Author's Message

One of the fun things about writing paranormal romance or urban fantasy is that you get to make things up. (Well, duh. All writers of fiction make things up.) But the paranormal and fantasy genres allow the writer to expand the boundaries of our world or even invent new and different worlds… and fun for the writer means fun for the reader, too.

I wrote Sunrise in a Garden of Love and Evil several years ago, right after reading Dracula. I loved Dracula. From the moment I finished it—well, more like halfway through—I knew I wanted to write a vampire story. But no way, no way, were my vampires going to be just like Dracula or, for that matter, like any of the (admittedly not very many) vampire novels I had read. I wasn’t really trying to be different; I just knew what I did and didn’t like.

First off, I’m not crazy about the undead thing. It always seemed to me that undead people would have bad breath. Is that romantic? Um, I don’t think so. And, it’s not just their breath; generally speaking, I figured they might not smell too appealing. Now, if someone else writes about undead people and says they smell great, I have no problem believing it and enjoying the story…but I can’t write them. Then there’s the issue of immortality. I’m not going to tackle the difficulties of mortals falling in love with immortals, maybe because I can’t see a solution that works for me. Again, I’ve read some great stories that handle it well, but try writing one? No. Last of all, because I’m ninety-nine percent a morning person, I didn’t want my hero or heroine to be out only at night.

What I did like was the sexiness of vampires. The irresistible allure. The fangs. I think fangs are incredibly cool. And hot! Also, blood doesn’t bother me at all; blood is strong and vital and red (my favorite color), so a vampire’s craving for blood was definitely ‘in’. I also like the other kinds of perks that paranormal beings often possess, such as abnormal physical strength, acute hearing and sense of smell (especially for blood and pheromones, in the case of sexy vamps), and excellent night vision. So (since I’m not a biologist, and couldn’t put up a good argument against the idea), I decided my vampires would be the result of a genetic mutation. This was fun for me not only because it (probably unscientifically) not only let me explain the vampires, but it also opened the door for paranormal characters with other mutations. They’re getting stranger with each book; the hero of the second book in the series (Tastes of Love and Evil, which will be out in late August) can literally vanish into the woodwork; the hero of the third (as yet untitled and largely unwritten) story has terrifying telepathic abilities.

Last came the setting. I decided to set my stories near New Orleans, because I’ve spent quite a bit of time in south Louisiana, an area that fits the vampire vibe extremely well (with this, many other writers agree). My vampire heroine, Ophelia Beliveau, lives in a funky little town called Bayou Gavotte, which is famous for its fetish clubs. I have no clue where that idea came from, but it’s been very entertaining writing about those clubs!

Since Ophelia was not only alive but up in the daytime, I decided to make her a landscaper. I have to confess that this is vicarious competence. If I can’t do something, at least I can imagine doing it. Much as I love plants, I can’t garden worth beans, so why not make my heroine a master gardener?

Next, I started thinking about what it would be like to be irresistible. Not fun! Imagine being hit on by every guy and his uncle and being pestered (or worse) by obsessive boyfriends. Ophelia gets so sick of fighting them off that she gives up on men… but wait! She’s a vampire! She doesn’t need sex or blood to survive, but life is really hard without them. Blood and sex are a much-needed tranquilizer as well as one of the great joys of a vampire’s life. Poor Ophelia is stuck doing without, but being chronically horny just makes her even more irresistible. What’s a girl to do?

Fortunately, someone vandalizes her garden and threatens her life. Yes, I do mean fortunately, because she calls the police, and into her life walks a hunky cop, Gideon O’Toole. That’s where Sunrise in a Garden of Love and Evil begins. I had a blast writing it, and I hope you enjoy reading it.