If you’ve been around these Defiantly Literate parts before, you know paranormal romance author Siobhan Muir as one of my bestest writing buds.

From flash fiction, to brainstorming, to editing, to ‘does this sound right?’, we tend to find each other. So I’m super pleased to welcome her here today to celebrate one of the most exciting moments for any writer: publication.

Or, as it more likely went when the offer arrived in her inbox: PUBLICATION!!! (Insert dancing and screaming here).

She’s stopped by today to tell us a bit about her new release, Her Devoted Vampire.

C: Siobhan, congratulations to you on signing with Evernight Publishing, and on the release of Her Devoted Vampire. How does it feel to see that gorgeous hunk o’ cover with your name big and bold on it?

S: Squeeeee! Thank you! Okay, I’m still a little squeaky over it, and despite how gorgeous that man is, my favorite part of the cover is my name. I’ve waited a long time to see my name in print.

C: Makes all those endless nights of writing and editing so worth it, right? How about introducing us to the main characters and premise of your debut, Her Devoted Vampire.

S: Bridget Shanahan is a recovering Catholic who doesn’t believe in anything mystical at all. So when she gets kidnapped (at least in her mind) by the sexiest man she’s ever met, and he claims he’s a vampire, she thinks he’s lost his mind. Especially when he tells her he thinks she’s the Avatar of the Goddess.

Fredrick MacGregor has never had to prove what he is to anyone before and he’d only brought Bridge home to protect her. When she isn’t impressed, he’s caught completely flatfooted, especially because it’s his job to protect the Avatars of the Goddess.

C: A recovering Catholic and a vampire? *Snort.*

S: Match made in heaven, eh?

C: Indeed. Did anything in particular inspire this story?

S: Laughs. This story actually came about because my husband once told me he didn’t read romance because it was “bunk”. So I said, “Let me try.” And I wrote Fredrick and Bridget’s story in about a month. After I let him read it, he admitted romance wasn’t bunk and I was welcome to prove him wrong again and again.

C: I bet! Now I know you’re very active in the local and virtual romance writer communities. What made you choose romance as your primary genre?

S: I’ve always written romance, even when I included it in the fantasy I wrote first. I loved the interaction between the characters, how they dealt with their situation, and how the circumstances in which they met brought them together. Besides, the world is full of unhappy endings, I’d like to add a few more happy ones.

C: I second that notion. You bill yourself as a writer of “The Weird, the Wild, and the Wicked.” Sounds like you’re giving yourself some room to write about all manner of characters and critters. Any other heroes and heroines you’ll be introducing us to in 2012?

S: Bwahahahahaha! Ahem! Yes, I’m not limited to just the traditional fare of paranormal. I have dragons and goblins, faeries and giants, a succubus and a trio of Navy SEALS, in addition to the vampires and werewolves.

As far as 2012, I have another release coming in May from Siren-Bookstrand, tentatively titled Queen Bitch of the Callowwood Pack. It’s a full novel about werewolves and will also go to Print on Demand in September of this year. Jeff and Julianna’s story has had quite a ride to publication, but it was worth it all.

I’m also hoping to publish two dragon shifter stories this year, Courting the Dragon Widow and Not a Dragon’s Standard Virgin, and possibly a short story starring centaurs in conjunction with your short story on a member of the Bryant family.

C: You’ve got a banner year in the works, Siobhan. Congrats again on the new release.

S: Thank you so much! And thanks for having me here today.

Readers: Here’s a sneak peek at Her Devoted Vampire. 

Be sure to comment/congratulate Siobhan below for a chance to win a copy of Her Devoted Vampire in the e-format of your choice!

Bridget’s eyes flew open, and she stared at her companion with dawning unease. His expression filled with concern and compassion, his eyes a deep chocolate brown. No sign of red anywhere. They weren’t even bloodshot.

“You’re Fredrick MacGregor.”

“That’s right.” A smile flitted over his lips.

“And you smell like spiced apples and vanilla.”

His black eyebrows disappeared into his hairline, one tendril falling across an eye. It looked soft and smooth, and she wanted to push it behind his ear for him. His smug look banished any tender feelings that might have developed.

“You were stabbed in the side, and I brought you to my home here in Gloucester to take care of you.”

Stabbed? She’d been stabbed? Gasping, she wrenched the emerald bedclothes away from her body and scanned the skin of her belly. The bruised pain she felt directed her eyes to her left side, but there was nothing there, not even discoloration. If she’d been stabbed, where was the scar, the scab?

Is he just teasing me? What kind of a jerk does that? Then the rest of his words sank in.

“Gloucester?”

“Yes. It was the safest place I could think to take you.”

Bridget narrowed her eyes as she raised her gaze to meet his again, her hands still holding the bedclothes up.

Safe for whom, you chocolate-eyed kidnapper?

“Normally you take injured people, like those with stab wounds, to the hospital. Or at least call the paramedics.” What was she doing in Gloucester in a richly decorated bedroom? Was it his bedroom?

There are worse places to be, a traitorous voice remarked.

“There was no time, and I knew I could care for you as well or better than any hospital,” Fredrick replied to her unasked questions.

Riiiiggghhhtt, that’s what all the sociopaths say to their victims.

“I have to go.” She tried to sit up again. She’d make it home come hell or high water. Goosebumps zinged along her leg when it appeared out of the covers.

“Whoa!” She jerked her legs back under the emerald sheets and stared incredulously at the man sitting next to her bed. “Where are my clothes?” 

“I haven’t had time to get any from your apartment.” His eyes never dropped from hers. “I’ll send someone presently.”

She raised her eyebrows. “Presently? Who uses words like ‘presently’? And how do you know where I live?” She groaned, frowning. “You looked in my wallet from my coat.”

“That seemed to be the most logical place to look for your name and home address.”

“That’s just great. A perfect ending to a perfect day.” She sighed, slumping back in the bed. “Stabbed, kidnapped, and naked in a stranger’s bed. It just doesn’t get much worse.”

“Except, perhaps, being kidnapped by a vampire with a house full of werewolves,” he suggested, a half-smile curling his kissable lips.

Pick up Her Devoted Vampire (and get more chocolatey-eyed Fredrick) from Evernight or Amazon. Want more Siobhan? Find your preferred digital leash below and connect with her online:

• Facebook Author Page
• Twitter
• Google+
• Web
• Blog