Guest Post: From Russia With Blood author Michael J Lee on balancing action and romance

Let’s give a warm GT welcome to Michael J. Lee, author of From Russia With Blood!

If you missed our spotlight Release Day post on the book, check it out here and read an excerpt.

After my first ebook My Frankenstein I left the good baron and his creation to write about vampires. Vampire spies as it happens. And it was a pleasure. Just like with My Frankenstein I felt like I was really in my element with this story. It was easier to write from the standpoint that it was set in contemporary times, for the most part. There’s a big section that is set during the Cold War but that’s not as remote as say 1830’s Bavaria. I also have vivid memories of many of the locations.

It’s not a typical paranormal novel. It’s much more action heavy. I’m a huge fan of the Bond movies and this was my chance to pay homage to a few classic scenes. I’m sure other Bond fans will be able to spot which ones.

There’s a lot of travel involved. Relationship wise it’s not that different from the Southern Vampire Mysteries except there the characters are more or less tied to Bon Temps. In this one Ian and Larissa jet from Connecticut to Los Angeles, then to Las Vegas, and then to Russia.

But it’s not all gunfights and broken necks. There is romance in this. This is a boy meets girl story. And boy does love girl. These two characters love each other so much that they’re willing to go through a lot. In that way the romance and action support each other. The love is tested and the action means something. This is why General Hospital has mad men with freezing machines and amnesiac gangsters. Action and romance go together like chocolate and peanut butter.

Look at Twilight. What would it be without the vampire battles?

Paranormal fiction brings everything together, romance, action and fantasy. That’s why it’s so much fun to write and so versatile. From Russia with Blood takes the genre somewhere new but also someplace that its fans will enjoy.

Micheal J Lee was born in the Midwest and has spent time out on the East Coast and in LA. He learned the craft of screenwriting the hard way, as a barely paid reader. That’s how he got a good feel for writing form and the craft of storytelling. His approach to a story is a lot like Bruce Lee’s approach to fighting, absorb what is useful. Lee published his first paranormal romance, My Frankenstein, recently. It’s been an adventure – and now he’s on to book 2, From Russia with Blood.

To learn more about Mr. Lee, check out his blog and follow him on Goodreads.

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