A big hello to all my Romancing Ravens! Today I’m thrilled to be welcoming paranormal romance author Marie Treanor to Romancing the Darkside! Marie is promoting her latest release in the Awakened by Blood Series, Blood Eternal. This is a must read series for any vampire romance lover. There’s a fabulous guest post ahead and even a giveaway so stay tuned and show Marie some love!
Darkness and Light by Marie Treanor
I’m guessing by the name of the blog – thank you, Lori, for having me here today! – that we all like a dark edge to our romance. Which is perhaps a bit strange since, on the face of it, romance and darkness might be considered opposites! And yet droves of us look for love – in books at least! – on the dark side of life, in worlds of danger, demons, vampires, shifters and sorcerers. And whether our heroes are the said demons, vampires etc, or the brave human opposing them, the romance happens in these dark and dangerous worlds.
It’s not a new taste, of course. Gothic romances, set in strange, threatening castles with supernatural goings-on have been popular since the early nineteenth century. Dark, brooding, imperfect heroes with stormy pasts are timeless – like Mr. Rochester in Jane Eyre, one of my own early favourites. Later, I discovered Rebecca, became addicted to Victoria Holt and any other gothic type romance I could lay my hands on. So I suppose it was inevitable that when I began to write myself, I would favour a bit of darkness, both in my setting and my characters – witness my Awakened by Blood vampire romance/urban fantasy trilogy, which culminates in Blood Eternal (released tomorrow – champagne!).
In Saloman, I have a dark, dangerous hero with a tragic past. Well, he’s a vampire, thousands of years old, and he was betrayed by those he loved most back in the seventeenth century. When my academic heroine accidentally awakens him, over three hundred years later, he’s had a lot of time to brood. He sets out on a trail of vengeance and world domination – and if you want even more dangerous than the strongest vampire of all time, unafraid to kill for his own ends, how about a hero who actually wants to kill the heroine? (That was back in Blood on Silk, the first book and he obviously gets over it since she’s still the heroine of the third book! But the threat is never quite gone, because to be at his strongest, he really needs to kill her).
All my vampires in this series are dark, dangerous and occasionally treacherous. I feel that’s what vampires should be because that was always their attraction for me growing up with Dracula, Interview with the Vampire and Hammer horror films – that irresistible combination of lethal threat and sex appeal. Mmm… In fact, vampire or not, there’s a particular charm to the dangerous hero, perhaps because the contrast with his softer feelings for the heroine is then all the greater and more moving.
And talking of heroines, I can really enjoy darkness in them as well J. They’re a newer phenomenon, of course, despite the wicked temptresses and femme fatales of older stories who never quite made it to the status of heroine. Nowadays, we have fantastic heroines who might be assassins or thieves or bad-asses in some other way. They can have their own stormy, tragic pasts and be just as dangerous – or even more so – than their heroes.
Having said that, my Elizabeth is more the light to Saloman’s darkness. There’s darkness in her, and it’s drawn toward Saloman, but although she learns to look after herself and her friends, to kick-ass with the best, she’s always trying to do good and right. The dark part of her story is the temptation offered by Saloman, and her divided loyalties that force her to keep secrets from her friends. Elizabeth is a clever woman with an analytical mind and an ability to see all sides of an argument. Because of that, she can see the good as well as the bad in Saloman and his ideas; and she can see the disadvantages as well as the advantages in the plans of her friends the vampire hunters. At the moment, she’s holding her own in the middle, but which way will she jump in the end?
Then, I love dark, gothic settings, like the Transylvanian crypt where Elizabeth awakens Saloman, the ruined Scottish cathedral and the tunnels beneath the Hungarian castle, where other climactic scenes take place. For me, it all adds to the atmosphere of a story, which is so important in a dark romance.
So what draws you to dark romance? I’d love to know!
Blood Eternal by Marie Treanor
Awakened by Blood Series – Book Three
Signet Eclipse
Mass Market Paperback
Release Date: October 4, 2011
Secrets don’t disappear after seduction…
Elizabeth Silk is struggling to reconcile her passion for the vampire overlord Saloman and her allegiance to the vampire hunters. When a shocking vampire revolt calls Saloman away from her, she refuses to follow him.
To make matters worse, Saloman’s beloved cousin Luk has been found and awakened by one of his greatest enemies. Frenzied with bloodlust, Luk embarks on a killing spree and prepares to expose Saloman’s biggest vulnerability: Elizabeth.
But under Saloman’s regime, vampires have become less concerned with secrecy, no longer willing to hide their power. Rumors are swirling about attacks on humans. After Saloman joins forces with the vampire hunters to consolidate his power, Elizabeth begins to understand her role in the inevitable collision of the two worlds. She could bring resolution between vampires and humans—if she can manage to stay alive long enough to play both sides….
