Wicked Warrior's Hop with Special Guest Dianne Duvall

It's time!!!  Welcome to my stop on the Wicked Hop!!  We are talking about the naughty warriors we love!!  Don't forget to fill out the grandprize rafflecopter to be entered to win a kindle paperwhite or 5 autographed copies of Unbound!!  On this stop, I have Dianne Duvall with me and she is giving away a print copy of her book Predatory as part of the celebration of her new release!!  Take it away Dianne!!

Thank you for joining us!  And thank you, Nikki, for helping me celebrate the release of DARKNESS RISES, the fourth book in my Immortal Guardians series, which I’m excited to say just hit the USA Today Bestseller List!

One of the most frequent questions I’m asked as an author is what inspired my Immortal Guardians series.  Well, I have always loved paranormal romance.  It combines the elements I adore most in horror — preternatural creatures and nail-biting, clinging-to-the-edge-of-your-seat action scenes — with the love and happily-ever-afters I like so much in romance.  I’ve also always enjoyed stories that feature vampires.  Good vampires, bad vampires, cocky vampires, creepy vampires . . . I love them all.  So, when I sat down to pen my own series, I knew it would be paranormal romance that involved vampires.  I wanted to put my own spin on it, though, and decided to return vampires to their nefarious roots.  That’s right — vampires aren’t the heroes in my series.  They’re psychotic killers.  

They also aren’t dead.  Or undead.  I had seen several documentaries in which historians expressed their belief that much of the vampire mythology that has existed for centuries resulted from a simple misunderstanding of such illnesses as porphyria.  This inspired me to make vampirism in my series the result of a very rare virus, one that does not behave like any other on the planet and is symbiotic in nature.  This virus first conquers and replaces the infected person’s immune system, then lends them enhanced senses, greater strength and speed, and incredible regenerative capabilities.  It also causes photosensitivity and increases the person’s need for blood.  Such a virus provided me with an excellent catch 22 as well:  Kill the virus and the immortal or vampire who has been cured will be left with no viable immune system.  In other words, if one doesn’t like being an immortal or a vampire, the only way out is through death.

Since both vampires and immortals in my series are infected with the vampiric virus, I needed a way to differentiate between the two and decided vampires would be humans who have been infected with the virus and added another downside to it:  progressive brain damage that rapidly drives them insane.  This was actually inspired by a biography of King George III, whose madness many in the medical field now believe resulted from porphyria.  So vampires don’t willingly become evil in my series.  They have no choice in the matter.  I then expanded upon an idea begun in a previous manuscript I wrote in which a rare few men and women, who called themselves gifted ones, were born with extremely advanced DNA that leant them special abilities.  In my Immortal Guardians series, immortals are gifted ones who have been infected with the vampiric virus, but their enhanced DNA protects them from the brain damage and the madness (in addition to giving them special abilities — like telepathy in the case of Étienne, hero of DARKNESS RISES).  They, therefore, spend their nights hunting and slaying the maddened vampires who prey upon humans.

Now, not all humans in my series are potential victims who are oblivious to the vampire menace.  A secret global network of humans aids Immortal Guardians in their quest to protect humanity.  This just seemed logical to me.  How can any immortal blend in easily with society if he or she can’t withstand exposure to sunlight and, thus, can’t conduct business during the day?  And, in this era of the internet and cell phones that take pictures and record video, how could immortals possibly keep their existence (and that of vampires) a secret without the help of humans who — because they don’t spend all of their time hunting vampires — can thoroughly explore and, when necessary, exploit the technology?  Like Dracula, my Immortal Guardians needed humans to help them cover their tracks. 

At last, rather than giving my immortals lonely, isolated existences like so many vampires of yore, I wanted to create a familial atmosphere among them.  (Roland isthe exception, of course, because his trust issues compelled him to keep others at a distance until he met Sarah.)  I thought anyone who spent hundreds or thousands of years killing vampires night after night and watching their human friends grow old and die, would need a strong support system.  And the laughter, teasing, and banter they frequently share was simply inspired by that which is such a large part of my own life.

This isn’t everything that inspired the series, of course, but it all aided me in imparting as much realism as I could to a fictional tale.  I hope you’ll have fun with my Immortal Guardians and will enjoy Étienne and Krysta’s story, DARKNESS RISES.  :-)

Blurb

Krysta is used to getting the drop on vampires. Her "special abilities" aren't much, but the plan is simple—she plays helpless pretty young thing to lure them in.  Then her shoto swords come out and it's bye-bye, bloodsucker.  Until one night she finds herself with an unexpected ally.  He's a vampire, all right, but different.  Mysterious.  Handsome.  And more interested in saving her skin than draining it.

Étienne has been an Immortal Guardian for two hundred years—long enough to know that Krysta is special.  He can't stop thinking about her long legs, even more than her short swords.  Then he discovers the vamps she's exterminating have friends in high places, and the Guardians are in danger too.  He'll have to accept Krysta's help to save them.  The stakes for a mortal are high.  But the cost to his heart might be higher. . .

Buy Links

Amazon — http://amzn.to/1881z2E

Kindle — http://amzn.to/1auybnw

Barnes & Noble — http://bit.ly/1ftUHTI

Nook — http://bit.ly/19LJGor

iBooks — http://bit.ly/16Oc1cS

Kobo — http://bit.ly/1bgYDFx

Audible — http://bit.ly/1eLWUbT

Walmart — http://bit.ly/1h7RzIP

Giveaway

So what is your favorite fictional world (any genre)?  Let me know for a chance to win a signed copy of PREDATORY, my last release, + Immortal Guardians swag.

Author Bio

Dianne Duvall is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Immortal Guardians paranormal romance series.  Her debut novel, Darkness Dawns, was nominated for the RT Reviewers' Choice Award for Best Vampire Romance by RT Book Reviews and for Best Paranormal Romance—Vampire by The Romance Reviews.  Ensuing books in the series — Night Reigns, Phantom Shadows, and Predatory — have all been deemed Top Picks by RT Book Reviews, The Romance Reviews, and/or Night Owl Reviews.  Her latest release, Darkness Rises, has been chosen as Top Pick by The Romance Reviews and Night Owl Reviews’ as well. 

Dianne loves all things creative.  When she isn't writing, Dianne is active in the independent film industry and once even appeared onscreen as a machete-wielding maniac not unlike the vampires in her novels.

Connect With Dianne Online  Website:  http://www.dianneduvall.com

Blog:  http://dianneduvall.blogspot.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DianneDuvallAuthor

Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/DianneDuvall

Youtube:  http://www.youtube

Pinterest:  http://pinterest.com/dianneduvall

Goodreads:  http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4400405.Dianne_Duvall
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