Thanks to everyone who participated in last week’s Villains to Heroes contest! I loved reading your comments about which villain you thought had turned into the best hero. Now, let’s get to the contest winners. As promised, there are two. All winners were picked randomly because how could I choose between you?
The winner of the $15 Amazon egift card is:
Ally Schaffter! Ally said, “As much as I love Ian and Vlad, my first villain to Hero love was the very first Paranormal series I read. Trenton Aloysius Kalamack from The Hollows Series by Kim Harrison. The Night Huntress series I discovered while reading The Hollows. Both series have had a significant impact in my life and both worlds offer a plethora of imagination.”
And the winner of any “book of their choice” from my Night Rebel series is:
Izabella Jamrocha! Izabella said, “Damon from the Vampire diaries. I absolutely love his character. And let’s not forget how dreamy Ian Sommerhalder’s portrayal of him was.”
Ally and Izabella, I have your email addresses from when you made your comments. I will be contacting you through them with instructions on how to claim your prize, so check your emails!
If you didn’t win, no worries because now we’re onto Contest 2. And, as mentioned, I will be holding a total of four contests, so there’s more coming over the next few weeks.
Contest 2: Never Say Never
When I first started writing about vampires, I swore that I would never touch the Dracula mythos because that has been done to death, pun intended. And then, about halfway through writing my third novel, my hero heard someone arriving and said, “It’s the bloody showhound.”
Boom, Vlad Dracul showed up in my book without invitation. Immediately, I knew three things about him: Vlad wasn’t the mindless tyrant that legend made him out to be, he could control fire, and he absolutely HATED being called “Dracula.”
It’s rare for a character to just pop into my mind like that. Especially one with their personality traits so instantly clear. So, I let Vlad stay as a side character, but I promised myself that he’d only appear in THAT book. No others. Until…he showed up on my fourth Night Huntress novel. And then my fifth. And my sixth.
*grins* By that time, I gave in and wrote ONCE BURNED. I only intended Vlad’s story to be one book, but then it became two. And three. And then four. I should have known I had no chance against Vlad from the moment he first showed up on my page!
But don’t worry, I got my revenge. I introduced Vlad to Leila, the heroine of the Night Prince series. Leila can pull psychic impressions from a single touch as well as channel electricity like a weapon. More importantly, Leila refused to let Vlad keep her out of his heart even though he’d sworn never to fall in love again because, in Vlad’s own words…
“Love is a terrible weakness. It gives your enemies a perfect target, clouds your judgment, makes you reckless . . . and that’s on a good day.”
But who ended up becoming absolutely consumed with love? Yeah, THAT Vlad, and it just goes to show that you should never say never 😊
What’s something you can’t resist? Aside from writing about a character I swore I’d never touch, for me, it’s cake. No matter how strong my willpower is, put a slice of cake in front of me and 99% of the time, it will get eaten. So, what’s your kryptonite?
Each person who replies will be entered to win one of the two prizes I’m giving away for this post.
The first prize is a $15 Amazon egift card (open to US readers only.)
The second prize is any book from the Night Prince series, winner’s choice which. This part is open to international readers as well as US readers.
Night Prince series:
ONCE BURNED
TWICE TEMPTED
BOUND BY FLAMES
INTO THE FIRE
Contest starts NOW and ends Thursday, May 2nd at 11:59pm. Winners will be announced on my blog the next day. Good luck, and remember, check back to see if you won, plus for more chances to win!
This was my absolute favorite series! he is a force to be reckoned with but the way he treated Cat and Leila had my heart!
Forgot to add my kryptonite! in reading will have to be the big bad tuff guy that turns to mush for a lady, in life will have to be animals I’m a sucker, I have a snake, 4 dogs, 2 cats, 20 chickens, and two ducks!
My kryptonite is definitely my family I would and have bent over backwards for my husband and kids. I have three littles boys and it’s always a crazy time in my household. But if it’s not then if definitely ice cream whenever I’m feeling sad I’m likely reading with some ice cream next to me. My family always tries to go to new ice cream places whenever we go on vacation or visit a new place.
Vlad is one of my favorite characters ever. Whenever I am in a reading slump I reread once burned and twice tempted. Even after all this time it still continues it be in my top five favorite boooks.
My kryptonite is library books in the Libby app. I always check out way too many (is there really such a thing, though?) and have to scramble to finish them all before they’re due. If a hold comes in, I just can’t say no!
My kryptonite is amazon, I always have to go on it, searching for what is new and then adding them to my wish list and hoping that hubby does not see it.
My kryptonite is audio books. I already own more than I’ll likely ever read, but any time I hear about an awesome new book or series, I immediately check out audible lol.
Collecting. If I find out something I like is a series or collection I have to get the whole set.
Adding books to my to be read list AND ice cream.
chocolate cake
My kryptonite is gummy bears. Everyone I know loves chocolate or cakes but I’ve always liked gummy bears the best. They just taste the best. Not so fatty, but fruity. Especially the sour ones are addictive. No matter how full I am, they always work 😉 And you can always eat them, I personally don’t like chocolate in winter, for example (don’t ask me why, that will always remain a mystery).
Vlads story is my favorite. I’ve read the series so many times I’ve had to replace the books. They are currently taped together. The Night Prince Series is what got me through my mom’s death in 2020, and got me started on Jeaniene Frost. My Kryptonite is Bacon and/or Tacos. Offer me either of those and I’m a gonner.
My kryptonite is jelly bears. I eat them everywhere and all the time. Apocalypse? Just eat some jelly bears! Nuclear war? Eat some jelly bears! Alien attack? Eat jelly bears! No bread at home? You guessed right: jelly bears!
Chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream
Chocolate is my vice. I hide it in drawers and when my husband finds it, I have to find a new spot to hide it.
I love all things peanut butter! It goes well with so many things. I’m glad I’m not allergic.
I can never refuse cheesecake. Doesn’t really matter what kind. I love cheesecake. That and dogs!
Oh man, put “limited/special/collector’s edition” on something and I’m instantly in a fight with myself over whether I need it. Especially if it’s book-related!
Bacon…..
& doughnuts…..
& fried chicken…..
& buttermilk biscuits…..
& lemon meringue pie…..
My kryptonite is my couch. 🙈 If I plant myself on the couch it’s like all my strength and willpower to do anything evaporates. And if there’s a book in my hand, don’t expect to see me today 😅
I would have to say gummy bears. I just can’t resist gummy bears.
My kryptonite is definitely fantasy books. Nothing better than a great story teller, world builder and character relationship maker, AKA Jeaniene Frost (one of the best)!
My kryptonite is all kinds of sweets (gummy bears, chocolate, ice cream, …). No matter how much I have at home, I always want what I don’t have at home, and then I can’t concentrate properly because I’m only thinking about the sweets -_-.
I’m not able to resist bookstores. Everytime I see one, I have to go in. Doesn’t matter whether I’ve got money with me or not. Then I see 10 books that I’d like to buy and cry ’cause I can’t spend my money on this many books !! 😉
I can’t resist indie bookstores and cats. 😂 Visiting new indie bookstores is a must for me when traveling and I always leave with a book (…or four). And I will stop absolutely anything if I see a cat LOL.
A Starbucks holiday drink the day they release ☕️