Virtual Book Tour - Denise Verrico

Today we hop aboard the journey of the Virtual Book Tour and today represents a special day as this particular post is the author's last stop on her Virtual Book Tour. For myself I still have a few more authors to pump through the system , but as we are still reeling from a bit of a Vampire Buzz from our latest review Kiss of Death , I thought today's author could add a more Vampy style to my Book Blog .
Today's Authoress is Denise Verrico and tonight we have a mixture of goodies from her including a review of her book "Cara Mia".

From the Desk of Denise Verrico - Part One:

As this is my last stop on the Virtual Book Tour I want to remind
readers that this is the last chance to comment to be entered for a drawing to win my book. I'll be posting the winners on the
sixteenth at my blog and facebook page, Immortyl Revolution
My website is www.deniseverricowriter.webs.com . So readers feel free to post as many comments as possible :)

Cara Mia - Denise Verrico -2010

Meet Mia, she is a strong willed female who was turned many moons ago by Ethan, a guy she met at the theatre. The story starts place in 1986, where Mia has been beaten and kicked out with nothing from her vampire boyfriend if you want to call him that. The story then jumps more than ten years ahead to the year 2000. Mia and her current boyfriend Kurt are in a Psych Hospital after a series of attacks. Cara Mia tells their lives stories and is the type of book that sets the setting for more to come , in parts it does show that in a sense vampires or as they liked to be called in Cara Mia Immortyl as Vampires is such a dirty word, that in fact underneath all that pale exterior and blood-drinking they hold a sense of romanticism, which is probably due to how long many of them have actually lived. Cara Mia tells the journey of Mia's trip to the Genpath Laboratories and then near the ending we read as her and Kurt narrowly escapes the clutches and embarks on a journey to save their lives from those whose only goal is to destroy them. Can Kurt's and Mia's love hold them together through the laboratories or will Mia be swayed by Dr Ansari and their plans jeopardised? Read as we discover what happens when many years later Ethan is back in the picture also.
Cara Mia is a book for those who love the theme of Vampires but yearn for more substance than your average everyday supernatural Vampire novel. Cara Mia is the result of Vampires mixed with a spice of Science-Fiction. If you enjoy flicks like Equilibrium , Aeon Flux and Ultraviolet -all those futuristic science fiction with a hint of attitude movies then this is definitely a book to add to your To Be Read Pile.

Interview with the Author Denise Verrico:


1) What inspired you to write your book?
That’s a tough one. The world of The Immortyl Revolution evolved over a period of time. I was reading a lot of Anne Rice, and she killed off my favorite character in the Vampire Chronicles. It got me to wondering if I could write my own vampire novel. I had a dream about a female vampire, a kind of immortal waif. The idea of a character that is one of the least powerful in a powerful society intrigued me. Her master, Ethan is the kind of sweet-talking con man a naïve young woman is apt to fall for. Before she knows it she’s enslaved to this jerk. But Mia isn’t resigned to her slavery. She fights her master at every turn. Then, the Ethan-Brovik relationship evolved. You have all these male vampires running around in traditional vampire lore. I like to play around with the conventions. In some ancient cultures, love between two men was celebrated and even considered superior to that between a man and woman. It set up an interesting triangle, and it set me to looking at mores and customs of different ancient peoples that I incorporated into my Immortyl culture.
I had a culture, a handful of characters and no idea of what to do with them. Then I got interested in Biotechnology and evolutionary biology. I thought, what if vampires where real? How would they come about and what would make them stronger, faster etc.? What makes them immortal? I tried to come up with a plausible explanation. Only a few of these questions are answered in Cara Mia, because another idea came to me. How would the old guard of vampires feel about science? This gave rise to a repressive religious and cultural tradition that justifies slavery. Most of my vampires aren’t nice--many of them are cruel and selfish and step on anyone who gets in their way. Not because they are inherently evil, but because they are protecting their own interests …not so different than human beings.
Mia and Kur realize that the key to breaking the power of the Chief Elder and the houses lies in exploding the myth of their supernatural origins. Now, I had an epic on my hands. But all stories are ultimately about the longing of the human spirit. We all want something, and Mia simply wants to walk again in the sun. She tells the story of her journey to Genpath Labs to Dr. Joe Ansari a neuroscientist.

What was it that made you choose the genre?
I’ve always loved vampires. When I was a kid my favorite TV show was Dark Shadows. I loved horror movies. I do like to write darker urban fantasy, rather than paranormal romance. I explore relationships, because I deal with the life story of the heroine. What is important is the characters’ status within their culture and the sexual politics.

