Author interview: Daniel de Lorne with Beckoning Blood

Welcome to Daniel de Lorne!
Author of the sexy M/M paranormal romance BECKONING BLOOD

I met Daniel briefly years ago at Romance Writers of Australia, where he was pretty much the only guy in the room who wasn't someone's husband or a waiter. But hey, men write romance too, and Daniel has this unique voice and cool paranormal ideas that I'm sure you'll love.

You can check out The Boys Are Coming, Daniel's free prequel story to Beckoning Blood. But first of all, this awesome cover!

Goggle. If this doesn't scream 'hot boy vampires', I don't know what does. That handprint is so cool. This dude will kick your ass.

Beckoning Blood

A gripping, blood‐drenched saga about twin brothers, the men they love, and the enduring truth that true love never dies – no matter how many times you kill it.
 
Thierry d’Arjou has but one escape from the daily misery of his work at a medieval abattoir – Etienne de Balthas. But keeping their love a secret triggers a bloody chain of events that condemns Thierry to a monstrous immortality. Thierry quickly learns that to survive his timeless exile, he must hide his sensitive heart from the man who both eases and ensures his loneliness...his twin brother. 

Shaped by the fists of a brutal father, Olivier d’Arjou cares for only two things: his own pleasure and his twin. But their sadistic path through centuries is littered with old rivals and new foes, and Olivier must fight for what is rightfully his – Thierry, made immortal just for him.

Nom nom. Okay, you lot, enough with the drooling. He had me at 'gripping, blood-drenched saga', but hey, I'm like that.

Here's a few questions I asked Daniel about his book. Leave him some comment love, ask some of your own. Go right ahead. He doesn't bite...

Why do you write about vampires—what's the attraction?

What’s not to love? Their immortality gets me the most. I find something comforting about a being (even a fictional one) having been present through so much of history. They’re also incredibly flexible – in the storytelling sense. You can do whatever you want with them because they exist on the edge of ‘normal’ humanity. Then there’s the power over life and death, and the intense meanings evoked when talking about blood. I could go on but I’m starting to sound like a groupie.

No, no. It's okay. We're all vampire groupies here...
Who's your favourite character in Beckoning Blood, and why?

Olivier. He’s the nastier of my twin vampires {ED: twin vampires, folks. You know you want this book} but he’s got a whole lot more going on than his killer instinct. He is a bit of a jerk but there’s just something about him that draws me in. Everyone loves a bad boy, right?

Totally :) Who would win a fight: your vampires, or Buffy? Explain.

Don’t make me choose! Picturing Buffy dead (again) is too horrible. If it were just Buffy on her lonesome, then I think my vamps would win – though they’d have to really want to fight her. And there wouldn’t be any of that standing around soliloquizing that bad guys always do. They’d get in and get the job done quick. If it’s her and all the sidekicks, then I think my boys would be in trouble.

Your vampire heroes walk into a bar, looking for a late-night snack. Whom do they choose to menace, and why?
a) Any human who smells good. They're not fussy.
b) That weak-ass sparkling vamp over there. He looks like a real loser.
c) A bike-chain-wearing, vodka-swilling vampire rival. Might as well eliminate the opposition while we feed.
d) Each other. Fight's on!

Again with the choosing! Olivier would go for that bike-chain-wearing, vodka-swilling vampire rival. Ain’t nobody going to intimidate him (and seriously, vodka? Is that vamp on a diet?). Thierry would go for a human and make it quick, then leave his brother to the fighting.

(And poor Edward…he’s never going to be able to live that sparkling thing down.)

No. {evil giggle} No, he never will.
Is Beckoning Blood part of a series – what's next from Daniel de Lorne?

I’m working on a sequel, which has a working title of Binding Spirit. I’ve got a first draft already but it’s still early days. Revisions ahead! It’s been fun writing about these characters again, spending more time with them and seeing what I can make them do.


Thanks for coming, Daniel. Sound awesome? Yes, yes it does. And guess what? You can get a free taste of these sexy boys at Daniel's website: www.danieldelorne.com/the-boys

Buy links for BECKONING BLOOD: Escape Publishing ~ Kindle ~ iBooks ~ Kobo ~ Nook

Links to Daniel's social media:
Facebook ~ Twitter ~  Google+

Any questions for Daniel? Tell us why you love vampires or M/M romance or anything with a bloody handprint on its chest? Let's hear it.

Cool new cover art: J.M. Bray

Please welcome my friend J.M. Bray, to reveal the cover for his cool new romantic fantasy MENDING THE SHROUD ~ book 2 in the Shroud Trilogy, releasing in July.

The first book is called TEARING THE SHROUD - cool creepy title, yeah?

Without further ado...

(Erica jumps in: this is very cool. Simple, nice colours with the neon swirl behind the title. Aaand hot, in an understated, come-hither kind of way. I like the feather - intriguing, raises questions. And the dude's eyes say, 'I may be pretty, but I'll still kick your butt.'

Oh, yeah. And bless the day for a paranormal/fantasy cover that features 1) no full moon, furry animal or woman with improbably bare midriff; and 2) NO POINTLESS TATTOOS. What do you think?)

Here's what J.M. says:

The exciting sequel to Tearing the Shroud is coming July 1, 2014 and here's the cover! Once again Escape Publishing did an amazing job on the artwork and tying the two books together visually. JM is hard at work on the third book, so keep a lookout for it.

When you’ve learned to take possession in stride, love should be easy. Right? It might be if your life and the lives of people you loved weren’t threatened by an invasion of monsters. 

