Tony-Paul de Vissage Author Bio:
One of Tony-Paul de Vissage’s
first movie memories is of being six
years old, viewing the old Universal horror flick, Dracula’s Daughter, on television, and being scared sleepless—and that may explain a lifelong
interest in vampires.
This was further compounded when the author crossed paths with a band of transplanted Transylvanian vampires sightseeing in the South. Thinking
nosferatu were getting a bad press and in need of some favorable publicity, he decided to use his writing to
change that attitude. Though it may be argued his efforts have probably done the opposite, no vamp has complained…yet.
A voracious reader whose personal library has
been shipped more than 3,000 miles, Tony-Paul has read hundreds of vampire tales and viewed as many movies
The Maya Gave us Something More than a Calendar
I guess we can all relax.
Archaeologists excavating in Xultun, Gautemala, have uncovered a hidden
room which houses wall paintings indicating the world isn’t going to end on
December 22, 2012. The walls reveal the oldest known astronomical tables from
the Maya, dating from about 1200 years ago and extending 6,000 years into the
future, proving that Time will indeed “keep marching on.”
Since that problem’s out of the way, let’s turn to something
also Mayan but a lot less worrisome.
Recognize this plot?
In the jungles of
the Yucatan, a lost city flourishes.
It’s stumbled upon by scientists who carry away some object precious to
the inhabitants. In doing so, they bring
a curse upon themselves as the embodiment of the sacred object, itself mindless
except for the desire for revenge, brings the wrath of the gods upon the
wrongdoers. Various minor characters are
killed off as the hero struggles to save his friends and return the sacred
object to its home...and the inevitable happy ending flashes upon the screen.
My soon-to-be-published vampire novel
Dark God Descending
touches on a few of these points, and then goes flying wildly away, as is my
usual wont when writing about familiar themes.
There’s a lost city—Nikte
Uaxac, where life is going on as it has for thousands of years—and a sacred
object is definitely stolen from the city, but there the similarity ends. The stolen object is the Emperor himself,
Semris II, son of the god of Death, a vampire godling with too much curiosity
about the Outside World. and Semris himself is the first to admit it. In fact, it’s his “insatiable curiosity” that
gets him kidnapped in the first place.
To the Maya, the vampire wasn’t a cursed creature but simply
another of their gods, several gods in fact.
First and foremost was the God of Death, called by various names of Yum Cimil, Cizin, and Au Puch. Yum Cimil’s companion in the Underworld was Cama-Zotz, the demon bat, also known as Ikal Ahau, a gigantic bat who ate raw human flesh. There was also a god called Zotzilaha, depicted as a tall man with
wings and fangs. Zotzilaha was supposed to have power over the living and was
offered the sacrifice of human life.
Semris most closely resembles Cama-Zotz except for the fact that he is slowly in the process of
becoming as human as the mortals over whom he rules. When the story opens, he’s already lost his
protective armor of scales, and he’s never taken blood directly from a living
being. He’s actually a “blood virgin”
until his captors nearly starve him to death and he does the only thing he
can. He attacks the one man who’ll soon
become his friend.
From the moment Semris sinks his fangs into Tuck’s arm,
their lives will never be the same again.
Tuck walked
over to the cage.
Oh, God, did
that last shot kill him? As far as he could tell, Semris hadn’t moved.
When he saw
the slow rise and fall of the bare chest, he felt abrupt relief. He also saw
the golden amulet, recognizing it as the twin of the one that had started all
this unpleasantness in the first place.
The fruit
hadn’t been touched, was rapidly darkening, the sweet, overripe smell
permeating the cellar, attracting flies. How the
Hell did they get in here, anyway? Several big bluebottles
were buzzing around inside the cell, hovering over the peaches, a couple
crawling along the edges of the plate. One was floating in the water glass,
wings fluttering and making little splashes.
Tuck knelt
and opened the little flap, reaching inside to remove the glass. As he reached
back in for the plate, it happened. so fast he didn’t even realize Semris had
moved until he felt the iron grip upon his wrist, saw the fangs drop and the
dark head covering his hand.
He screamed
as twin razor slashes struck through his wrist...knowing no one could hear,
struggled desperately to get away. Frantic, disbelieving thoughts whirling
through his mind. Oh, God, this is why he didn’t eat the
fruit. He’s a vampire! Sweet Jesus, he’s going to kill me! Help
someone, help me! Why should they? I didn’t help him.
The pain
went away, his arm numb from wrist to fingertips.
