Today's guest is Tamara Rose Blodgett with a contest!

Blood Reign by Tamara Rose Blodgett
(Blood #4) 

Synopsis:

Julia’s sworn enemies are safely sequestered in a prison of the fey and her forever mate has been chosen. Not by blood, but by a circumstance shaped from coincidence. However, it’s not enough to save Julia and the others who came from Alaska their fate by the hand of the Alaska den, whose reacquisition has come alarmingly full-circle to capture them.

Tharell of the fey aligns with the Singers, Were and remaining vampire to take back the one Queen who could stop the interspecies wars and establish a truce of genetics that would free all the groups from extinction and conflict.

Can they rescue Julia and her allies before it’s too late? Will the Red Were’s lineage prove to be the catalyst of victory against a corrupt pack that’s grown too debauched by greed and power to be overcome?

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18781404-blood-reign?ac=1

Purchase:

Amazon: Link to buy Blood Reign (#4) (The Blood Series)  

B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/blood-reign-tamara-rose-blodgett/1119616791?ean=2940149752515

AUTHOR BIO

Tamara Rose Blodgett, is the NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY bestselling author of A Terrible Love; written under her pen name Marata Eros. Tamara has more than thirty-five titles in multiple genres including Dark Fantasy, Dark Romance and Dark Erotica.

Tamara lives in South Dakota with her husband, children and fur kids (dogs). She is an ardent reader of many genres. Tamara enjoys interacting with her readers via Twitter, blog and newsletter as often as possible. Please stop by either one and say hi :)

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Writing in Blood

If you're seeing this post, it's because my recent release, BLOOD REIGN, is making the rounds on my first-ever book blitz.

Thanks for stopping by!

A few words about The Blood Series.

First, should you read it? Only you can answer that. However, I make it simple by generally putting my first books in a series to free or .99 cents. Readers can try my dark fantasy stuff and decide for themselves.

If you like a really different take on vamps and Were's; Blood Singers is a sure thing.

There is a lot of omni-POV. What's that? Well, my editor explains the viewpoint like the author is “god” and knows what's in everyone's head and lets the reader know too (that gives me a chuckle for sure). I don't want to be a greedy writer and not let my reader's in on what all the character's are thinking, hence the many POVs in the Blood books. Is that all I write?

No. I write first person past and present, third person past and omni (though that last is not a fave of editor's).

Blood Singers follows the model of a lot of high fantasy authors where they write in many different POVs. However, Singers is a low fantasy (UK verbiage) or a dark fantasy book/series. It means there's some world-building, but it's not excessive. The descriptive voice is present, yet not overwhelming.

My supernaturals are bloodthirsty, violent and war-bound. My heroine goes from devastated to running a royal hierarchy at a [new adult] tender age. Though technically a paranormal romance, Singers can also be defined as urban fantasy and soft horror. There's a little bit for all.

My female MC, Julia, is orphaned as a child and raised by her aunt in rural Alaska. A traumatic experience occurs on the eve of her adulthood and she survives being pulled asunder by two different groups of supes.

Or is that three? All the while she grieves for the loss of her one true love.

Is there an HEA anywhere in here?

Always.

My readers have come to expect a journey that is both raw and unexpected. Those two precepts are the most predictable part of my writing. Readers also expect me to tie the ending up with a bow on top. It might hang a little crooked, but it's there.

Blood Reign is the most explosive installment yet. Giving a reveal at the end that is shocking, but not overtly cliffy. It takes the four book series full-circle, causing all the nagging loose ends to make more sense. I've also grown my characters and allowed their flaws and strengths to show.

If you're a vampire or supernatural fan, who likes a complex storyline, comedic snark in the dialog  in a tootsie roll with a dark center, The Blood Series might just be for you.

I hope you give Blood a try and come away with a unique take on a popular subject.

Dark Fiction 

I didn't have a grand plan when I published my first dark fantasy novel over three years ago that I was going to be labeled “dark” anything.

Than I was.

I was the girl that didn't read romance books when I was a kid. I read Stephen King and Dean Koontz. When I tried to share how cool those books were with my friends they were like: huh. Guys dug them. And they also liked the science fiction books I read. Anyone remember the Dragonriders of Pern? Yeah. Did I like fantasy then? I did, but high fantasy got swampy for me with the World Build that Went On so it never became a fave.

At an early age I liked the Chronicles of Narnia (dark fantasy if there ever was), and read to all my kids when they were little. A Series of Unfortunate Events and Goosebumps were favorites they cut their metaphorical teeth on. Dark appealed. It still does. I've tried being light and it doesn't work. I can do comedic dialog but the Alice in Wonderland path always appears and I head right to the rabbit hole every time.

What is it?

Dark fiction is anything where the themes are uncomfortable, creepy, non-traditional and push the boundaries of what humanity defines as normal. I consider it a form of  “soft” horror. It doesn't have to be erotic to be dark, though erotica by its very nature tends to be “heavier” than say—romance. A solid literary erotica writer is Kitty Thomas, who I've mentioned before. She doesn't feel compelled to offer an HEA in her work. Thomas doesn't have to, her work is dark literary erotica and she only has to disturb us well, make us think and feel emotions. They don't even have to be good emotions. CJ Roberts is another author that commands dark erotic fiction very well. Their books have strong themes of ownership and abuse.  Now there's a distinct market, thanks in large part to that work breaking the ceiling of what “acceptable” dark fiction was.

What about non-erotic? Well yes, let's talk about dark fantasy. My real name work shares a ton of space with vamp authors who don't let their vampires get away with sissy-sucking-titty behavior. No-oh. Their vampires are animals with brains. That flat-out does it for me. For me, as a reader, it's not great unless it has the gritty edge of dark as the underpinnings of the story.

Can I write it?

If you're a rainbows and unicorn type of writer, then probably not. I'd encourage that author not to bother with the dark. But if you're drawn to those themes in the work you read, I'd say—sure, give it a shot. One cautionary note: books that are unique and disturbing are generally not mainstream fare. If you're looking to grab cash and run, dark fiction is probably not a good bet (hopefully, the goal is The Work and not cash). Go to Amazon's Top 100 and check out how romance clogs it. (I love a great romance book.) However, I like a great, dark and edgy fiction novel one hundred times more.

Write what you love, write what you know and be comfortable being niche in the dark. 

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