Misha Tagliaferro on Staying True to her Characters

Good morning, dear readers! 

This week on Coffee with Colette, the gorgeous and talented Secret Cravings Publishing author  Misha Tagliaferro has dropped by to tell you about how she stays true to her characters in her two Paranormal Romances - Tara of the Fey and Thirst for Love. I just can't wait for you to hear about these two sexy thrillers! Having written a vampire novel myself (and with one in progress), you know anything that has the pulses pounding and the blood flowing will have me turning the pages!

~Colette

Staying True to Your Characters

One of the most common questions an author receives is, “Where do you get the ideas for your stories?” The answers to that question vary, but many people believe authors base their characters on people in their lives. While this may be true in some cases, at least to a certain extent, my characters and plots are the figment of my imagination.

I write paranormal romance. The characters by their very nature require a great deal of imagination. Yes, I draw on what I know of human behavior and psychology to create my characters, but that knowledge only goes so far. The characters’ personalities take over and their unique dilemmas demand to be handled in a way true to them. When you’re writing a vampire or fey, you have to look beyond the human dilemmas and thoughts to the paranormal side of things.

Trying to think like a vampire can be a challenge, as I found out when I wrote Thirst for Love. After all, how would you feel if you were hundreds of years old and had to rely on drinking blood to stay alive? Putting myself into those shoes and trying to see the world through vampire eyes was a unique experience, to say the least. It was also an exercise in creativity that helped me grow as a writer and think outside the box.

With Tara of the Fey, I decided to go with a different type of mythological being. In some
ways writing fey characters was easier than vampires. After all, the fey are fully alive instead of undead. But the fey characters presented a unique set of challenges as well. How do fey think? What kind of abilities and traditions do they have? These were questions I had to answer as I wrote the first draft, and then I refined the characters in subsequent drafts.

No matter what species your characters may be, it’s always interesting to explore what kind of personalities they have and their unique ways of viewing the world. No two characters are the same, but each shares similarities with others of its kind, whether they’re vampire, fey, or human. The important thing is to remain true to each individual character. Don’t be afraid to stretch your creativity, but make sure you keep it believable for the character and the story.

Check out this excerpt from Thirst for Love and tell me what you think. Is Victor’s paranormal nature believable?

 

 

Excerpt from Thirst for Love

Blood. Need blood.

The longer Victor Nicolescu went without satisfying his thirst, the harder it became to think. His body weakened with each passing moment, and his desperate need for the red drink of life forced him to put one heavy foot in front of the other.

Blood.

He turned a corner, following his instincts through downtown Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Pounding bass assaulted his senses, but something else caught his attention. Underneath the music was another beat, the beat of dozens of human hearts pumping precious blood. The sound of one in particular pulled him to the entrance of a club.

Protests from a line of people vaguely registered in his starving brain a split second before a muscular arm with beautiful veins hit him in the chest. “You’re not going in there, buddy.”

Victor tore his gaze from the blue lines tempting him with the life-giving nourishment flowing through them, and looked into the face of the huge man who kept him from his meal. Possible solutions to the problem crawled through his sluggish mind. Too many minds cluttered his thoughts with irritating chatter, and in his current condition he couldn’t block the noise long enough to force the bouncer to allow him into the club. If he weren’t so weak, he could use his mind to convince everyone he belonged at the front of the line. Instead, the people behind him left him only one option. If he did anything other than walk away, someone would likely call the police, and he would lose all chance of reaching the heart calling to him.

Blood.

Victor cursed his need and stepped back. Even in his weakened state, giving up stung to his immortal core. If he could do it and still drink, he would teach this odious man a lesson.

“All right, I will go.” The pounding music from inside nearly drowned out Victor’s quiet, Romanian-accented voice.

He turned away, plotting revenge when he was stronger. For now, he had to find another way inside. The rhythm of that young feminine heart thundered through his body, promising an abundance of sweet blood to sate him.

~~

Thirst for Love Book Description

Victor Nicolescu wants only two things: blood to sate his hunger and a woman to love him for eternity. The blood is easy—his butler donates to Victor’s personal blood bank on a regular basis. Sometimes, however, Victor has an undeniable craving for fresh blood. His most recent craving leads him straight to Claudia Reyes, a gorgeous psychiatrist who doesn’t believe in the existence of vampires. His bite transforms her into one of the mythical immortals and forces her to leave behind everything familiar. Victor longs to help her adjust to her new life as a creature of the night, but her anger at his choice to transform her threatens to destroy their chance for love. When the night of the full moon rolls around, however, Claudia discovers he desperately needs her help to overcome a part of him even he never knew existed.

Sweet Cravings Publishing: http://store.sweetcravingspublishing.com/index.php?main_page=book_info&cPath=36&products_id=88

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Thirst-for-Love-ebook/dp/B007MFLKNC

Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Thirst-for-Love-ebook/dp/B007MFLKNC

Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/thirst-for-love-misha-tagliaferro/1109600794?ean=2940014248433

~~

Tara of the Fey Book Description

Sailing through the Minch, fey princess Tara enjoys her last taste freedom before facing her betrothal to an Irish prince—a man she doesn’t love and has no interest in marrying. The smooth voyage takes an abrupt turn for the worse when a group of ornery Blue Men of the Minch appear and brew up a storm. Tara has no choice but to give into their whims when she is swept overboard.

Caeden, a fey cursed to live as a Blue Man, can't believe he is seeing the grown version of his childhood best friend. He hopes she’ll be the one to break his curse and allow him to return to life on land. Tara sees the fey man trapped inside the blue exterior, but is she his one true love and the key to breaking the curse? Or will Caeden live as a Blue Man of the Minch forever?

Sweet Cravings Publishing: http://store.sweetcravingspublishing.com/index.php?main_page=book_info&cPath=10&products_id=148&zenid=f60708222d0601ff696faf5739e090d5

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Tara-of-the-Fey-ebook/dp/B00C52YU0M

Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tara-Fey-Misha-Tagliaferro-ebook/dp/B00C52YU0M

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/tara-of-the-fey-misha-tagliaferro/1114977182?ean=2940016514079

About the Author

Misha Tagliaferro is the author of sweetly sensual paranormal romance. As an avid reader and lover of books, her natural curiosity took a turn toward writing. She loves a good romance with a happy ending and always roots for underdog, the outcast who wants to belong but never can. This combination, along with a brainstorming session with her sister, led her to write her first paranormal romance. She lives with her loving family and a crazy dog whose favorite activity is to interrupt Misha’s writing time.

To learn more about Misha Tagliaferro and her writing, please visit her website at http://mishatagliaferro.webs.com.