Linda Kage Blog Page: End the week with AMY CORWIN

“If he touches you—tastes one drop of your blood…” Theresa paused dramatically to allow Gwen’s mind to fill in the blanks.

“I know. You don’t have to beat me over the head with the obvious. If he drinks my blood, we both die. Spectacularly.” Gwen laughed. “Maybe that’s my destiny. To take out a vampire by spontaneous combustion.”

“Don’t be melodramatic. I—”

“You also told me my memories would return. And they haven’t.” Gwen’s calm tone made the words sound harsher and more brutal than intended. “You said all of this was for a purpose—what purpose? I lived through hell, and I only remember a few random moments! Vague shadows and the feeling that I’ve forgotten something—something important. I have to know what happened to me that night—not just what you told me. Did I want to become a vampire at thirteen? Did I let them in to slaughter my family and change me? Was it my fault?”

“I doubt it,” Theresa answered carefully. “You’re a good person—”

“So you say…”

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You just read an excerpt from:
Vampire Protector
by
Amy Corwin
from The Wild Rose Press
********************
Today, we’re here with published author, Amy Corwin.
Linda Kage: Hello, Amy! Please tell us a little about you and what you write.

Amy: So far, I’ve written exclusively under the pen name of Amy Corwin. I write in three basic genres: historical romance/mystery; contemporary mystery; and paranormal. My editors have graciously allowed me to keep the same pseudonym for all my books. Most readers are very savvy and are more than capable of selecting the books in their favorite genres, even if an author they like has other books in other genres. I’m not a big fan of obfuscation, or the idea that I have to create a different identify for each genre because readers will get confused if I don’t. LOL I hope these don’t turn out to be “famous last words.”

Of course if a future publisher insists, my list of other names may grow, but I’m hoping it won’t.

Kage: What happened to the first book you ever wrote?

Amy: The very first book? LOL Some might consider that to be the story about the trials and tribulations of a germ traveling through a little girl’s stomach that I wrote in the first grade. We did it as part of a project on the creation of books, so it was bound with a nice cloth cover and everything.

My second book, a romantic mystery written a few years back, is thankfully non-existent. It once lived on my computer’s hard drive, but I’ve since gone through two computer model upgrades and have managed to successfully lose that manuscript along the way. It’s a real mercy, believe me. It was an exercise in how not to write a novel.

Kage:What’s your backlist and coming soon bookshelf look like?

Amy:
Coming Soon
~The Necklace ~~ (Nov or Dec, 2010) a historical romantic mystery featuring members of the infamous Archer family. Readers who have picked up my other books will be very familiar with this family, and I hope to add more books to the list. This book is actually the “pre-quel” to I Bid One American.

Out Now
~Vampire Protector ~~ (Nov 2010) a contemporary paranormal romance. Gwen must accept the help of a vampire to uncover a secret from the past that others are willing to kill for.
~The Bricklayer’s Helper ~~ (Aug 2010) a historical romantic mystery. Book two in the Archer series, featuring a woman searching for the truth behind a fire ten years ago that left her orphaned and may be the reason behind recent attempts on her life.

Backlist
~I Bid One American ~~ (2008) a historical romantic mystery. Book one in the Archer series, including an American heiress, a duke, and a few murders…
~Smuggled Rose ~~ (2007) a traditional Regency romance about a lady who smuggles roses from France and the earl who falls in love with her.

Kage: So, what story are we going to talk about today?

Amy: Vampire Protector ~~ This is now out as of Nov 12, 2010 from The Wild Rose Press (http://www.thewildrosepress.com/) and it’s my first contemporary paranormal. I wrote the story, in part, as therapy during my grieving process after my parents passed away, so it is very special to me. As you might expect, the heroine has a strong desire to reconnect and remember her past, and as part of that stumbles over an old family secret that puts her in danger. To survive, she puts her trust—and faith—in “the vampire next door” who unbeknownst to her, has been guarding her family for several centuries.

There is mystery, romance, and even a spooky old house, so I’m hoping fans of the paranormal will find it enjoyable.

