Diana is the author of A BLOODY GOOD CRUISE a fun-filled
blend of the vampire world and luxury cruises, starring
romance author Mona Rossi and Fausto Silvius, a full-blooded vampire. The
popularity of cruises and vampires make it a unique blend, but a very fun
setting.
My stories are romances set against a backdrop of political
upheaval, court intrigue, poverty general drama of the surroundings, and at
times a splash of the paranormal. What I’m trying to get across in my stories
is that love can prevail no matter what the conflicts and obstacles, earthly or
not.
Coffeetime Romance says in its review, “A Bloody Good
Cruise is a high seas adventure with twists and turns around every corner.
The lively cast spins non-stop excitement with thrills and enough snags to keep
the pages turning.”
I
wanted to combine Italian vampires, comedy and cruising in one package, so I
hopped on my imaginary ship The
Romanza to get my characters in all kinds of trouble. I envisioned
the hero, Fausto, as actor Vincent Irizarry (Dr. Hayward on All My Children).
That made my job so much easier. He is THE perfect vampire. Italian vampires
and hunters (the Vampire Ball Busters) leave the field wide open for comic
relief, and I had plenty of chances in this story. Since I'm hooked on cruising
and I'm Italian, I didn't need to do that much research. The name Fausto came
from an Italian woman I met in the 1980s, Fausta. I knew I had to use some
version of that name in one of my books.
My
husband and I are hooked on cruising, and my very first cruise was on the
Eastern Mediterranean, beginning in Rome and ending in Istanbul. The ports of
call included Rhodes, Cyprus, Santorini, and Egypt. Because I love Italy and
cruising, I wanted to combine those passions with a humorous story about
vampires and how they face prejudice in the human world.
I met an Italian woman named Fausta in 1983 and always loved that name--I
always planned to use that name in one of my books someday. I finally got the
chance with the hero Fausto, close enough!
The
actor I envision for the hero Fausto is Vincent Irizarry, who played Dr. David
Hayward on All My Children. He is every bit the perfect vampire.
Mona
forced a dose of cheer through her jangly nerves. Vampire hunters wouldn’t have
the balls to attack Fausto and his friends on this ship. Security was tight.
“Well, you’re here, so does that mean you’ve been going out, and aren’t
confined to your house any more?”
Fausto
shrugged. “Almost. I couldn’t wallow in self-pity forever. And I knew seeing
you would make it worthwhile.”
She
smiled and gave him a genuine Italian cheek pinch. “I’ll cheer you up, faccia
bella , you can count on that. You must feel safe.” She gestured at the
tacky duds. “I mean, relatively speaking.”
“Don’t
let this scare you, but –” He glanced around over the rims of his shades. Uh-oh.
Whenever he said “don’t let this scare you,” it scared her. “I got an
ominous message at the doctor’s office earlier.”
“What—”
She swallowed a lump. “What kind of ominous message?”
He
looked away, shaking his head. “Nothing to get alarmed about. The hunters just
want me to know they’re here.
After
the initial jolt wore off, I said, ‘okay, I’m being stalked again.’ But I’m
used to it. It doesn’t make me constantly look over my shoulder like in the old
days. My family’s murder gave me a reality check. If they want me, they’ll get
me. I can’t let it interfere with my work, or what little leisure time I have
here. And you shouldn’t either.”
He
gazed at her adoringly and cupped her cheek. His hand was surprisingly warm.
“But you’re still scared. All the blood’s drained out of your face, and not in
a good way.”
An
Interview with Mona Rossi, heroine of A
Bloody Good Cruise
You, the Heroine. . .
Readers love to know about
their favorite heroines, and this is your chance to make them feel close to
you.
You have two hours free time tonight, what
would you rather do? Why?
Soak
in my hot tub overlooking the Tuscany Hills with a chilled glass of Gianni Brunelli Brunello di Montalcino Riserva from
right there in Tuscany. Fausto bought me a case of this for our one-year
anniversary. It’s a deep ruby red with intense aromas of notes of leather and
cherry. Upon sipping, you get an astringent taste.
At $389 a bottle, I splurge when I sell a
book—then I buy another bottle when the book sales hit the 1,000 copy mark.
But when I can’t be so decadent I drink
Beaujolais Nouveau, produced in the Beaujolais region of France. (sorry ,
Fausto, it’s not Italian.) It comes out once a year, and goes on sale the third
Thursday of November. If you don’t get to a store in time, you can miss out. It
sells out fast. Distributors deliver it to stores at 12:01 a.m. local time.
