Ascher questions the purpose for his existence and which world he truly belongs to: the human world or the vampire world. Two months from sealing to Ursula— a prearranged union to a woman he abhors — he’s at his wit’s end. He knows if he calls off the sealing, the Romanian clan will strike with deadly force, but he cannot see eternity with a cold empty shell of a woman like Ursula.
Just when he thought life was complicated enough, he meets Shauna— a beautiful, bi-racial human wiccan — and immediately develops an unshakable attraction to her. She makes him feel alive and vital despite his origins and Ascher makes a decision that turns his immortal world upside down ."
Today we have author Ashlynne Laynne here, to talk to us about vampires! I know we all love that, right? I know I do! And at the end, please enter the Rafflecopter for your chance to win a copy of The Progeny!
The New Breed of Vampire
Why write
about vampires?
I've been
obsessed with horror movies since I was very young. My grandmother took me to
see Creepshow at the dollar movie, when I was nine. The dollar movie has
long been gone but that day spurred my love of the horror genre.
I'm a
horror fanatic. I'll watch anything—slasher, cheesy b rated, zombie, vampire,
witches. You name it; I will or have already seen it. My movie library is more
than half horror.
My
upcoming series is about a family of vampires and one within their family who
is different, yet the same. Ascher is a half-bloodling (half-human and half
vampire). His skin possesses the warmth of a human's yet he lives off blood and
is immortal like his family.
I and
other authors are bringing forth a new breed of vampire. The days of the
cold-blooded, garlic fearing, cross avoiding fiends of old are slowly giving
way to a new warrior. The new
blood is tougher, meaner, and
more human-like. They fall deeper in love than any of their predecessors. These
guys have the gentle touch of a feather but will tear an enemy apart with the
same hands. They're as passionate about their clan ties as they are about the
women who stir their blood.
They're
bold, sexy warriors with hearts of gold and wills of steel. Their bodies are
lean, sculpted immortal vessels of paranormal strength and ability. They’re
devoted brothers, enemy slayers and erotic lovers capable of completely
satisfying their chosen mate.
Authors
like Brenda Dyer and myself, believe that our imaginations dictate our
characters’ worlds. We’ve empowered ourselves to freely interpret our mythical
beings—even if it goes against the grain of traditional vampire roles. We’ve
created feeling and intense vampires that are outside the typical vampire box.
In Brenda’s paranormal romance, Love’s Prophecy, her vampires are demon slayers
who appear just as human as you or me. They love passionately, eat food and
feel the full gamut of human emotions.
While I’m
not one to conform, I subscribe to the fact that vampires are pale and blood
drinkers. I, however, don’t have mine running around draining the life out of
poor, unsuspecting victims. I'm a purist in believing that they are
cold-skinned and burn in sunlight. I'm not one to believe that vampires are
emotionless, evil fiends who sleep in coffins and plan the demise of us
warm-blooded humans.
The
humanization of the "undead" makes for more interesting and intense
love stories with the ability to suck the reader in while fueling the
imagination.
And
really...why is it so hard to believe that a vampire might have the emotional
capacity to love as much as a human? They typically were human once and surely
felt the full range of emotions during that time. So, why wouldn't that carry
over into immortality?
With the Twilight
craze, True Blood and the Vampire Diaries (all of which I think are fabulous)
vampires have taken on a sexy, new persona becoming objects of longing, lust
and rabid curiosity for young and older women alike. And who could blame us? I
mean...if a vampire that looked like Ian Somerhalder wanted to bite me, I
wouldn't say no.
He
wouldn’t need his vampire mind control for me to comply.
About Ashlynne
Laynne:
Ashlynne
Laynne has always had a soft spot in her heart for vampires but grew tired of
the garlic fearing, sun loathing creatures of old. An avid horror movie fan,
she tends to enjoy media and music that is of a younger, more eclectic nature.
This was the catalyst for her writing The Progeny. The vampire/witch pairing is
unique and different when most books pair vampires with werewolves.
The
infinite possibilities, for such a wickedly unique couple, intrigued her. There
is no shortage of romance, steam and surprises in The Progeny. These books are
for adults and contain adult sensuality and themes, but minimal profanity. She
loves writing on the edge and teetering between the erotica and romance genres.
She thinks of Ascher and Shauna as the damned version of Romeo and Juliet.
She’s
currently working on book two of the series entitled Blood Bonds. In her spare
time, Ashlynne enjoys cooking, reading and spending time with her family.
Ashlynne juggles the hats of wife, mother, full time employee and part-time
writer, hoping to write full time one day soon.
Ashlynne
lives in North Carolina with her husband and teenage son.
About The
Progeny
At its core, The Progeny is simply a
story about a man and woman who fall in love, and the fact that he’s a
half-blood (half-human, half vampire) and she’s a Wiccan human are secondary
factors. It started as research about the Salem witch trials, some rough
sketches of a special family heirloom that my guys would wear and two
names—Ascher and Shauna. In the beginning, of the book, Ascher is grumpy.
Frankly, who could blame him? He’s engaged to seal to Ursula—a cold and
careless vampire who wants nothing more than to get her hands on a bloodstone—
and he feels conflicted about his existence.
All of that changes when he meets Shawnette
McCutchin. She’s beautiful, intriguing and possesses some of the most potent
blood that he’s ever smelled. A war immediately begins inside Ascher. He craves
Shauna’s blood just as much as he craves her body and the closer they get, the
harder it is for him to control his urges. After Ascher calls off the sealing
to Ursula, the trouble begins. His family’s peaceful period ends when Ursula’s
army attacks the Rousseaus. Kidnapping, some steamy love scenes between our
hero and heroine and Wiccan rage complete the plot.
Ashlynne
appreciates and loves to hear from her readers. Connect with her:
Twitter: @qlane
Facebook: Book Page- http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Progeny-Series-by-author- Ashlynne-Laynne/129418917161599
Buy Links
Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Progeny-ebook/dp/B0074535P6/ref=sr_1_1_title_0_main?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1328127665&sr=1-1
Barnes
and Noble Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-progeny-ashlynne-laynne/1108540255?ean=2940014108355&itm=1&usri=the+progeny+by+ashlynne+laynne
Amazon
paperback: http://www.amazon.com/The-Progeny-Ashlynne-Laynne/dp/1470141604/ref=sr_1_1_title_0_main?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1331315022&sr=1-1
Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/128489
