Unwrapping: An Interview with Author, Pamela Palmer

On Friday, I reviewed the soon-to-be released first book in Pamela Palmer's new Vamp City series, A BLOOD SEDUCTION. If you haven't read my review, please do - click here - but be sure to come right back because I've got the author, Pamela Palmer, visiting here with me today to talk about this extraordinary book and her new series. Plus she's got some Feral Warriors that she wants to find new homes for as well.

Blurb for A BLOOD SEDUCTION:

Vampires live only for lust and pleasure in the eternal twilight of Vamp City. But the city's magic is dying. The only person who can restore it? A beautiful woman from the mortal world ... one who knows nothing of the power she wields.

Quinn Lennox is searching for a missing friend when she stumbles into a dark otherworld that only she can see--and finds herself at the mercy of Arturo Mazza, a dangerously handsome vampire whose wicked kiss will save her, enslave her, bewitch her, and betray her. What Arturo can't do is forget about her--any more than Quinn can control her own feelings for him. Neither one can let desire get in the way of their mission--his to save his people, hers to save herself. But there is no escape from desire in a city built for seduction, where passion flows hot and blood-red. Welcome to Vamp City ...

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Truly, if you love dark stories about vampires, you've got to read this new paranormal series.
Now without further ado, I'd like to welcome one of my all time favorite authors, Pamela Palmer!

Amy:  Welcome Pamela, it's a real delight for me to have you here with us today. Perhaps you can tell us a little bit about yourself for the benefit of those who don't know you yet.

Pamela:  Hi Amy! I’m delighted to be here. I’m the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Feral Warriors shape-shifter series, the Esri series, and the soon-to-be released Vamp City series. I have (or will have in about a week) fourteen books in print. I’m an ex-industrial engineer, avid reader, and daydreamer who lives with my family in the suburbs of Washington, D.C.

Amy:  Fourteen books is quite an achievement, congratulations. I've read everything you've written, even your unique historicals under Pamela Montgomerie. Of course, I adore your Feral Warriors and enjoyed your Harlequin Esri Series immensely, so I'm intrigued by what inspires you.
All of your stories have a touch of magic to them, what has been your greatest inspiration in your writing?

Pamela:  That’s a good question and I’m not sure I entirely know the answer. My first passion as a child was dinosaurs. At the age of four, my favorite book was The Golden Book of Dinosaurs. I suppose I’ve always been drawn to the larger-than-life. In fifth grade, I discovered two things simultaneously: space (we did a science unit on the solar system) and Star Trek. I decided I wanted to be an astronomer, then switched to wanting to be an astronaut until I was nineteen and finally realized that the space shuttle was never going to take me to those strange new worlds. But I credit Star Trek with inspiring my love of all things weird and fantastical—Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Virtually the only television shows that interest me are sci-fi/fantasy/paranormal (Fringe, Game of Thrones, Vampire Diaries, True Blood, the Walking Dead, Spartacus (okay, I like hot, naked guys, too)). [Amy: Don't we all! *wink*] But when it comes to my reading, I’ve almost always turned to romance. If the book doesn’t have a strong romance, I’m bored. I adore paranormal romance and I love urban fantasy as long as it contains a strong, satisfying romance.

Amy:  Your Feral Warriors are the ultimate in good guy heroes, bigger than life, and so admirable in their natural instinct to protect women. With that in mind, I'm curious about the muse that took you in a completely different direction when it came time to create your Vamp City series?

