Blog Tour Giveaway & Interview: The Black Swan Series by Victoria Danann

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for Victoria Danann's Black Swan series. A while back, I had an excerpt from "Moonlight", one that I personally enjoyed very much, so when I had a chance to participate in this tour I jumped at it.

First, some info about the books, then a guest post, and at the end, there's a giveaway!

THE COLLECTED TALES OF BLACK SWAN, Books 1-3

Once upon a time a girl traveled so far from home that she found herself in another world where heroes, elves, vampires, werewolves, witches, demons, fae, berserkers, and psychics became her friends and family. As an accidental pilgrim, a stranger in a "strangish: land, she learned that there's a place where adventure intersects fairytales and that true love can find you in the strangest places, when you're least expecting it, even when you're far, far from home.

Includes:

1. My Familiar Stranger: Romancing the Vampire Hunters (Nominated for Best Paranormal Romance of 2012 by Reviewers Choice Awards. Nominated for Best PNR and Best Fantasy Romance by Readers Choice Awards.) 

 BLURB: Minutes ahead of inevitable assassination, Elora Laiken is forcibly transported to an alternate dimension similar, but not identical, to her own. She is stranded. Alone. Far from home. An alien amid the modern day knights of a secret society of vampire hunters and paranormal investigators.

Of course a girl could suffer worse problems than having gorgeous suitors. Perhaps more importantly, in the midst of an epidemic of vampire related abductions, can she stay alive long enough to choose between an honor debt, true love, or the breathlessness of single-minded passion?

2. The Witch's Dream: A Love Letter to Paranormal Romance

BLURB: Quintessential Black Swan knight, Engel Storm, was left behind when Elora Laiken chose his best friend. Now his heart is bruised and battered and he’s had it with love. But a transplanted witch who happens to be the world’s best tracker plans to do everything in her considerable power to change his mind.

The Witch’s Dream begins with B Team on temporary assignment to Black Swan headquarters in Edinburgh where they are supposed to fill in for stretched-thin resources and assist with a werewolf issue. They’ve been given permission to stop on the way to celebrate a special handfasting in an Irish castle.

When they reach Edinburgh, the afterglow of an elftale wedding quickly becomes all business. A missing person report turns into a demon abduction. A simple werewolf sanction becomes a diplomatic issue requiring the one thing Elora is no longer willing to give - finesse.

3. A Summoner's Tale: The Vampire's Confessor

BLURB: A secret society, a witch, a psychic, vampires, modern day knights, heroes, elves, fae, assassins from another dimension, and fairytales come together where emotions intersect. Two souls, joined by a mystical bond, separated by distance, struggle through pain and darkness simultaneously. Each alone must traverse an ultimate confrontation with character and the will to survive. Ex-vampire, Istvan Baka, and his first victim prove that true love can wait patiently through lifetimes for a second chance. Even in the strangest places. Even when you're least expecting it. Even when you're far, far from home.

Author: Victoria Danann

Publisher: 7th House

ISBN: 978-1-933320-70-0

Genre: paranormal romance, fantasy romance, scifi romance (key word = romance)

Publisher: 7th House

313,000 words. All three books for $5.99.  

BUY LINKS:

AMAZON AMAZON UK    iBOOKS B&N NOOK SMASHWORDS

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MOONLIGHT: The Big Bad Wolf, Black Swan 4 

Book Title: Moonlight

Subtitle: The Big Bad Wolf

Series: Black Swan, Book 4

Genre: paranormal romance, fantasy romance, scifi romance

Publisher: 7th House

Date of Publication: 05/25/2013

ISBN: 978-1-933320-69-4 ebook; 978-1-933320-64-9 paperback

Length: 386 pages, 92,000words

Formats available: mobi, epub

BUY LINKS:

AMAZON: http://www.amazon.com/Moonlight-Wolf-Black-Swan-ebook/dp/B00CX9ZYW0/

AMAZON UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Moonlight-Wolf-Black-Swan-ebook/dp/B00CX9ZYW0/
iBOOKS: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/moonlight-big-bad-wolf-black/id649136…136?mt=11
B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/moonlight-victoria-danann/1115380655?ean=2940044536838
SMASHWORDS: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/310694  
KOBO: http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Moonlight-The-Big-Bad-Wolf/book-cOwzvBiOEka33lj-hncXnQ/page1.html?s=bk4Lxjcaqk-lLOObQOniBA&r=1

  

Blurb:

What would you do for love?

Moonlight, The Big Bad Wolf, is the fourth installment in the serial saga, The Order of the Black Swan. READING IN ORDER STRONGLY RECOMMENDED.

The story continues to touch on the lives of former B Team members and their families while new characters and situations are introduced.

THE NEWSLETTER: Ram and Elora move into temporary quarters at Jefferson Unit to protect mother and baby. Storm gives a surprising answer when he’s tapped by Sol to replace him as Jefferson Unit Sovereign. Litha solicits her father to help Black Swan.

THE SURPRISE: B Team learns the shocking truth about the origin of the vampire virus. Monq races to develop a defense system to repel invasion by Stagsnare terrorists and assassins.

THE ADVENTURE: Desperation drives Stalkson Grey to embark on an adventure beyond his wildest dreams in a bid to save the Elk Mountain werewolves from extinction.

THE ROMANCE: In the process of migrating the Elk Mountain werewolves to a new home, Grey learns that true love can find you in the strangest places, even when you’re far, far from home.

Appropriate for 17+.

 ALL TITLES have remained on Amazon's Best Seller list in genre EVERY DAY since publication.

 ALL TITLES received Night Owl Reviews TOP PICK awards.

Author Bio: 

If you're looking for something new and different in PNR, you've come to the right place.

I write unapologetic romances with uniquely fresh perspectives on paranormal creatures, characters, and themes. Add a dash of scifi and a flourish of fantasy to enough humor to make you laugh out loud then blend in just enough steam to make you squirm in your chair occasionally. My heroines are independent femmes with flaws and minds of their own whether they are aliens, witches, demonologists, psychics, or past life therapists. My heroes are hot and hunky, but they also have brains, character, and good manners - usually - whether they be elves, demons, berserkers, werewolves, or vampires.

Find Victoria Online:

WEBSITE: http://www.VictoriaDanann.com
BLOG: http://VictoriaDanann.me
FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/vdanann

WITTER: @vdanann

NEXT UP. Coming September 2013 -

 

Gathering Storm: The Smallest Turn of Fate, Black Swan 5

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PART ONE: THE BOOKS

Do you feel that you can relate to one character in “this book” more than any other? And why?

    No. I don't relate to one more than another, but I love Rammel Hawking the most. And he knows it. He uses it                                     to his advantage to manipulate me all the time.

One person recently told me that, if action figures of my characters ever come out, she wants to place a preorder for Ram. I have to agree with her. Because this saga has a lot of balls in the air (pun not intended, I swear). Ram is on the zigzag path of a hero's journey in a classical sense. Add to that the fact that he's drop dead sex and a one-woman elf and, really, what more could you want?

Can you describe your favorite character?   And which of your books is he/she in? How do you come up with your characters?

I've made it no secret that Sir Rammer Hawking is my fav. He's in every book and probably always will be. I can't answer the second part of this question because it never feels to me like I create these characters. It feels more like I'm reporting or chronicling the lives of this particular group of people who live in another dimension similar to our own.

Many people feel the PNR genre is on the way out. Do you agree? Are there any changes you'd make to stay on the cutting edge of this genre? Will you change genres?

I think that will be true if more authors don't stop the vamp-by-number, more-weres-the-better rehash and try

for something different.

               

Before I started writing I spent two full years reading every PNR that had enjoyed any success to find out what                 had already been done, then set out to create something new. I get a lot of feedback that starts by saying, "I                 don't really know what genre to put this in..."  I love comments like, "She explodes stereotypes."

               

Also, I'm writing true Paranormal Romance. It's not paranormal suspense or paranormal mystery or paranormal                 thriller with a love interest back story. The romance is the main plot for me. And romance is never going to be on                 the way out.

Why this genre(s)?

I'm glad you asked. It goes hand in hand with the question I like to pose, which is, "What do women really want?" I believe the answer to that can be found in paranormal romance. I'm a romance writer who uses paranormal elements as a vehicle and not the other way around. I believe I know what women really want and that it's not possible to achieve in a believable way in the realm of humanity. If we know that love with a human is forever - until it's not, then we need to look outside humanity for forever. Love with a human plus offers a permanent spark: a male who only has eyes for his mate, not just during the three months when brain chemicals are doing the love thing, but forever.

As writers, we are bombarded with ideas every minute of every day. What’s the idea behind this series and   how did it come about?

I read Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein when I was about twelve-years-old and have always been                 fascinated by the concept of other worlds that are similar, but not identical.  I combined that with my formal                 academic education in Paranormal Psychology, the fact that I always got along super well with boys, and voila.

PART TWO: WRITING

Do you write full time?

Snort.

When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

If people "decide", they're not really writers. My working theory is that, if you watch children carefully, they will show you who they really are by the time they are eight or nine. At that age I had two stacks of legal pads on my bed. One I used to sketch glamorous evening wear. The other I used to write my own Bobbsey Twins novels. I did spend a few years as a designer of glam dresses and was copied by the biggest names in the business. I had a big following in the Northeast, South America, and Europe and still see some of my dresses show up in the movies. So I checked that off the list and did it until I was done. Now I'm writing.

Have you ever made big changes in your story because someone – your crit partner, a friend, or beta reader – really didn't like it?  Are you glad you did (or didn't)?

