PSF Interview & Giveaway Alyxandra Harvey “Blood Feud”

**Visit Tynga’s Reviews today for her PSF Interview & Giveaway with Jeanine Holmes author of BLOOD LAW**

My guest today is Paranormal YA author Alyxandra Harvey.  Her first book, Hearts At Stake was released in December of 2009 and described as “Buffy meets Twilight.” I thought it was excellent.  The second book in the Drake Chronicles, BLOOD FEUD, is due out on June 22, 2010 and Alyx’s fabulous publisher, Bloomsbury, has sent along with her 5 copies to giveaway!  Details below.

Alyxandra Harvey is the author of Hearts at Stake, the first book in the Drake Chronicles. She studied creative writing and literature at York University and has had her poetry published in several magazines. When not writing, she is a belly dancer and jewelry-maker. She lives in an old farmhouse with her husband, hawk, and two dogs.

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Interview

ATUF: Hearts At Stake introduced us to the Drake family, an ancient vampire dynasty, and focused on Solange and Nicholas Drake. In BLOOD FEUD, the focus shifts to Logan Drake. Do you plan on each remaining brother getting his own book?

AH: I played around with that idea but instead I decided to explore different aspects of the Drake world, with the main story arc belonging to Solange. Book 1 is about the Drakes, Book 2 explores the Hounds, Book 3 the Helios-Ra and Book 4 the Hel-Blar. Looking at that last sentence, apparently I like the letter “H” a little too much.

That said, Book 3 is also about Quinn and Book 4 is about his twin Connor. I see the main story arc ending in Book 5, brining everyone together and told from Solange and Lucy’s POV’s again.

And I secretly think Lucy should have her own Urban Fantasy adult series, for her university and post-university years…

ATUF: The first two books in The Drake Chronicles are both told from shifting POV's. What were the benefits and difficulties in writing from both Logan and Isabeau's perspectives in BLOOD FEUD? Are there any scenes where you struggled with deciding whose POV was better?

AH: This was the first time I’d ever written in first person POV for an eighteen year old guy. That was a fun challenge!

The benefits for alternating POV’s is that I get to travel throughout the story and be two places at once which you generally can’t do with a first person POV. In Hearts at Stake that was vital to the momentum. In Blood Feud, Isabeau and Logan are mostly together, so it was more about exploring their different perceptions and reactions to what was happening around them.

ATUF: Do you come from a large family like Drakes? Or if not, do you envy Solange’s big family?

AH: I do come from a large family, with 4 older brothers and sisters, a horde of nieces and nephews and nearly 20 cousins on my Mom’s side!

ATUF: How did you come up with your particular brand of vampirism? How is it different/similar from traditional vampire mythology?

AH: I love folklore and history and poetry so they influence my work. The Hel-Blar I invented as a new race of vampires but they’re based on an old Norse word for “blue as death”, referring to vampire-like revenants, instead of the more traditional Romanian and Greek Strigoi and Moroi. Though I did use those terms in a vampire urban fantasy (adult) I wrote and really enjoyed exploring Romanian folklore.

For the Drake Chronicles, I kept the aversion to sunlight and the need for blood, of course. Also, the seductive aspects, balanced out with the more traditional pre-Byron horror of the undead creatures. They weren’t very seductive before the early 19^th century let me tell you!

In general though, my favourite part of the vampire genre, besides the very yummy guys, is the way you can travel through history. I can have characters that lived in the Middle Ages or Victorian Britain or during the French revolution. That’s definitely the most fun aspect for me and I really play with it in book 4, along with poetry.

ATUF: The description of BLOOD FEUD promises, "exciting new revelations about the vampire dynasties to keep readers coming back for more." Can you give us any hints about what those revelations might be?

AH: I don’t outline my books so as I’m writing the stories they reveal themselves to me…sometimes I’m as surprised as anyone else! I think the really big surprises come in book 4 but in Blood Feud we get to see the royal courts dealing with a new monarch and all the ensuing chaos. And keep an eye on Solange…things aren’t as they seem!

ATUF: Can you tell us about your favorite scene in BLOOD FEUD?

