Signed E-Book Giveaway! Author Interview. Book Review.

Twice-baked vampire, Gabriel Strickland may appear to be coping well with the responsibilities his life after double-death has dealt him, but it's only show. The struggle to earn his ticket through the Pearly Gates takes a toll when he's assigned to perform a Monkey Jump - a program designed to teach newly assigned management the skills required to do their job. To soften the blow, he takes Dori as his assistant. What he wants is peace and serenity to think things through, what he gets is startling temptation, a Soul Eater and his sidekick, Master Witch Neave Brittania Cook. One has a revenge agenda and the other, designs on Gabriel's soul.The Monkey Jump itinerary, scheduled for Phoenix and Seattle, takes a perilous detour to a north Alaskan community of the oldest, most evolved vampires on the planet. Secrets must be kept and Gabriel must protect Dori as well as his own path to paradise. Well hell, this can't be good.
My Review:


I was so excited to get my hands on Monkey Jump, the second book in The Twice Baked Vampire series! This has been one of the most unique and entertaining series I've read!

Monkey Jump starts right out with some action packed fun as Gabriel Strickland is being sent out on an assignment, better known as a monkey jump. Now that he has been put in charge of the of the holding tank and is responsible for all of the beings who reside there, he needs to go around to all of the other holding tanks to see how things are run differently. To see what works and what doesn't work.

Of course things don't go as planned. Gabriel and his assistants end up in north Alaska with a witch and a soul eater. Gabriel needs to keep everyone safe and keep their secrets concealed. The community that they came upon is a very close knit community with some secrets of their own that they need to keep hidden.

Monkey Jump is full of awesome adventure! Once I started reading I couldn't get enough! The world was painted vividly in my mind. The characters were definitely lovable, fun and quirky ♥ And where else can you read about vampires, shapeshifters, leprechauns, soul eaters, a muse, witches and dragons all in one book? The Twice Baked Vampire series is sure to reel you in and keep you wanting more!! It's a unique and refreshing series. You'll walk away from it feeling good that you had the chance to read such a fantastic story!

I highly recommend this series to anyone who loves adventure, humor, romance and who just want a great and entertaining read!! This series should definitely be read in order. Start with Cold in California and then move right into Monkey Jump. I'm looking forward to the next installment ♥

Author Interview:

Hi Deborah and welcome to WereVampsRomance! We're so glad you could join us today!

Could you tell us a little about yourself?

I’m an author and an Author Success Coach and I write both fiction and nonfiction. I currently live in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania (Go Bucs! Go Steelers!) but until last May I lived in Los Angeles for five years. I’ve been a number of things in my life – a wife (twice) and divorcee (twice, *sigh*), a mom, a business owner, a marketing expert, a chef (yes, a white tablecloth professional cooking type chef), and a writer. I’m a blogger, a promoter, a foodie and a lover of great writing. I speak at writer groups and conferences on author success as well as coach authors, one-on-one and teach online workshops on marketing, promotions and publicity almost all the time. Basically, I’m an writer always
struggling to carve out time to write while making a living. In other words, I’m kinda normal.

Do you recall how your interest in writing originated?

I’ve always been a writer. As a kid I wrote short stories. As a marketing professional I  wrote articles, brochures, radio and television commercials. I’ve written proposals and business plans, fanfiction and novels. I love writing fiction, but lately, my nonfiction – geared toward helping authors find sales success in this shifting publishing industry – seems to be at the top of my writing list. Urban Fantasy and things of the paranormal fascinate me and always find a way into my books, whether I’m writing a romance, historical fiction, women’s fiction or short stories. Someday I’m afraid a werewolf will
find it’s way into one of my non-fiction as the expert teaching authors how to Cross Market, LOL.

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

Clear, succinct, tight writing attracts me most no matter the subject or genre. If a writer plots well and is tight and smooth with their style, there are never those nasty little things like “point of view” or “head hopping” issues to deal with. Nothing takes me out of story faster than having to stop, blink and wonder who’s thinking what or whose head I’m in. Tell me a great story and pull me through it! 

What inspired such a creative story line?

Monkey Jump is the second book in the Twice-Baked Vampire Series. This series is plotted for five books and the first book, Cold in California, did all the set up for the series. When my handsome loner main character, vampire Gabriel Strickland dies a quick but humorous heart-staked death, he discovers that he’s been chosen to live out yet one more lifetime in order to collect brownie points and earn his ticket through the Pearly Gates. That’s not tough enough … he has to do this while living in a secret West Hollywood warehouse with a whole community of other dead supernaturals all trying to do the same thing. Needless to say, these efforts are against their nature, so there are lots
of screw-ups and mistakes. My inspiration came when I questioned what we all accept as fact about Vampires. Just because authors before me wrote that a vampire gets nothing but dead at the end of his vampire life doesn't mean it’s so. I liked the concept that even a vampire can get a shot at heaven. It offers lots of interesting variations on the way we look at a vampire, as well as a ton of opportunities to have some tongue-in-cheek fun with the entire fictitious supernatural world.

