Friday, July 26, 2013

Bonded by Blood: Vampire Chronicles by Arial Burnz



I selected this post to be featured on my blog’s page at Blog Nation.


Midnight Conquest

Masked in a Gypsy guise, Broderick MacDougal hides his vampiric identity while seeking to destroy the man who slaughtered his family. When an old Clan rival ensnares Broderick in a trap using an enticing widow, he is compelled to discover if she is bait or an accomplice, and the cinnamon-haired beauty is his next conquest.

Widow of an abusive husband, Davina Stewart-Russell clings to the only image that gave her strength during those dark times—the Gypsy rogue who stole her heart as a youth. After nine years, she is finally face-to-face with him again, but reality clashes with fantasy as she is confronted with Broderick’s passionate pursuit.

When Davina’s past returns to haunt her, Broderick is forced to reveal a dark secret worse than anything Davina thought possible. The challenge before them has fatal risks and neither of them is prepared for the sacrifices expected for the sake of eternal love.

My Review:  July 25, 2013   ~ Review Copies ~


Midnight Conquest (Bonded By Blood Vampire Chronicles, #1)Midnight Conquest by Arial Burnz
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I thoroughly enjoyed reading about Broderick and Davina. Broderick is betrayed and turned into a vampire while in clan wars with the Campbells. Broderick travels with gypsies and tells fortunes, when he meets Davina for the first time when she is 13. He predicts her life is going to be hard, but that she is strong at heart and to remember that and keep strong. Nine years later Davina has been married to Ian and he is physically abusive, he has already caused her one miscarriage. The storyline was very good. The characters were very strong and the author did a great job of mixing together paranormal fantasy with Historical accuracies.

View all my reviews


Midnight Captive

Cailin MacDougal has lived a dangerous life being the adopted daughter of vampire Broderick "Rick" MacDougal, so she had no choice but to learn to fight in order to protect herself. However, such behavior is hardly desirable in a dutiful wife who's supposed to embroider and run a household. This aggressive side of her behavior should be easy enough to hide from her betrothed...shouldn't it?

After being away at fencing school for seven years, James Knightly has returned as a master swordsman, ready to captain his own ship and finally wed his childhood sweetheart, Cailin MacDougal. What he finds waiting for him is a dagger-toting hellion for a bride, an immortal father-in-law, and an enemy bent on extracting revenge by threatening the family James holds most dear--the MacDougals.

Broderick MacDougal is lured away from his family with the promise of-at last-learning a way to protect those he loves from his clan enemy, Angus Campbell. Broderick knows he's headed for a trap, but the bait is too tempting to resist...and he unravels the beginning of a prophecy that will lead to redemption for all vampires. The cost of such redemption, though, may be the very soul of the woman he would die for...his wife, Davina.

Midnight Captive—Excerpt

Throwing his cloak back over his shoulders, he revealed a broad chest that rippled under the thin material of his black shirt as he reached across his hip for his sword.

Cailin blanched. Not many men carried swords on their person in the port city of Leith—daggers were the weapon of choice and easier to conceal—and those that did rarely matched the craftsmanship of this blade. This was not a cheap, decorative sword. Out of one mess and into another. She swallowed her fear and stood her ground.

“I suggest a wager.” He winked.

“I am not a gambling woman.”

Tilting his head back, he laughed and Cailin clenched her jaw, her cheeks blooming with heat again. Amusement twinkling in his eyes, he ignored her comment. “A challenge. If you win, I shall let you walk free.”

“And if you win?”

The amusement in his eyes transformed into smoldering desire. “I shall have to take you in hand and see you submit…” His eyes raked her body. “To the proper authority.” He folded his arms in front of him, the blade of his sword sweeping up and standing erect from his fist.

Cailin’s breath left her in a rush and fire surged through her body—from the fluttering in her stomach to the tingling in her toes. She did not miss his twofold meaning, and drew a deep, steadying breath, biting her tongue; though keeping her tongue proved more difficult to manage. “We shall see about this, sir.”

