Meet Roman ~ Pepper O'Neal's hero in Chasing Destiny

Today I’m interviewing Roman Fernwood, the half vampire-half Lycan hero from my upcoming novel, Blood Fest: Chasing Destiny, scheduled to be released on March 17, 2011 by Black Opal Books—www.blackopalbooks.com. 

Pepper: So Roman, you’re half Lycan and half vampire. How does that work? Were you bitten by both creatures? 

Roman: (chuckling): No, I wasn’t bitten at all. I was born this way. My mother was a vampire and my father was the Lycan alpha who fell in love with her. Becoming a vampire or a werewolf from an infection you get by being bitten is just a myth. An infection can’t really change your basic DNA. While vampires and shifters have been known to take humans for mates, they can’t change the humans into a vampire or a shifter. But if you read the book, you’ll see there are some really nice perks for the human mates.   

Pepper: What about your diet? Is that a myth as well? Can vampires eat real food or just blood?
Roman: Well, vampires aren’t able to process solid food, so they’re stuck with a liquid diet, which does consist of mostly blood. They can also drink alcohol, tea, and fruit and vegetable juice. However, because I’m half Lycan, I am able to eat solid food. And being a wolf, I mostly hunt for my dinner, although I still require human blood for my vampire half.

Pepper: Human blood? Eewww, do I even want to know how that works? 
Roman: Well, it’s not as bad as it sounds, but you’ll have to read the book if you want to know more. Your publisher won’t let me give away too many secrets. 

Pepper: So can you tell us what some of the other myths about vampires are and which ones are true?
Roman: Sure. Sunshine is very uncomfortable for us, but it’s not fatal. It hurts our eyes and is painful to our exposed skin. It feels rather like a severe allergy. But it just makes us miserable, it doesn’t kill us. Garlic has no effect on us at all. In fact, I love the taste of garlic. Crosses are another thing that has no effect. But silver will harm me because I’m half Lycan. It would take a lot of silver to kill me as I’m also half vampire, but silver is one of the few things that could do me serious damage. 

Pepper: If silver kills a werewolf, how do you kill a vampire? 
Roman: The only way is to kill them to decapitate them or destroy them by fire. For centuries decapitation has been the accepted method of killing vampires sentenced to death by The Council. Now, I know what you’re going to ask, and yes, we do police our own. We have only two laws, but the penalty for breaking either one is death. The two laws are 1) don’t reveal the presence of vampires, shifters, or other so-called paranormal creatures. And 2) don’t kill innocent humans. 

Pepper: And how do you determine what is an innocent human and what isn’t?  Roman: Well, that’s very complicated, and I’m afraid we don’t really have time for me to answer it here. I can tell you that auras play a part in it. But for more than that I guess you’ll just have to read the book. 

Pepper: Can you tell us how you deal with the two sides of your nature? How do you feel about being such a unique work of nature? 
Roman: (a wicked grin): “A unique work of nature, huh?” That’s an interesting way to phrase it. I like your style. But to be perfectly honest, I love being paranormal. I can’t imagine life without the enhanced senses and abilities I have as a result of my genetic makeup. My vision and hearing are far superior to that of humans, and my reflexes are much faster. Then there’s the freedom that comes from being able to turn into a wolf and run through the forests on four legs instead of two. It’s an absolutely incredible feeling. I’d have to say, I don’t see much of a downside, at least as far as my nature is concerned. And you’d think that with being half vampire and half Lycan, I’d be weaker than the full bloods of either species. But strangely, I’m not. My Lycan senses and abilities enhance my vampire traits, so my hearing, sight, and sense of smell is better than they would be if I was a full blood of either species. I also have the unique vampire abilities such as a heightened sixth sense, hypnotic eyes, and veiling, which most Lycans don’t have. And I have increased physical strength due to my Lycan genes, so I am stronger than normal vampires. I guess you could say I got the best of both worlds.

Pepper: We’re almost out of time here, but before we go, can you give us a brief rundown of a couple of your co-stars in Blood Fest: Chasing Destiny? 
Roman: Sure, I’d be glad to. First, there’s Chase Alcott. Chase is a handful. She’s smart, clever, and stubborn. Boy, is she stubborn! She’s also half human and half Tigris (tiger shifter). When I first meet Chase, she’s unaware of her paranormal nature, or the fact that she’s coming into her first heat. Which means I have to tell her. And you can just imagine how well that goes over. Then there’s Drake. Now, Drake’s a hell of a guy. He’s a full blood Siberian Tigris, and he looks it. He’s tall, muscular, handsome, and he’s the alpha leader of the local Tigris pride. He’s also my biggest competition for Chase’s affection. But believe me, I’m bloody well not giving her up without a fight.

Pepper: Thank you, Roman.

Blood Fest: Chasing Destiny sounds like a fascinating story. We’ll be watching for it on March 17, 2011 from Black Opal Books at

 www.blackopalbooks.com.

If you’d like to read the blurb, go to http://pepperoneal.com/blood-fest-series 

You can also read an excerpt at http://pepperoneal.com/blood-fest-series/excerpt-chasing-destiny 

And you can contact me at http://www.pepperoneal.com/contact

All photos provided by Pepper O'Neal