Navigate / search

Blood Roses FULL Cover Reveal

Last Wednesday was the cover reveal for my upcoming release, the second book in the Blackthorn series, Blood Roses. I was thrilled with how much you loved it and, thanks to your sharing and support, it got almost 2,500 views on Facebook alone. Thank you to EVERYONE who made that happen.

I promised you a full cover reveal was coming soon and here it is! For those who will be buying the ebook only, it’s a great way to get a sneaky peek at what the POD version will look like.

BLOOD ROSES full cover final

I avoided commenting too much last week, but needless to say I’m overjoyed with what the super-talented Mr Henry Steadman triumphed with again. I think he has captured the mood of the book perfectly – not least how much darker it’s going to be. Leila is so close to the images I provided on my Pinterest board that it’s uncanny. I think the cover is unique enough to make it stand out as a separate story from Blood Shadows, whilst maintaining the common threads that identify it as part of the Blackthorn series. As you would have guessed, I can’t wait to add this to the collection on my study wall!

And there’s more to come…

Although there are still a few weeks before the 26th April, there are plenty more teasers on the way including the new-look Bites that you were a part of selecting. I’m also going to be writing weekly blog posts in the lead up to the release to share more insight into why and how I created the world of Blackthorn. Hopefully they’ll make interesting reading for avid Blackthorn fans or anyone interested in some of the origins of vampire mythology as we know it today. But if you have any questions of your own, always feel free to get in touch!

xxx

Blood Roses Cover Update!

How excited am I? If you missed me mention it on Facebook and Twitter, TOMORROW is the day you’ll get to see the cover reveal for Blood Roses – the second book in my Blackthorn paranormal romance series. Not just that, but you’ll ALSO find out the date for its release in April!

The cover will be revealed here as well on some fantastic blogs stepping in to help spread the word. So a massive thanks from me to Fiction Vixen, GraveTells and Paranormal Book Club for their support. There could be a couple more too!

To give you a few teasers, yes, it has been designed by the superb Henry Steadman, the same cover designer who did Blood Shadows and, yet again, I’m absolutely thrilled with the result. I’ve already warned you that the second book is darker – and expect to see that reflected in the cover. It’s perfect for the story. No, you won’t get to meet Caleb yet, but you will. Soon.

I can’t wait to find out what you think!

xxx

Kane Malloy’s on GraveTells!

It’s up! Not long ago, I let you know that my anti-hero of Blood Shadows, Kane Malloy, was going to be interviewed on the fab paranormal website, GraveTells. Rather than me ask him questions, I opened up them up to you – and you didn’t let me down (thank you!).

So if you’d like to see what the elusive vampire had to say for himself, you can head on over to GraveTells now. He was actually rather cooperative and revealing for a change – well, revealing for Kane at least! I think we caught him on a good day, either that or he’s developing a soft spot for his admirers. 😉

You can also check out GraveTells’ amazing review of Blood Shadows itself: “….intense and dark, unlike any other vampire novel I’ve ever read…Blood Shadows honestly blew me away….a GraveTells Must Read!” Was I thrilled? You betcha!

 

Screen Capture

 

And for those awaiting news on Blood Roses, I’ll hopefully have something to tell you about the cover reveal shortly. If you follow me on Facebook, you’ll know my line-edits arrived a couple of days ago so I’m currently reviewing those and then Blood Roses will be with the copy-editor. The weeks are ticking away – not long now!

xxx

The Winning Bite!

Last month, I was very excited to reveal the new style ‘Blackthorn Bites’ for Blood Shadows. I was even more thrilled with your response!

As you know, Bookouture and I had a purpose. Alongside our favourites from the series launch, we put these new Bites on their own Pinterest board and asked you to vote on your favourites. The ones with the most votes would help decide the Bites direction for the next book in the Blackthorn series, Blood Roses.

Huge thanks to everyone who participated by visiting Pinterest to vote, comment and repin your favourites, as well as all your likes on Facebook.

