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When 23 year-old Parisian courtesan, Marie Duplessis succumbed to consumption in 1847, Charles Dickens showed up for the funeral and reported the city mourned as though Joan of Arc had fallen. Marie was not only a celebrity in in her own right, but her list of lovers included Franz Liszt – the first international music superstar, and Alexandre Dumas fils, son of the creator of The Three Musketeers. Dumas fils wrote the novel The Lady of the Camellias based on their time together. The book became a play, and the play became the opera La Traviata. Later came the film versions, and the legend never died.
But what if when offered the chance for eternal life and youth, Marie grabbed it, even when the price was the regular death of mortals at her lovely hand?
In 2014, Marie wonders if perhaps nearly two centuries of murder, mayhem, and debauchery is enough, especially when she falls hard for a rising star she believes may be the reincarnation of the only man she ever truly loved. But is it too late for her to change? Can a soul be redeemed like a diamond necklace in hock? And even if it can, have men evolved since the 1800′s? Or does a girl’s past still mark her?
Blood Diva is a sometimes humorous, often dark and erotic look at sex, celebrity, love, death, destiny, and the arts of both self-invention and seduction. It’s a story that asks a simple question – Can a one hundred ninety year-old demimondaine find happiness in 21st century Brooklyn without regular infusions of fresh blood?
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Q) What inspired you to write this story?
A) Marie Duplessis inspired me. She was a French courtesan who died of tuberculosis when she was only 23 and people are still reading, The Lady of the Camellias -- a novel based on her life, still listening to La Traviata, the opera based on the novel, and still crying over movie versions of her story. She's always been famous -- even if people don't recognize the name. Remember the scene in Pretty Woman, when Richard Gere takes Julia Roberts to the opera? The opera that they see is La Traviata.
I considered writing a historical novel about her -- the story we think we know but from her perspective. Then I decided it would be more fun to make it contemporary and make her immortal and able to look at these strange fictional versions of her story.
Q) How long did it take you to write?
A) It took about 19 months including revisions and editing. This is the advantage of self-publishing. It would have taken much longer if I'd gone the traditional route.
Q) What is your favorite thing about writing?
A) Making stuff up. I really love to create characters. I love when the world I'm writing about becomes more real to me than the world I'm living in. It's the best drug ever.
Q) What is your least favorite thing about writing?
A) The feeling that you're never really done. Print seems so unnatural. A story can always be changed. It's not written in stone. If I were telling you a story, I'd change it up, but with a book you've got to let it go at some point and say, "This is it. This is the official version." And you have to do that even if you come up with a new and better ending or some insight into a character that you hadn't thought of before. You have to let it go.
Q) If you could be any famous person for one day, who would you be and why?
A) I'd probably choose to be someone who is kind of a mess but gets away with it. Why? Because I'd love a vacation from responsibility and having a conscience. That's probably the reason vampire novels are so popular. Vampires get to behave very badly, and we still love them. I'd want to be Lindsey Lohan or some other badly behaving celebrity as long as you absolutely promised me it would only be for one day, and I'd live through it.
Q) What is the oldest thing in your fridge and how old is it?
A) I'm too terrified to get a close look. I have no idea how old it is. I think it was cheese or a lemon or lemon-cheese.
Q) What can readers expect from you in the future?
A) That depends on their reaction to Blood Diva. VM Gautier is a pen name. If no one likes the book I might disappear. If there is an audience I'll stick around and write more. I'm like Tinkerbell -- if you clap your hands I'll stay alive.
Q) What inspired you to write this story?
A) Marie Duplessis inspired me. She was a French courtesan who died of tuberculosis when she was only 23 and people are still reading, The Lady of the Camellias -- a novel based on her life, still listening to La Traviata, the opera based on the novel, and still crying over movie versions of her story. She's always been famous -- even if people don't recognize the name. Remember the scene in Pretty Woman, when Richard Gere takes Julia Roberts to the opera? The opera that they see is La Traviata.
I considered writing a historical novel about her -- the story we think we know but from her perspective. Then I decided it would be more fun to make it contemporary and make her immortal and able to look at these strange fictional versions of her story.
Q) How long did it take you to write?
A) It took about 19 months including revisions and editing. This is the advantage of self-publishing. It would have taken much longer if I'd gone the traditional route.
Q) What is your favorite thing about writing?
A) Making stuff up. I really love to create characters. I love when the world I'm writing about becomes more real to me than the world I'm living in. It's the best drug ever.
Q) What is your least favorite thing about writing?
A) The feeling that you're never really done. Print seems so unnatural. A story can always be changed. It's not written in stone. If I were telling you a story, I'd change it up, but with a book you've got to let it go at some point and say, "This is it. This is the official version." And you have to do that even if you come up with a new and better ending or some insight into a character that you hadn't thought of before. You have to let it go.
Q) If you could be any famous person for one day, who would you be and why?
A) I'd probably choose to be someone who is kind of a mess but gets away with it. Why? Because I'd love a vacation from responsibility and having a conscience. That's probably the reason vampire novels are so popular. Vampires get to behave very badly, and we still love them. I'd want to be Lindsey Lohan or some other badly behaving celebrity as long as you absolutely promised me it would only be for one day, and I'd live through it.
Q) What is the oldest thing in your fridge and how old is it?
A) I'm too terrified to get a close look. I have no idea how old it is. I think it was cheese or a lemon or lemon-cheese.
Q) What can readers expect from you in the future?
A) That depends on their reaction to Blood Diva. VM Gautier is a pen name. If no one likes the book I might disappear. If there is an audience I'll stick around and write more. I'm like Tinkerbell -- if you clap your hands I'll stay alive.
