SS: Today I'd like to welcome author Katrina Haney to the blog! Thanks for being here with us today. Why don't you start by telling us a little about
yourself .
KH: Well,
I'm retired, I'm 72, I'm a widow, and writing this book has fulfilled a
lifelong dream. I live in central Florida with a ton of family, including 2
great-grandchildren and a passel of cats. I have had several careers in my
life, including family and children counseling, and database programming.
SS: Well I might be a little biased but I love the genre you picked to start out writing in. LOL. What got you into writing?
KH: As
I mentioned, it's always been a lifelong dream. But what actually got me
started was writing fan-fiction for the tv show, "Supernatural." When
I started getting good reviews from that, I realized that I really could write
a book. But I actually got started as a ghost writer, and when I was about
halfway through with this book I fell in love with it and negotiated with my
client to keep this one.
SS: Ghost writing seems like a hard profession to be in. You do all the work and then someone else gets all the credit. I am glad you were able to keep your story. Katrina would you be willing to share a short excerpt from
your novel with us today?
Humans had the wrong idea
about vampires. Of course, humans also thought they weren’t actually real. Most
vampires were happy to keep it that way. But there were some out there who
didn’t care about what their fellow vampires wanted. They did what they wanted
themselves. Unfortunately, that often meant exposing themselves to humans,
though that was usually right before they killed them.
Humans thought all vampires were evil killers out to drink their blood. This was patently untrue. Vampires were basically like humans, just a different species of biped. They blended into the human community mostly seamlessly. They worked with humans, were friends with humans, and sometimes intermarried with humans. But they also had their own society. And like humans, most were basically good people, but some were not.
So vampires policed themselves just as humans did. And Jason Westlake was a captain in the VPF, or Vampire Police Force. Hardly an original or clever name, but it got the job done. Jason would get intel from headquarters and then his unit would act on it.
Besides policing their own kind, the VPF also policed other species, the other kinds of things that humans considered monsters. This included species like werewolves, shapeshifters, and especially demons. The werefolk, like the vampires, also policed themselves, but sometimes the VPF was more suited for the take down, or vice versa, perhaps because of proximity. There was a shaky but civil degree of cooperation between the “Monster Forces.”
Jason always had to smile whenever his thoughts ran along the lines of human thinking. He didn’t really think of himself as a monster. He was a good person. Different from humans sure, but not evil, not bad. So what made vampires different from humans? Mainly it was the blood. Vampires need to drink blood to survive. But it didn’t have to be human blood. Mostly, they drank blood from each other. Mated couples were fiercely monogamous regarding the drinking of blood. Some vamps had human companions, whose blood they drank.
But it was against vampire law to drink the blood of a human without consent. And even though they had the ability to erase the contact from the human’s mind, it was not an acceptable thing to do. Vampires were also sensitive to bright sunlight, and either avoided it, if possible, protected themselves with specially made sun cream, or simply overdressed for protection when there was no other choice. But they weren’t “creatures of the night.” Most of them lived and worked during the day.
Vampires also had some abilities that humans didn’t. They were hardier, stronger and faster than humans, and they had psychic abilities that varied from one to another. As a species they could do a bit of mind reading here and there, and of course, there was the blinking. Vampires had the ability to blink themselves to somewhere else.
So what was the downside to being a vampire? That would be the bloodlust. It was against vampire law to drink human blood without permission, but they all craved it. It was a constant struggle to keep from biting humans, some more than others. And that was putting it mildly. Constant struggle hardly described the physical pain and the mental anguish that vampires had to deal with whenever humans were around. Human blood was the strongest, the most nourishing, and the most pleasurable to drink.
So why did they put themselves through all that? That answer was simple too. Vampires had evolved over the centuries, and the vast majority of them didn’t want to be monsters. They wanted to live, work, and play like humans did, with humans. They wanted normality. But like all races, vampires had their bad guys.
This was where Jason’s unit came in. It was their job to track down and eliminate the rogue vampires, the killers, the bad guys. Their success rate so far was the best in the force, country wide. So it wasn’t a surprise to Jason when his unit got hand-picked by the high council of police chiefs to handle this very special assignment.
A human girl had been taken by demons. And it was now Jason’s responsibility to get her back.
Humans thought all vampires were evil killers out to drink their blood. This was patently untrue. Vampires were basically like humans, just a different species of biped. They blended into the human community mostly seamlessly. They worked with humans, were friends with humans, and sometimes intermarried with humans. But they also had their own society. And like humans, most were basically good people, but some were not.
So vampires policed themselves just as humans did. And Jason Westlake was a captain in the VPF, or Vampire Police Force. Hardly an original or clever name, but it got the job done. Jason would get intel from headquarters and then his unit would act on it.
Besides policing their own kind, the VPF also policed other species, the other kinds of things that humans considered monsters. This included species like werewolves, shapeshifters, and especially demons. The werefolk, like the vampires, also policed themselves, but sometimes the VPF was more suited for the take down, or vice versa, perhaps because of proximity. There was a shaky but civil degree of cooperation between the “Monster Forces.”
Jason always had to smile whenever his thoughts ran along the lines of human thinking. He didn’t really think of himself as a monster. He was a good person. Different from humans sure, but not evil, not bad. So what made vampires different from humans? Mainly it was the blood. Vampires need to drink blood to survive. But it didn’t have to be human blood. Mostly, they drank blood from each other. Mated couples were fiercely monogamous regarding the drinking of blood. Some vamps had human companions, whose blood they drank.
