If You Were My Vampire (a Shades Below Novel) By: L.J.K. Oliva

If You Were My Vampire

        A Shades Below Novel

              By: L.J.K. Oliva

     Ok, before I begin I do wish to inform because as you will notice in the title, this says that it is ‘A Shades Below Novel’ that this book can also be read as a stand-alone novel, so you don’t have to feel obligated to purchase a prior book, unless of course, you want to. The decision is yours, and you will have no problems following along, if you haven’t read any of Ms. Oliva books. Although I can assure you, once you experience her writing, you will want to. Just a heads up from me. ::grin::

     Grace Alan is very beautiful woman, and as a member of a very intuitive family, she is one of those people who is always aware of her surrounding, in more ways than one. There’s just one thing, she has spent most of her life isolated away from people, because she has a hard time trying to be a normal person. 

     Finally, Grace has found a beau that she can relate to and has captured her heart, and is everything she has ever dreamt of, and he is even quite handsome too. His name is Asher Evans, and he is someone who is and has been haunted by history, because wouldn’t you know it, he had been turned into a vampire in a concentration camp that claimed his entire family. 

     Asher has never been the same since the loss of his humanity. He has forced himself to face his eternity alone, and never planned on meeting someone he could actually love and care for, that is until he met Grace.

     Then the unthinkable happens, and Grace is murdered. 

      Asher accidentally stumbles upon the dying Grace, and find his heart is now in his throat. He knows he should leave well enough alone, but she understood him. She never once seen him as a monster, or a creature of the night. He admires her beauty in her lifeless and still body, and remembers that she reminds him what it is like to be human.

     Asher knows rescuing Grace will have consequences. The World has deemed female Vampires illegal for centuries now, and the choice Asher has made may have caused complications now for both of them.

     Now together Grace and Asher will try and survive the mortal world without trying to get noticed, and creating enemies along the way. Together they hope that their love can protect them, and help them evade other mortal enemies.

     This book is a beautifully written five-star romantic book, that will make you fall in love with romance all over again. Some may think Vampires are always bloody and evil, but not this time. This book is truly a romantic read that shows you, love can come in all different shapes and sizes, and that it doesn’t matter, love will always prevail over all else. I truly enjoyed this book, and am glad I had the opportunity to read it! 

My question for Laura:

1. What made you write this book and how long did it take you?

Hi Deneale! Thanks so much for having me over again. It's always a pleasure!

Basically, I wrote this book for Asher. I introduced him in my last Shades Below novel, The Devil's Disease, and I really enjoyed the glimpse into his character- in particular, the way he interacted with Grace. There was a lot simmering under the surface of their interactions, so it was a real pleasure to dive in and unpack all that in If You Were My Vampire.

2. Do you have any photos or descriptions of your characters?

Absolutely! I'm a bit obsessed with creating companion graphics for my books. Here are a couple that capture how I imagine Asher and Grace would look:

3. Who designed this beautiful cover?

I did, and I'm so glad you like it! I started designing and creating all my own book covers right around the beginning of this year. I had been honing my skill on those graphics I mentioned, and am finally at a point where I feel able to create covers that meet my own standards of professionalism.

4. Do you ever put yourself into your characters?

All. The. Time.

You always hear the classic writing advice to Write What You Know, and different writers have different opinions about just what that means. For me, it means digging down and finding the part of my characters that is true for me, that I know personally. I don't know what it's like to be a vampire, but I know what it's like to be an outsider, to want things that aren't good for me, to have hungers I don't know how to fill. I start with those core kernels of truth, then weave my characters around them.

5. Do you wish-- or are you a Vampire? 🤣😜 or is it a secret?

I admit to nothing ;-) *looks around for Watchmen*

6. What do you hope to be when you grow up?

Living the dream, mama. Living the dream. :-)

7. What led you into writing and how long have you been at it?

Personally, I've been writing for as long as I can remember. I've always loved stories, and before I could write, I acted them out with my dolls. Professionally, I've been writing for about five years now. When my son was born, I wanted a job with flexible hours that I could do from home. I threw all my chips in the writing basket, and have never looked back!

8. What is your upmost favorite book and why?

That's such a hard question, haha! There are so many books that have had a profound influence on me, both as a writer and a person. That said, my favorite book remains Redwall, by Brian Jacques. It's the first book I can remember my mom reading to me when I was a kid, and the book that made me fall in love with words. I even named my son after the main character.

