**CONTEST ENDED** The first installment in Patrice Michelle’s SCIONS series for Silhouette Nocturne, SCIONS: Resurrection, was released in January and reviewed by Devon and Alicia Thomas. Book two, SCIONS: Insurrection, comes out in May, and you can get a sneak preview here. Read on to find out just how an author comes up with new twists on vampire and werewolf mythology.

Read on to the bottom of the post for a contest. Take it away, Patrice!

SCIONS series…the cool idea, then what?
by Patrice Michelle

Many thanks to Devon and Sybil for inviting me to guest blog on The Good, The Bad and The Unread.

If you’ve read the first book in my SCIONS series with Silhouette Nocturne, then you’ve probably read the reader letter in the front where I talked about the fact a vivid dream inspired the idea behind Scions:Resurrection.

When I woke up from that surreal dream and started writing, I was faced with an interesting dilemma…how was I going to make THIS new vampires series different from my Kendrian vampire series. I figured if I was given this super-cool idea via a dream, I HAD to do something with it. The story would be written, but how was I going to set it apart?

Then I started thinking about all the vampire movies I’d seen and the few vampire books I’d read and each of them pretty much started with the premise that vampires “existed” and the story rolled on from there. What I decided to do with my SCIONS series was to back up a few steps and explain, not only where vampires came from, but also address some other aspects of traditional vampire and yes, werewolf lore, too. I liked the idea of creating my own reasons why vampires couldn’t tolerate the sun and why silver was poisonous to werewolves, while at the same time developing these paranormal beings in a contemporary setting and tying them to the human world.

My world building was moving along in my mind, but what made it all fall into place was the idea for a prophesy—that each of the beings in my SCIONS world were intricately locked together, not just because of the government’s secret SCIONS project (that was the catalyst for their existence) but because of decisions they each made in their past.

Working with paranormal beings and giving them very human issues and responses appealed to me on many levels. With SCIONS, I got to build several different societies, their politics and hierarchical organizations, all while linking them all together. Yet, as much as I would like to claim that I had every single plot twist and turn in the SCIONS world planned out in excruciating detail, my characters—with their own motivations, their likes and prejudices, their codes of honor and aptitude for compassion—followed their own romantic paths to happiness, ultimately dictating the outcome. I hope you enjoy each of the SCIONS stories.

What about you? When you read a paranormal book, do you like to know the paranormal hero or heroine’s origin or reason for their existence?

CONTEST! (Contest is over)

Comment here and you could win a signed copy of Insurrection. The winner will be picked from comments made between now and 9am U.S. Central on Saturday, 22 March, according to the blog timestamp. Only one entry per IP address, but you can comment as often as you wish (we’ll use just one of your comments for the contest). Good Luck!

Devon’s review of Scions: Resurrection by Patrice Michelle
Paranormal romance released by Silhouette Nocturne January 1, 2008

This was a tasty little treat for those of us who enjoy vampires. The first couple of Silhouette Nocturnes I tried were mediocre, but they have gotten better and better. I have now read several that I would recommend to others, and Scions: Resurrection is another to add to the list. It was a fast-paced story with nice chemistry between the hero and heroine.

Jachin, a loner who has been exiled from his vampire tribe, kidnaps Ariel because he thinks she will help fulfill a prophecy and get him back in with his people. From there on out it’s non-stop action, as they dodge baddies and fight their growing attraction. Jachin had overbearing prick potential, but…I liked him. Not even sure why, I didn’t think I would at first. Ariel skirted the edge of annoyingly sassy, but never went over. She was brave, but never TSTL.

In this world, vampires were created by humans to be a kind of superhuman weapon, accounting for their strength, agility and various abilities. The fangs are an unexpected anomaly, and the aversion to sunlight was created by the humans in order to give the vamps a weakness. It was an interesting and unexpected idea. However, there was one issue that nagged at me increasingly. What was with the blood-drinking? Why? Did the scientists want the vampires to suck on human blood? Maybe I missed something, but I didn’t see how the blood thirst fit in. The Lupreda, werewolves created by the vamps, seemed contrived just to throw shapeshifters in there.

The book also suffered from some pacing issues. It was so fast-paced, then after the climax the last few scenes felt oddly tacked on. Despite these issues, this was an enjoyable book. The story and characters overcame my world-building quibbles, and after a couple of days I still liked the book. I will definitely read the next installment.

Grade: B-
Blurb:

Everyone believed vampires were extinct. Everyone was wrong.

When Ariel Swanson wrote a novel about vampires, she hoped it would exorcise her fear of the creatures that had, not so long ago, terrorized the human population.

Instead, it brought her to their attention.

And to the attention of Jachin Black – a man banished from the Saguinas, a vampire pack, and forced to hunt among the despised humans. For he clung to the prophecy given years ago, of a better way for his kind to live – a prophecy Ariel unknowingly used as the basis of her novel.

Ariel hates and fears vampires. Jachin despises humanity. But the prophecy – and passion – binds them in ways they could never have

imagined. Ways that may heal the past, and change the future.

[Ed. Check out Alicia's review of this book]

Alicia Thomas’s review of Scions: Resurrection (Scions Trilogy, Book 1) by Patrice Michelle
Paranormal romance published 1 Jan 08 by Silhouette Nocturne (Harlequin)

Book 2 – Scions: Insurrection (1 May 08)
Book 3 – Scions: Revelation (TBA)

Resurrection is the first book in the Scions Trilogy. Jachin Black is a vampire who has been banished from his people. He lives as an assassin to pay for the blood he must consume. He despises the humans who created then tried to destroy his kind.

Ariel Swanson is an author who has just published her first novel. She wrote it as therapy for facing her fear. You see, every other member of her family was killed by vampires. She doesn’t know her “fiction” novel is actually a prophecy that the vampires have hinged their hopes on for years.

This story is fast paced from the word go. Jachin and Ariel are on the run for almost three quarters of the book but I never got bored. The characters are compelling and the world is fascinating. The world was so intricate I expected to plow through flaws and contradictions but I didn’t find any. I may have been too busy enjoying the book, but nothing caught my attention.

Something did pull me out of the story a little. The whole vampire/werewolf thing was based on genetic engineering and breeding. Near the end suddenly there were elements that were pure fantasy. Nothing tacky or anything. It was just a surprise and it made me stop and re-read to make sure I was following correctly.

Also, the end was a bit drawn out. I knew the ends needed tying off but it seemed to drag a little. I also waited for him to have to redeem himself for being a hired gun but it never happened. I closed the book with a warm feeling, though, and that’s what I want from Silhouette. So, very enjoyable but with a few minor problems and one I can’t really forgive.

Grade: C+

Blurb:

     Everyone believed vampires were extinct. Everyone was wrong.  When Ariel Swanson wrote a novel about vampires, she hoped it would exorcise her fear of the creatures that had, not so long ago, terrorized the human population.

     Instead, it brought her to their attention.  And to the attention of Jachin Black a man banished from the Sanguinas, a vampire clan, and forced to hunt among the despised humans. For he clung to the prophecy given years ago, of a better way for his kind to live a prophecy Ariel unknowingly used as the basis of her novel.

     Ariel hates and fears vampires. Jachin despises humanity. But the prophesy and passion bind them in ways they could never have imagined. Ways that may heal the past, and change the future.

     Scions: A prophecy reveals hidden secrets and holds the key to fulfilling their ultimate desires.

     Read an excerpt and an excerpt.