Interview With a Vampire Slayer

Interview with a Vampire Slayer

by

Piper Maitland

I traveled to an undisclosed location in Morocco to interview Dr. Jude Barrett, a British biochemist and vampire hunter.

While we drank mint tea and ate hummus, I asked him about vampirism.

Piper: Dr. Barrett, it’s my understanding that you discovered a scientific basis for vampirism. What sort of doctor are you? A physician?

Jude: No, I have a Ph.D. in biochemistry. I was employed by a pharmaceutical company in Yorkshire, England, and I conducted research on mice. I discovered the R-99 gene, which is responsible for longevity.

Piper: How did your research lead to this discovery?

Jude: I induced mutations into the mice via low amounts of radiation. They began craving blood and became hypersexual. Also, they had an extraordinary life span. These same qualities exist in a subset of humans: vampires.

Piper: But how can vampires really exist?

Jude: Are you familiar with Methicillin-resistent Staphylococcus Aurea? It’s better known as MRSA, an antibiotic-resistant bug. If you wished to create a strain, all you need is a petri dish filled with staphylococcus. Add penicillin. It will kill ninety-nine percent of the staph. Take the surviving one percent and culture them. You now have bacteria that are resistant to penicillin.

Piper: Why are they resistant?

Jude: It’s a defense mechanism of the bacterium. If you put the penicillin-resistant strain into a petri dish and apply erythromycin, the antibiotic will kill a majority of the bacteria. Culture the survivors, and you have an organism that’s resistant to penicillin and erythromycin. If you repeat this process ad infinitum, adding various antibiotics, you will eventually create a superior organism—one that’s resistant to all antibiotics. And it’s indestructible.

Piper: You’re saying vampirism evolved like MRSA?

Jude: It makes sense, doesn’t it? The survival of the fittest, etc. Vampires began in small numbers and multiplied. They’re adaptive. Strong, hard to kill. And they destroy the competing organism.

Piper: But how can they subdue humans?

Jude: They’re predators. They are built to stalk, attack, and control their prey. Vampiric physiology gives them a biological edge.

Piper: Name one.

Jude: Well, for starters, they emit a distinct smell, rather like the fruity odor from ketones, but they can also smell of menthol. This unique hidrosis—which is the Greek word for perspiration, by the way—affects a human’s brain chemistry. It relaxes their muscles to the point of paralysis, but it also generates a sense of calmness. Also, it has an aphrodisiac effect. Hidrosis helps a vampire restrain prey. Incidentally, this chemical in a vampire’s perspiration is similar to a terpene. I’m sure you’ve heard of Nepetalactone?

Piper: Catnip?

Jude: Yes.

Piper: I have a cat, and she’s immune to catnip. She ignores the toys I set out.

Jude: Perhaps she lacks the olfactory receptor. Some felines have it, some don’t. It’s genetic.

Piper: If your bat-nip theory is true, then people would faint whenever they got near a vampire. Sidewalks and train stations would be filled with paralyzed humans.

Jude: When the chemical is excreted by a vampire’s sweat glands, it evaporates and diffuses into the air and becomes less potent. If humans inhale it, they feel relaxed. But it’s fleeting. A high concentration of this molecule is found in a vampire’s blood and saliva.

Piper: Why don’t vampires succumb to their own chemical? Why doesn’t it paralyze them?

Jude: Is a spider killed by its own venom? An effective predator isn’t harmed by its own methods of predation.

Piper: What about a vampire’s intellect? Is it superior?

Jude: A vampire’s IQ is similar to a humans: it varies. Some vamps are brilliant, some are average, etc. But a vampire’s brain is more developed than a human’s. Some vamps are quite gifted with telepathy. Interestingly enough, vampirism often brings out personality disorders, such as OCD and problems with impulse control.

Piper: In Hollywood movies, vampires can shape-shift into bats. Is this a myth?

Jude: Yes. Vampires can’t change into bats. They are a sub-set of humans, but they’re physically stronger, run faster, and never become ill. They heal at an extraordinary rate.

Piper: Can they be killed?

Jude: Yes, but it would have to be a catastrophic injury to the heart or brain.

Piper: But what about sunlight?