We had a clear winner and I’m super-pleased with the result…

Blood Shadows Vampire Paranormal Romance book

Simple yet striking with the background words taken directly from your reviews to date, this was undoubtedly one of my favourites too. Needless to say, I cannot wait to see what Bookouture come up with based on this!

And as it’s only two months until the release of Blood Roses, keep your eyes open for a few teasers coming very soon. 😉

xxx

Speed-Dating Kane

VCU Profile Kane

Ahh, Kane. 🙂 The bad-boy vampire is great from a distance, but just how up close and personal would you honestly be willing to get?

If this file landed on your desk, would you be locked in a room alone with him? Could you sit in place of Caitlin in the interrogation room and get him to talk? A little while ago, Aimee Duffy was the first person apart from Caitlin Parish brave enough to do this, and she doesn’t mind admitting she found it just a little unnerving – even behind vampire-proof glass!

And now Kane’s going to be interviewed again – and I’d love you to be a part of it.

At the end of this month, I’m going to be featuring on GraveTells (super-excited!) and will be dragging Mr Malloy with me. And I am really, really hoping you’ll help me out.

I need to come up with some daring, probing, insightful, imaginative (and hopefully fun!) questions for Kane to answer as part of an introduction to a whole new group of readers who have never heard of him and have never heard of Blackthorn.

If you’d like to join in, if you have a burning question you have longed to ask him, if you think you can tempt other readers to discover Kane for themselves, feel free to post your question/s in the comments sections here. You also have the option to tweet me, Facebook me, or even email me if you want to keep it purely between us. 😉 You have until Friday to send them my way.

Oh, and just to be clear, I’m signing a disclaimer against being held accountable for his actions if you ask the wrong kind of question…

Have a great week, everyone!

xxx

Blood Roses – It’s Getting Darker

I promised yesterday that I’d give a few hints of what’s to come in Blood Roses. So for those of you who are struggling in anticipation, here are five things you can expect that might tide you over for now…

Expect new characters…

Blood Shadows was Kane and Caitlin’s story. Blood Roses is not a continuation of that, though they do get a mention. Don’t worry – they will be back! But Blood Roses is Caleb and Leila’s story. Feel free to check on the ‘Books’ tab on this site if you’d like to know more about what lies ahead for them.

Expect to see more of Blackthorn…

Each book in the series will reveal more about Blackthorn. In Blood Roses, you’ll learn more of what life is like in the district as well as aspects of how it is run and controlled. You’ll visit parts you haven’t been before.

Expect more revelations about the prophecies…

The prophecies were mentioned in Blood Shadows but not elaborated upon. That’s because it’s Caleb and Leila’s role to reveal much, much more. Expect to come away with a much clearer idea of what’s in store.

Expect a few more pieces to start to fit together…

One thing you’ll come to see in the Blackthorn series is how the characters’ stories are going to intertwine. For those who remember Blood Roses from New Voices, you might have already started to piece a couple of things together at the end of Blood Shadows. You certainly would have picked up on a familiar name fleetingly mentioned. Yes, expect to meet one rather significant member of the vampires’ Higher Order.

Expect it to be darker…

I have been told I skirted close to the edge at times with Kane, well expect more of the same with Caleb – and more often. The intentions are darker, the sexiness is darker and so is the mood. I was once told Caleb was irredeemable. None of my vampire heroes are irredeemable – I just like a challenge. But yes, he is incredibly bad… this is Blackthorn, after all.

I’ll be back with more hints in due course!

xxx

Why Blood Roses is Special

Blood Roses is the second book in the Blackthorn series and it’s due out this Spring!

I had an email come through this week, from a fan turned very special friend:

“I love Blood Shadows, don’t get me wrong, it’s fantastic. But Blood Roses is probably my favorite book EVER (the portion I’ve seen). I am so bloody (yes pun intended) excited about it, I can’t even tell you.”