Is there anything of you in your characters?
There is something of me in all of them. Sometimes I have to look into some dark places. Mia shares my acerbic POV. I’d like to think I’m as deep as Kurt, but I’m much more of a goofball, like Philip.

Have your characters or writing been inspired by friends/ family?
Not directly, but there are aspects of some characters that I’ve borrowed from people I’ve known.
How did your book deal come about?
I knew Cara Mia was a cross-genre book and thus a harder sell for big presses. So I set out to find a small publisher interested in publishing a vampire series. My search led me to a handful of smaller presses. I submitted queries to three and got encouraging feedback, even from the two that eventually passed. Lisa Smith at L&L Dreamspell asked to see the entire manuscript, after I sent her the first fifty pages she requested. Dreamspell offered me a contract in February of 2009 for Cara Mia. I signed my contract for Twilight of the Gods the following summer. I can’t say enough good things about my publisher. They have been very helpful to a first time author.
What are you working on now?
Fearful Symmetry, Book Three is going through my critique group. It’s about a male vampire, named Cedric MacKinnon. Cedric is dying of aids, after working the streets in London. While playing his guitar for change in the underground, he encounters his master, Raj. A lot of the book takes place in India at the Chief Elder’s court, where Cedric is trained as an “adept of the ancient arts”, an Immortyl temple musician and dancer. In fact these devotees are exploited as courtesans and used by the Chief Elder as pawns in political intrigues with the Immortyl “Houses”. Cedric isn’t content to be an object of beauty and is disgusted by the things asked of him. He becomes fascinated by Mia and Kurt’s revolution. Book Four, Ratopia will bring Cedric, Kurt and Mia together. I’d started Ratopia first, but Cedric’s story begged to be told and it made more sense to have a character moving within the ruling class to offer a new POV on the revolution. I’m rewriting Ratopia to reflect Cedric’s greater role in the saga. The books do continue the story, but I’m writing each of them as stand-alone stories.

How have you enjoyed doing publicity?
I’m an actor and as such, an extravert. I love talking to people part of it, but a lot of the updating of websites and making contacts take up valuable writing time. I’m trying to organize my efforts better. It should be easier by the second release…I hope.

Had you previously written anything?
Plays. I was a member of the Oberon Theatre Ensemble in NYC for seven seasons.

How long does it take you to write each book?|
Cara Mia took fourteen years of writing when I got the chance. I was doing theater and raising a son as well as working full-time.
Which comes first for you – characters or plot?
Characters. I have an idea of the beginning, middle and end of the story but the characters have their own ideas of how it will get there.

How did you get into writing? Did you always want to become a
writer?
I was a weird kid. When playing with Barbies, I didn’t pretend they were going shopping or on dates. I used to pretend they were Kings and Queens. There was high drama and the odd beheading. So I guess, it was inevitable I write this sort of stuff. I still love that court intrigue.
I really wanted to be a marine biologist and study sharks. (I guess that explains the obsession with blood.) I love science, but I got into theater as a teenager and became an actress. I did write SNL type skits in high school and song parodies. I wrote short humorous pieces for fun, but I didn’t write my first play until after college and didn’t seriously do so until well into my thirties. I started writing Cara Mia then as well. Acting is all about creating character, understanding motivation and analyzing text. What I’ve learned as an actor is valuable to a writer.

If you had to have dinner with any 3 famous people
dead/alive, who would you choose?
Golly, let’s see, Elizabeth the First, Oscar Wilde and Carl Sagan?
What’s your favorite vacation spot in the world?
After seeing Lord of the Rings, I really want to go to New Zealand. ( YAY seeing that Im from NZ ( PN)
What are your goals for 2010?
My goal is to balance my time between writing, promoting, family, to read more and to ride as many roller coasters as I can manage.
What advice would you give aspiring authors?
Don’t copy anyone. To thine own self be true.

To finish off, Do you have a favorite quote from any off your
books, and what is it?

Mia is giving a hard time to Joe Ansari, the neuroscientist assigned to work with her. She can be demanding, and she complains about the cheap sheets on her bed at Genpath labs. Joe makes the comment, “So much for resting on the soil of your native land.” Mia, a Brooklynite, shoots back with, “I wouldn’t recommend the soil of Flatbush Avenue to anyone.”