Guest blog post: Demise of the Vampire Queen by Jodie Pierce - interview and excerpt

Book Blurb

The Vampire Queen is once again ruling her subjects only this time it is a school for the ‘different’ children in Scotland. A school full of vampires, witches, warlocks, elves and fairies, one that is feared and hated by all who attend. A new group of witches and warlocks show up to her gates and cause all kinds of havoc within the school. Vampires and witches are at odds and only a few can see the survival of the school. An ancient lover and the Queen are reunited but at what costs? A new, as well as an old lover unite to attempt to take the Queen off her throne. Will it work? Will the Queen maintain her horrendous rule over the students? Can the spells woven work and change history?

Excerpt

The people of the land considered you condemned if you entered The Queen’s Land. Children who were different were sent here for an upbringing designed to nurture their abilities. The children it The Magikal Vampire Kingdom and were terrified of going there. They often hid their abilities as long as possible so as not to be disparaged in this place. Students came to her school for guidance and segregation from humans and their homes around the continent. Many traveled several days and nights to get there on horseback or by car for the more wealthy families, most without the love and support from their parents and family. They felt doomed and alone until they arrived and found others like themselves. They found a common bond that they otherwise would never have had.

The vampires stayed to themselves. The rest of the students were too scared to befriend them, so they had their own group…minus the fairies, who also kept to themselves. They were obsessed with flying and had no time for outsiders or distractions. So, finally, the witches, warlocks and elves teamed up for a volatile marriage. Nonetheless, they each learned from the others in many different ways and of course, academically. They knew the rumors of the place being hell for children. Once you entered, you rarely came out for one reason or another.

The Magikal Vampire Kingdom tried to mimic what they could of the human world, so as to be prepared should the humans finally accept them. The school could not have a ton of students, running around like crazy, acting inappropriately and ultimately scaring their new friends. Upon being taken into the Queen’s Land, each student would be marked with a bite mark tattoo on the inside of the right bicep. It was as if the Queen herself personally put her mark on every one of them. It was a mark that could never be removed or hidden from others. Even as an adult, the mark would still be present and label you as an outsider in any community you entered. It was a mark that told others you were special and to be avoided at all costs. Consequently, most students tended to stay at the school as long as possible, even as adults, and became advisors or teachers.

The Queen herself was an enigma. She’d harbored the ambition of ruling and purifying the vampire race since reawakening last century. She moved to world domination, accomplished with her new coven in Venice. Her success over her sister and the Japanese culture was overshadowed only by the death of the male love of her life. Killed in a fire during one of their tousles, she’d thrown Yutaka off her and he’d landed on the burning, white-hot cinder blocks in the fireplace. He’d changed to ashes before she’d had time to call anyone. She’d tried to put out the fire, but vampires burned for a long time. When her friends arrived, they’d attempted to clean up the ashes and put them in urn for the Queen to remember him for always.

The devastating loss of Kendra, her first lover this century, to the blinding love of another had changed her for forever.  Oh how she missed her! She’d never get her back nor could she forget her. Since she’d excelled at all her conquests, she now had to find something worthy to satisfy her. She had become cold and calculated due to her circumstances of the heart. All she had was herself. She could never get close to another since the loss of Kendra and Yutaka.

Interview

Tell us about your current release and who would be your favorite character?

My favorite character is the main character, The Vampire Queen. She is at first a scared young woman who has to relearn everything about herself that she once knew. After that, she becomes sassy, seductive, impulsive, sometimes arrogant, petulant yet ruthless and looking to resume her reign in the vampire race.

Are the names of the characters in your novels important?  How and why?

I pick all my names from a giant baby book I have or from online baby name sites. I usually think of a letter for the name and then search say all the ‘t’s and look for a name with a meaning of the main characteristic of that character. It makes it more fun for me and though no one knows my ‘evil name plot’ it amuses me.

Does travel play in the writing of your books? 

Well, not exactly travel in as far as my personal traveling to locations but I research all of my locations. I like to do research so I look up everything from places, food, clothes, etc. It helps me learn about new places and makes the reading more interesting in my opinion.

What do you find most rewarding about writing?

I like the creative outlet that it gives me. Much of my writing comes from dreams I have. I dream a concept and then have other dreams about various sequences within the book. I often wake up at 4am and have to write. I also lay in bed before falling asleep just dwelling on it and come up with some great ideas so I have a pen and paper next to the bed for that. Sometimes, hubby gives me a great concept for a story and then I just run away with it. That’s the case for the story I’m working on now. Sometimes I get stuck in the middle but then when the floodgates open, look out! LOL! 

What does your significant other and family think of your writing career?

Well, this is a tricky one without offending others but I have to be honest. My hubby is my biggest supporter. Like I said, he gives me ideas, reads my books, buys them (encourages me to buy others’ books I need to feed my starving readers brain), etc. He tells me all the time how proud of me he is and reminds me when I’m down how far I’ve come in reaching my goal to be a writer. On the flip side, my parents (which I’m very close to) don’t really seem to care. They have never read any of my stories (and they read a lot-sometimes 4 books a week). My mother claims it’s because they are about vampires and she’s not into that genre. My dad has said he’s proud of me but gives me crap about not making millions on them. It’s frustrating. I love them but they don’t support me, I feel so I’m at a loss with them and don’t bring it up much anymore.

Tell us about your favorite restaurant.

My hubby and I seem to be foodies. We watch all the cooking and food shows. We love to try new things, places, food, etc. On the cooking shows, they spoke about using bone marrow. I already have a hard time with eating food off a bone so it grossed me out. I said I’d ‘never’ eat it. Well, we went to a critically acclaimed chef’s restaurant, Lolita by Michael Simon and it was on the menu. He ordered it and I was still skeptical but he talked me into trying it. I have to say, it wasn’t as bad as I thought and it was actually pretty good. I wouldn’t eat it every day and it is an acquired taste but it was good.

Who is your favorite author?

My favorite author is also the woman who inspired me to write about vampires. I was writing romance, bored to death with it and uninspired. I have had a fascination with vampires since I was a child but it wasn’t until I read an Anne Rice book that I decided I should write about these vampires that I’d grown to love so much over the years. As far as my erotic books, Christine Feehan was my additional inspiration after reading Anne Rice’s Sleeping Beauty series. Ms. Feehan’s books were amazing and took my imagination to places I had never thought I’d be able to put out on paper.

Do you have a favorite quote, quip, or saying? What is it?

“I often paint self-portraits for it is I that knows myself the best”-Freida Kahlo

It reminds me to look inward at myself as that’s where everything in my life comes from.

Author bio and contacts

Jodie Pierce is thirty-seven years old and lives with her hubby, John in Cleveland, Ohio along with four beautiful step-children. She has had a fascination with vampires since they were introduced to her as a child and has had a long history with them. It wasn't until she started reading the Anne Rice vampire books that she was truly inspired. She was an exchange student in Brasil in high school so you can find some of her experiences from there in her stories. Many of her stories have historical or researched facts as she also enjoys research and learning about new places. She has published five short novels(Eternal Press), a short story in "Midnight Thirst 2", an anthology(Melange Books), has two self-published books and has several short stories that she still works on. She's always busy with the next great vampire story as her mind is non-stop and even plagues her dreams.

Website:     thevampirequeen1@weebly.com

Blog:   www.thevampirequeen1.blogspot.com

2^nd Blog:   www.jodiepierceauthor.blogspot.com

Facebook:  www.facebook.com/jodie.pierce.14  and www.facebook.com/authors.authority which I co manage with my favorite author friend, Deborah Palumbo (check her out on my 2^nd blog as the first interview).