AH: I really enjoyed the parts of the book that take place in the caves of the Hounds with all their superstitions and rituals. And Isabeau’s French Revolution past when she was 17, was great fun to write even though, I admit, I was really mean to the poor girl. But don’t worry, she’s tough enough to handle it!

ATUF: If BLOOD FEUD were ever made into a movie, who would your dream or, to keep things interesting, nightmare cast be?

AH: I’ve cast the movie in my head for almost everyone except the main characters! I have a hard time with them, but a recent book trailer a reader made for Hearts at Stake cast Emily Browning as Lucy and I really loved that!

And I think Nathan Fillion would make an awesome Liam Drake.

My nightmare cast would be less about specific actors and more about changes to the story. If Lucy became a mean cheerleader, I’d cry. Nothing against cheerleading, by the way, it’s just not in her character. Ditto if Solange suddenly wanted to shop all the time and get her hair done. That’s just not her.

ATUF: What other projects can we look forwarding to reading from you soon?

AH: I have a Victorian paranormal YA coming out, an Urban Faerie YA and a zombie YA. I wrote the zombies accidentally, I thought I was writing about ghosts, but apparently not! I’m very excited to share that one with the world, I had such a great time writing it. And I’ve just finished book 4 in the Drake Chronicles. All with WalkerBooks/Bloomsbury.

ATUF: What are some of your favorite titles/authors in the paranormal genres?

AH: I love Holly Black, Neil Gaiman, Patricia McKillip, Charles de Lint, Susanna Kearsley and Joss Whedon. Among others, of course, it’s too hard to narrow down!

ATUF: What was the hardest thing you had to learn in order to become a published novelist?

AH: Patience. I’m already stubborn so that part was easy, lol.

ATUF: If BLOOD FEUD was a Frankenstein book compiled from elements of other books, what would some of those other books be?

AH: Great question! I’d say it would be French Revolution, meets folklore, superstitions and Tim Burton. With lots of dogs. None of those are books though. Oops.

ATUF: In honor of Paranormal Summer Fest, can you describe your perfect Paranormal Summer read? And where would you love to be vacationing while reading it?

AH: I would pretty much love to read anything in Scotland. I love Scotland. Ireland would not be a hardship either. Closer to home I’d say at the cottage with a cup of coffee.

My perfect paranormal read would have corsets, swords, time travel, romance, snark, cute guys…and cute girls, I don’t discriminate

ATUF: Thanks so much for stopping by Alyx.  Come back anytime!

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Visit Alyx online:

• Website
• Blog
• Twitter
• Facebook
• The Drake Chronicles site 

Want to read more from Alyxandra Harvey

The Drake Chronicles
1. Hearts At Stake
2. Blood Feud

Waking: A Fairy Tale
Broken

Giveaway

Giveaway courtesy of Bloomsbury USA 

5 copies of BLOOD FEUD (Drake Chronicles #2) by Alyxandra Harvey

Book Description

It's been centuries since Isabeau St. Croix barely survived the French Revolution. Now she's made her way back to the living and she must face the ultimate test by confronting the evil British lord who left her for dead the day she turned into a vampire. That's if she can control her affection for Logan Drake, a vampire whose bite is as sweet as the revenge she seeks.

The clans are gathering for Helena's royal coronation as the next vampire queen, and new alliances are beginning to form now that the old rifts of Lady Natasha's reign have started to heal. But with a new common enemy, Leander Montmarte—a vicious leader who hopes to force Solange to marry him and usurp the power of the throne for himself—the clans must stand together to preserve the peace he threatens to destroy.

This second adventure in the Drake Chronicles—told from both Logan's and Isabeau's perspectives—has all the same butt-kicking action, heart-pounding romances and snarky humor that readers loved in Hearts at Stake, as well as exciting new revelations about the vampire dynasties to keep readers coming back for more.

GIVEAWAY GUIDLINES

1. Open to US only
2. Fill out the form below
3. Entries for all Paranormal Summer Fest giveaways must be received by Midnight MST on July 4th.  All the giveaways winners will be announced on July 6th.

I would greatly appreciate if you shared this giveaway on your blog or favorite social networks.  Thanks!

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