Welcome to The Wormhole and my stop on the
Raven's Kiss blog tour!
I absolutely loved this story! Check out my review HERE!
Please Welcome ~ Toni LoTempio!
All About….TONI LOTEMPIO
Hello! I’m Toni LoTempio, author of Paranormal Romance/Romantic Suspense/YA Fantasy! I’ve been writing ever since I was old enough to read, when I didn’t like the endings of the stories my mother read me I simply rewrote them J Even though I write mainly in the paranormal genre, I have also written straight horror, as well as contemporary romance/suspense.
In 1995, I joined the staff of SUSABELLA PASSENGERS AND FRIENDS, a pulp magazine for collectors of antique children’s literature (Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, etc.) Currently I’ve written over 300 articles for that magazine, and I was the first recipient of their Margaret Sutton Award for Distinguished Writing in 1998. I joined the staff of NIGHT OWL REVIEWS IN January 2011 as the suspense reviewer/columnist. My column, DARK STREETS, which features articles on suspense authors and their novels, is featured on a monthly basis. I love to spotlight new talent, so if you’re a suspense author, please contact me!In 2007, Whiskey Creek Press published BOUND BY BLOOD, a tale of possession, and EBONY, which deals with zombies and the dark side of man. EBONY was #2 on the Fictionwise bestseller list for e-books for the month of July 2007, beating out Stephen King’s Lisey’s Story. (and no one was more shocked than I, LOL) In 2010, after countless attempts to land another agent, I took the advice of a fellow author HP Mallory, and self published NO REST FOR THE WICCA, which has been on Amazon’s list of top one hundred in Occult since March 2011. My short story, THE SACRIFICE, appears in the e-published anthology KISS ME KILL ME, and I also have a YA fantasy, MY SUPERHERO SISTER on B&N and Amazon. A complete listing of my books appears at the end of this bio.
Currently single, I work full time and live in Clifton , NJ
I love hearing from fans, so please feel free to friend me on FACEBOOK, and visit my website, www.tonilotempio.webs.com Rocco and I post daily M-F on his blog, www.catsbooksmorecats.blogspot.com
Toni LoTempio Books:
Bound by Blood – Whiskey Creek Press, trade paperback & e-book, Feb. 2007 (paranormal suspense) Ebony – Whiskey Creek Press, trade paperback & e-book, July 2007 (paranormal suspense)
Witch’s Pawn – Echelon Press, trade paperback & e-book, December 2008 (horror)
Nom de Plume – Whiskey Creek Press, trade paperback & e-book, November 2008 (contemporary romance)
It’s in the Cards – Whiskey Creek Press, e-book, February 2010 – (paranormal romance)
Out of the Ashes – Whiskey Creek Press, e-book, May 2010 – Fantasy
No Rest for the Wicca – Amazon & B&N Pub-It, e-book, September 2010 – paranormal suspense
My Superhero Sister – Amazon & B&N Pub-It, e-book, Trade Paperback - January 2011 – YA Fantasy
Kiss Me, Kill Me – Amazon & B&N Pub-It, e-book anthology –February 2011 – Short Story, “The Sacrifice”Raven’s Kiss – Amazon & B&N Pub-It, e-book, & Trade Paperback April, 2011 – Paranormal Romance
My Love Affair with Vampires
By Toni LoTempio, author of RAVEN’S KISS
AND NO REST FOR THE WICCA
Today I’d like to talk to you all about one of my favorite subjects: Vampires!
I've had a love affair with vampires ever since I saw the original DRACULA with Bela Lugosi when I was a kid. There was just something about those ebony eyes, sparkling, commanding, as they peered over the rim of his black satin cape, that took my breath away. In my later years, I was introduced to the world of Stephen King through SALEM 'S LOT , which still today remains my very favorite King book. King took us through the world of vampires with eerie ease, and while the Rob Lowe telemovie was a bit truer to his tome, I have to confess I'll always be partial to the David Soul two parter (who could ever forget Bonnie Bedelia in that coffin, trying to seduce her ex-lover into getting - gasp - THE BITE!