I got a bit emotional when I read that. A big part of the emotion is because I’ve reached that stage now when I know I’ll soon be parting with Blood Roses. I’ve been working on revisions in the background since the launch of Blood Shadows, and those who follow this blog and Facebook will know those revisions went back to Bookouture on New Year’s day. My editor will be back in touch with me in the next few days to give her verdict – that basically means I’ll know how much more work it still needs before the final polish. After that, it’s line edits and copy edits before I finally hand it over.

Blood Roses has been with me a long time. It was conceptualized years ago (I can’t even pinpoint when), the majority of it written back in 2007. Although it’s not my first published book, I will always look on Blood Roses as the book that launched my career as a published author.

It was entered in Harlequin Mills and Boon’s New Voices competition back in 2010, where it got into the final – the only PNR to do so. It’s scary to think I nearly didn’t enter. I submitted right before the deadline. It was the first time I’d put myself out there for scrutiny and was a test of whether I had what it took to write romance. I was terrified because it wasn’t just a competition – it was going to help me make the decision whether I tried to launch my Blackthorn series or turned my back on romance a while longer to continue focusing on supernatural thrillers.

If you don’t know about the competition, writers uploaded a chapter on an open forum for readers to comment (readers also got to vote). Blood Roses came under scrutiny straight away, but not for the right reasons. I entered the longest opening chapter in the competition – almost 9,000 words long. I remember reading speculation over why I had done it, not least the assumption that I had misread the rules. The simple truth was that I was so convinced I would get nowhere, I entered the biggest chunk of work I could in the hope that, even if I bombed in the competition, I might at least catch an editor’s eye. I didn’t have the confidence to believe I could do that in 3,000 words.

Of course it meant that when I got into the Top 10, I was left with only 700 words for chapter 2 and then only 200 for the pivotal moment when I progressed into the Top 4. It worked in my favour though, with readers again speculating whether I’d manage it or not. The response when I did was fantastic. And those supportive comments, along with the belief of my amazing mentors – Lesley Stonehouse and Rhyannon Byrd – gave me the courage to re-enter in NV 2011 where I finished a finalist again.

Blood Roses helped me believe in myself as an author. It shaped my writing. It gave me the best opportunity to launch my writing career. It taught me that I don’t have to write like anyone else – that I’ll find my readership as me and not by trying to follow in anyone else’s footsteps. It taught me that romance readers are more open minded than I gave credit for before I became a part of this amazing community. It taught me there is a place for books like mine that are a little bit dark, a little bit dangerous and a little bit different. It taught me that I had to stop hiding my writing in a drawer.

I understood exactly what my friend was saying when she sent me that email, and responses like that will be the ones that help me let go of Blood Roses when the time comes. Looking back, I also realise how much I’ve moved on in the last two years from writing purely for myself to having the courage to share my books with an audience.

And that’s why Blood Roses is, and always will be, so special to me.

Come back tomorrow if you’d like to get a few hints of what to expect. No spoilers thought, I promise!

xxx

Win a Signed Copy of Blood Shadows!

Ah, Christmas is almost upon us – and it’s the most disorganised I’ve ever been! The decorations aren’t up, the food isn’t bought and I only have half the presents… Still, one thing that I have managed to do (all thanks to Bookouture!) is set-up a giveaway of 5 signed paperback copies of Blood Shadows. You have to be a member of Goodreads (or sign up) in order to be in with a chance of winning one, but all you have to do is click on the ‘Enter to win’ button below. It’ll run for a month and Goodreads will choose the winners.

Oh, and for those who have already asked, as much as I’d like to oblige, I’m afraid that the answer is no – Kane cannot deliver them personally. 😉

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Blood Shadows by Lindsay J. Pryor

Blood Shadows

by Lindsay J. Pryor

Giveaway ends January 18, 2013.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter to win

 

And here’s wishing all my amazing friends, supporters and reviewers a wonderful Christmas! Enjoy!

xxx

Vampire Weekend – Part 3

I’m concluding my top ten favourite vampire films, with a countdown of 3 through to 1. Enjoy!

