The CW's ORIGINALS Giveaway + Vampires & New Orleans the Perfect Combination

Why New Orleans is Perfect for the First Family

Vampires & New Orleans are like Beans & Rice

There is no denying the fact that New Orleans is known as a vampire hot spot. Most attribute tying vampires with New Orleans to Anne Rice and her fiction series, but the ties and lure of vampires go much further than a best-selling fiction series from the 90s.

New Orleans is the perfect setting for vampires and has seen quite a bit of vampire activity since it’s founding in 1699. It was inhabited by French and Spanish convicts, prostitutes and nuns. The original Ursuline nuns that still are prolific in the city today, are a main part of one of the biggest vampire stories that still resonates through New Orleans. It is thought that their ‘casket girls,’ young girls that came to the city and lived at the convent until they married, bearing with them large coffin-like luggage, actually helped smuggle vampires into the French Quarter. Those vampires were allowed to live in the attic of the Ursuline convent and it is still rumored that they live there today and on occasion escape. This is why the attic doors, which are sealed with “blessed” screws, will slam open on occasion, a common “haunted” sighting in the French Quarter.

Archbishopric_New_Orleans_Louisiana_DetPub

The Old Ursuline Convent in the French Quarter. You can see the attic windows in this picture, which are said to “fly” open on occasion, even though they are sealed shut with blessed screws. Archbishopric New Orleans Louisiana DetPub” by Uncredited photographer for Detroit Publishing Company – Detroit Publishing photo via Library of Congress website [1]. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.

In an ironic turn of events, in THE ORIGINALS, it is the witches that are kept locked in attics by vampires and not the vampires. I guess they turned the tides in the later centuries.

Modern day New Orleans is a much a draw to vampires as it was in the past. Our unique blend of cultures, our open-minded nature, rich grasp of history and ability to embrace the strange and usual, makes it the perfect place to settle for the “paranormally challenged.” New Orleans is the only town that you can find a voodoo shop a few doors down from a cathedral with little to no judgment by the cities residents.

It also helps that we don’t have “last calls” and bars will stay open until dawn and unwary tourist walk about with abandon, open to the idea of meeting a vampire…instead of scared of it. It’s a veritable all-night-buffet for vampires. Night-time in New Orleans is the perfect setting for a vampire.

Screen Shot 2015-05-10 at 10.12.50 AM

Mix the debauchery and excess of our visitors and then our 24-hour culture, paired with the uniqueness of our residents to embrace “different” and “unusual” characters as a way of life and a vampire is just another face in the crowd. We don’t stare harder at the guy in period dress…we just think of him as another “New Orleans character.”

But, these are all logistical reasons why New Orleans is the perfect spot for vampires. There is also an intrinsical and almost magical feeling about our city that just screams other-worldliness. If you want to know what gothic feels like, visit New Orleans. The town screams old-world and dark. From our above-ground burial grounds, that we call The Cities of the Dead, to the plethora of haunted tales that are whispered about in private circles and cement New Orleans as one of the most haunted cities in the country…I would think we would attract magical beings like flies to honey.

The Cities of the Dead

 

 

New Orleans and its dark nature, its obsession with the dead and paranormal and its ability to be accepting of macabre and unusual environments would welcome the Original Family with open arms. As long as they mostly behaved though. Because, even though, we are accepting we don’t take too kindly to people/vampires that don’t respect the city and its residents.  So, Klaus better keep that in mind…About The Books

The CW’s ORIGINALS Giveaway + Vampires & New Orleans the Perfect Combination

The Originals by Julie Plec

Published by Harlequin Enterprises, Limited on January 27th 2015
Genres: Fiction, Paranormal
Pages: 352
5 Stars

The Originals: The Resurrection

Family is power. The Original Vampire family swore it to each other a thousand years ago. They pledged to remain together always and forever. But even when you're immortal, promises are hard to keep.

Klaus, Rebekah and Elijah Mikaelson had won it all, only to lose it again by 1788. Control of New Orleans is split between the vampires and the werewolves, much to Klaus's displeasure.

