Decker Argenau could do with a holiday but those ideas are cut short when he is asked to help hunt a group of rogue vampires. The rogues are preying on mortals and just kidnapped 2 women, sisters, and another Rogue, a long lost family member is also somehow tied up in the case.
Dani is the oldest sister and is a doctor. Saved from her kidnappers by a strange man she isn't sure who to trust. What she does know is that she needs to help get her sister back and under the current circumstances she decides to stay with the men who seem dangerous but capable of tracking down her sibling. With no choice but to go along with the men who talk about strange liquid diets and mind reading she hopes that she hasn't made the wrong decision.
The suddenly Decker is talking about them being life-mates and Dani starts to dream the most erotic dreams she has ever had about the strange man. Feeling a passion she has never known before Dani starts to process the fact that these men are indeed immortals and that her sister is being help captive by a rogue immortal.
Together Dani and Decker hope to find Dani's sister. With the help of the Argenau family and resources they will hopefully get to her in time. Until then they have some time to spare and they use it getting to know each other in every way possible.
So it is time for another Argeneau installment and we all know how it goes already. Immortal meets life-mate, life-mate freaks out a little, immortal and life-mate get it on and everyone lives happily ever after? Did I miss something? Of course! I missed out the fabulous story that lies in between this re-occurring concept.
Lynsay Sands may keep to the same idea but every book in this series is always totally different from the next. How she manages to do it I am not sure but she does it well and I devour and enjoy each of her books. This newest release is just as good as the previous Argeneau stories and I can't wait to see what happens next and to who.
Haven't read this series yet? Then catch up! Already a fan? Get this new edition as soon as possible! You won't be disappointed!
I want to thank Lynsay Sands again for being a guest here on Amberkatze's Book Blog and for offering such a great prize for the contest. I also want to thank everyone who came by to enter the contest! I hope you will all keep coming back to enter future giveaways!
So who won the signed copy of The Rigue Hunter? The randomizer picked -
Jodi!!!
Congratulations to the winner! Please send me your mailing address (Amberkatzes_book_bloggmx.eu) and I will pass on your details to Lynsay. The winner has 7 days to claim the prize or another winner will be picked.
Which brings me back to last weeks winners! I still haven't heard back from one of the winners so I will draw another winner!
The new winner of a Morganville Vampire book of their choice is -
Samantha Willian is a workaholic lawyer who has finally taken off some time to spend a few weeks in the country with her two sisters. None of them are expecting any romance but then they see their neighbours and they start thinking otherwise. The power is off due to a storm so they do the neighbourly thing and invite the guys to join forces with the girls until the power comes back on. Little do they know that they have invited over 3 men who need blood to stay alive.
Garrett Mortimer is a rogue hunter and works for Lucian Argeneau. He isn't really a country person but when his boss sends him there to look for a rogue he can only follow orders and hope the trip is a short one. After 800 years he has gone off food and any kind of romance or sex. However meeting Sam brings back his appetite for all those things and he finds himself helping Sam and not looking for the rogue.
In this new Argeneau book you can find everything readers have come to expect from this amazing writer. Paranormal mixed with chick-lit combined with humour and just the right amount of romance. This series is always a great read with interesting characters and a well thought out plot. The guy always gets the girl but how they get there is always the big question that doesn't get answered until the end.
I look forward to meeting Sam and Mortimer in future Argeneau books and hope her sisters will also make some more appearances. This series is one of my favourites and I am sure any paranormal junkie who hasn't already tried these books would enjoy them too.
This week I am honoured to have author Lynsay Sands as my guest here on Amberkatze's Book Blog. I got hooked on Lynsay's Argeneau Vampires series not long after I stumbled into the Paranormal genre and they are always on the top of my pre-order list. This week the newest book in the series 'The Rogue Hunter' was released and I asked Lynsay if she would have some time for us. Luckily she did and even though my copy of the book hasn't arrived yet (hate being in Europe) I know it will be an amazing read.
Keep reading till the end to enter the contest!!!
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Amber - Hello Lynsay! Welcome to Amberkatze's Book Blog! Your Argeneau Vampireseries helped hook me on the Paranormal genre. Can you start things off by telling us about the series in your own words?
Lynsay -– Oh gees, what to tell you. Well, it all started because of a kind of joking suggestion by a friend. She, myself and another friend who is a rather famous vamp writer with a dark series were yipping on msn messenger some six or seven years ago when the first friend typed in “We should do a vampire anthology together for Halloween.” The suggestion made me laugh and I said if I did that, my vamp would have to faint at the sight of blood or something. I threw out several other ideas, we all laughed, and then the subject changed to something else. We never did the anthology, but the ideas I threw out that night stuck with me and I started really considering it.
The Argeneaus were born.
They are first and foremost a family . . . who just happen to be vampires and their stories are about the things they face as such. They are not the dead, soulless vamps of tradition. There was no way I’d be able to understand and write about them. So my vamps had to have a different background.
This always sounds so silly when I try to explain it outside a story, but basically their ancestors were from Atlantis, which was technologically advanced as some myths claim, and the scientists in Atlantis combined bio-engineering and nano technology to create special nanos that could be injected into a person who was either injured or ailing from Cancer or such. The nanos were programmed to then repair wounds or fight off illness from the inside and get their host to peak condition. They were programmed to dissolve and be flushed from the body when finished their work, however, what the scientists hadn’t considered was that the body is under constant assault by the environment, and even the simple passage of time. There is always something to repair. So the nanos didn’t dissolve and remained in the subjects, constantly repairing and fighting off illnesses like cancer or the common cold.
However, the nanos need more blood than a human body can produce to regenerate themselves and make these repairs and so on. This was fine in Atlantis where they were given transfusions, but when Atlantis fell and those with the nanos survived, they travelled across the mountains to find that the rest of the world was not nearly as advanced as Atlantis had been. There were no more transfusions to satisfy the nanos, so the nanos did what they had to and altered their hosts to be able to get the blood they needed. They gave them extra strength, speed and fangs so they could prey on others for blood. Because the sun does damage and causes more work for the nanos and the need for more blood, my immortals avoided sunlight to reduce the amount of blood needed and the risk of being discovered. In response, the nanos gave them better night vision. They do not age physically but stay at their peak age of 25 to 30. They do not get sick, injuries heal amazingly quickly, and so long as their head isn'’t cut off of they aren’t trapped in a fire or something, they will not die. Basically they are vampires who are not dead.
Amber - Now each book in the series can stand alone but there are little family tidbits that you can only appreciate if you read them in order. Was this always the plan for the series?
Lynsay –- I really only had plans for the original vamp family when I started. That was Marguerite and her children Lissianna, Lucern, Bastien and Etienne. But once I started doing their stories the other characters started coming to whisper in my ear. They wanted life mates too, and for their stories to be told as well, and it’s just grown from there. I think part of the problem is that every character kind of has a whole back story in my head. The minute they walk into the scene they have a life, character, troubles, etc. It helps me to understand their motivation and how they’'ll react to things so that I can be more true to the character. But because of this, they become too real to me and then I want to play with them too.
Amber - The Rogue Hunter is book # 10 in the Argeneau Vampire series. Can you tell us a little about what this newest release is about?
Lynsay - The Rogue Hunter is about Garrett Mortimer. He was an enforcer we met in Kansas in Bite Me If You Can where he helped Lucian wipe out a rogue’s nest, rescue Leigh who turned out to be Lucian’s life mate, and then later helped in the hunt to catch that rogue up in Canada.
He and his partner, Bricker, are on another job, searching for a rogue loose in cottage country about two or three hours north of Toronto. They’'re sent up to use Decker Argeneau Pimm’s cottage as a base for their search. (Decker’s there to help as well)
What Mortimer finds when he gets to the cottage is Decker’s neighbor, Samantha Willan. Sam isn’t exactly what he dreamt of when he fantasized about finally meeting his life mate, but he soon learns the nanos are never wrong.