But it was against vampire law to drink the blood of a human without consent. And even though they had the ability to erase the contact from the human’s mind, it was not an acceptable thing to do. Vampires were also sensitive to bright sunlight, and either avoided it, if possible, protected themselves with specially made sun cream, or simply overdressed for protection when there was no other choice. But they weren’t “creatures of the night.” Most of them lived and worked during the day.
Vampires also had some abilities that humans didn’t. They were hardier, stronger and faster than humans, and they had psychic abilities that varied from one to another. As a species they could do a bit of mind reading here and there, and of course, there was the blinking. Vampires had the ability to blink themselves to somewhere else.
So what was the downside to being a vampire? That would be the bloodlust. It was against vampire law to drink human blood without permission, but they all craved it. It was a constant struggle to keep from biting humans, some more than others. And that was putting it mildly. Constant struggle hardly described the physical pain and the mental anguish that vampires had to deal with whenever humans were around. Human blood was the strongest, the most nourishing, and the most pleasurable to drink.
So why did they put themselves through all that? That answer was simple too. Vampires had evolved over the centuries, and the vast majority of them didn’t want to be monsters. They wanted to live, work, and play like humans did, with humans. They wanted normality. But like all races, vampires had their bad guys.
This was where Jason’s unit came in. It was their job to track down and eliminate the rogue vampires, the killers, the bad guys. Their success rate so far was the best in the force, country wide. So it wasn’t a surprise to Jason when his unit got hand-picked by the high council of police chiefs to handle this very special assignment.
A human girl had been taken by demons. And it was now Jason’s responsibility to get her back.
SS: This is what I love about books. Even though there can be so many books in a particular genre, each one seems to have a fresh take or something I haven't thought of. Katrina when you pick up a book, do you prefer: print
books or ebooks?
KH: All
my life I collected books. I love having shelves full of books. However, at my
age, reading a physical book is hard, and so I now prefer ebooks.
SS: Ebooks are becoming more and more popular these days. I sell more ebooks then print books. I love that there are choices out there for readers. If you could travel anywhere
in the world where would you go and why?
KH: I
would go to England, because I've done a lot of my family history research, and
many of my ancestors came from there as far back as the pilgrim era. But I
would also want to go to Sicily, because my other grandparents came from there.
SS: I love doing family history. You can find out so much you didn't know about where you come from. Currently, what are you
working on?
KH: The
sequel to blood rage for one, and I am also in the process of converting one of
my fan-fictions into a generic book that I can publish.
SS: I am a big fan of series. One book is never enough for me. Will you tell us a little bit about
your main characters?
KH: My
main characters are Jason and Jordan Westlake, who are vampires, and are a part
of the Vampire Police Force. A 12 year old girl goes missing and has been
kidnapped by demons, and the unit is tasked to rescue her, This brings them to
her mother, Lindsey Stevens, and this creates a love triangle.
SS: Katrina, how did you decide on what
to title each book?
KH: That
was the easiest part. As soon as I came on the idea of the Blood Rage, that had
to become the title.
SS: Titles are always the hardest part for me. I want them to be perfect. It can be a back and forth battle coming up with just the right words to grab the readers attention and still convey some idea of what the story is about. Share something with us not a lot of people know about you.
KH: When
I was in high school I was bullied, and thought I was ugly. A few years ago I
came upon my high school yearbook, and was shocked to discover that I was
actually very pretty. Too bad I didn't know that then.
SS: That's horrible. I am so sorry you had to go through that. I am so glad today that bullying is getting more attention. Even Burger King just put out a video on bullying. Hopefully with more attention being brought to this important issue, less people will have to go through what you did. Is this a stand-alone novel
or part of a series?
KH: It's
the first in a series.
SS: Katrina, who designed the artwork for
your cover? Or did you design it yourself?
KH: I
did that myself.
SS: I have an amazingly talented editor, who designed my first cover. But I have decided to try my hand at designing the cover to my second book. It is a very intimidating task for someone who doesn't have a lot of creativity in their system. What brought about the idea
for your book?
KH: As
I mentioned, this started out as a ghost writing assignment. The client said
she wanted a paranormal love triangle. I have no idea how the first chapter
came to me, nor did I know most of the time where the story was going. It just
developed as I went along.
SS: Do you have any hobbies aside
from writing, if any?
KH: I
have a lot of hobbies, actually. Besides writing, I create fan-fiction videos,
research my family history, and I'm a graphics designer.
SS: Since you wrote in this
genre, do you think you will ever write in other genres?
KH: Oh
yes. I am also writing a romance novel that takes place at Princeton
University.
SS: Any last words?
KH: Yes.
First, I want to thank you for having me. Second, I am planning on having the
Kindle edition free on Black Friday. The paperback version would make a great
gift for your paranormal family and friends. I also invite you to visit my
Blood Rage site, where I have pictures of my characters, book trailers, and
other information.
Thanks for sharing with us today Katrina. Happy Reading!!
Author Website
Novel Website
Facebook
(I'm not much for participating in social media. I do try, but there just isn't much time for that)
Novel Website
(I'm not much for participating in social media. I do try, but there just isn't much time for that)
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