Guest Post featuring Debbie Viguie-Author of Kiss of Night-and GIVEAWAY

When I was asked to review Kiss of Night I had a choice of doing a question and answer post with Debbie Viguie or have Ms. Viguie herself do a Guest Post. I opted for a Guest Post since I am horrible about coming up with questions for authors. A couple things I asked Ms. Viguie to cover in her guest post were a biography about herself and writing and also what made her choose to write a "Christian" vampire novel.

Here is what Ms. Viguie had to say:

I loved reading since I was little and writing seemed to come right after.  I would play with my toys and then stop and write about the very adventure I’d just acted out.  My teachers and parents saw this desire to write and encouraged me to pursue it.  When I was in 6th grade I received my first rejection letter.  It wasn’t until many years later that I would walk into a bookstore and see my name in print.  I sold more than a dozen books, some to the Christian market and some to the secular market, before I finally sold the book I’d been dreaming of selling for years.

And that’s what I want to talk about.

           

Everyone has a dream, the thing that seems so wonderful and yet so elusive.  For many people dreams seem like impossibilities but I believe that if you work at your dream, and share what you want with those around you, no dream is impossible.

Ever since I was little I loved stories about classic monsters like the Wolfman, Dracula, and Frankenstein’s monster.  When I was in high school I read two books that changed my life:  Dracula by Bram Stoker and Piercing the Darkness by Frank Peretti.  Both books were terrifying in their own way.  Both books moved me.  I learned that I loved stories of redemption and stories about good struggling against impossible odds to defeat evil.  In college I tried to find other books that inspired me as these did.  What I wanted most was to read about Christian heroes fighting evil, particularly monsters, and overcoming.  I was deeply disappointed that on the rare occasion when Christian characters were introduced in films or novels they were deeply flawed and most had lost their faith.

That wasn’t what I wanted to read.  So, one day, I decided that since I couldn’t find the story I wanted to read then I would write it.  I remember coming home from class and scribbling down my very first notes for what would ultimately be the Kiss series.

  

But I wasn’t a published writer and it seemed like an impossible dream that I would ever be able to share these stories with anyone else.  

 I kept working and eventually I achieved my goal of becoming a published writer.  I thought again of my Christian vampire series.

 But I wasn’t published in Christian fiction, only in secular, and it seemed like an impossible dream.

 I sold more books, got an agent, and sold my first Christian series, a fabulously fun one called Sweet Seasons.  Once again I thought of my Christian vampire series and I told my agent about it.

 But my agent laughed at me for two minutes straight on the phone without taking a breath.  She then told me no one would buy such a thing and I was crazy to think they would.

I sold more books, including more Christian books.  I kept working to build a name for myself in the secular fantasy and the Christian mystery genres.  And then one day the impossible happened.  My agent called and said that after some false starts and dead ends she found a publisher who wanted to buy my Christian vampire series.

  

And now book one is coming out and I will finally get to share my dream of a Christian vampire series with the world.  It took eighteen years.

 And I have to say as I hold it in my hands -

 It was totally worth the wait.

 I have fulfilled a dream that many, many people told me was impossible.  And now I want to challenge others to do the same.  What dream do you have that hasn’t come true?  It’s never too late you know.  Consider this.  Grandma Moses is one of the most famous and honored artists in American history.  She didn’t start painting until arthritis prevented her from holding a needle and doing any crocheting.  She was in her upper seventies.  She died at the age of 101 and painted every day up until the last three months of her life.  Imagine all that she accomplished and how late she started!

  

What dream do you have?  It’s never too late to start.  And take it from me, there’s nothing quite like a dream come true.

Thanks so much to Ms. Viguie for agreeing to do this guest post! 

Check out my REVIEW here. 

Visit these blogs today as part of the ongoing tour:

October 5

http://www.myfriendamysblog.com

http://ashleysbookshelf.blogspot.com

http://inthehammockblog.blogspot.com

http://overweight-bookshelf.blogspot.com/

http://www.seasonsofhumility.blogspot.com

http://www.mikeduran.com

http://www.tickettoanywhere.net

 

NOW FOR A SPECIAL GIVEAWAY OF KISS OF NIGHT. LEAVE A COMMENT AND YOU WILL BE ENTERED TO WIN A COPY FROM THE PUBLISHER! US AND CANADA RESIDENTS ONLY. LEAVE AN EMAIL ADDRESS TO CONTACT YOU.