Giveaway, Book Review, & Author Interview with The Awesome Ms. Denise K. Rago!!!

As a young man in eighteenth century France, Christian Du Mauré impulsively follows his best friend into the complex and warring world of the Parisian vampires. Against the backdrop of the French Revolution and following an affair with a mortal aristocrat, he promises to watch over her daughter - only to learn the child is his. Now settled in Manhattan, only two descendents of his union remain, Amanda and her brother, Ryan. After Amanda witnesses a savage murder in Central Park, she is determined to find the ethereal stranger who saved her life. When their worlds inevitably collide, Christian finds he cannot prevent Amanda from becoming a pawn in a centuries-old struggle for power. As a confrontation between ancient enemies comes to a head, Christian must face a betrayal from his past that still haunts him and threatens the woman he loves.


My Review:

This book is VERY far from disappointing. Ok for starters, who wouldn’t love a sexy French Vampires? This book is mad house crazy, whirlwind of events. It is fast pace, will never let you up for air, and I doubt you would ever want to. Nothing is as it seems. I found the twists to be unpredictable. The characters are completely relatable, and very well developed. The way Ms. Rago writes you feel like you’ve known the characters (esp. Christian) all your life. It will leaving you yearning for more. By the time I finished reading this review copy all I had to tell Ms. Rago was “Wow”. I HIGHLY Recommend you pick up your copy.


My Rating: 5 Stars!! Hands down!

Personal Note:

This lady is awesome! 100% Awesome. I have never met her in my life, but I am so happy I know her now! I am happy she signed up for my Authors Month in April Event. As you may noticed this month was packed with authors from every level. From the NYT Best Sellers, to the new and up-coming. All of them were nice. I would work with them again. With that said, I would like to point out how Ms. Denise K. Rago has gone the extra mile.


Most of you may have notice that on every single post this month Ms. Rago, has commented. Most of them she was the 1st to comment. She takes the time to not only make readers feel like they are number one in her book, but also this newbie blogger. I received a print copy of her book to review, asked/received her the interview questions, After gave her the review, and After I let her know that I seriously believe (and still do) she will undoubtedly make it to the NYT Best Sellers list. After all that was done and over, The post was done, She still made it an effort to come and visit my little blog everyday. She not only visited, but she read, commented, and participated in everything.

We are not talking the normal meet and greet time people get with authors. This was not just 5-15 minutes to get to sit and talk with this author. It was literally everyday. This author blows me away. I truly mean it when I say it is an honor to showcase this very special Guest author and her work. I do believe you will see her on the NYT Best Sellers List very soon. Her work is that awesome. She is my Newest Favorite Author.

BTW…
She doesn’t know I just added this, so she shall be surprised as well. (April 21,2011).

Dear Readers of Were Vamps Romance, It is a special Honor for me to introduce the lovely and fantastic author Ms. Denise K. Rago. Author of Immortal Obsession.

Hi, everyone! I’d like to thank Melissa for giving me this wonderful opportunity by having me as a guest during Author Month. I am a paranormal romance writer who recently puslished my first novel, Immortal Obsession.

Can you tell us a little about yourself?

I grew up in New Jersey, not far from Manhattan. I have always loved reading, art museums and the paranormal, especially vampires. As a part of my Masters’ Degree, I interned at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. My career has included working as a Business Assistant in schools, both for profit and non-profit, which has also been very rewarding work for me.

How do you recall your interest in writing originated?

I have kept journals since high school and wrote poetry as well. I won’t comment on the quality of it though, but along with my love of reading has always been the desire to write books.

What surprised you the most about the writing/publishing process?

Editing. It is extremely important, but very time consuming as well. I think it is best left to professionals. Plus an editor is objective about your work and hopefully will spot typos and grammatical errors.

How do you develop your plots and characters? Do you use any set formula?

The characters just come to me, strange as this may seem. When I tell you, the story unfolds and I just write it, I am not kidding. The characters let me know what has to happen. I follow their lead!

