Liza Street's Blog: not your grandma's romantic fiction, page 6
August 11, 2020
Why I Love Vampires
There are so many reasons vampires are popular, I’ll never be able to list them all. However, I can come up with a few key reasons of why I love the bloodsuckers, so let’s get to it. 
1. Vampires can be either creepy AF or sexy AF.
From Bram Stoker’s Dracula to Laurell K. Hamilton’s Jean-Claude to LJ Smith’s Damon to Joss Whedon’s Spike (okay, fine, and Angel), vampires can really run the gamut. They can be totally horrific and disgusting, or just…misunderstood, sexy bad boys (siiiiigh, Damon). I like books and films to have a little bit of both–scary vampires and sexy vampires.
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2. They bring instant tension to any situation.
Whether that tension comes from their unholy thirst, the danger they present, or the power dynamic of their strength versus that of mere mortals, when a vampire enters a scene, you know things are going to get good.
3. Bite me, baby.
Even the creepy vampires can hold a certain allure. A vampire’s bite can carry with it the bliss of pain or the vulnerability of becoming prey, or perhaps the power of a sacrifice. A hero or heroine might donate their blood, or a vampire might take it without asking.
4. Flexible rules.
Vampires are creatures of lore and they aren’t real (the vampires paid me to say that–they don’t want me to give away their secret), so anything goes. If you want your vampires to sparkle, go for it! (But don’t get put out when people laugh.) Some authors and screenwriters might come up with very complex rules for how new vampires are made. Some vampires might be invisible in mirrors, or allergic to garlic, or maybe they’ll happily guzzle holy water to shock onlookers. It’s a blast figuring these things out when falling into a new vampire world.
5. You can find them anywhere.
Vampires have existed in lore for centuries, which means any place you feel like putting them in a story, they can go! Renaissance Italy; Forks, Washington; outer space (why not?); the wild west–all and more are up for grabs. I wrote my first wild west vampire in Savage Thirst back in 2017, although I quickly fast-forwarded her to the present day. Recently, I wrote Blood Bounty, which is set in the wild west, and there are vampires everywhere! (Incidentally, the heroines in both of these books are named Gracie. This was an accident. I must really like that name.)
Speaking of Blood Bounty, it’s in the vampire Story Bundle, Beyond Twilight, and there are only two days left to grab the bundle! Name your price and get up to ELEVEN fang-tastic vampire books! Tap the image below to visit the page.
August 4, 2020
Fabulous Giveaways and News
There is soooo much going on! I don’t even know where to start. Let’s start with a new book release!
Forever in Forbidden is out now on Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo!
Tap the cover for the universal link. Forever in Forbidden will only be available on these retailers for about a week, so don’t wait!
Second, here some giveaways and book fairs where you can find new books and enter to win awesome things. Tap the images to go to the giveaways.
Vampire Mystery Box – LAST DAY TO ENTER
[image error]Don’t forget to snag your Story Bundle by clicking here!
Shifters Gone Wild Giveaway
[image error]Be sure to pre-order your copy of the book by clicking here.
July Paranormal Releases
[image error]Make sure you didn’t miss anything last month!
July 28, 2020
Beyond Twilight – A Vampire StoryBundle
Sharpen your stakes and grab your holy water–we have a collection of ELEVEN vampire books that will take us beyond Twilight! From the wild, wild west to college campuses, from evil vampiric monsters to battles with gods, this Story Bundle is sure to please anyone who loves our immortal fanged friends.
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Our books are Team Edward, but we’re donating to Team Jacob. The authors and StoryBundle have partnered with the Southern Ohio Wolf Sanctuary, which saves wolf dogs from euthanasia and nurses them back to health. Wolf dogs that are able to be adopted out find homes, otherwise the sanctuary provides care for the life of the wolf. Currently they’re working to buy several thousand acres for their wolf dogs.
Click here to grab this bundle. It’s up for a limited time, so don’t wait!
July 21, 2020
Recent Reads – July 2020
Oh, I’ve been on a contemporary romance tear! Only one of these is paranormal romance, but wooooo is it awesome! I fully enjoyed all five of these books and can highly recommend them.
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Crown of Frost , by Isabella August (paranormal romance with kickass faeries)
Wicked Favor , by Sawyer Bennett (erotic romance)
The Dare , by Elle Kennedy (contemporary/sports romance)
Going Down on One Knee, by Christina Hovland (contemporary romance. Note: Amazon only, sorry!)
Part-Time Lover , by Lauren Blakely (contemporary romance)
To see more of what I’m reading and recommending, give me a follow on BookBub! (They’ll also alert you to when my books are on sale or newly released, so it’s just chock-full of booky goodness.)
July 14, 2020
Filthy Wolf is Available Now!
Aaaahhhh I love this couple, you guys! Marcus and Jessica are just so funny and sweet and sexy together. I had the best time writing their dialogue.
