By Kayley Thomas
Jeri Smith-Ready's third novel in the WVMP Radio series is out today, July 27th! I had the pleasure of chatting with Jeri a bit last week about the series and its newest installment, Bring on the Night, a book I recommend you all go out and buy. A quick summary of the book to bring you up to speed:
"Recovering con artist Ciara Griffin seems to finally have it all. A steady job at WVMP, the Lifeblood of Rock 'n' Roll. A loving relationship with the idiosyncratic but eternally hot DJ Shane McAllister. A vampire dog who never needs shots or a pooper-scooper. And after nine years, it looks as if she might actually finish her bachelor's degree!
But fate has other plans for Ciara. First she must fulfill her Faustian bargain with the Control, the paranormal paramilitary agency that does its best to keep vampires in line. Turns out the Control wants her for something other than her (nonexistent) ability to kick undead ass. Her anti-holy blood, perhaps?
Ciara's suspicions are confirmed when she's assigned to a special-ops division known as the Immanence Corps, run by the Control's oldest vampire and filled with humans who claim to have special powers. To a confirmed skeptic like Ciara, it sounds like a freak fest. But when a mysterious, fatal virus spreads through Sherwood—and corpses begin to rise from their graves—Ciara will not only get a crash course in zombie-killing, but will be forced to put her faith, and her life itself, in the hands of magic." -Official blurb
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Another vampire series, you say? Well, yes and no. Yes, it’s a vampires series. But no, it’s not just another one. The WVMP Radio books have bite.
Sad, sorry pun, I know. It’s true, though. Jeri mixes some seriously sexy, sometimes frightening bloodsuckers with a snappy, sardonic wit that you can really cut your teeth on. The WVMP series – beginning with Wicked Game, followed by Bad to the Bone, and now Bring on the Night – boasts a kickass heroine in Ciara Griffin, former con artist gone good with a marketing internship at a local radio station. Or at least, that’s how it all began back in Wicked Game. A little more background, for those of you who haven't had the pleasure of sinking your teeth into the first two books:
Though Ciara and Shane’s relationship bring the two of them to the forefront, each vampire has their own distinct personality, musical leanings, and backstory, making for a rich ensemble cast – one that at times is sure to clash, from their tastes in tunes to their beliefs. Each vampire is bound to their past – if they lose touch with it, they waste away. But they still have to survive in our world, one with increasingly few places for a vampire to hide and thrive. The radio station offers the perfect solution, but when it starts going down the tubes, Ciara comes up with a brilliant plan: hide in plain sight. Market the radio station as exactly what they are – vampire DJs, sexy and mysterious with unique radio programs and personalities. An elaborate fantasy that a vamp-crazed culture is bound to buy into, and who would ever guess that everything they say is true?
But of course, life – and life after death – can never go so smoothly. Throw in threats of corporate radio takeover, anti-vampire groups intent on exposing them, crazy cults, a mysterious group called The Control, and Ciara’s own dark history, and you’ve got a series that knocked me off my feet. I fell in love with Wicked Game, devoured Bad to the Bone, and can’t wait for my copy of Bring on the Night. This is a series that you don’t want to miss – sexy, fun, dark, sly, and unique.
Jeri and I talk the new novel, the state of the vampire, kickass heroines and their dreamy vampire boyfriends, the series’ rockin’ soundtrack and the overall importance of added zombies.
