Blood Beginnings Tour: Interview & Giveaway

Virtual Book Tour Dates: 2/11/14 - 3/11/14 Genres: Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy

Blurb: Only a day after Eamon Rutherford destroys a cadre of vampire hunters sent to kill him, he decides to take his human lover Amelie to London to turn her into a vampire and look for Bernard Townsend, the vampire who sent the hunters to kill Eamon and declared a blood war on him. This war isn’t just to settle a rivalry. It’s a war for power. Bernard wants control of the European Shadow Government, the vampire governing board, and bring his plan to fruition, a plan that begins with the revelation of vampires to humans and ends with the domination of the human race. He knows that this will never happen as long as Eamon is alive. Bernard also knows that to get to Eamon, he has to get what he cares about most. To ensure the success, Bernard brings forward his secret offspring Reinhard Heydrich, the Butcher of Prague, who will kidnap and kill Eamon’s beloved Amelie. Eamon must find and save Amelie before Heydrich kills her and Townsend’s plan unfolds. If he doesn’t, there is no limit to what a vampire like Heydrich might be capable of. But saving Amelie won’t be easy. Everywhere he turns he finds intrigue and deception. Even from those he trusts the most. 

Excerpt: 

You Don’t Declare a Blood War on Me and My Line without the Expectation of Retaliation Kill Townsend. That was what needed to happen. And as soon as possible. Eamon Rutherford rubbed the bridge of his nose and again tried to come to grips with the events of the past twenty-four hours. A scowl appeared on his face and the muscles of his shoul- ders knotted before he could even process anything. Eamon took in a deep breath and exhaled it slowly. Destroying a makeshift band of vampire hunters in his former companion’s nightclub wasn’t something he would have chosen, but he was forced to do that very thing. And it had been ages since a hunter had threatened him personally. Or tried to threaten him. The ones last night were far from what he remembered from centuries past. The group he destroyed were nerds and armchair warriors, not organized, well-practiced hunters. However, before Eamon killed one of them the hunter mentioned a name, the name of an ancient rival, Bernard Townsend. Bernard Townsend was a half-assed, one-time knight from centuries ago, an on-again-off- again problem for Eamon. Townsend fancied himself to be more powerful than Eamon despite the age gap of many centuries. In the late seventeen hundreds, Eamon almost imposed a final death on Townsend, but at the last moment Eamon spared his rival, figuring that leaving Townsend with the humiliating knowledge that he only survived through Eamon’s mercy was enough to keep the repugnant man away once and for all. Since that time, Townsend had avoided Eamon and any- one, human or vampire, that Eamon knew and Eamon had all but forgotten about him up until last night. And his sudden reappearance raised an alarm in Eamon’s mind. Why would Townsend send a group of poorly trained vampire hunters after him? Eamon rose from the bed and walked to the window over- looking Amelie’s back garden. Normally, he enjoyed the col- orful, fragrant roses and oleander bushes filling the quaint yard, but not today. He rubbed his shoulders, removing some of the tension, and sighed. The phone in his pocket vibrated, but he ignored it. The vampires of his line had nagged him the better part of the day, leaching as much of his time as they could before he left. His phone had vibrated non-stop with their calls and text messages. Should the meeting of the United States Shadow Government be arranged? Could they call him while he was in London or was he serious that he wanted no contact while he was gone? The main question was when was he coming home? He wondered if he was leaving children or vampires. But that was part of being a Primigenio of a vampire line. You were a father to them and had to deal with many of the same issues as a human father. Because of this and Bernard Townsend’s unknown motives plaguing his thoughts, Eamon had gotten little day sleep. Fortunately, at his age, he didn’t require much rest. He also had the added benefit of being a day walker, a vampire who could move about without a problem when the sun was up. It was a lucky trait the vampires of his small line carried. Eamon looked back at Amelie and remembered they were leaving soon. He sent a text message to Jason, the pilot of his private plane, and verified the departure time. Eamon didn’t want any last minute surprises or problems. Eamon returned to the bed and kissed Amelie’s forehead. He hated to wake her, but they’d be leaving for London in a few hours. He took a moment to watch her sleep. She was snuggled up next to him with a tiny, contented smile on her lips. Whatever she was dreaming about seemed to make her happy, and he wanted that for her more than anything. He wanted her to have a life of happiness and love with him and to never have any worries. If he had his way that would always be the case. His phone vibrated again, shattering the moment of much-needed quiet Eamon craved. He hesitated before answering, thinking it was one of his vampires trying a last minute grab for his time and attention. “Yes?” Eamon said and climbed back out of the bed. “So you killed Sanchez and his followers? I expected as much. I didn’t honestly think they would succeed but they wanted to do it.” The caller’s voice reignited a centuries-old anger within Eamon. He paced back and forth, wanting to reach through the phone and snap the caller’s neck. It was Bernard Townsend. Instinctually Eamon checked on Amelie, who still slept. He turned away so as not to disturb her, his rising angst causing him to grip his phone until the plastic cracked. “I’m coming for you, Townsend. You don’t declare a blood war on me and my line without the expectation of retaliation.” Eamon would rip Townsend’s throat out right now if he could, and put an end to whatever scheme Townsend was formulating. Townsend laughed his hearty, jovial laugh. “The humans I sent after you last night were a warm up, a bit of target practice. I felt it would give you a sporting chance.” “I will find you and when I do, you’re dead,” Eamon said. “Rutherford, you’ve been a problem for me for as long as I can remember. Now, I have the advantage.” “You’re nothing but a two-bit gangster.” Eamon looked around the room, calming himself. “I should have killed you when I had the chance.” “But you didn’t, which shows how weak and short-sighted you truly are. Well, until we see each other, Eamon. And we will see each other,” Bernard said. The sudden dial tone cooled Eamon’s ire and he withered with regret as he turned back to Amelie. Their trip to London would not be the same. Townsend would see to that. Eamon wanted the trip to be perfect for Amelie. He wanted to show her London, the city he had known for centuries, not the What’s On version of the city. For a moment, he considered not taking Amelie with him. He could find and kill Townsend and then bring her over afterward. But he knew how much she wanted to go and he wanted her to go as well. After their recent separation, he didn’t want to be away from her any longer than he had to be. No, he refused to let Townsend ruin this. After all, Eamon had waited too long for Amelie. And he could kill Townsend at any time. 

