Felicity Heaton Guest post (Blog Tour)

Interview with a Source Blood – Amber from Forbidden Blood

Firstly, thank you to Michelle for having me here today as part of my Paranormal Pandemonium 2011 Blog Tour. My latest release, Forbidden Blood, is a vampire romance novel and the first in my new Vampire Venators romance series. It’s a dark, sensual tale of betrayal, revenge and a love that knows no bounds.

Here’s a little bit about me and this series. I’m a paranormal romance / sci-fi romance author writing as Felicity Heaton and F E Heaton, and I have penned over forty stories since I started writing in 2005. Most of those are still available, either for purchase as e-books and paperbacks or as a free download.

Today I had the opportunity of interviewing Amber, the heroine from Forbidden Blood, and she provided some great answers to my questions about her, her vampire hero Kearn, and their story.


FH: I have Amber here today with me to talk about her book, FORBIDDEN BLOOD. Firstly, can you tell us a little about yourself?

AMBER: I certainly can, I’m just not sure where to start. I’m human, for now, and I was just going through life like everyone else, not a clue about the fact that vampires are real... and that they aren’t the only supernatural species out there walking amongst us. I thought my life was going to be normal. I had a job, and was on the verge of moving to Paris to pursue my career when I met Kearn. I’m not saying that I prefer that life to the one I have now, just that I hadn’t expected to meet a vampire that night or to discover that I’m a Source Blood. That might sound crazy to people who don’t know what a Source Blood is. I’m human... but my lineage dates back thousands of years to a time when vampires were evolving. My ancestors broke away from them and remained human, but I share a gene with them. Because my bloodline didn’t evolve, that gene has remained pure. Now, if a vampire drinks my blood, they can gain anything between a nice buzz if they only take a little... and if they drink a lot... well, I’ve seen what happens, and it scares me. My blood can restore the same deteriorating gene in theirs, reawakening their godlike powers. It’s a frightening thing... both to know I carry the power to unleash the true powers of a vampire, and to know there are other women and men out there who share my blood... my family included. I want to warn them, but I’m not sure I can do it without sounding as though I’ve lost my mind. Kearn tells me that they’ll be monitored and the Venators and the Sovereignty will keep them safe, but I still worry about them, and the others like me out there.

FH: Can you tell us about what happened in your story?

AMBER: I was attacked in an alley because I had witnessed something I shouldn’t have. All I had done was see inside a factory courtyard where men were carrying heavy black sacks, and suddenly life as I knew it was over. Men attacked me, and a vampire fed me his blood... I thought I was going crazy but once you see fangs and you’ve tasted their blood... and can feel it inside you, controlling you against your will, then it’s hard to deny they exist. Kearn rescued me. Every day I thank God that Kearn was prowling the area in search of the very man who attacked me. When he took me back to his apartment and explained some things, and asked me to assist him, I couldn’t exactly say no. I knew the safest place for me was with him, and he was my only means of survival. The man wanted to taste my blood to discern whether I was a Source Blood and valuable to him as a blood slave, so he could harvest it and sell it to other vampires... he wasn’t going to stop until he had me, and I wasn’t about to leave Kearn’s side until Kearn had him instead. Everything turned mad after that... I found out what Kearn was... and the man upped his game, and I still have to live with the memories of what happened. Sometimes I still have nightmares.

FH: It must have been hard to deal with everything, especially discovering the existence of vampires and other demons, and also the discovery about your blood.

AMBER: It was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to deal with. Being told that I was different, and that the man after me wouldn’t stop until he had me... I still get shivers now. I was lucky that Kearn was there. I know he’s a vampire, but he’s so different to how I pictured them. He’s strong and steadfast, and he did everything to protect me. He sacrificed so much to keep me safe, and I love him all the more because of it. Vampires are as different to each other as humans are. Some of them, like Kearn, are good inside, even if they don’t realise it. Kearn helped me through everything. He supported me and I couldn’t have done it without him. I’m a strong woman, but there’s only so much I can deal with... and being told vampires exist, that Venators are there to hunt those who harm Source Bloods, and that I’m one of those special humans... it’s a lot to take in. I think I would have fallen apart without Kearn there to keep me together and give me something to focus on. It’s far easier to deal with something when your mind is on something far nicer... like making a vampire with a closed-off-heart open up and fall in love with you.