9. What are you working on now?

I have a few projects simmering at the moment. First up is a short story that features my vampire constable Seneca Lynch and Grace's friend, Tonio Ramirez. The interplay and innuendo between them in If You Were My Vampire was a lot of fun to write, so I'm going to go behind the scenes and let them have some fun ;-)

Next up, I'll be writing the second novella in my Shades Below Shorts series: Thicker Than Water. I had initially planned to write it before If You Were My Vampire, but Emil and Puzzle weren't ready to talk to me yet. Now they are, and I'm really excited for their new adventure!

After that, I'm writing Shades Below, #3: Ghost In The Machine. In it, Lena is still reeling from Grace's death when a freak accident at The Wayfare Hotel sets her adrift in space and time.  MacMillian has to race the clock and the cosmos, and must decide just how far he's willing to go to bring her home.

10. Have you ever regretted ending a book or character?

Not yet, however, there are a few characters in the Shades Below series who might not make it to the end. If and when their time comes, I'll definitely be sad to say goodbye.

11. What do you do for writers block? If you have never had it what do you suggest?

I definitely struggle with slumps, as I think everyone does. I generally don't label it "writers block" though. Being a bit of a hippie, I believe naming something gives it power over me, which only makes things worse.

When I'm in a slump, I've found the only way through it is, well, through it. I sit down and set my timer, and write like a madwoman for solid twenty-five minute increments, with five minute brain breaks in between. I give myself permission to suck. I accept that the words I'm putting down probably won't be my best, and allow myself to be okay with that. After all, this is why God made editing.

Usually, my slumps only last for a scene, maybe a chapter. Once I've written myself out of whatever rut I was in, I keep going through the story. Later, once I have some distance, I go back and go over what I came up with. If it needs tweaking or finessing, I do that.

Above all, I just keep writing.

12. Please share with us your social media and book links::

Sure! You can find me all over the place. Here are my current haunts:

Website: http://ljkolivabooks.com

Amazon- http://www.amazon.com/author/lauraoliva

Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/ljk.oliva (friend me!)

Goodreads- https://www.goodreads.com/LauraOlivaBooks

Pinterest- http://www.pinterest.com/authorljkoliva/

Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/lauraolivabooks/

If you're interested in a no-risk, all-reward introduction to my books, I offer a free Shades Below Starter Library when you sign up for my mailing list. You can claim yours by signing up here: http://eepurl.com/cF3H_5

And finally, here is where my books currently live:

A WORLD APART (Shades Below, #1)

https://ljkolivabooks.com/shades-below-series-2/shades-below-novels/book-1-a-world-apart/

PTOLEMY'S TABLET (Shades Below Shorts, #1)

https://ljkolivabooks.com/shades-below-series-2/the-shades-below-shorts/shades-below-short-1-ptolemys-tablet/

SEASON OF THE WITCH (Shades Below, #1.5)

https://ljkolivabooks.com/shades-below-series-2/shades-below-novels/book-1-5-season-of-the-witch/

THE DEVIL'S DISEASE (Shades Below, #2)

https://ljkolivabooks.com/shades-below-series-2/shades-below-novels/book-2-the-devils-disease/

IF YOU WERE MY VAMPIRE (Shades Below, #2.5)

https://ljkolivabooks.com/shades-below-series-2/shades-below-novels/book-2-5-if-you-were-my-vampire/

13. Anything to add...

Nothing besides thank you again for the interview! It's been a blast :-)

    

If You Were My Vampire by L.J.K. Oliva
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Ok, before I begin I do wish to inform because as you will notice in the title, this says that it is ‘A Shades Below Novel’ that this book can also be read as a stand-alone novel, so you don’t have to feel obligated to purchase a prior book, unless of course, you want to. The decision is yours, and you will have no problems following along, if you haven’t read any of Ms. Oliva books. Although I can assure you, once you experience her writing, you will want to. Just a heads up from me. ::grin::

Grace Alan is very beautiful woman, and as a member of a very intuitive family, she is one of those people who is always aware of her surrounding, in more ways than one. There’s just one thing, she has spent most of her life isolated away from people, because she has a hard time trying to be a normal person.