********************BLURB********************
Vampire Protector
by
Amy Corwin
Exploring Gwen's deliciously spooky and long abandoned childhood home in the company of her handsome neighbor sounds like a brilliant way to break her dating dry spell and find a few missing memories. Unfortunately, she soon discovers her mistake. John, her date, is a vampire and her house is not exactly empty. Secrets—and the dead—don’t always stay buried, and John’s extraordinary strength and determination may be all that can withstand what awaits them.

Gwen must unlock her memories and survive the devastating company of her Vampire Protector if she hopes to prevent the past from destroying her future.
*********************************************

Kage: What would the story be rated if it were a movie?

Amy: That’s a really good question. PG for language, but probably R for nudity, LOL. Unlike my historical books, there is a fully realized love scene, so my readers should be aware of that..

Kage: If you HAD to fit this story into a cliché, which one would it be?

Amy: What a great question. I tend to write tales of redemption because we all need to believe that we can change and things can get better. In a way, Beauty and the Beast is very similar because it is also about redemption and seeing the truth behind the appearance. Those themes are very compelling to me, as a writer, and almost all of my books include them, but they are especially strong in Vampire Protector.

Kage:Okay, now that we have a general idea which class to fit Vampire Protector under, what makes this book so unique from every other book out there?

Amy: As you might guess from my list of books, I’m fascinated by history. Even my contemporary books include history, even if it’s just a minor detail. But history plays a major role in Vampire Protector and is critical to the plot. So critical that I can't talk about it without spoiling the plot. LOL But I think the sense of history—specifically American history—does make this story unique, because it’s not just background. It’s pivotal to the plot.

Here’s a fun fact I can reveal, however. The location is actually one I created from the Great Falls location in Virginia where I spent a lot of time bird watching a few years ago. Although the town is fictional, the area is very, very similar. :)

Kage:What was the easiest part to write?

Amy: Dialogue is without a doubt easiest for me. But even that gets difficult when you have to factor in individual character quirks, common expressions, and what a person with a given background would or would not say. Really, nothing is easy, but dialogue is the most fun. I always write that first and then have to go back on the second draft to add in setting details, descriptions, etc.

Kage:What do you like most about the main characters and what do you like least? Did you learn anything from them?

Amy: That’s a really hard question. With Gwen, I personally thought she was too willing to play with fire (the vampire, John) knowing that she could get badly burned. It always annoys me with people do dangerous things and then wonder why they get hurt. But that’s also a strength that I’ve tried my whole life to learn, i.e. that unless you’re willing to take chances, you’ll never grow as a person. You have to take risks. So that trait is both the best thing and most annoying thing about her.

Ironically, John was more like me, which is not good. He’s less willing to take emotional risks, although he’s more than happy to fall on his sword if duty demands it. Gwen forces him to take emotional risks he’d rather not take. I love his devotion to duty and admire his drive to sacrifice his life for others and in my mind, that helps overcome his unwillingness to take emotional risks.

You can see that in both cases, it’s the attitude toward “risky behavior” that is both the best and worst character trait.

Kage:Amy, Thank you so much for stopping by today and gracing us with your presence. Before we go, is there anything else you’d like to say to wrap things up?

Amy: I wanted to mention that if folks would like a free taste of my writing, The Wild Rose Press is offering a free short story called Rose Wars. It’s a painless way to see if you can stomach my historicals. And as for contemporary paranormals, I have a free ghost story on my web site called Silence is Concurrence. I wrote it Halloween afternoon, specifically for Halloween and although it’s not a romance, it may give folks an idea of what my writing is like for my contemporary paranormal stories.

I really appreciate this opportunity to talk about my work. There’s nothing I like better than to ramble on about it.

Thank you!

Now that Amy has totally made us want to buy her book, here's a handy little buy link to Vampire Protector at : The Wild Rose Press

If you're still curious about Amy, here are other places to find her on the web:

Website: http://www.amycorwin.com/

Blog: http://amycorwin.blogspot.com/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AmyCorwinAuthor

Twitter: http://twitter.com/amycorwin

MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/amycorwin

Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B002BLY7MI