Jude: Vampires can venture outside on overcast days, but they must wear sun block and protective gear—and they can’t stay outside for extended periods.

Piper: Does this sensitivity have a biological basis?

Jude: Their immune systems are hyperactive. Their ketonin is sensitive to ultra-violet rays, and any direct exposure to the sun will cause second and third degree burns. Also, light affects the eyes; it causes corneal abrasions, even blindness.

Piper: What about the other myths—garlic, crucifixes, and holy water?

Jude: Garlic has mild antibiotic properties that may alter the taste of blood. As for holy water and crosses, these myths are culture-based. Would a Muslim fear holy water?

Piper: How can a human be turned into a vampire? In horror movies, it takes three bites, and that’s it, you become a vampire.

Jude: It’s not the number of bites. It’s the number of stem cells that pass from the vampire’s body into the prey’s vascular system. And how the prey’s immune system reacts.

Piper: I’m not following you. Stem cells?

Jude: When I was studying mice, the blood analysis revealed an abundance of stem cells. It was a unique stem cell, rather like a stem cell leukemia, but it wasn’t fatal. It grew faster than cancer cells. My research was terminated before I could lean more.

Piper: I have one more question. The MRSA bug is still evolving. Are vampires also changing?

Jude: Definitely.

Piper: What should we expect?

Jude: We’ll have to wait and see. If we’re still around.

 

Photo Credits: Shutterstock, Dreamstime, Fotolia

 

Historia Immortalis: A Book Written in Blood

Acquainted With the Night centers on a quest for an ancient illustrated manuscript that was written in the blood of the undead. Many theologians believe that Historia Immortalis was penned in 200 A.D. by an odd sect of Greek monks who stayed hidden during daylight hours and emerged at dusk. These “night walkers” or νυχτοπερπατητής, mapped the night sky. They were also plagued by rumors of hypersexual behavior and human sacrifice.

Historia Immortalis was partly a celebration of the night—nocturnal animals, phases of the moon, and the evening sky. It was also a treatise of death, resurrection, and eternal life.

Other scholars believed that Historia Immortalis was written by the Carpocratians, a Gnostic sect; yet other academicians believe that Lazareth of Bethany penned the manuscript. The book had a way of attracting death to its owner; it also had a knack for vanishing. In the 4th century, papyrus scrolls were unearthed in an Egyptian cave, but before the artifacts could be moved to St. Catherine’s Monastery, the scrolls went missing.

Time has no meaning to a tome like Historia Immortalis. A Coptic version was pilfered from the Alexandria Library right before the great fire. Centuries later, Bedouins found Gnostic texts at Nag Hammadi, but the 12th volume was used for kindling. Fragments of the charred codices were identical to pages from Historia Immortalis.

In the 8th century, during the Charlemagne period, a Coptic version of Historia Immortalis was translated by monks in Marmoutier, France. The lavish illustrations featured gilt and semi precious stones and depicted people rising from the dead. Numerous copies were distributed in France. One copy was owned by a wealthy Cathar, Etienne Grimaldi. The Grimaldis were noblemen, richer than the Pope—and immortal. They reputedly served wine and blood at soirees.

Grimaldi’s version of the book featured erotic illustrations, along with an introduction into the secret world of the immortals. When Grimaldi began having odd dreams about the immortal race, he commissioned a Greek craftsman from the Iviron Monastery on Athos to paint three icons—a triptych.

A copy of Historia Immortalis found its way to the Vatican, and the Albigensian Crusade was launched. Etienne Grimaldi’s copy was never found. In 1982, ten pages of the book were auctioned at Sotheby’s for 1.5 million pounds, along with the center panel of the triptych. The artifacts were bought by a London businessman, Harry Wilkerson. Weeks after the auction, the pages—and Wilkerson’s wife—disappeared.

Fast forward to the present.

Caro Clifford, a London tour guide, learns that her uncle has been murdered at a Bulgarian dig site. As she packs her duffel bag, she adds an ancient piece of art: an icon.

Caro stood on her toes and reached for the Byzantine icon that hung over her desk. It had belonged to her parents. She traced the delicate art. A saint stood at the center, her dark hair streaming down the front of the burgundy robe; she held an ostrich egg in one hand, a gilt-edge book in the other. A bleeding man lay at her feet while the night sky stretched over a vineyard, a castle, and a monk. Uncle Nigel had attached rules to this relic. If she traveled outside the U.K., the icon went with her. “Keep it with you at all times,” he’d said. “No matter how inconvenient. You don’t want a hotel maid to nick it, do you?”Caro hadn’t questioned him It was as if she were protecting her parents, keeping them with her.

Later, Caro discovers that her icon is part of a triptych and it depicts a prophecy, one that pits the forces of light and darkness in a showdown that could destroy humans and immortals.

 

Image Sources: Dreamstime, Fotolia, Shutterstock

When Characters Misbehave

“Well behaved women rarely make history.”

--Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, historian and author

Grey isn’t a color you will ever see in Greek Orthodox art—medieval artists lived and worked in a black-and-white world. But shades of grey are vital when it comes to building a modern fictional heroine. When I began writing Acquainted With the Night, I wanted Caro Grimaldi Clifford to be a fundamentally flawed heroine. She doesn’t always say the right thing, nor does she always act heroically. I knew it would be risky, but I was tired of playing it safe with my characters. As Caro came to life, her personality traits became layered, with room for her character to grow in the second book.

 

Right away, I knew that Caro would be tall and leggy, but she isn’t a beauty--at least, not in the beginning (after a vampire bites her, she undergoes physical changes, but that's another topic). Indeed, she wasn’t a pretty infant. Strangers referred to her as il bambino brutto—the ugly baby. As an adult, she became a fashion slob, wearing mismatched colors and high-top sneakers. If she didn't comb her wiry hair (and that wild, resilient hair reflects her true spirit) every few hours, she'd resemble a hedgehog.

Caro is the opposite of a supermodel. She loves to drink gingerbread lattes and eat blueberry scones. As a result, she isn’t stick-thin. Also, she’s a practical soul and cuts her hair with kitchen scissors or a razor—whatever is handy.

Caro drinks whisky, cusses in seven languages, and adores black-and-white movies. She’s brash enough to slug the hero and resourceful enough to drive a china shard into the eye of her enemy. She’s soft, hard, resourceful, foolish, smart, child-like, humorous, irreverent, compassionate, and insecure—when she finds herself in love and in trouble, more and more of these insecurities surface.

Thanks to her tour guide job, Caro has learned a bit about human nature, but she often draws the wrong conclusions. Like many people, Caro has been known to say the wrong thing at the worst possible time. As a result, she’s become her worst critic, censoring her language and holding back.

Deep down, Caro believes that her smart mouth is responsible for a series of disastrous romances. In fact, she’s compiled a list of her failed relationships, which she privately refers to as “the Lost Boys.” One of her ex-beaus entered the priesthood, moved to Monaco, and sent her a postcard that featured a casino. He signed his name Chip Monk. True, many heroines have endured a series of ruined love affairs, but Caro’s problem is different. Her failures have a biological explanation.

Her attitude stems from a childhood trauma. She was a much-wanted, much-loved child. The night she was born, her father wrapped Caro in a blanket and sang her a Cole Porter song. In fact, she believed that she’d been named after her father’s favorite Beach Boys’ song, “Caroline No.” When she was five years old, home invaders murdered her parents. Caro ran off into the night and hid behind a waterfall. Days later, she was escorted to England by a distant relative, Nigel Clifford, a British archeologist.

Because Caro suffers from “survivor’s guilt,” a part of her is scared all the time, and she over compensates by forcing herself to act fearless. This bravado often plunges her into trouble. Part of her character arc is to learn how to balance fear and audacity.

Due to her history, Caro is always struggling with personal demons. Her uncle calls her “Dame Doom,” because she’s cynical, always imagining worst case scenarios. And with good reason. Caro privately thinks of herself as a harbinger of death.

Caro’s last boyfriend had specialized in Jack the Ripper tours and couldn’t seem to get enough of her, That is, until he was suddenly distracted by a Soho waitress. A wise move on his part, really, since everyone Caro loved ended up dead.

Shortly before the novel opens, Caro has dropped out of King’s College to become a London tour guide—an odd career path for a Ph.D. candidate in medieval history, but she’d welcomed the chance to leave her uncle’s house in Oxford. She’d assumed that she would wear pearls and escort Americans through the Tate, but Caro didn’t excel at this job. She misplaced an entire family at Waterloo Station, and an article in the Observer had referred to her as a “loser guide.”

Still, Caro is determined to become an independent woman. Her flat is near Big Ben, and her gorgeous roommate (who briefly functions as Caro’s opposite) works for British Vogue. Then Caro’s uncle is murdered, and she must travel alone to Bulgaria. When she exits the world of Starbucks lattes and the Tube, she enters a world of blood-drinking, mind-reading immortals. Just as artifacts won’t always stay buried in the dirt, secrets push their way to the surface, and Caro must use her wits to unravel clues, locate medieval artifacts, and discover her role in an enigmatic prophecy, one that pits humans against vampires.

 

Photo Credits: Shutterstock, Dreamstime, Fotolia

Creating Fictional Mansions: Daphne Du Maurier's Manderley

Photo Credit: Shutterstock

“Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again…

I stood by the iron gate leading to the drive.”

When people ask how I became a writer, I blame it on my sickly childhood, a book-lined room, and Daphne Du Maurier’s fondness for old mansions. It began when I was a young girl, my mother sent me to Girl Scout camp. After a day of caving, I spiked a high fever and couldn’t breathe. The doctors were puzzled. They took my mother aside and asked if I had been exposed to tuberculosis. X-rays and skin tests finally determined that I’d contracted histoplasmosis, a rather common malady in middle Tennessee.

Fearing that my brother would catch the disease, my mother sent me to my grandmother’s house in the piney woods of Mississippi. My Mimi’s home didn’t have servants or sweeping views of the ocean, but its cozy warmth and smells of fresh baked bread were healing forces. I spent a rainy morning in Mimi’s book-lined study—a rare treat because my mother did not purchase books and borrowed them from her friends or the local library.

On Mimi’s shelf, I found a tattered copy of Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier. I curled up in the window seat, and for the next few days, I entered the world of Manderley. I could see Jasper, the spotted Spaniel dog, as he followed the unnamed narrator around the stone mansion, the sinister housekeeper, Danvers, lurking in the shadows. I could feel the warm, sandy grass as I walked down the path to the sea. When the narrator sat down at the dinner table, I saw her lift the linen napkin and run her finger over the ornate, monogrammed R. When she walked down Manderley’s secluded driveway, I was right behind her.

In real life, apparently Daphne Du Maurier was a bit of a house stalker, one of my favorite vices. Her young mind was shaped by two English estates. The first, Milton Park, was located in Northamptonshire, and Daphne spent the summer in the lavish gardens. Later, Hitchcock would use Milton as the inspiration for Manderley’s interiors.

The drive wound away in front of me, twisting and turning as it had always done….

But it was the second house, Menabilly, that shaped Du Maurier's vision of Manderley, along with her other fictional mansions (My Cousin Rachel and The King’s General).

Here's a video tour of Daphne at Menabilly:

While working on Rebecca,Daphne would walk around the ruined house, and while she mentally refurbished the manse, her writer’s imagination was firmly engaged. Using words, she constructed a hybrid of Milton Park and Menabilly, and a house with another M-name was born: Manderley. Daphne constructed the grey stones, soaring ceilings, and windows with glimpses of the water.

I recovered from my illness and returned to Tennessee, but part of me stayed in Manderley. I became a seasoned house stalker. I’d walk around the neighborhood, ringing doorbells, boldly asking owners if I could tour their homes. Oddly enough, these kind souls never refused.

My mother forbade me to become a writer, and I ended up with a B.S. in nursing. I wrote in a stuffy closet under the staircase and papered the walls with rejection slips. During those long, unpublished years, Manderley was never far from my mind. When I began writing full time, I wasn’t sure how to build a fictional world, so I turned to Rebecca. Fictional houses became just as important as my characters—in fact, the houses became characters.

