Artist/Author Angi Shearstone Draws Power from Vampires!

I’m really excited because today I’m talking with Angi Shearstone, an award-winning professional with an MFA in comics, a trio of cats, geek tendencies and a fondness for ska-core. With 18 years of professional art experience, she’s worked with many professionals in several art industries. She continues work on BloodDreams as she further refines her video editing skills.

Vampire Explored: First of all, I’d like to welcome you to Vampire Explored. Tell us a little about yourself. Tell us about your background.

Ms. Shearstone: Thank you!  It’s an honor to be featured here on Vampire Explored and a pleasure to be interviewed! I am currently living in North Carolina, in the Research Triangle Park area, which is more or less Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill.  I am not originally from here, though, I lived most of my life in Connecticut, where I grew up and did my undergraduate work in Illustration at the University of Hartford. I left Connecticut about 10 years ago to get my MFA in Sequential Art at the Savannah College of Art & Design.  In the in-betweens I have been a graphic artist, working as a designer and illustrator for a variety of companies and industries, with most of the experience in publishing.

VE: Who are your favorite authors? Your favorite artists?

Ms. Shearstone:  My favorite authors are a mix of book authors and comic writers.  Douglas Adams, Warren Ellis, Garth Ennis, Terry Brooks, Neil Gaiman.  My favorite artists include Monet, John Singer Sargent, …  My favorite comic artists are George Pratt, Scott Hampton, Kent Williams, Bill Sinkiewicz, J Muth, Dave McKeah, oh, and so many more.

VE: You’re writing and drawing a vampire comic book series. What attracts you to the paranormal genre?

Ms. Shearstone:  I’m attracted to the element of the unknown. I think people are drawn in by things we don’t have the facts on, just myths and hypotheses, and that engages a curiosity in the brain, maybe.  The paranormal definitely allows for more creativity than having to write strictly in the “real world.”

VE: What made you want to do a vampire comic book with such a cool 1970’s punk twist?

Ms. Shearstone:  It’s a combination of my passions and interests.  When I first started working on BloodDreams (an almost embarrassing number of years ago), I was re-discovering my love of punk rock.  I couldn’t help but smoosh the two together to see what might come out of it.

VE: Can you share the experience of working with Kickstarter to raise funding for your comic book publishing efforts?

Ms. Shearstone:  Kickstarter was great, I found out about the site at just the right time. I found it pretty easy to use, too.  You submit your project first to see if they’ll “approve” you – I guess this is done to weed out the “gimme money ‘cuz I want you to” types that might show up on these things – to show you’ve really got something going on. They were friendly and helpful, seemed pretty enthusiastic about the project and supportive to see me get it rolling. The hardest part was getting the video done in a timely manner – I had set a mental deadline and really wanted to stick to it, so I didn’t have time to go all perfectionist with the video.  Then once the project’s up, you’ve got to be ready to shout about it though, you’ve got to attract some attention yourself.  I’ve seen “reviews” where people complain about that, with a “why don’t I just ask my friends directly and skip Kickstarter?”  My answer to that is there’s a “for real” effect in using something like Kickstarter, some accountability that’s more visible … as well as the potential to be found randomly by people you don’t know.  It helps to have a deadline and to be encouraged to provide rewards.  Plus it makes for something great to talk about!  In my opinion, it sounds more impressive to say “I raised $5000 on Kickstarter” than “I borrowed money from my friends and family.”

VE: Tell us about the BloodDreams story.

Ms. Shearstone: BloodDreams is a vampire story where good and evil has little to do with who drinks blood and who doesn’t.  It’s the sprouting of seeds that were planted in my head about 15 years ago, that I always knew would come to light, I just needed to spend some time refining my vision for the project.  It’s inspired by the fully painted comic work of George Pratt, Scott Hampton, Dave McKean, etc… as well as by the comics I’ve read, darker comics like HellBlazer, Sandman, Books of Magic and the like, and as such is geared towards a more mature audience.The synopsis goes like this:

After years of screwing up, Jonny has finally found himself on the brink of pulling his young life together.  Unfortunately, his talent and energies have been drawing attention from a world of which few know and even fewer speak. Like most everyone, Jonny has no idea vampires even exist until he finds himself dead at the hands of one, how could he possibly have known that he’s also a very good candidate to become one? 

As Jonny stumbles clumsily into and through his first hours of unlife with little recollection and even less knowledge of the evening’s events, he cluelessly broadcasts his new condition to vampires and vampire hunters alike.  Very unfortunately, he specifically attracts the notice of some hunters belonging to the organization largely responsible for pushing vampire-kind into near extinction, ironically out tracking the vampire who kills him.

As his friends debate whether he’s just falling back into old habits, lady luck at least casts a quick glance his way: Rather than seeing evidence of something inhuman, most everyone else just blames his odd behavior on injuries and drugs. Tensions surge between rival vampire factions as they cross paths, vying for control over the situation, scrambling to cover track in Jonny’s wake and in his path to keep anything worse from happening to him or anyone else.

Follow Jonny’s reluctant but inescapable descent into a dark world of intrigue, as he tries to find a new purpose, a new balance all over again, ultimately revealing himself as remarkable even among the extraordinary.

VE: What is your favorite scene in the comic book and why?

Ms. Shearstone:  I can think of two.  I like the quiet scene with Jonny and Ginny in bed, and then I also like the 2-page spread of Marion actually killing him – I had fun painting that one. I guess it’s because they’re the two strongest emotional scenes, on opposite ends of the spectrum.  I spend some time trying to develop just the right emotional environment, just the right dialog, timing, lighting, and angles to create just the flow of story that I have in my head.  Those scenes feel pivotal to me in laying out the main character’s perspective for the rest of the story arc.

Oh, and I’m fond of the two pages featuring Henry.  He’s a fun character and it was fun filling in his home environment with all his stuff, I’m looking forward to when he’s a more prominent part of the story and part of the action.

VE: Would you like to share an excerpt or a few comic book frames with out readers?

Ms. Shearstone:  Yes!  Check it out!

VE: Tell us a little about your future plans for the BloodDreams series.

Ms. Shearstone:  I am working pretty diligently on the second issue right now.  I originally had a goal of having it done this fall, but Some Things have come up and delayed things — unfortunately they’re the sort of Some Things that I can’t quite talk about yet.  But while this stuff has had some immediate impact on getting the second issue done, once I’m over the speed bumps, everything should allow more time for me to get BloodDreams done much more quickly.  I intend to publish at least 6 issues total, which covers the first story arc that introduces the main characters and the whole world, setting the stage while still being a story in and of itself.  If I can get that to fly, I have a lot of ideas, a long-term plot that would take, and I’m guessing here, 60-80 comic book issues to complete the whole story. It’s really pretty epic.  The word “magnum opus” gets thrown around a lot when I’m asked about the project.

VE: And finally … Can you tell us about some of your other artwork?

Ms. Shearstone:  Oh, yes!  I just love to paint.  I have been a serious watercolorist for about 20 years now, but also do oils & acrylics.  While much of my other work is very illustration-oriented, I do still enjoy painting for the sake of painting, still-lives, landscapes and portraits.  When I was at SCAD, I took a course in Chinese brush painting and just fell in love with it, and you can see some of that work at www.angishearstone.com.  More recently I started to combine that technique with cats (just smooshing together things that I love again!), just to have some fun with it.  I like doing art shows, but I haven’t had much time in the past few years.  Outside of my day-job, I’ve been trying to focus primarily on BloodDreams.

Thanks so much for chatting with us Angi! Everyone, PLEASE be sure to pop over to Kickstarter at www.kickstarter.com/projects/1621152470/blooddreams and show some support for Angi’s fantastic efforts!

Angi’s Website Links:

www.blooddreams.com - only features BloodDreams

www.paintedcomics.com  – features more of Angi’s sequential art

www.angishearstone.com - features Angi’s fine art, illustration, Chinese brush painting, and design

Author Blog Link:

www.paintedcomics.com/painttalk

(Watch for Angi’s new blog/podcast called “I’d Rather Be Painting” coming Dec 2011/ Jan 2012 … watch for other oddness coming soon at: http://damn-thing.com)

Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/comics.grrl
http://www.facebook.com/pages/BloodDreams/105222446222659

Twitter:

http://twitter.com/comics_grrl

http://twitter.com/blood_dreams

Vampire Explored is a blog by Deborah Riley-Magnus, author of “Cold in California”, first in the Twice-Baked Vampire Series!

Urban Fantasy – The Character of Environment

Readers and writers know all about characters – that they require fleshing out and development, names and backgrounds, personalities, strengths and weaknesses. Readers become attached to the mental image of what that character must look like and how his or her voice might sounds. But there’s more to it than that. More than the description of hair color or warts, more than the story … more than the era or genre.

There’s the environment. And I’m not talking about a little rain or maybe a vague description of a fictitious city here, I’m talking ENVIRONMENT on steroids!

Take Twilight. All that thick cloudy gloom of the Pacific Northwest combines to create a total package for Bella and her experiences. It does more than serve as a literary tool to permit vampires not to sparkle so much as to be recognized, it sets the mood. Now skip over to Charlain Harris’s Dead Until Dark (True Blood). The environment in this series is painted by poor and lower middle class Northern Louisiana. The prolific environment there is the sordid haze of southern prejudice and bigotry.

Environment tells more of the story than plot or characters! Ask any reader about a story they loved and the answer will include everything from location to weather and cultural influence, perhaps before even one character is mentioned. It’s the careful setting of the stage that makes the difference.

In my book, Cold in California, I was determined to make the environment a character in and of itself. Yes, California is the clothing this character wears, but the true environment is the warehouse where 60 or so dead and double-dead supernatural creatures live together. There, secretly hidden in West Hollywood, they try to find ways to behave themselves so they can take advantage of their one last chance to earn heaven. It’s about redemption in a city knee deep in anything but redemption. The warehouse needed to be a canvas for these creatures. It’s not exactly “the island of misfit toys’, it’s more like the Murphy’s Law pathway to the Pearly Gates. This environment needed to do two distinct things. First, the warehouse had to create a safe environment for dead supernaturals to be themselves, and second, it had to be real-world recognized for what it is, a holding tank for the world’s incorrigibles.

The space wanted to feel scrapped together with furniture left on the street for trash pick-up. It needed a system that reminded readers of the unemployment or social security office. And it had to serve every kind of race that might end up there, even Stick Man who is 12 feet tall, so he has a double-wide room where he sleeps on two beds head to head. The warehouse is bricked with history no one knows or wants to know. It has secret areas where the head honcho – like Crudo, the troll in charge – can find a few hours of peace and quiet when he wants. This warehouse makes love to it’s inmates by providing everything each one needs, high walls for one character’s vast collection of murder mystery books, dark corners for the double-dead vampires to lurk and meet and squabble within. Private places for pixie/leprechaun (uh-hem) interaction and a door that closes so that loner and soon-to-be hero, twice-baked vampire Gabriel Strickland, can sulk and bemoan his situation, at least in the beginning.

