Showing posts with label Sweetbloods. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sweetbloods. Show all posts

Monday, August 8, 2011

Interview and Giveaway with Laurie London!



Got a thing for vampires? Well, then you are in luck because author, Laurie London is here to talk about her Sweetblood series!  Ms. London has created a new and exciting world of good and bad vampires and the humans whose blood is so important and addictive to them.  If you haven't read them yet, check out our reviews of Bonded by Blood, Hidden by Blood and Embraced by Blood.

UTC: Hi Laurie! Thanks so much for stopping by today! Let's get started on this interview... When did you realize you wanted to be a writer?

I started writing when I was twelve. Then I tried to write again when my kids were little, but it wasn’t until a few years ago that I really began writing in earnest.

UTC: It's a good thing you continued your writing as a child! Who would you like to co-write with?

I’ve never considered co-writing with anyone.

UTC: Your heroes have usually been strong characters and very alpha. Will Jackson be a little like that as well?

Yes, he is! I knew he was a bad boy, but he’s much naughtier than I had thought.

UTC: You have a short story coming out in the A Vampire for Christmas anthology. Was it difficult or actually fun to mix vampires and Christmas?

I had a lot of fun writing a Sweetblood story set during the Christmas holidays.

UTC: After we get Jackson's book, who will be next in the Sweetbloods series?

Santiago’s book will be up after Jackson’s.

UTC: How many books do you have planned for the series?

Right now, I’m contracted to write four books in the series, but the conflict and the world could continue beyond that. I already know what happens in books five and six.

UTC: How did the idea for the darkblood vampires come to be?

It was actually the concept of sweetbloods that started it all. I liked the idea that both the good guys and the bad guys were vampires but with different ideologies. Darkbloods sell the rare blood, called Sweet, on the vampire black market and are constantly coming up with various schemes to get more.

UTC:  You use some spanish references in your books. Is there any part of the story based on any true myths? What kind of research is involved in the creation of a Sweetblood novel?

The Cantabria area of Spain is rich with folklore including those of immortal dragons, faeries (both good and bad) and mermaids. Ancient people of the region worshipped the sun and fire, while modern people celebrate the summer solstice on St. John’s Day with bonfires on the beaches. If humans celebrate the longest day of the year this way, then, I figured, vampires would celebrate the longest night of the year in a similar fashion. This led to the Night of Wilding, which is a big celebration in Embraced By Blood that gets out of hand. Also, ancient Cantabrians referred to the twilight hours as the Sun of the Dead, which marks the time when the sun dies and the dead come back to life. Vampires in the Sweetblood world refer to this as the time of day when they can move about freely.

UTC: Now let's do some fun questions! If one of your heroes could meet any other character in the PNR world who would it be and what would they do?

Alfonso from Embraced By Blood would probably enjoy meeting Maddox from The Darkest Night since they’re both tormented today by things that happened in the past.

UTC: Pick just one character for each statement! It can be any of your characters or any other fictional characters!

I would marry....Alfonso
I would be best friends with...Mackenzie.

UTC: What's next for Laurie London?

I’m currently working on Jackson’s story, Tempted By Blood, which will be out next February.


Thanks so much for the interview, Laurie! Maidens, stay tuned because there is a giveaway! 

 
Deep within the forests of the Pacific Northwest, two vampire coalitions battle for supremacy—Guardian enforcers who safeguard humanity and Darkblood rogues who kill like their ancient ancestors.
Alfonso Serrano is a hunted man. For months he’s managed to elude the Darkbloods, vengeful foes who won’t rest until he’s dead. But he still craves one dangerous temptation: Lily DeGraff, the sexy Guardian agent he’ll risk anything to protect. 

Lily is a wanted woman. Her talent for tracking Sweet-a rare blood type that’s addictive to vampires-makes her a prime target for enemy capture. Her only hope is the stealthy vampire operative who stole into her bed...then left her in despair. Danger aside-Lily won’t let Alfonso near her heart again-until an irresistible hunger draws them back together...and into an assassin’s snare.
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Friday, June 10, 2011

ARC Review: Embraced by Blood by Laurie London

Embraced by Blood
by Laurie London
(Sweetbloods # 2) 
Paranormal Romance

This was such a turnaround, in my opinion, of the Sweetbloods series! I'm actually so excited! The book was amazing!!! I actually think my feelings on this have a lot to do with the fact that I liked the heroine, Lily, a lot. She was one of my 2 favorite characters from the first book, and I really felt for her then and now! And, well, Alfonso helped matters a lot. The sexy Spaniard with longish blond hair and piercing Paul Newman blue eyes with sexy dimples. What can I say? I'm sucker for a hot bad boy! And this one was so in love with Lily he was willing to sacrifice everything to keep her safe.