In Acquainted With the Night, I “designed” a farmhouse in rural Tennessee, a cliff-top monastery, a stone house in Oxford, an English country estate, and a London pharmaceutical building. My favorite house was an Italian vampire’s villa. I placed it on an island near Venice:

The villa reminded Caro of a floating hotel. The four-story Italianate was the color of oyster shells. Stone gargoyles peered down from an upper balcony. The island wasn’t landscaped so much as sculpted. Stone nymphs danced around a fountain. Further out, boxwood hedges formed crosses. Next to the front steps, topiaries were carved into mythological beasts.

The mansion’s name is Villa Primaverina. Inside, it had been modernized: a mirrored weight room, lap pool, media center, game room, elevators, blood bank, and a virtual golf course. Naturally the manse has a windowless, book-jammed library or two.

Source: Shutterstock

In real life, I will soon move to a farmhouse, mainly because I fell in love with the winding driveway. It’s far from the sea, but the setting has already sparked my imagination, because just last night, I dreamed of Manderley.

Acquainted With the Night book trailer:

Acquainted With the Night: Giveaways, Guest Posts, and Book Trailers

The holidays are upon us, and if you're expecting immortal house guests, here's a humorous guide (for mortals only, of course) at the blog I Smell Sheep. You can also enter the contest to win a copy of Acquainted With the Night:
http://ismellsheep.blogspot.com/2011/11/if-you-house-guest-is-vampire-guest.html

For a look at the mythology behind the vampires in Acquainted With the Night, visit Urban Fantasy Investigations and check out the book giveaway:
http://urbanfantasyinvestigations.blogspot.com/2011/11/promotional-post-giveaway-piper.html

I probably had too much fun playing with Windows Movie Maker (yep, I loved it), and I made about 5 million book trailers. Here are two. I hope you will enjoy them!

A look at the events in Caro's childhood:

Interior Design 101 for Vampires

What if a wealthy, gorgeous vampire asked you to decorate his mansion? Would you run? Put on a garlic necklace? Or accept the job?

 Find out the secrets of immortal design at Happily Ever After, where I'm today's guest poster. Leave Jess a message for a chance to win a copy of AWTN.

 

Photo Credits: Shutterstock, Dreamstime, Fotolia

Night Falls in 8 Days

Night Falls November 29th.

Strange anagrams on a passport leads Caro and Jude to a cliff-top monastery in Greece, where a shattering revelation connects a relic Caro inherited from her parents to an age-old text on immortality—and an enigmatic prophecy that pits the forces of darkness and light in a showdown that could destroy them all….

I can't begin to tell you how much fun I had writing Acquainted With the Night. This doesn't mean it was easy. I had to learn how to pace and plot, plus I needed to find a fresh take on vampirism--but it was still a magical time.

I began paying close attention to the night.

I waited for sunrise and sunset.

Credit: MLWest

You can find me today at Demon Lovers Books and More where I discuss Acquainted With the Night.

The Kindle contest is still open (closes Nov 22).

To check out book giveaways and more, visit my website and check the blog tour schedule.

Win a Copy of Acquainted With the Night

The virtual book tour for Acquainted With the Night has begun. If you'd like to win a book, check out these links!
Interviews and Book Giveaways:
Literary Escapism: http://www.literaryescapism.com/23954/guest-author-piper-maitland/comment-page-1#comment-120112

My Bookish Ways: http://www.mybookishways.com/2011/11/interview-and-giveaway-piper-maitland-author-of-acquainted-with-the-night.html

A Book Obsession: http://www.abookobsession.com/2011/11/interview-and-giveaway-with-piper.html


Early Reviews for Acquainted With the Night:

Fresh Fiction: http://freshfiction.com/review.php?id=31439

A Book Obsession: http://www.abookobsession.com/2011/11/acquainted-with-night-early-review.html

My Bookish Ways: http://www.mybookishways.com/2011/11/early-review-acquainted-with-the-night-by-piper-maitland.html

Piper's Blog Tour Dates plus the Kindle Giveaway

If you'd like to check out giveaways where Piper will be touring for Acquainted With the Night, the updated schedule can be found here: http://www.pipermaitland.com/about-piper/tour-dates/.

Emily has created and added "grab this" buttons on the sidebar.

Also, on http://www.pipermaitland.com/, you can find cool info about the novel--character sketches, photos, a faux Wiki page for Historia Immortalis, an 8th century illustrated manuscript, and even a scientific abstract on the science of vampirism. If you'd like to listen to the behind-the-scenes music that inspired Acquainted With the Night, just click on the playlist.