Vincent thought saving the world once was a challenge, he didn’t figure on retribution putting a price on his head. It means college takes a back seat again as he’s possessed by Coleman to fight a new battle with the Kafla. But this time he’s not alone, Jule, the woman he loves is also is possessed.

Together they hope to stave off the invasion and take the fight to the Realm, where only a supreme sacrifice can Mend the Shroud and save their worlds.

About the Author

J.M. Bray lives in Southern California with his college sweetheart and their two dogs. After a lifetime together, they are happier than the moment they met. 
When not writing or working his "day job", he loves to cook, play the guitar, and travel with his wife. Every chance he gets, he races an old Porsche named "Tuffy" at tracks in the southwest.

 Buy book one, Tearing the Shroud 

Twitter: @jmbraybooks

Email: jmbray@jmbray.com

Website: www.jmbray.com

Blog: http://blog.jmbray.com

Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/JMBray.books

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/jmbraybooks/

Thanks, J.M. :) so what do you guys think? You a fan of fantasy/romance, featuring stuff other than vamps and weres? A fellow member of the 'we're so over tattoos on book covers' club?

true blood. meh. rant.

I just finished watching the HBO series True Blood on my PVR. (Ranty spoilers ahead, for those who don't want to know.)

Hooray! for vampires on mainstream tv. We need more of it.

That's where my delight in this series ended. Two words: WHINY HEROINE.

God, she's awful. I just wanted to punch her from scene 2, ep one, and it didn't get better. I'm sure she can't be like that in the books, or they wouldn't be such a hit.

TV Sookie invades people's privacy and then complains like a squashed skunk when people do the same to her. She complains all the time without a thought for any one else's problems. And even though she's almighty perky (my, is she perky. TV Sookie: hey, bar patron whom I so clearly think I'm better than, can you see how perky I am? No? Can I push my titties out just a little more? See now? No? How's about I wiggle my tush? Get it now? Great. kthxbai) if a guy should find her attractive, that's a mortal sin. What a be-yatch.

TV Sookie is the Thought Police. News flash, Sookie: people are entitled to think what they like, even if it offends your virginal little sensibilities.

Oh yeah. Did I not mention she's a virgin? Riiiiight.

And she's so self-absorbed. Everything has to be about her. Example: ep 2, where Bill tastes her blood for the first time.

TV Sookie: "Do I taste different to everyone else?"

Spew. I was so hoping Bill would say, no, actually, you're common as dirt, girl :)

And what's with dressing up in a white nightie and running out into the forest? What a princess.

However.

The series wasn't a total loss. Redeeming features:

1) Bill. He's a clumsy fool, but he's kinda cool. This actor makes a much better vampire in Ultraviolet, btw. See:

 

2) Eric. Cool, built, wears muscle shirts (!), takes no shit, makes fun of Bill, thinks Sookie is a waste of space, girly hair that I adore. Nuff said.

 

3) Lafayette. Sassy. Alas, he's no more.

4) Rene being the killer. I like Rene. Pity he didn't kill Sookie too. Stay in the grave, Sookie.

Rant over. I was disappointed. I'll get over it. And, I'll probably watch Season Two. Even if just to see Eric in that muscle shirt again.

That's enough outa me -- what did you guys think of this series? Hit or miss?

they cast who?

Vampires, right? The stiletto heels of the paranormal. People keep saying they'll go out of fashion as we come to our senses, but it keeps not happening, because they're just too damn sexy.

From way back when, I mean. This isn't a new idea. I still remember puzzling over the abridged version of Dracula when I eleven. I wasn't quite sure what was wrong with poor hysterical Lucy, but it didn't sound all bad.

And then high school, and Interview With the Vampire.

Sigh.

Louis, the vamp who put the e in emo before we even knew what emo was. Baffled, beautiful and bewildered with ennui, he wasn't a vamp because he was attacked by a vicious monster or or bewitched by some blood-fanged hellbeast. He was a vampire because he hated his life but was too scared to die when the opportunity came.

Cue a whole generation of romance heroes with heartbreaking fatal flaws.

Louis was gorgeous and he sparked a tradition of angsty, whining vamps who abhorred this life of death and sorrow, yadda yadda, but for inadequately explored reasons never actually get around to killing themselves. But we forgive him because he's the original and the best.

And because, in 1994, we found out he actually looked like this:



Gulp. Honestly. No one really cared whom they cast as Louis because of the furore over Tom Cruise (I mean, OMG,  like, he's not even blond, are they crazy? etc. etc.). And then River Phoenix died and people cared even less. I don't know what possessed Them to cast JD from Thelma and Louise as Louis, but that limb? I want out on it.

(Okay, so Mr Pitt had done a little more than that at the time. If you haven't seen it, check out Kalifornia. It's fantastic.)

I actually love the entire casting of Interview. It's crazy, but it's crazybeautiful.

IMO Mr Cruise is perfect. You want to punch him, but you admire him too. And everyone who's read the books knows that Armand is a short chubby-cheeked redhead from Venice. Right?

Al contrario.



Need I say more? And recall, if you will, the collective bated breath in the cinema when this (almost) happened:



Mmm. Anyway. I digress :)

Apart from spawning a generation of Louis-clones -- and are we pleased about that or what? -- Interview is notable also for what it didn't spawn, at least not straight away: a generation of vampires like Lestat. The monster hero who's pretty damn pleased to be a monster, thanks very much, and if I'm going to hell (or not?) I might as well have some fun along the way. It's only recently that we've been inundated with this kind of character.

But more than thirty years (can you believe it?) have passed since the release of Interview, and no one has yet out-emo-ed Louis. No one has out-bratted Lestat.

If only Ms Rice had known when to stop.

Like me. Here.