Vampires and Villains by Elizabeth Pantley – Book Review & Author Interview

Today, I’m excited to be featuring an author whose blurbs have captivated me for some time. Meet author Elizabeth Pantley.

This post features a blurb for Pantley’s newest paranormal cozy mystery Vampires and Villains, an author interview and a book review. It's part of a blog tour via Lori's Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours.

 

Book Blurb for Vampires and Villains

Paige and her joyful Aunt Glo have learned that the home they inherited comes with a magical library. They put together a book club group of loveable kooks to explore the magic.

They’ve recovered from their first book journey, and they all agree on their next book which takes place on a cruise ship bound for Hawaii. Problem is, they were so excited about the cruising idea that they didn’t read the entire blurb on the back of the book. (“It was entirely too long,” explains Zell.) Once on the ship, they meet a charming and likable man who blends seamlessly into their motley group. Too bad they don’t know why he’s so scarce during the day but shows up to join them every evening for dinner, drinks, and a show.

When a dead body shows up on board, their new friend is labeled a suspect. Can they help him out by finding the real murderer? Or is he the real murderer? The book club will need to solve the case to get off the ship, out of the book, and back to their home.

 

Interview with author Elizabeth Pantley

Nadaness In Motion: Can you tell us about your writing process?

Elizabeth Pantley: When a new book idea forms, I build a rough outline. I like to know the main facts: Who did it? Why? Who’s the victim? Where’d it happen? How did it occur? Then I like to outline the last chapter, so I know where the story is going. Once I start writing the characters take over the story and I need to follow their lead.

 

Nadaness In Motion: We all wish we could dive into a book and meet the characters. Are any of the books from the Magical Mystery Book Club series inspired by real books?

Elizabeth Pantley:  Not yet! But it would be cool to allow the Club to go into a real book and become part of the story.

 

Nadaness In Motion: When you’re not writing your books, what genres and authors do you like to read?

Elizabeth Pantley: My favorite genre is paranormal cozies – big surprise since that’s what I write! I have so many favorites I’d have to write a book!

 

Nadaness In Motion: In Vampires and Villains, the characters are on a cruise ship headed to Hawaii. Do you write about places you’ve been to? Do you travel for research? Or do you just research the whole thing?

Elizabeth Pantley: I like to write about things and places I’ve experienced to make the story more vibrant and realistic. I love to cruise! I haven’t been out on a ship in the past three years, of course, so I decided to take a trip vicariously through my characters. It was a blast being back on a cruise ship!

 

Nadaness In Motion: One of the book writing tips I often read is to make sure your characters, especially your main character, aren’t perfect. They have to have negative traits. Can you tell us what are some of the main character’s negative traits?

Elizabeth Pantley: I agree that nobody wants to read about a perfect person. It’s just not realistic, and sometimes annoying! This book features the eight members of a book club. They are a sometimes goofy, often disorganized, occasionally confused bunch. It’s fun to watch them piece together and solve a mystery.

 

Nadaness In Motion: Are you planning to do any crossovers between your paranormal cozy mystery books?

Elizabeth Pantley: I’ve sure thought about it! It would be a blast to have the book club visit Hayden, Latifa and the gang in Destiny Falls!

 

Nadaness In Motion: If someone were to go through your browser’s recent searches, what are they likely to find? (People always say not to ask a mystery author this question, that’s why I’m asking it :D)

Elizabeth Pantley: My son and I were just laughing about this! My searches leave a hysterical trail. ‘What does a human body look like after 3 days in the water?” – “What poison kills quickly and silently?” – “Can you kill someone by stabbing them with a knitting needle?” – “

 

Nadaness In Motion: What advice would you give to someone writing their first cozy – or paranormal cozy – mystery?

Elizabeth Pantley: Everyone is different, of course. But if you’ve never written a book before, I suggest that you start by reading. Pick two or three of your favorite books and read them again. But his time, read to learn.

