Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Wednesday's Guest : Sky Purington

It's Wednesday, and even though the Groundhog says spring is just around the corner, it's still Winter around here. Time to heat things up... with a visit from one of my favorite blogging friends, Sky Purington!

I "met" Sky online more than a year ago, and have been a guest on her blog, "A Writer's Mind" twice, promoting each of my books. With the recent release of her new vampire book, Heart of Vesuvius, I thought it was high time I returned the favor ;-)

Today, Sky will introduce herself to you and tell you a bit about what she writes. Tomorrow, she'll give us a few sample tastes from her delicious pair of vampire romances, Darkest Memory and, her latest novel, Heart of Vesuvius.

Let's hear some cyber-applause and warm welcome for paranormal romance writer
Sky Purington!


Katie, it’s so great to be here. Thanks for having me over! For those of you unfamiliar with my work I write a cross genre of paranormal/fantasy romance with a heavy dose of time-travel. From Druids to Scottish Highlanders, I adore all things Celtic and historical. Lately however, I’ve been dabbling far more into the paranormal end of things. Last year I celebrated the release of Darkest Memory and its sequel, Heart of Vesuvius. Both boast sexy, suave international vampires.

In Darkest Memory, you’ll meet Gabriel. Aristocratic to the bone, this English vampire secretly watches over Calah, his American heroine, until the day he has no choice but to reveal himself to her. From there, it’s a whirlwind ride in which the reader travels down a passionate road that includes revisiting Westminster Abbey the night of King Richard’s coronation. While the pages sizzle, in the end…there’s still an enemy out there.

Enter the second story, Heart of Vesuvius. On the run, Gabriel’s sister and fellow vampire, Alexandria flees the nemesis newly infuriated in Darkest Memory. Where does she run for safety? Into the arms of the last man she wants to, ancient and too-hot-for-words Italian vampire Salvator. This time the reader is thrust into an action packed, super-steamy trip into the mountains of Italy. And soon enough, the sleeping beast, Mt. Vesuvius. Might this include a trip into the distant past, more specifically ancient Pompeii? You’ll have to read it to find out!

Writing these stories was great fun. Not only was it my first time dabbling in the vampire realm but it was the first time I left behind my Highland warriors and explored penning about darker characters. After all, the enemies of vampires need be very dark indeed. Honestly, it wasn’t as difficult as I thought it’d be diving into the darker side of one’s mind. I know, kind of scary that! But I’ve always held an odd fascination with vampires and once you’ve knocked around in one of their head’s a bit, writing about an even darker character isn’t much of a stretch. And as in all quality stories, writing about the bad only helps you write better of the good!

Suffice it to say, I’ve now embarked on a new journey. One I’m sure my hostess approves of. I’ve just contracted my first ghost story, The Victorian Lure. But that my friends, will be talked of another time.

As the main focus of my visit at Katie’s blog is to chat about my vampire stories, I welcome questions. Between today and tomorrow, one lucky commenter will be drawn. The prize? Darkest Memory AND Heart of Vesuvius Ebooks!

Interested in winning prizes and finding new romance authors? Pop over to my blog, A Writer’s Mind and join in the fun during my Celts and More Blog Event.

I welcome feedback from readers! Contact me at Sky@SkyPurington.com

Learn more. Visit my Website.

~Sky

27 comments:

  1. Hi, Sky! Thanks for being my guest this week. With all the snow and Arctic weather, we can all use a little heat - looking forward to posting your steamy excerpts tomorrow!

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  2. Hi Katie! I'm running way late to my own blog appearance. Thanks so much for having me over. And I'm with you about a little need for heat! Enough with the snow already!

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  3. Hmm.. Sounds great^^ I would love to read them!!
    melissasanchezdempsey@hotmail.com

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  4. Hi Sky! I love your work. Thank you for telling us about your vampire books... What kind of research did you have to do to write them???

    -Brandy
    brandyzbooks@yahoo.com
    www.brandyzbooks.blogspot.com

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  5. Katie I ment to tell you I really like your blog and i am following you on FB and through google :)

    -Brandy

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  6. Hi, Sky and Melissa! Glad you could make it on this cold, cold day! We're having sunshine on the Cape, but it's still below freezing. Brrr...

