Guest Post & Giveaway with Dianne Duvall

Author Dianne Duvall is here with us today talking about strong heroines. Welcome back to The Book Vixen Dianne!

---

One of the most common questions I’m asked is: What’s your favorite genre? Hands down, it’s paranormal romance. There is a long list of things commonly found in paranormals that appeal to me, but right at the top would be strong heroines. I don’t know any woman who hasn’t rolled her eyes over the female protagonists who peopled horror movies for so long. You know the ones: women who fall apart at the drop of a hat, can’t run three yards without tripping over their own feet, then lie there and do nothing but scream as the killer approaches, brandishing a machete.

Well, I’m happy to say that, although such characters still occasionally pop up in horror movies, you just don’t find that kind of thing in paranormal romances. Rather PNRs feature strong, confident, intelligent women who are willing to fight to the death to defend themselves and those they love. They’ve even been known to rescue a hero or two. Sometimes the heroines are preternatural beings as powerful or more so than the heroes who love them. Sometimes they’re mortal and at a distinct disadvantage in terms of speed, strength, and special abilities. Yet they always manage to rise to the occasion and kick some serious butt . . . as is the case with Krysta Linz, the heroine in my latest release, Darkness Rises.

Once the victim of a vicious vampire attack, Krysta has dedicated her life to slaying every blood-sucking, psychotic vampire on the planet. Or, at least, those in her neck of the woods. She does a fantastic job of it, too, despite the toll the battles take on her . . . until her vampire hunting activities bring her to the attention of a certain amber-eyed Immortal Guardian named Étienne d’Alençon.

Étienne has always admired strong women and has professed as much to his fellow immortals on more than one occasion. So when he sees Krysta, a mere mortal, take on four vampires by herself, he is instantly intrigued. Unable to resist her lure, he endeavors to learn more of her and soon the sparks begin to fly as the hunter becomes the hunted.

---

Dianne Duvall is the New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author of the Immortal Guardians paranormal romance series. Her debut novel DARKNESS DAWNS was nominated for the RT Reviewers' Choice Award for Best Vampire Romance. NIGHT REIGNS, Book 2, was declared an "utterly addictive" Top Pick by RT Book Reviews. PHANTOM SHADOWS, Book 3, was deemed a Top Pick by both The Romance Reviews and Night Owl Reviews. “In Still Darkness”, her Immortal Guardians novella published in the PREDATORY anthology, was praised by Publishers Weekly for its “rich characterizations and kick-butt action.” DARKNESS RISES, Book 4, was released on October 1, 2013.

Dianne loves all things creative. When she isn't writing, Dianne is active in the independent film industry and once even appeared onscreen as a machete-wielding maniac not unlike the vampires she so loves to create in her novels.

Find the author online: website | blog | goodreads | twitter | facebook

---

Étienne watched Krysta pause under a streetlight, part her coat, and reach into an inner pocket.

Beneath, she wore tight black pants that showed every shapely curve of her long legs and a black T-shirt that hugged small, firm breasts.

Étienne had always been a sucker for women with athletic builds.

Out came an iPod touch. She conquered her inebriation long enough to tuck earbuds into her ears, but the battery must have run down because she swore and tucked everything back into her pocket.

Étienne rose.

That pause had cost her.

Dark figures slithered from the shadows on either side of the frat house and followed her as she resumed her trek uphill.

Étienne leapt nimbly to the next roof, careful not to make any sound that would alert the vampires to his presence.

He counted four and monitored their progress as they slunk from shadow to shadow, dogging the woman’s wobbly footsteps.

Krysta began to sing, utterly oblivious to the creatures who stalked her.

Unfamiliar with the song, Étienne assumed it was one of the latest pop hits. His lips twitched as he leapt to the next roof. She was having a hell of a time remembering the lyrics. Or the right notes. Krysta couldn’t carry a tune. And he was pretty sure it wasn’t the alcohol.

She came to a corner and halted. A look of confusion flitted across her pretty features as she squinted up at the street sign.

Étienne froze, careful to ensure no light touched him.

Had her gaze flitted from the sign up to him?

No. She was looking all around like she either didn’t know where she was or couldn’t remember where she intended to go.

The vampires slunk farther into the shadows mere moments before she glanced in their direction.

“Hmm,” she mumbled. “I think . . .” She spun in a circle. “Right.”

She crossed the deserted street, passed Étienne’s building, and . . . entered a dark alley. Really? Had she no sense of self-preservation?

Étienne drew his katanas as the vampires flowed into the alley behind her like a black tide. Their thoughts — a writhing mass of madness, violence, and anticipation — struck him like poisoned arrows.

Being telepathic could really suck sometimes.

He frowned, only then realizing he hadn’t heard any of Krysta’s thoughts. As he watched her stumble toward the end of the alley, not yet noticing that her path would soon be blocked by a tall chain-link fence, he focused on her tipsy head and . . . heard nothing.

Very unusual. He could count on one hand the number of humans he had encountered in his two centuries of existence who could block, intentionally or not, his entrance into their minds.

She halted.

The vamps spread out across the alley, facing her. Light from the street distended and distorted the shadows at their feet, making it seem almost as though they reached for her ankles.

Étienne stepped to the edge of the roof, preparing to drop down and save Krysta’s attractive, but flighty ass, then . . .

She ceased swaying. Her shoulders straightened.

Spinning around, she offered the menacing foursome a cool, measuring stare.

Étienne frowned.

The vampires boasted no weapons. Yet. But their eyes glowed and their lips parted to expose long, glinting fangs. She should be screaming her head off. Instead . . .

“Finally,” she pronounced with a healthy dose of exasperation. “It took you guys long enough. I mean, did you really have to make me walk up that damned hill?”

What. The. Hell?

---

Title: Darkness Rises
Series: Immortal Guardians, Book 4
Author: Dianne Duvall
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Published: October 1, 2013 by Zebra

Krysta is used to getting the drop on vampires. Her "special abilities" aren't much, but the plan is simple--she plays helpless pretty young thing to lure them in. Then her shoto swords come out and it's bye-bye, bloodsucker. Until one night she finds herself with an unexpected ally. He's a vampire, all right, but different. Mysterious. Handsome. And more interested in saving her skin than draining it.

Étienne has been an Immortal Guardian for two hundred years--long enough to know that Krysta is special. He can't stop thinking about her long legs, even more than her short swords. Then he discovers the vamps she's exterminating have friends in high places, and the Guardians are in danger too. He'll have to accept Krysta's help to save them. The stakes for a mortal are high. But the cost to his heart might be higher. . .

Add to Goodreads  |  Buy on Amazon

Read J9’s review of Darkness Rises.

---

Thanks to Dianne Duvall, one lucky winner will receive a signed copy of Predatory plus Immortal Guardians swag. Good luck to all who enter!

• No purchase necessary.
• Must be 18 years old or older to enter.
• Giveaway open Internationally. Void where prohibited by law.
• Odds of winning depend on number of eligible entries received.
• See Rafflecopter form for information on how to enter this giveaway.
• Please read TBV's Giveaway Policy before entering.
• Giveaway ends 9:01 pm (Pacific Time) on 10/25/2013.

a Rafflecopter giveaway