They have a history together, they were first together 10 years ago, before Alfonso turned bad boy for Pavlos. And neither one of them has been able to forget the other. When Alfonso comes in during book 1 as a secret informer so that they can bring down Pavlos and their sweetblood operation, they rekindled their romance. And the few, very brief moments we got then left me intrigued. But then Alfonso had to "fake" his own death, and Lily found out only to believe he didn't want anything else to do with her. Which has left her in a bad state. Her abilities are diminishing, she used to be the best Tracker, and now she has to rely more on the trainees with her.

But when the DarkBloods are kidnapping Trackers in order for them to find sweetbloods, Alfonso comes in to protect and guard Lily. Which she may have a bit of a problem with.

Lily is kick ass, independent, calls it as she sees it, and doesn't take shit from anyone. Alfonso is still head over heels in love with her, but having a blood assassin on his back trying to kill him, he decides to stay away from Lily to protect her.

There was so much happening in this one! Not only the trackers are being kidnapped and Alfonso has a blood assassin after him, but the DarkBloods are using a video game to promote a sort of "vampire feeding rave".

I enjoyed all the supporting stories as well, Jackson was amazing, I can't wait to read his book. Alfonso was adorable with Lily's daughter Zoe, and there's a wonderful twist there. But... what is up Dom's butt about his brother? I understand he played a part, involuntarily, in the death's of their parents, but I think he's been punished enough, and has tried to redeem himself. Give the guy a chance! In the end, see what a difference a book without MacKenzie can make!?!?!?!

I'm anxiously waiting the next installment in this series.

My Fantasy Cast


 

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Review: Hidden by Blood by Laurie London

Hidden by Blood
by Laurie London
(Sweetbloods # 1.5) 
Paranormal Romance


Short and sweet. You HAVE to read this short story before moving on to book 2, even though is kind of unrelated, as it is the story of Finn and Brenna, Lily is Brenna's friend and this book gives you an idea of Lily's mental state prior to Embraced by Blood.

Now that being said... Brenna is a vampire. She has just received a scholarship to further her studies, only to realize that "someone" in her benefactors camp had kidnapped a very special person to her. Finn is a human, a sweetblood, and for a while Brenna was in a relationship with him until she was too scared she would take his blood and drain him. Except now she has to save him or the DarkBloods will kill him.

But what happens now that Finn's eyes have been opened to the world of vampires and the importance of his blood to them? Now that he knows he is, quite literally, a drug to them. He won't let Brenna keep him away any longer. He wants her back. She is the one for him. And he is willing to make the ultimate sacrifice to be with her.

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Review: Bonded by Blood by Laurie London

Bonded by Blood
by Laurie London
(Sweetbloods # 1) 
Paranormal Romance
3.5 Feathers

This was one of those "It was fine, alright, nothing special" book for me. I'm sad to say. There wasn't anything memorable about it, AND I didn't like the heroine.

The following issue was just a personal problem I seem to be having with books. Again we have the premises of a "special kind of blood" that is addictive to vampires. Every time I read that I think Twilight. Sorry, I do. But thank God the similarities end there. Mackenzie has that sweet blood, which is in fact addictive to vampires. She has the coolest, but could be weirdest at times, job I've ever read about. She is a location scout for movies etc. Basically her job is to drive around, find a perfect spot for a movie, take pictures, do research, and present it to her client.

She meets Dom, who is verra sexy, and he's an agent vampire, while taking pictures, at night, at an isolated cemetery. He has been on the trail of Pavlos, a bad DarkBlood vampire, who is kidnapping sweetbloods to increase his "drug trafficking" scheme.

MacKenzie was just, how can I say this nicely? A bit stupid, not a complete moron like other heroines, but she just made the wrong decisions at the worst times. She never understood why members of her family would out of nowhere disappear, so she lives her life now, or refuses to live is more like it, with the notion that at any moment she will disappear as well. So why bother going to school? Why bother dating someone? Why bother having friends? Why bother pursuing her art as a career? Oyyyyy And who does that to their name????

As I mentioned before, Dom is amazing. He is a wonderful hero, he first takes MacKenzie's blood while at the cemetery because he might have been almost dying, but he almost drains her and then has to feed her his blood. Which is technically illegal and creates a bit of a bond. Which we then understand is called a Blood Bond. Meant to happen between soul mates.

The rest of the story was actually interesting, there's enough mystery and action to keep you entertained.

I liked Lily as well. Love her bad ass attitude, her relationship with Dom and her scenes with the informant. All in all, it was a light, quick read.