Please welcome K.M. McFarland, author of Vampyr: The Complete Trilogy. What a great way to start Vamp Month at Fantasy Fun Reads!
Blurb:
Vampires are alive and well in the Big Easy. In the modern world of forensics, technology, and security cameras everywhere, vampires are now forced to live in secret. In this new age where vampires have evolved into gentle predators mainly depending on alternative methods for acquiring blood, vampire bars have risen in popularity. Owned by a former rock star turned vampire, Quinn Forrester, Vampyr is New Orleans' most popular venue. Aside from being the French Quarter's coolest music club, it is also a secret vampire bar serving the finest quality human blood to its vampire clientele. The cryptic alley next to it seduces the most delectable humans just itching to quench a vampire's thirst. Welcome to Vampyr!
Contains Song
of the Vampire, Under a Bourbon Street Moon, and Masquerade in one
bundle. All three books were previously published individually in the
United States.
Excerpt:
Under a Bourbon Street MoonHis eyes drifted down, and he noticed a paper that had fallen on the floor. He picked it up and unfolded it. He saw that it was a letter to Amber. He realized it was personal, but something coaxed him to read it.
The words he absorbed were beyond belief. He finished reading and lifted his head in shock. It was then he realized the real reason Amber came to New Orleans and why she came looking for him.
Buy Link:
The complete trilogy is available on Amazon for only $3.99
Bio:
K.
M. McFarland made her way into this world in Nashville, Tennessee and
spent most of her childhood on the Florida beaches before making her
way to the Big Easy. Immediately falling in love with the city's
unique cultural flavors, she calls it home. Voodoo, vampires, ghosts,
and haunted houses are all a part of its ambiance and have been her
inspiration as well as her fascination with New Orleans' colorful
history. She has a passion for photography and loves capturing the
unusual. Aside from roaming the French Quarter researching her next
book, she enjoys reading, music, art and spending time with family
and friends. As long as there's a cup of coffee and a glass of dry
red wine in her day, life is good. Her secret ambition: to play the
wicked witch of the west in "The Wizard of Oz" someday.
Interview:
1. Vampires and The Big Easy, I'm already hooked! I see that you like to research your setting in person. Tell me about that and how you have used your research in your books.I live in New Orleans, and my books are set in the French Quarter and Uptown Garden District. I’ve spent a lot of time in both places, and I have a feel for them. There’s a 24/7 bar on St. Charles Avenue that I love to spend time in sitting at the table in the front looking out on the Avenue at the old oak trees forming an arch over the avenue framing the street cars passing by. This bar has appeared in Under a Bourbon Street Moon and Masquerade as a hangout for the mortals and an occasional vampire or two. I love walking in the French Quarter taking in all the sights and sounds of Bourbon Street. The street musicians, bars, alleys, music, characters on the streets, and the old historic buildings have all contributed to the feel of the books. A lot of research on history and legends can be done on Google, but Google can’t capture the mood or the ambiance, and that’s what brings the characters and the stories to life.
2. I write vampire books as well and I'm curious what books and authors have influenced you in your writing. What are some of your favorites?
I absolutely adore Anne Rice. I’m a huge fan of her work. I fell in love with Lestat in 1986 when The Vampire Lestat first published. Lestat is responsible for my obsession with modern day vampires. I still have my first edition hardcover copy as well as many of the vampire chronicles in first edition hardcover. Not because I was collecting them at the time, but because I couldn’t wait for the next one and would buy them as soon as they were published. I also love Charlaine Harris’Sookie Stackhouse Novels that turned into the True Blood Series on HBO. I’ve recently read The Casquette Girls by Alys Arden, and I’ve become a fan.
3. Tell me about your publishing experience. Did you try to find an agent or publisher first or did you always plan on self-publishing?
I actually never planned on anything. I have always had it in me to write a novel, and I finally found the time to do it. After I finished writing, I thought about publishing and began to explore different avenues. It appeared traditional publishing was going to be a long and tedious process. Then I discovered self-publishing, and I liked the concept of it. I liked the idea of being in complete control of my work. Many aspects of it appealed to me, so I decided to go that route.
4. What have you learned from your experience as an author that you wish you knew when you first started?
This past year, I decided to take a break from writing and study the publishing and marketing end of it. I also did some much-needed editing and formatting on my existing three books. Later in the year, I published the three novels as a trilogy. The downside of being a self-published author is not having the backing and support of a major publisher. You have to learn about the business end of it because all marketing and promoting falls on the author. It’s been all about experimenting and finding out what works and what doesn’t work. It would have been nice to know all of those things when I first started, but I’ve learned a lot, and I’m still learning.
5. For those reading about your book for the first time, what would you like to say to them that might convince them to buy it?
While the story revolves around vampires, it is also laced with ghosts and Voodoo. If you are seduced by the mystery and intrigue of New Orleans, vampires, ghosts, and Voodoo, you will enjoy this series.
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thank you for sharing
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