Guest Blog: Author of Frozen in Time, Marie Symeou - Why Reincarnation?

WHY REINCARNATION?

I find the idea of reincarnation fascinating. I always have done.

So in my vampire trilogy Blood of the Gods (Frozen In Time is Book 1) I have chosen to write about reincarnation because I wanted to explore the concept of immortality and humanity, of life, death and the afterlife through the lives of vampires and other immortals, angels and faeries, and other spiritual beings.

Traditionally, vampires are supposed to be immortal but have no soul. In my version, however, my vampires do have souls but they are trapped forever in their bodies. If they die their soul evaporates too, meaning that every part of them is lost forever. Which means, they cannot be reunited with their soulmates.

The main character Philip begins the novel as mortal but when he meets vampiric monster Scylla, who seduces him in the form of his beloved dead wife Amaranthea, he becomes an immortal blood sucker, cursed forever to crave the blood of mortals in order to survive.

Amaranthea, who died a mortal death, does have an immortal soul. One that can reincarnate through time. But will Philip meet her again? When and where? And if so, will these be meetings of great joy? There is so much that can happen in a story such as this, so many possibilities for plot storylines and plenty of characters I have had fun creating. A lot of complex souls I can get stuck into, some through first person narrative and some with third. Whatever works to tell their intriquing story and evolve with them. It's so engrossing, and as a story teller, I absolutely love it.

If you are interested in reincarnation, as well as vampires, then please check out Frozen In Time (Blood of the Gods, Book 1).

Set in Ancient Greece, at the time of Alexander the Great, a time when the spirit world of gods and goddesses and other immortal beings bleeds into the world of mortals, Frozen in Time is an engaging story of a love that can transcend anything. Even death or banishment to otherworldly realms, or the transformation of the lovers into immortal beings.

After the death of his wife in childbirth, Philip, grief stricken and suicidal, joins the army of his half-brother Alexander, with whom he has a very uneasy relationship. But the world of immortals has other plans for him and the vampiric sea monster Scylla plays on his grief by seducing him in the form of his dead wife. Horrified when he discovers that he too is now one of the immortals, it becomes his life's eternal quest to escape Scylla, find a way of destroying her forever and also reunite himself with his beloved wife's soul.

- From Goodreads

About the author:

I have been an avid reader all my life, and as a child I loved to write short stories and make little books and magazines out of exercise books. As an escapist and dreamer, I find it hard to deal with real life and enjoy losing myself in music and writing and creating my own fantasy worlds. It is what I've always done.

As a teenager I longed to be a singer. However,I always had this feeling that I'd write novels one day, probably after I'd achieved my dream of a successful singing career. Well, of course the singing didn't work out the way I wanted it to. But as I got more heavily into lyric writing and poetry, and since I loved reading novels, I decided it was now time to begin writing them too and start pursuing my other dream. As I have always had such a vivid imagination I thought it would be easy, but of course, you need more than just imagination to be a novelist. So, after honing my craft for many years I am now ready to reveal my first historical fantasy novel, FROZEN IN TIME, to the world. I've also decided to release the first novel I wrote (well, actually completed). AGE OF DREAMS is a novel set in the 1980s against the backdrop of the music industry.

I am currently working on the sequel to FROZEN IN TIME, a couple of screenplays, a cat memoir, as well as continuing to write lyrics for my band Violet Eternity.

I love animals, especially cats, and am hoping to sell enough books so I can open my own cat sanctuary one day.

My writing influences are: Anne Rice, Mary Shelley, Emily Bronte, Philippa Gregory, Jim Morrison, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Bram Stoker, John Keats and William Blake.

-(Taken From Goodreads)