Arrigo Giancarlo’s friends think he’s a rich young man with the unusual job of paranormal investigator, working with his psychic assistant in Las Vegas. In truth he’s a two-thousand-year-old vampire and member of the Chiaroscuro, a group of Supernaturals dedicated to keeping humanity safe from the more dangerous of their kind. He’s also openly bisexual… but alone.
When he spots Luc St. John in a bar, Arrigo is intrigued. What begins as an effort to repay the kindness shown to him in the past quickly turns into much deeper feelings for the suffering and displaced Cajun. For Luc’s part, he feels too poor, too uneducated, and too bound to his hateful family to ever be worthy of elegant and cultured Arrigo.
An old enemy, Eleni, blames Arrigo for murdering her true love. On the anniversary of that death, she’s back to take revenge. As Arrigo’s closest friends fall victim to savage attacks, he fears nothing will keep Luc safe. Should he break both their hearts and let Luc go, or is it too late? If Luc’s already in Eleni’s sights, Arrigo knows that like most things in Vegas, the odds are against him.
If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be? To listen to your gut and to back up everything more than once a century. I get horribly lazy about the backing up thing and it has cost me on multiple occasions. As for the listen to your gut, more than once in my writers’ groups (something I do recommend but with caution, if it feels like a bad fit for you, it probably is. I’ve seen writers stop writing after a bad run in with someone in their group), someone has ridiculed my story idea. When I was younger, I let this stop me. Probably the best example of this was back in the late 80s, early 90s when I was writing paranormal mysteries and more than one person laughed in my face. “No one will ever believe that! You’re wasting your time!” Now it’s a very popular mystery subgenre, and had I not let myself be dissuaded, I might have been at the forefront of that.
What was your first published work? Tell me a little about it. Ironically my first published short was also about vampires, but I’d rather talk about my first published novel, Kept Tears. It’s an urban fantasy set in my hometown area of Pittsburgh, PA. I was once upon a time a VA doctor. I was supposed to go into the Air Force to pay for medical school, but things went sideways there. Both left me with a life long desire to help veterans and the main character in Kept Tears, Aaron, is a disabled veteran, having lost an arm and nearly his leg as well in Afghanistan. The story begins with him trying to reclaim his life, going back to school when he meets Rhys at a steampunk party (because I’m definitely into steampunk). Aaron has no idea that Rhys is a faerie prince, one of the Tylwyth Teg and that he’s just been dropped into the path of a supernatural nightmare headed Rhys’s way.
In Blood Red Roulette what secondary character would you like to explore more? Tell me about him or her. I would definitely like to do more with both Siobhan and Taabu, and for that matter, Fadil. Taabu is Arrigo’s human friend and business partner with a true psychic gift. While, she was in this a fair amount, I’d like to explore her more outside of just the business which is where we see her the most. She’s a lot of fun but on the other hand she was mostly a foil to drive home to Arrigo someone is out to murder his friends.
Siobhan and Fadil are both members of the Chiaroscuro like Arrigo and have been his lifelong friends. Fadil never makes it into the book (but is in a short story set in this universe). He’s the one who made Arrigo a vampire and was his mentor and lover off and on for the last two millennia. Arrigo still sees him as one of the most important people in his life. Siobhan was made a vampire about a century after Arrigo as a result of a vampire hiding out in the Roman invaders cadres. She saw Arrigo as the enemy at first but has learned to love him deeply. I would love to do another story with Siobhan, Fadil, Arrigo and Luc as a team. However, while Luc understands that Arrigo has been their lover in the past, he probably doesn’t get they’re polyamorous. Arrigo, on the other hand, knows Luc isn’t quite cut out for that life style, at least not yet (if ever).
What are some day jobs that you have held? If any of them impacted your writing, share an example. When I was younger I worked on a neighbor’s farm. I’ve been a librarian assistant and bartender (I actually loved both of those). My two main jobs have been as a medical doctor (podiatrist) and after an injury left me with nerve damage in my hand, I became a college professor of biology (mostly biomedical). And actually a few of those jobs are in Blood Red Roulette. Luc is a bartender. He works more in a beer only sort of place and a bar I wouldn’t want to be caught dead in to be honest. My biomedical knowledge comes into play with the physiology of the vampire in this as well. These vampires aren’t the living dead kind. They are alive but changed at the genetic level.
Star Trek or Star Wars? Why? This is so hard because they’re almost equal (okay the original trilogy of SW. You can keep most of the sequels/prequels). But if you held my feet to the first, Star Trek wins. Spock and Sulu were my first celebrity crushes (followed by Han). I was born during S2 of the show and my parents loved it. If it was on in reruns we were watching it (I got them the DVDs and they drag them out whenever they’re bored). Then came The Next Generation and I still remember the day it premiered. One of my sorority sisters had a big screen TV (which in the late 80s was rare and so, it was a big deal). We had a viewing party supplemented heavily with uh sorority styled party favors, so it was actually a blur at the time. I admit it, the first couple of seasons were rough but TNG found its groove. I adore Picard because intelligence was rewarded on the show (unlike in my real life). ST pushed boundaries. Maybe it didn’t go as far as we would have liked but it did try. I’ve found something to like in all the spin offs. I’ve met much of the original cast. It will always have a place in my heart (and I happen to be wearing ST earrings as I type this, so it really has a piece of my heart at all times).
