The 13th Floor Series - The Oracle and the Vampire : Blog Tour - Vampire & Banshee Mythology Chat

April and the A-Z Blogging Challenge was great, but you know what I really missed last month? A new book from Christine Rains’ 13^th Floor Series!

Thankfully Christine has remedied that with the release of 1305 & 1306 – The Oracle and the Vampire! Sadly, it’s the penultimate edition in the series. Check out tomorrow’s cover reveal to find out more about the last book in the 13^th Floor Series!

I’ve been dying to get my hands on this book since I read The Marquis – the characters of Harriet and Kiral fascinated me from the brief glimpse I saw of them in the first book. Once it was time to put the spotlight on them, Christine didn’t disappoint, and I was thrilled to beta read once again. This book was truly terrific.

After I’d finished, Christine and I got together to discuss some of the mythology that inspired the book; including our feelings on vampires, banshees and the paranormal romance genre.

Thank you once again Christine for asking me to beta and for involving me on your tour! 

1) What are your favorite vampire books?

Clare: Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles, without a doubt. I’ve read each book in the series at least twice. I love them – I love the mythology, the characters, how they’re interwoven and how Rice incorporates history into her novels.

Christine: I love Rice's books too. My favorite right now, though, is Jeaniene Frost's Night Huntress series. Cat and Bones are an incredible vampire couple.

2) What are your favorite vampire movies?

Clare: Though I’m not overly keen on the story – it seemed to go off the rails in the second film – I love the aesthetic in the Underworld series. Leather-clad, gothic aristocratic vampires are my favourite type! On a similar note, the vampire coven headed by Deacon Frost in the first Blade movie stands out. Again though Anne Rice wins it for me, the movie adaptation of Interview with the Vampire was brilliant.

Christine: The Underworld series do have a nice look. I like Queen of the Damned as a film over Interview with the Vampire. Townsend made a dangerously sexy Lestat. The Lost Boys was my first favorite vampire movie and it still holds a special place in my heart. I also very much like the Nightwatch series directed by Timur Bekmambetov. It's an original take on vampires and werewolves.

3) What modern twists to the vampire legend do you really like? Which ones do you hate?

Clare: I know I keep mentioning Anne Rice, because she’s the vampire mythology I grew up with. I love how her vampires accumulate more powers – flight, the ability to set people on fire etc. – as they age. I also liked that in Rice’s universe, the vampire’s fear of God, churches and crucifixes came from a vampire cult who thought they were serving the devil.

I don’t really care for Stephanie Meyer’s/ The Twilight Saga’s explanation of why vampires can’t go out in sunlight. I’m all for the reason being that their skin will burn, or that mortals will notice something weird about their appearance, but not sparkling like diamonds!

Christine: I like twists on the vampire mythology. A virus or a curse as to what created vampires, or as in one series I read, vampires evolved from an intelligent leech.

I also don't like the sparkling. There was book that the vampires had proboscises instead of fangs. I suppose the author was trying to bring out the monster in them more, but it wasn't well done.

4) What is your favorite banshee myth?

Clare: I like the idea that as well as announcing the death of a family member, the banshee stays with the deceased and either accompanies them to heaven or hell, depending on her virtuously they’ve lived their life.

Christine: Oh, I like the addition of the banshee accompanying the deceased to wherever they're suppose to be. I also like some tales have the banshee as a beautiful woman and can tempt men to their deaths.

Clare: The Wardstone Chronicles also has a really interesting take on banshees – it features them as female water spirits that predict and warn of death. They are mostly invisible, and the only thing you can hear are their wailing cry, which is repeated three times per night - on the third day it's said that someone in a house close by, are going to die. It happens that if they are seen washing a burial shroud and if there is blood on it, the upcoming death is going to be violent.

Christine: I've never seen anything with a banshee as more than a mention or a screaming in the night. I'll have to check out The Wardstone Chronicles.

5) Do you like books with alternating POVs?

Clare: I’ve only read a couple, but I loved them. I love the insight into both characters it offers. Sometimes a story simply must be told from more than one point of view, and if done properly it can be a brilliant literary technique.

Christine: I've read a lot of books with alternating POVs in the paranormal romance genre. If it's well done, it can be fantastic. Though sometimes I prefer having only the protagonist's POV because it gives some mystery to his/her love interest.

6) What do you think might be the next trend in paranormal romance?

Clare: Ha! I wish I knew. If I could figure that out, I’d be onto a winner, right? I think what’s needed in the genre is more range. Different paranormal beings and different types of humans. Old, young, gay, straight. Different races. Move away from what’s been done a hundred times.

Christine: I would love to see some new beings. I still see vampires and werewolves as being popular for a long time, but sci-fi romance is slowly growing. Supernatural creatures in space could be the next big thing.

Title: 1305 & 1306 – The Oracle and the Vampire (The 13th Floor series, #5)

Author: Christine Rains

Genre: paranormal romance

Release date: May 13th, 2013

Buy The Oracle and the Vampire: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Smahwords | Kobo | Barnes and Noble

Blurb:

Having fallen for her gorgeous neighbor might not be so bad if Harriet McKay wasn't in her hideous banshee form every time Kiral saw her. Such is her curse. True, he's a vampire struggling with a drug addiction, but he's a good soul. Yet no one could love a cursed witch, especially one not even her cats respect.

After having a vision of Kiral's death, Harriet makes it her mission to save him. Never before has she attempted to change fate, but so strong is her love.

Kiral Ozdemir struggles to make it through every day. The craving for blood laced with drugs directs his every thought until he tastes Harriet's potent blood. The magic immediately addicts him, but she disappears. He's desperate to find her, racing blindly into a city in chaos.

How can Harriet convince Kiral to see past her vile appearance and return her love? If only she can force him to listen to reason coming from a raving crone, perhaps she can save him from the demons hunting him and from himself.

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Christine Rains is a writer, blogger, and geek mom. She lives in Southern Indiana with her husband and son. Their cozy little house is stuffed full of books and games. Christine has four degrees which help nothing with motherhood but make her a great Jeopardy player. When she’s not writing or reading, she’s having adventures with her son or watching cheesy movies on the Syfy Channel. She’s a member of Untethered Realms and S.C.I.F.I. 

She has twenty-one short stories and seven novellas published.   The Oracle and the Vampire is the fifth book in the 13th Floor series. The sixth and final installment, The Ghost, will be available on July 13, 2013.

Find Christine in the following places: Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter | GoodReads