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About the Author:

Alison Beightol formerly lived in an active haunted house in rural northern Florida but now lives in a non haunted but still active house with her author husband, Scott Baker, her daughter, two ice cream craving Boxer dogs, a rescued cat that thinks he’s a dog and a rabbit. For as long as she can remember, she's loved vampire stories, romance and gothic tales that keep her up at night. Although she works as a registered nurse, she studied both history and theatre at the University of Florida and loves intertwining history with a theatrical touch in her writing. She is the author of Blood Betrayal: Book One of The Primigenio Tales and its sequel Blood Beginnings, which introduces a sinister historical figure as an adversary for her vampires. Alison is hard at work on the third and final installment of the Primigenio Tales. 

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Interview:

Please welcome Blood Beginnings author, Alison Beightol, who has joined us today for an interview.

What is your favorite part of the story, Blood Beginnings? 

I think my favorite part of Blood Beginnings is the introduction of my bad guy. He is such an intriguing and horendous historical character and turned out to be great fun to fictionalize. Although I had a lot of angst in writing him.

How long did it take you to write Blood Beginnings?

Actually Blood Beginnings is a NaNoWriMo book! I wrote over the fifty thousand words for the month. It just seemed like the characters were speaking to me nonstop. I finished it up the editing that following march so all in al I would say that it took me about 6 months to write it to wher I thought it was ready for the editors. Boy I was wrong. It then took another month to clean it up for publication.

If you could be best friends with one of your characters, who would it be?

Probably Amelie. She is a lot like me. We think alike and react in the same way. We also fall in love last. We would have a bunch to chat about I would imagine!

What inspired you to write your first book?

I have always jotted down little short stories and cook up stories and conversations in my mind. Sometimes I like to sit at the mall and watch people and invent entire life stories for the people passing by. It just seemed like a natural transition to write books for real. And since I've always loved vampires, they seemed like the best first subject matter.

What is your favorite book that you wrote? 

Oh definitely Blood Beginnings. It took the most out of me emotionally but it also forced me to do the most research, which was a good thing. It's very trying taking a historical bad guy and writing him so that the reader is intrigued ad yet repelled by him. I wanted the reader to think of wow, maybe he isn't so bad...oh wait yes he is. The research included travel so that is never a loss!

What books have most influenced your life?

The Great Gatsby, I've read it about 12 times. The Old Man and the Sea and all the Judith MacNaught historical romances. I love those and have read the covers off of all of them. Those books inspired my writing life for sure but as for my life I think The Book Thief and The Kommondant's Mistress.

What do you prefer paperback, hardcover, or ebooks? 

I used to love paperback books but now I am really into e books because it makes books more available to readers. Especially e libraries!

Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers? 

I just want to thank the readers for all their support. It keeps writers like me going! Keep checking out new and independent authors because you never know when you might find a hidden gem. But really, thanks everyone.

Giveaway: The author is giving away a tote bag filled with swag and goodies... Valued at over $150! Includes a t-shirt, a copy of the book, an amazon gift card, an iTunes gift card, vampire themed pins and knick knacks. USA only, please! The giveaway runs the length of the tour. Click here to enter!