Interview with Nicky Peacock, author of "Bad Blood"

Tell us about Bad Blood.

Well, at its core it’s a vampires VS zombies YA horror. It sees feuding vampires having to work together to save human survivors in a zombie outbreak in England. The story is told from the character, Britannia’s point of view and she is a strong-willed 4 centuries old vampire who has dedicated her existence to protecting her country and making her maker pay for murdering her true love.

You're stranded on a desert island and can only have one book with you, what is it?

Can I have my Kindle? I could MacGyver up a coconut electrical outlet to keep it charged? Okay, that’s probably cheating. I’d have to go with an anthology, that way I’ve got lots of stories and different authors to keep me distracted from the many island dwelling creatures lurking between the dark trees...  

Is there a place that inspires your writing?  Can you tell us about it?

There’s a local hotel that’s about a 5 minute drive from where I live. It’s an old manor house built in the 16^th Century. It’s stunning and you can almost feel the history of the place as you walk through its corridors. They have both a drawing room and library where I sit with a pot of coffee and my laptop. It doesn’t hurt that they have a spa too, which I do wander into every now and then too!

What do you listen to (if anything) while you write?

I do listen to a lot of music when writing, it can really help to get certain scenes flowing. I’ve put my play list for Bad Blood on my blog here: http://nickypeacockauthor.wordpress.com/2013/04/13/my-bad-blood-playlist-musical-inspiration-blog-hop/

It has YouTube links on each song so you can listen to them online. 

What are you currently reading?

I’m currently reading the Black Dawn by Rachel Caine. I love the Morganville Vampire books and am catching up on the series. I'm reading it in paperback whilst also reading Poison by Sarah Pinborough on my Kindle - this was recommended to me by another blogger. 

Title: Bad Blood
Author: Nicky Peacock
Publisher: Noble Romance Publishing, LLC -- Noble Young Adult, LLC
Genre: Young Adult, Horror, Paranormal.
Theme & Special Content: Zombies, Vampires, Violence, England, post-apocalyptic
Release Date: May 2013
ISBN#: 9781605923482
Length of book: 170 pages - print     119 pages - eBook
Heat rating: n/a
Purchase & Excerpt Link: https://www.nobleromance.com/Books/458
US purchase Link:
http://www.amazon.com/Bad-Blood-Volume-Nicky-Peacock/dp/1605923494/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1368863996&sr=8-2&keywords=bad+blood+nicky
UK purchase Link:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bad-Blood-ebook/dp/B00CPQDJN2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1368357057&sr=8-1&keywords=bad+blood+nicky+peacock
Canada purchase link:
http://www.amazon.ca/Bad-Blood-ebook/dp/B00CPQDJN2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1368864596&sr=8-1&keywords=bad+blood+nicky
Cost of Book: USA $8.90 Print -$4.90 eBook  UK £5.72 Print  £3.30 eBook. CA $5.05 Canadian Dollars
 

Blurb:

“I am Britannia. I am your protector. I will fend off the hungry hordes of undead hands that reach toward you. I am your steadfast defender. I will stand between you and the zombie masses as they try to taste your flesh. I am strong, unyielding, and dedicated to your survival. All I ask from you… is your blood.”

A five-hundred-year-old bloody game of vengeance will need to be put on hold if vampires are to survive the zombie uprising. Britannia and Nicholas, bitter enemies and the only two surviving vampires left in London, have to work together to save un-infected humans and deliver them safely to a vampire stronghold in the Scottish Highlands. Unable to drink the zombie "bad blood," the remaining vampires need the humans to stay alive. But will the vampires tell the survivors who they are and what they want from them? Will Britannia be able to hold back her vengeance for the greater good? Is survivor Josh the reincarnation of Britannia's murdered true love? And can she bring herself to deliver him to the "safe" hold?

Survival instincts run deep, but bad blood can run deeper.

Author Bio:

Nicky is an English author living in the UK. She writes both YA and adult horror and paranormal Romance. In her spare time she runs a local writers' group and can be found online through the links below:

Author Links:

Blog: http://nickypeacockauthor.wordpress.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/nickyp_author

Amazon Author page: http://www.amazon.com/Nicky-Peacock/e/B007UH2ACW/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_4

Face Book Page: https://www.facebook.com/NickyPeacockYaBooks

Good Reads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/list/4958833.Nicky_Peacock

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/nickypauthor/

Included with this information is a photo of Nicky Peacock and the front cover of Bad Blood.

"Breathing Underwater" and "Diva" by Alex Flinn

Breathing Underwater by Alex Flinn tells the story of Nick Andreas, a sixteen-year boy in trouble for hitting his girlfriend, Caitlin.  The novel opens on Alex’s court date where he is sentenced to an anger management class, weekly journal writing and he is no longer allowed to go near Caitlin.  Through his first person accounts of what’s currently happening around him and journal entries that tell the reader how he got to this point, we find out that Nick was abandoned by his mother and is a part of a cycle of violence as been abused by his father while growing up.  Nick’s journal entries are quite blunt and we find out just how controlling he is of Caitlin and how his anger escalates to the breaking point.  We also see how he gets on a path of recovery.  It was interesting to read a book that wasn’t from the victim’s point of view and to get inside Nick’s head.  The picked this book up because the description on the back caught my interest.  I’m very glad I did because it was a great book!

 

Diva wasn’t quite what I expected.  I anticipated a re-write of Breathing Underwater, only this book would be from Caitlin’s point of view.  Instead, the events in this book take place after Breathing Underwater.  The reader follows Caitlin on her journey auditioning for and attending the Miami High School of the Arts where she is studying to become an opera singer.  Like Nick, she keeps a record of what’s going on in her life, but instead of a notebook, she records her thoughts on her blog.  Each blog is started with her mood, the music she’s listening to, and her current weight.  Though this book is not solely about her weight problems, it is certainly a theme throughout.  Caitlin is a very real character.  She has a struggling relationship with her mother (and her mother’s relationship with a married man), has difficulty making new friends but is still working hard to achieve her dreams.  I feel that this is a book that teens can easily identify with and can read even if they haven’t read Breathing Underwater.

Happy Reading!

-Melly