Author Melissa De La Cruz guest post w/ contest.

Today VampirePhile has the pleasure of hosting Blue Bloods author Melissa de la Cruz with a guest post in conjunction with the release of her: Bloody Valentine. In her post Melissa touches on the Blue Blood transformation process and some of the complexities involved in finding a mate.

Also, be sure to see the end of the post for details on how to enter for a chance to win a copy of Bloody Valentine.   

Breaking Bonds by Melissa de la Cruz

Blue Blood vampires live as humans until about fifteen years of age. At around this time, they begin to transform into their true immortal selves—a patchwork of blue veins appears on their arms, they crave raw meat, they begin to feel their fangs protrude, and memories of their past lives return. Since Blue Bloods reincarnate – in that they live a human lifespan and then are brought back through a new cycle of expression, they don’t live in the same physical shell forever as traditional vampires do. They are also fallen angels, who were cast out of heaven with Lucifer.

Finding a mate, or their ‘soul mate’ since Blue Bloods pledge their love in heaven, is a process of finding your vampire twin—the twinned soul who is missing. Once a vampire recognizes his or her mate, they renew your bond in the cycle (aka current lifetime) and the bond’s strength strengthens the vampires’ powers. This is their way. Blue Bloods have lived according to the Code of the Vampires since the beginning, although cracks are starting to appear in their culture. The two most powerful vampires of all time, Gabrielle and Michael, broke their bond when Gabrielle bonded with her human conduit and gave birth to a half-human, half-vampire daughter, Schuyler Van Alen. Now Schuyler herself has caused another rift, as her true love, Jack Force, or Abbadon, the Angel of Destruction broke his bond with his twin, Mimi Force (Azrael, Angel of Death), to be with Schuyler.

When I was writing Blue Bloods, I wanted to create a world where breaking a bond had shattering consequences, it wasn’t something to be taken lightly. I wanted to write about unbreakable commitments and also what it means to have these bonds renewed every year, for the rest of your life, and what part new love can play in these situations. Bonds are consecrated in heaven, but Jack reveals in Bloody Valentine, that he was never able to choose his bondmate, that she was chosen for him.

So then the bond is also a curse. It was fun to play with all the angles of this mythology and I love writing about characters whose backs are to the wall, and who have no choice but to break out of the corners immortal life has created for them.

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You can find more information about Melissa de la Cruz, the Blue Bloods series and her other work on her website: http://www.melissa-delacruz.com, as well as her publisher’s website: http://bluebloodsbooks.com. You can also follow Melissa de la Cruz on Twitter: http://twitter.com/MelissadelaCruz.

!!!CONTEST TIME!!!  

One lucky winner will receive a copy of Bloody Valentine. 

To enter and qualify for a chance to win, leave a comment to: What qualities do you look for in a potential mate? or What qualities do you love about your mate? 
If commenting anonymously, please include an email address where you can be reached in the event of a win. Or email your name & email address with comment to: VampirePhile@gmail.com 

Contest is open until 9am eastern on Monday, February 28th (winners will be announced later on that day). Contest is open to US and Canada only.