Confessions
of a Vampire’s Lover – A
Summer Paranormal Love Story
By
Kelli A. Wilkins
Hi romance lovers,
Although I write in several
romance genres (contemporary, gay, historical, fantasy), I also like to write horror
stories. Many people think that’s an odd combination, but I like to say that
one half of my brain writes the horror, and the other half writes the
romance. So naturally, it was only a matter of time before I combined the
two and started writing paranormal romances.
My contemporary paranormal, Confessions
of a Vampire’s Lover, is a different type of romance. For starters, the
novella is told in the first person from the hero’s point of view. The story
also makes use of a setting where you don’t normally find vampires—the
beach!
I got the idea for the story
while sitting on a nearly deserted beach at the end of the summer season. (I’m
not a beach person, but I was there with my husband, a surfer.) As I sat there
watching the few people milling around, I wondered: “What if a vampire went to
the beach? And what if she fell in love with a surfer?”
The idea of contrasting typical
sun worshipping beachgoers and surfers with a darkness-loving elusive vampire
appealed to me. Besides, what could be more mismatched than a die-hard surfer
falling in love with a nocturnal blood-drinker?
I started toying with ideas and
knew that although the book is about a vampire, I wanted to keep the central
focus on Brian and Anya’s relationship and not on the “bloodier” aspects of
vampirism (show her feeding, etc.) There’s a fine line when blending horror and
romance into paranormal romance. Too much gore or a “too terrifying” creature
can snap the readers (and the characters) out of the romance and into a full-on
horror story.
When I wrote the book I made
sure that the love scenes were highly sensual and almost surreal. Aside from
being a vampire, Anya is a woman with needs, and she makes sure Brian satisfies
them. I don’t remember how I was inspired to have the story told by Brian, but
it worked. Readers and reviewers like the first-person aspect—it pulls you into
a story that would seem unbelievable.
Several people have asked me if
it’s hard to write horror and romance. Not really. I enjoy it. Writing horror
allows me to change up my writing style, use different settings, and create
characters you wouldn’t find in a romance. My horror stories are more
psychological/spooky/creepy than gory, and I like to explore darker plots and
not always give the characters a happy ending (as I do in my romances).
Here’s the summary and a tame excerpt
from Confessions of a
Vampire’s Lover:
***
I first saw her on the beach. I came up
over the top of a dune and spotted her right away. She was sitting on the sand,
about ten feet from the water. It was almost midnight and the beach was deserted,
except for us. The moon beamed down on her, and she seemed to glow with a
strange luminescence.
I stood still, listening to the roar of
the crashing waves. Seeing the girl had stopped me in my tracks. I felt drawn
to her, like I had known her before. But that was impossible, wasn’t it?
Who are you? I wondered.
A gentle wind ruffled the blonde hair
cascading around her shoulders, allowing me to see her more clearly. Her head
was bent down and she was staring at something she held in her hands.
I inched a little closer and watched her
for a few minutes. She looked close to my age, somewhere near thirty. I longed
to ask her some inane question to break the ice, but I froze. What could I say
to her? Lone figures on the beach at night were probably not interested in making
conversation.
I’d never had much luck with women. They
thought history teachers were boring and considered surfing nothing more than a
juvenile waste of time. Most of the women I had dated wanted successful,
professional men like lawyers and doctors who drove fast cars and had money to
burn. What kind of woman would fall in love with an unemployed thirty-year-old teacher
who drove a beat-up car littered with sand and surf wax?
I turned and gazed out over the ocean.
The sets were breaking just offshore. The surf would be good tomorrow morning
if the wind didn’t shift.
A minute later, I glanced back toward
the girl. She was gone. Not just gone from that spot— but gone, vanished. I
looked up and down the beach, but I didn’t see her anywhere. Had I scared her
away? Where did she go? I knew she hadn’t passed me, and there were no
footprints leading off into the distance.
I wandered to where she’d been sitting
and found a paperback book half buried in the sand. I picked it up and squinted
at the cover in the dim light. A couple dressed in Victorian clothing was
locked in a passionate embrace. Had she been reading this out here?
I heard a whisper behind me, and I
whirled around. Nobody was there. The darkness and the roaring waves were
playing tricks on me. At least, that’s what I thought.
I headed home. I couldn’t stop thinking
about the girl as I gathered my surf gear together.
Who was she? Why was she alone on the
beach at midnight? I wasn’t sure why I was so entranced by her. Maybe she—like
me—was hoping to find some solace in the eternal ocean waves.
Order
your copy of Confessions of a
Vampire’s Lover here:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Confessions-Vampires-Lover-Paranormal-Romance-ebook/dp/B01IBYWYCI
All
other platforms: https://books2read.com/u/49xp1J
Read
reviews here: https://www.kelliwilkins.com/confessions-of-a-vampire-s-lover
* * *
I hope you’ll check it out. It’s a perfect blend of steamy
beach romance and mystery to heat up your summer!
Happy Summer Reading,
Kelli A.
Wilkins
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kelli A. Wilkins is an
award-winning author who has published more than 100 short stories, 20 romance
novels, 6 non-fiction books, and 2 online writing courses. Her romances span
many genres and settings, and she likes to scare readers with her horror stories.
In 2020,
Kelli published Love, Lies & Redemption, a western romance set in 1877
Nebraska. This novel blends a sensual love story with mystery and danger.
She
released Romance Every Weekend: 104 Fun Ways to Express Your Love, a
non-fiction guide to romance in 2019. The book features 104 fun and easy ways
you can express your love to that special someone in your life. Perfect for men
or women, it focuses on tender, everyday gestures that let your partner
know how much you love him or her.
Kelli published Extraterrestrial
Encounters, a collection of 18 sci-fi
stories, in 2019. If
you like horror fiction, don’t miss her disturbing novella, Nightmare
in the North.
Kelli has authored two
online writing courses: Fiction Basics: Finding Ideas and Fiction Writing for Beginners.
These courses are perfect for anyone who wants to learn how to write. Visit: https://kelliwilkins.teachable.com/
for more
details.
Not just an author, Kelli is also an amateur
photographer. Visit her pages on Shutterstock https://www.shutterstock.com/g/kelli+wilkins and iStock https://www.istockphoto.com/portfolio/kelliwilkins to view her photos.
Kelli posts on her
Facebook author page: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorKelliWilkins and Twitter: www.Twitter.com/KWilkinsauthor.
Visit her website/blog www.KelliWilkins.com to
learn more about all of her writings.
No comments:
Post a Comment