Bloodborn
Bloodborn Series Book 1
by Sydney Winward
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Adam Degore's personal need to find a cure for vampirism drives him to ensnare a vampire, but the
creature he captures is Dracula's daughter. Worse yet, he's drawn to her—a monster he's vowed to kill.
Despite her father's wishes, Willow chooses to live among humans instead of the vampire conclave
where she would be safe. She wants a life filled with more than shadows. Being captured by a human,
not to mention falling in love with one, is not part of her plan.
With vampires and blood hunters closing in on their chosen prey, Adam and Willow need to trust one
another. But will that trust come in time for them to survive and find a future together?
Book Trailer
Sydney Winward was born with an artistic brain and a love of discovery for new talents. From drawing to
sewing to music, she has loved to explore every opportunity that comes her way. At a young age,
Sydney discovered her love of writing and wrote her first book at twelve years old, and since then, she
hasn't been able to stop writing. Her active imagination and artistic mind take her away to different worlds
and time periods, making every new story a fantastic adventure. When she is not writing (or fawning over
animals in the neighborhood) she spends time with her husband and children at home in Utah.
GUEST POST
Jesper Degore: He’s a vampire. He’s frightening and can be ruthless. He’s driven by his duties as the new vampire king, and thinks of little else except his work. He’s convinced he’s not able to fall in love, that his heart is only filled with cobwebs and echoes.
What
are you currently reading?
I’ve
been devouring the Throne of Glass Series by Sarah J. Maas. I just
finished the fourth in the series, and I am in love with the
characters, the writing style, and the plot. Chaol is my absolute
favorite character. He had a few annoying moments in Queen of
Shadows, but by the end, I loved him again. I definitely recommend
this series to anyone who hasn’t read it, and I also recommend her
other series, A Court of Thorns and Roses.
Do
you have any “side stories” about the characters?
Each
book in the Bloodborn series can be considered a side story, just
about different characters. The order goes as follows (and yes, all
paranormal romance!):
1.
Bloodborn: The first in the series about Willow Ardelean and Adam
Degore.
2.
Bloodbond: The second in the series about Zachariah Degore and Laurel
Covaci.
3.
Bloodbane: The third in the series about Oriel Covaci (Laurel’s
brother) and Cosette Dragomir).
4.
Still untitled, can’t for the life of me figure out what to call
it: The fourth in the series about Luca Dragomir (Cosette’s
youngest brother and Laurel’s old flame) and Kirsa Frey (daughter
of the dwarven chieftain).
5.
Bloodscourge: The fifth in the series. This book takes place a
thousand years before Bloodborn, and it’s about Dracula and
Elisabeta.
6.
Blood Heir: The sixth in the series, and the one I’m currently
working on, about Jesper (Dracula’s grandson) and Alavara (a dark
elf princess).
Do
you have a favorite movie?
I
have several that I consider 10s on a scale from 1-10.
Little
Women (the old one as well as the one that just came out in 2019)
Stardust
(I’ve never laughed so hard at a movie in my life!)
How
to Train Your Dragon (all three movies)
Mission
Impossible: Fallout
Cinderella
Live Action
Spiderman:
Far From Home
How
do you find time to write as a parent?
Time
to write? What’s that? Haha, but seriously. I have a 2-year-old and
a 4-month-old, and there doesn’t seem to be a spare moment in the
day. My toddler suddenly decided to stop taking naps, and we’re in
the midst of sleep training the baby. When the baby naps, I stick my
toddler in front of the tv. Did I ever think I would be one of those
parents? Heck no! But you gotta do what you gotta do to maintain a
little bit of sanity. I think my soul would die if I never had any
time to write, so I somehow manage to squish it into my schedule
throughout the day.
What
are some of your pet peeves?
1.
Losing something. I will tear my entire house apart to find it. I
will go to Valhalla and back just to locate it again. What if I’m
late for something? Doesn’t matter. I must find it or I will go
absolutely berserk.
2.
Getting my hair pulled. It doesn’t matter if it gets caught in a
tent zipper, pulled by a toddler, or anything else. If you pull my
hair, you will die.
3. A messy house. This one doesn’t make sense because I am a super messy person.
3. A messy house. This one doesn’t make sense because I am a super messy person.
4.
The sun in my eyes. I can be in a happy mood one moment, and then the
next I will want to strangle someone if the sun is in my eyes,
whether while driving, in the reflection of my abnormally shiny
kitchen floor, or glaring back at me in the snow.
What
are your top 10 favorite books/authors?
1.
The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson
2.
Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson
3.
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
4.
A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas
5.
Throne of Glass Series by Sarah J. Maas
6.
Miss Kane’s Christmas by Caroline Mickelson
7.
Edenbrooke by Julianne Donaldson
8.
Hope Springs Series by Sarah Eden
9.
Friends and Foes by Sarah Eden
10.
To be determined
Do
you read yourself and if so what is your favorite genre?
I
love reading. I’m not a very fast reader, but I do set a Goodreads
yearly reading goal. This year’s goal is at 25 books. Hopefully I
will be able to reach my goal, as I didn’t reach last year’s goal
:( But I was closeish! 20/25 last year and I’m hoping to do better
this year.
Some
of my favorite books to read are in the fantasy/paranormal
categories. Vampires. Witches. Shapeshifters. Dragons. Oh, and
ROMANCE! It’s not an absolute requirement for the books I read to
be romantic, but I do live for the cute.
Are
your characters based off real people or did they all come entirely
from your imagination?
They
come straight from my imagination. So don’t worry, Mom! Any
likeness to any of my characters if purely coincidental.
Advice
they would give new authors?
Make
each chapter count. If it doesn’t further the story, if it just
adds more unnecessary words to your story, then take it out! The
common pitfalls I see with new writers are as follows:
1.
Adding scenes to their stories that don’t make sense or don’t
need to be there.
2.
Switching back and forth between past tense and present tense.
3.
Adding too many dialogue tags.
4.
Writing with passive voice.
Do
you believe in writer’s block?
Not
at all. If the story or the scene or even the sentence isn’t
coming, then SKIP IT! You can always come back to it. Either that, or
trudge through it. I love the quote “You can always edit a bad
page. You can’t edit a blank page.”
Tell
us something really interesting that's happened to you!
I
used to ride TRAX to my college every day, and one morning, I saw
this man standing up with a large soda in his hand, the plastic kind
you get from Del Taco. I thought to myself, “That guy is going to
drop his soda.” I forgot about him and turned back to my book. A
couple minutes later, I heard a giant splash
and looked up to see soda all over the ground.
What
is something unique/quirky about you?
I
have a “rollerblading gang”. When we were teenagers, the four of
us would go on rollerblading trips across the city. Sometimes to the
wetlands, other times to the library, and plenty of times we’d go
out late at night when most of the city was asleep. We all still
rollerblade ten years later.
What
did you edit out of this book?
There
was a part where Adam Degore was trying to woo Willow in order to get
something he wanted, but I decided that it was completely against his
character to even attempt to woo. I tore out the whole scene and
rewrote it from scratch.
What
does your writing process look like?
I
am what they call a plotster (somewhere in between a pantser and a
plotter). I have a basic outline in my head, though I never write it
down. And then I write. And then it all comes together nicely in the
end. Hey, if it works, it works, right?
What
are you currently working on?
So
I had five books written in the Bloodborn Series, the first of which
is published and the second is coming out soon. I was in the process
of writing a story about a princess and a druid with magic and
dragons, but then the idea for #6 in the Bloodborn Series hit me like
a brick. I tried my HARDEST to ignore the call of the book because I
needed to finish my druid story. But the pressure built and built
until I couldn’t handle it anymore. I opened a new document, and
the story just exploded. I’m two weeks into the explosion and I’ve
already written 25,000 words. The story was desperate to get out, and
I’m absolutely in LOVE.
What
is it about?
In
the very first chapter, Dracula (the king of vampires) is killed in
battle, and his grandson, Jesper, inherits the throne. Within the
first month of his rule, he finds five armies on his doorstep, and
after the battle when Dracula had fallen, the city wasn’t ready for
another war. He is forced into a treaty to take the daughter of the
elven king as his mate, but little does he know that she has deadly
plans of her own. There is more at stake than just his heart… Or is
there? An iron dagger can do a lot of damage after all.
Who
are the characters?
Jesper Degore: He’s a vampire. He’s frightening and can be ruthless. He’s driven by his duties as the new vampire king, and thinks of little else except his work. He’s convinced he’s not able to fall in love, that his heart is only filled with cobwebs and echoes.
Alavara
Elroris: Daughter of the elven king. He has honed her since birth to
be a deadly assassin. Stealthy as shadows. Quick with her knives. She
can take down eight male vampires without any weapons using her
knowledge of the body’s weak points.
What
is your most favorite character to write in Bloodborn?
I
had a lot of fun writing Adam Degore because he’s so serious and
his knowledge of herbs and how they can hurt or kill someone is
entertaining.
I
also loved writing Zachariah Degore (Adam’s younger brother). He’s
been a feral vampire for half of his life, and he has to relearn what
it means to actually live his life rather than waste away in a dark
cellar. The second book in the Bloodborn Series is about Zachariah
and his journey of self-discovery. Oh, and don’t forget the
romance! He’s determined that his first love be his only love.
5
Things Adam Degore Can’t Live Without
1.
A weapon. Doesn’t matter what kind. Sword, dagger, nails. Heck, he
could probably even kill someone with a twig if he was determined
enough.
2.
A second weapon. In case the first weapon doesn’t work. But of
course, he’d need to conceal this one. In his boot. Beneath his
armor. Maybe even inside his glove. You can never be too careful.
3.
His horse. Doesn’t have a name. Doesn’t need one. The blood
hunter brand on the creature’s shoulder speaks for itself. If you
steal his horse, he will hunt you down.
4.
Several reliable herbs. Violet brittlebrush to knock a man out.
Wolfsbane to stop lycanthropy just in case. Perhaps even a few
healing herbs. Being a blood hunter is dangerous work after all.
5.
His brother. Everything he has done up until this point has been for
his brother. Becoming a blood hunter. Dedicating his life to hunting
dark creatures. If only saving him was within his own reach.
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