The warehouse keeps secrets and exposes treachery. It provides safety and yet is extremely vulnerable. It breathes with a life of its own. And it does all that without one line of dialogue or one action. Now, how’s that for a stellar character?

What book environments have impressed you most as you read or wrote them?

Vampire Explored is a blog by Deborah Riley-Magnus, author of “Cold in California”, first in the Twice-Baked Vampire Series!

In author Deborah McNemar’s fun filled fantasy, Faery Tail, no matter how magical, no one is perfect. From a caffeine addiction to a pixie with ADHD, the characters might be faeries but being quirky and supernatural doesn’t make life any less difficult.

Author Kari Thomas … Sexy Paranormal Cop in the House!

Today we’re talking with Kari Thomas, a multi published author writing in the Paranormal Romance genre. She’s also a Freelance Editor and a Reviewer for several major publishing houses.

Vampire Explored: First of all, I’d like to welcome you to Vampire Explored. Tell us a little about yourself. Tell us about your background.

Ms. Thomas: THANKS so much for having me here, Deborah. I love visiting your Blog. I live in the Southwest but I’m originally from Florida. Every time I get homesick I just remind myself about the hurricanes – and I begin to appreciate the desert all over again! I’m a multi published author and I love writing in the Paranormal Romance genre.

VE: Who are your favorite authors?

Ms. Thomas: OMG, too many to name! A few off the top of my head are Christine Feehan, Lora Leigh, Lori Foster, Shannon McKenna, and the list goes on! There are so MANY great authors out there and as a confessed Book-A-Holic I’ve probably read all of them!

VE: You write Paranormal Romance with a big focus on shape-shifters. What attracts you to the paranormal subgenre?

Ms. Thomas: I love the limitless possibilities I can create in the paranormal world. You can make up your own rules.  As someone with a very active imagination, it helps having the ‘no rules’ field! And I love shapeshifters! How sexy can a guy get when he shows not only his all-too-male side of his nature BUT also his primal side?

VE: Does the way you personally look at life reflect in your writing style?

Ms. Thomas: I think so. I believe Love is the greatest gift of all, and I try to make sure that comes across in my books. There may be sacrifices, losses, heartache, but Love does triumph no matter what. I’m a firm believer in that.

VE: What concepts or situations about your books make them so unique?

Ms. Thomas: I’ve been told that my characters are all unique and that the emotional aspects of my stories are unforgettable. My second book, Her Heart His Soul had a very unique hero. Drake is half Angel and half Demon. When this book came out, there weren’t alot of “angel hero” stories out there, so it was something new. I try to make sure that each of my characters is different from the norm in the paranormal genre.

VE: Tell us about your most recent release, Sloan’s Witch. What was your inspiration for this book?

Ms. Thomas: The characters are from my last book, Spell-Kissed. Sloan is the brother of the hero in “Spell-Kissed”, and Kassidy is the witch they met in the parallel world they transported to. I had so many readers asking for Sloan and Kassidy’s love story — but I couldn’t fit a full-length book into my schedule so I decided to do a Short. Since it turned out to be under 7,000 words I decided to Self Publish it.

VE: What is your favorite scene from the book and why?

Ms. Thomas: I love the part where Sloan is fighting his decision to keep Kassidy out of his life.  Poor Sloan is trying to be tough and make the sacrifice to let Kassidy return to her own world — and it shows his vulnerable side as well as his tough side. And the beginning is a favorite scene too –it really sets the atmosphere for the entire story.

VE: Would you like to share an excerpt with our readers?

Ms. Thomas:     

“Well, if that’s what it takes,” Sloan said in a near growl, “Then we have to think of another way.”

         Kassidy choked on the rising emotion in her throat. She jerked her head up and their gazes once again locked. His blue eyes were dark with an emotion she was afraid to try and decipher. Her entire body pulsed in a purely feminine reaction and she tried unsuccessfully to repress it. She was so attuned to this man she knew instantly when he sensed her reaction. His eyes narrowed, a gleam of heat shining, and his sensual mouth curved into a tiny smile. She nearly lost her breath. All this time of being around him and she was just now realizing that he might have feelings for her…just as she did for him. It was too much to take in, especially with the threat now facing them.

         “Maybe I can call on the powers of my ancestors,” Briana suggested.

         Hunter immediately shook his head. “I’d rather you didn’t do any spells, sweetheart. We’re in enough trouble right now.”

         Briana huffed at him. “Sloan can be my anchor. I’ll be fine. What could go wrong?”

         “Hunter beating the crap out of me for touching you again,” Sloan muttered. “What are our other options? Can this thing be destroyed?”

         Kassidy shook her head. “I don’t think so. It’s already ‘dead’, being from the afterlife. It’s almost as though it’s ‘death personified’; you saw what it did to the garden.”

         “Why the garden?” Sloan stood up to pace, his ‘cop mode’ in full force. “Was that particularly malicious or the garden just happen to be there?”

         “That’s right. When Sloan and I first saw it, it was actually just hovering in front of the garden gate. Almost as if it was hesitating. Then, it went in and the destruction started. That has to mean something.” Hunter joined his brother in the pacing.

         “Talking to this thing is out of the question, right?” Sloan glanced at Kassidy.

         “I’ve never got close. It’s been terrifying enough just knowing it was my shadow every moment.” She couldn’t even begin to tell them about all the horrifying moments she watched the shade’s actions knowing she couldn’t do a thing about it.

         Sloan glanced out at the approaching evening. “Where does it go when it’s not right on your heels?”