FH: Your relationship with Kearn is very complicated because your blood is forbidden and he’s not supposed to taste it. It must have been difficult for both of you at first, and not just because of the blood. There’s the vampire thing too.

AMBER: Yeah, the vampire thing and the blood thing were hard to work out at first. When I confronted him about the fact he was a vampire, not just a Venator, and I saw the effect my blood had on him, I wasn’t sure how to react. It’s like a drug to them. It unleashed a different side to him, released his inhibitions and his passion. It’s hard to be afraid of the fact a man, a vampire, has just tasted your blood when he’s pinning you to the side of his car and kissing the breath from you in the most delicious way. He was still the man I knew, the one who would do anything to protect me... but all the emotions he usually kept locked away were unleashed and there was actually a small part of me that really wanted him to take more blood from me. Not just that night either. I wanted him so much, against my better judgement, and every time he tasted my blood, we grew a little closer. He finds it hard to keep things hidden from me when my blood is inside him. I can feel his emotions, so I could sense his pain and turmoil, all the dark things he wanted to hide from me. Kearn has been through so much. It was impossible not to fall for him, especially when I found out the things he had endured with his family and his exile. When I learned about his past, I also realised why he kept his emotions on such a tight leash, and why there were times when he refused my blood... like when we were making love.

FH: How has life been since the events that happened and brought you together?

AMBER: It’s been so much quieter since then, but I know that Kearn still feels a lot of pain over the events that happened in our story, and in his past. I think he has a long way to go before he can move past it all and let it go. He’s been even more attentive than usual, and I’m not going to say that I don’t enjoy it. When he’s not off on missions and we’re together, he scores top marks in the romance stakes... actually, he scores high when he’s away from me too. He calls me whenever he can to check in on me. I think he’s worried that his family aren’t treating me well when he’s not around, but they’re nice to me. He takes me with him on missions whenever he can, and says that it’s because he can’t bear to be apart from me, but I’m convinced it’s because he doesn’t want to leave me with his family. I’ve been working with some of the vampires to promote better treatment of humans amongst the species. It’s amazing the work you can do, and the attention you get from even the darkest of vampires when you have Archduke Pendragon on your side. He oversees all the vampires in Britain, and since he introduced me into society, everyone has been very pleasant to me, even at the balls when Kearn and I break the rules by dancing together.

FH: Your story, FORBIDDEN BLOOD, is a book in a series. Can you tell us a little about the series and can we expect see more of you in other stories in this series?

AMBER: Yes, it is part of a series, and I believe you’re writing about Kearn’s cousin Traegard Montagu next. I would love to read that book because in the few times I’ve met Traegard, he’s been colder than the Antarctic around me. I don’t think it’s a human thing either. I think it’s a woman thing. I’ve wanted to ask him about it so many times, but he’s so quick to make an exit if we’re left alone together. Traegard is a Venator too. Kearn says that he didn’t know that his cousin had been chosen until they met again at the Savernake mansion the night that Kearn defeated the man who was after me. I believe the series focuses on the Venators, doesn’t it, and in particular the vampires? Kearn has told me about Venators, and how they work for the Sovereignty and basically dish out punishment to every vampire who breaks the laws regarding Source Blood. He won’t tell me much about the place they call the “endless dark” which is where the souls of those sentenced by the power given to the Venators by the Sovereignty go. He closes up if I try to get him to talk about it, and says that I don’t want to know. I generally take that as a sign that I really don’t want to know. The vampires aren’t the only demon species that the Sovereignty governs. I’ve heard that there are angels, witches, werewolves and cat-shifters, and things called therianthropes... and even fairies! I haven’t met any of them yet, and Kearn says that I probably won’t as vampires don’t tend to associate with other species, but I overheard someone talking about cat-shifters at a ball recently, and apparently a pride of them has moved to the countryside near the Savernake and Montagu mansions, so I might get to meet some after all.

FH: Describe yourself in one word?

AMBER: Strong. I think it’s a requirement when dealing with a vampire fiancé and the whole crazy world they live in.

FH: Thank you for meeting with me today and chatting. Is there anything else that you’d like to add?

AMBER: Thank you for having me here today and letting me ramble about Kearn. It feels good to talk to someone about everything and not have to worry that they’ll think I’ve gone round the bend. I can’t wait to catch up with everyone in other stories in the series. I’m sure any who read my story will be as interested in finding out how I turn out as the vampires I live with are!



I hope this post has given you some insight into my Vampire Venators series. If you have any questions, please feel free to leave them as a comment and I’ll do my best to answer them. If you’re interested in the series, you can find details of the first book in the series, Forbidden Blood, below, and can also follow me on my blog tour by visiting my 2011 Blog Tour page on my website - http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/paranormal-pandemonium-blog-tour.php


Forbidden Blood is available now in e-book formats direct from my site, on Amazon Kindle, Smashwords, Barnes and Noble Nook, Apple iBookstore, Sony Reader Store and Kobo Books. It is also available in paperback from Amazon.com and will shortly be available in paperback from Amazon worldwide and Barnes and Noble.


Forbidden Blood
Felicity Heaton
In a dark world where vampires exist and where Source Blood, a rare human blood type, can bestow godlike powers upon them, the vampire Venators of the Sovereignty fight to protect the humans by banishing those who drink it to the endless dark.

Exiled from his family and with only his duty to sustain him, Kearn has been on the trail of an elusive Source Blood abuser for three years. When he saves a beautiful human female from the vampire’s grasp, it turns out she’s the lead he’s been waiting for. Amber is a Source Blood and the perfect bait, but for who?

As they race to catch the vampire and survive the cruel games he plays, Amber is pulled deeper into Kearn’s world and discovers the painful secrets he hides behind his handsome but emotionless exterior—hurt that she has the power to heal if she is brave enough.

Read an excerpt: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/ebooks.php?title=Forbidden%20Blood

Available in e-book for $3.99 from:
Author's website: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/ebooks.php?title=Forbidden%20Blood
Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0055I1LNW/
Amazon Kindle Germany: http://www.amazon.de/dp/B0055I1LNW/
Amazon Kindle UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0055I1LNW/
Barnes and Noble Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/forbidden-blood-felicity-heaton/1103572024
Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/66030

Available in paperback for $10.99 from:
Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1461132193/



Biography:
Felicity Heaton is a romance author writing as both Felicity Heaton and F E Heaton. She is passionate about penning paranormal tales full of vampires, witches, werewolves, angels and shape-shifters, and has been interested in all things preternatural and fantastical since she was just a child. Her other passion is science-fiction and she likes nothing more than to immerse herself in a whole new universe and the amazing species therein. She used to while away days at school and college dreaming of vampires, werewolves and witches, or being lost in space, and used to while away evenings watching movies about them or reading gothic horror stories, science-fiction and romances.

Having tried her hand at various romance genres, it was only natural for her to turn her focus back to the paranormal, fantasy and science-fiction worlds she enjoys so much. She loves to write seductive, sexy and strong vampires, werewolves, witches, angels and alien species. The worlds she often dreams up for them are vicious, dark and dangerous, reflecting aspects of the heroines and heroes, but her characters also love deeply, laugh, cry and feel every emotion as keenly as anyone does. She makes no excuses for the darkness surrounding them, especially the paranormal creatures, and says that this is their world. She’s just honoured to write down their adventures.


If you want to know more about me, or want to get in touch, you can find me at the following places:
My website: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk
My blog: http://www.indieparanormalromancebooks.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/feheaton
Twitter: http://twitter.com/felicityheaton
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/felicityheaton