As for Sam, she’s a young, over-worked attorney who has been dragged to the family cottage by her two sisters. She’s still kind of getting over a serious break up and in no way interested in romance, but circumstances (Mortimer’s rogue hunt and her own search for the missing daughter of an important client) keep throwing her and Mortimer together and every time they do, sparks fly.
Amber - How many more books can we fans expect in the Argeneau Vampires series and which family members are still likely to get a book to themselves?
Lynsay –- Geez, I don'’t even know the answer to that. As I say, I only planned on four to begin with, but the story ideas just keep coming. Right now I can tell you that Decker’s story, The Immortal Hunter, follows The Rogue Hunter (Argeneau Vampires, Book 10)and comes out in March 2009. It should be followed about six months later by Tiny McGraw’s story which I'’m working on writing right now. After that I have complete stories in my head for Jeanne Louise, Christian, Armand and three other characters I can’'t mention yet. However, I only have one more book contracted so we shall have to see if people keep wanting to read them and publishers are willing to print them.
Amber - I was really happy to see the Family Tree in the newer books. However they give the ending of the book away. Was this intentional or a mistake?
Lynsay –- UGH! It was a mistake at the publisher’s and I was pretty upset myself. There’s nothing like giving away the story before they even read the first line. Geeez.
Amber - Who is your favourite Argeneau family member? Are any of the characters based on yourself or people you know?
Lynsay -– Lucian is probably my favorite of the moment, although I love them all, and yes, a lot of characters are based on people I know. In fact, nearly every family member I have and some friends have had a character named after them. Marguerite is named after my mother and very similar to her in character. Then there is Terri, Jackie, Justin Mortimer, D.J., Inez, Rachel, Greg . . . The Knights who are neighbors in The Accidental Vampire are actually based on my real neighbors Karen, Mike and Owen, and the house in that book is mine with a few adjustments. There are loads of things in the book that reflect real life. Just not the vampirism part, unfortunately (grin).
As for characters based on me . . . nope. I just couldn’t write a character based on myself. I'’d be too self-conscious and stiff, but I'’m sure bits of me come out in words now and then.
Amber - Your Vampire series would be a great TV series! Have there ever been any plans to that effect? Any famous actors or actresses you would like to see play certain characters?
Lynsay –- No plans that I know of. As for famous actors or actresses to play certain characters, that’s really hard. The characters come to me so set with their looks and characters in place . . . I always cringe when my editor sends me new covers. They just aren’t ever as they are in my head. The closest one was Thomas in Vampires Are Forever. The guy on the cover looks very like my Thomas. But other than that, I have trouble putting actors or actresses in their place. I know some writers do. They’'ll say in the book itself “he looked like Matt Damon” or something, but I just don’t. I think maybe my characters are more real to me in my head. They aren’t gorgeous, perfect people who look like they just stepped off the pages of a magazine. They may be gorgeous to one of the characters, but they also have flaws and actors and actresses just don’t seem to . . . or they’'re air-brushed out (grin.)
Amber - You don't just write great Vampire Romance. What other books can you tempt us with?
Lynsay -– I write historical as well and have, in the past, written some medieval vamps and one contemporary spy spoof. They are all basically romantic comedies with some mystery and adventure thrown in. But beware, they have some things in them you won’'t find in the vamps . . . like ailing farting horses by the fire in the great hall, and things of a completely unclassy nature.
Amber - What is next? Any other projects you are working on?
Lynsay -– I'’m considering doing some more spy spoofs. I had great fun with The Loving Daylights and wouldn’t mind doing a follow up. And, of course, I have more historicals coming. Three are done and at the publishers waiting to go to print. One of them is slated for release January 27 2009 (Devil of the Highlands) though I haven’'t got dates on the other two yet.
Amber - What has been the most memorable event you have experienced as a writer?
Lynsay –- Of course that would have to be the first call I received to offer on the first book, The Deed. Or maybe the first time I hit the New York Times List. Or maybe the first time I attended a writer’s conference, met readers and realized that it wasn’t just my own family reading them after all. And God! I get some really wonderful and touching letters, several of which stand out in my mind. I have the most amazing readers in the world but when they write to tell me they’ve been going through a real tough time and my stories helped them escape for a bit and smile again . . . well, that’s just about the best thing there is.
