Guest Post: Jaz Primo

A while ago, I found a book that caught my eye. It has everything my Urban Fantasy loving heart desires: Tough chick, weapons and urban and graveyard inspired background. When I checked out on goodreads I found out that it had already been published. Why didn´t I hear about is earlier??? I decided to confront the author demanding a justification. Turns out Jaz Primo is not incredibly nice but also very funny. So I literally forced him to come here today to chat about his debut, Sunrise at Sunset.

So dear readers, help me welcome Jaz Primo!

*Silence*

*The inexorable sound of silence on the Dark Side*

*"Cosmic Love" by Florence + The Machine plays*

 

And with that...the silence is broken. Yet, it's still remarkably dark. Hmm...must be because we're on the Dark Side!

*wink*

Hello fellow urban fantasy fans. I'm Jaz Primo, and it's my honor to be a guest on Reading on the Dark Side. That being said, I'm sure you're wondering who Jaz Primo is. Fair question, really. I wrote a novel titled Sunrise at Sunset. It's a recently-published urban fantasy vampire novel, and the first in the Sunset Series. You can view a book trailer for it on a host of web locations, including my website at www.jazprimo.com/extras.htm and YouTube at www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUe5QywiCiE&feature=recentf.

Okay, here´s my cue!

Jaz´s Primo´s debut “Sunrise at Sunset” has a very surprising premise: instead of a strong, male alpha vamp, we get to meet Katrina, the first female alpha vamp I have ever read about.

Katrina is a really impressive character. While there is no doubt about her power as vampire, she is also incredibly caring and loving towards Caleb. At times, she almost seems overprotecting, tryung to shield him from anything that comes with her existence as vampire.

Caleb on the other hand is definitely ot like you would expect from a Urban Fantasy hero. He is gentle, abhors violence and tends to give in rather easily. He deals with Katrina´s revelation about her true identity like anyone else would.

Later on in the book a mortal foe threatens Katrina´s and Caleb´s fragile new relationship. I really liked this development, since relationships are not always all lovey-dovey (right?). But then again, there are really sweet and tender moments between them where you get a glimpse of just how much the unlikely couple cares for one another.

I also really enjoyed Katrina´s vampire friends, Alton and Paige, how the somehow odd realtionship between bubbly Paige and Caleb forms and how Caleb gets introduces little by little into the vampire world.

After a lot of books written in the first person´s POV, it took me a time to adjust to third person narrative Jaz Primo´s book, but I guess that is not his fault.

Also, “Sunrise at Sunset” is strictly an Urban Fantasy novel, not one of those urban Fantasy Romance / Romantic Urban Fantasy crossovers. There are no references to sex whatsoever. So if you like some adult content in your book, you might want to read something else.

All in all, I really enjoyed Jaz Primo´s debut. If you want to read a book with a very strong female character for a change, I can only recommend it to you!

Like it? Here's the teaser from the back of the novel:

--------------

“We vampires are focused and tend to shape our own realities.”

My name is Katrina Rawlings, and I am a vampire. I declare that with neither pride nor ego. I am simply nature’s most dangerous predator. On occasion, it’s a very valuable quality. It helped me

protect Caleb Taylor one day when he was very young. But that single, traumatic day is behind him now; wiped from his memory, or so I hope.

Caleb has finally matured into a rather striking young man, and believe me, I like what I see. I’ll readily admit that there are issues for us to confront and overcome, though a sense of mutual commitment isn’t one of them. I’m feeling hopeful for our future together, in fact. But an adversary from my past has returned to haunt me, and she’s trying to get back at me through Caleb. That was her first...and last...mistake. I’ll protect my Caleb at all costs, and I’ll make her regret the day she was born.

So, I suppose that I’m not just a vampire. I’m about to become someone’s worst nightmare!

--------------

Sound interesting? If you like both a dose of romance and adventure in your vampire novels, then I highly recommend giving it a try. I think that you'll like it.

*smile*

*"Goaltime Exposure" by Land of Talk plays*

I simply love writing with a soundtrack. What can I say? It helps stimulate my mood and creative writing. It's like jet fuel for my imagination, really. How about you? Do you like reading to music?

*pausing*

Better still, how many of you think that your life should come with a soundtrack?

*grin*

I certainly do. Our lives really are a live-action production...our very own reality show, to say the least. Surely, we deserve a soundtrack. But what would your soundtrack be? Do you hearken to a specific genre, or would your selections be based upon the moment or scene? As for me, I tend to have a soundtrack going on in the background most of the time. I listen to music on my iPod when exercising, working around the house, or simply driving down the road between destinations. My favorite genre is alternative rock, but I also enjoy movie sound scores, classical symphonic compositions, or even classic jazz. For me, it's all about setting a mood. When I'm writing, I tend to queue up the music for the scene at hand, and have it repeat endlessly until I'm ready for the next scene or mood. Eventually, the music fades to background noise as I focus on what I'm writing. Then all I'm left with is the mood...the essence of the ebb and flow of the characters and their exploits.

*Strumming my fingers on the keyboard in deep thought*

However, can you imagine the cacophony of soundtracks going on all around us simultaneously? It would be decibel pandemonium to our beleaguered ears! Or rather, as the Joker inside me whispers, "Pure, unadulterated auditory anarchy."

*chuckling*

Aw well, it was a nice idea while it lasted...

Moving on.

People sometimes challenge me with, "Jaz, the world is already full of vampire novels. And besides, with Twilight, The Vampire Diaries, and Tru-Blood we're headed for inevitable burnout with vampires! What in God's name were you thinking?!"

Folks, I'm here to tell you: I didn't contrive to write a vampire novel...it made its presence known, and demanded to be written. I mean, if I were a savvy author out to make a mint by cornering the next great urban fantasy, I'd be manufacturing something completely new and unheard of in the annals of modern literature. But then, that's not me, really. I write based upon my passion and inspiration; not because I'm a publishing mogul out to corner the market. (Full Disclosure: Feel free to make my novel the next great craze in urban fantasy...please!)

*rubbing my hands together in giddy anticipation*

*Christine clears her throat audibly*

Sorry, blog moderator. Where was I?

Oh, yes. The characters in my Sunset Series literally popped into my head, and frolicked around my imagination incessantly until I finally relented and wrote down what they were doing. Simple as that. I have to admit, I like the fact that they do have a life of their own. I'm often amused by what they come up with next, actually. In fact, three novels later, I can't wait to get started writing the fourth novel this winter!

*smiling happily*

*"Success" by Interpol plays*

Well, it's about time for me to wrap things up. My sincere thanks to Christine for the opportunity to meet you, and spend some time on the Dark Side. It's a wonderful blog, and a place I'd love to visit again in the future! If you have a chance, I hope that you'll drop by my website at www.jazprimo.com or my blog at primovampires.blogspot.com. Most of all, I hope there's room on your TBR list for Sunrise at Sunset!

I now return you to your regularly-scheduled Reading on the Dark Side.

Peace.

Jaz