Vampire Vic2:
Morbius Reborn
ISBN:
978-09888957-5-1
Paperback,
$13.95
Ebook,
$3.99
Urban
Fantasy
257
pages
September
15, 2015
|
Vampires walk among us. Appraising our houses,
policing our neighborhoods, crossing our borders. We understand there will be
biting and an occasional conversion. These are small sacrifices for the sexy
thrill. We do worry about vampires popping up in positions of power. They are
evolved, difficult to slay, not as sexy. A backlash grows; but are we far too
late?
Victor Thetherson is nearly cured. The treatment
buries the charisma and confidence that only vampirism seems able to resurrect,
and snuffs his rekindled love affair with ex-wife Barbara. Victor can’t trust
himself as a vampire and doesn’t want to live with himself otherwise.
Eugene Foreman dispenses wisdom on his Sage
Slayer site, offs vamps when convenient, and romances Victor and Barbara’s
daughter, Amberly. His sensei, the Civil War Soldier, begs Eugene to slay
Victor before he realizes his deadly inheritance.
Victor versus Eugene, round two in an ancient
war. With Morbius Reborn, our time at the top of the food chain is coming to an
end.
Q&A with
Harris Gray
Can you describe Vampire Vic in 10 words or less?
Jekyll &
Hyde, if Robert Louis Stevenson went bigger, and funnier. Or, Nick Hornby doing Carrie.
How did you go
about creating Vic, and making him so relatable to readers in all walks of
life?
Sometimes when we’re together we drink beer. It’s
okay, it’s a write-off. So we were writing it off one afternoon and marveling
at the Twilight craze and wondering,
“How do we cash in on that?” On the
spot (beer #2), we dreamed up a world of handsome, chivalrous vampire dudes and
sultry vampire slayer babes having steamy yet wholesome relations that send a
mixed but overall positive message to today’s teenagers.
By beer #3, we realized we don’t know handsome,
chivalrous or sultry. And that teenagers generally mock us. “Write what you know” blurred into write
what you are, and by the end of beer #4, we had created a balding, overweight
accounting manager vampire who gets queasy at the sight of blood.
Vampire Vic2: Morbius Reborn continues the story of Vic Thetherson and his
very interesting
circumstances.
For those who haven't read book one yet, can you catch them up?
In Book One, Victor Thetherson is a fat, balding,
accounting manager vampire. Too polite to bite, Victor drinks expired blood
bank blood and gets walked on, at home by his ex-wife and at the office by his
slacking staff. Then he bites his admin, Nikki.
To his relief, Nikki does not turn. Better yet,
she begins to arrange ‘dates’ for Victor - a sort of Renfield meets eHarmony -
where he is able to get a fresh supply of blood without permanently harming his
victims. He transforms, kicking ass at work, intriguing his ex-wife Barbara,
and becoming the man he always knew he could be.
Readers also meet young Eugene the Vampire
Slayer. To get to Victor, Eugene woos daughter Amberly. His slaying attempts
are spectacular failures. A mysterious Civil War Soldier promises to teach
Eugene how to destroy Victor.
In eastern Europe, Victor discovers that his
unique form of vampirism comes with a heavy burden. Victor is willing to pay
this price for the rewards he has gained through his transformation…but then a
vampire attack on his family brings home the monstrousness of his curse. Devastated,
Victor commits to a cure offered by his buddy Tripp and his fellow scientists
at the Longevity Labs.
Why will fans of Vampire Vic want to come back for more
in Morbius Reborn? What do
you think will
most surprise them about the second book in the trilogy?
In Morbius
Reborn, the stakes are raised. Ha ha! That is such a terrible vampire joke!
And nothing like the humor in the book. But it’s true. Like the rest of the
world, you have been lulled into complacency, accepting that vampires are
simply an entertaining diversion. But now they are popping up in positions of
power. And they are evolved and nearly impossible to slay—no stake through the
heart for these vamps. Each has a unique, hidden Achilles heel.
Meanwhile, Victor and Barbara’s relationship grows
ever more tumultuous as Victor struggles with his curse. Eugene cashes in on
his slayer fame and falls in love with their daughter Amberly. As the vampire menace grows, it becomes clear
that Victor and Eugene haven’t simply crossed paths; the ancient origins of
Victor’s curse and Eugene’s talent for slaying have put them on a collision
course, with Amberly at the intersection.
You mentioned
Eugene is cashing in on his slayer fame. Can you tell us a bit more about Slayer
Investments?
That’s Eugene the Vampire Slayer’s money-making
gambit. We entreat you to steer clear of that site, it is a gateway to pyramid
schemes that would make Ponzi blush. A total money trap. Unless you get in near
the top.
You’ve been a
writing duo for over 10 years. Writing a book alone is quite the feat. Can you
tell us how you manage to accomplish this as a team?
Usually over beer (and always after a lot of
caffeine), we find the tale we want to tell, and then each of us dives in and
starts writing chapters. We’ll exchange those chapters, and then realize the
story is not exactly the way each of us envisioned.
That is a very creative process. We’ll edit each
other’s chapters and hand them back, and write new chapters inspired by what
the other guy has written. We’ll read the edits to our chapters and throw
wall-shaking fits. How dare he change my
poetic pearls of wisdom!?! Then we’ll calm down and realize, Wait a second, that guy is onto something!
With each write, swap, edit and wail, the characters grow and their stories
become more entertaining.
One half of
Harris Gray owns a coffee shop - Crowfoot Valley Coffee. Do you ever troll upon
unsuspecting
customers for character influence - and if so, do any of them know about it?
We steal Jason’s customers’ lives all the time.
We want them to see themselves in our books. Although this can occasionally be
mentally damaging for them. When a customer charges into the coffee shop and
says, “Tell me I’m not so-and-so,”
we’ll deny on each of our mothers’ good reputations that there is any
resemblance whatsoever. If that fails, we will each blame the other guy, and
his mother if necessary. That’s the beauty of being a writing duo.
We know this is a
trilogy - so what’s next for Vic, Eugene, and the rest of your characters in
the third and final chapter?
The final chapter of the VV trilogy puts
17-year-old Amberly at the confluence of good and evil, and forces Vic and
Eugene into a slaying partnership. This is Batman and Robin, if they wanted to
kill each other and neither could agree who gets to be Batman.
Victor continues to seek his best self. We joked
earlier, but this is why Vic is relatable. He yearns to be his wife’s hero.
Vampirism seems to be the answer; but how do you tell opportunity from
temptation? And does taking that shortcut ever become a necessity?
In Morbius
Reborn, readers begin to see the world through Barbara’s and Amberly’s
eyes. This continues in the third book. Barbara yearns to be passionately in
love with Victor, and to protect Amberly. She sees a time coming when she is
going to have to choose. In the middle of the escalating human-vampire
conflict, Amberly suddenly finds her place in the world, and seizes the
opportunity to make a difference.
VVIII is all about
choices. And bloodsucking and slaying, 16th century Romania, furries, imprecise drone strikes and that famous scene
in the apple barrel. We have an entertaining ending planned for everyone.
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