Giving our characters flaws makes them
realistic and sympathetic. Perhaps a fear of spiders or clumsiness. You can
then take it another step and have that flaw work against the hero. There's
nothing more horrible than being your own worst enemy.
In THE ORACLE & THE VAMPIRE, Vetis and
his imps (from THE MARQUIS) make another appearance. While they do cause a lot
of trouble, they aren't what constantly knocks our heroes down. Harriet and
Kiral each have their own problems.
When Harriet was nineteen, a jealous fairy
placed upon her the curse of the banshee. Every night, Harriet turns into a
hideous old hag. Her young body becomes old, and she can barely get around
except when motivated by a foretelling. When she has a vision of someone's
death, she's compelled to mourn by screaming and running around near the
person's residence. Harriet has no control over herself in these moments and
cannot find a cure to her curse.
Kiral's weakness lies in his own making.
He's a vampire with an addiction. For several decades, he fed upon humans who
were high on drugs so he could get the rush too. Kiral has been clean for
nearly three years, but it doesn't get any easier. Each day is a battle and the
craving is powerful. It makes both his body and mind weak, and he has trouble
functioning in every day, I mean, night life.
While a wonderfully wicked villain is
entertaining, I think the greatest challenge for a hero is to overcome what
lies within himself.
Who are your favorite flawed heroes?
Title:
1305 & 1306 – The Oracle and the Vampire (The 13th Floor series, #5)
Author:
Christine Rains
Genre:
paranormal romance
Release
date: May 13th,
2013
Blurb:
Having
fallen for her gorgeous neighbor might not be so bad if Harriet McKay wasn't in
her hideous banshee form every time Kiral saw her. Such is her curse. True,
he's a vampire struggling with a drug addiction, but he's a good soul. Yet no
one could love a cursed witch, especially one not even her cats respect.
After having a vision of Kiral's death, Harriet makes it her mission to save him. Never before has she attempted to change fate, but so strong is her love.
After having a vision of Kiral's death, Harriet makes it her mission to save him. Never before has she attempted to change fate, but so strong is her love.
Kiral
Ozdemir struggles to make it through every day. The craving for blood laced
with drugs directs his every thought until he tastes Harriet's potent blood.
The magic immediately addicts him, but she disappears. He's desperate to find
her, racing blindly into a city in chaos.
How can Harriet convince Kiral to see past her vile appearance and return her love? If only she can force him to listen to reason coming from a raving crone, perhaps she can save him from the demons hunting him and from himself.
How can Harriet convince Kiral to see past her vile appearance and return her love? If only she can force him to listen to reason coming from a raving crone, perhaps she can save him from the demons hunting him and from himself.
Author Bio:
Christine
Rains is a writer, blogger, and geek mom. She has four degrees which help
nothing with motherhood, but make her a great Jeopardy player. When she's not
writing or reading, she having adventures with her son or watching cheesy
movies on Syfy Channel. She's a member of Untethered Realms and S.C.I.F.I. The
13th Floor series is her first self-published
series. She has seven novellas and twenty-one short stories published.
33 comments:
Awesome post! I'm really looking forward to reading this! :D
Oh, this one sound awesome. I'm fond of banshee's.
......dhole
The first 4 books were wonderful, and I've been looking forward to get my hands on #5. Yay, Christine!
Congratulations, Christine! My main character was also his own worst enemy. I think those are the funnest ones to create.
Thank you so much for hosting me today, Nick! :)
Kyra, thank you!
Donna, thanks! I love writing characters we rarely see in books.
Tonja, thank you! I hope you like it.
Alex, I totally agree. Thanks!
A great post! I like that Christine's characters have such complex lives and personalities. And very imaginative!
Congratulations Christine. My main character at times becomes her own worst enemy by doing stupid things.
I like the idea of him having a drug problem through feeding off humans who'd taken them. Adds a new twist to his personality.
It's definitely good to have characters be their own worst enemies sometimes.
Sounds like a fun book and a wild ride. Definitely on my TBR list :)
The word banshee made me smile... dunno when last I heard it...
A vampire struggling with a drug addiction... that's a first for me... quite a unique perspective!
Congrats Christine!
Writer In Transit
What a series. Yeah. Nothing like a character who's greatest enemy is himself.
What a great question. To me a flawed hero has to be intrinsically good, and as Donna said, usually the problem is the enemy within. In politics, I think it's giving your friends a pass, just because they are your friends. And not to be able to publicly admit your mistakes. Think Benghazi.
I love Christine's 13th Floor series and can't wait to read this latest installment. Flawed heroes are always the best kind.
I bet this is a great book!
That's really clever to have the main enemy of the hero be the hero himself.
Oh, I love Christine!!!!! And the book sounds fabulous... wonderful post, Nick! Thanks for sharing this!!!
Adriana, thanks! Sometimes the biggest battles are the ones we fight with ourselves.
Rachna, thank you! Poor decisions can make for lots of trouble.
Mama J, thanks! I hope readers love the twist.
Cherie, it certainly is! :)
Mark, thanks!
Michelle, thank you! I hoped to bring something new to paranormal romance.
Donna, thank you!
Loverofwords, that's definitely true. Both my characters are good souls, but the vampire sometimes finds himself in big trouble.
Julie and Sherry, thanks!
Rachel, thank you!
Morgan, thanks so much!
Thanks for the support for Christine, everyone!
I love it when characters are flawed enough to be their own enemy. It never fails to give a story even more depth than before! And ooh, Vetis will be making another appearance?! Exciting!
And thank you again, Nick. Once this whole series is done and I put it together in a collection, I'd love to send you a signed copy. You've been awesome!
Heather, funny how Vetis is well loved, or people love to hate him! Hehehe.
Hi,
Paranormal is a tremendously popular genre. People jut can't get enough of these books.
And here I thought Vetis had been vanquished. Christine's characters sound as fascinating as ever.
First flawed character that comes to mind is Angle from Buffy... he just worked so perfectly.
We are all our own worst enemies, aren't we? Especially us writers ;)
Congrats, Christine :)
Usually I'm not into paranormal, but there is so much humor in Christine's blurb, I seriously need to check the book out. I mean it's one thing to be caught with bad hair, but in banshee form? Oh my. A lady's worst night mare!
Romance Book Haven, it truly is. It's hard to get lost amongst all the books out there too.
J.L., well, if you've read THE MARQUIS you do know what happens to Vetis, but since the books take place at the same time, Vetis is just big enough to be in both!
Tania, very true. Angel is one of my favorite vamps of all time along with Spike.
Lynda, thanks! We truly are.
Elizabeth, hehehe! And then all the random screaming as a banshee. Not the way to make a good impression on a man!
Ooh! Another fun bump in with this book. Sounds wonderful Christine!
This sounds really awesome! I can't wait to read it.
www.modernworld4.blogspot.com
I've heard about Christine's series and I've been dying to check the books out.
Nutschell
www.thewritingnut.com
الخدمات التي تقدمها شركة مكافحة حشرات بالقصيم تشتمل علي القضاء علي جميع الانواع المختلفه للحشرات و خدمات شركة كشف تسريبات بالقصيم تتم بالاشتراك مع فريق شركة عزل خزانات بالقصيم و هي شركة متعددة الخدمات و شركة البيت السعيد تعد شركة عزل اسطح بالقصيم و بالمملكة السعودية بالكامل
للقضاء علي الحشرات نهائيا من منزليك عليك بطلب خدمات شركة ابادة حشرات الموجوده في مصر و اذا اردت منع ظهورها من البداية فعليك بالاستعانة بخدمات افضل شركة مكافحة حشرات بمصر لمنع ظهور الحشرات تماما
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