Lilly Gayle's Behind the Scenes of Her Vampire Tale, Out of the Darkness

Lilly Gayle's vampire tale Out of the Darkness, was the 'top pick' at Night Owl Reviews and received 'five hearts' at The Romance Studios. 

Lilly is here today to give us an exclusive behind the scenes of this action-packed and thought provoking vampire tale. Let's give her a warm welcome. Comments and questions are always a welcomed.

Karen: Why don’t you start with telling the readers a little about yourself. 

Lilly: I write paranormal and historical romance because love’s an adventure no matter the century. In June 1980, I married a man I met in a bar eighteen months earlier. We have two beautiful daughters. Our oldest is married to a soldier and lives in Germany and our youngest recently graduated from UNC School of medicine’s radiation therapy program.

When not reading or writing, I work at a local hospital as a radiologic technologist and mammographer.

Karen: What inspired you to pen a vampire tale?

Lilly: Dean Koontz’s character, Christopher Snow from the Moonlight Bay Trilogy.

Karen:  I loved the stories with Christopher Snow by Dean Koontz. Fear Nothing and Seize the Night. Unfortunately, we Ride the Storm was never completed. I wish he would. :) 

Karen: Are your vampires of legends?

Lilly: Yes. Vampire legends fascinate me.

Karen: Can they be killed with a stake? 

Lilly: Yes. But the stake has to be driven into the head or heart and left and not removed. When those vital organs die, the vampire dies.

Karen: How about sunlight? 

Lilly: A vampire blisters and burns in sunlight. If he doesn’t escape, he erupts into flames and dies.

Karen: Give us the back story to your plot.

Lilly: Dr. Megan Harper is a research scientist searching for a cure to xeroderma pigmentosum (XP) the genetic light sensitivity disorder that killed her sister. But when she is asked to research vampires, she quits her job and moves home to Clarksville. Vincent Maxwell is a vampire with a conscience seeking a cure to his dark hunger. But when his friend and fellow vampire is captured and killed by Megan’s former boss, Vincent goes to Clarksville to see what Megan knows.

Karen: Does society accept and know about vampires or are they still in the ‘coffin’ so to speak? Lol

Lilly: Most mortals are oblivious. But a rogue military officer looking to create unstoppable soldiers for the military hires Megan’s boss to research vampires. And Dr. Weldon kidnaps Vincent’s friend for his sinister experiments.

Karen: Tell us about Vincent Maxwell, the hero of the story. What is he like?

Lilly: Dark and brooding. The typical alpha male vampire. But he’s also loyal and loving—a tortured hero.

Karen: What are his weaknesses and strengths?

Lilly: Faster than a speeding train, stronger than 20 men, but with all the physical limitations of a traditional vampire.

Karen: What is his first impression when he meets Dr. Megan Harper? 

Lilly: He’s suspicious of the beautiful doctor. He uses his credentials as owner of a blood and tissue bank to gain her trust. He pretends he has XP to gain her sympathy.

Karen: Tell us about Megan, your heroine of the story. What are her weaknesses and strengths? 

Lilly: Megan is smart and has a heart of gold, but she feels guilty because in her words, she’s just one chromosome away from having the same genetic condition as her sister. Megan suffers from survivor’s guilt. And she’s desperate to find a cure forXP.

Karen: What is her first impression of Vincent?   

Lilly: Tall dark and yummy. She also pities him because she thinks he has XP. But she can’t understand how he’s managed his disease so well. His skin shows no signs of sun damage and he has no scars.

Karen: What are your current projects and works in progress?

Lilly: I’m working on the sequel to Out of the Darkness—tentatively entitled Into the Light. But that sounds like such a cliché, I’m not sure if I’ll keep that title or not.

Karen: Tell the readers where they can find you:

Lilly: http://lillygayle.com, 

http://lillygayleromance.com

I’m also on Facebook or Facebook Lilly Gayle Books  and Twitter. 

Karen: Where can the readers purchase your vampire tale?

Lilly: Wild Rose Press or Amazon 

Karen: Is there anything else you’d like to tell the readers?

Lilly: Support your favorite authors. If you like a book, write a brief review on Amazon. If you don’t like it, please don’t bash it or the author who wrote it.

Karen: Lilly, thank you so much for sharing with us today. I enjoyed learning more about your vampire tale.  

Enjoy an Excerpt:

Vincent didn’t spare her a second glance as he opened the basement door and stepped down.

The sound of his boot heel striking wood echoed up the steps as he disappeared into the darkness.

“But—” Megan switched on the light and hurried after him.

“The first thing you need down here is a table and some chairs,” he said when he saw the stacks of unorganized data and reams of paper scattered across the floor. “Do you mind if I bring the ones down from the kitchen?”

