ABANDONED. Obscure vampire novel from the late 70's to 80's one word title

[Andrew]

70's or 80's vintage vampire novel, possibly written by someone who normally wrote sci-fi. I think it had a one-word title, which was the name of the principal character, a male, several hundred year old vampire.

The main character and narrator is a vampire, although that word is never used in the book. Because he is the narrator, he is discreet about what he chooses to tell the reader, leaving things like feeding implied but not described. The pot is pretty straightforward - he falls for a woman and is reluctant to kill her or feed from her. His (female) sire enters as the antagonist who cautions him to blend in and not give away the secret that vampires exist. I think it is his attachment to the woman he loves that brings him into conflict with his sire.

It had a nice line where he was pushing back on his sire's advice to learn modern culture in order to pass as human. He responds something like, "If it (music) last for a few hundred years, I'll give it a shot."

I liked this book a lot as a kid but lost it along the way and, with it, the ability to identify it. Appreciate your help!

[Kris]

Andrew, what is the story's time period and location (country/region/city/small town)?

What's the tone - e.g., romantic, steamy/clean, suspense, horror, etc.?

[Andrew]

It's contemporary to publication, so 1980s, roughly. I can't recall the location, maybe New Orleans but that's a wild reach into memory. Definitely USA.

The tone is quite clean. There's some implied sex, but nothing overt. The plotline is romantic in that a major motivator is the romance between the vampire and the woman he falls for, but I recall it having a tone more like a thriller than a romance.

[Kris]

Andrew, please post a new comment if you're still looking for this book - or if you found it.

Andrew (OP) was last active on the site in October 2020. Moving to Abandoned folder.