Interview with Amy Blankenship

Today I'm happy to welcome my good friend Amy Blankenship. She's is the author of the Guardian Heart Crystal series.

Hi Amy, Welcome to Anna's Book Blog! I'm happy to have you here. To start off can you tell the readers a little about yourself?
I live with my husband and children in North Carolina. We have three dogs and four cats that think we are very cool pets. When I’m not writing, I am hanging out with my husband and the teenagers that are trying very hard to raise me. I’ve always loved to read but honestly never thought about writing until I got a craving to read darker stories, and this time I wanted them to do what I wanted them to do. I wrote the first book thinking I was writing it just for me but now I think the guardians are actually telling me what to write.

Vampire Gemini is one of your latest books, can you tells us a little bit about it?
Sure. Kyoko was born to fight the demons among us that we know nothing about. We call them vampires. She thought she knew all the rules… Find them and kill them. Usually she doesn’t even have to find them because something inside her draws them to her. When a powerful vampire follows her home and puts her family in danger, Kyoko leaves home to protect the people she loves vowing to never again let anyone close enough to her to get hurt.

She moves to the city and the heart of the vampire’s breeding ground. She starts to wonder if she didn’t bite off more them she could chew because they are still drawn to her and this time the number of them has skyrocketed. The only clues they have are the ancient scrolls in her grandfather’s possession and they hint that it’s her virgin blood drawing the demons to her.

Not wanting to risk someone she loves, Kyoko decides to get drunk for the first time in her life and sleep with the first stranger that turns her on. Huge mistake. How did she know that the man who had lit her body on fire would turn out to be the twin brother of the vampire that is seeding the city with his demons? How can she fight this dangerous vampire when he keeps saving her life and his every touch sets her ablaze with desire? Worse yet, why is his deadly twin brother so jealous?

Realizing that the enemy has a heart, the lines between good and evil become blurred, leaving Kyoko confused and in a world of danger. Now with an obsessed master vampire stalking her every move and his twin brother starting a vampire war, Kyoko is pulled even closer to the one thing she was supposed to destroy.

How did you come up with the idea for the Guardian Heart Crystal series/Legend?
I have been reading historical romance books since I was 11 years old but had never read a single paranormal romance book. I didn’t even know that was what I started writing when I decided to create my own world and my own guys. One thing I was missing with all the books I’d read was that I didn’t have another book to read about the people I had fallen in love with so I created my own.

In the Guardian Heart Crystal series there are many alternative worlds and these same guardians exist in all of them. I just wanted them to be immortal, dangerous, passionate and very very possessive. They were born to protect the priestess and they all love her and really don’t like to share her with each other, much less the enemy.

Out of all your characters do you have a favorite?
I love all of them, as each story tends to endear me to a different one. I will however admit that I give one of them a harder time then I do the others and people wonder why. It’s because he is my favorite… Toya. I just love to rattle his cage.

What is your writing day like?
I am nocturnal so I write at night while the household sleeps. It is very peaceful and I can watch the movie happen in my mind then write down what I see.

When you’re not writing what kind of books do you like to read?
I stopped reading Historical Romance a couple years ago and started in on paranormal romance. So far these are some of my favorite series:
Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter
Dark Hunters
Monere: Children of the Moon
Riley Jenson Guardian
Sookie Stackhouse (Southern Vampire)

If you could have lunch with any author who would it be?
Sunny, Author of the Monere: Children of the moon series.

What are 3 things that are "must haves" for you when you sit down to write a book?
Caffeine – I write in a dark room with a little desk lamp so as much caffeine as I can get will never be enough.
Note pad – Toya is always giving me hints and if I don’t write them down then he yells at me
Earplugs – The quieter it is, the better I can see the movie happening in my mind and yes, even hear what they are saying.

Besides the Guardian Heart Crystal series you also have a book called Ties That Bind. Do you plan to write anymore books outside of the GHC world?
Yes! The Obsession Series. These books will all stand alone and deal with very dangerous love triangles. I wrote the first one in only 3 weeks not knowing where it would go but I wound up really liking it with its dark side of obsession. These will probably remain shorter books that I do when I’m taking a time out from the guardians. When writing a Guardian book it usually takes at least 9 months because the books are a lot deeper and thicker.

Are there any real life people that have inspired the characters in your series?
Yes! And when they act up I will call them by their Guardian names. But if you have read the books and know the guardians, then I’m sure you can understand why I can’t tell you who they are.

Do you see Guardian Heart Crystal having an end or do you feel it's an open ended series?
Each book is an alternative world that stands with its own beginning and end. But, if you read all the books together then it tells an even deeper story about the guardians. Every time you find out a secret it begins to tie all the books together.

Vampire Gemini - Out Now
Guardian Heart Crystal- Book 6

Kyoko was born to fight demons and thought she knew all the rules until she befriended a half-breed vampire and was accidentally seduced by his master. Realizing that the enemy has a heart, the lines between good and evil become blurred, leaving Kyoko confused and in a world of danger. Now with an obsessed master vampire stalking her every move and his twin brother starting a vampire war, Kyoko is pulled even closer to the one thing she was supposed to destroy.

Learn more about the series at Amy's website.


The Guardian Heart Crystal Series:

Defy Not The Heart
Available in: Paperback & Kindle

Raging Hearts
Available in: Paperback & Kindle

The Heart of Time
Available in: Paperback & Kindle

A Light In the Heart of Darkness
Available in: Paperback & Kindle

A Guardian Possession
Available in: Paperback & Kindle

Vampire Gemini
Available in: Paperback & Kindle

Black Winged Angel
Available in: Paperback & Kindle

Cursed Hearts
Available in: Paperback & Kindle