Guest Post: + Giveaway: Descended by Blood by Angeline Kace

Today, please welcome the lovely and talented, Angeline Kace, author of Descended by Blood. Thank you so much for including me in your blog tour and to Jessica from Confessions of a Bookaholic for putting it together!

I absolutely love this guest post, it definitely makes me want to visit Croatia one day. The images are breathtakingly beautiful. Also, Angeline is giving one lucky reader the chance to win her novel, Descended by Blood. Sweet deal right?

I look forward to hearing everyone's thoughts on this amazing post...

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:: GUEST POST ::

Vampires from Croatia?

One of the hardest parts about writing a book is trying to make it original. So, you can imagine how hard it would be to write a book about vampires. One of the ways I thought I could set the vampires in Descended by Blood apart from vampires in other books was to have them originate from somewhere new. Vampire books are my favorite kind of books to read, so I've read about vampires coming from Transylvania, Romania, Italy, and Russia, to name a few. I really wanted to have my vampires come from Italy because it has been one of the top places I want to visit. But readers have been there, done that. However, I have never read a book about anything paranormal coming from Croatia.

Why Croatia? I did a lot of research on vampire myth, vampire history, other folklores, ect before I started writing Descended by Blood. I found that one of the earliest recordings of a vampire sighting came from Croatia. A peasant had died, and local villagers claimed that the man came back to life and began drinking people's blood. The villagers stabbed the guy in the heart with a stake, and when that didn't kill him, they beheaded him. And Croatia has been rich with vampire legends ever since.

One of the terms Croatians use in their folklore to describe vampires is "Pijawika." I liked the way this term rolled off my tongue more than the other words they used for vampire, so I claimed it for what my vampires would call themselves. And if the vampires would call themselves an old term used in Croatian folklore, they would probably uses some Croatian words for other things, too. It was tricky to find the proper Croatian word for things of significance in the story. I actually got lucky toward the end of the editing process to find someone who spoke Croatian. We have a client at work who told me his cousin spoke the language and to give him a call. I was pretty close to the actual Croatian words and usage, but I was missing the carrot top symbols on all the words.

I've come to have a much larger appreciation for Croatia than the vampire history and lore. The pictures of the country speak for themselves, but Croatia has been described as "Heaven on Earth."

Waterfalls at Plitvicka Jezera National Park Croatia is rich with history and beauty, but one of the most fascinating things I found in my research was Dubrovnik.

Dubrovnik is a walled city in Croatia. It has survived earthquakes and wars. Isn't it amazing?

I have really come to love Croatia, and it is now at the top of the places I want to visit. Plus, it now has some hot fictional vampires that come from there, too!

Thank you so much, Eleni, for hosting me on today's stop!

For more info on Angeline, visit her site:

http://www.descendedbyblood.com/

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:: ABOUT THE BOOK ::

Summary: Brooke Keller is a high school junior who has never spent much time living in one place. She is finally in a town long enough to almost snag the boy of her dreams, until her life is threatened after killing a fanged man in his attempt to kidnap her. Brooke begins a dangerous journey in an effort to find out who is after her and how to stop them. In a world with powerful and prejudiced vampires, Brooke must tap into the side of her that she never knew existed at the risk of losing her life in order to save it.

Interested in purchasing this awesome book? Check out the links:

-Amazon ebook

-Amazon paperback

-B&N Paperback

-Book Depository paperback

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:: GIVEAWAY ::

-One person will win a paperback prize pack, which includes a signed paperback, a signed bookmark, and a nail polish. (photo above)

-Contest is open to U.S. residents only.

-Contest will run until the 25th, so you have two days to enter, so don't wait too long. ;)

!! FILL OUT FORM TO ENTER !!