Today I have as my guest, Kate Hill.  Kate writes paranormal romances and publishes the spicier tales under the Saloni Quinby pen name.  She has just release a new story — details below.

Please welcome Kate.


kahi2016Changing Legendary Monsters into Heroes

by Kate Hill

If you look back even fifty years, it’s difficult to find a story that presented vampires as anything but villains. After all, what could possibly be sexy about a creature who has foul breath, sleeps in a coffin and drinks human blood?

As the old saying goes, there are two sides to every story. By changing the point of view, storytellers have been able to transform legendary monsters into heroes.

My attraction to vampires started when I was a child. My mother was a huge fan of Christopher Lee’s Dracula movies. I remember watching them with her when I was very young. No, I never developed a fear of vampires, but a fascination with them. I was always eager to see them on screen or read books about them.

As much as I loved traditional vampire tales, I couldn’t help thinking about what the stories would be like from the vampires’ perspective. That’s probably why my first crush was George Hamilton in Love at First Bite and I enjoyed vampire romances or stories in which the vampire was an alien rather than a mythical creature.

With a vampire, the difference between monster and hero is subtle but significant. They need to retain the characteristics that make them different because it’s the difference that makes them charismatic.

If traditional vampires live on blood, killing their victims to survive, a slight but important change would be to create a vampire who drinks blood without committing murder. The vampire might even provide pleasure to their donor–I don’t say victim because the vampire hero probably takes blood from a willing partner. Maybe that partner is even another vampire–a paranormal romance in which two members of the same species nourish each other in every sense of the word.

Blood drinking is just one of the characteristics of a vampire that could be changed or even eliminated. For instance, the vampire might absorb energy instead of actual blood. Other changes might be that the vampire hero needn’t sleep in a coffin. If he’s a different species, he might not even be “dead” and would no longer smell of decay.

Another slight twist is to keep all the gruesome traits, but give the vampire a conscience. Traditional vampires have no choice but to be monsters, but the vampire hero might be the sort who tries to overcome his evil side.

Some might argue that these changes will take the “bite” out of the vampire. That depends on the type of story you want to read.

For those who enjoy traditional horror, there are many great tales of vampire villains, but for anyone looking for a romantic bad boy, few are more exciting than that monster turned hero–the vampire.

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Man in the black coat, top hat and in a red tie and beautiful girl with rose

Scarlet Nights 3: Feasting With the Enemy
by Kate Hill

After more than a century sharing a bed and fighting at each other’s backs, vampire warriors Blair and May have forged an unbreakable bond.

Now the mysterious New Reign is seeking additional members. Their philosophy–recruit or destroy. Using mind manipulation, they stir up dark memories from the past to tempt Blair and May into killing each other.

Given the chance to resurrect his murdered first wife and children, will Blair now sacrifice the woman he loves–his wife and blood child, May?

Available June 24, 2016
From Changeling Press

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Always a fan of romance and the paranormal, Kate Hill started writing over twenty years ago for pleasure. Her first story, a short erotic vampire tale, was accepted for publication in 1996. Since then she has sold over one hundred short stories, novellas and novels.

When she’s not working on her books, Kate enjoys reading, working out and spending time with her family and pets. She also writes under the name Saloni Quinby.

Connect with Kate on her siteblogCompelling Beasts BlogFacebookTwitter (Kate)Twitter (Compelling Beasts Blog)

Tracy Cooper-Posey
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2 thoughts on “Changing Legendary Monsters into Heroes”

  1. Thank you for having me as a guest, Tracy! I just wanted to make a quick comment on the intro to let readers know that I write spicy books under both Kate Hill and Saloni Quinby. They’re equal heat levels. Thanks again!

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