Format: ebook
I'm really excited to tell you about a recent interview I did with author, Laura Stamps on her new Erotic Vampire Series just released. She was nice enough to hang out with me for a bit and share some goodies, including a free copy of the first volume in her new series to been given away to a lucky blog follower. I'll explain the contest for our giveaway after the review. So let's get started!
Click here to go to the Laura's site for complete series info and to purchase any upcoming volumes.
Book Description (Goodreads):
"Sara Gadsden is a Wiccan Green Witch addicted to paranormal romance novels and their gorgeous vampire heroes. Like most people, she has no idea vampires actually exist until she meets Drayton Manigault at a Samhain party. Dray is not only one of Columbia's wealthiest businessmen, but he's also been a vampire for the last 145 years. Oh, and he's totally yummy. When Dray offers Sara a job working for his computer company, Manigault Technologies, fantasy collides with reality, and Sara's future is suddenly transformed into one wild, smokin' HOT ride!"
Stacey’s Review:
This one gets a 5/extremely hot and naughty
What to say, What to say? I say this is going to be a good series. If you like sexy vampires and sassy witches this will be the beginning of a great read for you. The series itself will be released in volumes. I am reviewing the first 3 chapters of Volume 1, "A Vampire's Kiss". It's easy to see how hot and heavy, Dray and Sara are headed for. The first three chapters give a tease of the story and introduces our main characters.
Sara is as outgoing and outspoken as any female character I've read in a long time, she is too funny! Since this is a spin-off of Stamp's Witchery series you can expect that Sara is a Wiccan Green Witch. Although, I doubt it's the witch in her though that gives her the spunk she definitely has. You will either love or hate her, but either way she grows on you. Drayton, on the other hand, I can't imagine not loving. He's sexy and elegant and oh so sexy! Darn, did I say that already? Well, I'd like to meet him and he sure did catch Sara's attention from the first time she saw him. Sara is completely hooked on vampires so when she meets a sexy Dracula at a friend's party she is in vampire heaven! (little does she know her dream Dracula is a real vampire)
We meet Sara at a costume party dressed as Artemis, who came with friends dressed in other random costumes, such as Ash (which I totally loved and the reference to the Dark-hunters series was not wasted on me!!) and then we meet Drayton dressed as Dracula of course. After introductions and polite talk Sara gets right down to telling Drayton he isn't properly dressed to represent what a vampire looks like. "Oh Really?" Dray asks, "Well do tell", he says with a laugh and you can bet Sara didn't waste anytime telling Dray exactly what she thought because Sara is an expert on vampires, of course!! She's absolutely hooked on them.
That was our introduction to Drayton and Sara. They reach their first kiss by the end of the night when Dray walks Sara home. Afterwords, he asks Sara to have lunch with him tomorrow. Now if you are like me, you're probably wondering how it is that Drayton can walk in the sun. Well it isn't explained in the first 3 chapters so that will be a cliffhanger to look for later, but we do see how Drayton shows up during the day and takes her to a special lunch that he obviously put a lot of thought into. A greenhouse is a perfect place to impress a green witch and heat things up!
So now we're left with a good idea where Sara and Drayton are headed, but Sara still doesn't know that Drayton is a vampire so I wonder how that's going to work out. However it does, it will be fun I'm sure!
And now onto the interview with Laura Stamps:
Hey Laura, thanks for the interview with me. I'm so excited to pick your brain so let's get started!!
1.) First let me ask, for any of the new fans out there, what are you all about? Who is Laura Stamps?
Hmm. People who know me would say that's a verrrry dangerous question. lmao!! Okay, I'm a Wiccan Faery Witch, psychic, and empath, which is why I write paranormal romance. I walk in the "real" paranormal all day long, so it'
s normal for me and what I am used to. If you know anything about the Fey you know they are very sexual. So a Faery Witch is just a fancy name for a Sex Witch (thus, my user name at Twitter). I'm basically a simple slut. Sex-obsessed. Addicted to lust, sex, trashy lingerie, and cocks. Well, you asked! lol
2.) Why erotic writings? Did you always know that's the genre you wanted to write?
I started out as an artist and was an art major in college (a painter). In fact my art prints are still sold worldwide by my art print publisher (Haddad's Fine Arts, Inc.). And my paintings grace the covers of The Witchery Series (until the new publisher republishes them this year with new hunky guy covers...yummy!). I'm also dyslexic, so even though I had always been told I had writing talent, I didn't pursue it. Grammar and spelling were just too hard. Then I wrote my first poem when I was 30, and that was it for me. Career change! *lol* So I started out as a poet. For years I published books of poetry and fiction. I actually wrote my first erotic short story in 1996, but no magazines would accept it. It wasn't until 2002 that the market for erotica finally took off in this country.
3.) How long have you been writing? Have you always wanted to write?
Like I said, I started writing when I was 30, so I've been writing for 23 years (I'll be 53 on April 2...HORRORS!...there must be some mistake, I thought I was 18!). Actually, I always wanted to paint until I wrote that first poem. Then I changed careers, and all I've wanted to do since then is paint with words. So I'm self-taught as a writer and a novelist. However 23 years later my poetry and fiction have been published in over 1000 magazines, literary journals, and anthologies. I've published more than 45 books, and I've won many awards, including a Pulitzer Prize nomination and 7 Pushcart Award nominations. In fact, my writer's resume is over 80 pages long. Okay, when I wanna accomplish something I work realllly hard at it. lol
4.) I absolutely love that you've written erotica with vampires. I don't think there is enough out there.