Pay attention to more than just the story and take lots of notes. How does the author keep your attention from page to page? How does each chapter end, and each new one begin? What sentences grab you, make you laugh, or cause you to gasp? How does the dialog flow when characters are speaking versus the narration portions of the story? How does the author describe each new character – it’s more than listing height and eye color! How does the author describe the settings? What ways make it interesting to learn about a new character or place?

Once you’ve analyzed your favorite books – just start writing! Don’t expect perfection in your first attempt. Just let your creative self loose and see what happens!

Book Review of Vampires and Villains 

How often have you dreamed of becoming part of a book and mingling with the characters?

If you’re a bookworm like me, your answer is probably “too many times to count!”

Vampires and Villains is my first read for Elizabeth Pantley and it’s unlikely to be my last. The book comes with a strong premise. A book club group not only reads a cozy mystery, they’re teleported into one, become characters, and have to solve the mystery!

The book opens with the book club group – 7 members who are awaiting the 8th! We get a brief intro for the characters before they head to a magical library to decide which book they’ll dive into.

“The two-story library was filled to the brim with books. A brass spiral staircase joined the levels. A massive stone fireplace centered the room, and the carved wood mantle was graced with a statue of a woman holding a mystery book. A beautiful antique globe sat in the prominence on a carved wood table, and an ancient Underwood typewriter was displayed in a glass case.”

Though it’s my read, Vampires and Villains is the second book in The Magical Mystery Book Club Series.

The main character, Paige, and her aunt Glo, inherited the magical library from their great-grandmother, who, it turns out, has been having tons of adventures.

In this book, their 8th member is 82-year-old tiny but super grumpy Maximilian, who goes by ‘Million.’

“Million. As in Maximilian. Not Millions.”

There are lots – and I mean LOTS – of characters in Vampires and Villains! And I must say I got confused several times as to who’s who. Also, the characters move – most of the time – in a group of 8, which I felt was too suspicious and unrealistic.

That said, there were several memorable characters like Million, Zell, and Frank. I also liked Forrest, the only teen in the group.

By the way, Frank is their talking cat, who also graces the beautiful Vampires and Villains cover.

Though Million and Zell are both in their eighties, they’re entirely different characters. Frank and Million are the most sarcastic characters in the book. And I absolutely loved them!

“You don’t just read these. You are actually…transported into the story.”

“As in… The Chronicles of Narnia? Or more like Jumanji?”

“I hope not like Jumanji!” I gasped. “I don’t think my heard could take it. No, no. More like…um…”

“Becoming a character in a Hallmark mystery channel movie!”

Narrated from the first-person perspective of Paige, Vampires and Villains takes the characters to a cruise ship in Hawaii. There’s lots of humor in the book. But there were also many redundancies that could have made it more exciting.

And because Zell doesn’t read the entire blurb, because it was “too long” the characters discover they’re in a paranormal cozy mystery! They find themselves aboard a cruise ship with several vampires!

One of the things I liked about Vampires and Villains are the comments the characters make when they try to remind themselves that they’re in a book or are dealing with other characters. Like this one:

“Has this scene been written by one of those authors with a love of adjectives?’

Overall, I think Vampires and Villains is a fun and quick read. I loved the premise and I’m definitely interested in seeing where the characters go in the coming books.

Overall rating for Vampires and Villains by Elizabeth Pantley: 4 stars

 

About the Author

Elizabeth Pantley says that writing the Destiny Falls Mystery and Magic Book series is the most fun she’s ever had at work. Fans of the series say her joy is evident through the stories she tells. 

Elizabeth is also the internationally bestselling author of The No-Cry Sleep Solution and twelve other books for parents. Her books have been published in over twenty languages. She lives in the Pacific Northwest, the beautiful inspiration for the enchanted Destiny Falls world.

Connect with author Elizabeth Pantley via Goodreads, her website and her blog, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest.