Guest Post: K.C. Blake (author of Vampires Rule) + Giveaway

Today I would like to introduce K.C. Blake to everyone. She has graciously stopped by to share with everyone how her book Vampires Rule came to be. She is also offering one lucky reader the chance to win an ecopy of her book.  

As a child, books were my constant companion. I've always loved to read, but I didn't start writing until I was twelve. I've had two books published with Harlequin under the name Kasi Blake, but YA books are my favorites. I never outgrew them. (Bio taken from Smashwords)

I teach kindergarten thru 2nd grade at a private school, and I reside in Missouri with my two cats, Blanca and Gracie Bear.

Birth of a Vampire

About six years ago I was watching a vampire movie and a thought occurred to me. What if a vampire could go back to being mortal again? Could he return to his old life? Would his remaining family welcome him home? These are the questions I so desperately wanted to answer.

Although I had a rough idea of what the plot would be, I started by building the main character. There were a few things I knew about him right off. Jack would be seventeen (he's been seventeen for ten years), a good looking kid with a strong inner strength and a mile-wide loyal streak. Family and friends are important to him. He doesn't have a death wish, but he would risk his life to save someone in trouble. I didn't want him to have parents to lean on, but I did want him to have somebody, a close relative from his past. This would force him to try to reconnect with this person. A younger brother, now his older brother seemed like the perfect idea.

While Jack was living as a vampire, he traveled the country with three friends. Those friends had given up their old lives long ago. They'd moved on, but Jack couldn't. He missed his family so much, he visited his childhood home every year and toyed with the idea of contacting his brother. A decade slid by, but Jack didn't lose his humanity.

Next, I had to give Jack someone to fall in love with, someone as strong as him. For the longest time I couldn't picture this girl clearly. I had a character named Silver in another book I'd been working on. Should I take her from that book or make someone else up? I had no idea what to do. Then a friend clear on the other side of the country had a dream about my book and told me about it. She'd had no idea that I was considering using Silver. In her dream there were werewolves attacking a small town and a girl hunter with a silver bullet necklace was fighting them. She heard a deep voice saying, "This is the book I want Kasi to write."

Of course at this point my book was still missing a vital part: a bad guy. Once again I borrowed a character from another book I'd written long ago and hadn't published. Jersey Clifford made the perfect opponent for Jack. Charismatic, smart, and well-read, Jersey could share his love of literature with Jack. It was the perfect way for them to bond... and I wanted them to like each other, at least at first.

Once the characters were aligned like stars in a well-known constellation, each in synch with the others, the plot was easy to work out. In fact I wrote the book in two weeks. Of course it took me months to rewrite and edit, but the story itself flowed out a chapter a day. And that is how a vampire was born.

Thanks K.C. for the great post.

You can Haunt K.C. Blake by checking out her blog Ghost Writer.

Vampires Rule by K.C. Blake, 2011. Published by Smashwords.

They don't call him Jackpot for nothing.

Jack has always beat the odds... at least until now. When he was attacked by a werewolf, vampires saved him. When he got tired of living the vampire life, another werewolf attack freed him, making him human again. Now Jack just wants to live a normal life, but what's normal about a hunter girlfriend, a brother who wants to stake him to be on the safe side, and a head werewolf building an army to rule the world?
Jack gets caught between his old friends and new, hunters and vampires. He wants to stay loyal to both, wants to protect everyone. Unfortunately, both sides are determined to kill the other. In the end, he'll have to make a choice.

Rules:
International (must have a reliable email address)
Ends June 9th at 11:59 pm
Must be 13 or older
Following not required, but is always appreciated.
Fill out the form
Winner will have 48 hours to respond before a new winner is chosen.



Even if you don't win, you can purchase Vampires Rule from either Amazon or Smashwords.