He knelt
there on the floor, watching the pale body crouched so near he could have
reached out and touched his shoulder...his bare, wingless shoulder.Where
did his wings go? What happened to them? All he could do was
watch those shoulders heave with the strength of each deep swallow, feeling his
life ebb away, and a vague surprise that it didn’t hurt at all.
Eyes rolling
up, Tuck gave a little sigh and collapsed against the bars. He was barely
conscious as he saw Semris raise his head and release his arm. In spite of
being only slightly aware, he felt a stab of surprise as the quiet voice
whispered, “Gracias. Gracias por su sangre.”
He’s
thanking me? Thanking me for letting him kill me? With an
effort, he made himself withdraw his wounded arm, cradling it against his chest
with his other hand. Forcing his eyes open, he stared at his wrist, fighting
the wave of blackness floating before his eyes.
There was no
bloody ripped-away flesh as he’d imagined, only four deep punctures. Two of the
five little veins had been pierced, but the wounds were clean and already
clotting. Tuck forced himself to take a deep breath, then let it out, and repeated
the procedure. Keep breathing! Don’t pass out. He might
decide to have a second helping.
“I took too
much. I am sorry. I was too hungry.”
There was
such concern in Semris’ voice that Tuck found himself replying, “That’s all
right. I-if I’d known, I… Oh, God, what am I saying?” He fell
silent, feeling a bout of hysteria galloping toward him.
Something
was thrust into his hand. One of the peaches. Semris’ hand, between the bars,
holding it out to him. “Aqui. Come. Pronto.”
So he took
the peach and bit into it, choking slightly as the rich, sweet juice slid down
his throat, but forced himself to keep chewing and swallowing. As the fruit
sugar hit his stomach, he began to feel better.
“That was
good.” With a sigh, he tossed the peach pit aside.
Through the bars, hands helped him to his feet. He
leaned against the door, hanging onto it to keep his balance as dizziness
flooded back.
“Again,
I am sorry. He looked up, meeting Semris’ eyes, startled at the concern in
them. “It has been so long since I have had the living wine.”
Living
wine…what a beautiful way to describe it. Tuck still
felt a little groggy, wondered if he was now under the vampire thrall. He
decided to find out. “Am I your minion now?”
“Why would
you think that?” Semris sounded genuinely puzzled.
“Well,
you’ve taken my blood. Generally, when a vampire--”
“Vampiro! Donde?”
Semris looked around quickly, arms crossing over his throat in a protective
gesture.
“You.” Tuck
answered, feeling he’d made a mistake. “Aren’t you a vampire?”
“Of course
not!” The answer was disdainful that Tuck might mistake him for such a vile
creature. “I am a Dark Lord. Un demonio.” The pale chin lifted
proudly. “Los vampiros are creatures accursed.”
Tuck thought
that over. “And you’re not.”
“No.” Semris
shook his head, the dark hair swinging. “I am not.”
Tuck realized he must be feeling
better, to be able to marvel at the absurdity of this conversation.
That’s grad student Tuck’s introduction to Semris, with whom
he soon develops an emotional bond, as they communicate through an archaic form
of Spanish.
It’s the relationship between these two men—separated by
millennia but joined by their unexpected friendship—that makes up the majority
of the story. Oh, there’s a love story,
too, don’t doubt it—as well as a love triangle, but it’s the interaction
between Tucker and Semris, and their attempts to learn about and accept each
other which eventually changes both their lives, gaining one immortality and
the other humanity, as well as affecting their loved ones and their people
forever.
Dark God Descending has been described as a “unique,
stay-up-all-night read.” by Margaret Marr, and received 5 Angels from Dark
Angel Reviews. House of Toad called it
“a classic Indiana Jones adventure with a dark and bloody spin.”
As prejudiced as I am, I think it’s got something for anyone
who likes the paranormal genre. Adventure, suspense…sex, of course, most
definitely. Wouldn’t be a love story
without it. There’s some humor, as a
staid and upright physician loses his inhibitions enough to become a permanent
resident of his own particular Twilight
Zone. And don’t forget the blood and
violence. Plenty of that, too. After all, it is a story about a vampire.
And the villain’s fate? Totally
and completely fitting, and at the same time ironic in the extreme. If it were a movie, the audience would cheer!
Dark God Descending is scheduled for a very appropriate
December release by Class Act Books, December 15, to be exact. I tried to get it scheduled for December 22,
but the publishers just wouldn’t agree.
NOTE: To celebrate
the discovery of the “new” Mayan calendar, I’m offering a copy of my novella Vampires
are Forever to one lucky commenter who can answer this question: Which Mayan vampire god does Semris most
closely represent?
Twitter:
@tpvissage