“No.” She turned back toward the stairs. “I’ll help you bring them down.” It would give her something to do while she sorted through the confused thoughts and emotions tumbling around inside her head.

Vincent touched her arm and heat shot straight to her belly, turning her insides all warm and fuzzy.

Warm and fuzzy was not good.

Warm and fuzzy made her think of more than just heated sex. It made her think of cozy evenings snuggled up under a blanket and shared feelings. It made her long for an emotional connection she couldn’t risk. Not with Vincent.

Not with a man who could potentially die a slow, lingering death.

“I’ll get it.” He let go of her arm and stepped back. “You start going through those papers and find that report you wrote comparing XP to vampire myths and legends. I’d be interested in seeing if you still have it.”

He turned to go back up the stairs and Megan shivered. Why had Steve mentioned the vampire report to Vincent? And why was Vincent so interested in seeing it?

Vincent the Vampire.

Interview with Robin Badillo

You know Robin Badillo for her paranormal romances you can sink your teeth into, but she also pens romantic tales with a southern flare. Let's give her a warm welcome.

***Contest: Robin will be giving away a pdf copy of Flesh Wounds to one lucky commenter.  Don't forget to leave your email information so we may contact you if you should win. (**For this contest you must be 17 or older. Sorry, not exceptions.)

Let’s start by telling the readers a little about yourself:

I am a single mother of four great kids, all of them teenagers now. I am this above all other roles in my life, including a writer.

I live in a small Texas town, not far from my parents and grandparents. 

We have a couple of very naughty rescued dogs, who wear me out more than the kids sometimes.

I love music. You may find me listening to Aerosmith or Def Leopard one minute or Jay-Z and Beyoncé the next. And my music list wouldn’t be complete without a little old school R&B, Blues and some downhome country. If it’s got a beat, I’m ready to listen.

I’ve often referred to myself as a kool-aid kind of girl…simply put, what you see is what you get.

Tell us about your new release, Flesh Wounds. You usually pen paranormal tales, what inspired you to write your first full-length contemporary romance?

The first book I ever wrote was hand written during a pretty tough time in my life. It was a contemporary, May/December type romance set on a vineyard in Central Mexico. I have yet to type it up and probably never will, so although my breakout novels were of the paranormal (vampire) variety, I’ve always known that I had it in me to write fang-free characters. I live in Texas, so naturally I try to write from a southern point of view. There is much to be said about small town living and much more scandal than one would expect.

Tell us about your heroine of the story, Julia Benson. What is she like? What are your weaknesses and strengths? What is her impression of the hero of the story, Dylan Banks?

Julia Benson could be any girl and just like any person on the planet, she comes with dark secrets and bouts with human issues such as depression. As with most women who’ve ever been in love, hurt by a relationship or disappointed by someone we look up to, sadness and sometimes severe depression can rock ones world. Julia faced most of her darkness alone, while away at college.

She’d been fortunate, though, to have had a real friend like Dylan in her life as a kid and although their friendship had dwindled, somehow she always knew he was still her friend, just different.

Julia has a lot to learn about life and even more to learn about herself and her strengths. She can’t do any of that alone and that may be the hardest lesson of all to lean.

Tell us about Dylan. What is he like? What does he see in Julia that he has held a flame for her for so many years? What are his strengths and weaknesses?

Dylan was raised by his wise and patient grandmother. His mother died when he was four years old, and although he never really knew her, he sensed the strength she’d exuded while fighting the cancer that eventually defeated her.

Having been surrounded by women, he learned early on about inner beauty and how a man could and should be chivalrous.

Julia was broken at an early age which he’d witnessed it firsthand. For Dylan, being the kind of boy he was and the kind of man he later became, he sees vulnerability as his cue to jump in and save the day. That could be a weakness and a strength. Coming to the rescue of Julia or other women in his life sometimes leaves him a bit tattered and abused. His biggest issue is probably learning how to say ‘No’.

What do you find most rewarding about writing?

The most rewarding thing about writing is seeing something that came from the dark recesses of my mind become a real story that others enjoy reading. When a reader shoots me an email or comments on a blog saying how much they loved something I’ve written, I feel like I’ve given them a part of me and want to do it again and again.

What are your current projects and works in progress?

At the moment, I am currently working on another vampire story. This will be like nothing I have ever seen. I can’t go into a lot of detail, but I can say that I will be tackling fantasy elements of time travel and magic in ways I’ve never done. In the meantime, I am gearing up for two more releases later this year, one, Midnight Beckoning, a dark, epic vampire/damphyr/demon filled novel and another, The Long Way Home, a contemporary interracial Christmas novella.

Do you have a favorite reference book or website?

I use a lot of websites for a million different reasons, such as Google translate, Google maps, and just Google in general…yes, I’m an author and I Google. I often research cities, history and especially legends and folklore. It’s exciting how just typing a couple of words into a search engine can bring the world right to your feet.