Finally, the Kindle giveaway ends November 22nd.

When All Else Fails, Eat Cornbread

Thirty five years ago, I was a student nurse, but I really wanted to write fiction. I cobbled together stories in an airless closet under the staircase and pinned my rejection slips on the wall. We're talking floor-to-ceiling wallpaper here. Some of the slips had tiny indentions in the paper, as if the editor had stabbed them over and over with a sharp pencil, or maybe a butcher knife.

The free wallpaper continued for a decade. My family begged me to give up this crazy dream and go make cornbread. I made the cornbread, but kept writing, Lord knows why. I just like words and making up stuff. There's no telling how much weight I gained from stress eating--and corn bread was a favorite. It still is. When things get tough, I pull out my cast iron skillet and the cornmeal. The best comfort food is cornbread and milk, of course.

But I'm digressing. I was talking about how I kept going despite setbacks and slammed doors. One Mother's Day, my eldest son wrote me a letter: To my Mom. I've never seen anybody work harder than you and get nowhere. But I love ya.

I didn't have a PhD in literature. I didn't know any writers. If I saw an infinitive, I gleefully split it. I thought a plot had something to do with gardening, as in a "plot" of land. But I kept going. I got up at dawn to write so my avocation wouldn't interfere with family life, and I stayed up late. I joined a writing group. The members were spread out all over the country, and we communicated via snail mail. One of the members was just like me--a soccer mom. Her name is Shirley Hailstock. We were unpublished, struggling to raise small children and find time to write. (Shirley is the best selling author of nearly thirty novels, and her latest is Holding Up the World; she's also a past president of Romance Writer's of America. She's one of my best pals.)

During those years, I continued to paper my walls. I wasn't published, but I was still a writer. It's easy to spot one. They have ink stains on their hands and clothes. They can't go two seconds without thinking, "What if....?"

A long time ago, someone advised me to be a "bit like a weed." I embraced that advice. In 1988, I submitted a short story to a very fine literary journal.  The editor in chief wrote me a two page rejection letter. It basically said, Dear Horrible Writer, You suck. Stop sending us stories or we shall cry. Etc, etc.

Somehow I kept going. My first novel was published in 1990. I was 38 years old. Like my mama says, I was the opposite of an overnight sensation. Now I'm 58. I no longer work in a closet, however I don't have an office. I have a laptop, and I roam around the house. If the weather isn't too grim, I like to sit outside with a legal pad.

If I get stuck, I go inside and eat cornbread.

When someone reads one of my books, I'm always surprised. And grateful. No matter if they loved the book, had a meh reaction, or flat out hated it, I'm amazed and thankful. I want to hug each reader. One of my grandmother's favorite sayings was, "A bell can't make a sound until someone rings it." I don't know who originally said that; but I feel that way about books. A book isn't a book until someone, somewhere, takes time out of their day and reads it.  So, if you've read one of my books, I HEART you, big time, and wish we could share a pan of cornbread.

Blog Tour Schedule for Acquainted With the Night

The pub date is almost here! Acquainted With the Night will arrive in bookstores on November 29th.

I am happy to announce the schedule for Piper Maitland's blog tour, November - December 2011:

BLOG	Web Address	Contact Name	Booking Date	TYPE (Q&A, guest post, giveaway)	Guest Post/Q&A Due Date	Guest Post Topic
My Bookish Ways	http://www.mybookishways.com/	Kristen Centorcelli	Nov. 16, Wed.	Review, Q&A	Nov. 13	*Q&A*
Literary Escapism	LiteraryEscapism.com	Jackie Morgan	Nov. 17, Thurs.	Guest post, giveaway	Nov. 15	Guest article
A Book Obsession	http://www.abookobsession.com/	Kt Clapsadl	Nov. 18, Fri.	Review, Q&A, giveaway	Nov. 15	*Q&A
Bea's Book Nook	http://beasbooknook.blogspot.com/	Bea Connors	Nov. 19, Sat.	Review, guest post	Nov. 16
Demon Lover's Books and More	www.demonloversbooksandmore.com	Laurie Hunsaker	Nov. 20, Sun.	Review, guest post, giveaway	Nov. 17
Happily Ever After Reads	www.happilyeverafter-reads.blogspot.com	Jessie	Nov. 21, Mon.	Review, guest post	Nov. 18	(Forthcoming)
Magical Urban Fantasy Reads	http://www.magicalurbanfantasyreads.com	Mindy Herbert	Nov. 22, Tues	Q&A, giveaway	Nov. 19	*Q&A
			Nov. 23, Wed.
Lisa's World of Books	http://www.lisasworldofbooks.net/	Lisa McGeen	Nov. 24, Thurs.	Review, guest post, giveaway	Nov. 23
Urban Fantasy Investigations	http://urbanfantasyinvestigations.blogspot.com/	Stacy Maynard	Nov. 25, Fri.	Guest post, giveaway	Nov. 22	Favorite vampire myths
Braintasia Books	http://www.braintasiabooks.com/	Cade Crowley	Nov. 26, Sat.	Review, guest post	Nov. 23	(Forthcoming)
			Nov. 27, Sun.
SciFi Chick	www.scifichick.com	Angela Schuch	Nov. 28, Mon.	Guest post, giveaway	Nov. 25
The Haunting of Orchid Forsythia	http://hauntedorchid.blogspot.com/	Orchid Forsythia	***Release Date***Nov. 29, Tues	Review, guest post	Nov. 26	(Forthcoming)
I Smell Sheep	http://ismellsheep.blogspot.com/	Sharon Stogner	Nov. 30, Wed.	Review, guest post	Nov. 27
Among the Muses	www.amongthemuses.com	Tanya Hyatt	Dec. 1, Thurs.	Q&A, review, giveaway
Fresh Fiction	www.freshfiction.com		Dec. 2, Fri.	Guest Post	Nov. 28
Rabid Reads	http://www.rabidreads.com	Carmel	Dec. 3, Sat.	Review, guest post, giveaway	Nov. 30
Wicked Lil Pixie	wickedlilpixie.com	Natasha Carty	Dec. 4, Sun.	Review, guest post	Dec. 1
The Qwillery	http://qwillery.blogspot.com/	Sally 'Qwill' Janin	Dec. 5, Mon.	Review, guest post	Dec. 2
The Well Read Wife	http://www.wellreadwife.com/	Mandy Boles	Dec. 6, Tues.	Guest Post	Dec. 3
			Dec. 7, Wed.
Michelle's Book Blog	http://michellesramblins.blogspot.com	Michelle Greathouse	Dec. 8, Thurs.	Review, guest post	Dec. 5
Seeing Night Review	http://seeingnight.blogspot.com/	Kristen Thompson	Dec. 9, Fri.	Review, guest post, giveaway	Dec. 6
			Dec. 10, Sat.
			Dec. 11, Sun.
			Dec. 12, Mon.
Book Faery	http://book-faery.blogspot.com/	Tori Nicolli	Dec. 13, Tues.	Review, giveaway, Q&A
Vampire Book Club	VampireBookClub.net	Chelsea Mueller	Dec. 14, Wed.	Guest post, giveaway	Dec. 10
Nocturne Reads	http://www.nocturnereads.com	Brandi Baker	Dec. 15, Thurs.	Review, Q&A
Blogs:				In Doing:
Ca Reviews	http://ca-reviews.blogspot.com/	Deb Hern		Review, Q&A
Bookshelf Bombshells	http://bookshelfbombshells.com/	Dawn Nikithser		Review, guest post
The Eclectic Book Lover	http://www.eclecticbooklover.com	Jacqueline Cook		Review
Dear Author	http://dearauthor.com	Jane Little		Review
Dangerous Romance	www.dangerousromance.com	Laurie Blanchard		Review, guest post, giveaway
Author Sound Relations	www.authorsoundrelations.com	Leena Hyat		Review, Q&A, giveaway
Adventures in SciFi Publishing	http://www.adventuresinscifipublishing.com/	Shaun Farrell		Review
Bitten By Books	http://bittenbybooks.com	Virginia Hendricks		Review
My Shelf	http://www.myshelf.com	Brenda Weeaks		Review

Night Falls 11.29.11

 

 

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