Hey, everyone! Hope you all had a great weekend. Today we have an interview with author, Kristin Miller, about her paranormal romance, Vamped Up, the second novel in her Vampires of Crimson Bay Series. If you'd like to read the back-cover-blurb for Vamped Up click the following link and scroll down to product description: Vamped Up Description. And make sure you check back for my review of Vamped Up on Friday!
Welcome to Nocturnal Readings, Kristin! Let's go ahead and get started.
Tell us a little bit about the main characters in Vamped Up. We’re introduced to Ruan and Eve in book one of the Vampires of Crimson Bay series, but tell us who they really are in book two. Who did you create first?
Ruan is a four hundred year old vampire who can only remember the last quarter of his life. He’s an assistant at ReVamp (Crimson Bay’s rehabilitation center for vampires), and is a think tank without a love life…until he meets Eve, a human with mouth-watering blood, in InterVamption. They were secondary characters in the first installment of the series, so they really didn’t get their moment. Vamped Up is the story of how their relationship grows despite the obstacles thrown against them.
I created Ruan first. Actually, I think he may’ve been the *very* first of the series. Hmm…hadn’t thought about that. He’s a tortured hero, determined to piece his life back together, and I’ve definitely got a soft spot in my heart for him.
What was your inspiration and how long did it take you to write Vamped Up?
Being that Vamped Up is the second in the Vampires of Crimson Bay Series, I knew I had to keep my plot tied to their world. I knew my base characters and the villain, and what had to happen in order for my hero and heroine to be torn apart, then connected back together. I guess you could say the creative process was pretty linear for this one.
It took me five months to write Vamped Up, from first word to editor submission.
Which characters were the hardest/easiest to write and why?
I think the characters who are a little twisted are the easiest to write. (That’d be Savage and Lilith in Vamped Up.) I like getting in their heads and seeing what makes them tick. I had to cut a lot of Savage’s scenes out in the end (guess I got a little carried away), but their POV’s come easiest overall.
Hardest to write? I can’t say. I think making a three dimensional character is pretty difficult all the way around.
What was the biggest challenge for you in writing Vamped Up?
Being that Ruan and Eve are already together at the beginning of Vamped Up, I knew readers weren’t going to be able to see their “firsts”. (You know, first touch, hand-hold, kiss, yada-yada.) Showing their growth as a couple through the pitfalls they overcome, versus showing how they fell in love from the get-go, was a challenge for me.
If you could tell us one fun fact about any of your characters, who and what would it be?
I have all sorts of creatures in Crimson Bay—vampires, therians (or shape-shifters), and another introduced in this story that I can’t mention yet—and I thought maybe I could pull off a dragon. I wanted Lilith, a vampire elder with flaming red hair, to be able to shift into a dragon *so badly* I pushed the envelope a bit, all the way to the end. Then, of course, I had to go back and cut it all out because it would’ve been utterly ridiculous. But hey, that’s what first drafts and editing are for, right?
Can you tell us about what you’re currently working on? Aside from Vamped Up, do you have any new releases coming soon?
Yes! I do! I have a Harlequin Cravings novella titled, Claimed by Desire, coming out May of 2012. The second in that series, currently Untitled #2, will release late Summer of 2012.
After the previous question, I have to add: my novellas are about shifters. Werewolves, Dragons, and Merfolk. Yes, I said dragons. I had to fit it in somewhere.
Without giving too much away, what’s your favorite scene in the novel? How did you feel when you completed that scene?
I have a few favorites, but one of them is near the end, when Ruan makes the ultimate sacrifice for Eve. I can’t really say what happens, just that he shows what love really is.
Can we see a sneak peak of that scene?
I hate to give away too much…
How about this:
“Damn it, Eve, all I ever wanted was to protect you. To keep you separate from all of this. I loved you the best that I could. The only way I knew how. Now look where I’ve gotten you . . . closer to the fire than mundanely possible.” He spread his arms to the monochromatic landscape of forever, then slapped them against his sides. “You can’t come with me. I won’t have it. I couldn’t live with myself. The pure part of my soul is gone, don’t you see? I’m no better than the demons down there waiting for me. But you are.” He ghosted his hands along her cheeks, then settled them on her neck. “You’re the most precious thing in the world to me, Eve, and I won’t have you giving up the best part of yourself on a love-struck whim.”
“This is not a whim!” She threw herself at him then, her arms around his neck, her lips to his. The moment their mouths moved against one another, Eve knew she’d give up any part of her soul to be with him. She’d follow him to the depths of hell if it meant they could have one more minute together like this. One perfectly heavenly moment, untouched by the dreariness of the world around them.
What’s your favorite line from the story?
Pick any one of the above. I love that scene.
If you could go back to when you were writing this novel, what advice would you give yourself?
I would have the story begin the day after Ruan and Eve fled from San Francisco’s haven. As it’s written now, a month has passed and the vampires of Crimson Bay no longer hunger for Eve’s blood. I wrote it this way because I thought I could focus on their journey. If I’d written it the other way, I’d have to show Ruan and Eve on the run, hiding from their own kind. I saw their story in another light, but I guess it made the story border a bit on the Urban Fantasy side, rather than the Paranormal.
To me, it’s the best of both worlds.
Favorite book?
Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier. Hands down. Murder mystery with a little romance thrown in.
Favorite author?
JR Ward, Nora Roberts and Monica McCarty are up on my list at the moment.
What are you currently reading?
I’m knee deep in The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, and Heart of the Dragon by Gena Showalter.
Favorite Vamped Up character and why?
Can’t I say I love them all equally? No? Okay, then I’ll leave out the hero and heroine, because they’re obviously toppers on my list, and say Lilith, the vampire elder I mentioned before. She’s witty, sly, and devious with twisted good intentions.
Thanks again for stopping by, Kristin! We're glad to have you any time!
For more information on Kristin and her work, or where you can purchase a copy of her novella/novels, you can find her at the following places:
Twitter: KM_Miller
Blog: www.pararomance.blogspot.com
I’d also like to note that Amazon has listed Vamped Up’s print price incorrectly. E-copy is $3.99. If you’d like a print copy, buy it from B&N, where can purchase it for the correct price of $4.88. Thank you!
Hope you all enjoyed the interview with Kristin! Make sure you check back for the review on Friday!
