Romancing September #RomancingSeptember – Day 17

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Welcome to Day 17 of Romancing September Across The World Tour. Today our guest is Monica La Porta. Catch up with more from Monica in a few hours with the second part of our tour when Stephanie chats to her.

The Lost Centurion_new design

Where is your home town?

I am from Rome, Italy, but I moved to Washington State in the summer of 2000.

How long have you been writing romance?

I’ve been writing love stories since I was a kid, but I started writing professionally five years ago.

What is your favourite sub-genre of romance?

I have several favourites, among them paranormal, urban fantasy, and science fiction romance.

Tell us who Marcus is?

Marcus is the main character in The Lost Centurion. Once a proud commander in the Imperial Roman Army with hundreds of men under his lead, Marcus is now a lonely renegade whose life is powered by a thirst for revenge consuming him.

Who has he been searching centuries for?

As an immortal, Marcus has spent the last two thousand years looking for a vampire.

What does he think of Vampires?

He hates vampires, because one of them killed his wife, Aurelia.

How does he meet Diana?

After years of fruitless search for Aurelia’s killer, Marcus has finally a lead. An informant has promised him information about the vampire he’s looking for. The rendezvous is at the Roman Forum, but when Marcus arrives he finds his informant is being attacked. Marcus can’t save the man, but he ends up having to care for the informant’s vampling—a new-born vampire—Diana.

What locations have you used to mix Old and New Italy?

I took a virtual tour through Rome, mixing places I used to frequent when I was living there, and Marcus’s memories of the same places in Roman times. The Forums first and foremost, where the majority of Roman daily life happened, but also the modern neighbourhoods built on top of the ancient city. Marcus travels south to Amalfi to hide with Diana in his friend’s villa perched atop the rugged coast, and takes her to the Blue Grotto for a romantic evening. Finally, he must follow her to Castel Gandolfo, the medieval city where the Pope retires for his summer vacation, where the vampires keep Diana prisoner.

Tell us what you are working on at the moment.

I have just released the second title in The Immortals series, The Immortal Greek. My editor has finished her corrections on The Broken Angel, which should be out in October. And I am writing the fourth in the series, The Hidden Demon.

Where can readers find out more about you?

Monica La Porta

I have a blog and an author page on Facebook where I talk about my writing, my hobbies, my outlandish gluten-free, dairy-free, and soy-free recipes, and my love for beagles. I welcome questions from my readers, because interacting with them gives me great joy.

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/monicalaportaauthor

Blog http://monicalaporta.com/

twitter https://twitter.com/momilp

mailing list http://eepurl.com/znSHT

The Lost Centurion buying links:

  1. co.uk: http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Lost-Centurion-Immortals-ebook/dp/B00KMJB4OA/
  2. com: http://www.amazon.com/Lost-Centurion-Immortals-Monica-Porta-ebook/dp/B00KMJB4OA

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/442440

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-lost-centurion-monica-la-porta/1119629009?ean=2940045970778

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/the-lost-centurion/id883335328?mt=11

 

Find out more about Monica from Stephanie Hurt’s blog and all our Romance writers http://stephanie-hurt.com/

19 thoughts on “Romancing September #RomancingSeptember – Day 17”

    • Thanks, June 🙂 It was so fun to take a virtual stroll around all the places I used to frequent in Rome, and research what was there in Roman times. I had my dad sending me over all the books about Roman history laying around his place.

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  2. Ooh. Gorgeous cover! Droolworthy. I love a Roman 😉 and Marcus sounds scrummy. I’m going to check him out as soon as I get home from work this evening. Have a great day! ☺

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    • Thank you, Caroline! I am particularly proud of this cover because it’s my first solo project. I used to work with a fantastic cover artist, but he has changed job last Christmas, and I had to learn how to use all the software required to make covers. I am a slow learner, but eventually I managed to create something I liked 🙂

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  7. The more I read about “The Lost Centurion” the more I am intrigued. I am always interested in Paranormal Romance’s that involve Vampires. I can’t wait to see how you portray them, and see if they follow the traditional vampire or if you put a different spin on them. But I am especially interested to see how Marcus and Diana’s romantic relationship develops throughout book.

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    • Thank you, Megan! The thing I like the most about paranormal, fantasy, and sci-fi is the world building. I can get lost among the intricacies of a species and the anthropological and sociological implications of belonging to the vampire race versus the werewolf or the fey, etc. I like for my worlds to have rules and limits, because I prefer character-driven stories, and only obstacles create a character. And only deeply flawed characters create epic love stories.

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