Pamela:  Ha! Are you saying the vampire Arturo isn’t a good guy? : )

Here’s the thing about A BLOOD SEDUCTION (Book 1 in my Vamp City series)…it’s book one of five, and it’s going to take all five to tell Quinn and Arturo’s story. Arturo definitely doesn’t start out as the epitome of the romance hero. (A lot of early reviewers are calling him an anti-hero.) Then again, Jag (the jaguar shifter hero of Rapture Untamed) didn’t start out as much of a hero, either. At the 20% mark of Jag’s book he was still pretty much a dyed in the wool ass. I love a hero with a long way to go. Always, always, always, they must have a core of honor and goodness, but they don’t always know it…or, in the beginning…show it all that often. Damon in Vampire Diaries (at least the t.v. show) is a good example of this. I find men like this endlessly fascinating—men that have a lot to learn and a lot of ways they have to change and grow before they’re deserving of love and loyalty and a happily ever after. What I love about writing the Vamp City series, and the reason I wanted to write a multi-book romance, is that with five books I have room to develop the hero and heroine’s relationship slowly. Don’t give up on Arturo just yet. ; ) That vampire has a heck of a journey ahead of him. And Quinn is just the woman to make it worth his while.

Amy:  I'm hoping Arturo does come through as Quinn's hero! A BLOOD SEDUCTION can't really be called a traditional paranormal romance in the sense that it's obviously an ongoing story but it also leans more towards paranormal/urban fantasy. How did you ever convince Avon Romance to take a chance on such a unique and severely dark series with such a, for now, anti-romance hero?

Pamela:  LOL. To be honest, I was surprised when Avon wanted to buy my Feral Warriors series, which is quite dark, though not as dark as Vamp City. At the time, Avon had a reputation for publishing primarily light historicals, which is definitely no longer true. Jeaniene Frost paved the way for me with her Cat and Bones series, which is also a multi-book romance, straddling the line between urban fantasy and paranormal romance. When I told my editor (whom I adore) that I wanted to do a bigger story, a multi-book, she was all for it. I sent her a brief proposal of the Vamp City series, a 2-3 paragraph synopsis of each of the five books, giving her the big picture. She loved it. She’s always let me do pretty much whatever I wanted with my stories.

Amy:  And we are so very thankful that you've been given such freedom with your writing. It's obvious that Quinn, Arturo, and I assume, Zack, will be reappearing throughout the Vamp City series. I can feel a sense of underlying good guy in Arturo Mazza even though he is most definitely one of the most manipulative characters ever created. Without giving away too much, can you tell us how long it will take for him to come to the realization that his emotions for Quinn are stronger than just lustful desire for her to belong to him?

Pamela:  Your assumptions would be correct. : ) On all counts. Arturo does have a lot of honor in him, but he’s a lot like Damon Salvatore (if you’re a Vampire Diaries fan) in believing that life as a vampire is easier if you push aside the morality and embrace what you are. How long will it take for Arturo to start to realize Quinn matters to him? Well, even in book 1, she’s getting under his skin. By the end of the book, he’s done several things, things that could (and will) cause him trouble, for her. No vampire thwarts Cristoff and gets away with it.

Amy:  Cristoff terrifies me as he should and although Arturo helps Quinn knowing they both will suffer, he also knows she will be the one to suffer most. True Bad Boy, that one. It's obvious that there is a question about Zack that is brought to our attention at the end of A BLOOD SEDUCTION - will Zack become a hero presence in the series and will poor Lily ever be rescued from Vamp City?

Pamela:  Ha! Not telling. : )

Amy:  Rats! I thought I could coerce you into giving us a little preview! How many books will we be seeing come to us in the Vamp City series?

Pamela:  The Arturo/Quinn arc will be five books. After that, we’ll see. There are other characters who may get their stories told.

Amy:  I hope so, especially Zack, we see him gain real maturity in this first book.  I found A BLOOD SEDUCTION to be one of the darkest stories I've ever read. It's Stephen King meets Anne Rice with some psychological thriller from Dean Koontz thrown in for good measure. It's BDSM meets horror and leaves the reader (at least it did me) with nervous anxiety and an unwillingness to turn out the light and go to sleep. Of course, I'm a fan of scary movies and books so I truly didn't mind. Knowing from experience how involved a writer becomes in their own characters and the worlds that we create, I wonder how, while writing this novel and those that will come, do you keep from terrifying yourself. Does living with these cruel and dominating vampires give you nightmares?

Pamela:  Honestly, no. The wonderful thing about being the creator is that I’m in control, more or less. My characters might argue that point, and they’d be right—they wind up driving the action more often than not. The scariest part of violence and fear is the unknown. And when I’m the writer/creator, I know what’s going to happen, more or less. I don’t watch horror movies, not the slasher flicks designed to scare. But if I did, I’m sure I’d find they’re never as scary the second time you see one, because they’ve lost the scare factor. You know what’s coming. So while my vamps might be scary, ultimately, they all answer to me.

Amy:  Glad to hear that and I hope you keep that Cristoff under control because I wouldn't want to meet him on the streets of Georgetown. *wink*

I usually finish with the question: If you could be ANY character in ANY book, which character would it be and why? But once upon a time, I was given the opportunity to ask you which of your characters you would most want to be and you answered, that it was Faith from ECSTASY UNTAMED because she can fly.

So, I'm going to go in a different direction: Of all of your characters, including those in A BLOOD SEDUCTION, which is the one most like you and why?

Pamela:  I remember that question! And it’s a lot easier than this one. Lol! Each of my heroines (and truly, most of my heroes) have a part of me, some piece of my personality whether it’s my stubbornness or persistence or sense of fair play. But they’re each their own person, too. So much of who we are is formed early in our lives. Who would Kara (in Desire Untamed) have been if she’d been encouraged to follow her dreams instead of pressured to remain home with her mother, a woman who knew the danger Kara was in even though Kara did not? Who would Delaney (Obsession Untamed) have been if her mother hadn’t been murdered, driving her into the FBI to catch the ones who got away? Who would Skye (Passion Untamed) have been if she’d grown up within the safety of her family instead of the captivity of the soulless Mage? In some ways, they’re all me, or the me I would hope to be if I were put in the same situation. But in other ways, each is a unique individual and not like me at all. So who is most like me? I have no idea. Sorry!

Amy:  I guess that's how it should be then. Just as your characters grow and change so do you. We're glad of that since with change comes more characters. Pamela, thank you so very much for taking time from your busy schedule to spend time with us today. It's been a delight and a very special treat for me as I hope it has been for our visitors. Congratulations on the upcoming release of A BLOOD SEDUCTION and I'm very much looking forward to reading the rest of the series.

Pamela:  Thanks so much for having me, Amy! And thanks for the good wishes on the upcoming release. : ) I have a question for all of you. I’ve given you an idea of the types of television I like to watch. What are you watching and loving these days? I’ll let Amy choose two winners to receive a signed copy of one of my Feral Warriors books, winners’ choice. And if you have any other questions for me, ask away!

Amy:  Well, you heard the dear lady, what are you watching and loving most on television these days?

For me, it's GAME OF THRONES and THE BORGIAS but next month, I'll be in 7th Heaven when TRUE BLOOD returns on June 10th. Yay! That's my prize since I'm not eligible to enter the giveaway but you are, so:

For a chance to win a Feral Warriors Novel, please answer Pamela's question- What are you watching and loving most on television these days? -  leave it in a comment WITH your EMAIL ADDRESS because, remember if I can't contact you, you can't win! Two (2) eligible and very lucky commenters will be chosen at random. Those two lucky people will be able to choose which of the Feral Warriors they'd like to have come live at their house - in book form, of course.  This Giveaway is open to EVERYONE (US & International) and will run until 11:45PM EDT on Wednesday, May 23, 2012.  THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED! THANKS FOR VISITING!

If you'd like to learn more about Pamela Palmer and her fabulous series, please visit her website - click here to travel there. Happy Reading Everyone!

A BLOOD SEDUCTION, a Vamp City novel, by Pamela Palmer, Avon Romance, release date, May 29th, 2012, available in print and ebook format.