My Review:  July 25, 2013  ~ Review Copies ~

Midnight Captive (Bonded By Blood Vampire Chronicles, #2)Midnight Captive by Arial Burnz
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Cailin, Davina's Daughter and Brodericks adopted daughter is grown and promised to James Knightly. James has been away for years at fencing school learning to fight. While he was away Cailin was being taught to defend herself by her stepfather Broderick. Broderick loves Cailin as his own and hasn't even realized she has grown to womanhood, he is very protective of her. Broderick receives an amulet from the gypsies with a message he is to go to stonehenge. He goes alone because of the unknown. While away, James dad and Angus's henchman Jasper snatches Cailin, leaving James to go after them. I love the story, Arial does very good at weaving the story and balancing it all out. I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

View all my reviews


AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Arial Burnz has been an avid reader of both paranormal and fantasy fiction for over thirty years. With bedtime stories filled with unicorns, hobbits, dragons and elves, she had no choice but to craft her own tales, penning to life the many magical creatures roaming her mind and dreams. And with a romantic husband who's taught her the meaning of true love, she's helpless to weave romance into her tales. Now she shares them with the world. Arial Burnz lives in Rancho Cucamonga, California, with her husband (a.k.a. her romance novel hero)—who is also a descendent of Clan MacDougal—along with their dog and two cats.

Links




Buy Link (Amazon Author Page where all my books are listed and available): 


See images of her characters:  Pinterest


The Top 5 Things I Learned When Writing a Series
A warm thank you to Dalene for having me as a guest today. Woo hoo!

Writing a series turned out to be a totally different reality compared to what I originally envisioned. It’s been a wonderful experience and, as I’m still writing the series, I’m still learning. There’s the added caveat of being self-published, so my schedule is a bit more flexible than the demanding release schedule of a publisher…but no less stressful, as you’ll read here. But so far, here are the top five things I’ve learned while writing my Bonded By Blood Vampire Chronicles, which I am already applying to my other series The Keystone Chronicles:

1. Bonded By Blood is a Sequential Series—I had every intention of making each book in this series a stand-alone, meaning they could be read independently and one didn’t have to read them in the order they were written in order to enjoy them. And even though I developed an overarching tale of a prophecy that spans all six books, I still thought the romance of each novel could still be enjoyed and a reader might miss out only on the backstory happening throughout the saga. *BUZZZ!* Wrong answer! There are two types of series – sequential and stand-alone. Mine is definitely sequential.

2. I’m a Plotter, NOT a Pantster—I had never heard of the term “Pantster” until I started writing a series, so I didn’t know there was a title for what I was…a Plotter. For those of you who don’t know—a Plotter is someone who plots out their stories from beginning to end; a Pantster writes their stories by the seat of their pants. Yeah…Miss Control-Freak here…that’s definitely not me and I just can’t race my fingers over the keyboard into the unknown. Such a concept is rather frightening. And, as far as I’m concerned, when writing a series with layers and layers of plot development and characters, one has to plan ahead so the little clues can be planted along the way. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!

3. My Characters Do What They Want Anyway—However, even though I plot a story out to, what I think is, the tiniest detail, my characters inevitably want to do things their way. So when I’ve heard Pantsters tell me, “Oh, I could never plan out my stories. I just let my characters go where they will.” My response is, “Trust me…my characters definitely have a mind of their own and the story never turns out the way I plan it…they make sure of it!” So item #2 seems to be more of a crutch than a reality. I can map out an entire series and the characters will still mess with my navigation.

4. Outline The Entire Series Before Writing the First Book—I know I sound like I’m going back and forth here, but planning is essential to a good series…IMHO. Even though my characters do tend to take over at times, I can indeed wrangle them into submission when I have to. But the best advice I heard from another author who’s written a few series is to draft at least a rough outline of the entire series to avoid painting yourself into a corner. I have done that a few times already and I’m stuck with what I’ve written because the first two books are already published. Had I planned out the series ’til the end, I could have possibly avoided those difficult situations that I now need to rework and not make the solution look too contrived.

5. No More Release Dates Until I’ve FINISHED Writing the Book—I did it on Book 2 and set an anticipated release date…and then life invaded my schedule and it didn’t happen. I was 30,000 words into Book 3 and thought, “Kewl! I’m almost done. I can finish this book in about month and I’m good to go.” I set my release date…and then I discovered a major plot hole and derailed my whole project. A plot hole is much worse than a pot hole as the impact is a complete surprise, hits harder and deeper and causes a lot more stress! New rule: ONLY set a release date once the first draft is into the editor’s hands AND she’s had a chance to give it a read-through to be sure I didn’t miss anything glaring. THEN only set the release date a minimum of three months out.

I hope this is helpful for anyone planning a series or in the middle of writing one. What about you? Are you in the middle of writing a series or starting one? Does planning help you, or do you just write as you go along? For the readers, do you enjoy a series when you also get to track a storyline arc across all the novels in a sequential series, like J.R. Ward’s Blackdagger Brotherhood novels? Or do you prefer the stand-alone series, like Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Dark Hunter novels? Would love read everyone’s comments! I’ll be available if anyone has questions.
Thanks for having me here today!


Arial will be awarding a $15 Amazon or Barnes & Noble Gift Card (winner's choice) to a randomly drawn commenter during this tour and her NBtM Tour. Also, at every stop a randomly drawn commenter will be awarded a 5-Star Short Story eBook, Romance Trading Card set & signed Bonded By Blood series post card. 

Make sure you follow the tour and comment often to get a better chance at winning.  The tour schedule can be found here.


36 comments:

  1. Dalene, thank you soooo much for the wonderful reviews and for a chance to be a guest on your blog! I'll be visiting through the day to answer any questions. Broderick, Angus and James have made appearances throughout the tour, so everyone is encouraged to ask them a question or leave them a comment so they'll respond!

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    1. I am honored to have you here. I am looking forward to the next book. You write wonderful characters, the kind you love and love to hate. I have a question for Broderick, I know that coming to terms with Cailin growing into a woman was an issue with him so that he addressed what James and Cailin did on the way back home. My question is how did he feel about Cailin purposely making herself bait to be caught and taken to Angus?

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    2. Hey, Dalene! Rick's got a couple of hours before he can rise - sunset doesn't hit him until almost 9:30pm over there in Scotland, which is where he's at right now. I'll tell him to get online as soon as he's "oot and aboot!"

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    3. Evenin', lass! My apologies for taking so long to respond to your comment. Had a bit of a run-in with Angus Campbell. The man will forever be a thorn in my side, I fear.

      In all honestly, I take responsibility for Cailin's actions. If I had done my job in protecting her, she never would have felt the need to put herself in harm's way.

      After Cailin realized how weak mortals were against Vamsyrians (in that final scene of the novel), she came to me later and apologized. You can be sure I gave her a tongue lashing, but she'd learned her lesson.

      I hope that answers your question, lass. Please let me know if you have others. (bows)

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    4. Thank you for answering my question Broderick, and I will see you in the near future as I have the next book I will be working on reviewing and seeing what happens in your life. :)

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    5. You're very welcome, Dalene. I do hope you enjoy the next story and I'm looking forward to your thoughts.

      Best,
      Rick (wink)

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  2. Writing a series would be daunting I think. Kind of like juggling ten balls up in the air. I imagine that plotting would be essential.

    marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com

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    1. I agree, but am so glad that we have wonderful authors up to the task.

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    2. It has its moments, that's for sure! I've had to push my release date for Book 3 because of the plot problems. Grrrr! I still might be a few days late on that, too, but I HAVE to have it finished by August 7 because I'm giving it away free for the RomanceNovel Convention, so it HAS to be published before then. I have 1000 post cards that say so! LOL!

      Thanks for commenting, Mary! Good luck on the drawing!

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    3. Dalene, I just LOVES ya!! I forgot to mention in my comments above, THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for your support and enthusiasm!! {{{{HUGS}}}}}

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    1. As always, your welcome, I enjoy hosting very much.

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  4. Great review of Midnight Conquest.
    Even though I'm a librarian, I'm terrible when it comes to series! I don't read them in order and I'm never faithful to them! It makes it tough when they're not really stand alone.
    catherinelee100 at gmail dot com

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    1. Thanks for commenting, Catherine! A few readers have told me you can indeed read Book 2 without having read book 1 and still enjoy James and Cailin's love story. You just miss out on some of the references to the prophecy. A reader said she couldn't wait to read book 1 after she'd read book 2. Not sure if Book 3 is going to be the same way, though. I don't like to rehash all the old information, but in the edits I'll be going through here shortly, I hope I can keep the "stand alone" option in mind. I'll do my best. :D Good luck on the drawing!

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  5. Wow, what great reviews. I'm looking forward to reading and have added both books to my read list.

    Kit3247(at)aol(dot)com

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    1. Dalene did a great job, didn't she? Hope you enjoy them, Ingeborg, and good luck on the drawing!

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  6. Gypsies and vampires oh my! Lol...probably one of the coolest combinations I've heard of so far!

    andralynn7 AT gmail DOT com

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    1. LOL! Funny you should say that! I've been saying in some of my tweets for Book 3, "Vampires, werewolves and witches - OH YEAH!" LOL Gypsies are just a lot of fun! You may have read in the other article in this tour that my family was descended from Romany Gypsies, which is why I selected them for book 1. I think of Bram Stoker's "Dracula" and how there were Gypsies and their culture filled with superstition. Just love that stuff.

      Good luck on the drawing, Andra! And thanks for participating in the tour!

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    2. lol... I was thinking the same thing about vampires, werewolves and witches since you give a preview of the next book at the end of the books. I can't wait to read the next story to find out what is going to happen.

