Breathless by Scott Prussing. Book Giveaway. Book Review. Author and Character Interviews.

Breathless is the first book in the Blue Fire Saga, a paranormal romance series set at a small college in present day Connecticut. There are currently three books in the series.
Weston College freshman Leesa Nyland has been fascinated by vampires since she was three years old. That's when her mom started acting weird, insisting sunlight hurt her skin because she'd been bitten by a one-fanged vampire.
But fascinated doesn't mean Leesa believes. Any more than she believes in blue fire, people who live for centuries, and kisses that can kill. But when her beloved older brother suddenly disappears, she is forced to consider all these and more. She also has to figure out what to do about her mysterious new boyfriend. She knows Rave likes her a lot--so why won't he kiss her?
As Leesa draws closer to finding her brother, she faces some gut-wrenching decisions. Should she risk her mom's life trying to "cure" her? Should she continue seeing Rave, after he reveals his dangerous secret? And most terrifying of all, should she make the ultimate sacrifice-give up her humanity-to save her brother?
My Review:

Breahtless is an interesting and unique take on the world of vampires. This is a Y/A novel but will appeal to all lovers of paranormal romance ♥

Lessa Nyland does not have pleasant memories of her childhood. Her mother had claimed that she was bitten by a one fanged vampire *I told you this was unique!* and it wasn't long before she started to seclude herself from the world and from the people she loved. Leesa's brother always took care of her and was the one person she could count on and look up to through those years. When he suddenly comes up missing Lessa takes matters into her own hands. She applies to the same college that her brother had been going to when he disappeared. She wanted to do some investigating find out why her brother seemed to drop off the face of the planet.

It's not long before Lessa is introduced into an extraordinary and mysterious world full of vampires and volkaanes.

I easily fell in love with all of the characters in Breathless. Scott made me feel like I knew each one personally. *The good, the bad and the sexy* ;) Scott's descriptive writing style took me on a fun, romantic and mysterious journey that I will not soon forget! If you're looking for an entertaining and unique story line that is fun for all ages, then you will be absolutely delighted with Breathless!! ♥

Author Interview

Can you tell us a little about yourself?

I grew up in New Jersey and went to college and grad school in Connecticut. I have degrees in psychology from the University of Connecticut and Yale University. After graduate school, I was smart enough to move to beautiful San Diego, California, where I live just four blocks from the ocean. In addition to writing, I enjoy riding my bike along the coast, going to the movies (not renting!), reading books of all types, golf and hiking. I’m one of the few people in the United States without a cell phone.

I’m single (but looking!). I recently took early retirement from a career in health education and preventive wellness to concentrate on writing.

I’m the author of the three books in the paranormal romance series The Blue Fire Saga (Breathless, Deathless, and Helpless) as well as two mystery/suspense novels available in (Unturned Stones and Tangled Webs). I’ve also written a teen romance Mine: A Love Story, whose plot is based on the hit songs of Taylor Swift, and a fantasy adventure novel called Dreams of the Last Born.

Do you recall how your interest in writing originated?

I remember exactly when and how it originated. Shortly after college, I read an article in the newspaper about a fourteen-year-old boy who was writing a Lord of the Rings type novel. LOTR is my all-time favorite book, and I thought “I could do that.” So I started writing—in ball point pen on a legal pad. I wrote an eight hundred page Lord of the Rings rip-off. It wasn’t very good, but it’s what got me started.

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

How many people are doing it!

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

Pace, clear prose, fun. I believe a story should move relatively quickly, at least most of the time. The writing should be easy to read and understand, with reasonably decent grammar. And the book should be fun, even if there is an underlying message you are trying to get across.

What is the toughest criticism you've received as an author?

I haven’t had a lot of tough criticism. Out of 50+ Amazon reader reviews, over 40 were five-star and only two were one-star. One of them called Breathless a Twilight wannabee, which is true only on the basic concept. There are so many things that separate it from Twilight, including the way the vampires act and that neither of the romantic leads is a vampire.

In Twitter fashion, use 140 characters or less, sum up Breathless for us.

Girl searches 4 brother, meets mysterious guy (supernatural vampire hunter), wonders why he won’t kiss her. Vampires lurk in the darkness.

Could you tell us what was your favorite scene to write?

The scene where volkaane Rave and vampire Stefan confront each other, with Leesa there also, wondering how she can stop them.

How did you come up with the character Rave?

I wanted something totally new and original, so I invented volkaanes, supernatural vampire hunters. I needed them to have a way to kill vampires and also wanted there to be an obstacle in Rave’s relationship with Leesa. Giving volkaanes a magical inner fire handled both. Then I wanted more obstacles for them, so I made volkaanes unable to use cars or cell phones because of the energy of their inner fire.

Was there anything you found particularly challenging while writing this book?

