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ABOUT VAMPIRE VIC
Would you give up donuts…for blood?
Fat, balding accountant Victor Thetherson hoped becoming a vampire would turn his life around. But Victor can’t stomach confrontation and gets queasy at the sight of blood. Instead he gets it from the blood bank, diluted in bloody Bloody Marys. The result: a vampire who doesn’t bite, and a man who gets no respect.
Victor’s slacking staff mockingly calls him Vampire Vic. Victor’s boss amuses his wife by intimidating Victor on video. His ex makes him stay out late while she entertains boyfriends in the house she insists they continue to share. One night it finally boils over, and Victor bites someone. And then another…and very soon, he’s no longer visiting the blood bank.
Muscle replaces fat, and his comb-forward widow’s peak takes root. Victor basks in newfound attention and respect, at the office and at home. But real vampires get hunted, and as the transformation reaches the tipping point, Victor must decide how much he’s willing to sacrifice for the power of the vampire.
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Thank you for the opportunity to talk about our book and our storytelling. We are excited about the partnership. You’re our first…we’re always going to remember this moment.
Could you please tell us a little about your book?
In Vampire Vic, vampires are not creatures of the night; they are among us, beneficiaries of the world’s sexiest curse. The occasional reported death or conversion does put a damper on the public’s fascination, but never for long. Victor Thetherson—bald, middle-aged, fat, accounting manager—is not sexy. He assumes vampirism will be an extreme makeover, bringing the respect he sorely lacks. But a submissive, squeamish vampire can only be an object of ridicule, with his ex-wife and daughter, with his staff and boss. When Victor does finally bite, when the desired transformation does begin, the awful tradeoffs become clear, and Victor must decide how much he’s willing to sacrifice for the power of the vampire.
Did something specific happen to prompt you to write this book?
We were at the Crowbar in Castle Rock, CO, kicking around ideas, getting nowhere, trying to pace ourselves, waving off the bartender (which was of course impossible, as one of us is the owner of the Crowbar, and stood to profit handsomely from our struggles). “Well, I hear vampires are hot.” “Yes. Let’s do a book about hot vampires.” “And hot vampire chicks!” “Who may or may not secretly be vampire slayers—” “Who may not even know which one they are!” “They twirl stakes like drum majors and train for battle with P90X!” And then we realized we had no idea how to write about hot people. But aging fat balding accounting geeks [composite Harris Gray], yeah, that was right in our wheelhouse. Plus a guy like that is going to see a lot more benefit from P90X.
Who or what is the inspiration behind this book?
It was, “What if a guy like that was a vampire?” (We are each right now pointing at the other. We do that a lot, for instance when someone asks, “For God’s sake who wrote that sex scene involving armpits?”) The vampire genre is thriving and evolving, and we had a blast creating our own vampire world.
Who is your biggest supporter?
Our wives without a doubt. As long as we don’t write about hot vampire chicks who may in fact be slayers but who are prone to crossing the line and biting when they shouldn’t, just barely drawing blood, more nibbling than biting really…as long as we don’t write about that, they are behind us 100%.
Your biggest critic?
This lady in one of the book clubs we hosted, who said she had to stop reading at page 22: “The writing was awful, I couldn’t even force myself to pick it back up.” She was a realtor; I dreamed of putting our house on the market just to be able to say to her, “I’ve tried but I can’t even force myself to use you as my realtor.” Fortunately my brother-in-law eventually broke his engagement to her and so we didn’t have to sell our house.
What cause are you most passionate about and why?
We like the be-cause, be-cause there should always be a reason for your actions. You should always be prepared to provide the why driving your decisions. And spaying and neutering your pets, like Bob Barker said.
In the last year have you learned or improved on any skills?
We have learned the art of twittering, or at least the importance.
Do you have any rituals you follow when finishing a piece of work?
We stop smiling smugly and try to slap each other in the face, shouting at each other, “Why are you smiling? You think you’re done? You think that’s good?! It’s full of holes and dangling plotlines! And it doesn’t have enough sex! Get your butt back in that chair and make it better!” Then we cut back on the gin and cut out a couple hundred pages or so; if neither of us tries to slap the other, we know we’re done.
Who has influenced you throughout your career as a writer?
The weatherman guy in Groundhog Day. He proved the power of practicing, the beauty that comes from working at something each and every day. However neither of us likes to work each and every day, every other day feels about right, which is why we teamed up. We’re contemplating adding a third person.
