsworth: When I was a reporter, I was often surprised how politics came down to naivete and trust. In most political deals, the only chips you have on the table are your reputation and your word. So trust is integral to being a good politician. We might like to think they’re all lying crooks, but politicians only get to their positions of power by making us believe them. Zach is a product of that world. His knowledge of human nature — how far to push people, when to flatter, when to insult — is essential to Cade because Cade really only has the threat of physical violence as a motivator. Zach is able to persuade people to go along with them because he understands what they want and make it seem like it’s their own idea. Click to continue reading Chris Farnsworth Q&A: Nathaniel Cade, lizard people and the Greater Good 2 comments Author Q&A, Urban Fantasy Chris Farnsworth, exclusive, fantasy, interview, mutants, Nathaniel Cade, vampires
 Author Colleen Gleason Colleen Gleason knows how to merge sexy and scary in her novels. We like that. Today the first in her Regency Draculia series, The Vampire Voss, hits shelves. The first of a rapid release of three novels set in 1800s London featuring dark vampires, lords and ladies, balls, murder and teeming with romance. Tomorrow we’ll post our review of The Vampire Voss, but today Colleen was kind enough to indulge our questions about vampires, balancing seductive and scary and happily ever after for the bad boy and the society girl. Vampire Book Club: There aren’t exactly “good” or “bad” vampires in your novel, but two distinct factions. Can you explain how the two vary and the division? Colleen Gleason: Well, all of the vampires, or, as they call themselves, the Dracule, were personally invited to join the ranks of immortality by Lucifer himself. Each person who accepted, in doing so, for all intents sold his/her soul to the devil. Now that they are living this vampiric life—feeding on humans for their blood, living an immortal life with power and pleasure—there are different perspectives on how to live among their mortal counterparts. There are those who live with no conscience whatsoever, unconcerned with any repercussions, and who take without thought or without care. These vampires feed on their victims until they die, or leave them to die. They haven’t any care for mortals at all.
Vampire Book Club: The Draculia vampires are a tantalizing blend of seductive and scary. Was it hard to balance the two elements? Colleen Gleason: In some ways, no, not really. When one thinks about the kind of person a Dracule would be—someone who was willing to sell his/her soul to the devil for whatever reason (Lucifer is very good at manipulating a person to believe it’s the right decision, of course)—and someone who can live forever, who has power and pleasure beyond the comprehension of us mortals…I think that sort of person can’t help but be scary. After all, they have no reason to care about anyone other than themselves. To balance that scariness, however, is the very element that makes a vampire seductive…not only the ability to enthrall, but also the whole fang-penetration/sexual aspect of his/her life. That penetration in the most erogenous of zones, that taking so intimately, particularly at the hands/fangs of a handsome, confident being….how could one resist? To me, those two sides of the coin are instrumental to my Dracule, and why, in the end, they have to fight for love. Vampire Book Club: What brought about the idea of noble vampires in Regency-era London? Colleen Gleason: Quite honestly, it was my publisher who suggested a sexy, dark vampire series set in Regency London. The idea of the Regency era is very common in romance, and I think the same reasons that attract readers to this time period (the balls, the dance cards, the theater, foggy mysterious London, the manners and of course the brooding dukes and the naughty, rakish viscounts) are also what make a vampire element so compelling. Who doesn’t want to imagine that at a masquerade ball, one of those sexy masked men is really a vampire, waiting to lure an unsuspecting debutante into the corner…where he can remove her gloves and nibble on her wrist? Click to continue reading Colleen Gleason Q&A: Sexy, scary vampires and happily-ever-afters in Regency Draculia  Claudia Gray, author of the Evernight series When we first started Claudia Gray’s Evernight we didn’t know what we were getting into. With the series getting stronger and more complex as it progressed, we found ourselves needing more of Bianca (not a vampire, but very close to them) and Lucas (part of a long line of vampire hunters). The books are engaging and got under our skin. The final novel in the Evernight series hit shelves yesterday, and we can say you’ll be impressed. In our early, spoiler-free review this is how we summed up Afterlife: “Afterlife gives us just what we need: nonstop action, a realistic fight for love and lots of answers. We’re talking why Mrs. Bethany is the like that (oh, you’ll be shocked), why the wraiths wanted Bianca so badly and whether Lucas and Bianca will actually make it.” In our interview, Gray talks about why Bianca and Lucas are right for each other, her love for Mrs. Bethany and assures us that the evil ending of Hourglass was worth it. Vampire Book Club: You gave us a pretty cruel ending Hourglass (Evernight #3). Want to soothe readers by telling them it’ll all be worth it in Afterlife (Evernight #4)? Claudia Gray: It’ll all be worth it! You’ll see. I feel like the series reaches a meaningful conclusion for the romance, the plot and the characters. Of course, I hope readers agree.
Claudia Gray: So glad you enjoyed the surprises! For the most part, I knew where Lucas and Bianca’s story was headed from the get-go — not entirely when I began EVERNIGHT, but by the time I’d finished. There were definitely plot elements that came up to surprise me along the way, but they tended to have more to do with the supporting characters and the ways they influenced Lucas and Bianca’s lives and relationship, rather than the connection those two had with each other. I can actually very clearly remember explaining something about Lucas and Bianca to my friend Catherine in a New York coffee shop, and saying the words, “To him, she’s this perfect, normal girl,” and somehow they just crystallized for me then in a way that has always remained with me. Vampire Book Club: Bianca and Lucas manage to survive after vicious problems are thrown at them repeatedly. Their mindsets are so different sometimes. What makes these two so right for one another? Claudia Gray: I think the fact that they are so different is what makes their relationship work. When EVERNIGHT began, Bianca was shy, easily overwhelmed and far too passive about her life. Lucas, meanwhile, was far too aggressive, very suspicious, very edgy. During their romance, she’s grown braver, stronger and more independent, while he has become gentler, more thoughtful and more able to compromise. My goal was always to show that they helped each other to grow. Vampire Book Club: Speaking of love. Were you ever surprised by the outpouring of Balthazar love? Claudia Gray: No — I love him too! Click to continue reading Claudia Gray Q&A: Afterlife, Balthazar and balance
|
     
   |
|||
|
Copyright © 2012 Vampire Book Club - All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy |
||||
Vampire Book Club: We get to visit the land of the dead in Graveminder. How did you go about developing the visual landscape there?
Chris Farnsworth’s Nathaniel Cade series is a refreshing take on vampires and espionage. In 
And then there is the other sort of perspective—a live and let live mindset. The vampires must have blood to live, but they don’t have to destroy the person on whom they feed, for example in order to do so. Just as we don’t have to butcher the cow to have its milk or cheese, these vampires can live and let live in that sense. They still have a bit of a conscience.
Vampire Book Club: We definitely did. There are some big surprises in Afterlife. Connections we didn’t see coming, big changes, lots of life-or-death – you know, the things we love from you. Did you know where the Lucas and Bianca’s story would go when you began Evernight?
Join the Discussion