A review of “A Vampire’s Kiss” and a cool interview with me came out on Friday on the Maybe Tomorrow? website (http://www.xxbetty.blogspot.com).  Beth Tyler did an awesome job with both, so I thought I would run them today as my Tuesday blog post.

Just in case you’re wondering, I did NOT behave myself in the interview.  Not my fault!  I’ve got strippers-on-the-brain syndrome.  Although I‘d much rather have them on another part of my bod.  Purrrrrrrrrrrrrrr….!

Enjoy!

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 REVIEW

“A Vampire’s Kiss” is a spin off from Laura Stamps’ well-established series, “The Witches of Dixie.”  But before you wonder if you have to read her previous books before this, don’t worry, this book stands alone. But after reading the first two parts of this serialization, I shall be checking them out!

“A Vampire’s Kiss” tells the story of Sara and Dray.  Sara is a Wiccan Green Witch and Dray is the owner of Manigault Technologies, and just happens to be a vampire.  Which vampire-obsessed Sara is completely clueless about.  Throw in a meeting at a friend’s party and sparks begin to fly, and watch out – because they’re hot.

Sara is certainly a girl who knows what she wants and isn’t afraid to go ahead and grab it! She has the kind of confidence many of us wish we had! And Dray, oh my! I may have a new fictional boyfriend!

Laura has chosen an interesting method here, choosing to serialize the book rather than release one full novel. I think it’s a really fun idea! The thought that you have a new installment waiting for you each month!

One thing’s for sure, she sure knows how to enthrall her readers!  “A Vampire’s Kiss” was a decadently delicious read and I highly recommend it to fans of erotica/paranormal romance!

To read a sample of “A Vampire’s Kiss” go to:

http://www.avampskiss.blogspot.com

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 INTERVIEW

Thank you for choosing Maybe Tomorrow? to review the first two parts of your new novel serialization, “A Vampire’s Kiss.”

1.) Before we start, would you like to tell us a bit about yourself?

I’m a SexWitch (Wiccan Faery Witch), empath, psychic, and paranormal erotica novelist.  I also have a reputation across the web as a shameless slut.  All true.  Thus, my branding, which is me.  But I can’t help it.  I’m like the wild girl in an erotica novel…addicted to lust, sex-obsessed, very sexually active, kinky as hell.  Yeah, I have a realllllly good time.  *exhibitionist grin*

2.) For people who are new to your writing, like me, can you explain what the basis for this series is about?

I write four series.  The main series is “The Witchery Series.”  It is the only series of mine that spans from empowering to romantic to erotic.  All the spin-off series are erotica.  “The Manigault Vampires” is a spin-off series from “The Witchery Series.”  In fact, the first chapter of “A Vampire’s Kiss” happens at the same time as the last chapter of “Call of the Witches: Book Three of the Witchery Series” at the same party.  So they flow seamlessly together.  I did that on purpose.  All my series follow the same timeline, so my readers never feel lost, no matter what series they’re reading. 

3.) How did you get into writing? I understand you started off writing poetry, how did you make the transition from that to full novels?

I started out as an artist and majored in art in college.  Since I switched to writing 23 years ago I only do the occasional cover for my novels (the covers of all “The Witchery Series” are my paintings).  But art never really satisfied me 100%.  The first thing I wrote was a poem when I was 30.  And that was it.  I was hooked.  I became a very successful small press literary poet with numerous poetry books published by several publishers and won lots of awards.  I never intended to write fiction.  I always thought I would be a poet.  I was happy like that and making a good living at it. 

Then one night as I was falling asleep a few lines came to me.  Many, many writers keep a pad of paper and a pen next to their beds to catch those lines, because you’ll never remember them in the morning.  As I reached for a pen and paper I realized these weren’t the first lines of a poem.  They were the first lines of a short story.  Yikes!  I’d never written fiction before, but suddenly the first three paragraphs of this story poured out of me.  It shocked me so much I sat up in bed completely awake.  Then I wrote it all down.  That was 1996.  I wrote several short stories after that, and surprisingly they were snapped up by magazines faster than my poems. 

However the thing about a short story is that it’s NOT the same as a novel.  Not even close.  They are totally different animals.  That’s why some of your fav novelists suck at novellas and short stories.  That’s also why authors specialize in short story collections or novels.  Rarely both.  They are totally different in structure.  A short story is more like a poem.  It’s small and compact with a tight beginning and end.  A novel stretches for 20-40 chapters.  It’s like a long winding river filled with millions details that all have to make sense to the reader.  Regardless, I knew one day I would write novels.  But I couldn’t see all the way to the end of that river.  Being Pagan, I didn’t push it.  I knew it would happen when the timing was right. 