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Their accents were Louisianan, Cajun. Arrigo recognized the bayou accent because he had lived in the Pontalba Apartments in the French Quarter several years back. Arrigo figured they had come west looking for new homes after Hurricane Katrina like many others. He knew a whole clan of vampires who gave up the New Orleans cliché and moved to Tempe, Arizona.
At that first meeting, Luc snagged his attention, sending a warm feeling due south. Rarely did someone stir up enough lust to cloud his Roman-soldier sense of duty, but Luc nearly made him lose track of his quarry that night. He hoped the ghosts of his ancient cadre and his personal lares, the guardian spirits Romans believed in back in his mortal days, hadn’t seen him slip up like that. He hadn’t fully given up his belief in the old ways.
The problem with being so ancient was the nagging feeling he’d done it all, and he’d do something wild—and potentially stupid—to prove to himself there were new things to experience. Some days time went too fast, leaving him feeling alive, almost raw with sensation. On the other hand, there were weeks when time trudged by, and then he’d remember how long he’d been alone. Out of nowhere, a laugh perked up his spirit, a flash of a lovely eye ensnared him, or the sight of a well-rounded butt cheek made his heart race. Those moments were inevitable.
The night he first saw Luc’s cherubic face, it catalyzed a reaction. Of course a night in which he’d stalked dangerous prey had been no time to try to talk to Luc. However, working at Delilah’s Diner several doors down, investigating it for his book, suited Arrigo perfectly. After stopping at Delilah’s to gather stories the day after he’d fought the renegade, he planned to drop by the Alibi to see if he could talk to Luc.
As it turned out, he hadn’t had to. Luc showed up at Delilah’s that night. Luc and Lily, the waitress who had told Arrigo all about Delilah’s ghosts, chatted the whole time Arrigo poked around. The gentleness and concern Luc displayed with her, the promise to help her take her kids fishing like their dad used to, even his agreeing to pretend to be her boyfriend to shake off a scary customer spoke volumes. Luc was either a good guy or a crafty predator. Arrigo dealt with predators often, and Luc failed to impress him as one.
The second time Arrigo returned to Delilah’s to learn more from Lily, the cook, and a couple other waitresses in the dead, late-night hours of the twenty-four-hour diner, Luc showed up again, sporting a busted lip. Arrigo helped with a towel filled with ice for Luc so Lily could wait on other patrons. Arrigo only managed to exchange a few words with him, Luc’s wary gaze never leaving his face. Luc only stayed long enough to confirm the fishing trip before stumbling to the bus stop.
Tonight he’d try again at the Alibi after stopping at Delilah’s, using the diner as his excuse for being in the area. He could only imagine the bad reactions in the biker bar if someone thought he’d shown up to see Luc.
Once he arrived at the diner, Arrigo had second thoughts about going into the Alibi. This sort of bar probably thrived on gay bashing, and he was not in the mood to get into a fight with people he’d gladly drain down to the last drop. His inner predator didn’t need that sort of challenge. He glanced up and down the street, first at Delilah’s, then the Alibi. Tabernae remained unchanged for the most part since the days of his youth. Call it what you will:taberna, tavern, pub, bar, diner even, people had always needed a place to gather, to eat and drink. In a way, the Alibi reminded him far too much of his mortal days: rough people, bad booze, and even rougher prostitutes waiting nearby. A shiver ran through him. Some things Arrigo wanted to forget forever.
While Arrigo mentally debated on doing the smart thing and going home, Luc walked around the corner of the bar with a hose in tow. That made things easier. Arrigo didn’t even have to go into the bar with its sticky floors and miserable clientele.
Even though he knew he was probably asking for trouble, Arrigo sauntered across the street. Luc attacked the gritty, broken sidewalk with the stream of water from hose, but no amount of cleaning could make the Alibi look more enticing. Luc wore torn jeans with ragged stringy hems, a plain blue T-shirt thin enough it was nearly see-through, and a worn-out pair of canvas tennis shoes with the uppers duct-taped to the soles.As he closed the distance, the booze and vomit hit his senses before the copious puddle of it came into view outside the Alibi’s door. “Bonsoir,” Arrigo said, remembering Cajuns spoke a form of French thick with slang he only half remembered. The trouble with living so long was that languages became dated and he knew so many, he struggled to keep them all straight.
Luc looked up, surprise in his expression at hearing French. His face taking on a curious expression, he stared at Arrigo, almost eye to eye. Despite how much taller humans had grown, Arrigo thought he might have an inch on Luc.
Jana is Queen of the Geeks (her students voted her in) and her home and office are shrines to any number of comic book and manga heroes along with SF shows and movies too numerous to count. There is no coincidence the love of all things geeky has made its way into many of her stories. To this day, she’s still disappointed she hasn’t found a wardrobe to another realm, a superhero to take her flying among the clouds or a roguish star ship captain to run off to the stars with her.
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Thank you for the excerpt! The cover looks great =)
I agree. I love my cover. And thanks to Love Bytes for hosting me!