What is the most important thing in your life right now?
This interview. (That’s how Confucius would answer.)
What are you currently working on?
The sequel. And keeping Eugene the Vampire Slayer character from taking over our website to answer his fan mail.
Do you have any advice for writers or readers?
It would be great if more writers became readers, and stopped writing, or joined us, so that we could become a writer monopoly racking up giant sales and only working every ten-thousandth day or so.
Is there an author that inspired you to write?
We were writing stories way way back in time, before we were old enough to be inspired, at least consciously. It was a Tom Clancy book that inspired us to write a novel, that sort of laid bare a way to construct a novel, that sparked the “We can do that” moment. Now unfortunately we can’t read Clancy for the story on the page, we keep seeing through to all the beautiful girders and joints and wiring inside. also e.e. cummings, fantastic writer & he ignored grammar and writing rules i LIkE the way he did things.
What are some of your long term goals?
Not dying, first and foremost. Assuming that goal continues to be met, buying a writermobile RV and traveling the country with our wives, writing, each trying to get the other to say or do stupid things that will end up in one of our stories.
What do you feel has been your greatest achievement as an author?
Being worthy of the other half of Harris Gray’s partnership, personally and as a writer.
What do you feel is your biggest strength?
Never crying for more than an hour or two or so after something goes wrong.
Biggest weakness?
Crying. Wives seem to prefer strong over sensitive.
What do you feel sets this book apart from others in the same genre?
Vampires are just shy of commonplace, some visible like Vic, including a few party animals that regularly make the tabloids, others keeping a lower profile. And so we’re able to have fun with and explore Vic’s humanly troubles, as a boss, as an (ex-)husband, as a father, as a man, who happens to need to regularly slake his bloodthirst. We wanted to be true to the genre while appealing to a broader group of readers looking for a good story.
You know the scenario – you’re stuck on an island. What book would you bring with you and why?
Finally some alone time for the two of us! No way would we waste it reading. We would fashion a gin still à la Hawkeye & Pierce on M*A*S*H and script out our next few books, website content, vlogs. There would be arm-wrestling and stare-down contests and adventuring about the island, getting into all sorts of hijinks together, Lost-style.
If you could go back and change one day, what would it be?
The day James Dickey, a distant relative, did not put Harris Gray in his will. We don’t know how big the estate was, and we surely wouldn’t want to create any tension in the extended family, but that would have put us one step closer to that writermobile.
Are you a different person now than you were 5 years ago? In what way/s?
Stiffer for sure. Grayer, in convictions on childraising. And hair, I guess. More excited than ever about writing and entertaining (even if it’s just each other).
What is the most important lesson you have learned from life so far?
Stretching, for sure. Keeping your swing supple and your core strong and sexy. Don’t sell Microsoft or Apple stock twenty years ago.
Is there anything you regret doing/not doing?
Trying to be funny when we answer this question, which deserves more serious introspection. We regret not trying an IPA sooner. They say IBM tests potential recruits by taking them to lunch and observing whether they salt their food before tasting it, rejecting them if they do, as too rigid and rule-bound. But that tale has to be spurious, because restaurants salt everything way more than we do at home—imagine the hypertension we’d all be suffering if we salted a plate of Olive Garden fettuccine. And is it “rigid” to assume a beverage with “pale ale” in the name is going to be flatter than a half can of Bud lite left overnight in the fridge? Who could have predicted the robust and logic-defying combo of bitter and fruity florality in each and every sip? It’s not fair that we have to wonder whether we are IBM material every time we try to enjoy an IPA.
What is your favorite past-time?
Drinking lattés and writing—or just plotting, even if we don’t ever actually carry out our heinous plans for revenge.
Is there anything else you would like to share with us?
We are sure glad you exist. We are thankful for the writer-friends who opened our eyes, held them open even while we tried to blink and turn away and continue down dead-end paths like a wind-up toy in the corner, making us see all the talented people who have helped us polish and package and share our stories without a traditional publisher. Fellow writer Anne Eliot, writer and formatter DeAnna Knippling, and publicist Jennifer Halligan, in particular. We are now like the Japanese robot vacuums, able to navigate out of the corner and cover the whole house, even if we still seem to have trouble with dog hair.
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ABOUT HARRIS GRAY
Harris Gray finish their third pint and mull over their next writing project, simultaneously deciding on a vampire book. Because the women in their lives eat up every vampire story on the shelves. And for the gratuitous T&A. But hunky, smoldering vampires are beyond their grasp; and dammit, T&A should mean something. Deciding to write what they know, Harris Gray return to their wheelhouse: An aging, uncomfortable man, not so happy with his lot in life. A man bitten by a vampire, unsure what to do with his new…skillset. Vampire Vic – VV – is born. Perfect.
The latest book is Vampire Vic.
WATCH THE TRAILER!
Pump Up Your Book and Harris Gray are teaming up to give you a chance to win a new Kindle Fire HD!
Here’s how it works:
Each person will enter this giveaway by liking, following, subscribing and tweeting about this giveaway through the Rafflecopter form placed on blogs throughout the tour. If your blog isn’t set up to accept the form, we offer another way for you to participate by having people comment on your blog then directing them to where they can fill out the form to gain more entries.
This promotion will run from May 6 – July 26. The winner will be chosen randomly by Rafflecopter, contacted by email and announced on July 27, 2013.
Each blogger who participates in the Vampire Vic virtual book tour is eligible to enter and win.
Visit each blog stop below to gain more entries as the Rafflecopter widget will be placed on each blog for the duration of the tour.
If you would like to participate, email Tracee at tgleichner(at)gmail.com. What a great way to not only win this fabulous prize, but to gain followers and comments too! Good luck everyone!
ENTER TO WIN!
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Vampire Vic Virtual Book Publicity Tour Schedule
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Monday, May 6 – Book featured at Margay Leah Justice
Thursday, May 9 – Book featured at Review From Here
Monday, May 13 – Interviewed at Digital Journal
Wednesday, May 15 – Interviewed at Pump Up Your Book
Friday, May 17 – 1st Chapter Reveal at Book Him Danno
Tuesday, May 21 – 1st Chapter Reveal at As the Pages Turn
Thursday, May 23 – Guest blogging at Literarily Speaking
Monday, May 27 – Up Close and Personal at Between the Covers
Tuesday, May 28 – Book featured at Jody’s Book Reviews
Wednesday, May 29 – Interviewed at Literal Exposure
Friday, May 31 – Book featured at Plug Your Book
Monday, June 3 – Book featured at Parenting 2.0
Tuesday, June 4 – Book featured at Book Reviews by Dee
Wednesday, June 5 – First Chapter reveal at Sapphyria’s Book Reviews
Friday, June 7 – Book Featured at Mary’s Cup of Tea
Monday, June 10 – 1st Chapter Reveal at Literary Winner
Tuesday, June 11 – Character Interview at Laurie’s Thoughts and Reviews
Wednesday, June 12 – Guest blogging at The Paperback Pursuer
Friday, June 14 – Interviewed at Review From Here
Tuesday, June 18 – Book featured at Naturally Kim B
Wednesday, June 19 – Book Featured at Miki’s Hope
Friday, June 21 – Guest blogging at My Book Addiction and More
Tuesday, June 25 – Book Featured at Moonlight, Lace, and Mayhem
Thursday, June 27 – Guest blogging at You Gotta Read
Monday, July 1 – Book Featured at Authors and Readers Book Corner
Tuesday, July 2 – Interviewed at The Writer’s Life
Wednesday, July 3 – Interviewed at Broowaha
Thursday, July 4 – Guest blogging at A Little Bit of R & R
Friday, July 5 - Interviewed at The Top Shelf
Monday, July 8 – Interviewed at Janna Shay
Tuesday, July 9 – Guest blogging at Review From Here
Wednesday, July 10 – Interviewed at Book Marketing Buzz
Friday, July 12 -Interviewed at Examiner
Monday, July 15 – 1st Chapter Reveal at CelticLady’s Reviews
Monday, July 15 – Book reviewed at The Top Shelf
Tuesday, July 16 – Book reviewed at My Cozie Corner
Wednesday, July 17 – Book reviewed at Inside BJ’s Head
Thursday, July 18 – Book featured at Beyond the Books
Friday, July 19 – Book featured at Cheryl’s Book Nook
Monday, July 22 – Book reviewed at I’m Shelf-ish
Monday, July 22 – Book reviewed at Steph the Bookworm
Tuesday, July 23 – Book reviewed at Gina’s Library
Tuesday, July 23 – Book reviewed at Naturally Kim B
Wednesday, July 24 – Book reviewed at Mary’s Cup of Tea
Thursday, July 25 – Guest blogging at Darlene’s Book Nook
Friday, July 26 – Interviewed at From the TBR Pile
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