Hello everyone. Thank you to Donna for
allowing me to be here today. For my guest post I interviewed
Geoffrey, a vampire, and, in his words, an integral part of the story
Her Dear & Loving Husband.
Meredith: How would you describe
your role in Her Dear & Loving Husband?
Geoffrey: I believe I’m the
emotional center of the story, if you will. After all, James
Wentworth is my vampling. If I hadn’t turned him then he wouldn’t
have met Sarah Alexander, and if they hadn’t met, well…you get
the picture. Without me, there would be no James and Sarah. So I am
important indeed.
In fact, I believe my life is
fascinating enough to warrant an entire book of its own. Here, I am
merely a supporting character. I am still still expecting to be the
star of the prequel to the Loving Husband Trilogy, which
should be eloquently entitled Geoffrey. If there is any
weakness to Her Dear & Loving Husband it’s that there’s
not enough of me.
Meredith: How do you make a
vampire?
Geoffrey: That is an excellent
question, and one I’m asked surprisingly rarely. Truth be told,
it’s a rather simple task. One need first to find a victim, pardon,
I mean convert, and bite him.
Meredith: Where do you bite the
person?
Geoffrey: That is up to the
turner’s discretion, I believe. Call me traditional, but I still
prefer the neck. After all, it’s the easiest way to get the venom
flowing through the veins, and we want this done as quickly and
cleanly as possible. No muss. No fuss. One new vampling coming up.
Meredith: How does the venom act
in the person’s system as it turns them into a vampire?
Geoffrey: I hardly know myself
how the venom works within the human body’s system. At the end of
approximately four days (two for some weaker humans, five or six for
the strong-willed) the convert wakes up from the bite-induced coma a
fully formed vampire. Miraculous.
Meredith: What do you say to
your critics who condemn your habit of turning unsuspecting victims
and abandoning them?
Geoffrey: All the whinging I’ve
had to listen to for hundreds of years, you left me, I was all alone,
I didn’t know what to do. Boo hoo. It’s quite tiresome, I assure
you. But there is a method behind my madness. The way mother birds
push their young from the nest to prompt their first flight, so I
push my vamplings out into the world to prompt their survival. We
don’t need long life lessons. We need to find our way in a world
that does not want to know we exist. So as cold as it might seem to
walk away, after I’m gone I keep tabs on my vamplings, even if they
don’t know it at the time.
Meredith: Some vampires are what
we would call traditional in the sense that they’re violent in they
way they go about feeding. Others struggle to overcome their basic
instincts and try to live as humanly as they can. Where do you stand
on this issue?
Geoffrey: Vampires struggle with
the same cravings as any other living creature. Quite simply, they
like to eat, or drink as the case may be. It’s a matter of decision
that each vampire must make for him or herself. If one chooses to
attack unsuspecting victims then that is what will happen. If one
chooses to do be more humane, then that will happen. It’s not so
very difficult to understand.
Meredith: Which kind of vampire
are you?
Geoffrey: One with rugged good
looks and charming wit. Don’t you find I have rugged good looks and
charming wit?
Meredith: Indeed. What do you
think of the current craze for e-books?
Geoffrey: You
must understand that I came of age in the days when bookbinding was
an art. I am appalled at the state of what you call “literature.”
In my time we didn’t have electronic doodahs like iPigs or
Bumbleberries or whatever gadgets you humans insist on fiddling with.
I prefer hardcovers that weigh five pounds and hurt your back when
you carry them. That is a book. Though I suppose reading Her
Dear & Loving Husband on a Snook is better than not reading
it at all.
Meredith:
On a Nook, Geoffrey.
Geoffrey:
Whatever. It’s all nonsense.
I am certain you
have been quite entertained by my responses. You’re welcome.
Her
Dear and Loving Husband
By
Meredith Allard
Published
by Copperfield
Press
Release
Date: April 11, 2011
Genre:
Vampire Romance
Book
Description:
How
long would you wait for the one you loved?
James
Wentworth has a secret. He lives quietly in Salem, Massachusetts,
making few ties anywhere. One night his private world is turned
upside down when he meets Sarah Alexander, a dead ringer for his wife
Elizabeth. Though it has been years since Elizabeth's death, James
cannot move on.
Sarah
also has a secret. She is haunted by nightmares about the Salem Witch
Trials, and every night she is awakened by visions of hangings, being
arrested, and dying in jail. Despite the obstacles of their secrets,
James and Sarah fall in love. As James comes to terms with his
feelings for Sarah, he must dodge accusations from a reporter
desperate to prove that James is not who, or what, he seems to be.
Soon James and Sarah piece their stories together and discover a
mystery that may bind them in ways they never imagined. Will James
make the ultimate sacrifice to protect Sarah and prevent a new hunt
from bringing hysteria to Salem again?
Her
Dear & Loving Husband is
part historical fiction, part romance, and part paranormal fantasy.
With elements of Twilight and
The Crucible, Her
Dear & Loving Husband is
a story for anyone who believes that true love never dies.
Buy
Links:
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/49588
Author
Bio:
Meredith
Allard is the author
of Her Dear &
Loving Husband and the
executive editor of The
Copperfield Review,
a journal for readers and writers of historical fiction. Her short
fiction and articles have appeared in journals such as The
Paumanok Review, Muse
Apprentice Guild, Wild
Mind, Moondance,
and Writer's
Weekly. She
has taught writing to students aged 10 to 60, and she has taught
creative writing and writing historical fiction at Learning Tree
University and UNLV. She lives in Las Vegas, Nevada.
website: http://www.meredithallard.com
Hi Donna! Thank you so much for posting my interview with Geoffrey. I really appreciate it!
ReplyDeleteMeredith Allard