Please welcome Dianne Duvall to the site today. Dianne is the author of the brand new Immortal Guardians series, which debuted on February 1, 2011 with DARKNESS DAWNS. Dianne describes the plot of her book as, “…the tale of Sarah Bingham, a music professor who unexpectedly finds herself thrust into a war that erupts between vampires and immortals, then loses her heart to the dark, enigmatic warrior who offers her his protection.” In my review I called it ‘deeply romantic, daringly sensual, with dark paranormal characters that make it nearly impossible to put down…fans of J. R. Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood series will love this.’ And you don’t even have to take my word for it since Dianne is giving a copy away today! See details below.
Interview
ATUF: DARKNESS DAWNS has a unique and mysterious mythology differentiating Immortals from Vampires. What made you create two similar yet vitally distinct supernatural races?
DD: Good versus bad or good versus evil has long been a favorite theme in fiction of all genres and forms. It has also been a favorite theme of book lovers and moviegoers, myself included. After all, who doesn’t enjoy seeing the good guys win considering how often we see the opposite happen in our society? Such triumphs, even though they are not our own, provide a welcome escape as well as entertainment. In my Immortal Guardians series, I wanted two races of paranormal beings to be pitted against each other -- one good and one bad. But I thought it would be interesting to make the villains involuntarily villainous. It’s easy to dislike bad guys who choose to be bad. But when the bad guys are good guys who are the victims of madness induced by a virus -- something over which they have no control -- it’s a little more complicated. Since both the immortals and the vampires in my series are infected with the same virus, I made them differ on a genetic level, giving the immortals advanced DNA that mutates the virus and protects them from the madness. Hence the two different races.
ATUF: Immortals were all gifted prior to becoming infected by the vampire virus. What are some of the Immortal gifts we haven’t seen yet and which gift would you want to have?
DD: In Darkness Dawns, we see telepathy, telekinesis, teleportation, the ability to heal with one’s hands, empathy, precognition, shapeshifting and mediumship. In Night Reigns, the next book in the series, some new gifts that will come into play are postcognition, elemental and environmental manipulation and the ability to sense when another is in danger. If I could have one of these gifts, I would choose the ability to heal with one’s hands, which is also accompanied by an even more accelerated rate of healing than immortals who lack this gift possess.
ATUF: I found it fascinating that the Immortals were concerned with eating organic, natural foods and the reason behind that. Can you explain that for us?
DD: As I mentioned above, the vampiric traits immortals and vampires possess (incredible speed, strength and accelerated healing) are a result of a very rare symbiotic virus. This virus first conquers then replaces the immune system and uses blood to heal wounds, etc. Unlike vampires, the immortals satisfy their need for regular blood infusions with blood donations provided by the human network that serves them. Because they consume food, too, I thought the immortals would naturally gravitate toward a healthier diet in order to reduce their need for blood, since the virus repairs all damage to their bodies (no matter how minute) and, thus, not take advantage of the network’s generosity by requiring more.
ATUF: Apart from the hero Rowland, we meet a number of other Immortals in DARKNESS DAWNS. Is it to much to hope that of of them will be the hero in the next book? Perhaps Seth?
DD: Night Reigns will revolve around Marcus. For those who haven’t read Darkness Dawns yet: Marcus is the only immortal who braved Roland’s irascible nature to become his friend. He is also mourning the loss of a woman he loved for eight centuries and is now skating the edge. When his actions become increasingly reckless and spawn concern amongst his fellow immortals, Seth assigns him a new Second (assistant) . . . one who proves to be immensely distracting and turns his world upside down.
ATUF: How many books do you have planned for the Immortal Guardians series and do you have and hints you can share with us about the story?
DD: I don’t have a finite number in mind, but can tell you there will be at least four books in the series. As for hints about the story . . . I don’t want to give anything away, so I’ll just say that Bastien’s vampire uprising will have many unforeseen consequences that will continue to unravel and snowball throughout the course of the series, spawning increasingly dangerous foes who threaten the immortals’ very existence.
ATUF: What other projects can we look forwarding to reading from you soon?
DD: Right now I’m concentrating on the Immortal Guardians series, so I’m currently working on the third book in the series and looking ahead to the fourth. I also have a couple of novellas dancing around in my head that I would love to see find a home in an anthology with some of the authors mentioned below. Beyond that I have two manuscripts that are prequels to Darkness Dawns -- a medieval with paranormal elements and a time-travel -- that I would like to see published. Both did well on the writing contest circuit.
ATUF: What are some of your favorite titles/authors in the paranormal genres?
DD: Favorite Authors: Alexandra Ivy, Gena Showalter, Kresley Cole, Lyndsy Sands, Alexis Morgan, Maggie Shayne, Sherrilyn Kenyon, J. R. Ward, Christine Feehan, and Lara Adrian to name a few. Favorite Titles: Pretty much anything written by these authors, though I am partial to the stories with the tortured heroes.
ATUF: The opening scene where Sarah rescues Rowland with nothing more than guts and a garden shovel is the one that sticks out for me.[Click HERE to read it] Can you tell us about your favorite scene in DARKNESS DAWNS?
DD: My favorite romantic scene would be the one that begins with Roland lounging on the steps leading up to the whirlpool tub, watching Sarah blow-dry her hair because it shows so many facets of their relationship: tender, playful and passionate. My favorite action scene is the climax of the novel. For obvious reasons I can’t tell you what happens, but Roland and Sarah both demonstrate such love, heroism and a willingness to sacrifice anything for each other that I just can’t resist it.
ATUF: If DARKNESS DAWNS were ever made into a movie, who would your dream or, to keep things interesting, nightmare cast be?
DD: Since I work in the independent film community when I’m not writing, one would think I would have already constructed a dream cast. But that’s actually a difficult task. I’ve lived with the characters in my mind for so long and have such a vivid mental image of them that I find myself floundering when I try to think of actors who would fit the role. Some possibilities (if the men were all over 6 feet tall) are: Hugh Jackman as Roland, Michelle Monaghan as Sarah, Johnny Depp as Marcus, Jason Statham as Bastien, Chiwetel Ejiofor as David (if he had dreadlocks down past his waist), Angelina Jolie as Lisette . . . That’s all I could come up with at the moment. The nightmare cast, of course, would be composed of American actors who couldn’t mimic foreign accents and B actors.
ATUF: Finish this statement with as much/little detail as you like: You'll like DARKNESS DAWNS if you like...
DD: . . . strong, intelligent heroines, alpha male heroes with a soft side, villains you can’t quite hate, lots of action, passion and tender moments, and plenty of tall, dark, handsome immortal secondary characters. :-)
ATUF: Thanks so much for stopping by Dianne. I hope you’ll come back when NIGHT REIGNS releases!
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Born in Houston, TX, Dianne Duvall earned a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of St. Thomas, where she studied fiction writing, playwriting and poetry writing. Darkness Dawns, the first book in her Immortal Guardians paranormal romance series, is scheduled for publication in late 2011, courtesy of Kensington (Zebra Imprint). Darkness Dawns won first place in the 2009 Indiana Golden Opportunity contest, then was chosen as the Best of the Best. It also won second place in The Emily and fifth place in the Golden Acorn Excellence in Writing contest. The second book in the series has tentatively been scheduled for release in December 2011.
Giveaway
One copy of DARKNESS DAWNS by Dianne Duvall
In this dazzling, sensual novel, Dianne Duvall beckons readers into a world of vampires, immortals, and humans with extraordinary gifts. . .where passion can last forever, if you're willing to pay the price. . .
Once, Sarah Bingham's biggest challenge was making her students pay attention in class. Now, after rescuing a wounded stranger, she's landed in the middle of a battle between corrupt vampires and powerful immortals who also need blood to survive. Roland Warbrook is the most compelling man Sarah has ever laid hands on. But his desire for her is mingled with a hunger he can barely control. . .
In his nine centuries of immortal existence, no woman has tempted Roland as much as Sarah. But asking her to love him is impossible--when it means forfeiting the world she's always known, and the life he would do anything to protect. . .
"These dark, kick-ass guardians can protect me any day!" --Alexandra Ivy
GIVEAWAY GUIDELINES
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Open to US only
- Leave a comment or question for Dianne & way to contact you if you win
- Entries must be received by Midnight MST on February 18th.
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