Author C.J. Ellisson, Guest Blog and Free e-book!

Please welcome C. J. Ellisson, author of Vampire Vacation!  C. J. and I have been friends on Facebook for some time and finally met in person at A Day of Mystical Bloodlust back in October.  She's written a post on vampires and is offering a free e-book to all commenters in the next forty-eight hours.

Got Vamps?

What is it that attracts us to this creature? I've never stopped to analyze, I've accepted it as a reality.

When you look around at the over-stuffed bookshelves in brick-and-mortar establishments, troll the top sellers at large online retailers, and see the various imprints launched, it truly is a sight to behold. Whether your flavor is horror, light, dark, sexy, romance, crime-solver, or funny—there seems to be a vamp series to please.

I started writing as an escape. I wanted to have fun with it, so I wrote what I liked to read. The piece quickly evolved into an erotic suspense, tinged with humor, a bit of mystery, and a slight skirting of the dark. It doesn't fit into a cookie cutter mold. I'm not sure where it would belong on the shelves.

It would be arrogant to say next to Laurell K. Hamilton, but I can say her storytelling style certainly affected me when I read her work. She's a powerful writer who even though she has taken her series in a direction I'm not thrilled with, I can't deny she is a master in her craft.

What I want to know is what has happened to monogamy in regards to paranormal writing? Why is it the hero or heroine travels most of their path alone and—depending on the genre—may or may not wind up with someone in their lives at the conclusion? Who says you can't have fun in a tale with a team? Man and wife (or wife and wife, you get the drift) fighting against all odds, side by side, never wavering in their devotion to one another?

I hadn't realized when I penned my story I'd be one of the few writers who have married protagonists. Nick and Nora come to mind, so do Bones and Cat, or Amelia and Emerson... but the list is slim.

I wasn't sure if readers would respond to my unique tale with passion, adversity and strong characters. But I'm grateful to say they have. They reach out to me and write incredibly kind words about how they feel about Vivian and Rafe, how the story has moved them, reached them with certain passages, or just plain old turned them on.

Aside from the teasing I get from friends about my red-haired heroine sounding way too much like me, I can say I wouldn't change a thing. This rocky road as a new author has been a twisting, turning journey. Meeting other writers, like Denise, has been the light on the path when things get dark. We support, encourage, and inspire one another.

Have you ever had a dream you weren't sure could possibly come to fruition? In this season of dreams and good deeds, I encourage you to take a chance. The worst thing that can happen is you fail, right? And who among us has never failed? We've lived through it and will continue to—it is not our successes that define us, but our ability to overcome adversity.

Thanks for having me here today, Denise. In the spirit of giving and to show if I can make my dream come true then anyone can, I'd like to offer a free ebook to all commenters on your blog for the next 48 hours, please see below for the blurb. All they need to do is leave their email address and answer me this—what is your favorite flavor of vampire and why?
Wishing you all a very happy holiday season! And may all your dreams come true.

Thanks to you C. J. for your words of wisdom and your generous offer! Please read on for more information on C. J. and her work.

Links: Amazon, C. J.'s Website, Twitter, Wicked Writers, Write in the Shadows, Everything Erotic, C. J.'s Blog

C.J. Ellisson, author of erotic urban fantasy, lives near Washington DC with her husband, two children aged 10 and 8, two Staffordshire Bull Terriers and a young cat she's newly allergic to.



After spending most of her working life dealing with real estate—either as a sales manager in wholesale mortgage banking, corporate trainer, Realtor or as a property manager—she's now writing full time and happy for the first time in years. Writing has become her passion and to find people want to read her stories feels like a dream come true.



You can visit C.J. at her website, on Facebook, Goodreads, or her Amazon author page. She loves hearing from readers, please drop her a line at cj_ellisson@yahoo.com

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Here's a blurb from Vampire Vacation:

Meet Vivian. She’s a 580-year-old vampire who exudes sex, has a talent for drama, and is passionate about two things: her human husband, Rafe, and their resort for the undead. Her ability to project physical illusions has created the perfect vacation spot—a dark, isolated Alaskan hideaway where visitors can have their wildest fantasies come true.

Vivian knows the best performance requires perfect timing, but the powerful vamp is put to the test when she discovers a corpse in a locked guestroom minutes before the next arrivals. Always cool-headed, Rafe hides the body, convinced he and Vivian can find the culprit without disturbing their guests.

Juggling the increasingly outrageous demands of their customers while tracking a killer isn’t easy. Will their poking and prodding give them the answers they need, or will it uncover secrets Vivian would kill to protect?