Letter V The April A to Z Blogging Challenge #AtoZChallenge

April Author Spotlight 2015

Letter ‘V’ is for ‘Vampire Novels’ and Erica Stevens, author of The Captive Series.

Why do I recommend The Captive Series?

I remember being terrified yet addicted to the tandem Christopher Lee, ‘The Vampire’, and his frequent pursuer, Peter Cushing, in the notorious ‘Hammer’ Dracula films I watched avidly in the 1970s, such as The Brides of Dracula, Dracula: Prince of Darkness, Dracula Has Risen from the Grave, Taste the Blood of Dracula, Scars of Dracula, Dracula AD 1972, The Satanic Rites of Dracula, and The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires, etc.

I thought I had outgrown vampires. I hadn’t read a Vampire novel since I read Dracula as a teenager, and I had no inclination to do so now, in spite of their renewed popularity, until my daughter, teacher and mother of two of my three grandchildren, convinced me to read Captured, the first novel in The Captive Series, which was free at the time, and still is.

This is what happened: in a matter of weeks, I had read the whole series of five books! My daughter was always a book ahead of me, so there was plenty of teasing and debating about what would happen!

I liked the way Erica created a credible future world in which Vampires rule over humans with extreme cruelty and tyranny. I felt empathy from page one with Aria, the free-spirited and brave human blood slave, who is the daughter of the rebel leader. She is captured by the ruling vampires and taken by Braith, a Vampire Prince and heir to the throne (and Byronic hero in disguise!)

All the characters come alive because they have different facets, including flaws and virtues, and they all develop throughout the novel, along with their changing circumstances.

The story is intriguing, original, and well planned and drawn out, including family feuds, secrets, and lots of action. Eventually, no-one was as good or bad as they seemed, and there are plenty of twists and turns, and surprises, to keep me hooked to the end of the series.

I enjoyed the unusual and sweet romance between the young human and the vampire, including a lot of tension, and obstacles to be overcome, but no explicit sex, although there were some violent and gory scenes especially between the violent and bloodthirsty vampires.

I’m not sure if I’ll be reading any more vampire novels, although if there’s yet another sequel to this series, as Erica has promised, I will certainly be reading! However, I’m glad I read this collection, because it is a well-written and enjoyable read. It also reminded me of my (almost) forgotten teenage interest in these supernatural creatures.

 

What is The Captive Series about, Erica?

The Captive series is a different take on vampires. It’s a dystopian series based in a future where vampires have taken over and rule the world. Some of the humans have helped to keep the vampires in control while others live in the forest and fight against them. Aria is one of the rebels, and when she is caught she finds herself in the hands of the vampire prince, Braith. Neither of them know what to make of the other but a forbidden love slowly begins to grow between them. The vampires in this series aren’t friendly, they’re not all evil, but they are definitely unapologetic of their actions. This series is an interesting, fun ride with many twists and turns throughout it.

What are you working on now?

Right now I’m working on the fourth book in my Vampire Awakenings Series under my other penname, Brenda K. Davies. It’s a more adult content paranormal romance series. Afterwards, I will be returning to The Captive Series to write the seventh book in the series.

What would you like readers to know about you?

I have many many ideas for future books!

How can we know more or contact you? 

Captured Links on: Amazon,  Apple iBooks,  Barnes & Noble, Google Play Books,  KOBO, and Smashwords:

Join my Mailing list.

Follow me on Twitter: @ericastevensgcp 

My FB page

My Amazon page

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PD. By the way, in case you think vampires novels are a new trend in literature, have a look here for more information on 19^th century Vampires,  such as The Vampyre by John William Polidori (1819), Varney, the Vampyre by James Malcolm Rymer (1845-47), Carmilla by Sheridan le Fanu (1872), The Fate of Madame Cabanel by Eliza Lynn Linton (1880), Dracula by Bram Stoker (1897), and The Blood of the Vampire by Florence Marryat (1897), among others.

I’ll have to write a post on ‘Rereading the Vampire’…

 

Please take some time to check out some of the other blogs on the A-Z Challenge. There are plenty of interesting and varied topics.