Amber Belldene's Blog, page 12

Lucas from Blood Vine’s Favorite Wine

Today is the fourth and final installment in the wine interviews where I ask the characters from Blood Vine to introduce themselves and tell you about their favorite wines (yes I cheated and moved it to Tuesday-sorry!). We’ve already met our hero Andre Maras and our heroine Zoey Porter. Last week, we met Pedro Torres, the sexy star-crossed romantic interest of today’s guest, vampire Hunter and wine snob, Lucas Bennett.

How old are you? I’m 42, and feel every moment of it.

Where were you born? Boston.

What are your hobbies?  I’m an oenophile—you know, a wine lover.  And I suppose it’s fair to say I make a hobby of avoiding my father Stephen and brother Ethan’s creepy vampire Hunter activities.

What is your favorite wine? Without a doubt, it’s the estate Zinfandel from the Kaštel Estate Winery.  Every single year, they produce the ideal Zin by which all others should be judged.  Our best creative P.R. person, Zoey Porter just took their account, and she could send their sales through the roof.  But that won’t happen now that we’ve located Andre Marasović.  The Hunters will destroy his estate, and my chances with that hot winemaker Pedro will be zilch.  No sense feeling sorry for myself about it—that’s what it’s always cost me to be a Hunter—the sacrifice of everything good and desirable to the cause.

Only three weeks before you can find out if Lucas is right–Blood Vine will be released Jan 8th.

Here it is on Goodreads, if you want to put it on your to-be-read shelf.

 

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Six Sentence Sunday–Dec 16

 In the Blood Vine series, I explore the theme of nostalgia and what it means to have a home.  In the world of the novels, my vampires have a biological need to dwell in their homeland, and the human Zoey has to confront her own long-buried desire to belong somewhere.  Her arrival at Andre’s home foreshadows this conflict.  

Between two low hills, Zoey caught a glimpse of the beautiful house nestled among the vineyards. Even from the front drive, the Kaštel Estate Winery was enchanting. Textured white stucco walls reached upwards to the roof of Spanish tile. It was a picturesque Mediterranean villa, well suited to a family who’d emigrated from an island in the Adriatic Sea.

As soon as the entire house came into view, its large windows and old-fashioned door called to her invitingly. The white house and orderly flowerbeds were immaculate, but somehow it still looked lived-in, and she couldn’t wait to see inside. She imagined walking up the front steps, and putting her very own key in the lock, and for the first time since she could remember, she wished she had a home, not just a place to sleep and store her things.

In the very next breath, Zoey brushes off the “troublesome” feeling, and goes right back to burying every longing inside her.  I love how stubborn she is–at least as thick headed as the best alpha heroes, Andre included.  

And be sure to check out the other authors participating in Six Sentence Sunday at the website or on twitter at the hashtag #SixSunday.

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Blood Vine Trailer

A Life Bound by Books is debuting the Blood Vine trailer.

I hoped for a trailer that could capture some of the setting and feel of the novel, so I am incredibly grateful to the vocal ensemble Kitka for granting me permission to use their music as the soundtrack.

The track is called Bratets Kosi, from their album Voices on the Eastern Wind, and it’s a Croatian folksong that epitomizes the feeling of longing I tried to capture in the novel.   I admire the way Kitka is preserving the fading traditions of folk music in Eastern Europe, which is especially a part of the women’s history in those places.  If you’d like to read more about Kitka, visit their website.

And without further ado: go look at the trailer!

 

 

 

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Blood Vine Cover Reveal

I am thrilled that the lovely and talented Laura Kaye is hosting me on her blog today to reveal the cover for Blood Vine.  The beautiful cover captures just the right feel of the book.  And, her interview questions are a lot of fun!  Please come on by and take a peek behind the curtain: Cover Reveal

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Wine on Wednesday: The Favorite of Pedro from Blood Vine

Although Pedro is a little jealous he’s not on the cover of Blood Vine, he’d like to invite you to come back tomorrow for the unveiling.  That’s right–cover reveal tomorrow via the fabulous Laura Kaye’s Blog, and an exciting book trailer featuring the music of Kitka on Friday! With Christmas around the corner, I know the Jan 8th release date will be here before I know it and I can hardly wait!