         Kassidy couldn’t look at them. “Actually, it’s here. It just goes invisible when it’s not ‘death touching’ something…or someone.”

VE: Tell us a little about your other books.

Ms. Thomas: TEMPTATION UNLEASHED was my first baby. The hero is a Cougar Shapeshifter and falls in love with his enemy —a witch. They share a precious niece who is half shifter and half witch and both of them want custody. HUNTED MATE has a hero who is a Lion Shifter and is given the task of protecting the intended mate of a wolf prince. He falls in love with her, but knows he has to hand her over to the prince. HER HEART HIS SOUL has an half Angel, half Demon who fights both sides of his nature, knowing that he can never have the woman he loves. PREY FOR THE WOLF has a too-sexy, very Alpha Wolf Shifter who sets his prey sites on his brother’s Fiancé.  SEDUCING THE HERO has a human hero who takes on the task of protecting a witch while a stalker tries to kill her. This one has a lot of humor. SPELL-KISSED has a human hero too, a cop who doesn’t believe in witches until he falls in love with one. UNDER A SHIFTER’S MOON is my favorite, the “Book-of-my-Heart” story. Alpah Jaguar Shifter Lyon has to make a decision that will either destroy his entire Pride –or cause him to lose the woman he knows is his Truemate.  Either choice will cost Kitlene her life. This one is full of emotional tension as well as non stop sexual tension and readers have said it’s a “roller coaster ride” that they would read over again. My last book, SURRENDER HER TOUCH is due out Dec 7. I don’t have the Cover yet, but should have it updated to my site soon. The hero in this one is different from my other Shifters, as he is a Dragon Shapeshifter. I wanted to try something different and I’m hoping my readers will love Slade as much as I do.

VE: Finally… If you could tell us one thing about Paranormal Romance genre that makes your mind spin with ideas, what would that be?

Ms. Thomas: NO rules! LOL!

Thanks so much for chatting with us, KAri! And thank you for the FREE copy of your book for us to giveaway!

All you need to do for a chance to win a FREE copy of Sloan’s Witch by Kari Thomas is post a comment. A winner will be chosen by Wednesday, October 12, 2011. Good luck everyone!

Kari’s Website Link:

www.authorkari.com

Link to where Kari’s book(s) can be purchased:

Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Sloans-Witch-ebook/dp/B005I6BJYW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1313855869&sr=8-1

Barnes and Noble Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1105160529?ean=2940013072404&itm=1&usri=sloan%2bs%2bwitch

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/82702  

ARe: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-sloan039switch-599464-172.html

 

Vampire Explored is a blog by Deborah Riley-Magnus, author of “Cold in California”, first in the Twice-Baked Vampire Series!

Supernatural Characters – What’s in a Name?

Where were we? Vampires werewolves and trolls, oh my! Here at Vampire Explored we talk about where the paranormal ideas come from and where they go. What they mean and what they don’t mean.

So … let’s play the name game.

What’s in a character name that makes it memorable? Where do these names come from? Do they mean something or are they hard to come up with? Considering the fact that most authors have their own ways of developing character names, I can only speak for myself. Hopefully this is interesting and informative, but also gives you a few laughs. I’m going to do a run through of each of my character names in Cold in California, how they came to me and why I used them. Here goes.

GABRIEL STRICKLAND – Hero, twice-baked vampire, loner and skeptic. Gabriel’s name came from the obvious places – my life and heaven. Since the double dead vampire was given a second chance to earn a ticket through the Pearly Gates, I thought it might be nice to have the same name as the gatekeeper. It might (and I stress might) give him a leg up when the time comes. His last name came to me because I liked the hard and soft sound of it. Strickland seemed to encompass all of Gabriel’s personality traits and flaws.

CRUDO CUSHMAN – Crudo is the troll in charge of the secret West Hollywood warehouse where Gabriel must live out his purgatory. The place is crowded with dead supernaturals and Crudo cares (grudgingly) about all the inmates. He definitely wants them to earn their way into heaven, but he’s no pushover, he knows trouble when he sees it. Where did his name come from? No clue. I think he just told me as I began writing him. But think about it … a troll, five foot nothing, swarthy and gruff. What else would his name be?

PETE MALONEY – With so many dead and double-dead supernatural races coping with having to suddenly behave themselves and be good enough to make the grade, Crudo needed some help. Pete Maloney (all around nice guy and demised werewolf) came to me in a dream. He was big and  warm, kinda like everyone’s favorite Uncle Pete so that’s where his first name came from. After that I discovered that inside my head, every time I wrote his dialogue he had a slight Irish brogue. He’s goodhearted, funny, a great friend and support for Crudo. Oh, and Pete has no designs on the big responsibilities. He likes being number two. It suits him just fine.

SHIRLEY – Oh, dead pixie Shirley only goes by one name. She’s the Cher of the warehouse, hot, sexy and insatiable. She’s a gorgeous supernatural woman pretty much living in the middle of an ongoing “squirrel moment”. Self absorbed but sweet, Shirley has an impact on just about everything and everyone at the warehouse. She got her name because I loved the fact that Crudo liked to call her “Shirley Girly” … that and “Trouble”.

NATHAN COOK – How does evil look to most readers? Ugly? Demonic? Nope, startlingly beautiful. I needed a villain that took a reader’s breath away but he too needed a few little distracting flaws. What he had in looks, he certainly wouldn’t have in savvy. Nathan is a bit of an egotistical jerk, the kind of man who as a kid, never got picked for the baseball team, the one who didn’t realize he was walking around with a “kick me” sign on his back or toilet paper on his shoe. As an adult his striking good looks and dark witchcraft put him into a league of his own, so who cared about not being popular, he was powerful. So, his name had to be powerful too. It had to be a name that never politely asked for what he wanted, it demanded.

