Making Out Like A Bandit (In More Ways Than One!)

An guest blog by Virna DePaul with Tawny Weber

Thank you so much to my friend Tawny Weber and all the thap gump for having me here today. With my first debut novel, Chosen By Blood (A Para-Ops Novel) having just released, you can bet I’ve been doing a lot of promotion, and that includes a lot of blog writing. That’s why I hope you’ll indulge me as I do a post that’s a little different, just for fun.


10 Things I Love About The Hero Of My Debut Novel:
1. His name. Knox Devereaux. As sexy, sophisticated, and complex as he is…
2. His body. Actually, both of his bodies. His “normal” one, and the one it transforms into when he’s impassioned (by blood lust or just plain lust).
“Beneath his loose clothing, his muscles hardened and swelled. Knox grew taller, broader, not enough to rip his clothes but enough to make them strain their seams. He felt his fangs lengthen and knew from the sound of Lucy’s gasp that his eyes had shifted from silver to a demonic, glowing scarlet. Control slithered away and a primal growl vibrated in his throat.”
3. His loyalty to his clan.
4. His love for his family.
5. He’s a vampire.
6. His passion for the heroine.
“’There is no us,’ Felicia said sadly.
‘I refuse to accept that.
‘You desire me now, but you’re right—I have limited years on Earth. I need to live those years honoring what I believe. I don’t believe in—in what you’re asking me for. Besides,’ she reasoned desperately, ‘I’m just a passing fancy. When I’m gone, you’ll be glad—’
‘No.’ He growled and pulled her into his arms. She saw the terror that flashed in his eyes. ‘No.’ Before she could stop him, his mouth took hers. And it was exactly as she’d feared it would be.
Devastating.
His mouth took but it also gave. It plundered even as it cherished. His tongue rubbed hers, then retreated, mimicking a different dance and causing the music to swell even louder, until it obliterated everything but the moment.
It was heaven. The kind of heaven one only dreams about, especially when her life has been filled with fear and uncertainty and pain. The kind of heaven that a mortal can’t have.
She wrenched away and backed up, wiping her hand against her lips.
He was breathing roughly, his expression almost desperate. ‘You can’t run from this forever, Felicia.’”
7. His sense of humor.
8. He’s a bad ass.
“Knox returned his attention to Hunt, who not only met his stare head-on, but jerked his chin in challenge. ‘Might as well get it over with now,’ Hunt drawled.
Laughter, a sinister, chilling sound, tickled Knox’s throat.
Oh yeah, he thought.
Things were going to get a whole lot more fun before the day was through.
Knox took three lightning-quick steps toward Hunt, then froze. His nostrils flared as he caught her scent. A second later, he saw the woman standing just behind Hunt.
Felicia. What was she doing—
Before he could complete the thought, a heavy weight slammed into his chest, knocking the air out of him and propelling him off his feet. He didn’t stop until his body slammed into a wall on the other side of the room. Knox hit the ground. Stunned, but immediately moving into a crouch, he blinked as dust and plaster rained down on him, momentarily obstructing his vision. When it cleared, he saw Felicia wrestling with the
werebeast. And then he saw the werebeast shove her down.
With an enraged shout, Knox teleported so fast he caught her before impact. He lowered her, gently but swiftly, then almost instantly wrapped his fingers around Dex Hunt’s throat. Imagining that Hunt’s throat was an aluminum can, Knox squeezed.
Only one thought remained.
Kill the bastard who’d touched Felicia.”
9. His love for his father, the same father that was branded a traitor for telling humans how to kill vampires:
10. Uh, he’s a (Hot) VAMPIRE:
“Felicia grabbed his hand. It was dark out, almost too dark for him to see her, but she wasted no time in cupping her hand around his neck and pulling his head toward her. Not to her lips but to her neck.
‘Drink from me… I feel fine, Knox. I promise.’
He swallowed hard. Felt his mouth watering. “I’ll drink just a little. Just enough to . . .” Without another word, he gave in…Her taste filled his mouth, then his throat, then spread to every part of him…He felt the urge to suck her dry, to drink and drink and drink until every last drop of her was inside him...
Still, he forced himself to slow down, to suck softer, to pull back slightly. He felt his renewed strength, even with the small amount of blood she’d given him. He didn’t want to take too much—
She pushed his head down deeper, whispering for him to take as much as he wanted, and her full acquiescence was too much to fight. He might not need more of her blood, but he wanted it.
He gave himself over to his hunger. Planting his hands on her hips, he rubbed his body against her as he drew on her vein in long, languorous pulls. He lifted his hands to her breasts, cupping them. He felt the strong urge to leave her vein so that he could suck at her nipples.
That’s when he knew he would always be drawn to Felicia for who she was and not what she could give him.
He would always want her more than he wanted her blood.”
Virna DePaul is a former criminal prosecutor whose debut mass market paranormal romantic suspense novel, Chosen By Blood (Book 1 in the Para-Ops series), comes out May 3, 2011 by Berkley Books. In addition, Virna writes contemporary romantic suspense for Harlequin Romantic Suspense (Dangerous To Her, September 2011) and HQN (new series launching April 2012). Virna has also self-published several novels, including "A Vampire's Salvation," "This Magic Moment," and the "Red-Hot Cops" series under the name Ava Meyers. Visit her at www.virnadepaul.com.
Virna is giving away a Para-Ops tote filled chocolate, a Para-Ops mug, sunglasses, and my e-books, A Vampire’s Salvation, a paranormal vampire novella, This Magic Moment, a contemporary romance, and my craft book with Tawny Weber, Love Writing: A Guide To Writing and Getting Your Romance Novel Published (Without Losing Your Perspective, Passion Or Sanity).
Blurb of Chosen By Blood:
United by fate. Bound by desire.
Five years after the Second Civil War ends, humans and Otherborn— humanlike creatures with superhuman DNA—still struggle for peace. To ensure the continued rights of both, the FBI forms a Para-Ops team with a unique set of skills.
Leader of an Otherborn clan, half-breed vampire Knox Devereaux would do anything to find a cure for the anti-vamp vaccine slowly starving his people into extinction. When the FBI contacts him about leading a team of hand-selected Others on a mission to reclaim the stolen antidote, Knox accepts. His new assignment places him in direct contact with Special Agent Felicia Locke, the beautiful human he’s craved since their very first meeting.
In bookstores now and available on www.amazon.com!
Source URL: http://idontwanttobeanythingotherthanme.blogspot.com/search/label/vampire%20romance
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Colleen Gleason Launches New Vampire Series

I'm happy to be hosting Colleen Gleason today to celebrate the release of The Vampire Voss, the first in her new vampire series. Not only have Colleen and I been friends since we both finaled in the Golden Heart in 2003, but I'm a big fan of her work as well.

For those of us who are fans of your Gardella Vampire Chronicles, tell us how your new vampire series, the Regency Draculia, differs.

Both series are set during Regency-era England, with the Gardellas around 1819-1820 and the new series during the Napoleonic War—specifically in 1804.

The biggest differences are in the vampire mythology and also in the structure of the series. The Gardellas are really more of a historical urban fantasy series, following the life—and loves—of one heroine, Victoria Gardella. The books are really all about her as a sort of superhero (a vampire hunter) in a historical time period. There are no “good” vampires in the Gardellas, they aren’t ever the protagonists or heroes/heroines. The vampires are all evil, and meant to be slain.

I took a different tack with the Regency Draculia. These books are definite vampire romances, with a spotlighted hero and heroine in each book and a happy ending for them at the end of each story. There are over-arching subplots and romances—a la Suzanne Brockmann and Eloisa James—but each book does end happily for the main couple.

The mythology of my Draculia vampires is much different from that of the Gardellas as well, for in these books, there are vampires that run the gamut from being totally evil to being vampires with a conscience. The vampires in these books have basically sold their souls to Lucifer, and they are living their immortal lives with this knowledge—and with all of its benefits and repercussions.

One of the things that make my vampires different is that each of them has an Asthenia--a specific weakness.

Like the vampires of legend who recoil at the sight of silver, and who are weakened by its presence, each of my vampires have a similar “Achilles Heel”—in this case, I call it their Asthenia. And for each Dracule, it’s something different. For one, it could be sapphires. For another, it could be an oak tree. For another, it could be grass or horses or rosemary.

After writing the Gardella series, you began writing post-apocalyptic stories as Joss Ware. What brought you back to vampires?

I love to write historical novels (in fact, the Joss Ware series almost feels historical in some ways, due to the lack of infrastructure and limited technology in that world), and when it was suggested that I try my hand at a true vampire romance novel, set in the Regency, I jumped on it. I love that time period, and I’ve come to love my vampires too. ;-) After writing five books with all-evil vampires, it was a fun and interesting challenge to twist my brain a different way and to write about sexy, dark, compelling vampires.

Why do you think vampire stories continue to ride a wave of popularity?

I think there are several reasons, one of which is the aspect of escape. We—or many of us—read for escape, and what better place to escape than to a place where we know it’s not real...and where things are often much darker than they are in our own world.

Another thing, however, that I think makes vampires popular is the environment in which they live: darkness, sensuality, forbiddenness (is that a word?)...all of that makes these characters intriguing and compelling. And there’s the sexual aspect—the penetration, the need, the angst and the reality of what is it like to live forever? Those are all fascinating, titillating aspects of vampire lore, and each author approaches them in a different way.

As a reader, which authors of vampire stories do you enjoy most?

Some of my favorites are Lara Adrian and Jeaniene Frost, but I confess that I don’t read very much in the way of paranormal romances...simply because I write them.

I am a huge Buffy fan, however. ;-)

Tell us a bit about the characters in The Vampire Voss, the first in your new series.

Voss, the Viscount Dewhurst, has been a vampire for a hundred and fifty years. He agreed to sell his soul to Lucifer, and now he has everything he’s ever wanted: immortality, scads of money, imperturbable power, and all the women he can handle. If a man were to live forever with all the power and pleasure and money he ever wanted, I believe he would be just like Voss: Selfish, hedonistic, and, at some point, bored with it all.

Everything is going along just fine—if not becoming a little routine after more than a century of pure hedonism with no negative consequences—until he meets Angelica Woodmore…who is the first woman he finds himself unable to enthrall and seduce.

Angelica is one of three sisters (the eldest of whom is featured in the second book in the series, The Vampire Dimitri) who has a bit of the “Sight”, courtesy of their half-Gypsy grandmother. She becomes a pawn in a struggle between two factions of vampires (if I may....the “good” vampires versus the “bad” vampires).

Because of who he is, Voss is studiously neutral in this struggle—playing both sides—because he wants to use Angelica’s powers for his own protection. And Angelica is terrified of vampires.

So...you can see where this is going. ;-)

And then add in all of the aspects we love about Regency romance: the balls, the dance cards, the manners and repartee, the powerful, rakish viscounts and the bored, brooding earls...and you’ve got a good feel for the series.

Also, there are two more books in the series, coming in early May and early June: In The Vampire Dimitri, we meet a tortured, brooding vampire who has come to strongly regret his bargain with Lucifer and who is trying, in vain, to break that bond. Too bad the woman he falls for is fascinated by his Draculean bent. And in The Vampire Narcise, we meet a damaged female vampire who believes that love isn’t for immortals—because nothing can last forever, especially for someone whose soul is not their own.

Thanks so much for having me here! I’m going to give away a copy of the second book in the series, The Vampire Dimitri, to a commenter today.

To enter to win, either ask me a relevant question about the series or writing, etc., and/or tell me...if you were a Dracule, what would your Asthenia be?
~~~
Thanks, Colleen. Can't wait to start this new series. You know how anxious I was to get my hands on each new Gardella book.

So, get to commenting, folks. :) There's a great new book up for grabs.Source URL: http://idontwanttobeanythingotherthanme.blogspot.com/search/label/vampire%20romance
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