Monday, March 19, 2012

Why Write About Vampires by Ashlynne Laynne - Author Spotlight

The New Breed of Vampire

Why write about vampires?

I've been obsessed by horror movies since I was very young. My grandmother took me to see Creepshow at the dollar movie, when I was nine. The dollar movie has long been gone but that day spurred my love of the horror genre.

I'm a horror fanatic. I'll watch anything—slasher, cheesy b rated, zombie, vampire, witches. You name it; I will or have already seen it. I'm the same way, Amy :)

My upcoming series is about a family of vampires and one within their family who is different, yet the same. Ascher is a half-bloodling (half-human and half vampire). His skin possesses the warmth of a human's yet he lives off blood, is pale and immortal like his family.

I and other authors are bringing forth a new breed of vampire. Passing are the days of the cold-blooded, garlic fearing, cross avoiding fiends of old. The new blood is tougher, meaner, and faster. They fall deeper in love than any of their predecessors. These guys have the gentle touch of a feather but will tear an enemy apart with the same hands. They're as passionate about their clan ties as they are about the women who stir their blood. - Can't wait to ready about this hot new breed!

They're bold, sexy warriors with hearts of gold.

Never one to conform, I believe that it’s within an author's rights to create his/ her characters and their worlds. Vampires are things of myth, so no one knows what they would actually be like. They are subject to their creator's interpretation.

I subscribe to the fact that vampires are pale and blood drinkers. I'm a purist in believing that they are cold-skinned and burn in sunlight. I'm not one to believe that vampires are emotionless, evil fiends who sleep in coffins and plan the demise of us warm-blooded humans.

The humanization of the "undead" makes for interesting and intense love stories that suck the reader in and fuel the imagination.

And really...why is it so hard to believe that a vampire might have the emotional capacity to love as much as a human? They were like us once and surely felt the full range of emotions during that time. So, why wouldn't that carry over into immortality?

With the Twilight craze, True Blood and the Vampire Diaries (all of which I think are fabulous) vampires have taken on a sexy, new persona, becoming objects of longing, lust and sexual desire for young and older women alike. And who could blame us? I mean...if a vampire that looked like Ian Somerhalder wanted to bite me, I wouldn't say no.

He wouldn't need his vampire mind control for me to comply.


About Ashlynne Laynne:
Ashlynne Laynne has always had a soft spot in her heart for vampires but grew tired of the garlic fearing, sun loathing creatures of old. An avid horror movie fan, she tends to enjoy media and music that is of a younger, more eclectic nature. This was the catalyst for her writing The Progeny. The vampire/witch pairing is unique and different when most books pair vampires with werewolves.
The infinite possibilities, for such a wickedly unique couple, intrigued her. There is no shortage of romance, steam and surprises in The Progeny. These books are for adults and contain adult sensuality and themes, but minimal profanity. She loves writing on the edge and teetering between the erotica and romance genres. She thinks of Ascher and Shauna as the damned version of Romeo and Juliet.
She’s currently working on book two of the series entitled Blood Bonds. In her spare time, Ashlynne enjoys cooking, reading and spending time with her family. Ashlynne juggles the hats of wife, mother, full time employee and part-time writer, hoping to write full time one day soon.
Ashlynne lives in North Carolina with her husband and teenage son.


Now let's get a glimpse of The Progeny
At its core, The Progeny is simply a story about a man and woman who fall in love, and the fact that he’s a half-blood (half-human, half vampire) and she’s a Wiccan human are secondary factors. It started as research about the Salem witch trials, some rough sketches of a special family heirloom that my guys would wear and two names—Ascher and Shauna. In the beginning, of the book, Ascher is grumpy. Frankly, who could blame him? He’s engaged to seal to Ursula—a cold and careless vampire who wants nothing more than to get her hands on a bloodstone— and he feels conflicted about his existence.
All of that changes when he meets Shawnette McCutchin. She’s beautiful, intriguing and possesses some of the most potent blood that he’s ever smelled. A war immediately begins inside Ascher. He craves Shauna’s blood just as much as he craves her body and the closer they get, the harder it is for him to control his urges. After Ascher calls off the sealing to Ursula, the trouble begins. His family’s peaceful period ends when Ursula’s army attacks the Rousseaus. Kidnapping, some steamy love scenes between our hero and heroine and Wiccan rage complete the plot.


Ashlynne appreciates and loves to hear from her readers. Connect with her:
Twitter: @qlane
Facebook: Book Page- http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Progeny-Series-by-author- Ashlynne-Laynne/129418917161599
Author Page- http://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-Ashlynne-Laynne/118945981513261
Author Blog: http://ashlynnelaynne.blogspot.com/
Email: ashlynnelaynne@aol.com

Buy Links
Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Progeny-ebook/dp/B0074535P6/ref=sr_1_1_title_0_main?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1328127665&sr=1-1
Barnes and Noble Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-progeny-ashlynne-laynne/1108540255?ean=2940014108355&itm=1&usri=the+progeny+by+ashlynne+laynne
Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/128489

4 comments:

  1. Ashlynne, what an excellent post and I couldn't agree more. I too have humanized my vamps. I have kept some of their original characteristics, but I'm tired of them being portrayed as monsters.

    I'm looking forward to book #2 in The Progeny series.

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    1. We are one in the same. Thanks for dropping in after I forgot to post this on Monday. I must do better.

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  2. Fantastic post, great job! I'm half and half with you about the vampires but I really enjoyed the blog!!

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    1. That's what's so great about artistic expression. Each of us can bring something new and different to the pot. They're fictional characters, so no one is right or wrong. Thanks for dropping in!

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