DORI GALLAGHER – I never met a Dori, much less a Dorianna and when Dori formed in my imagination, I wanted the perfect name for Gabriel to want to roll off his tongue. Dori’s not too pretty or special, in fact, I was really focused on her imperfections that would attract Gabriel. I wanted her to have a name that stood out but not so much it demanded attention. I wanted a name for this woman that told her story … and that’s something shocking you don’t learn until the very last few pages of the book.

And two more for good measure …

FEEVER CLOVELY – Feever Clovely is a dead leprechaun. In my imagining, leprechauns are conniving, grumbling, unhappy beings who are always taking a political stand of some kind. Feever is the head of the West Hollywood Warehouse Leprechaun’s Union and he’s always looking to picket something. Where did his name come from? I have no idea, it was just there the minute he arrived in my head. If you run into a leprechaun one day, maybe ask if it’s a common Lep name.

DON CARSON – Both Feever Clovely, the dead leprechaun and Don Carson, ancient Soul Eater, are small players in Cold in California, but I wanted to touch on their characters and names because both play a huge role in the second book in The Twice Baked Vampire Series, Monkey Jump.  A Soul Eater is immortal, sort of. He serves a Sin Eater. How did this particular Soul Eater get his name? Well … he reminded me of a former boss of mine. Not that the boss was a soul eater, but he was brilliant, a company man who played by the rules and seriously competitive. My Soul Eater needed a contemporary name because he’s always around, trying to do his job. A simple name like Don fit the bill. He seems to like it.

So … there ya go. Character names and where they come from. If you’re a reader, is this what you expected? If you’re a writer, share how you find names for your characters too. Either way, please give a shout and comment! I’d love to hear your thoughts!

AND THE WINNER IS … A few weeks ago I asked for your comments and paranormal urban fantasy reading recommendation and I promised that someone would win a free copy of my own urban fantasy, Cold in California. Well the winner is, Nya Rawlyns! Thanks so much for all of the fantastic recommendations! I’ve got my reading list set for the entire winter!

Vampire Explored is a blog by Deborah Riley-Magnus, author of “Cold in California”, first in the Twice-Baked Vampire Series!

 

In her book Night Walkers, Lisa Kessler explains that Night Walkers are immortal blood drinkers like vampires, but they’re also connected to their spirit animal and can shift into that animal at will.  They’re descended from the Mayans instead of the traditional European Transylvania vampire.

Author Eisley Jacob’s Talks Dragons, Humans and Middle Grade Supernatural Adventure

Author Eisley Jacobs lives in Denver, Colorado with her three children and husband. She actively writes the characters that stroll through her head in efforts to keep the voices quiet. And it’s working.

Vampire Explored: First of all, I’d like to welcome you to Vampire Explored. Tell us a little about yourself. Tell us about your background and life in Denver.

Ms. Jacobs: Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity to connect with the readers of Vampire Explored. I’m Eisley Jacobs, Denver area homeschooling mom of three and wife to a software engineer. I’ve been keeping the voices in my head quiet for about nine years by writing their stories for others to read. When that doesn’t work, I just play really loud music in hopes to drown them out.

VE: Who are your favorite authors?

Ms. Jacobs: C.S. Lewis is by far my favorite author of all time. However, in the event I’ve read all there is to read from Lewis, Frances Hodgson Burnett always makes me feel like a princess in a big fancy secret place.

VE: You write both Young Adult and Middle Grade books. What attracts you to these audiences and the supernatural genre?

Ms. Jacobs: This family loves to read together, so YA and MG is the perfect genre for all of us. At first I wrote solely just YA (Which is funny, since MG was published first… *shifty eyes*). But when you have children who want to read what you write and want to get excited about something, they win. So when Deglan and Meia (the main characters from Born to be a Dragon) came strolling through my head, I wrote the first chapter and shared it with them immediately. They were hooked and were asking every day for more. So, I wrote it, and they were my first beta readers.

VE: Does the way you personally look at life reflect in your writing style?

Ms. Jacobs: Yes, a resounding yes! I try to train my kids up in a way that reflects our beliefs and morals and I refuse to write otherwise. My children are growing up with these characters and I want them to see themselves reflected in the situations each go through, but come out on the other side victorious in more ways than a win, if that makes any sense.

VE: What concept or situation about your Middle Grade book makes it so unique?

Ms. Jacobs: Having a ten-year-old male dragon as a main character with an alternating point of view of the ten-year-old human girl makes the adventure very unique. It gives the middle grade reader a chance to not only jump in the head of a dragon, but also into a foster child who believes dragons are real.

VE: Tell us about Born to be a Dragon. What was your inspiration for this book?

Ms. Jacobs: Inspiration comes in many forms, but my children have always been my driving force to create an adventure I could share with them from beginning to end.

VE: What is your favorite scene from the book and why?

Ms. Jacobs: Hands down my favorite scene comes in the first pages of the book when Deglan is teaching his friend Carik how to skip a rock. It’s a silly scene, but when I watch little boys (ages 8-10) read this part (and I have gotten the chance to see it several times) they all do the same thing. They get up and pretend they have a rock in their hand and whip their arms. It’s awesome. It’s classic boy. It’s my favorite scene because of this reason. Now, there are many scenes I loved writing, but this one just holds a special place in my heart.

