Guest Post with Author Nina Croft and Giveaway

Hi everyone. Today I would like to welcome to the blog author Nina Croft. Nina is currently on tour promoting the release of her book Deadly Pursuit. So if you would all please give Nina a nice warm welcome.

The Lure of the Vampire…

I love writing about anything speculative—you can let your imagination run wild and as long as you stick to the rules of your particular world, absolutely anything can happen. But while I write about all nature of supernatural beings, I have to admit that vampires are my all time favorite.

So what is the lure of the vampire? Why do I go back to them time after time as both a reader and a writer?

Here are a few things that come to my mind. Then I’ll concentrate on the one that really speaks to me.

• Anne Rice—I think my love affair with vampires began with Anne Rice’s Lestat.
• For me, vampires are the ultimate bad boys—and I love a bad-boy hero.
• They’re dark and they’re dangerous
• The Lost Boys—Keifer Sutherland was just sooo bad.
• Big teeth—I like the whole teeth and biting thing, though I’m not sure why, and it’s probably best not to look too closely.
• They tend to be loners—and being a bit of a loner myself, I find this rather attractive.
• They’re always inhumanely gorgeous. I mean always (well maybe I just don’t notice the ugly ones).
• They don’t age—how cool is that—no wrinkles and sagging bits. Ever.
• I love bats—my professor at university was one of the world’s experts in all things batty, and he passed along a lot of his enthusiasm to his students—they are fabulous animals.
• And finally, vampires get to live forever.

The subject of immortality has always intrigued me and is in fact the underlying theme running through my current sci-fi/paranormal Blood Hunter series, which looks at man’s fear of death, and his search for immortality.

The truth is, I don’t want to die (ask me again in a few thousand years and I might change my mind), and I’m sure many people feel the same. So, the thing that fascinates me the most about vampires is their immortality. Of course, some people might argue that vampires aren’t actually immortal, because they’re dead. But I reckon dead is a state of mind. And Rico, the vampire hero of BREAK OUT, book one in the series is about as alive as they come. He also incorporates all those traits I find so appealing in vampires.

Born in the Middle Ages on Earth, Rico has embraced the whole idea of immortality, though he’s had to accept a few hard truths along the way. Mainly, that getting close to mortals can break you, and that boredom is the worst danger an immortal can face. But why should Rico get bored? After all, there’s a whole universe out there just waiting to be explored.

The series follows the adventures of the crew of the space ship El Cazador, and although each story follows the romance of a different member of the crew, Rico, as owner and pilot, plays a big part in all the books (and has a tendency to try and take over).

Book two, DEADLY PURSUIT, follows on from Break Out, and is the story of Al, the cabin ‘boy’ and Jon the newest member of the crew, who also happens to be a werewolf. Rico’s not too happy about sharing his ship with a ‘dog’ and makes his displeasure very clear.

So does immortality appeal to you? Or is there something else which draws you to a vampire hero? Or are you one of those strange people who don’t like vampires—maybe you find werewolves more attractive? And if so—why? Let me know for a chance to win an ecopy of Deadly Pursuit.

Breaking assassin Jonathon Decker out of a maximum security prison on Trakis One seemed like a good idea at the time. Now, pursued across space by the two most powerful factions in the universe, the crew of El Cazador are having second thoughts. They’d like to give him back. Unfortunately, that no longer seems an option.

Jon is used to working alone. Now, he’s stuck on the space cruiser El Cazador until he can work out just what he’s supposed to know that puts him on everybody’s most-wanted-dead list. He’s not happy that the crew includes a runaway priestess with designs on his virtue—such as it is. Jon likes women, but he gave up the role of protector a long time ago, and Alexia, High Priestess of the Church of Everlasting Life, is an accident waiting to happen.

After twenty-four excruciatingly boring years of doing her duty, Alex is finally having some fun. She never meant to run away—it was a rash impulse—and she means to go back—eventually. But first, she’s going to squeeze enough excitement out of the situation to last her a lifetime. And what could be more exciting than a stunningly gorgeous werewolf?

Meanwhile, the Church are chasing their missing priestess, and the Collective are pursuing their escaped assassin. Being hunted has never been more deadly…or more fun.

Places to purchase:

| Amazon | Barnes & Noble | 

**Author Info**

Nina Croft grew up in the north of England. After training as an accountant, she spent four years working as a volunteer in Zambia which left her with a love of the sun and a dislike of 9-5 work. She then spent a number of years mixing travel (whenever possible) with work (whenever necessary) but has now settled down to a life of writing and picking almonds on a remote farm in the mountains of southern Spain.

Nina’s writing mixes romance with elements of the paranormal and science fiction.

Places to find Nina:

| Site | Facebook | Twitter |

**Giveaway**

As Nina stated above, one lucky commenter will win a eBook copy of Deadly Pursuit. So make sure to leave a comment and to fill out the Rafflecopter form.