#139 : Kiss of Night - Debbie Viguie (With Author Guest Post )

Centuries ago, Raphael was a blasphemous knight who fought in the Crusades purely for his own mercenary benefit, and to satisfy his taste for killing. Now, condemned for his evil passions and hypocrisy, he wanders the earth a vampire, cursed with first-hand knowledge of the supernatural world he once denied existed. The powerful relic he still possesses from his days as a Crusader has been stolen by a rival vampire who has recruited an army of soulless underlings to aid him in spreading evil. At the time he learns this, Raphael has been hunting this vampire for nearly a century, and it seems the final battle is destined to take place in Prague.
For help in this quest, Raphael must enlist the aid of two humans, David and Susan, who suddenly find themselves immersed in a world they never imagined, entangled with supernatural forces they can't control. Susan, in particular, finds herself conflicted as she struggles with her inexplicable attraction to Raphael. In the end, both Susan and Raphael will be called upon to exercise courage and faith, and in the process, the question What would happen if a vampire truly accepted God? is answered.

Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: FaithWords
ISBN: 9780446570862
Purchase at Amazon

©2011


Author Bio:
Debbie Viguie is the New York Times bestselling author of several novels for young adults. She is currently working on her Ph.D. in Comparative Religion from Bircham International University and is using her studies to research religious themes and historical events. She and her husband recently moved to Florida, where she writes full time (when she's not walking on the beach).

Follow Debbie's Tweets @DebbieViguie

A Conversation With Author Debbie Viguie...
I’ve been writing since I was a child. My parents and teachers encouraged me in this regard and I’m very lucky they did. I would play with my Breyer horses for hours and then I would stop, pick up a notebook and pen, and write down all the adventures I’d just acted out. A few years later I began to take it more seriously, creating more complex stories and reading everything I could get my hands on. In high school I read two books that affected me deeply. The first was Dracula. The book itself is remarkable with the story told from several different points of view in a very unique way. It captivated me. When I was a child I had always favored scary stories with werewolves over vampires. I’m pretty sure that was mostly because I wanted a pet wolf. Suddenly I saw for the first time the real intensity that a vampire story could have and it was the second scariest thing I ever read. The second book that really moved me was the scariest book I had ever read and it still is. The book was This Present Darkness by Frank Peretti. The book shows the influence of angels and demons on people struggling in extraordinary circumstances. It gave me nightmares. It made me afraid to get up and go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. More importantly it showed me that someone could write truly frightening and deeply meaningful Christian fiction. As it turned out the next book Peretti did about angels and demons, Piercing the Darkness, was required reading for my 12th grade Bible class.
In college I eagerly tried to find more horror books and films hoping to feel the way I’d felt when reading those two books. Unfortunately I couldn’t find anything else which contained a positive portrayal of a Christian character. If a Catholic or Protestant character was even present at all it was someone who was deeply flawed or who had lost their faith and was not the hero fighting the darkness that I was hoping to read about.
So one day it occurred to me that since I couldn’t find a book with a strong Christian fighting some sort of monster that maybe I should write one myself. I quickly seized on the idea of writing a novel where Christians had to team up with a vampire to save the world from other vampires. I realized that an essential component of the book would have to be the redemption story of the vampire.
A few years went by, I became a successful writer, and eventually I told my agent about my idea for a Christian vampire novel. She laughed for two minutes on the phone without taking a breath before telling me I was crazy and that no one would ever buy that book. Two years later she called me and told me that someone wanted to buy it and she was no longer laughing but was beside herself with excitement.
Now, Kiss of Night, the first book in my Christian vampire trilogy is finally out there for the world to read. Over the past several months I have had so many people ask me about this book, fans of my other work and people who’d never heard of me before, Christians and non-Christians, fantasy lovers and fantasy haters. I didn’t expect this to get this much attention, but I’m glad. And deep down in my heart I really hope that it helps people to talk about redemption and faith in new and exciting ways with family and friends they’ve never been able to talk to about it before. I hope that future writers will find it inspiring. And let’s be honest. I really, really hope that someday Frank Peretti reads it, too.



My Opinion:
First let me tell you that I had no idea this was book 5 in a series. It can easily be read as a stand alone and be enjoyable.
As it was for me!
This was an action-packed suspense, that had me devouring every word. I loved Raphael, and didn't care he was a bad ole vampire. I could see goodness shining through his evil exterior through the whole story, but not in a way to be off-putting, instead it was alluring.
I liked that the idea of conventional vampires not being used in this story. The spiritual twist was idealistic to me, and I am sure other readers will agree.
The best part is, paranormal fans and christian fans will both enjoy it! Not just one or the other.

5/5

Recommend? Definitely!!!


~I received a copy from Faith Words. I was not compensated for my opinion.~

*AN UPDATE: I have been calling it the 5th book in the series. I am so sadly wrong. Thank you Julie for pointing it out. It is a series of 5 books being the first in the series. Excuse my brain fart, those who read my blog on a regular know I have taken many hits in the family the past couple of months, and am probably not running at full capacity. MY sincerest apologies for this mix-up. Thanks God it was never a life threatening mistake.*