A warm welcometo author Thianna Durston joining us today to talk about new release “Vespar”.
Will he kill the one who can save him… again?
My brand new release, Vespar, part of the multi-author m/m action/suspense romance series, just came out yesterday. Woot!
In many of my books, I create towns or businesses to fit the mood. But in Vespar, I use a lot of well-known places. I have to admit, it’s fun to set the scene with businesses and areas people know.
I went to Portland State University in Portland, Oregon and a couple of my art classes took me to Reed College for either an exhibition or a lecture or two. While there, I got to check out the Reed College Library. While much smaller than Portland State’s, it’s unique characteristics have stayed with me. Reed College is a small liberal arts college in south east Portland. The grounds are spectacular with huge lawns and well-developed trees. When I was developing my two main characters of Vespar and Marcolm and realized Marcolm was a college student, I instantly saw him on Reed campus. His personality just fit it.
Portland is my favorite city that I’ve lived in – and I’ve lived in more than my fair share. There’s a unique feel about it. Yes, there are conservative areas, but there’s also a large, bustling community whose belief is “Keep Portland Weird.” Mainly the thinking is many cities have their ‘weird’ groups. Portland wants to keep its overriding weirdness intact. From their naked bicycle ride in June to Star Trek in the park to all their wonderful communities like the Alberta Arts District and Hawthorne. And don’t forget NW 23rd – love that area.
So when I was setting the scenes for where Vespar and Marc would meet as well as where they would be seen, I wanted to bring out some wonderful iconic Portland’ness businesses. Gladstone Street Pizza has the quintessential Portlandian feel with their brand of pizza. You’re not going to find a lot of the pizzas you would find in a national pizza company. However you will find pizzas with Pesto & Chévre Cheese, Fresh Basil & Arugula, or Kalamata Olives, Sun-dried Tomatoes, Pine Nuts, & Pecorino Romano… if you get my drift. Portland is also proud to be beer drinkers so there is an ever changing list of ales, lagers, et al. It has the feeling of a Portland place and gave Vespar a couple chances to try and figure things out. While eating of course *grins*.
Another place I used was Victory Bar. They have a unique set of mixed drinks, love to use absinthe, and yes, I love their attention to the world of Mac & Cheese, otherwise known as Spätzle. Those offerings change constantly as well. It’s fun. It’s quirky. It’s Portland.
I also used other places near Pendleton. The thing is I had forgotten now fun it was to use real places I’d been to. I did that in my trilogy All They Ever Needed. And using them in Vespar made me smile and feel more attached to them. I hope you get attached to. And next time you’re in Portland, give Gladstone Street Pizza and Victory Bar a try. If you need more suggestions, open up a map to Portland and throw a dart. Seriously. And don’t forget: Keep Portland Weird.
(Vespar is meeting Marcolm at Gladstone for dinner. Afterward, he plans on killing him.)
He arrived when they opened at five and glanced over the interior. It was a long, thin building with a bar and multiple tables. It was also badly lit, which reminded him of some of the best pizza places he’d been to. College students did tend to know the best places to eat. Exposed beams above and a full-wall painting drew his eyes as he walked inside. He strode down the aisle between the bar and tables and chose the booth at the far back corner.
Vespar felt so off base that he came with a bit more armament than he would normally carry for such a simple operation. Besides his knife he had three guns and a stunner. He also had a tear gas capsule that he would drop if needed.
He ordered a soda from the overly bored waitress, and then he waited. And waited. And waited. When he glanced at his watch and saw it was after five thirty, Vespar growled. Had he been had by a silly little twenty-one-year-old? Great. He’d made it through war-torn areas that were so dangerous most soldiers wrote a letter home before entering them. Vespar had never failed to kill his foe with little fuss. And a… a boy had bested him?
Before he could stand up and go find his target, Marcolm walked inside. The rain on his coat made it glossy. He pulled back the hood to reveal his damp hair, and his eyes darted down the tables until he spotted Vespar. Then he smiled.
Vespar froze and stared as his gut did some sort of weird, fluttery thing. What the hell is that?
Have you been to Portland? If so, what’s your favorite Portland spot? If you haven’t, what’s your favorite place in your home city?
About The Order of the Black Knights:
Every century has seen its knights. But there are those who are never seen. They do what must be done—what has to be done—when nobody wants to get their hands dirty. They are called the Black Knights. First created in the 1100s by the wizard Moriel, these men seem cold and hard, and it is said that some have no soul. But for each knight, there is one who can bring out the man who waits inside. The question is whether or not he will kill the individual before he figures it out.
Through the ages, they’ve conquered and ruled and taken what they wanted. And they have adapted to modern times. Instead of being bullies for hire, they have taken their skills further—the Internet, the CIA, government infiltration, hacking, special ops, assassination, but each one of them has a need they don’t understand—to squash, kill, or destroy.
If the Knight pardons his enemy, he will no longer be cursed. If not, he will continue to live the same life again and again, and each life will make him harder and more unyielding. And each life will make it less likely that he can be saved.
Blurb for Vespar:
Special ops turned professional killer, Vespar McKauley is hired to take out Marcolm Rogers, son of his employer’s worst enemy. But Marc isn’t like any hit he’s ever done. He’s just twenty-one, he goes to a private university studying English Lit, and for fun he plays computer games with his friends. No drugs, no partying, no crime. The day he bumps into Marc and looks into his azure eyes, the world drops out from under him.
With his father in the Chicago Crime Syndicate, Marc and his mom have stayed out of the limelight, hiding from those that might harm them. He figures he’s safe at a small liberal arts university all the way across the country. Only midway through his senior year, he feels eyes on him and the shadows encroaching. Just as he’s about to run, he meets Vespar and experiences an instant attraction. When Vespar tells him he’s in danger and offers to protect him, Marc wants to believe him. But he’s been hunted before, and this time he isn’t sure he’ll get away. Especially when he finds out he is Vespar’s target.
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Thianna Durston is a writer by day and supernova by night. Or at least that’s what the faeries tell her. And who is she to deny those pesky *cough* lovely little creatures?
She lives in the Pacific Northwest, though her heart belongs elsewhere. In the meantime, until she can return to the place she calls home, she happily lives in a city that still thinks it’s a small town. Thankfully, it has given her muse lots of amusing places to start a story.
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