Tell the readers where they can find you:

I can be found in several places…

Website: http://www.robinbadillo.com

Blog - Sealed with a Kiss: http://www.robinbadillo.blogspot.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/robin.badillo

Facebook Fan Page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Robin-Badillo

Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/Robin_Badillo

Just Google me, you’re bound to find something. LOL!

Is there anything else you’d like to tell the readers?

I’d like to encourage readers to give new/unknown authors a chance. It’s usually a safe bet that reading books from famous authors will garner you a great story to add to your collection, but there are so many talented authors out there with wonderful stories just waiting to share a piece of themselves with you. Give ‘em a shot. You may find yourself pleasantly surprised.

For your own copy of Flesh Wounds you may purchase a copy at eXtasy Books… Buy link:  http://www.extasybooks.com/flesh-wounds-2/

It will soon be available at Amazon, All Romance Books, Trapezium and several other third party retailers.  Robin always post links on Facebook and Twitter the moment her books are available elsewhere. 

Robin, 

Thank you so much for joining us today. I wish you the very best with your new release.

Our Guest Author Today is Terry Spear

Terry Spear is the award-winning author of urban fantasy and medieval historical romantic suspense, Heart of the Wolf named in Publishers Weekly's BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR, NOR Reader Choice for BEST PARANORMAL ROMANCE.

She currently has written a werewolf series based on real wolves, a vampire romance, two Highland medieval romances and now a western time-travel ghostly romance! I had a chance to review A Ghost Of A Chance At Love. Murder, Mystery, a ghost and a handsome cowboy--what more can you ask for in a time travel adventure that keeps you on the edge of you seat? Let's give Terry Spear a warm welcome.

***CONTEST: TERRY WILL BE GIVING AWAY A PRINT COPY OF A GHOST OF A CHANCE AT LOVE. Make sure to read how you may be entered in the drawing to win!

When a Dream Becomes a Reality

By

Terry Spear

A GHOST OF A CHANCE was a book that came to me as I visited the quaint town of Salado, Texas. The old world feel. The ghostly tales that surround some of the buildings still in existence. The change that is inevitable year after year. Not only in the centuries past, but in the present also.

When my mother and I visited even before I moved back to Texas, we’d make our special jaunts to Salado before Christmas and sometime in the spring before it got too hot, buy knick-knacks for our gardens, special gimmy-gaws (as my mother used to call them) to decorate our homes, unique gifts for family and friends for birthdays and Christmas.

Like the past and how much it had changed—the Salado College no longer being part of the landscape when it was a big deal in the time the story was set (at least in the past), and the saloon that had been a post office and now a gift shop, to the Shady Villa Inn that become the Stagecoach Inn, and having bathrooms in the rooms, too--well, some change is definitely necessary.

But we loved the quaint gift shops that drew us each year—Sir Wigglesworth that had so many lovely gifts that were unique, not just the same old stuff picked up at the Dallas Trade Center. And the shop that had a myriad of fun stuff, but mostly the garden trinkets and ornate ornaments we loved to buy to add to our gardens. Like the saloon of the past, they’re all gone. Gone. And nothing has taken the place of them to entice the shopper to return.

Sad. Really. Some of those shops were housed in old buildings that had real charm.

Now tons of shops exist, many set up in blocky cheap modern buildings, no charm, nothing special, no landscaping to entice the visitor, no special design to fit in with the quaint old village. Just the same old thing sold from store to store.

One shop though, has some different Texas gifts from local artists where we fell in love with lop-eared cast iron rabbits that we had to take home with us. My mother and I often had twin collections because our tastes were so similar. And one of our favorite places to visit was a sandwich shop surrounded by a courtyard and old buildings filled with clothes and gifts where we’d have lunch. And another, a spice and gift shop where we’d stop to have a cold fancy iced tea after a long hot walk under the intermittent shade of lovely ancient live oaks. And sometimes we’d enjoy a slice of pie at the Stagecoach Inn. A new Christmas shop opened in a charming old Victorian home that we made our last visit to as we headed out of town each trip.

But when is too much change…too much? Roll back the years a decade and find the quaintness all over again. Or a century and a half and it’s scary!

Oh yeah, things have improved from the beginning when the residents had to draw their water from wells or the creek. Definitely progress. But think of it—no indoor plumbing? Outhouses?

Yeah. Well, love can overcome all. Don’t you think?

But what if your world in the present is as dangerous as your world in the past? What do you do?

If you have a hunk of a cowboy waiting for you in the past, well…then what would you do?

My only regret is that I finally have A GHOST OF A CHANCE AT LOVE available two years after my mother died. I longed to write about a woman who somehow becomes tied to the past with one visit that changes her life forever. A ghostly tale of love and romance, a jaunt to the past, and a return to the present, only to discover that no matter where she is, her life is in danger. And the love of her life from the past isn't letting her go, no matter what.