Finally, Grace has found a beau that she can relate to and has captured her heart, and is everything she has ever dreamt of, and he is even quite handsome too. His name is Asher Evans, and he is someone who is and has been haunted by history, because wouldn’t you know it, he had been turned into a vampire in a concentration camp that claimed his entire family.

Asher has never been the same since the loss of his humanity. He has forced himself to face his eternity alone, and never planned on meeting someone he could actually love and care for, that is until he met Grace.

Then the unthinkable happens, and Grace is murdered.

Asher accidentally stumbles upon the dying Grace, and find his heart is now in his throat. He knows he should leave well enough alone, but she understood him. She never once seen him as a monster, or a creature of the night. He admires her beauty in her lifeless and still body, and remembers that she reminds him what it is like to be human.

Asher knows rescuing Grace will have consequences. The World has deemed female Vampires illegal for centuries now, and the choice Asher has made may have caused complications now for both of them.

Now together Grace and Asher will try and survive the mortal world without trying to get noticed, and creating enemies along the way. Together they hope that their love can protect them, and help them evade other mortal enemies.

This book is a beautifully written five-star romantic book, that will make you fall in love with romance all over again. Some may think Vampires are always bloody and evil, but not this time. This book is truly a romantic read that shows you, love can come in all different shapes and sizes, and that it doesn’t matter, love will always prevail over all else. I truly enjoyed this book, and am glad I had the opportunity to read it!

View all my reviews

Season of the Witch (A Shades Below Novel) by L.J.K. Oliva

Season of the Witch

By L.J.K. Oliva

When I seen Laura Oliva advertise this book, I knew I had to read it. I love witchy books, and I also love to read the work of Ms. Oliva. She writes so beautifully, and I can comprehend it. So I knew I just had to have it.

Georgia Clare and Darius deCompostela are back, you should remember them from the book: “A World Apart.”

 

Georgia Clare is the lone survivor and witness to her own coven’s brutal massacre and since that time, she could feel a hunter was after her. The thing is, San Francisco Covens want nothing to do with her, and yet the one man that she can turn to, low and behold: he doesn’t do witches. 

Darius, tries his damndest to avoid these kind of things. He is a private investigator, and a medium that likes to keep to keep his secrets on the down low, per se. And Darius does not want to let anyone, especially witches know, that he even exists. He is one of those kind of guys that wants to sleep sound at night.

However, once Georgia turns to Darius, he tries, and tries, but he cannot turn Georgia away. He says to himself, it’s just one case, it can’t change his life. Little does he know…

Now Georgia and Darius must take the San Francisco witching community by storm to determine who it is that is following Georgia, and who is the one who brutally murdered her own coven, and if this person who is now hiding in the San Francisco coven.

Together Georgia and Darius must determine how to solve this, and keep Georgia safe at the same time. Can they do it, and will they keep the San Francisco coven safe at the same time, and keep themselves out of danger as well?

In order to get these answers, and more, you need to read this fabulous five star book yourselves. “Season of the Witch” by Laura Oliva is a wonderful book that will keep you wanting more, and worrying about everyone and their safety as your read it. You will love the twists and turns and the fabulous ending, I promise you. This is a wonderful book that you should give a chance!

Here are my questions for Laura:

1. What made you write this book and how long did it take you?

I introduced Georgia Clare and Darius deCompostela in A World Apart, Book 1 of my Shades Below series. I knew from the jump that there was more to their story than I'd be able to capture in A World Apart, and thus Season Of The Witch was born.

2. I am just curious... Did you make up the last name: deCompostela? If not- where have you heard it before? (You don't want to know what I thought when I first seen the name!!)

Haha, I think I can guess! ;-) No, I didn't come up with it on my own. I remember seeing it somewhere, but I can't for the life of me recall where. Don't you hate it when that happens?

3. Do you have photos or descriptions of your characters?

Always! ((see attached photos))

4. How did Georgia Clare manage to be the lone survivor and witness to her covens brutal massacre? Doesn't that just seen a might bit too lucky or convenient to you?!

Best answer I can think of without giving away spoilers: anytime something seems to good to be true, it usually is. Suffice it to say, if Georgia being the sole survivor of the coven massacre seems odd at face-value, good! That's the whole point.