Honestly, I'’ve been blessed with a lot of memorable events and experiences. There are tough times too; bad reviews, etc., but the good always helps me pick myself back up.
Amber - If you have time to read what do you like to read? Any favourite authors? Series?
Lynsay -– Lol. Reading. I remember that. LOl. Well, my favorite author is Dean Koontz. I like horror. Is that awful for a romance writer to say? I also enjoy lighter reads. I like to laugh, so romantic comedies are my second favorite read.
Amber - You are stranded on a desert island. What 5 things do you hope to have with you?
Lynsay -– My husband, a fishing pole, a saw (Cause I am not the sort to sleep in the sand under a pouring rain so I'’d have to build something to live in) a pen and lots of paper (think of all the writing I could get done with all that quiet time).
Amber - Thank you again Lynsay for your time! Keep the great books coming and I hope you will come visit us again sometime!
Lynsay - Thank you for having me, Amber. It was nice visiting.
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Contest time!
Lynsay has kindly said that she will send the winner of this weeks contest a signed copy of The Rogue Hunter!
To enter the contest you have to post a cool vampire name in this thread. You can post the name of a vampire you have already read, seen etc or invent your own! No name no entry!
You can earn yourself another entry if you post about this contest somewhere on the net. Make sure you post a link to your post so I can check it out!
If you enter please make sure you check back to see if you won. I don't usually have time to chase the winners down.
The contest is open until Sunday 12th of October 4pm CET.
There are only a few days left to enter the Rachel Caine contest! I will be drawing the winners on Sunday afternoon so if you haven't entered yet be sure to get in there before 4pm CET! If you have already entered make a point of popping in on Sunday to see if you won!
Oh and come over on Sunday for the next author interview and contest with the delightful Lynsay Sands!!
Just type in the author, book or keyword you are looking for and hit enter!
Previous Author Interviews & Guest Blogs!
Thank you to all the authors who have just popped in to comment, guest blogged or stayed around for an interview!
Here are all the previous author interviews & Guest Blogs!
Decker Argenau could do with a holiday but those ideas are cut short when he is asked to help hunt a group of rogue vampires. The rogues are preying on mortals and just kidnapped 2 women, sisters, and another Rogue, a long lost family member is also somehow tied up in the case.
series not long after I stumbled into the Paranormal genre and they are always on the top of my pre-order list. This week the newest book in the series '
' was released and I asked Lynsay if she would have some time for us. Luckily she did and even though my copy of the book hasn't arrived yet (hate being in Europe) I know it will be an amazing read.
where he helped Lucian wipe out a rogue’s nest, rescue Leigh who turned out to be Lucian’s life mate, and then later helped in the hunt to catch that rogue up in Canada. 
, follows 
are actually based on my real neighbors Karen, Mike and Owen, and the house in that book is mine with a few adjustments. There are loads of things in the book that reflect real life. Just not the vampirism part, unfortunately (grin). 
. The guy on the cover looks very like my Thomas. But other than that, I have trouble putting actors or actresses in their place. I know some writers do. They’'ll say in the book itself “he looked like Matt Damon” or something, but I just don’t. I think maybe my characters are more real to me in my head. They aren’t gorgeous, perfect people who look like they just stepped off the pages of a magazine. They may be gorgeous to one of the characters, but they also have flaws and actors and actresses just don’t seem to . . . or they’'re air-brushed out (grin.)
and wouldn’t mind doing a follow up. And, of course, I have more historicals coming. Three are done and at the publishers waiting to go to print. One of them is slated for release January 27 2009 (
) though I haven’'t got dates on the other two yet.
. Or maybe the first time I hit the New York Times List. Or maybe the first time I attended a writer’s conference, met readers and realized that it wasn’t just my own family reading them after all. And God! I get some really wonderful and touching letters, several of which stand out in my mind. I have the most amazing readers in the world but when they write to tell me they’ve been going through a real tough time and my stories helped them escape for a bit and smile again . . . well, that’s just about the best thing there is. 
by Kelley Armstrong