VE: Would you like to share an excerpt with our readers?

Ms. Jacobs: Ahh! How about this scene?

I swung the rock in my paw, skipping it over the waves rolling into the white sandy shore. Clouds bubbled like boiling water over the horizon to the west, where a storm brewed, pushing its way through the seas, forcing its wrath to Teken Island.

My best friend Carik joined me on the banks of the shore. He lifted his gray arm, trying to mimic my throw, but forgot to let go and ended up tossing his rock into the trees behind us.

“What do you think it means?” He’d watched me staring at the mark on my arm. He was the one dragon who knew it was morphing.

“I don’t know, Carik. What if I’m that dragon?”

The words pinged in my head like the rock I’d skipped across the water. Rumors surfaced that Lord Edric was looking for the dragon from the legend. During each ten-year Rising Ceremony he checks marks and banishes the ones he thinks fit the legend’s description. My tenth year celebration was coming, which meant I couldn’t hide my mark any longer. He would find it under the lunar eclipse.

Then what? Would he banish my family and me? Or worse?

I couldn’t let that happen.

“What are the chances, Deglan?” Carik chucked another rock. It went forward and sunk like a dead weight between the foamy waves.

“I know the chances are small, but what if? I can’t just walk into the ceremony unprepared,” I said, skipping another rock with ease.

Carik gave his head a frustrated shake. “Well yeah, but I still think you’re overreacting. When’s the last time it changed?”

I looked at my arm and groaned. “Two minutes ago.”

“Are you serious?” He pulled my arm toward him. “Whoa. That’s freaky.”

I wrenched away from his grip.

“Thanks. That’s just what I needed to hear.”

“Do you really think it means…?”

“I don’t know what it means, but it can’t be good.” I picked up another rock and inspected its smooth sides, then handed it to Carik. I positioned the first digit of his claw around the rock, followed by another, and showed him the motion again. Carik mimicked me, and the rock skipped across the waves easily.

“Yes!” He picked up another rock and flicked his arm. The rock plopped into the water a foot out, as if he’d just lobbed it in.

“It’s all about digit placement,” I said, and showed him again. “And don’t drop your shoulder; keep it up and whisk the rock away across the waves.”

Thunk.

The rock Carik threw hit the first wave and disappeared.

“I give up,” he said, throwing his large gray body to the beach. He looked like a hatchling throwing a tantrum with the way his limbs thrashed around in the sand. He released little grunts of anger each time he hit the ground.

 

VE: Tell us a little about your YA, Rings of Time.

Ms. Jacobs: RINGS OF TIME is my baby. I started this novel in 2003 and finished sometime in 2005. It’s seen a few major revisions since then and will finally have a home in the hands of my readers by 2012.

It’s an adventure that brings us to a fantastic alternate universe. We meet humans there, but we also have dragons, centaurs, trolls, and numerous other fantasy creatures that have supernatural abilities.

VE: Finally… If you could tell us one thing about the YA/Middle Grade/ Supernatural genre that makes your mind spin with ideas, what would that be?

Ms. Jacobs: That’s a hard question because everything makes my mind spin. If anything is “out of the ordinary” my mind immediately pings to a supernatural adventure… and it doesn’t stop with just the crazy stuff, sometimes even the normal stuff takes a spin on “Eisley’s Fantasy Train”. I have a whole folder of story ideas that swim around from day to day. I have to fight them off with a stick and make them take a number. Right now in the queue are DRAGONS FOREVER 2 and RINGS OF TIME.

Thanks so much for chatting with us, Eisley! And thank you for the FREE copy of your book for us to giveaway!

All you need to do for a chance to win a FREE copy of Born to be a Dragon by Eisley Jacobs is post a comment. A winner will be chosen by Wednesday, September 28, 2011. Good luck everyone!

Eisley Jacob’s Website Link:

http://eisleyjacobs.com/

Eisley’s Blog Link:

http://eisleyjacobs.com/

Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/eisleyjacobs

Twitter:

http://twitter.com/#!/eisleyjacobs

Link to Eisley Jacob’s book(s) can be purchased:

Amazon Print: http://www.amazon.com/Dragons-Forever-Dragon-Eisley-Jacobs/dp/1456360965/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1315889282&sr=8-1

Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Born-Dragon-Dragons-Forever-ebook/dp/B0058ZWK9Q/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&qid=1315889282&sr=8-1

Barnes and Noble Print: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dragons-forever-born-to-be-a-dragon-eisley-jacobs/1104199721

Barnes and Noble Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/born-to-be-a-dragon-eisley-jacobs/1104099736

Autographed Copies: http://eisleyjacobs.com/blog/purchase/

Vampire Explored is a blog by Deborah Riley-Magnus, author of “Cold in California”, first in the Twice-Baked Vampire Series!

Go the Distance!

I love urban fantasy, paranormal romance, supernatural, vampire, werewolf, time travel fantasy, the fae, mythological gods and creatures, zombies … well no, I kinda draw the line at zombies, but you get my drift. If you can stretch reality just one or maybe ten steps furhter than the last author I read, you’re A #1 in my heart!

I adore books like Johannes Cabal the Necromancer by Jonathan L. Howard, American Gods by Neil Gaiman and Angelology by Danielle Trussoni. These are the books that I feel really go the distance and not one step beyond. These authors have a perfect sense of timing, they never drag me too far and never drop me too early. They take reality, shift it, reshape it and withhold the slamming climax and  highly original answers until the exact perfect moment. These authors and so many others in the genre, seriously GO THE DISTANCE!

Today I’d like to try something a little different. Rather than chit-chattering about my thoughts, I’d love to hear yours. Which authors do you love in the paranormal/ supernatural genres? They could be top ten best sellers or indie published newcomers. I’d love to hear your answers because winter is coming and it’s time to curl up with some great books that GO THE DISTANCE!

Please leave a comment and let Vampire Explored readers know your favorite books. I appreciate your participation so much, I’ll happily have a drawing and giveaway a copy of my own urban fantasy, Cold in California to one winner.

I can’t wait to hear your book recommendations!

Vampire Explored is a blog by Deborah Riley-Magnus, author of “Cold in California”, first in the Twice-Baked Vampire Series!

Here’s a fascinating Supernatural FicFact from Arial Burnz, who was last Thursday’s featured Author Interview. In her book, Midnight Conquest, water blessed by a priest or clergy of the church would do nothing to a Vamsyrian. They were only servants of God, and bore their own faults and sins upon their heads. Water to harm a Vamsyrian must to be touched by God Himself. Broderick’s teacher Rasheed said the only source known for that supply of water could be found in the deserts of Arabia, where it was rumored Moses struck a rock, bringing forth water to slack the thirst of the wandering Israelites during their exodus to the Promised Land.

Author Arial Burnz Creates a Historic, Romantic and Magical Vampire World

Author Arial Burnz has loved paranormal/fantasy fiction since childhood, scratching out her stories in notebooks and getting in trouble for daydreaming. Today, she’s an author of paranormal/fantasy tales, writing for YA, children and adults. She lives in Southern California with her husband/romance novel hero (DeWayne), their two cats and their dog. 

Vampire Explored: First of all, I’d like to welcome you to Vampire Explored. Tell us a little about yourself. What part of the world do you live in? Tell us about your background?

Ms. Burnz: Thank YOU for having me here! I’m a crazy redhead who lives in an area called the Inland Empire of Southern California. Though I’ve been paid as a writer for over 20 years—corporate and training materials, software manuals, web copy/design, marketing materials, short stories, children’s articles/stories, newspaper and magazine articles, etc.—Midnight Conquest is my debut novel. Just recently, I’ve become an editor at a well-known erotic romance publisher and a cover artist for The Wild Rose Press.

VE: Who are your favorite authors?

Ms. Burnz: Anne Rice was my inspiration for becoming a writer over 20 years ago, but I have MANY favorites, such as Sandra Brown, Terry Goodkind, J.R.R. Tolkien, R.A. Salvatore, Virgina Henley, Johanna Lindsey, Patricia Cornwell, Lawrence Saunders…and so many more.

VE: What attracts you to the Historic/Paranormal/Vampire genre, and what made you want to write it?

Ms. Burnz: I like the conflict and material history gives an author. Characters live drama on a daily basis more so in historical time periods due to the harsher living conditions. Paranormal does that, too. But there’s also a certain romance history affords. As for the paranormal/vampire genre, I think it’s the dark and magical sides that draw me in. I was raised with my mother reading The Hobbit and Greek mythology, so the realm of fantasy and the supernatural is in my blood!

VE: Does the way you personally look at life reflect in your writing style?

Ms. Burnz: Absolutely! You write what you know. I don’t like to be preachy, but my writing gives me a platform to express my views on love, relationships, friendship, etc. There’s also a literary justice in the traditional good-versus-evil struggle I put in all my stories. Midnight Conquest puts my heroine into an abusive marriage and I came from an abusive background, so I know first-hand what women suffer in such a situation. Of course, I won’t deny the satisfaction I receive by torturing my villains!

VE: What concept or situation about your book makes it so unique?

Ms. Burnz: At the time I wrote Midnight Conquest (20 years ago), the alpha male vampire didn’t exist and I was real tired of reading about the gaunt, pale, woe-is-me hero that couldn’t seem to find someone to love in the hundreds of years of his existence. That’s what Broderick is NOT. He’s definitely the alpha male who enjoys immortality. Though the book doesn’t have a unique plot, I have been told the mystery and suspense of the story keep my readers turning the pages. The unique ingredient of my stories actually lies in the entire series I have planned involving the origin of my vampires, the prophecy laid out that will come to a head in the last book, and some different angles on a traditional lore, which you’ll learn more about in book 2 and the following novels. For example, in Book 3 my heroine is a shapeshifter/werewolf, but the basis of the lore is Norse mythology. The other unique element would be a spoiler, so I’ll keep my mouth shut for now. You can find a hint of it at my web site, though, in the back of the book blurbs I have for each book in the series.

VE: What was your inspiration for Midnight Conquest?

Ms. Burnz: I touched on it a little with wanting an alpha male, but that was 20 years ago. Alpha males are all over paranormal/vampire novels today, so that’s nothing new. Another inspiration for me writing this book was almost all vampire novels are contemporary and by the time you meet the hero, he’s already tortured by time. Even to this day, there aren’t many historical paranormal stories. I wanted to see the hero vampire at the beginning of his immortality and watch that transformation through the centuries so by the time he gets to the modern era, you know first-hand how he came to be tortured by the years and the love he lost so many centuries before.

VE: What is your favorite scene from the book and why?

Ms. Burnz: Oooooh, that’s a tough question to answer. There are so many scenes I love. However, their first kiss, I think, is my favorite. By this time in the story, there’s been a fair amount of sexual tension built up and the two of them really let go when their lips finally meet. However, the Hunger also starts to take over and it puts Davina’s life in danger. I’ll have to warn you, many of my readers have scolded me for giving Rick “blue balls” during the story! Broderick is an imposing guy to a woman who has experienced abuse, so he’s trying to build trust with her.