I haven't been back to Salado since my mother died. But a part of me will always remember the special times we shared, and the fun she had in reading what I had written back then, and being part of the whole process. The Stagecoach Inn where I set the story wanted me to come and do a signing, and I plan to when the book is in print, which should be soon. But it'll be hard for me to do so without my mother to share in the experience.

I dedicate the book to her for always being there for me.

And I hope that you might take a chance at A GHOST OF A CHANCE AT LOVE!

Thanks so much, Karen, for having me here today.

***CONTEST: To be entered to win a print copy of A Ghost of a Chance at Love, answer my questions. So easy! Questions: If you had a chance to travel back in time to Salado, Texas, what would you wish to do or see? Could a man you fall in love with make you give up all the wonderful things we have today to live with him in the past? (***Make sure to leave your email address so Terry may contact you if you should win!)

Thanks to everyone who drops by and says hi!

Terry Spear

“Giving new meaning to the term alpha male.”

www.terryspear.com

Interview with Adrianne Brennan

Adrianne Brennan pens romantic dark fantasies and science fiction romances. She's here today to tell us about her hot new release, Love Under Will. This time she's taken us to a whole new realm of magic with fallen angels. Let's give her a warm welcome!

Adrianne why don't you tell the readers a little about yourself:

Sure! I live in the Boston area with my two adorable kitties, and do computer programming as my day job. In my spare time I enjoy working out, traveling, knitting, and playing World of Warcraft.

I’ve been writing since I was ten, almost entirely in the realms of paranormal, science fiction, and fantasy. Becoming published was my childhood dream come true.

Your new release, Love Under Will is in the Mammoth Book of Hot Romance Anthology. Your tale deals with angels. Give us some insight about your angel mythology. When they fall, do they lose their wings? Do they have certain gifts?

The angels have bodies they periodically “shed” like skin which allows them to go into the human world and help out others. On occasion, they even switch gender. They can be of any hair, skin, eye color—race has no meaning in addition to gender.

When they fall, they are essentially renegades. Not demons which is different, but no longer falling in line with the angelic hierarchy. They are considered to be highly dangerous and unstable, and could go dark at any time. It’s also likely they’d be recruited by Lucifer in the process.

Angels, fallen or not, can recognize each other on sight, and Aliyael compares it to the Highlander’s “quickening”. She says it’s nothing in comparison. :D

What inspired you to write an angel tale?

I’m a big fan of shows like Supernatural and angels are one supernatural creature I’ve never tried writing about. I decided to tackle this one after turning over certain ideas

Without giving too much away, tell readers about the story.

Aliyael’s assignment is to bring a fallen angel home, convince him to come back. However...she has no idea what she is in for, and learns quite a bit about following Divine Will and one’s heart in the process.

The readers and I would like to meet your heroine, Aliyael. What are her weaknesses and her strengths? What is her first impression when she meets Julael?

Aliyael is a relatively young angel, not unseasoned but not very worldly. She’s scared she won’t do as good of a job as she thinks is required of her, fears failure and ultimately wants to fight the good fight. The idea of rescuing a fallen angel is intimidating to her. She’s a tough chick, but very soft-hearted.

Her first impression of Julael is that he is handsome, surprisingly so. Something about him impresses her at the same time it frightens her, and she doesn’t understand why.

I noticed you used –el ending for both names, a typical ending for angel names. How did decide on the names for your hero and heroine? Is there a meaning behind them?

Aliya means “to ascend” or “to rise”—the precise opposite of a fallen angel. Julian/Jul’s name means “child of Jove”, the Roman version of Zeus. That may give the reader some hints. :)

What are your current projects and works in progress?

Too many! I am currently working on the fifth book in the Oath series, the sequel to Blood and Spice, which takes place in New Orleans, and the sequel to Blood of the Dark Moon, the official second book of the Dark Moon series. Blood and Spice I expect to have wrapped up after my trip to NOLA next month for the Anne Rice Vampire Ball.

Tell the readers where they can find you:

http://www.adriannebrennan.com

http://twitter.com/AdrianneBrennan

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Adrianne-Brennan/37098370764

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/the-dark-moon

Is there anything else you’d like to tell the readers?

Readers: I love hearing from you! Questions, comments, likes, dislikes—bring it!

Aspiring writers: my best advice to you is to WRITE and keep on writing!

Fellow writers: I hope to meet some of you in my travels. Feel free to drop me a line anytime and discuss the craft. :)

To own your own copy of Love Under Will:

Amazon.com

Amazon.co.uk

Barnes & Noble

For more information about the rest of my works, go here:

http://www.adriannebrennan.com/books.html