Read an excerpt here.
You can pre-order Blood Eternal here:
About the Author:
Marie Treanor lives in Scotland with her eccentric husband and three much-too-smart children. Having grown bored with city life, she resides these days in a picturesque village by the sea where she is lucky enough to enjoy herself avoiding housework and writing sensual stories of paranormal romance and fantasy.
Marie Treanor has published more than twenty ebooks with small presses, (Samhain Publishing, Ellora’s Cave, Changeling Press and The Wild Rose Press), including a former Kindle bestseller, Killing JoeBlood on Silk: an Awakened by Blood novel, was her New York debut with NAL.
Awakened by Blood series, Marie is delighted to be able to bring together her long-standing loves of vampire stories and Gothic romance.
For more information on Marie, visit her here:
One print copy of Eternal Blood.
Giveaway Details:
Must be 18 years or older to enter.
Giveaway runs from October 3rd – October 10th.
Open to US shipping ONLY.
To enter fill out the Rafflecopter entry form below.
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The unrealistic idea of paranormals draw me in – it allows me to escape this world and enter another, esp on a bad day 🙂
I love paranormal romance because I love romantic stories with vampires and were-animals and other paranormal and supernatural beings. =)
Thanks so much for this generous giveaway opportunity!!! =) Good luck to everyone who enters!!
Valerie Long (Scorpio1974 on GFC)
just.val.1974@gmail.com
Good morning! Thrilled to be here today :).
Arianne, that’s largely it for me too – sheer escapism :).
Hi Valerie – absolutely with you there :). And you’re welcome!
Marie
What draws me to paranormal romances is that it is an escape from the real world. You get to see different worlds and different creatures falling in love including humans. It allows you to use your imagination. Please enter me in contest. I would love to read this book. Tore923@aol.com
It gives you a way to escape reality fot a little while, you can let your imagination runaway with you. Thanks for the chance. The book and cover look awesome.
mythic021@gmail.com
For me it’s the unknown. The escape from the every day.
misusedinnocence@aol.com
I’m drawn to paranormal romance because of the unknown, the immortality of many of the characters, the danger associated with many of the characters and the struggle in the romance between good and evil. I love the characters having special powers and abilities and the struggle they go through to be accepted and part of a human world.
junegirl63(at)gmail(dot)com
I love all romance to be sure, but there is just something special added when the book is paranormal romance! Many more obstacles and problems for the romantic couple 🙂
Thanks, Tore! Yes, with Paranormal, you get Escapism plus :).
Thanks, Vanessa! Glad you think so!
Misusedinnocence, for me too!
Hi Maria – yes, all of those are good for me too :).
Hello, Julie. Absolutely! LOADS more problems :).
Marie
For me, dark and brooding men have always gotten me going. If they seem dangerous and have that smirky-stare that makes me shiver *brrr*! I also tend toward intense things in life, including romance. I’ve been told it’s my Scorpio nature. Whatever the reason, paranormal romances fit right in!
MJB
I like the escape from reality that paranormal provides. And who doesn’t love a dark hero.
What draws me to paranormal romance is that anything is possible and that usually the bad boy is really the good guy in the story:)
Thanks for the great giveaway and HAPPY RELEASE DAY Tomorrow! I definitely need to read this series.
yadkny@hotmail.com
Hi MJB! Not sure about the smirk, but otherwise, I’m with you 🙂
JoAnna, I certainly do!
Hi Yadkny – I like that too, where the boundaries are a bit blurred and the bad boy comes through as the hero :). Thanks for the congrats! It’s release day and I’m celebrating :).
Marie
Since I am new to the Paranormal Romance section I would have to say just a good story line. I don’t know what I like or love about them yet.
Mary
I love paranormal romance because it is easy to escape into this realm. Plus, bad boy alpha male makes the story even juice.
I like the mystery of something other, a shared secret that adds excitement, and makes every day new 🙂 Thank you for the fun today.
Hi Mary! Good answer – works across all the genres, doesn’t it? :).
Anne, you’re so right – love those things too!
Hi Denise. Oh yes, you can’t beat a bit of mystery! You’re welcome! Thanks for dropping in. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed being here!
Thanks everyone!
Marie
Hi Marie,
I can’t wait to read this series. It’s on my TRL and I love to wait till the books are all out to read them back to back.
I think it’s the unknown and escapism lke everyone else said. Also the safety of stepping into that darkness behind the pages. lol So easy to be brave then. 🙂 Love those dark brooding Heroes. Thank you for the opportunity Marie.
Carol L
Lucky4750 (at) aol (dot) com
I love paranormal because it stretches my imagination. I just love the what if? factor.