5. Did you research anything for this book?

I did! I always do quite a bit of settings research, so I visited several of the locations mentioned in the book in person. I also did quite a bit of research on curanderismo, hoodoo, candle magic, demonology, and hellhound lore.

6. What is your favorite kind of stories to write?

I love writing stories that get people thinking. There are a lot of books out there that are super fun to read, but don't really push the reader. I'm not knocking those books- there's a time and a place for them, and I enjoy them immensely- but I want my books to do a bit more. I want to make people question the world around them, their beliefs, their fears, what it means to be good or evil, whether doing monstrous things for moral reasons makes someone a monster.

In short, I love to write stories that make people a little uncomfortable.

7. What are your favorite kind of stories to read?

Pretty much the same as the stories I aspire to write. My favorite stories are multifaceted and complicated. They force me to pull out the darker parts of myself, hold them up to the light and scrutinize the hell out of them. I know it was a good book if I come away from it feeling slightly jarred.

8. What are you currently working on now?

I'm currently working on my second Shades Below short. It's an m/m novella centered around Emil Stone and Misha "Puzzle" Kaslov, two of the secondary characters I introduced in A World Apart. The title is Thicker Than Water, and it's set in New Orleans.

9. What all education have you had?

High school graduate, some college. And, of course, the great school of life. :-)

10. What is your suggestion to someone trying to become a writer?

Stick with it, and don't listen to all the voices telling you what you *should* be doing. (Hint: there may be times when the loudest voice comes from yourself).

11. Please list your book links and social media info:

Stalk Me:

Amazon- http://www.amazon.com/author/lauraoliva

Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/writinginthenight

      

Twitter- https://twitter.com/writermama

Goodreads- https://www.goodreads.com/LauraOlivaBooks

Pinterest- http://www.pinterest.com/authorljkoliva/

YouTube- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbIlibC_pgv-Oa-J4hRW2fA

Websites- http://ljkolivabooks.com

http://writebitches.com

Stalk Shades Below:

A World Apart (Book #1)

US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00UZSTN96

UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00UZSTN96

AU: http://www.amazon.com.au/gp/product/B00UZSTN96

Season Of The Witch (Book #1.5)

US: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0160N4DCQ

UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0160N4DCQ

AU: http://www.amazon.com.au/gp/product/B0160N4DCQ

The Devil's Disease (Book #2)

US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01DN4DZKQ

UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01DN4DZKQ

AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B01DN4DZKQ

12. Anything extra to add:

Thanks again for having me on your blog! And thanks to your readers for hanging out withe me! :-)

Season Of The Witch by L.J.K. Oliva
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

When I seen Laura Oliva advertise this book, I knew I had to read it. I love witchy books, and I also love to read the work of Ms. Oliva. She writes so beautifully, and I can comprehend it. So I knew I just had to have it.

Georgia Clare and Darius deCompostela are back, you should remember them from the book: “A World Apart.”

Georgia Clare is the lone survivor and witness to her own coven’s brutal massacre and since that time, she could feel a hunter was after her. The thing is, San Francisco Covens want nothing to do with her, and yet the one man that she can turn to, low and behold: he doesn’t do witches.

Darius, tries his damndest to avoid these kind of things. He is a private investigator, and a medium that likes to keep to keep his secrets on the down low, per se. And Darius does not want to let anyone, especially witches know, that he even exists. He is one of those kind of guys that wants to sleep sound at night.

However, once Georgia turns to Darius, he tries, and tries, but he cannot turn Georgia away. He says to himself, it’s just one case, it can’t change his life. Little does he know…

Now Georgia and Darius must take the San Francisco witching community by storm to determine who it is that is following Georgia, and who is the one who brutally murdered her own coven, and if this person who is now hiding in the San Francisco coven.

Together Georgia and Darius must determine how to solve this, and keep Georgia safe at the same time. Can they do it, and will they keep the San Francisco coven safe at the same time, and keep themselves out of danger as well? And who know what else exciting can even happen...maybe even a little romance...

In order to get these answers, and more, you need to read this fabulous five star book yourselves. “Season of the Witch” by Laura Oliva is a wonderful book that will keep you wanting more, and worrying about everyone and their safety as your read it. You will love the twists and turns and the fabulous ending, I promise you. This is a wonderful book that you should give a chance!


View all my reviews