VE: Would you like to share an excerpt with our readers?

Ms. Burnz: Yes! The exchange between Broderick (Rick) and Davina leading up to that first kiss I just mentioned.

EXCERPT:

“Chess?”

Snapping out of her stupor, she gawked at Broderick. “What?”

He sauntered toward the chess table and picked up a black marble pawn. “Do you play?”

“Very well, thank you.” Davina maintained a defensive posture. “And when do Gypsies find the time to play chess?”

“I have not always been a Gypsy, you know.”

“I gathered that, considering your current attire.” Davina hoped he would take the conversation further and she could learn a bit more about his past, which intrigued her. Broderick chuckled and sat at the table. She sighed with disappointment.

“Please,” Broderick pressed, motioning toward the chair across from him. “Join me in a friendly game.”

“Why?”

Broderick traveled his eyes down Davina’s body, sending delightful, heated tingles through to her toes. “Because I enjoy your company, and wish to engage in a battle of wits.” His eyes met hers, challenging.

She refused to take the bait. “Well, I do not, sir. Please leave.”

“Do not wish to engage in a battle of wits, or do not enjoy my company?”

“Neither.”

Broderick’s head tipped back in laughter, a laughter that filled the parlor and her soul. She shook off the strange desire to join in, reminding herself he mocked her.

“I really must ask you to leave.”

“I am making a valiant effort to pay you a proper visit.” Shaking his head, he crossed his ankle upon his knee. “I will not leave this room until you play me a splendid game of chess.” His leveling eyes told her he meant to do just what he said. With his deep voice, he added, “If you force me to leave, I shall steal into your bedchamber in the middle of the night, and seduce myself into your dreams.”

Her stomach fluttered, and Davina cursed him under her breath as she seated before him. “You are intolerable, Gypsy.”

“Thank you, milady.”

“‘Twas not a compliment.”

Broderick chuckled.

Oh, how insufferable! He was too damned comely for his own good, and he knew it all too well. He charmed her to annoyance—and he seemed to know every move she made on the chessboard! In minutes he called checkmate.

“‘Tis unfair to use your seeing abilities in this game!” Davina protested.

“Madame, I did no such thing,” he returned with amusement. “Your moves are entirely too predictable.”

Davina rose from her chair. “Well, you have had your game. Now leave.”

With a slow shake to his head, he said, “Nay, milady. I said I would leave when we had a splendid match together. ‘Twas much too easy. You were not into the game at all.”

Davina started away from the table. “Well, I am not playing—”

Broderick snatched her arm and Davina tumbled back into his lap.

“Damn you, Gypsy,” she cursed as she continued to struggle against his impossible hold. “I will scream if you do not let me go!”

Broderick’s deep chuckle rumbled from his chest through her body. “Keep moving upon my lap in such a manner, and I will have to toss your skirts up right here in the parlor.”

Davina gasped so hard, she almost choked. “A pox on you, savage! Let me up or I will scream!”

“I shall enjoy the following scene, then. Your servants will come running to your rescue, no doubt your mother leading the pack, and I will have the pleasure of visiting your chamber before the sun comes up on the morrow.”

VE: Have you written other books?

Ms. Burnz: Plenty, but they’re all technical manuals! Not full-length novels like Midnight Conquest, however, I have written an erotic vampire short story titled Here’s Blood In Your Eye which has received amazing reviews. And I am working on Book 2 in the Bonded By Blood Vampire Chronicles titled Midnight Captive. In Book 1, Davina has an eight-month-old daughter Cailin and Book 2 is her love story. Rick and Davina are the background characters in that story and my readers learn more about the lore of my vampires with ancient relics and some of the magic behind the prophecy.

VE: Finally… If you could tell us one thing about the Historic/Paranormal/Vampire genre that makes your mind spin with ideas, what would that be?

Ms. Burnz: I love to take a traditional idea and put a twist to it. Such a technique allows readers to already feel connected to a familiar idea, such as vampires being harmed by holy water. However, readers learn in Midnight Conquest, for example, that not just any water blessed by a priest will harm a vampire. It must actually be touched by God. The only such water that is rumored to exist is the trickle of water that is still coming from the rock in the middle of the deserts of Arabia where Moses struck the rock to quench the thirst of the Israelites on their exodus to the Promised Land. Having my werewolves come from Norse mythology/legend is another example of a twist on the familiar.

 

Thanks so much for chatting with us Arial! And thank you for the FREE copy of both your novel and short story for us to giveaway! All you need to do for a chance to win a FREE copy of Midnight Conquest by Arial Burnz and Here’s Blood In Your Eye written under her erotic pen name Kami Cummings is post a comment here at Vampire Explored. A winner will be chosen by Wednesday, September 21, 2011. Good luck everyone!

Arial Burnz’s Website Link:

www.ArialBurnz.com

Ms. Burnz’s Blog Link:

http://arialburnz.blogspot.com/

Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/arialburnz

Twitter:

http://twitter.com/#!/arialburnz

Purchase Links to Arial Burnz’s book(s):

Direct – http://arialburnz.bigcartel.com/

Amazon – http://www.amazon.com/Midnight-Conquest-paranormal-Chronicles-ebook/dp/B0053PVHTU/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1316104126&sr=1-1

Midnight Conquest Book Video:

http://youtu.be/eiJf1-Agrmo

Vampire Explored is a blog by Deborah Riley-Magnus, author of “Cold in California”, first in the Twice-Baked Vampire Series!