When I was a teenager I was obsessed with a certain gothic soap opera - yes, that's right. I was - and still am - a confirmed DARK SHADOWS addict. I've even gone to the conventions! I was such a freak I even managed to wangle myself an invite down to the studio where I met my biggest star crush of all time - Jonathan Frid. I was, of course, tongue tied (what do you expect, I was 15) and I think the thing that amazed me most was the fact his real voice was NOTHING LIKE BARNABAS'S! (can't wait to see what Johnny Depp does with this role!) Ben Cross was good in the 1991 nighttime remake, but oddly - it just wasn't the same, although now I watch the old DVD's and think "they actually got paid for this? Cripes, I can see them looking at the teleprompter!"
But you know what? I didn't care!
Vampires in paranormal romance today are steamy and sexy, and there really are no hard and fast rules. Like Angel, some can walk in daylight (just not direct sunlight) some prefer the nightlife, some are just damn bloodthirsty while others fight on the side of humanity. I have a few vampire heroes in my books - in SOAPSUDS, SEX AND SILVER BULLETS (yet unpublished) Logan Slade is a detective. In NO REST FOR THE WICCA (indie, published through Amazon, details at the end of this blog) Cole St. John is a special forces agent for the PFSU - Paranormal Forces Special Unit. What do these two men have in common, besides hotness, you ask?
They're a breed of vamp known as INHERITOR.
Now, I'd like to take credit for the breed, but I actually came across the information on the Internet. to wit:
Inheritor vampires TYPE ONE: These vampires are much like the Genetic vampires, except they are born. Like Sanguinarians, the vampire trait will lay dormant inside them until around the age of 13 - 26, when they awaken. When they body reaches the late stages of puberty, it releases a chemical which awakens the vampire and begins many physical changes in the body. As a result of this, most Inheritors look around 19 - 20 years old their whole life. Most of the time the parents of the vampire will be human and vampire, or both vampires. There must be one vampire parent. Inheritor vampires live to around the age of 350-400 years old.
Inheritor vampire TYPE 2: Sanguinarians are the "mortal version" of the Inheritor vampires. They still require and crave blood, are sensitive to sunlight, and have many of the traits the Inheritor and Classical vampires have. However . However, Sanguinarians do not live much longer then the average human being.
Of course, to make it my own, I've taken some liberties - my Inheritor vamps are more human than humans, and age to a VERY HOT mid-30's, but you get the idea. There are more types of vampires out there than just the typical Dracula/Barnabas sleep in the coffin during the day rise at night to suck a maiden's blood type. As a matter of fact, that type (referred to now as a "classical") is getting pretty passé. After all, didn’t' Angel show us just how a vampire can survive among humans, and how hot one can be?
The mystique of "the bite" never changes. Considered the ultimate sexual experience, in old lore people thought after 3 bites the victim turned into a vampire. Other mythology had the victim rising as a vamp after the vampire drained them of their blood. Another way to "turn" someone was to bite them, then have them drink their blood.
In summation, there are no hard and fast rules concerning vamps anymore - or any other type of creature for that matter! and isn't that great for us writers! We can create whole new worlds of vampiric hotness for you, the reader! (and for us, too!)
In my b0ok, NO REST FOR THE WICCA, half-Wiccan witch Morgan Hawkes is recruited by the PSFU to help solve a string of murders with a voodoo slant (yes, her other half is voodoo, if you haven't guessed). Cole St. John
My latest, Raven’s Kiss, doesn’t have a vamp in it – not a one! Raven’s a Shapeshifter, and Finn is a Mento – Mind Reader – and the two of them can travel through time, both ours and parallel. Although I wouldn’t rule out them meeting up with a hunky Inheritor Vamp in a sequel, one day….
Happy reading!
my website: www.tonilotempio.webs.com
to find out more about types of vampires:
Thanks for stopping by!
The next stop ~ June 17 – Nyx Book Reviews http://nyxbookreviews.blogspot.com/