 

Number 3

Underworld 

Selene (played by Kate Beckinsale) is a vampire determined to destroy the lycans who allegedly killed her family. When she discovers they’re pursuing a human – Michael – she sets out to capture him herself. There were four films in total, but the first is definitely the strongest. Great vampire and werewolf mythology, a superb gothic backdrop, terrific action scenes and with a strong British female lead playing the heroine, this film is sheer entertainment.

 

Number 2

Daybreakers 

I adore this film. The premise is simple: a plague has transformed humans into vampires so that less than 5% of the human population exists. Of course, vampires needs human blood to survive. More so, vampires deprived for too lengthy a time degenerate into psychotic, blood-hungry creatures that will attack anything. A vampire corporation is working to capture and farm all remaining humans whilst a synthetic blood substitute is found – and quickly. In the meantime, a good-guy vampire haematologist who works for them gets word of a cure (and it’s inspired!). Credit where credit is due, this film really offered something different.

 

Number 1

The Lost Boys

Okay, so I’m predictable. But will anything ever top this? Scary, funny, action-packed, edge-of-your seat stuff, this film will forever be number 1 on my list. Michael and Sam move to the beach community of Santa Carla only to discover it’s the murder capital of the world – oh, and home to a gang of urban, bad-boy vampires. Wanting to fit in, Michael falls prey to becoming one of them, but he’s yet to make a human kill and turn. The race his on for his younger brother to kill the head vampire before Michael takes a bite out of one of the locals. Inspired by Peter Pan (yes, really) and with two of the lead characters named after Edgar Allan Poe, you get a sense of the balance between light and dark in this film. It has to have one of the best closing lines/scenes to a vampire film ever, and by a character (the grandfather) who wasn’t even written into the original script! Vampire film bliss, and here’s the original trailer embeded direct from You Tube… 🙂

Thanks for joining me in my countdown!

xxx

 

Vampire Weekend – Part 2

Yesterday, I gave a run down from 10 through to 7 of my favourite vampire films. Next up, 6 through to 4…

 

Number 6

Interview With The Vampire 

I think this film most definitely earns a rightful place in my favourite vampire films of all time. A stunning adaptation of the novel which, unlike my latter choice, actually did do the masterpiece justice. Apparently Anne Rice wasn’t happy with Tom Cruise being cast as Lestat, but changed her mind after seeing him in action. I too, despite not being a huge Cruise fan, thought he played the role to perfection. I remember one scene in particular causing quite a bit of controversy when the film was released. So, yes, of all the clips I could have chosen, I had to pick that one…

 

Number 5

Bram Stoker’s Dracula 

Another triumphant book to film adaptation – moving, disturbing and downright unnerving at times, this film beautifully captured the essence of the book by skilfully portraying the horror and romance with equal balance. With over 170 versions of the classic, reviews dictate that this was the best of the rest and I haven’t yet come across one better. I thought I’d pick a short clip (I know you don’t have all day), so here’s Harker’s arrival at Dracula’s home. I’d still go there for a visit. I’d just maybe get a nice firm bolt on the door. Oh, and on the window too.

 

Number 4

Blade

Based on the Marvel Comics character, Blade’s a vampire super-hero (played by Wesley Snipes) who protects humans. Born a vampire-human hybrid after his mother was bitten while she was pregnant, Blade has all the strengths of vampires but none of their weaknesses. Needless to say this equips him well in his mission to protect humans from vampire nasties. It’s not long before he comes up against Deacon Frost (played by Stephen Dorff) who wants to rule the human race rather than co-exist peacefully with them. There were three films in the series, but the first still wins out. Action packed, relentless, great special effects and some laugh-out-loud moments, I remain loyal to Stephen Dorff as one of the best vampire portrayals ever.

My final three are up tomorrow!