Today is the third installment in this month’s Wine on Wednesday series, where I ask the characters from Blood Vine to introduce themselves and tell you about their favorite wines. We’ve already met our hero Andre Maras and our heroine Zoey Porter. Today we meet Pedro Torres, who pretty much steals the show, and has his own sexy romance with next week’s featured guest, Lucas Bennett.



How old are you? Thirty-seven.

Where were you born? The Ribera Del Duero winemaking region of Spain.

What are your hobbies? I enjoy clubbing in San Francisco.  At home in Sonoma County, shit-talking with my boss Andre is my full-time hobby.

What is your favorite wine? I know I’m tooting my own horn when I say it, but honestly, my favorite wines are the ones we make—our estate Zinfandels.  They’re frickin’ perfect.  I don’t know how Andre got so lucky with the vines and the climate, but the fruit is unbelievable, and he’s like some kind of wine alchemist.  Too bad too, because he can’t even drink the stuff.  Don’t ask.  It’s not my place to explain.

We only produce a few thousand cases, and our wine sells okay, given what a crap job we do of marketing it.  I’m pretty sure this lame-ass label speaks for itself.  So when Andre told me he was finally ready to hire a P.R. firm, I found one for him right away.  Soon some Zoey Porter lady will be here and she’ll set Andre straight about how to sell our wine.

But, to be a good sport, I’ll pick another favorite, the fabulous Pinot Noirs made by our neighbor Gary Farrell.  Totally different from our Zins, but damn good too.

 

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Six Sentence Sunday–Dec 9

Here’s another six sentences from Blood Vine, which releases Jan 8.  Today we’re in my heroine Zoey’s point of view just before she journeys to Andre’s winery to begin his P.R. project.  

After a shower, Zoey stood before the mirror on her closet door, wrapped in her towel, and looked closely at her face. Thirty-one, and it showed in the laugh lines at the edges of her eyes, from all the laughing she didn’t do, and the tiny creases around her mouth.

She didn’t mind–they were a badge of honor.

I’ve survived. Four years alone, and no more visits to the hospital, to boot.

If those signs of age and an ill-advised affair were the worst she had to show, then she was going to kick thirty-one’s ass.

Come back next week to read six sentences from Zoey’s arrival scene. 

And be sure to check out the other authors participating in Six Sentence Sunday at the website or on twitter at the hashtag #SixSunday.

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Wine on Wednesday: Zoey’s Favorite

Today is the second installment in my Wine on Wednesday series, where I ask the characters from Blood Vine to introduce themselves and tell you about their favorite wines to ramp up for the Jan 8 release. Last week we met our hero Andre Maras.  Today it’s our heroine Zoey Porter’s turn.

Hi Zoey, thanks for answering a few questions for me.  How old are you? I’m about to turn thirty-one.

Where were you born? Ojai, CA.

What are your hobbies?  Does P.R. count?  Because, otherwise, I have no hobbies.  Seriously.  I work all the time.  Okay, I do have a secret addiction to online poker, but that’s it, and I wouldn’t really call it a hobby.

What is your favorite wine? My colleague Lucas Bennett always says my palate is unrefined, but I do like a glass of red wine at the end of the day.  I like red, and I’m not picky.  I buy what’s on sale at the corner store, even if it has a screw cap.

Lucas is an official wine snob, but he can be a sweetheart, too.  When I told him I like this inexpensive wine called Apothic Red, he bought me an entire case from Whole Foods.  It’s perfect for the nights I sleep at home and want to unwind.  Unlike Lucas, his brother Ethan insists I drink his top-shelf bourbon or hundred dollar bottles of wine, even though I could care less.  But when I sleep at Ethan’s, it doesn’t matter much what I drink—I don’t need help relaxing.

 

 

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Six Sentence Sunday — Dec 2

In preparation for Blood Vine’s release on Jan 8, I’ve got a month’s worth of Six Sentence Sundays for you.  Come by every week for a taste of my characters and the world of my wine-making vampires.  Today we’re in  Andre’s point of view, and learn a little bit about the vampire wasting disease plaguing him, and all vampires forced into exile by those who hunt them.  

Nearly two centuries had passed since the Hunters had run Andre out of Croatia. His health had remained stable, but clearly the wasting disease was progressing more quickly now. It was only a matter of time before he shriveled up and died like a frail old human.