    Hi, Brandy! Thanks for stopping by to check out Sky's blog post, and thanks for becoming a follower ;-)

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  7. Hi Katie and Sky.
    Great blog! I really enjoy reading books about both vampires and highlanders and will definately have to check out your books.

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  8. I do love vampires and ghosts! I'll have to learn more about that new book of yours, too.

    So have you been the England or Italy? If so, where did your travels lead you? If it was a virtual tour. lol What books or websites did you access for your back story?

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  9. Brandy, you are so sweet. Thank you! Let's see, with Darkest Memory the research mainly revolved around learning more about British history, especially the medieval period. As I spent SO much time researching medieval Scotland for my previous trilogy, it wasn't too much of a jump. I have to admit though, discovering that a bat flew around King Richard's head the eve of his coronation at Westminter Abbey really was good fodder for a vampire tale!

    As to the research behind Heart of Vesuvius, that was all about learning more about ancient Italy and most specifically the day Mt. Vesuvius erupted. Grim reading but had to be done. I'm actually going into more details specifically on the research behind this book (inc. the numerology involved) this Friday at Skhye's Ramblings (Skhye Moncrief's blog) so feel free to swing in if you'd like to learn even more! :)

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  10. Thanks Chris! Mmm, gotta love those Highlanders too. ;)

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  11. Karen, thanks for joining us!

    Yes, I've been to England and Italy. Both were absolutely incredible. I'd say my favorite part of England were all the old castles. Just the feeling you get walking through them. And as a writer, let's just say the imagination all but takes off!

    To this day, my all time favorite place in the world is Venice, Italy. The feeling there is just so 'old world.' The century old buildings, the people, their customs. It is utterly romantic. (Yep, even took a gondola ride...and they all sing in Italian while rowing...sighs)I couldn't help but write an Italian hero into one of my stories.

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  12. Hello Sky dear friend,

    Congratulations on the release of 'Heart of Vesuvius'. Its definitely on my 'wish list'. I'm in the middle of reading 'Darkest Memory and I love it. It's hauntingly evocative, and the characters are so compelling. I have to promise myself a chapter every time I complete a good chunk of revision, or I'd never get my current WIP finished. I love the way you create the atmosphere in your writing, and draw us right into the story.

    (By the way, if you're ever in the UK again, the castles in Wales are pretty impressive too! :) )

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  13. Hi ladies!! Great post!!! Just wanted to pop in and Say Hi!!! :O)

    *waving madly at you Sky!*
    Andrea :O)

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  14. Hi Sky,

    I want to tell you how much I love your white hair. It's so lovely and very becoming on you.

    Janice~

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  15. Hi Sky,

    Your travels to Italy and England sound amazing. Congrats on the new release!

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  16. Lyn, thanks for joining us my friend! I'm so glad you're enjoying Darkest Memory. I had fun writing that one. :)

    And you bet when I get back to the UK I'll check out the castles in Wales too. They must be amazing!!!

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  17. *Waves madly back at Andrea!!!* TY for stopping in!

    (((Big Cyberhugs)))

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  18. *blushes* Thank you so much, Janice! What a nice thing to say. :)

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  19. Thanks Mariposa! I'm really hoping to return one of these days. This time Scotland's first on the list!

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  20. I'm a little late getting here but wouldn't miss it. Sky , you know I love your work and I'll be swinging over for the Celtic event at your blog as well. These Vampire stories are already on my TRL.
    Carol L
    Lucky4750@aol.com

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  21. You are a gem, Carol! Always great when you join the party! Ok, gotta ask...who's that in the pic you're using for your profile? *Sky narrows eyes* Looks mighty familiar.

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  22. It's actually Elvis when he played in a movie called Charro. I love the way he looked in that movie. :) Can you tell. lol
    Carol L.

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  23. Wow, I didn't even recognize him! Nice. :)

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  24. Thanks for awnsering Sky. You do sooo much, I love historicals of all kinds and I am always amazed at the amount of work that goes into it. I will check out Skhye's Ramblings today so I can learn more!!!

    -Brandy
    brandyzbooks@yahoo.com
    www.brandyzbooks.blogspot.com

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