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    3. Hee hee!! Great minds think alike!!

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  7. I am the kind of person who loves both types, sequential series and stand-alones. I have read most all of Sherrilyn Kenyons Dark Hunters, I am only a couple of books behind since I joined goodreads and started doing book reviews. Stand-alones are great when you get visits and some updates on previous characters. Sequential series are nice because you are continuing the story and learning more about your characters and their lives.

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    1. I'm right there with ya, Dalene! Love the Dark Hunter Series and yet I really enjoy that continuing saga with the characters like Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth Series. Fun stuff! You really fall in love with the characters and it's almost like they're friends. Love to hear about their other stories. :D

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  8. Arial, do you ever get discouraged when you happen to stumble on another author's.book and find that an aspect of your stories may be similar similar to theirs? Even if it's something so small as a similar scene or seems close to one of your characters background story? How do you react when you see it and What's the best way to make your story as unique as possible?

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    1. See answer to the question below. We were challenged by comments! LOL

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  9. Thanks for sharing this great sounding series. I am looking forward to reading it. evamillien at gmail dot com

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    1. Hey Eva!!! Thanks for stopping by. I hope you enjoy reading it and good luck on the drawing! ;)

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  10. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  11. Do comments have to be approved before they post? I posted a question earlier for Arial and it showed up but now it's gone again.

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    1. I received the comment in my e-mail, so I'll post it here.

      Mary Anna Wilson wrote:
      Arial, do you ever get discouraged when you happen to stumble on another author's book and find that an aspect of your stories may be similar similar to theirs? Even if it's something so small as a similar scene or seems close to one of your characters background story? How do you react when you see it and What's the best way to make your story as unique as possible?
      ---------------

      This is a great question, Mary Anna! This is why it is soooo important for author to read what they write...so they already know what is out there. Do I get discouraged? No. Sometimes I'll curse a blue streak...LOL! But as the saying goes, there are no original ideas, only original intentions. I believe ideas are out there, floating around the universe, and many of us pick them up. We either do something with them or we don't. And sometimes many of us act on the same ideas at once.

      As it pertains to writing and answering the question, "What's the best way to make your story as unique as possible?" One can do that two ways - do the opposite (if it serves your story) or do your own twist on it.

      Case in point: My vampires are not harmed by the usual holy water blessed by a priest. It has to be blessed using a Hebrew incantation that I actually took from the Psalms. So, it's still a blessing, but it's a little harder for the average Joe to access that kind of power against a vampire. Later, the "myth" develops into the belief that any ol' blessing will do.

      My own personal twist on the blessed water.

      Doing the opposite: When I originally created MIDNIGHT CONQUEST, most vampire heroes were depressed, thin, pale guys tired of living forever and aching to be loved and either blond or brunette. Broderick MacDougal - redhead, Scottish, rogue who loves being immortal and the last thing he wants is to fall in love. Opposite.

      I hope that answer your questions. Let me know if you have any others and good luck in the drawing!! ;)

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    2. No I do not approve comments or mess with them except to answer or comment myself. So I had to go look to see what was wrong and found your comment under spam so had to unspam it. Now it is showing above like it was supposed to in the first place. I would like to thank you Mary Anna for the question as it is a very good question and I was awaiting the answer myself. I would also like to thank Arial who received the question for answering it on here for us. Now that this has happened I will have to be vigilant and make sure no comments go to spam that are not supposed to. Good luck in the drawing everyone and thank you for visiting my blog. Thank you Arial for being my guest and I would love to have you back sometime.

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    3. I would love to come back for another visit, Dalene! Can't wait! Thanks so much for having me here for my blog tour!

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  12. no, Mary Anna, I do not have comments under approval by me, I only answer or comment myself, so I had to go look because I thought maybe your comment got ate or something, for some weird reason it was under spam so I had to mark it not spam so it would show up. Sorry for the blogspot weirdness, but glad that Arial received and answered. I thought it was a very good question and was waiting for the answer myself. Thank you Mary Anna for the question and Thank you Arial for answering, Good luck everyone in the contest and great questions. Thank you Arial for being a guest on my blog. Did Broderick get my question to him?

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    1. Yep! Looks like he answered your question. Darn Angus!!

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  13. LOL Wow i am seriously Behind. So after all this it was in the lovely spam box. lol.
    So now that all is settled, thank you Dalene and Arial :)

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    1. Most welcome Mary Anna and thank you for visiting. Hope to see you back in the future. I will definitely have Arial back. She is a great author and guest.

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    2. AWWWWW! Thanks so much, Dalene!! I can't wait to come back for another visit! :D

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