Excerpt:
When
it gets dark, he texts Brian that he's going to be out late, and avails himself
of not one but three vampire-human nightclubs set along a dense strip of
Chicago nightlife. Going alone to places like this always attracts immediate
attention, and he isn't surprised when he has to pry both humans and vampires
off of himself. But he doesn't mind—the blood from the center is humming in his
veins, and that buzz takes on a new dimension every time that he swallows a
thimbleful of blood from a donor, which he does at least a dozen times over the
course of the evening. When he’s more relaxed, he allows bodies against his
own, dancing with strangers until strobe lights become normal and everything
outside is too dim and still.
The
blood changes the world around him. Every color, every sound and every source
of light takes on a life of its own.
He
loses track of how many donors he pays. All he knows is he's spent all of the
pocket money that Brian gave him for the weekend.
He
feels like a bloated tick. He’s been away too long. Brian. He has to get
back to Brian.
Today I’m very lucky to be interviewing Melissa
Graves author of Tainted Heart
Hi Melissa, thank you for agreeing to this
interview. Tell us a little about yourself, your background, and your current
book.
What
is the most satisfying thing about being a writer?
Impacting
readers with my vision. I think one of
the most challenging things about writing is making your vision translate into
the reader’s imagination—of course, a reader’s view will never match the
author’s, but it’s incredibly gratifying when the themes and images and
scenarios you weave have the impact you want them to. When a reader gets what I was trying to do or
say, it’s incredibly satisfying. For me,
in particular, when my sex scenes hit the right buttons and my readers let me
know exactly why and how, I’m a happy camper.
Do
your characters ever take over your writing and make the story go somewhere you
hadn’t originally planned?
Yes,
and usually in unexpected ways. This
happens to me a lot with dialogue-heavy scenes or exposition—the conversation
ends and I read over it and think, “Well, that isn’t the way I thought that
would go!” This often necessitates re-writing or re-thinking whole sections of
the story. It’s also almost always a
good thing.
How
did you celebrate the release of your book?
I’m a
huge foodie, so I usually treat myself to a nice meal out or some indulgently
expensive chocolate. Depending on the
time of year or the state of my bank account, a weekend seeing shows in New
York City might be on the table.
How
did you come up with the idea for this book?
Vampire
fiction has always been a homey niche for me, whether reading or writing. I love the genre, from its origins to most
recent efforts, and will basically read any decent vampire fiction. Over the years my creative focus narrowed to
queer erotica, and the two niches sort of merged. I realized I had been unable to read any
quality vampire stories that contained main characters who were queer with
explicit erotica and the plot one comes to expect from vampire stories set in
the modern day. So I wrote one myself.
Have
you ever written naked?
Wait,
people write clothed? Man, you guys are
missing out!
A
veteran writer of fan fiction with thousands of followers, Melissa Graves wrote
her first story at age thirteen, and by age sixteen had met her future husband
in an online vampire fiction chat room. A fan of science fiction and fantasy,
she has a degree in anthropology and a passion for good chocolate, amateur
erotica and fan worlds that celebrate diversity. She is mother to two cats.
Bleeding
Heart,
book one of the Mi Corazón Sangrante series, was her debut novel for
Interlude Press.
Connect
with Melissa at msmelissagraves.com, on
Twitter at twitter.com/msmelissagraves,
on Goodreads at goodreads.com/melissagraves
and on Facebook at facebook.com/msmelissagraves.
Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26223006-tainted-heart
Tour Dates & Stops:
10-Nov:
The Jena Wade, Bike Book
Reviews
12-Nov:
Unquietly Me, Love Bytes, Molly Lolly
16-Nov:
My Fiction Nook, All I
Want and More Books
18-Nov:
Happily
Ever Chapter, Inked
Rainbow Reads
$25
Grand Prize plus five multi-format eBook editions of Tainted Heart
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Thank you for hosting my tour! I'm available to answer any questions.
ReplyDeleteThank you for hosting my tour!
ReplyDeleteThe book looks quite interesting. Congratulations and much success to the author! I have two vampire movies that I've liked a lot. Bram Stoker's Dracula and Interview with the Vampire. Anything with a vampire is good for me as long as the book is M/M.
ReplyDeletetaina1959 @ yahoo.com
My favorite onscreen vampire is Eric from True Blood.
ReplyDelete