What, in your opinion, are the most important components of good writing?

Grammar and punctuation are a given but I am a stickler for an authors’ choice of words. I believe in saying much in a few words.

Can you share a little of your current work with us?

Presently, I am working on Blood Kiss, the second novel in The Enchanted Bloodline Trilogy. Christian returns to Paris after leaving his home behind in 1790. Of course he is faced with more conflicts and learns more about his past than he bargained for.

I have a nice time following you on Twitter. In 140 characters or less, sum Immortal Obsession for us.

A young woman is inexplicably drawn into the seductive and mysterious world of a beautiful eighteenth century vampire in modern Manhattan.

How did you come up with a story that was such a whirlwind of events?

I am continually intrigued by how our lives can take twists and turns in the blink of an eye. We can wake up one morning, not knowing how the day may change our destiny. That being said, Immortal Obsession takes the reader into the sedate world of Amanda Perretti, a young professional who witnesses an event one summer night that leaves her in shock and with many unanswered questions. In order to make sense of it, she sets out to discover the truth only the truth has already come looking for her! She finds herself caught up in the seductive world of several beautiful vampires and as their own crisis escalates she is drawn deeper into their world. To accurately express the urgency and loss of control Amanda experiences, I felt the story line required a fast pace.

Immortal Obsession was awesome to read. It will leave the reader aching for the next book. How long did it take you to write it, and did you have any writer’s block along the way?

Thank you. From start to finish: five years. No writers block, just several rewrites after a professional editor read my original manuscript and gave me several options on how to improve my story. I took his advice!

Will we be seeing a following book to this story?

Absolutely. I am in the process of writing Blood Kiss, the second novel in this trilogy. It would have been finished much sooner but my mom passed away and I needed some time to grieve before I could begin writing again.

I just love the men in your books. The tormented Christian character I am absolutely in love with. How did you come up with the character Christian?

I have often been asked this question. To answer it honestly, I would have to speak not only about my inspiration for him, but for writing Immortal Obsession as well. I allude to it on my website when I mention that I had an encounter with a mysterious stranger in a Manhattan diner. Like Amanda, I fell into a pair of dark eyes and my life has not been the same since, however, I am not ready to speak more about this experience except to say that I have learned that this character guides all of my writing.

I always must ask if you could pick one actor to portray Christian on the big screen who would it be and why?

I would choose Michael Pitt, who plays the character of James Darmody on the HBO series, Boardwalk Empire. Aside from being tall and blond haired, James Darmody is a well-read, sensitive soul, despite being a cold-blooded killer. His dual nature intrigues me and reflects Christian’s nature as well.

The world and storyline in this book was so vivid. Was there anything you found particularly challenging when writing this book?

Because I am writing about vampires I am always mindful of the fact that they bed down during the day so that factored into the flow of the story, as well as keeping the time line accurate to account for each characters whereabouts.

I found the cover to look dark, yet very fitting for the book. What were your feelings when you first saw the cover of your finished book?

I cried! The original cover featured Christian, Gaétan and Amanda with buildings and a full moon in the background. It was not capturing the feeling I was trying to project so I submitted a black and white photograph that I had taken of the angel atop Bethesda Fountain in Central Park in New York City. Both Bethesda Fountain and Bethesda Terrace are integral to the story. The publisher came back with a composite of the two covers and I loved it.

Follow this amazing Author at:

FB: http://www.facebook.com/dkrago

Twitter: http://twitter.com/DeniseKRago

Website: http://www.denisekrago.com/

Goodreads Author Page: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4410029.Denise_K_Rago/

Find This Book At:

Barnes And Noble: http://productsearch.barnesandnoble.com/search/results.aspx?WRD=denise+k.+rago&page=index&prod=univ&choice=allproducts&query=Denise+K.+Rago&flag=False&ugrp=2

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Denise+K.+Rago&x=14&y=21

SmashWords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/search?query=Denise+K.+Rago

ONE Winner with will this awesome book in print.

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