Musings of a Vampire

I am a phantom who moves from place to place: Paris, London, the American West. We presently live in New York. Who is the ‘we’ you ask? Michel Baptiste and I. My dearest friend since childhood. The man I followed into darkness in the year of our Lord 1757. I was twenty years old. What did I know of consequences? I simply feared losing my best friend. Neither of us could comprehend the repercussions of our choice. All we knew was the beautiful and sensual Gabrielle, our lover and our maker. She was the guide who led us on a journey of lust and blood as we wove our way into the fabric of French society.

How can I impress upon you what its’ like to be a man and monster, seducer and slayer? The beautiful Gabrielle ruled over the Parisian vampires with Gaétan, a much older vampire. What they could not control with their beauty, they destroyed. All succumbed to their demands of loyalty and subservience, or died. I have never been good at subservience nor indiscriminate murder. I had Michel and I was happy to co-exist with my friend. I was also a painter of portraits and I loved immersing myself in the world of canvas and oil paints.

Nevertheless, things always change. Her name was Josette and it was the summer of 1787. She was a young mortal, married to a minor aristocrat named Luc Delacore and the mistress of Gaétan. We had all heard the rumors of her exotic beauty but nothing prepared me for our introduction.

Michel and I met them one night, strolling arm in arm on the Pont Neuf. As I gazed into her emerald eyes I realized how lost and lonely I had become. I was barely able to say much more than hello. All the rumors were true and as the ground shifted and time stopped I fell in love with her. Not long after both of us forsook our vampire lovers for one another.
Gaétan grew to hate me even more and Gabrielle felt I had abandoned her for a mortal; and even then Michel was my protector, forever watching out for others who grew more jealous of me.

The war of the mortals affected even the undead, dividing us and straining the tenuous bloody bonds that held us together. I had always hated politics and avoided war just as Michel and I ignored the feuding of our own kind but when the revolution was upon us, life as I knew it was no more.

Josette had a daughter named Solange. She was a beautiful little girl with dark hair and green eyes. Fearing their arrest she asked me to take the child and give her to a family that could provide for her. Reluctantly I honored her request. I knew of many French families fleeing to England. I would have no difficulty finding one to take the child.

Many nights I debated whether or not to turn Josette, yet to become immortal was something I swore I would never bestow upon another person. Great power is great responsibility and I feared both. To this day I cannot understand the logic that kept me from turning her and being happy. For she was the love of my life and I still feel responsible for her death.

I assured her that Solange would be safe, but I had no idea what was to come for any of us. Life is never what it seems and despite being vampires, Michel and I became victims of fate and time, just like you with your plans and dreams, hopes and wishes. I had no idea where my commitment to Solange would take us, but I invite you to come join us on our journey.

Christian Du Mauré

Josette

Josette Delacore is the centerpiece in my series of vampire novels set in eighteenth century France and modern day Manhattan. She was very young when her path crossed with not one, not two, but three vampires - all of whom loved her and whom she loved for very different reasons. She is dark-haired, petite, adventurous, kind, smart and way ahead of her time. As I write her profile, who emerges is someone with tremendous power, a power that comes from self-knowledge and a passion for all things in life - food and drink, knowledge and learning, music and art, sex and love.

She does the unthinkable and learns much more than she bargained for in her short life. In my first novel she is just a memory for Christian. In my second novel....let's just say her presence is more acute. She is beautiful, wise, cultured and extremely powerful; like an enchantress, she captivates one too many vampires and like all of us, karma is sometimes a hard thing to face.

Back at Square One

Recently I blogged about an agent who was interested in a partial (50 pages) read of Immortal Obsession. While I was excited about it I am also a realist. While I consider Immortal Obsession a paranormal romance, it is erotic and dark. I tend to like to read novels that portray the struggles of characters, whether they are humans or vampires. Too much romance and fluff negates the respect and the fear we should have for this supernatural being. The last thing I want to do as a writer is contribute to the homogenization of this archetype.

So, I am back at square one, having queried more agents in the hopes that someone will want to read more than just my query letter. Perhaps an agent will want to take a chance on me and my world of beautiful seductive vampires with their power struggles, love triangles, lust and betrayals. It is also a world full of morality and hope, not unlike ours.

My muse leans over my shoulder and whispers "just write" and so I do and book two in my vampire series unfolds.