OCTOBER VAMPIRE ROMANCE MONTH: A QUICK BITE WITH PATRICIA JOSEPHINE
October 2020 is Vampire Romance Month on my blog, so I’ll be featuring authors of vampire romances throughout the month. If you’re a ready who dreams of swoonworthy undead, you just might find your next good read!
Please join me today in welcoming Patricia Josephine, whose book A Quick Bite delivers nothing less than what the title promises–a collection of quick, flash fiction reads featuring creatures that go bump in the night. And she’s also giving away a signed paperback of her book Being Human (see below for details).
Welcome, Patricia!
Meet Patricia Josephine
Patricia is the author of New Adult Paranormal, Fantasy, and Sci-Fi books. She actually never set out to become a writer, and in fact, she was more interested in art and band in high school and college. On a whim, she wrote down a story bouncing in her head and began learning all she could about writing. That was the start of it, and she hasn’t regretted a moment.
When she’s not writing, she’s watching Doctor Who or reading about serial killers. She’s an avid knitter. One can never have too much yarn. She writes Young Adult Paranormal, Fantasy and Sci-Fi Romance under the name Patricia Lynne.
Patricia lives with her husband in Michigan, hopes one day to have what will resemble a small petting zoo, and has a fondness for dying her hair the colors of the rainbow.
A Quick Bite
Vampires.
Werewolves.
Zombies.
These monsters tickle our imagination.
Sink your teeth into a collection of tales about paranormal creatures that go bump in the night. Each story is told in exactly 200 words and designed to give you a quick bite no matter how busy your day is.
Are you hungry?
Book title: A Quick Bite
Series title: Quick Fiction Series
Volume in series: 1
Release date: May 11th 2020
Publisher: Me!
Excerpt:
It was a well-known fact that vampires only came out at night. They prowled the shadows, snatching any fool dumb enough to venture out after the sun had set.
Parents taught their children about the danger, which prompted teenagers to dare each other to face the darkness. Most of the youths chickened out once they were standing at the open door with inky blackness stretched out before them. Those who didn’t were found dead and drained the next morning.
Only through vigilance did the village survive. “Don’t go out after dark” was beaten into the residents’ heads. Sometimes literally.
They hoped that by denying the vampires victims, the undead would leave in search of easier prey. The villagers didn’t think about the others who would suffer when that happened. It was a matter of survival, and those people would have to learn if they wanted to live. At least, that’s what they told themselves to ease their guilt.
But the vampires weren’t going anywhere. Immortality granted an abundance of patience. They just had to wait long enough, and the villagers would become compliant. They would forget why they feared the night. They would come out. And then…the feast would begin.
Buy now on Amazon.
Interview with the Author
Vampires are notoriously nocturnal. Are you personally a morning lark or a night owl? How does this influence your writing schedule or creative process?
Iam 100% a night owl. I hate mornings and waking up early is the bane of my existence. Okay, that is a little dramatic, but I don’t like waking up early and I will avoid it if possible. Since my brain doesn’t like to work in the morning, I usually write in the afternoons or evenings.
Every author adds their own twist to the vampire mythology or genre conventions. What’s one traditional vampire myth you put your own spin on? What’s one aspect of vampire lore you kept and incorporated into your series?
My young adult novel, Being Human, I made my vampires forget being human the moment they are turned into a vampire. Most stories have vampires being hundred of years old and that means they don’t always remember their human life as well. One thing I usually always keep is fangs. I love my vampires to have fangs.
Tell us about your book. What drew you to writing a book about vampires? What made you decide to write this particular book or series? What can readers expect?
A Quick Bite came about because I enjoy writing micro fiction and I have accumulated a lot. Since I love vampires and all things paranormal, many of the stories had those elements, so I decided to compile them into a collection. Not only do you get vampires, but shifters and zombies as well. Each story is 200 words so you can read a few while standing in line at the grocery store.
Let’s talk tone: Did you go dark and brooding vampires with spooky undertones, or is your book laugh-out-loud funny? Something else entirely? Let us know what to expect.
It’s a little of both. The tales range from spooky and scary to romantic and fluffy. The nice thing about microfiction and putting them into a collection is the stories can be all over.
What surprised you most when you were writing this book or series?
I can’t really say anything surprised me, which is funny given whenever I write longer fiction, I never plot anything.
Besides your own, what book or series would you most recommend to readers looking for a good vampire read?
The Love at Stake Series by Kerrelyn Sparks. She writes fun PNR and always has a little bit of humor that makes me laugh out loud.
How many books are available in your series currently? How many are planned total?
One right now. I have a second collection finished and I’m working on a third with two more planned. They all won’t be about vampires or paranormal, but will be microfiction collections.
Are the vampires in your series inherently good, evil, or morally neutral?
I like having vampires that aren’t afraid to chow down on some necks, but aren’t evil because of it. In A Quick Bite, the vampires run the gamut from good to evil.
What’s your favorite quote or line from your book?
I’ll get back to you on that as I’m drawing a blank here. Or I’ll forget to think about it. That’s more likely. I can be scatterbrained.
What’s the most interesting thing you learned about vampires while writing your book or series? Is it something you learned from research or something that your characters taught you?
I can’t really say I learned anything interesting while working on A Quick Bite, but I have a series on my blog called 13 facts, and while looking up ways to kill a vampire one of the more interesting ways was to put poppy seeds or roses on the vampire’s coffin.
Bonus question: Anything else you want to share with readers?
Is it weird the first thought to pop into my mind was “I like pie”? I’m not sure why I’d want to share that with readers as it’s not particularly interesting, but now I can’t stop thinking about pie and I kind of want some.
Giveaway: Win a Signed Paperback!
Enter for your chance to win a signed paperback of Being Human. To enter, simply visit Patricia’s Facebook page or leave a comment on this post: https://www.patriciajosephine.com/blog/sink-your-teeth-into-13-facts-about-vampires. Contest closes at midnight Eastern on Thursday, October 22, 2020.
*Update: Giveaway closed.*
Thanks so much to Patricia for stopping by to talk vampires. There’s a chill in the air here in the mountains, so it’s definitely the spookiest of seasons.
And since Patricia mentioned pie, I’m hungry. What about you? What’s your favorite kind of pie–chocolate, apple, pumpkin, cherry? (Mine is chocolate. Always, chocolate, preferably with graham-cracker crust.)
And what’s your favorite kind of vampire–good, evil, neutral, or all of the above? (I like my vampires chaotic good and maybe a bit brooding.)
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