Guest Post and Giveaway with Celia Breslin

The Tranquilli Bloodline Vampires

By Celia Breslin

Hi Everyone and Happy Halloween!

I’m delighted to be here today to talk about my favorite preternatural creature--vampires, of course! Every writer has her own unique spin on our fangy friends. Some vampires sparkle in the sun while others disintegrate or burst into flames. Some are alive and aging while others are immortal and/or undead. Some fight for Team Awesome and others for Team Horrible.

Here’s the lowdown on the vampires of HAVEN and VAMPIRE CODE, the first two story installments in The Tranquilli Bloodline Series...

* My vampires are undead. If they choose, they can make their hearts beat and their lungs breathe. It amuses them to play human every once in a while.

* They’re nocturnal creatures, sensitive to sunlight. Prolonged exposure results in true death. Most older vamps can tolerate some sun but you’ll never find them frolicking on a sunny beach.

* They’re “allergic” to silver. Silver bullets can temporarily knock out young vampires, but older ones will shake it off in a heartbeat and eviscerate you where you stand. Consider yourself warned. ;-)

* My vampires survive on human blood only (no animal blood), straight from a living host or stored. 

* All my vamps are equipped with a basic set of vamp-y skills including heightened senses and super strength. They can glamour and compel most humans and some vampires. Some ancients possess unique skills not necessarily associated with vampirism. Older vamps can hurt/kill/torture with power alone, though they do love to get physical. For example, Jonas, aka The Executioner, is quite fond of his swords.

* Most vampires run in gangs. The Tranquilli vampire cosca (Italian for “gang” or “clan”) is the most powerful of them all.

* Lastly, whether they sport the label Good or Evil, my vampires are passionate, fiercely protective, possessive and loyal. Just what will they do in the name of love? Here’s a look at just how far Jonas will go to protect someone he loves.

BOOK BASICS
Title: Vampire Code

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Publisher: Champagne Books

Date of Publication: October 7, 2013

ISBN: 978-1-77155-049-9

Number of pages: 20

Word Count: 4,000

Cover Artist: Petra K.

Back Cover Blurb: 

(This is a prequel to Haven. These events occur three months before Haven starts.)

Clothed in darkness and power, Jonas watches Carina from the periphery of her life. With all that he is, he secretly protects his young charge from harm. Only three months remain in the twelve-year prohibition forbidding contact with his little warrior when he fails.

Abducted from her dance club, Carina suffers a vicious attack by a newly-turned vampire. Jonas’s retribution for the lowly spawn’s code violation is swift and brutal, and merely the beginning of his vengeance. Fineas, the uninitiated newling’s maker, has committed the greater offense. And Jonas intends to make him suffer.

I am The Executioner, the slayer, the ruthless hand of justice. Code Breakers beware.

VAMPIRE CODE Excerpt: 

 “You touched her.”

Jonas’s sword whistled through the air and sliced off the cowering vampire’s hand in one clean blow. It plopped into the mud. The hatchling howled in agony. Clutching his bleeding arm to his chest, he trembled at Jonas’s feet.

“You kicked her.”

The sword sang down again, lopping off one leg just below the knee. The lifeless limb joined the other in the mud.

The vampire peon passed out.

Jonas shoved his sword into the ground and grabbed the vampire by the hair, holding him aloft with ease. He summoned his power and pushed it into the wounded man, forcing him back to consciousness.

Awakened once again, the vampire screamed, eyes wide with horror.

Jonas bared his fangs. “You bit her.”

He plunged them into the weakling’s neck. He tore a flap of flesh from the front then spat it onto the growing pile of body parts at his feet.

“No more.” With one practiced twist, he wrenched the vampire’s head from his body.

The headless corpse crumpled to the ground. Jonas tossed the head onto the bloody heap, collected his sword and stalked into the night.

About the Author: Celia lives in California with her husband, daughter, and two feisty cats. She writes urban fantasy and paranormal romance, and has particular fondness for vampires and the Fae. When not writing, you'll find her exercising, reading a good book or indulging her addiction to Joss Whedon's TV shows and movies.  Website / Blog / Twitter / Facebook / Goodreads/ Goodreads Vampire Code /  Goodreads Haven

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