Vampires are soooo sexy, aren't they? I think they're a natural for hot erotica. The fun thing about A Vampire's Kiss is it's the first novel in my The Manigault Vampires series, which means this is the novel where I get to create the vampire world in Columbia. Major fun! I knew I wanted my vamps to be different. So they're "daywalkers," meaning they can walk in daylight, and it doesn't hurt them. I won't say why because that would spoil some of the fun of the novel. Of course, this doesn't mean they can lay out at the beach and get a tan, but because of the daylight thing it's hard to tell they're vamps. However there are subtle hints. They feed on blood during sex, they're cool to the touch, and their eyes flash to black with bloodlust (which looks a lot like regular lust in a human man, except vamps can do it at will). It was also fun to go into the history of how Dray became a vamp. I won't spoil it for you, but it goes back to the Civil War in Charleston, South Carolina.
5.) Please give us the basics about the Manigault Vampires and the first volume in the series, "A Vampire Kiss".
The Witchery Series trilogy is my main series, and all my other series are spin-off series. They all happen according to the same timeline, so they're a lot of fun to read because you're never lost in each series, and you know all the characters. The Manigault Vampires is my first serialized erotica series. In this spin-off series, you’ll meet Drayton Manigault, the owner of Manigault Technologies and one of the richest businessmen in Columbia, South Carolina. Dray also happens to be one of the oldest vampires in the city. A Vampire's Kiss is the first novel in this series. It's about how Dray finds true love in the form of a spontaneous Green Witch named Sara Gadsden. As a side note, if you're from South Carolina you'll notice right away all the names of my characters are historic South Carolina names. ;)
6.) Did you plan to write the stories as volumes or did it just flow like that?
No, A Vampire's Kiss was written in a classic novel structure as all of the novels in this series will be. It was just the circumstances I suddenly found myself in last month that determined it would be released as a serial. And now that it is, I love it! I think it's a fun and totally cool idea. Here's what happened. 2009 was an insane year for me that had nothing to do with the crazy economy. In March my ebook publisher went out of business weeks before one of my spin-off series (The Rune Witch Series) was to be released. Then I got a new agent in June. I signed with a new publisher (I have several), but that new publisher moved so slowly publishing new books that by February of 2010 I had gone 16 months with no new books being published. HORRORS! The crazy thing is I've been writing all along, and 5 new books have just been waiting at various publishers to be published. That's not fair to me, and it's not fair to my fans. So when Kittyfeather Press offered me the opportunity to turn The Manigault Vampires into a serialized novel series I jumped on it! That means when you read these issues you'll find the chapters flow just like a regular novel because that's the way they were written. Oh, and let me warn you. I'm a dialogue junkie. So my novels read fast, smooth, and hot, and every chapter ends with a cliffhanger so you wanna know what's gonna happen next. Sorry! That's just the way I've always written my novels. lol
7.) What's exciting and unexpected about this series that is different from your others?
Two things. First, Sara is a clone of me. This is the first time I've ever done that. Really. All of my characters are fictional, although Noelle from The Witchery Series does have a bit of me in her. Anyway I thought it would be fun to make Sara just like me. And it was a blast. What I didn't realize is if I made Sara a spontaneous sex maniac like me, I would have a helluva time getting her out of bed with Dray (wait till you hit the next issue of this serial....whew!). And I did. *lol* But it's not her fault, because she thinks like I think. She sees Dray. He's gorgeous and sexy, and she wants him. Done. Sara goes after what she wants. She doesn't waste a minute angsting over anything (as you know). The second thing about this series that is different is the way it was written. Dray and Sara had such a fabulous chemistry that they ran way with this novel. That's a first for me. Not that my novels aren't always character-driven; they are. But Sara and Dray were the first h/h who refused to follow my outline from the first chapter. No kidding. I finally gave up, threw it away after 20 chapters, and let them rule. They did this in the first draft, and they did it again as I edited the final manuscript. However, you'll hear no complaints from me. I always assume my characters are smarter than I am. The stuff they come up with is a million times better. And this is no exception. This is an awesome novel, and I have Sara and Dray to thank for it.
8.) Do you have the whole series mapped about in length or is it open ended right now? Personally I hope it's open-ended. (hee-hee!)
The Witchery Series is a trilogy, and there are three spin-off series: The Rune Witch Series, The Faery Witch Series, and The Manigault Vampires. The first two spin-offs are trilogies. But I always planned for The Manigault Vampires to go on for as long as it likes. Right now I can tell you the A Vampire's Embrace: Book Two of the Manigault Vampires is about Dray's brother, Val. A Vampire's Desire: Book Three of the Manigault Vampires is about their cousin Atwell Gibbs. Both totally sex vamps that'll give you an instant panty-melt. Really. But don't worry. You meet them all in this first novel A Vampire's Kiss. *lusty grin*
9.) Can you tell us what we can look forward to in any of your future projects?
The Rune Witch Series will finally be coming out in the fall. It's about Wynn and Noelle from The Witchery Series. Wynn is one of the sexist shapshifters you'll ever meet. He used to have his own fan club. And that was when he was a secondary character in The Witchery Series. Whew!...that man is HAWT! The Faery Witch Series will be coming out in 2011. It's about Donnie and Savannah from What Witches Want: Book Two of the Witchery Series. They are such a sweet sexy couple I wanted to give them their own series. Did you hear the story about Donnie? Gorgeous bod, long blonde hair, sweet Gamma man. It took me two months to get over him after I finished that novel. Damn, I fell hard for him!
Contest
Hey guys leave a comment below to be entered into a drawing to win a free copy of “A Vampire’s Kiss, Volume 1”. Be sure to get your comment out there before the 31st. The drawing will held on Friday, April 2nd.
Thanks again everybody. It was fun!!
Stacey
No comments:
Post a Comment