Tuesday 14 May 2013

"The Oracle & The Vampire" Blog Tour

Greetings! Today I'm pleased to welcome back the lovely Christine Rains, with a guest post on the latest in her incredible 13th Floor series, 1305 & 1306: The Oracle & The Vampire. Take it away, Christine!


We've seen a demon trickster, werewolf thugs, a dragon mastermind, and vengeful gods. What villain could be more terrible than those we've already seen in the 13th Floor series? There is something much worse. The villain that works against the hero every step of the way: himself.

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.

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.


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:

Kyra Lennon said...

Awesome post! I'm really looking forward to reading this! :D

dolorah said...

Oh, this one sound awesome. I'm fond of banshee's.

......dhole

Tonja Drecker said...

The first 4 books were wonderful, and I've been looking forward to get my hands on #5. Yay, Christine!

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Congratulations, Christine! My main character was also his own worst enemy. I think those are the funnest ones to create.

Christine Rains said...

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!

Unknown said...

A great post! I like that Christine's characters have such complex lives and personalities. And very imaginative!

Rachna Chhabria said...

Congratulations Christine. My main character at times becomes her own worst enemy by doing stupid things.

Jennifer Joyce said...

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.

Cherie Reich said...

It's definitely good to have characters be their own worst enemies sometimes.

Mark Means said...

Sounds like a fun book and a wild ride. Definitely on my TBR list :)

Michelle Wallace said...

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

Donna K. Weaver said...

What a series. Yeah. Nothing like a character who's greatest enemy is himself.

loverofwords said...

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.

Julie Flanders said...

I love Christine's 13th Floor series and can't wait to read this latest installment. Flawed heroes are always the best kind.

Sherry Ellis said...

I bet this is a great book!

Unknown said...

That's really clever to have the main enemy of the hero be the hero himself.

Morgan said...

Oh, I love Christine!!!!! And the book sounds fabulous... wonderful post, Nick! Thanks for sharing this!!!

Christine Rains said...

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.

Christine Rains said...

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!

Nick Wilford said...

Thanks for the support for Christine, everyone!

Heather R. Holden said...

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!

Christine Rains said...

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.

Romance Book Haven said...

Hi,

Paranormal is a tremendously popular genre. People jut can't get enough of these books.

J.L. Campbell said...

And here I thought Vetis had been vanquished. Christine's characters sound as fascinating as ever.

Anonymous said...

First flawed character that comes to mind is Angle from Buffy... he just worked so perfectly.

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

We are all our own worst enemies, aren't we? Especially us writers ;)
Congrats, Christine :)

Elizabeth Seckman said...

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!

Christine Rains said...

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!

Kimberly Gabriel said...

Ooh! Another fun bump in with this book. Sounds wonderful Christine!

Gina Gao said...

This sounds really awesome! I can't wait to read it.

www.modernworld4.blogspot.com

nutschell said...

I've heard about Christine's series and I've been dying to check the books out.
Nutschell
www.thewritingnut.com

Unknown said...

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

anti.insects7@gmail.com said...

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