Gabrielle Bisset Is Guest Posting Today..........

Thanks For Being Here Today Gabrielle! 

Gabrielle Bisset, author of Stolen Destiny and Vampire Dreams, gives us a sneak peak at her newest novel and discusses the idea of a 'good bad-guy'...........

Thank you, Nadja, for having me at your lovely blog today.  My name is Gabrielle Bisset, and I write erotic romances.  Sometimes they’re paranormal, like my current novel, Stolen Destiny, and sometimes they mix in some of the historical, like my trilogy of novellas I’m releasing throughout the summer. 

Here’s the blurb for Stolen Destiny to give you a little taste of the story:
Released from prison to find a murderer, a prison-hardened Varek Leale is convinced no woman deserves the man he’s become, but his Aeveren destiny makes him succumb to sweet and sexy Callia Reynolds. To catch a murderer, he and Callia must find an Aeveren with the power to control time. But Amon Kalins isn’t a man to trifle with, and when he wants something, he’ll use his powers, devastating charm, and good looks to get it.

When Amon manipulates time and seduces her away, Varek must turn to the people who set him free for help to get her back. But the Council doesn’t do anything without requiring something in return, and what they want is Amon Kalins, one of the most powerful Aeveren ever. Varek will do what he must to capture Amon and find Callia. If he doesn’t, she’ll be lost to him for untold lifetimes.

As an author, I’m very conscious of my characters’ motives, as I must be, and when my publisher told me that my hero in Stolen Destiny, Varek Leale, wasn’t honorable enough for readers to like him because in a crime of passion he had killed his first wife, I respectfully disagreed.  Please don’t think I condone any kind of abuse or murder.  I don’t.  But I do understand and believe readers understand that horrible mistakes can be made by even the best people. 

Crimes of passion are just that:  passion.  If I had created a character who is a premeditated murderer and wanted him to be my hero, that wouldn’t work.  In fact, in Stolen Destiny, there is a murderer who is targeting parents.  Derrick James could never be considered heroic.  He kills out of deep seated hatred.  Varek is simply a man who made a terrible mistake and paid for it by spending three lifetimes in jail. (My characters are a race of people called Aeveren, who live fifty lives through reincarnation.  Punishment for crimes often involves a loss of lives or incarceration for multiple lifetimes.)

I fought hard to keep Varek as flawed as he is because the story is a romance, but even more, it’s a story about second chances.  At a number of points in the book, Varek is forced to stand while others judge him, some official and in control of his life, and others personal and able to affect him far more intimately.  At no point did I allow the character to feel sorry for himself.  He committed a crime, and he accepted his just punishment.  That he was released is a gift he cherishes throughout the story. 

Far too often it seems that those in charge of what we read want us to create cookie-cutter characters.  The Alpha male who has a heart of gold.  The tough heroine who really wants to be taken care of.  The kind hero who is insecure until he finds the right woman.  None of these came out on the page when I wrote Stolen Destiny.  Varek is a very flawed hero with some Alpha in him.  Callia, my heroine, isn’t brash or sassy with a knack of constantly getting in the way, but she’s patient and resilient.  And Amon, the romantic villain, is a bad guy who isn’t evil because he lacks something but is bad because he possesses too many gifts in abundance.  The only truly evil character is the murderer Varek must find, and even he isn’t very common or cookie-cutter either.  

The words of my publisher still ring in my ears every time someone tells me they loved Varek’s character, which I can say happens quite frequently.  “Readers will hate him.  They won’t want to see him happy.”   Well, some may feel that way, but others, like those who cheered for him to get the girl throughout Stolen Destiny, like him because they can differentiate between truly evil souls and people who make tragic mistakes. 

Stolen Destiny
Gabrielle Bisset
Publisher: Siren Publishing
Genre: Paranormal Erotic Romance
ISBN: 1-61034-434-0

Buy Stolen Destiny:  http://www.bookstrand.com/stolen-destiny

About Gabrielle Bisset:  By day, Gabrielle is a college history professor attempting to convince freshmen that American and European history is more than just dead guys who did stuff.  (Their words, not hers.)  By nights and weekends (and summers!), she writes erotic romance.  Her first novella, Vampire Dreams, was released in early June, and her first novel, Stolen Destiny, was released on June 29 through Siren Publishing.  She is publishing two more erotic novellas this summer—Love’s Master in July and Masquerade in August. 

She lives in Pennsylvania with her son, whom she home schools, and five cats, which are far too bossy for their own good.  When she’s not writing or teaching, she loves to read romances, of course, along with mysteries and anything nonfiction about history.  She also loves to spend time enjoying the outdoors, cooking, and hanging out with friends. 

To find out more about Gabrielle’s books, visit her at:
Her blog: http://gbisset.blogspot.com/
Her website:  http://www.gabriellebisset.com/
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002481284652
Twitter:  http://twitter.com/#!/gabriellebisset
Or email her at gabriellebisset@gmail.com  She loves to hear from readers!

Come find me!
Website:  Gabrielle Bisset
Blog:  Gabrielle Bisset: A Writer's Blog
Facebook
Twitter

My books:

Vampire Dreams-available now
Stolen Destiny- available now
Love's Master-coming in July
Masquerade-coming in August

Thanks Gabrielle!  I'm so glad you could be here today.  I wish you the best with your latest release and look forward to your upcoming novellas.  Sounds like you've got a busy summer before returning to teaching in the fall.  Enjoy! ~ Nadja