Guest Author: Piper Maitland

Piper MaitlandI am excited to welcome author Piper Maitland, who is getting ready to release her first paranormal novel, Acquainted With The Night.

The pages of history are written in the blood of the undead…
A woman’s quest for the truth…
A medieval icon that holds the clues…
An ancient book with the power to shake Christianity—and humanity itself…

Caroline Clifford’s bland life as a London tour guide flips upside down when her beloved uncle is brutally murdered at a Bulgarian archeological site. While traveling to recover his remains, she meets a man who corresponded with her uncle. Jude Barrett is a biochemist on a mission—to eradicate the world of vampires…

At first, Caro is dismissive of Jude’s beliefs, but she can’t ignore the signs around her—the human bites on her uncle, the strange men following her, the anguished cries after sundown. Strange anagrams on her uncle’s passport lead her and Jude to a cliff-top monastery in Greece, where a shattering revelation connects a relic Caro inherited from her parents to an age-old text on immortality—and an enigmatic prophecy that pits the forces of darkness and light in a showdown that could destroy them all…

Make sure you stick around to the end. We’ll be giving away Acquainted With The Night.
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7 Facts About Acquainted With The Night

Fact #1: When I was a tiny girl, I saw Dracula on the Late, Late Show, and it kind of marked me. For years, until I discovered boys and lost my fear of the undead, I slept with a crucifix and garlic.

Fact #2: I’m the author of six southern novels (with a seventh due next year), and not a single one has a ghost, imp, or vampire. But I’ve been tempted. I have a normal food/shelter blog, though it has an abnormal name, in honor of Gollum from Lord of the Rings.

Fact #3: I started writing Acquainted With The Night in the winter of 2008, right after I finished a book tour. I was burned out on southern fiction and decided to raise pygmy goats. I ate cheese cake, took pictures of food, and ate more cake.

Fact #4: I had one of my As-God-Is-My-Witness, I-Will-Too-Write dreams, and I woke up thinking about fangs and crucifixes. While driving to the grocery with my son, the idea for a vampire novel fell out of the sky.Why not write something different? So what if it’s not published. Besides, that’s a crappy reason to write. A writer writes because he or she loves words and because they’ve got a burning desire to put those words onto the page. I’d been putting off writing a paranormal, specifically about vampires. The time had come.

Fact #4 1/2: I pulled from my science background to create an unusual strain of vampirism and to explore the physiology behind it. My fact checkers were “in house”–my husband, a physician, and my younger son, a biochemist. Jude Barrett, a main character in the novel, is a biochemist. I showed it to my agent, some writing friends, and my mother. My agent believed in the manuscript from the beginning. Friends were divided. My mother freaked. “Oh god,” she said. “Go back to writing unplotted Southern fiction.”

Fact #5: (I could tell more but I won’t.) The book sold in fall 2009 to Berkley. It was scheduled for publication in late winter 2011, but it was rescheduled to accommodate the publication of my Southern mystery. Meanwhile, my agent, sold the second vampire novel to Berkley, A Requiem for Daylight.

Fact #6: I decided I loved tying my heroines to the train tracks. By writing a paranormal novel, I rediscovered the joy of writing and plunged into workshops and writing classes. I’m still taking classes. I just finished a year-long mentorship with author Lori Wilde, and I’ve taken a steampunk workshop with author Theresa Meyers.

Fact #7: Acquainted With The Night will be published this November by Berkley. To be sure, I will be celebrating with cheesecake.
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Meet Piper Maitland!

Piper Maitland lives on a Tennessee farm with her family. She is the author of the vampire thriller, Acquainted With the Night (Berkley/November 2011). She is currently working on the sequel, A Requiem for Daylight. Piper has also written novels under the name Michael Lee West.

Contact Info
Website: www.pipermaitland.com/
Blog: http://acquaintedwiththenightbypipermaitland.blogspot.com/
Social Media: Facebook | Twitter

Want to purchase ’s novel?
PMaitland-Acquainted with the NightAcquainted With The Night at Amazon | Book Depository
A Requiem for Daylight (2012)

Teeny Templeton Mystery (writing as Michael Lee West)

  1. Gone with a Handsomer Man at Amazon | Book Depository
  2. A Teeny Bit of Trouble at Amazon | Book Depository (April 10, 2012)

Crazy Ladies at Amazon | Book Depository (writing as Michael Lee West)
She Flew the Coop at Amazon | Book Depository (writing as Michael Lee West)
American Pie at Amazon | Book Depository (writing as Michael Lee West)
Mad Girls in Love at Amazon | Book Depository (writing as Michael Lee West)
Mermaids in the Basement at Amazon | Book Depository (writing as Michael Lee West)
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Contest Time!

Thank you Piper for taking the time to stop by Literary Escapism!

Contest Time! Piper is giving away a copy of her new novel, Acquainted With The Night. To enter, all you have to do is answer this one question: Is there a part of the paranormal/supernatural that you’ve been hesitant with? Why haven’t you taken the plunge yet? Remember, you must answer the question in order to be entered. (US only)

Even though I’m not giving the additional entries any more, you can still help support the author by sharing their article, and this contest, on your blog, Twitter, Facebook, or anywhere you can. After all, the more people who are aware of this fabulous author ensures we get more fabulous stories.

The winner must post a review of the novel someplace. Whether it is on their own blog, Amazon, GoodReads, LibraryThing or wherever, it doesn’t matter. Just help get the word out.

The contest will stay open until December 24th at which time I’ll determine the winner with help from the snazzy new plug-in I have.

I have not been contacting winners, so you will need to check back to see if you’ve won.

About Jackie 3282 Articles
I am a 30-something SAHM with two adorable boys and a supportive husband who is very tolerant of my reading addiction. I love to read and easily go through about a dozen books a month – well I did before I had kids. Now, not so much. After my first son was born, I began to take my hobby of reviewing a little more serious and started Literary Escapism to help with my sanity. I love to discuss the fabulous novels I’ve read and meeting all the wonderful people in the book blogging community has been amazing.

6 Comments

  1. Wow! This is a great post. I completely understand the feeling of being hesitant to take that first plunge into a different idea or genre. I have hesitating writing anything that has to do with witches. I have my idea and a little bit of research on Wiccan magic, but I hesitate because I’m scared to get it wrong. It’s a pretty big burden to want to write about something real in a fictional setting.

    This book sounds wonderful, Piper. If I don’t win it, I will just have to buy it. :)

  2. Angels. I’ve read one book but I just can’t get into them. And I hate reincarnation stories. I don’t like the idea of being recycled like a plastic bag!

    SandyG265, I love Steampunk, so I’m going to recommend some books to you in the hopes that you’ll give it another try: Vampire Empire: The Greyfriar by Clay and Susan Griffith (Steampunk and vamps), Dearly, Departed by Lia Habel (YA Steampunk book with zombies) and Native Star by M. K. Hobson.

    Great post, this book sounds very interesting, thanks for the opportunity to win it!

  3. There really isn’t any part of the paranormal/supernatural that I’ve been hesitant with, I love it all. The only subgenre I don’t read too much of is romantic suspense, but if it has paranormal elements, I’m much more likely to check it out. I love it when an author comes up with their own version of the vampire mythology, with a twist that is different than what’s out there, so I’m looking forward to reading Acquainted with the Night.

    Barbed1951 at aol dot com

  4. Zombies. I have read one book about them that was really good, but the whole eating brains thing just completely grosses me out.

    This sounds like an interesting premise. Thanks for the giveaway!

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