Author Blog Hop: Viola Ryan

I adore blog hops. It's one of my favorite ways of meeting new fans. Unlike most writers, I am a huge extrovert. Writing tends to be a solitary endeavor, so thanks for stopping by. For every 10 commenters, I will give out an ecopy of The Mark of Abel.  For every 25, I'll give away a WWLD (What Would Lucifer Do?) mug (open to US and Canadian residents only, sorry).

My debut novel, an urban fantasy called The Mark of Abel, came out December 21, 2012, from MuseItUp Publishing. Fortunately the world didn't end that day as predicted. It would have been fitting though, seeing as the hero of the book is Lucifer. I love bad boys and wounded heroes, and it doesn't get any badder than Lucifer. Figuring out what it takes to redeem him was a lot of fun. I'm still working on his redemption in the sequel, The Chalice of Creation. He needs a lot of redeeming.

I didn't set out to write about Lucifer. My original idea was a vampire bites the woman he loves so he can give her the most wonderful gift he knows by turning her into a vampire. She doesn't understand and rejects him. The original title was Rejection: A Vampire's Tale. Lucifer decided he wanted to be the hero. It made sense. The biggest rejection in all of storydom isn't Adam and Eve's expulsion from Eden, but Lucifer's expulsion from heaven.

Next decision I had to make was did I still want to write a vampire story. Fallen angels are seen as demons and vampires are seen as demons. According to math, if A=B and C=B then A=C. Why not make fallen angels into vampires? This was back in 2007.

Now I needed some really bad guys for Lucifer to fight. If I was going to make him the hero, they had to be extra evil. I turned to the Book of Genesis. The Grigori are fallen angels. I decided sleeping with women wasn't a big enough sin to make them my villains. Instead, they needed to become vampires somehow. I had them convince Cain to murder Abel so they could drink his blood and become vampires. That's where the title of the book and series comes from. The Mark of Abel is an actual mark (the triangle on the cover), but it is also vampirism.

I hope you'll check out the book. You can learn more about it and me at: http://www.violaryan.com

I adore my cover. I had my cover designer, Marion Sipe, also design my bookmarks. If you'd like some, please let me know in the comments or email me at violaryan @ violaryan dot com.

Blurb:

Lucifer is fed up with humanity. He created hell to deter evil, but man’s inhumanity is only escalating. He just wants to return home to heaven, but ever since that little problem in the Garden of Eden, the Pearly Gates remain firmly shut to him. It doesn’t help that he’s the first vampire, an abomination in God’s sight.

Fortunately, two thousand years ago Lucifer’s estranged brother, Jesus, gave him a prophecy. To fulfill it, all Lucifer has to do is find the right artist, study her artwork and the path back to heaven will be revealed. The artist even bears a symbol so he knows who she is. Too bad she is murdered every time he finds her.

Janie’s a frustrated artist and college art teacher who wants two things—a guy she can show her paintings to and a night without nightmares. Each nightmare plagues her until she paints it. She doesn’t realize these paintings are key to unlocking her destiny, one that could redeem the original fallen angel.

Reviews can be found at: http://violaryan.com/reviews.html

"I really enjoyed this story because it has a different take on traditional theology mixed with some paranormal aspects. The mix produces an elaborate and distinctive world that gives you a different take on the plight of Lucifer, and his fall." Coffee Time Romance

"I have nothing but praise for the author’s originality and her very unique writing style and theme.
I look forward to the next book, since this is the first in a series. I can promise you that if you read this, the end is literally jaw dropping." Bitten By Books

Bio: A very good friend of Viola Ryan in high school said, “You don’t think outside the box. You blow the thing up.” Sometimes boxes need exploding. That’s why she’s here. She has a whole bag of C4 and isn’t afraid to use it. She’s blessed with people who treasure her eccentricities or at least put up with them.

Sometimes the box can be a cozy place. Without some sort of stability, her two daughters’ and her life would be unmanageable. That stability comes from her husband. He’s the rock holding her family together.

On the flip side, his career is anything but stable. He’s a Chief Marine Safety Technician in the US Coast Guard. They’ve lived from Kittery, Maine to Yorktown, Virginia. Fortunately, the moves have all been on the east coast. Then again, the Coast Guard tends to guard the coast.

Her oldest daughter (16) was born on Cape Cod, not far from Plymouth. Massachusetts. Her youngest (12) was born in Yorktown, Virginia, down the road from Williamsburg. Viola jokes they’re doing the colonial America tour.

Social Media Links:

Website: http://www.violaryan.com

Blog: http://violaryanauthor.blogspot.com/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/jeanie.ryan.9

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/violaryan/

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6922260.Viola_Ryan

Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/author/violaryan

(extra entries for friending me at any of those places. Just let me know in the comments)

Buy Links:

MuseItUp Publishing:  http://museituppublishing.com/bookstore2/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=516&category_id=69&manufacturer_id=250&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=1&vmcchk=1&Itemid=1

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/The-Mark-of-Abel-ebook/dp/B00B0FSH9A/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1358130524&sr=8-4&keywords=The+Mark+of+abel

Trailer

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UayqdSPMFMQ&feature=youtu.be

I made the trailer myself. Hubby arranged the music.

Be sure to check out the other authors in the hop. Thanks again for stopping by.