You guys know me by now. I like Twilight. It kinda changed my life. I'm excited about Midnight Sun. I thought I was over it and was just going to buy a copy of the new book for my collection. Then, Stephenie started posting snippets of it on her website and... no, I might not be over it, after all. Guess it's never really over, right, Katy Perry? :)
I also get nostalgic. As such, I've reverted back to the 'original' covers I had for this series back in 2012, with a few minor upgrades. Only for the month of August, though, so it's not a permanent change :)
And while we're at it, let's take a little walk down memory lane and see how my most successful series of books came into existence with a Q&A on the series opener, Vampire Revelation. No spoilers.
Q: What was the main inspiration behind the Poison Blood series?
A: Short answer: Ellie.
Long
answer: I’d wanted to write a vampire romance for a while and I
considered the idea of writing a series of short stories about vampires
living on the London Underground. These characters wouldn’t necessarily
be friends or hang out together, but have their own tale to tell. One of
the characters I thought up was Ellie.
However,
I didn’t start writing anything until I woke up one morning with Ellie
talking me through her life. This was a few days after I listened to the
band Linkin Park for the first time in years so I think it was their songs that triggered the instinct to write Ellie’s story.
Quickly, it became clear that Ellie’s story wasn’t as short and sweet as
I’d initially planned. She had a lot more potential than I expected,
which was great, though it meant I had to put my Vampires on the Underground collection on the backburner. It’s still on the backburner now. Oops, lol.
Q: Why did you publish a paranormal romance so soon after publishing a contemporary romance novel?
A: It’s usually the characters and how strongly they present themselves to me, how clearly I hear their
voices in my head, that determine when and what I write. Even if I plan
to write something, like a compilation of short stories about vampires
making the underground transport system their home, unless I can see that world, hear
the characters speak to me, the narrative doesn’t flow as well. I tend
not to commit to a project unless I find myself immersed in the story.
And when a character beckons to me, lets me into her mind and the world
she lives in, keeps talking to me about her life, I try not to ignore her. That’s my process *shrugs*
But why follow-up a contemporary romance with a vampire book? Well, why not? If we enjoy reading an eclectic
mix of books, I see no harm in exploring different genres when we write,
provided we apply the same level of dedication, effort, and enthusiasm
for each story. As authors, we should do that for every book we write.
As a young child, my favourite genre to read was paranormal/fantasy, and as a teen, I was a huge fan of TV shows such as Charmed and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Unfortunately, like so many others I knew, I stopped reading regularly when I was
at college and Uni. Upon rediscovering my love for books, I found
myself reading contemporary fiction, lit fic, crime, comedy/satire; the only
fantasy novels I’d read in recent years were the Twilight and Harry Potter books. These I loved so much that I wanted to write for this genre, particularly about vampires. But I didn’t venture into this area until Ellie came to me.
Q: The vampires in Poison Blood are extremely similar to the Twilight vampires. Was this intentional?
A: Yes.
There
are a range of vampire myths—from those that burn to ashes in
sunlight and can be slain by driving a stake through their hearts,
to immortals that sleep like the dead during the day and hunt by night—but my favourite is, of course, the one explored in the Twilight Saga. I knew that if I was going to write about vampires, I would conform to most of the rules set out in these books.
I wasn’t going to set my books in the Twilight world, though. So, I invented my own vampire government (The System),
one which has modernised over the years and now operates like an
institution the humans would be proud of. A few restrictions needed to
be in place, though (such as vampires not being able to enter a house
without invitation), so that these indestructible creatures didn’t
go around slaughtering an entire council estate in one night. And of
course, there had to those that would try to stop these demons from doing
what they liked.
The
other certainty for me was that the stories would be set in contemporary
society, specifically London. Although it’s exciting creating a whole
new world, one in the future or in another dimension altogether, what
appeals to me more is the idea that the world we live in now could be
full of magic and mystery, amazing creatures with supernatural
abilities. Though, I enjoyed writing my new epic fantasy trilogy (Heir to the Throne), urban fantasy is my favourite type of fantasy to write.
Q: Did you plan to end Vampire Revelation on a cliff-hanger?
A: Absolutely. Every novel in a series needs almost all of the plot threads tied-up by the end of
it, but I don’t think there’s
anything wrong with leaving the reader with a question right at the end, one
which entices them to read the next book for the answer.
It’s
also a good idea to have an unresolved issue that continues throughout a
book series, or if it’s resolved in book 2 or 3, a new plot thread can
be introduced to run into the next few installments.
Cliff-hangers like the one at the end of Vampire Revelation work well if many of the main themes explored in the novel come to a conclusion. Such as Ellie finally realising who she is, making
sense of the life she had before she turned into a vampire, and discovering why
she became the vampire she is. Basically, almost every question raised in the book was answered by the end of it.
Q: Why did you write Vampire Absolution—it’s pretty much book 1 from another character's POV?
A: Initially, I hadn't planned on writing this book, but I realised that I did want the readers to be aware of a lot of things that Ellie wasn’t aware of. As Revelation is written entirely from her POV (in the first person), the reader only knows what she knows, and I thought it would be good for them to see things from Christian’s perspective. It would also save long paragraphs where he’d have to tell her everything she needs to know (I always find those info dumps boring to read in novels where it’s from one character’s POV).
Thanks for reading :)
Thanks for reading :)
"I don't know what blood tastes like to a human. I'd never even licked a
tiny drop of it from a pricked finger, let alone suck on a bleeding
cut. Now it's my only food source."
Ellie is not a typical teenaged
vampire.
She still has her humanity and conscience.
Her human memories and growing pains.
And the same distaste for blood.
Still reeling from the secrets she uncovered before she was turned into a vampire by the mysterious immortal Christian, Ellie is also finding it hard to come to terms with what she has become.
Her human memories and growing pains.
And the same distaste for blood.
Still reeling from the secrets she uncovered before she was turned into a vampire by the mysterious immortal Christian, Ellie is also finding it hard to come to terms with what she has become.
And the revelations keep coming.
Download this e-book for FREE from your favourite retailers:
~ What Readers Have Said About Poison Blood #1 ~
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“This is definitely not a soppy vampire
romance! As usual with Neha Yazmin’s
novels, things are never as they seem. Just as you think you have
a grip on what’s happening, Neha drops more bombshells to keep you guessing
(and the pages turning!). I have a taste
for blood – Poison Blood that is!”
~
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“I
am definitely hooked on the Poison Blood series. There is so much more to the vampire world that Neha creates - and
she really does create a world... but really, this is a
character-driven story. Neha's characters' depths are what drive her
stories, each with their hidden secrets. Book 1 of the Poison Blood
series really is about the 'Revelation'.”
~
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“It's more like poison love.”
~
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“Awesome. This was great, couldn't put it down. I would love to see a third book!”
~
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“What a great book to read.”
~ What Readers Said About Vampire Absolution ~
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
"I've been waiting for PB2 and it did not disappoint! It suddenly brings a whole new perspective to the events of PB1 and you get to learn a lot more about how the vampire world works.”
"I've been waiting for PB2 and it did not disappoint! It suddenly brings a whole new perspective to the events of PB1 and you get to learn a lot more about how the vampire world works.”
~
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
"I loved this book."
~
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
"This
book is so good, along with the other book in the series. It's not
completely romancing, it's for everyone male or female! Amazingly
interesting."
~
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
"Really good."
