Guest Post and Giveaway: ReVamped by Ada Adams

The first of today's guests is Ada Adams, author of ReVamped. Here a bit about the author:

"Many people sing in the shower. I, on the other hand, write scenes in my head and act them out."
At age five, Ada read her first chapter book - Pippi Longstocking. Ever since that moment, she developed an intense passion for the stories and characters found within the pages of literature.
In her career as an actress and a writer, Ada currently spends most of her days immersed in imaginary worlds. Much like the characters she enjoys playing and writing about, Ada is a martial artist with a Black Belt in Shotokan Karate. She is also a big proponent of lifelong learning, and has attained Bachelor of Arts in Psychology (it aids in creating characters with unique quirks!) as well as a Master's of Science in Education.
Ada strives to bring a fresh voice and perspective to fiction. She has been writing creatively for many years. "ReVamped" is her debut novel.
She lives in Toronto, Canada, and enjoys adventurous nature hikes with her adorable puppies Cara and Oreo.

Here is the blurb of her new novel:

          Nineteen-year-old vampire Dawn has led a sheltered life within the confines of her father’s presidential headquarters. Upon being sent on a mission to revamp four goofy misfits into guardians of a peaceful little town of Angel Creek, Dawn believes that all her dreams have finally come true. What starts off as a simple task, turns into something unexpected, changing Dawn’s life forever and leading the action-loving, thrill-seeking vampire teen on a path of mystery, danger and intrigue.

When a human girl is kidnapped by a group of rogue vamps, Dawn discovers that there is more going on in Angel Creek than meets the eye. And it all connects to Ethan, the cute newcomer who seems too perfect to be true, Sebastian, the mysterious vampire with a turbulent past, and even Dawn herself. Dawn must not only succeed in revamping the troubled recruits, but must also prevent the vampire race from being overtaken by a malevolent villain who has a strange and obsessive fascination with her. As threat escalates, romance blooms, and ghosts from her past begin to surface, Dawn is sure of only one thing: her life will never be the same.

Ada is here to talk about the origins of her novel, ReVamped. Take it away, Ada!

          The story of how ReVamped came to be is a “backwards” one compared to the birth of many other novels. Most of the time, books are first written, and only then are some optioned for shows and films. ReVamped, on the other hand, was born as a script for an action-comedy TV/Web series. During the pre-production stage, I came to the realization that, due to the direction in which I wanted the story to go, ReVamped The Show could not be rushed until I was certain that it would receive the highest production value possible. The script sat on my computer for a while as my schedule quickly filled up with other projects. However, the story and its characters would not leave me alone. I was often up until the early hours of the morning, my head bursting with new ideas and exciting plot development. One day, I finally gave in and sat down at my computer to write it all out. This time, in book form!
Various alterations to both the characters and the plot had to be made while translating ReVamped The Show into ReVamped The Novel. Here are the Top Ten Things that were completely changed from the first draft of the pilot script to the last draft of the novel. In my opinion, all were positive changes! :)

Top Ten Changes from ReVamped (The Show) to ReVamped (The Novel)
10. Dawn’s name was Gabrielle. Sebastian was Alexander. Surprisingly, Ethan and all of the secondary characters—Brooke, Sophie, Hunter, and Seth—retained their first names.

9. Dawn, uhh, I mean Gabrielle from the show was different from the Dawn you meet in the novel. While both girls were extremely strong physically, Gabrielle had a much tougher personality. She was one no-nonsense, smart, strong, and sarcastic vampire chick! While writing the novel, I had to infuse the character with some vulnerability, as she was coming off a little too tough and much too perfect. I wanted to the character to have some flaws. It’s not fun to read and write about a perfect character that is able to take everything that comes their way with ease. Dawn from the book also has some trouble talking to guys and expressing her feelings, as she has been sheltered all her life by her father. Gabrielle definitely didn’t have this problem.

8. Alastair (Dawn’s father in the book) was still the US Vampire President, but Dawn/Gabrielle wasn’t his daughter. She was his second-in-command; a sort of adopted daughter.

7. Angel Creek used to be called Burk’s Falls (which is the name of a small town in Ontario we were originally looking to shoot the pilot in). Thankfully, I made the decision to completely fictionalize the town in the novel, which gave Angel Creek a life of its own.

6. There was a lot more focus on comedy and parody in the script. While the novel is still very humorous and has some satirical moment, it is definitely not a parody. There is a greater focus on the more serious events and subject matter that occur in the story.

5. The premise of The Born and The Made didn’t exist in the script. In fact, Gabrielle was a two-hundred-year-old vampire (with no memory of her past).

4. Ethan was a bad guy. Like, really, really bad. But, it was set up that he was going to fall for Gabrielle (I feel very odd calling “Dawn” that), and perhaps change his ways. There was a lot of focus placed on this storyline.

3. Dawn and Sebastian (or rather, Gabrielle and Alexander) had a different story than they have in the book. I can’t share too much about it without alluding to Dawn and Sebastian’s connection in the novel, but I have a scene from episode six of ReVamped The Show that takes place in 1845, which I may share one day.

2. Aurora didn’t exist. Therefore, a large part of the plot of ReVamped The Novel didn’t exist in the show.

1. The vampires didn’t drink Blood Cola. I know, no Blood Cola? That’s a tragedy!

The giveaway is a Kindle copy of ReVamped by Ada Adams. To win, simply leave a comment telling me how you follow and follower name, along with the email address I can reach you by. You must follow me at least one way: GFC, Twitter, or RSS Feeds. The giveaway is open to all and ends May 11th.