King of Darkness by Elisabeth Staab (Guest Post/Giveaway)

I am very happy to welcome new paranormal romance author, Elisabeth Stabb, to Reading Between the Wines this morning! Elisabeth is here celebrating her debut release of King of Darkness, which was a superb read and an awesome start to a new series. Look for my 4-Wine Glass review on King of Darkness coming shortly!

Where It Began by Elisabeth Staab

I am as fascinated by vampires and other paranormal creatures as I am addicted to my morning cup of coffee. Either way, if I don’t get my daily fix I start growling and biting hands.  

I think I can trace my addiction to magical creatures in romance all the way back to Beauty and the Beast. Still, it was the love story between Michael and Star in The Lost boys that really brought home how sexy a dark, edgy romance between two vampires could be. In the midst of something sinister and evil, there was heat and blossoming love between them.

And while today I think of both of those story lines as romance, I wouldn’t have in the past. Knowledge changes. Just like once upon a time I would never have expected to write romance novels at all. I didn’t know such a thing as a romance about paranormal creatures existed—the romance novels I’d read as an impressionable teenager in high school were mostly historical or bodice-ripper type books. Lately, the idea of writing a contemporary novel has appealed to me more, but it was when I found out you could write a romance about vampires that my interest to write my own book was sparked.

I have Lara Adrian and J.R. Ward to thank for that one. I stumbled upon their books after my mother gave me a Kindle for Christmas (damn that “one-click” ordering button!) and found all sorts of things I had never read before. It seems silly in retrospect—there are books about almost everything, after all. But at the time, a romance novel about vampires was revolutionary to me.

So many of you had the jump on me, there.

After tearing through both series and wondering what to read next (and getting the finger wag from my husband for ordering too many ebooks), I was rocking my young son to sleep one night and had an image of what would turn out to be the opening scene for King of Darkness popped into my head.

So I started writing.

Two and a half years later, King of Darkness is finally here. There were a lot of stops and starts. A lot of writing with a sleeping baby in my lap, and sometimes the crying wasn’t just coming from my children. All totally worth it though. Hope you guys enjoy the ride as much as I have. Thanks so much for reading!

About King of Darkness:

ETERNAL COMMITMENT IS NOT ON HER AGENDA...
Scorned by the vampire community for her lack of power, Isabel Anthony lives a carefree existence masquerading as human--although drifting through the debauched human nightlife, she prefers the patrons' blood to other indulgences. But when she meets the sexy, arrogant king of the vampires, this party-girl's life turns dark and dangerous.
BUT TIME'S RUNNING OUT FOR THE KING OF THE VAMPIRES...
Dead-set on finding the prophesied mate who will unlock his fiery powers, Thad Morgan must find his queen before their race is destroyed. Their enemies are gaining ground, and Thad needs his powers to unite his subjects. But when his search leads him to the defiant Isabel, he wonders if fate had gotten it seriously wrong...

King of Darkness is available NOW:  Amazon : Barnes and Noble : IndieBound

Elisabeth Staab lives in Northern Virginia with her hero and soul mate. She has been a telemarketer, a web page editor, a software developer, a reader for the blind, a technical trainer, a coffee shop barista, a tutor, a homemaker, a government project manager, a graphic designer, and a professional ebayer. Finally, she's landed on being a writer - which is what her high school guidance counselor originally suggested anyway. 

Elisabeth believes that all kinds of safe, sane, and consensual love should be celebrated--but she loves the fantasy-filled realm of paranormal romance the best. Find out more at ElisabethStaab.com.

~*GIVEAWAY*~

Thanks to Sourcebooks I have one copy of King of Darkness to give away to one US or Canadian reader. To enter, just leave a comment on this post and then fill out the RaffleCopter below with your name and email address. Additional entries are available but not required. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway