Kensington Author Sara Reinke

by Joan Kayse

Sara Reinke lives with her husband and children in Kentucky. When she's not writing books or dreaming up strange new worlds in her mind, she's dutifully employed as a travel writer and editor. She's a proud member of Louisville Romance Writers chapter of Romance Writers of America as well as the Wild & Wicked Authors and Dark Muse Society. A rabid fan of actor Orlando Bloom, she can also link herself to Kevin Bacon in six degrees or less.

Sara, welcome to the Romance Bandits!

Thanks, Joan. It's a pleasure to be here!

Congratulations on your first paranormal book. Tell us about “Dark Thirst”

"Dark Thirst" is the first in a new series from Kensington's Zebra imprint, about Brandon Noble, one of an ancient clan of ruthless vampires known as the Brethren. Horrified by his birthright, Brandon shuns the ritual of the first kill, earning his family's lasting wrath. When he finds love with a human named Angelina -- forbidden among the Brethren -- his fate is sealed. Can Brandon protect Angelina from his enemies -- and his own dark thirst?

"Dark Thirst" is unique in its approach to the vampire world. Where did you find your inspiration?

I found inspiration from different places at different points in my life. The idea for the story has been in my head for a long time, probably more than 10 years. When I was growing up in Frankfort, I can remember seeing the enormous Thoroughbred horse farms lining either side of US 60 on the way to Lexington. I always wondered about who lived there, what kind of lives they led, because it occurred to me that someone could theoretically hide away from the rest of the world there, tucked back among the bluegrass fields. So that's where the original idea of the Brethren as a race evolved from; that speculation in my youth.

As far as the Brethren themselves, I wanted to approach vampirism from a logical perspective, so to speak. I wanted to find a way to make vampires seem plausible, their existence actually possible, and not just something fun or entertaining in a story. Presenting them as "undead," unable to walk in sunlight, warded off by garlic and all of that makes for creepy fun as far as fiction goes, maybe, but I thought there could be a different way, a more reasoned way to present them. Call it my inner Scully compromising with my inner Mulder, a la "The X-Files," I guess, LOL. I like writing paranormal, but I like the challenge of finding some plausible basis in reality for the stories, something that makes them more real. Making the Brethren more akin to a wolf pack was my solution. To me, the Brethren are like wolves, and humans are like dogs -- we're similar in many key ways, but intrinsically different in others as well.

Your heroes face some physical challenges. Was it difficult to get into their POV? What as been the readers reactions?

Brandon is deaf and mute, and from even the most primitive incarnations of this story in my mind, he's been that way, so I don't know that it was necessarily a challenge to write him, or difficult to get into his head-space, so to speak. I don't know why exactly I decided to make him deaf, but I like the paradox that he doesn't consider this to be a disability to him as much as being a vampire is. I wanted Brandon to be an underdog, but someone with the courage, determination and strength of character to stand up for himself and those he loves when the time was right.

Readers have really embraced Brandon. While he's definitely not your stereotypical alpha-male hero, he's also definitely not a wimp. He's young and sort of naive about the world beyond the safe perimeter of the Brethren farms, where he's spent his entire life, but he's also trained in martial arts and capable of handling himself. I certainly fell in love with him while writing the book. I always figure if I can't fall in love with my hero, I can't expect my readers too, either.

What’s next?

I just wrapped up "Dark Hunger," the sequel to "Dark Thirst," which will hit bookstore shelves in July, 2008. Now I need to get cracking on revisions for another project, a paranormal romance called "Resurrection," so my agent can begin marketing it. Somewhere in there, I try to fit in eating, sleeping and picking Play-Do out of my hair after playing with my toddler.

What one piece of writing advice can you give to our aspiring authors?

Never give up, no matter how discouraged you may become. While it's true that it takes talent to elevate your work to the top of a slush pile, from there, it's all a matter of luck -- of getting the right manuscript in front of the right person at just the right moment. And you'll never do that if you let rejections get to you, if you give up. Set realistic goals for yourself and your writing career and work hard to attain them. Never stop learning how to improve your craft. Above all else, have fun. Write what you love and love what you write and eventually, everything else will fall into place.

Thank you, Sara for joining us in the lair. Now I'd like to ask our readers what they like best about vampire romances? Sara is giving away a signed copy of "Dark Thirst" to one of our lucky readers.