Cedric Bares . . . er . . . TELLS All

#SampleSunday – Two Excerpts For The ... Darting About

Cedric Bares . . . er . . . TELLS All

Today, I'm pleased to welcome Cedric MacKinnon, Male Vampire Courtesan and Badass, to the dear old blog. Cedric is the point-of-view character in Denise Verrico's latest Immortyl Revolution series, MY FEARFUL SYMMETRY. If you missed the excerpt yesterday, here's a link to it.

Now, as more than one person has said, let's get to Cedric.

Tell us a little about yourself.

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I was born in Scotland and lost my parents at an early age. I grew up in a children's home and ran away to London when I was fifteen with dreams of becoming a rock star. Needless to say, that wasn't a great idea. I made my living on the streets selling the only thing I could. To make a long story short, rent boys in London have a 33% HIV infection rate, and I became a statistic. I turned to playing my guitar in the underground to supplement what I got from the government, and one night I encountered this lovely Indian gentleman–or so I thought. Raj made me the man I am today. That is to say, a vampire courtesan turned assassin. Complete sociopath, Raj.

Aside from those dreary details, I'm a musician and play the guitar as well as Indian instruments. My prized possession is a vintage Stratocaster. I love all kinds of rock music. My favorite artist of all time is David Bowie. Flashy clothes, fast cars and the latest electronic gadgets are my weakness—and beautiful lovers. I believe in spreading the wealth, so to speak.

What do you like best about your work?

I'm an adept of the ancient arts, which is an Immortyl temple artist in service to the Goddess Kali, but we're used as courtesans in political intrigues by the Chief Elder, Kalidasa. Hmm…the courtesan part was usually a drag, except for the singing and dancing. No one does a blues riff on a sitar like me. Music is my true passion. I'm in a new line of work now. Mia tells all about my exploits in Book Four, which we hope will be out in early summer. I take heads now instead of give…well you get the drift. I've had excellent teachers in New York. Mia is quite the swordswoman. Philip and Sheih have taught me martial arts. My dance training comes in handy here. They call me a living weapon. I rather like that.

It might be even more indelicate to ask what you like least about your work but, if there were one thing you could tweak … er … CHANGE, what would it be?

Too many uncongenial lovers, too many beds, too little rest. Lord Liu was the exception. He's a gentleman and knows how to treat a boy right. My official duty was to serve the Goddess Kali and bestow Shakti's blessings through an elaborate tantric ritual. During my training in the ashram, I told my guru and love, Sandhya, "I've been called many things in my time, but never a conduit of divinity". She wasn't amused and hit me on the back of the head with all her rings on. Ouch. Vampires aren't known for being gentle. Well, maybe those sparkly, wussy ones. The worst experience was when I had an encounter with a bloke who was once with the Spanish Inquisition. No Monty Python fun here. Torture isn't officially allowed on an adept, but with our new Rani, Giulietta, anything goes. The change I'd like to see is Giulietta's head at the business end of my knife.

Is there a Special Someone in your life?

Well, there are currently two. With my omnivorous nature it's rather difficult to settle. Mia is the earthly manifestation of Shakti in the form of Durga, and I'm her "tiger" servant. Grrr…we do get a bit rough sometimes. I love a strong woman. However, I must say that Lord Liu remains a powerful presence in my life. You've got to love a Chinese warrior from the former Han Dynasty turned scholar turned Immortyl elder. He's deep. And dare I say sexy?

Where do you see yourself five years from now? 10? 25?

Still young and beautiful, of course, but hopefully wiser. With my new line of work, it's hard to say whether I'll be around in 10 or 25 years. I'm on a secret mission at the moment. So, I can't say exactly what I'm about—or as you Yanks say—what I'm up to. If I survive this mad quest, I hope to aid Mia and Kurt in their mission to find a cure for this condition that makes us perish in the ultraviolet and addicted to blood.

Bonus question: Do you have any words of advice to young people wanting to go into your line of work?

Just say no. Don't run away from home and live on the streets as a prostitute, don't become a vampire and above all, don't kill people for a living. I'd much rather be the front man for a band.

Thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to speak with us today, Cedric. We hope to see more of you … I mean of your character.

A boy becomes a vampire and fights to become a man.