About Tony-Paul de
Vissage
One of Tony-Paul de Vissage's first movie memory is of viewing the old Universal horror flick, Dracula’s Daughter, on television, and being scared sleepless--and that may explain a lifelong interest in vampires.
One of Tony-Paul de Vissage's first movie memory is of 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
inspired when the author ran across a band of transplanted Transylvanian
vampires who were sightseeing in the South. Thinking
nosferatu were getting a bad
press and
in need of some favorable publicity, he decided to do what he
could to change that attitude through his
writing. Though it may be argued his efforts have probably done the
opposite, no
vamp has complained…yet
BLOG:
It's a staple of the SyFy Channel and late night horror
movies...the lost city in the jungle, stumbled upon by a safari of
scientists...they carry away some object precious to the inhabitants. In doing so, they bring a curse upon
themselves in particular and Mankind in
general as the embodiment of the sacred object--itself mindless except for the
desire for revenge, brings the wrath of the gods upon the wrongdoers...the hero
struggles to save his friends, perhaps return the sacred object to its
home...various minor characters are killed off before this happens and the
inevitable happy ending is flashed upon the screen.
Dark God Descending follows this formula to a certain
degree. There's a lost city, the city of
Nikte-Uaxac, a Mayan civilization existing deep in the Yucatan. A sacred object is stolen from the city and
the evildoers are punished, but there the similarity ends. The sacred object is the Emperor himself and
it is he who exacts revenge upon his kidnappers. Semris II is no mindless hulking mummy or an
animated enchanted dagger or an invisible but deadly plague. He's an intelligent, articulate, supernatural
being--a demon godling--who simply wishes to return to his people. Aided by Tuck, the human charged with
guarding him, he manages to escape, and thus begins an adventure for both demon
and mortal.
Tuck will lose the thing he loves the most and gain
immortality; Semris will witness the depth of human cruelty as well as human
love. Both will be forever changed by
what happens, they will becomes brothers, each shedding his blood for the
other, as they struggle to protect Nikte-Uaxac from the invasion of the
Twenty-first Century. And the
villain...? He gets what he
deserves...and what he most desires...and the irony of it all is most fitting.
Dark God Descending is scheduled for releae o
December 14 by class Act Books. www.classactbooks.com
EXCERPT:
It was quiet in the cornfield, the only sound the wind
rustling through the dried shucks as the three huge crows made their way
through the rows, hopping with long-legged leaps. One stopped to peck at an ear of corn
half-buried in the plowed dirt, caught it in his beak and pulled it from the
soil. With a muffle caw, it rose
into the air, circled around and squawked as the cob slipped free, falling back
into the field.
It landed in
a section where the cornstalks had been broken and crushed to the ground by the
force of a heavy body falling through them.
The corncob struck a dark wing, bent at an odd angle around an unmoving
body which reacted with a slight grunt and a soft groan.
Semris
opened his eyes and tried to get up.
Merciful Ah
Kinchal, his shoulder hurt! And his
side. What had happened? The
peon’s shot deadly little pellets had struck his shoulder, their impact
causing such a devastating lack of sensation that his wings collapsed, bringing
him down.
He couldn’t
use his left arm. It hurt too much. So he fumbled around, got the other under him
and pushed himself upright. For just a
moment, everything swirled away into blackness.
The crows
were still flying about, landing nearby, scavenging at the corn. They reacted with startled croaks as he
crawled through them on knees and one hand, wincing as the dragging wings
collided with the broken stumps of the corn stalks.
Angry at
his intrusion, they darted at him. Semris
swung his uninjured arm, warding them away.
“Leave me
alone, servants of my Father! You’ll not
take me back to Mitnal today!
Go!” The flailing arm connected
with a feathered body, the bird reacting with a harsh croak of surprise as it
fell to the ground. It hopped to its
feet and flew away. “Tell Yum
Cimil I’ll keep my soul a little
longer!”
The other
birds needed no second urging. Muttering
odd little noises that sounded as if
they were cursing at the strange winged being, they swooped into the air,
circled him once, then flapped away.
Semris
watched them go, then shut his eyes and sat there, drawing his knees up and
resting his forehead upon them as he waited for the dizziness to abate. When he opened his eyes again, he lunged to
his feet, took a step with his wings dragging the ground behind him, and
stumbled and nearly fell.
Were his
wings broken? Had they been snapped by
the force of his fall through the cornstalks before crashing against the hard
soil?
Slowly,
carefully, he concentrated on lifting the right one, flapping it gently. It moved, slowly, with a slight soreness, but
it did move. The left one,
however, was a different story. There
was great pain as he tried to flex the dark membrane-covered bones, sharp, and
wrenching. He would swear he felt them
rubbing together.
Gritting
his teeth, Semris willed his wings to collapse, tucking them away inside his
shoulder-scars. Then, he took a deep
breath, and began to limp through the corn rows.
The wound
had begun to bleed again. The blood
slowly dripped down his side, soaking the blanket loincloth, dying the blue
fabric a crimson so dark it was almost black.
The many small cuts were drying now, forming thin scabs.
Behind him
lay a trail of withered weeds and singed earth, corrupted from contact with his
blood dripping onto the ground.
Briefly, he
was appalled. He, the Emperor of All
Creation, barefoot and naked, crawling through the weeds like an animal! At the moment, he realized, he was
little more than an animal. To Tuck’s people,
that’s exactly how he would appear and he would remain an escaped animal until
he was able to find his way home.
Another
reason to stay out of sight as much as possible.
Author: Website
Twitter:
@tpvissage
Youtube
link: http://youtu.be/AL7onQI0oso
Ooh, each time you post a new excerpt, I'm more intrigued! Once I get done spending money on my family, I'll hopefully have some left for me! This book is at the top of my TRB list!
ReplyDeleteI'm flattered, Fiona,
ReplyDeleteKeep up the good work of negating the "bad press" attitude towards vampires!
ReplyDeleteHappy Holidays!
Well, we don't want them to become soft and cuddly, do we, Marianne? A little "BP" is a good thing.
ReplyDeleteWoo thanks for this excerpt is always great to read your blog great work .
ReplyDeleteI want to wish a wonderful Happy Holidays with lots of joys and great success for all your books for 2013
Best Regards
Mannouchka
This sounds yummy Tony! I hope to be able to purchase it after the Christmas holiday. That's when it's my turn for gifts.
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas Tony to you and yours!
Teresa K.
I really want to read this now! Each excerpt sounds even better.
ReplyDeleteHappy Holidays to you and yours!
Deb T
mammy4423(at)yahoo.com