The most challenging thing was to keep the book feeling real, since it deals with creatures most people assume aren’t real. I wanted to make sure that everything I set up was logical. For example, my vampires don’t like sunlight because it hurts their skin, but it doesn’t kill them or make them sparkle. They prefer the darkness, of course, but when I need to have one go out during the day, I make it a cloudy day. If they go out on sunny days, they wear hoodies and stay in the shade as much as possible.

What were your feeling when you first saw the cover of your finished book?

I was very involved in the cover creation, so I knew what it was going to look like every step of the way. Still, seeing it complete for the first time was a thrill.

Can you tell us a little about your current work?

I’m currently writing Fearless, which will be book four in my Blue Fire Saga.

Is there anything else you would like the readers to know?

I want them to know how accessible I am to them. I love to interact with fans on Facebook, especially, either through my personal page, my Scott Prussing Author page, or Breathless Fampire Page. I also love using the names of my biggest fans and supporters in my books.

JUST FOR FUN :)

What is the last movie you went to see?

Safe House… it wasn’t that good.

What is the next book you can't wait to get your hands on?

There really isn’t one. I walk to the library every week or so and just see what I can find. But if I HAD to pick something, I’d say the final book (book 14?) in Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time saga. I have over ten thousand pages of reading invested in it. Unfortunately, there are two more books to go, so I have a long wait.

Pilates or potato chips? ;)

Potato chips.

Biking or Hiking?

Biking… but I like hiking, too.

When you're not writing, what do you like to do on your free time?

Go to movies, ride my bike, golf, read, hike, drink.

Character Interview with Leesa.

Hi Leesa. Could you tell us where you are from?

Yeah, sure. I was born in New Jersey, but I don’t remember too much about it. We moved to San Diego when I was only seven.

What kind of childhood did you have?

Uggh! Not a very good one. My mom stopped going outside during the day when I was really young, saying the sunlight hurt her skin because she’d been bitten by a one-fanged vampire. We all thought she was crazy, of course, but it turns out she was telling the truth. My dad left us, too. All that, plus my limp made me pretty shy and insecure. If it wasn’t for my brother Bradley, my childhood would have been REALLY crappy.

What do you do for a living?

I’m a college freshman, so I guess you could say I study and take tests for a living.

How do you deal with conflict or change?

I used to hate both. I still don’t like conflict, but since I’ve gotten to school and made some cool friends and found an awesome boyfriend, I’m getting better at handling change. Which is a really good thing, because all kinds of weird things have been happening since I got here.

What are your goals or motivation?

My biggest goal is to find out what happened to Bradley, because he disappeared last year.

Do you have any hobbies or interests?

Not too many. I really like to go on long walks, though.

Is there a special someone in your life you could tell us about?

Yeah, my boyfriend Rave. He’s a volkaane—a supernatural vampire hunter. He’s hot—literally. He’s got this magical inner fire he uses to slay vampires. The problem is, his fire could burn me to a crisp if I kiss him for more than a few seconds. And believe me, that sucks, because kissing him is beyond awesome.

What was your first date like?

Well, I’m not sure you can really call it a date. I was walking home from the library one evening and suddenly Rave was there beside me. He moves so frigging quietly you can never hear him. When we got to my dorm, he asked if I wanted to keep walking. You bet I did! We walked for a long time. It was so much fun. We talked and talked. I wanted him to hold my hand, but he didn’t. And he didn’t even try to kiss me goodnight. I couldn’t figure out why, until later, when I learned about his supernatural nature and his fire.

How did you meet the person of your dreams?

I saw him briefly in class, but he left quickly. We met for real at a frat part my best friend Cali dragged me to. Rave saw me talking to a vampire, so he came over a little bit later to warn me. I didn’t believe him at first. I mean, who really believes in vampires? Turns out they’re real, though.

What do you feel are your best and worst qualities?

My worst is my shyness, but I’m slowly getting better with it. My best? That’s tough, because I don’t really like talking about myself like that. I’m pretty loyal, I guess. That’s a good thing, right? And I can be very determined.

What do you want more than anything?

I want to find my brother and I want my mom to be well. And I want to be able to kiss Rave for as long as I want, without any danger. THAT would be awesome!

One person will win a signed hardcover copy of Breathless. Contest will be open for 1 week and is open to U.S residents only. Please leave a comment along with your e-mail address for the author! Good luck!!

Where to find Scott Prussing:

Scott Prussing Publishing: http://scottprussingpublishing.com/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1446889482

Facebook author page: http://www.facebook.com/ScottPrussingAuthor

Facebook. Breathless fampires: http://www.facebook.com/BreathlessFampires

Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/BreathlessBook

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Scott-Prussing/e/B004YTTFX6/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4325564.Scott_Prussing

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/ScottPrussing