Stepping back from the mirror, he appraised his body—biceps narrower, ribs jutting under his pectorals, quadriceps leaner. He turned, craning to see his glutes—hollow.  He used to have an ass like a bull.

And be sure to check out the other authors participating in Six Sentence Sunday at the website or on twitter at the hashtag #SixSunday.

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Wine on Wednesday: Andre’s Favorite

This month, I am going to ask the characters from Blood Vine to introduce themselves and tell you about their favorite wines. First up is our hero, vampire Andre Maras.

How old are you? I am two-thousand years old, give or take a decade.

Where were you born?  I was born just outside of Rome, but my true home is the Dalmatian coast of Croatia, where I was turned into a vampire against my will in the first century after the birth of Christ.

What are your hobbies?  I find the modern notion of pastimes outside of one’s profession bizarre.  I am what I am—a winemaker, and so I enjoy working in my vineyards by moonlight, growing grapes, and making wine. And oh yes, out of vampire necessity, a relaxing game of cards.

What is your favorite wine? While I love wine, for the majority of my long life I have been unable to consume what I produce.  I do possess a very keen sense of smell, and I am able to enjoy the aroma of a glass of wine, and smell its characteristics better than humans can taste them.  Needless to say, this makes me finicky.

For many years I have admired the richness of wines produced by my fellow Croatian expatriate (though not fellow vampire) Mike Grgich, so I will name his Zinfandels my favorite.  If you are human, I highly recommend them.

 

 

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Gratitude for the Writing Life

At my day job yesterday I had the joy of listening to children share what they are thankful for.  Their sometimes simple and always profound reflections pulled me right out of my NaNoWriMo self-absorption (I finished 50K, BTW!), and put me in mind to be grateful for my life.

Then, the lovely folks at Writers in The Storm blogged today about what they are thankful for in their writing lives.  That got me thinking about the many blessings I’ve experienced over the last year, as I’ve become Amber Belldene.  Here are some of them:

The Mud Puddle and RWA—when I first started writing, I had no idea what I was doing.  Then I stumbled on the Romance Writers of America, and my local chapter SFA-RWA.  It was an amazing resource for an aspiring author.  A while later, I found my way to the online Paranormal Chapter (FFNP), and joined its online critique group.  Now I’m one of the parents of that group, called the Mud Puddle.

I’ve made great friends and received invaluable feedback through these organizations, which are truly designed to welcome people and help them learn how to become successful authors.  My new friends keep me sane and understand what its like to share brain space with complex characters, twisty plots, demanding muses, and still have to function as a wife, mom and a priest.

Clergy Colleagues—Meanwhile, I have received unexpected encouragement from my church friends and colleagues and even my boss and bishop.  They’ve supported my theological interest in exploring the connections between romance, spirituality, and sexuality.  Every time I’ve gone out on a limb, afraid I’d get in trouble, they’d point out the tree was solid, the limb lush with leaves, and that they stood beneath it ready to catch me if I did fall.

Romance Novels—My appreciation for the genre has only deepened as I have met the intelligent women (and a guy named Ed) who write them.  Now, I see each book I read as a work of art, carefully conceived and intricately woven.  Things I might have once dismissed as cliché, trite, or demeaning, now demand a second glance as the writers themselves have become real people to me and I analyze the choices they make on the page.

Twitter—I am astonished by how much I have come to love this social media.   I was a reluctant and late adopter, and I am by no means an expert.  Apologies in advance if I twaux pas you in the future!  But, it’s brought me in touch with strangers who could be my doppelgangers, turned me into a reluctant fan girl, shown me the surprising side of my clergy colleagues and my Christian denomination, and regularly made me laugh so hard I cried.

Omnific Publishing—I’m deeply grateful that Omnific took a risk on my debut, Blood Vine.  It’s been such a pleasure to work with their publisher, Elizabeth Harper, their editors CJ Creel and Kathy Teel, and especially their publicist Traci Olsen, who has patiently mentored me in all things required to launch a book.  I’m so excited that it will be released Jan 8!

My Husband—who is both an alpha and a saint, and who is proud of my writing, even when the writer herself is a giant pain in his ass.

 

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