I’ve seen people in line waiting for it. I’d do that for a Springsteen concert,
but not for a bottle of wine!
Yes,
I’m a I’m a Springsteen fan, and that’s
something else I’d do with two free hours—go to one of his shows or blast his
CDs and dance like crazy. But along with the wine, I’d have Sinatra or Dean
Martin playing in the background, with a vanilla candle. And if I’m feeling
indulgent, I’ll bring three white chocolate truffles, and eat them fast so they
don’t melt.
What
kind of books do you love to read? Why?
The same kind of romances I write—suspense,
where the heroine gets into one mess after another. I read out loud, it
improves my diction for when I speak at writers’ conferences. I also like to
browse cookbooks. I take a snapshot of the recipe in my head, then go and
improvise.
My favorite author is Linda Howard. She
writes such pulse-pounding suspense. And I know this sounds hokey, but when I
met Fausto, I began reading Anne Rice. Fausto and his family aren’t the same
kinds of vampires she writes about, but it gave me some perspective. To me, the
original book Dracula, by Bram Stoker, was scary as hell. But I do consider it
one of my favorite books because it was so innovative. I never believed in
vampires before that book, and look where I am now!
I like to go to Goodreads to seek out new
titles. I don’t read the reader reviews, though. Too many of them have misled
me. I just read the book summary and make up my own mind.
What is your stress buster?
A
Pilates class or watching my favorite shows while working out on the elliptical
trainer—I watch comedy working out, certainly not the news—I want to bust
stress, not increase it. I have DVDs of some classic sitcoms:
I
Love Lucy, the Dick Van Dyke Show, All in the Family, Seinfeld—and some live
standup: Joan Rivers, Phyllis Diller, Richard Pryor, the pioneers, the greats.
No comedians working the clubs today come close to those legends. Moving for an
hour to comedy—or music—is the best way to relieve stress and work it all off.
When not on the elliptical, I’ll get out my iPod, close the door, pull the
shades and torch some calories dancing to my cardio mix—a scientifically
engineered mix of songs that burn 450 calories—one of my warm up songs is
Scream by Usher, one sprint song is Pump It by Black Eyed Peas, a recover song
is Goin ’ In by J. Lo, and a cool down song is Halo by Beyoncé.
What is your favorite food?
What food do you seek when you’re sad, sort of a comfort food?
Cheesecake
made with cottage cheese—it’s healthy and low fat, and tastes every bit as good
as ‘real’ cheesecake but much lighter. I also make honey balls, “Struffoli”
which is a Christmas treat, but I make them year round. I added the recipe
below. Every morning I make a healthy smoothie with almond milk, coconut milk,
yogurt, either spinach or kale, cinnamon, and protein powder. If I use
chocolate powder, I also add peanut butter. You can’t even taste the spinach or
kale, but it does turn the smoothie green. I also do some creative things to
oatmeal—top it with cinnamon or nutmeg. I make it with a green tea bag instead
of plain water for a healthy boost.
Describe
yourself in one word.
Determined.
What
is the most adventurous thing you’ve ever done?
Being
turned—but it was a matter of life and death. I trusted Fausto with my life,
and here I am.
What
makes you happy / sad / disappointed / frustrated / hopeful / angry? (Pick one)
What
makes me angry is intolerance. After I went through with Fausto and his family,
I saw first-hand what someone different must go through to gain acceptance. I’m
trying to change that by giving talks about vampires, explaining who we really
are, so someday prejudice against us—and anyone else the ‘majority’ deems
‘different’ will be an ugly thing of the past.
What are your wildest
dreams/fantasies/kinks/quirks?
My
wildest dream is to live a week in Ancient Rome, as a Senator’s mistress.
What do you most want out of life, and
what’s its opposite?
I
most want social acceptance and its opposite is to disappear in the crowd, to
be an ordinary citizen.
What would you never say, do or think?
- I’d never insult someone just to show I’m better or smarter.
- I’d never let anyone boss me around.
- I’d never think I’m inferior to anyone because of my new status as a vampire.
What are some of your faults?
I’m
too assertive at times. I still worry about what people think of me. I
overcompensate to get them to accept and like me. I make a mess after cooking
and don’t clean it up right away. This drives Fausto nuts. He’s a neat freak.
Another fault that also drives him nuts is that I put off going to the doctor.
We’ve been granted eternal life, but we do have to get checkups along the way!
Diana is a longtime a member of Romance Writers of America,
the Richard III Society and the Aaron Burr Association.
You can visit Diana on the following social media sites:
A Bloody Good
Cruise is available on Amazon
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