What was one of your favorite scenes to write?

In Cold in California, I loved the scene right after Gabriel wakes on the corner of Hollywood and Vine. He’s supposed to be dead, damn it, but there he is, facing Crudo Cushman, a troll and manager of the West Hollywood holding tank where poor Gabriel will be figuring out how to get into heaven … eventually. I had so much fun with Gabriel’s confusion and the creation of the warehouse residents. In Monkey Jump, things get a little darker when Gabriel is sent off on a training tour of other warehouse holding tanks so that he can learn how things are done. The itinerary was supposed to be simple, but in true Twice-Baked Vampire Series fashion, it all goes very wrong when Gabriel and his entourage find themselves plane crashed in northern Alaska and among some of the oldest living vampires on the planet. Gabriel has secrets to keep, and so do the interesting inhabitants of this remote little town. My favorite scene in that book is the conversation Gabriel has with Luc D’Longville, 3,000 year old vampire and sheriff of the strange community of ancient vamps and polar bear shape-shifters. It was a real blast exploring all the amazing things Luc might have seen and learned throughout his very long lifetime through Gabriel’s eyes.

Was there anything particularly challenging about writing this book?

Yes, of course. Since my plotting demands that the five books in the Twice-Baked Vampire Series become darker and darker as they go, it was a little tough keeping some of the humor in check. These are funny characters, but as the books develop, part of the exploration delves into the psyche of the dead leprechauns, werewolves, pixies, fae and double-dead vampires attempting to find redemption. Oh, there are still funny moments. Seriously, considering the situations these characters find themselves in, how could it not be funny?

In Twitter fashion use 140 characters or less to sum up Monkey Jump for us.

“Monkey Jump” Twice-Baked Vampire Gabriel Strickland faces major temptation among oldest living vamps on the planet. Well THIS can’t be good

What type of writing environment is most productive for you? Do you have to lock yourself in a cave? Do you need to listen to certain music or do you need it completely quiet? Do you have a favorite, must have snack that you stow away?

Starting with snacks … anything chocolate, mainly because when I really start rocking and rolling with writing a scene, I often forget to stop for lunch. Music is optional for me. Sometimes I want the mood, other times it can be distracting because I start to sing along and forget what I’m writing. I have a cave (quiet little home office) and if it was up to me, everything I need would be in there so that I’d never have to leave - refrigerator, coffee maker, masseuse, chocolate, etc. As it is I need to leave my desk and seek out these items or services, *sigh*. But as far as writing environment, I’m actually pretty flexible with that. I can write on planes and in airports, in hotels or at Starbucks, I've even taken my laptop and written at a picnic table in the park. I prefer my cave, but I can write just about anywhere.

When you're not writing, what do you do to pass the time?

There’s time to pass? No one told me this! I try to read if I have time. I love to cook and entertain. I actually like to clean, but only when things get so cluttered I can’t find my daytimer or lost my kindle, lol.

What is the next book in your TBR pile?

I’m currently reading Luck of the Devil by Patricia Eimer. After that I have a book from new author, Airicka Phoenix, entitled Touching Smoke, and then author Amber Polo’s newest, Released book #1 of The Shapeshifter’s Library. I will be doing reviews on all three of these books over the next few months at one of my blogs, Vampire Explored: Peeking into the Fictitious World of Supernaturals.

What is the last book you finished reading?

Johannas Cabal the Necromancer by Jonathan L. Howard. Twisted, funny, creative. I liked it!

Thank you so much for your time here today! We truly appreciate it and hope you'll come

back again soon!

Giveaway!!

One lucky person will win a signed e-book copy of Monkey Jump! Please leave a comment for the author. The contest is open for 1 week! Good Luck!!

Want to keep up with Deborah Riley-Magnus? Here's where you'll find her!!

I blog - http://rileymagnus.wordpress.com/
I teach - http://theauthorsuccesscoach.com/
I fiction – http://coldincalifornia.com
I write - http://deborahriley-magnus.com/
I tweet – http://twitter.com/rileymagnus
I facebook - http://www.facebook.com/



deborah.rileymagnus

I should be sooo tired!


Book Links:

Twice-Baked Vampire website: http://www.coldincalifornia.com/
The Twice Baked Vampire Blog: http://thetwicebakedvampire.wordpress.com/
Book #1, Cold in California Amazon Link:http://www.amazon.com/Cold-California-Twice-Baked-Vampire-ebook/dp/B0055EC7E8/

Book #2, Monkey Jump Amazon Link:
http://www.amazon.com/Monkey-Twice-Baked-Vampire-Series-ebook/dp/B00839H9JA


Finding Author Success available in print and ebook on Amazon, B&N, Apple and Sony!