It wasn’t just Jessica’s question that had sent Marcus running—it was her scent, her smile, her curves. It didn’t matter that she was in the Junkyard against her will, by a total accident. He wanted her.
And fuck if that didn’t make him an even worse person than he’d felt before.
A helpless human woman was trapped in the Junkyard and he was no better than the other pricks in here, half-hard all the time just from the sweet floral scent that rose from her skin like some kind of drug.
This all-encompassing desire was going to be the death of him, he was sure of it.
June 30, 2020
Playground of the Paranormal
This post first appeared on the blog Ravens and Books on March 24, 2020.
I’ve been writing shifter romance since 2016—a little earlier if you count some terrible books which shall never see the light of day. However, I started reading shifter romance much earlier than that, probably in the early 2000s.
Early into my reading, I found that I loved the different paranormal “worlds” almost as much as the characters themselves. They each had their own set of rules, and I was eager to figure them out with each new series I picked up.
My Fierce Mates universe has a few rules that I wanted to follow from the start.
I wanted my shifters to be apex predators, clothes don’t shift with my shifters, there is no shifter virus—you’re either born a shifter or you don’t shift, shifters can sense lies and other emotions along with having heightened senses, and the “mundane” world is unaware of shifters and supernatural beings in general.
None of these rules is original in and of itself—I’m not treading new ground or anything like that.
Why have the rules to begin with? Isn’t it limiting? What if I want a hamster shifter? What if a story is just begging for a hapless heroine to be bitten by a wolf so she can become one, herself? Some might think that having the rules in place, and continuing them through several series, would be limiting. For me, however, it has been freeing. When I know the boundaries, I can play through them, stretching my universe where allowed. At times, I can subvert those rules. Shifters can sense lies…but what happens if they meet someone who can successfully lie to them? I tried that in my book Ruthless Misfit and I loved how it turned out. The hero, also a shifter, had been forced to hone dishonesty by a terrible childhood.
When I first started writing shifter romance, in my Sierra Pride series, the only paranormal beings present were shifters. But I never specifically said that vampires didn’t exist, so when I wanted to expand the universe in the Corona Pride series, I was able to do that. Recently, witches were added to the mix, and beings with different abilities, too.
Why not have these other supernatural characters from the start? To be honest, when I started in 2016, I didn’t know how far I was going to take my Fierce Mates world. I’d never published a book on my own, and if this whole independent author thing didn’t work out, I was fully prepared to walk away. But the Fierce Mates books started gathering a small, devoted audience. I needed to write more books. But I wasn’t going to be happy repeating the same stories over and over again, so I made the world bigger by introducing new groups and new supernatural creatures. Some shifters got new abilities—Matt in Ruthless Misfit can tell lies. Doug in Savage Penance can complete his shift from human to animal in half a second. Bryce in Ruthless Outlaw can walk through dreams.
This process has shown me the beauty of creativity, especially within the playground of the paranormal. As I develop a new series, Junkyard Shifters, I’m once again starting with the basics—shifters. And as the world expands, so do the possibilities.
June 23, 2020
Mated in Forbidden – Out Now!
Caleb and Moira’s book is finally here, available on Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo! It’ll be coming soon to Amazon. Keira and I had an absolute blast writing this one, from Moira’s and Caleb’s enemies-to-lovers relationship and fighting over buying the same house, to Caleb’s outrage at the strange new monster’s appearance.
Forbidden, Kentucky is more fun than ever in this one!
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What’s worse than finding out you have a doppelganger? Finding out you have a doppel banger . And he’s impregnated half the town.
In search of a new place to live, Moira, a wolf shifter, finds the perfect home…only to discover that her nemesis, Caleb, has also put in an offer.
The last thing Moira wants to do is deal with him. So what if his skills in the sack are legendary? So what if she’s spent more than one night fantasizing about that crude mouth of his?
If there’s one thing Moira has–that he lacks–it’s self-control. And access to lots of batteries to fuel her fantasies.
Cougar shifter Caleb can’t always remember who has enjoyed the delights of his prowess in the bedroom. But he’s pretty sure he’d remember if he’d bumped uglies without protection.
How is a reformed Casanova supposed to prove he’s changed and win over the woman of his dreams when everyone keeps claiming he’s their baby daddy?
June 16, 2020
June Book Fairs
If you’re interested in snagging some great deals on awesome books, you are in the right place. 
June 9, 2020
Junkyard Word Search
I love puzzles. I’m a huge fan of Sudoku, but I also adore word searches! Here’s one I made for the Junkyard Shifters series. You can find the words here in the following image, or download a pdf to print out and work with on paper.
junkyard-wordsearchDownload
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June 2, 2020
Pub-iversary
Yesterday was a big day for me, because it marked FOUR YEARS that I’ve been putting out my shifter books! That’s right, my first book, Fierce Wanderer, came out on June 1, 2016.
Thank you so much for being part of this journey with me, whether you only joined me days ago, or you’ve been at my side for months or years. I’m so grateful.
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