Straight Chatting from the Library: Arial Burnz

Arial Burnz stops by The Library today with a special guest blog as part of her virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. She's giving away a $15 Amazon or Barnes and Noble Gift Card (winner's choice) to a randomly drawn commenter. Also, at every stop a randomly drawn commenter will be awarded a 5-Star Short Story eBook, Romance Trading Card set & signed Bonded By Blood series post card. You can see the other stops on her tour here: http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2013/05/virtual-nbtm-tour-bonded-by-blood.html.

READ THE GUEST BLOG

Why write paranormal romance and how in the world do you come up with the ideas for your characters and the worlds they live in?

With so many vampire and paranormal romance books out there, why write more? The popularity of vampires, the paranormal and supernatural is still growing by leaps and bounds and today’s culture reflects that. The upcoming television series Dracula is a testament. Why would a major television studio create a new TV show if this topic was boring and saturated? Let’s see, we have six seasons of Supernatural, four seasons of Vampire Diaries, five seasons of True Blood, another new vampire show called Byzantium, and even another titled Sleepy Hollow. Let’s not forget Buffy and Angel. Many of these television shows are based on books of the same titles. I’m looking forward to J.R. Ward’s books making it to TV or the silver screen! It’s obvious fans just cannot get enough of the genre! I am definitely one of those fans, and have been for over thirty years.

Keeping it different and interesting is indeed a challenge! How do I write something that hasn’t already been done and also find that balance of not going too far outside the realm of acceptance? I believe I’ve accomplished just that by writing what I think has been missing from the genre and indulging my love of a favorite subject: history. So many tales of the paranormal show us what’s happened after the fact. What about the origins of our favorite blood-sucking characters? How were they transformed? What made them choose the path to immortality? What was it like hundreds of years ago when they became immortal? These are questions I strived to answer in my Bonded By Blood Vampire Chronicles.

Midnight Conquest (Book 1) and Midnight Captive (Book 2) are both set in the early 1500s of Scotland and we’re there when Broderick MacDougal makes his choice to become a Vamsyrian. (By the way, I created a new name for my race of vampires because the word vampire didn’t exist in etymology prior to 1732!) Midnight Hunt (Book 3) is set in Germany in 1636 during the tail-end of the witch trials sweeping across Europe. Germany was the hardest hit with this devastating holocaust. Midnight Eclipse(Book 4) will have Norse shapeshifters who are pirates in the mid-1700s. Midnight Savior (Book 5) will feature Jack the Ripper in London 1888. And I’ll close the series out with Midnight Deliverer in the 21st Century in Los Angeles…but the series will be left open for a spin-off of contemporary tales. I do have a few spin-off tales planned, including a male/male, which will also take place in historical settings.

Thank you so much for having me as a guest! I hope other lovers of history will enjoy my series and perhaps a few readers might learn a love of historical fiction after exploring Bonded By Blood. I’m available for questions. And if anyone leaves a question for Broderick and/or Angus, they’ve been known to make an appearance. Be forewarned: They’re real rogues!!

READ THE BLURBS

Masked in a Gypsy guise, Broderick MacDougal hides his vampiric identity while seeking to destroy the man who slaughtered his family. When an old Clan rival ensnares Broderick in a trap using an enticing widow, he is compelled to discover if she is bait or an accomplice, and the cinnamon-haired beauty is his next conquest.

Widow of an abusive husband, Davina Stewart-Russell clings to the only image that gave her strength during those dark times—the Gypsy rogue who stole her heart as a youth. After nine years, she is finally face-to-face with him again, but reality clashes with fantasy as she is confronted with Broderick’s passionate pursuit.

When Davina’s past returns to haunt her, Broderick is forced to reveal a dark secret worse than anything Davina thought possible. The challenge before them has fatal risks and neither of them is prepared for the sacrifices expected for the sake of eternal love.

*****

Cailin MacDougal has lived a dangerous life being the adopted daughter of vampire Broderick "Rick" MacDougal, so she had no choice but to learn to fight in order to protect herself. However, such behavior is hardly desirable in a dutiful wife who's supposed to embroider and run a household. This aggressive side of her behavior should be easy enough to hide from her betrothed...shouldn't it?

After being away at fencing school for seven years, James Knightly has returned as a master swordsman, ready to captain his own ship and finally wed his childhood sweetheart, Cailin MacDougal. What he finds waiting for him is a dagger-toting hellion for a bride, an immortal father-in-law, and an enemy bent on extracting revenge by threatening the family James holds most dear--the MacDougals.

Broderick MacDougal is lured away from his family with the promise of-at last-learning a way to protect those he loves from his clan enemy, Angus Campbell. Broderick knows he's headed for a trap, but the bait is too tempting to resist...and he unravels the beginning of a prophecy that will lead to redemption for all vampires. The cost of such redemption, though, may be the very soul of the woman he would die for...his wife, Davina.

MEET THE AUTHOR

Arial Burnz has been an avid reader of both paranormal and fantasy fiction for over thirty years. With bedtime stories filled with unicorns, hobbits, dragons and elves, she had no choice but to craft her own tales, penning to life the many magical creatures roaming her mind and dreams. And with a romantic husband who's taught her the meaning of true love, she's helpless to weave romance into her tales. Now she shares them with the world. Arial Burnz lives in Rancho Cucamonga, California, with her husband (a.k.a. her romance novel hero)—who is also a descendent of Clan MacDougal—along with their dog and two cats.

Find Arial at her website and on Facebook and Twitter.
Buy the books at Amazon and see her characters on Pinterest.