The answer is yes, but the someone was one of the characters. My Familiar Stranger started out to be a different story. My heroine was supposed to end up with the character of my choice. I was about 80% finished when another one of the guys (characters) started insisting that he was the one who should get the girl! I let him make his case and finally had to agree, but it caused a lot of overhaul.

Since then I have done a poll on Facebook asking fans who they wanted to end up with the girl and the big majority agreed with my character. It was him all along.

What unique factor do you think you bring to the book/story market?

First, I waited to start writing until I was old enough to really have something to say.  Secondly, one of the                 comments I hear most often is that people enjoy the chronicle style of ongoing story. I call it a serial saga. If I                 were not an Indie, it never would have happened because it doesn't fit the commercial "formula" of how to pie                 chart a paranormal romance. (Yes. I made a verb out of the phrase "pie chart".)

What was the hardest part of writing your book?

The hardest part of writing is slogging through the emotion. I know that, if I'm crying so hard I can hardly see the                 PC screen, I've gotten it right, but it's also very emotionally draining and it ruins my looks for half a day.                 Conversely, if I'm lying in bed at night reading my own book and laugh out loud, I know I got that right as well.

What are the hardest scenes for you to write? Suspense? Sex? Dialogue? And why?

Sex scenes are hard for me. I'd love to skip them, but they serve the story so steamy writing and I are stuck with each other. It's hard because there are only so many different ways to describe acts that are mechanically simple without much variety unless you're venturing away from a healthy view of sex that is psychologically and emotionally sustainable. I hate reviewers who make comments like, "the sex was boring and repetitive". Although this hasn't been said about me yet, to my knowledge, I resent it for other authors. I mean, it's hard to find completely original ways to describe fitting tabs and slots together.

Who were your major influences?

Stephen King, Anne Rice, my tenth grade literature teacher without whom I might never have read Julius                 Caesar, MacBeth, Random Harvest, or Lord Jim, my seventh grade English teacher without whom I never                 would have read the entire works of William Saroyan, my father who bought me the Scribner Collection which                 included all the classics appropriate for young readers. (I learned to love the art of story AND the art of Maxfield                 Parrish who illustrated the covers.)

What do you think are the qualities that make up a "hero"?

For me, heroes are not defined by qualities at all. What makes a hero is an action that involves personal risk without personal gain. It is a potential sacrifice for another person or principle or for a perceived greater good.

What are your favorite types of heroines? Do you like the damsel in distress who needs saving or the kick-ass variety? Why?

I don't relate to D.I.D. - at all - on any level - and get very impatient with a portrayal of woman as child-like. I appreciate kick-ass when there is an explicable reason why she can take punches like Mike Tyson and wipe the floor with brutes. My favorite, however, is somewhere in the middle - just your ordinary femme who faces the world every day with the vulnerability of lesser strength and a vagina. It takes courage to do that without a berka.

Do you have any advice for any other aspiring writers out there?

Yes. Writers are born, not made. Run as hard and fast as you can from a course on "creative writing" classes                 because nothing will kill your own embryonic art or creativity faster.

PART THREE: PERSONAL

What are 5 fun/interesting facts about you?

I play bridge. I like going to movies in the daytime by myself (though I rarely get to). I teach magickal arts online.                 I worked for the airlines when I was very young and have traveled a lot. I speak canine. (Bonus #6. I do all my

own graphics work: covers, ads, book trailers, etc.)

What is the most inspiring quote you have ever heard?

a. This actually relates to how busy I am. It's a motto used as my email signature on personal mail. THE QUOTE: "It's better to burn out, than fade away." - Rock of Ages, Def Leppard. Some people have wrongly attributed this to Kurt Cobain. Sorry. No. Others have said it wasn't Def Leppard, it was Neil Young, "It's better to burn out, than to fade away," - My, My, Hey, Hey. Also wrong. Neil Young used an extra "to". Big difference you see.

b. Winston Churchill is reported to have given a commencement address in which he simply took the podium and said, "Never give up," nine times.

c. This one I just stole from one of my assistants yesterday. "This is my story. It will go the way I want, or I'll end it here." - Tidus, FFX

What's your favorite book?

Memnoch the Devil, Anne Rice. Also high up on the list: The Gate to Women's Country by Sherri S Tepper and Good Omens  by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. HOWEVER, I wouldn't recommend any of these to someone unless I knew that they were students of religious studies or, in the case of Gate, feminism.

Greatest joy?

Reviews.

 Greatest aggravation?

Reviews.

If you were stranded on a desert island, what three things would you want to have with you? (you have food, water, shelter, all the necessities, so nothing mundane)

a. An iPad with uninterrupted WIFI and a perpetually replenishing iTunes account for purchasing books, music, TV, movies.

b. A lifetime supply of toiletries including hair and tooth brushes, shampoo, soap, nail files, etc.

c. Rammel Hawking.

If you could travel back in time here on earth to any place or time. Where would you go and why?

If I could take all my experience with me, I would go back to about age sixteen and give myself a do-over.

     

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