In a dangerous attempt to reclaim his home, Klaus decides to build a vampire army to take out the werewolves once and for all. If he can't have love, then he'll settle for power. Elijah lets his brother take the reins as he turns his attentions to a beautiful and mysterious witch. But Rebekah has had enough of her brothers' love of bloodshed and begins a journey to find her first home and the key to her family's immortality.

As the battles rages on, the siblings must come together and fight for what they believe in most: family.

The Originals: The Rise by Julie Plec

Family is power. The Original vampire family swore it to each other a thousand years ago. They pledged to remain together always and forever. But even when you're immortal, promises are hard to keep.

Arriving in New Orleans in 1722, Original vampire siblings Klaus, Elijah and Rebekah Mikaelson believe they've escaped their dangerous past. But the city is lawless, a haven for witches and werewolves unwilling to share territory. The siblings are at their mercy…especially after Klaus meets the beautiful and mysterious Vivianne. Her impending marriage is key to ending the war between the supernatural factions—and Klaus's attraction to her could destroy the uneasy alliance. As Elijah works toward securing a piece of the city for his family, and Rebekah fights her unexpected feelings for a French captain, will Klaus's volatile desires bring their world crashing down—and tear them apart for good?

The Originals: The Loss by Julie Plec

Family is power. The Original vampire family swore it to each other a thousand years ago. They pledged to remain together always and forever. But even when you're immortal, promises are hard to keep.

After a hurricane destroyed their city, Klaus, Elijah and Rebekah Mikaelson have rebuilt New Orleans to even greater glory. The year is 1766. The witches live on the fringes in the bayou. The werewolves have fled. But still, Klaus isn't satisfied. He wants more. He wants power. But when Klaus finally finds a witch who will perform a spell to give him what he desires most, she secretly uses Klaus to unleash a curse—one that brings back hundreds of her ancestors—and begins a war to reclaim New Orleans. As the siblings fight off the attack, only one thing's for certain—the result will be a bloodbath.




About the Author

 

About Julie Plec

JULIE PLEC skillfully juggles work in film and television as both a producer and a writer. She is the co-creator and executive producer of “The Vampire Diaries” and the creator of “The Vampire Diaries” spin-off, “The Originals,” which tells the story of history’s first vampire family.

Plec got her start as a television writer on the ABC Family series “Kyle XY,” which she also produced for its three-year run. She also collaborated with Greg Berlanti and Phil Klemmer on the CW drama, “The Tomorrow People,” the story of a small group of people gifted with extraordinary paranormal abilities.

Her screenplay adaptation “The Tiger’s Curse” is in development at Paramount, and she will produce the feature “@emma” with Darko Entertainment. Past feature production credits include “Scream 2” and “Scream 3,” Greg Berlanti’s “Broken Hearts Club,” Wes Craven’s “Cursed” and “The Breed.”

Website | Twitter

Giveaway

The Originals GIVEAWAY!

Giveaway Info:  

The team at Harlequin has put together an EPIC prize pack for this tour! One lucky winner will receive the following:

  • Harlequin Tote Bag
  • OPI Lincoln Park After Dark Nail Polish
  • The Originals Books 1-3
  • Seasons 1-4 of The Vampire Diaries on DVD (please note season 1 is Blu-Ray).  

Please enter via the Rafflecopter form. Giveaway is open to US/Canada.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

Monday, May 11th – Parajunkee – New Orleans Post
Wednesday, May 13th – Alice Marvels – Klaus
Friday, May 15th – PBC – Review

Monday, May 18th – Bewitched Bookworms – Vampire Post
Wednesday, May 20th – Life With Two Boys – Quote
Friday, May 22nd – Fiktshun – Elijah

Monday, June 1st – Addicted Readers – Quote
Wednesday, June 3rd – Coffee ands characters – Vampire Post
Friday, June 5th – Two Chicks on Books – Vampire Post

Kismet