A warm Love Bytes welcome to author Shira Anthony rejoining us here @ our blog this time for her Blog tour for her new release Blood and Ghosts!
Shira talks to us about the Vampire universe and also brings with her a wonderful giveaway!
Welcome Shira 🙂
Blood and Ghosts (Blood #2) Blog Tour
April 20th – May 1st
Shira Anthony
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Thanks for hosting the Blood and Ghosts Blog Tour today. After you’re done reading, be sure to enter the Blood and Ghosts Blog Tour giveaway! Details are below.
Creating any universe in a story, regardless of genre, always presents both challenges and rewards. When you think about it, you’ll realize even contemporary stories require some world creation, or what writers call “world building” so that readers can understand why the characters do what they do. Because in the end, it’s really all about characters!
I’ve written fantasy before. In my Mermen of Ea Series, I really did create a brand-new, Earth-like universe where shifter mermen exist. But writing the Blood Series, and in particular Blood and Rain (Blood #1), I faced some particular challenges that seem to be part and parcel of writing vampires.
Why is it challenging and rewarding to create a vampire universe? Two reasons, in particular. First, readers are familiar with vampires and vampire lore. Second, readers are familiar with vampires and vampire lore. No, I didn’t make a mistake in writing that last bit! The challenges are the same as the benefits. Let me explain….
Readers know vampires. Or at least, they know them from the books they’ve read in the past. Which means they may expect vampire books to have certain elements. There are so many vampire myths in existing vampire lore: blood as food, immortality, sensitivity to light, undead/living creatures, sexuality, power. I could go on, but you get what I’m saying.
When someone says “vampires,” chances are you think of one or more of these things. Those familiar themes make readers like vampires (or hate them, I suppose). And to some extent, readers want familiar themes because they’re comfortable. But the flip side of this is that if you write a new vampire story with all of the familiar elements, your readers may get bored. Readers are looking for more than just the old vampires they’ve been reading.
It’s all about the balance. Truly. Each author needs to work to strike the balance of familiar and new/original in their vampire stories. And that’s where both the challenge and reward to me as a writer come in.
In the Blood Series, you’ll learn that vampires are essentially immortal because they live extraordinarily long lives. On the other hand, my vampires are not “undead.” They are very much living, breathing creatures. And they don’t have any issues with sunlight. Yes, they crave human blood and they struggle with control of their urge for blood. My vampires can mate and have children. Vampires can be born or created. Born vampires, or “ancient” vampires, are the most powerful and are a sort of vampire royalty. Some of the ancient vampires intermarried with humans, and created quasi-humans who become vampire hunters. The hunters are long-lived, but not immortal. Hunters can become immortal, however, with the help of an ancient vampire. Hunters can also become vampires in the same way a normal human would.
Building upon old vampire lore and creating my own new lore makes for such a fun universe to play in! I love mixing old and new, and the interplay between the hunters and the hunter makes this series so much for me to write. There are old dilemmas, such as whether to drink human blood or abstain. There are new dilemmas to be discovered in the interplay between the hunters and the vampires.
I hope you’ll enjoy the universe in Blood and Ghosts! I sure enjoyed writing it. -Shira
Blood and Ghosts Blog Tour Giveaway:
Enter to win a Blood Series prize basket including a Dr. Who Wibbly Wobbly Timey Wimey Pendant, a paperback copy of Blood and Rain, and a Blood Series pen.
Link to Rafflecopter giveaway: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/cf0ba94911/?
Blurb:
Sequel to Blood and Rain/Blood: Book Two
With vampire Nicolas Lambert’s marriage to a rival clanswoman only weeks away, Adrien Gilbert struggles to come to terms with his defeat at the hands of Verel Pelletier, a vampire hunter and an immortal like himself. Adrien and his former teacher, Roland Günter, begin to explore his newly acquired abilities. But without his soul’s sword, Adrien flounders.
On Nicolas’s wedding day, a two-hundred-year old secret is revealed, sending the wedding party into a blazing battle between hunters and vampires. Once again Adrien finds himself facing Pelletier’s superior strength. Just as Adrien believes all hope of a future with Nicolas is lost, he finally learns his true gift—he can turn back time. But time travel comes with a high cost. To save Nicolas, Adrien must become strong enough to use his power without descending into madness.
You can purchase the Blood Series here:
Shira Anthony is a complete sucker for a happily-ever-after, and rarely reads or writes a story without one. Never a fan of instalove, Shira likes to write stories about real men with real issues making real relationships work. In her last incarnation, Shira was a professional opera singer, performing roles in such operas as “Tosca,” “Pagliacci,” and “La Traviata,” among others. Her Blue Notes Series is loosely based upon her own experiences as a professional musician. Shira is married with two children and two insane dogs and when she’s not writing, she is usually in a courtroom trying to make the world safer for children. When she’s not working, she can be found aboard a 36’ catamaran at the Carolina coast with her favorite sexy captain at the wheel. She’s given up TV for evenings spent with her laptop, and she never goes anywhere without a pile of unread M/M romance on her Kindle. Interested in hearing Shira sing? Here’s a link to a live performance of Shira singing an aria from Puccini’s “Tosca”: http://www.shiraanthony.com/wp-conten… You can subscribe to Shira’s monthly newsletter for updates, free fiction, and subscriber-only contests here: http://www.shiraanthony.com/newsletter/
Shira can be found on Facebook, Goodreads, Twitter (@WriterShira) or on her web site, http://www.shiraanthony.com. You can also contact her at shiraanthony@hotmail.com. You can find all of Shira’s books at Dreamspinner Press, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and All Romance Ebooks.
Blood and Ghosts Blog Tour Participants:
April 20th – Prism Book Alliance
April 21st – Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words
April 22nd – My Fiction Nook
April 23rd – Love Bytes
April 24th – MM Good Book Reviews
April 25th – Andrew Q. Gordon (The Land of Make Believe)
April 26th – Aisling Mancy
April 27th – Bike Book Reviews
April 28th – Charlie Cochet
April 29th – Hearts on Fire Book Reviews
April 30th – Kim Fielding
I really liked the first book in the series and looking forward to read the next one
So eager to read this!
Looking forward to reading this series. I need to catch up!