And seven years later in 2003 it did.  The “Mirabella” section” of “The Witches of Dixie” suddenly came to me out of the blue one day.  It was like all the sudden here was the title (”Evergreen”).  Then the next day here was the name of the main character, Mirabella.  The next day Mirabella started talking, and the novel poured out.  Three months later it was finished and published.  And I’ve never looked back. 

Some poets continue to write poetry after they publish novels.  And some poets become novelists and never write poetry again.  That would be me.  Being an erotica novelist is IT for me.  It satisfies me 100%.

4.) You’ve written a previous series, The Witchery Series, can you tell us about that?

“The Witchery Series” is my main series.  The first novel, “The Witches of Dixie: Book One of the Witchery Series,” is actually an anthology of the first 4 novels and novellas in that series (”Evergreen” is one of them).  In ”The Witches of Dixie,” you meet four Witches who are struggling with marriage, business, and financial problems.  They use their Pagan faith and empowering principles to pull through and overcome.  Yeah, this is a very empowering book.  No romance or sex in this one.  It’s just a very empowering novel for women.  

In “What Witches Want: Book Two of the Witchery Series” one of the Witches is recovering from an abusive marriage and painful divorce.  In the course of healing herself she meets a sexy two-natured man and finds true love.  This is a sweet romance with tasteful sex and the most yummmmmy hero.  Yowza!  

In “Call of the Witches: Book Three of the Witchery Series” the heroine is tired of being plagued with bad-news boyfriends.  She takes a two-year vow of celibacy and spends that time learning how to empower herself so she will be attracted to a good guy for a change. Three months before her celibacy vow ends she runs into a Wiccan Green Witch, who happens to be the sweetest, sexiest man she’s ever met. Sparks fly, and her libido sizzles.  In this book I thought it would be fun to write an erotica novel about a celibate heroine.  Believe it or not, I find plenty of ways for her to have lots of erotic sex in this one.  For many it is their favorite of the series.  The romance is sweet, and the sex is smokin’ hot!  

So like I said earlier, you’ll find something for everyone in this series.  I think that’s why it’s done so well since the day it was published.  I should also mention I sell signed copies of this series on the “A Vampire’s Kiss” site (the info is in the sidebar http://www.avampskiss.blogspot.com), and I include verrrry naughty personalizations in those books.  Of course.  *wicked grin*

5.) “A Vampire’s Kiss” is it’s spin off. Did you have this series in mind when you were writing the first? What pushed you in the direction of ‘A Vampire’s Kiss’?

No.  All my novels are character-driven, meaning my characters tell the story.  Not me.  I knew I wanted to do a vampire series, but I had no idea how it would tie in with the Witches in “The Witchery Series.”  Then one day Wynn started talking about his boss at Manigault Technologies, Drayton Manigault, who just happens to be a vampire.  What?!  I didn’t know that.  Alrightyyyy!  The entire vamp series took off from there.

6.) “A Vampire’s Kiss” is being released in monthly installments, which I think is a novel idea and one I’ve never seen or heard of before. What made you decide to run with this idea?

Actually, in the old days many of the classic novels by authors we know so well (Charles Dickens, etc.) were published as serials.  Stephen King has done it with several of his novels.  In my case, I had just survived a nightmare in my career that would turn most novelists’ hair gray.  No, I’m not talking about a yucky cover (yeah, we all have nightmares about that *lol), but close.  

In the 23 years I have been a fulltime writer I’ve always made sure 2-4 new books of mine came out every year from my various publishers.  I was on track in 2009 for 4 new novels and novellas to come out.  But in March my ebook publisher went out of business weeks before one of my spin-off series (”The Rune Witch Series”) was to be published.  I had just finished the first draft of “A Vampire’s Kiss” in February.  That meant I had to stop working on that novel and find a new publisher for “The Rune Witch Series.”  My naughty blog was also being made into a memoir series.  I have had agents off and on during my career, but at that time didn’t have one.  I knew I wanted one for that memoir series so it would go to a good nonfiction publisher.  I settled on an agent in June, and he found a good publisher for the memoir series and my spin-off novel series. 

Everything seemed to be going well.  Or so I thought.  Then everything bogged down in September.  By March of this year I had gone 16 months without a new book.  Horrors!  And not for lack of trying or writing new books.  Just one case after another of publisher constipation.  

Then Kittyfeather Press offered me the opportunity to publish “The Manigault Vampires” as a serial, and I jumped at it.  You’ve gotta admit it’s the perfect reward for all my loyal fans who went 16 months without a new book from me.  Now, because of what Kittyfeather Press has done, they get hot vampire erotica from me every month in this serial format.  How cool is that?  At first people were kinda shocked, because it is unusual.  But now everyone loves the idea, and my fans wait anxiously from month to month for the next installment.  So it’s become a huge hit, and I’m having a blast with it.

7.) What made you choose vampires as your next avenue to explore?

That’s easy.  Vampires are sex-on-a-stick.  Duh.  *lol*  I already have Witches, a shapeshifter, and several two-natured Fey characters.  I wanted a vampire series because I thought it would work well with my Witches, which it has.  Plus, I got to create this fabulous vampire world in Columbia.  Dray is 145 years old.  He was turned during the Civil War in Charleston, South Carolina.  So I get to go into a bit of history when Sara learns his true identify. Big fun!

8.) I’ve read that some authors find it impossible to write without putting a little bit of themselves in what they write. Do you agree with this? If so what characteristics of yourself do you see in your characters?

Some do, and some don’t.  For me, my characters have always been fictional.  But there are certain subjects I know about, Pagan and not, that I want to explore in a novel.  However that doesn’t mean the heroine is me.  For example, Mirabella is the typical artist.  Starting out as an artist I know plenty about that life and biz.  So she is a composite of about 20 artists I know. 

On the other hand, “A Vampire’s Kiss” is a first for me in many respects.  It is the first novel of mine where the h/h refused to follow my outline.  No kidding.  Dray and Sara are such a great couple and the chemistry between them is so intense they wanted to tell their story their way.  I ended up throwing away my outline after 20 chapters and let them run wild with the book.  Consequently, they did an awesome job with it. 

The other first is the character of Sara.  Dray is soooo yummy.  I thought it would be fun to make Sara a clone of me.  So Sara is me.  I’ve never done that before.  But you know what that means, right?  I get to fuck yummy Dray over and over and over again.  Ah, life is good! *sex-obsessed grin*  Those fans of mine who know me get a real kick out of Sara because she is soooo ME!  lol

9.) What are your plans for your next project? Are there going to be more spin offs?

Not that I know of.  But what do I know?  I’m just the writer.  My characters rule.  At any rate, “The Witchery Series,” “The Rune Witch Series” (finally coming out this fall), and “The Faery Witch Series,” (coming out in 2011) are all trilogies.  ”The Manigault Vampires” is the only series of mine that is not limited to three books.  I can see it going for ten novels or more.

10.) Finally, if you could pack up and leave for one week, where would you go and why?

Is this fantasy or reality?  If it’s fantasy I would grab Chippendale’s stripper Kevin Cornell and disappear into the sunset as fast as my little bunny slippers could take me.  Damn, that man is HAWT!  If he’s busy that week I’d settle for Donovan of Thunder From Down Under.  Yummmy!  Okay, I have a thing for young strippers.  But I’ve always thought being a cougar was a GOOD thing, ya know?

However, if we’re talking reality, I’d go to one of my fav vacation places with my long-suffering husband, Wes.  Asheville, North Carolina, or Manhattan.  Both have great art galleries, bookstores, and restaurants. 

 The Kevin Cornell thing sounds much better, doesn’t it?  Okay, being the delusional slut that I am I’ll take that choice.  See ya!  *dashing of into the sunset with a gorgeous YOUNG stripper*

Thanks again to Laura for taking the time out to participate in this interview! It really was a treat coming up with the interview questions and reading Laura’s responses! And it made it extra special by the fact Laura is the first author to be interviewed for Maybe Tomorrow?!

I hope you’ve enjoyed this! And if you want to know more about Laura and her work, check out the links below!

xoxo
Laura Stamps
The Magickal SexWitch
Author of Paranormal Erotica & Romance Novels
laura@laurastamps.com
For HOT vampire erotica go here:
http://www.avampskiss.blogspot.com
Check out my naughty blog & novels:
http://www.LauraStamps.com
My “Laura Stamps” Fan Page at Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/sexwitch
Follow me on Twitter at:
http://twitter.com/sexwitch

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 13th, 2010 at 8:00 am and is filed under Book Reviews, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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