VBT Pit Stop with Author Katie Salidas

Today our guest is Katie Salidas. She is the author of Immortalis Carpe Noctum, which I have started reading this weekend, and is fabulous so far. Thank you so much for being with us today Katie it is such a pleasure having you here. Today Katie talks about why she writes about the vampire world.

Katie:

Vampires have been legend since the dawn of time. Stories and myths can be found in the most ancient of civilizations. They have proven time and time again that they a have sticking power. They go through cycles of hot and cold but over the centuries, they have never gone away.

I think one of the things that keeps the vampire genre so popular is the fact that they grow with the times. The vampire. He/She is so versatile. They can be both good and evil and on many occasions, some shade of grey in-between.

But, with the recent surge in vampire popularity, it's not enough to just write a vampire story. You have to give a little oomph to it. Lots of people make fun of the “sparkly vampires in Twilight. Like them or not, they are a perfect example of this concept. Mrs. Meyers did something different. She took an old idea and added a fresh twist. The same applies with the Southern Vampire Mysteries aka the Sookie Stackhouse series. In those stories, the vampires are “out of the coffin.” That is quite the turnaround from regular vampire tradition.

Point being, the market is hugely competitive at the moment; so, to stand out, you have to have something to give your audience that they might not get with another story.

We all know the standard vampire themes: Vampires cannot handle sunlight, crosses (or any holy relics for that matter) are a great deterrent, garlic is supposed to be toxic, and a stake through the heart makes a good killing weapon.

When writing my story, I asked myself, why? Why can't vampires handle the sunlight? Why do holy relics bother them? I wanted to give the reader a real, solid reason behind the answers to these questions. I wanted to make my vampires real enough to step out of the pages.

With all that in mind, I wanted to take it a little slower and really deliver a story that let you experience, with the main character, the transformation from human to full fledged vampire. While reading, I wanted you, the reader, to learn what it takes to be a vampire; you will experience the gut wrenching feeling of blood lust. You will make your first kill. You will feel the high and experience the guilt. If you can get over that, you will learn to hone your new supernatural abilities. In the end, you might even like being a creature of the night.


Bleeding to death after brutal mugging on the campus of UNLV, Twenty-five year old Alyssa, is rescued by the cold and aloof, vampire, Lysander. Taking pity on her, he shares the gift-and curse-of immortality. She awakens as a vampire and is soon devastated by harsh realities of her new way of life: the loss of her friends, her independence, and her humanity.

As if having her humanity stripped away was not enough to make life interesting, Alyssa finds out her “turning”, did not go unnoticed by the rest of undead society. Old enemies; an ancient sect of vampire hunters, known as the Acta Sanctorum, as well as a powerful Vampire mistress, each set plans in motion to destroy both Alyssa and Lysander.

Only by accepting her newfound immortality, seizing the night, will Alyssa hope to survive. She and Lysander must fight together against two sets of enemies bent on destroying them both.

Immortalis is sold at:

Amazon


Smashwords (multi format ebook)


Barnes & Noble (currently web only)


Kindle


Publisher (Author Signed Copies)
http://www.risingsignbooks.com

Katie's Blog: My Immortal Stories

Katie is also on Virtual Book Tour with Authors Supporting Authors from May 9-July 6, 2010. You can view her schedule at the Virtual Book Tour Cafe. Her next pit stop will be May 9, with Lillian Brummet at Conscious Discussions. By leaving a comment here today you will be entered into a drawing to win a signed copy of Katie's book, plus a chance at other great drawings throughout the tour such as, $25 Visa Gift Cards, Writers Pack, Book Lights, and more.

Please become a follower of this blog so I have a way to contact you should you win!