July | 2017 | monstermikeyaauthor

Monthly Archives: July 2017

July 1, 2017 · 6:21 pm

Andy Warhol Lives in New Vampire Novel

IA/IL QUAD-CITIES – Quad-Cities author Michael McCarty and his collaborator, New York author Jody LaGreca, have finished their Bloodless trilogy of vampire novels by featuring avant-garde artist Andy Warhol as a character in the final book.

(Photos of Jody LaGreca & Michael McCarty)

McCarty will be selling and autographing all three Bloodless novels at the Quad Cities Planet Comic & Arts Convention at the Holiday Inn in Rock Island, Illinois 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. July 29.

“The three Bloodless novels – Bloodless, Bloodlust, and the new one, Bloodline – all tell the tale of a 100-year-old vampire,” said McCarty. “Since he’s been around for so long, Jody and I thought the vampire would have encountered famous people and events. In Bloodless, the vampire survives both the sinking of the Lusitania and the explosion of the Hindenburg. In Bloodlust, we learn about the factors that led to Marilyn Monroe’s untimely demise. In Bloodline, eccentric artist Andy Warhol befriends the vampire.” Bloodless, Bloodlust and Bloodline are published by Simon & Schuster as ebooks and as trade paperbacks by CreateSpace.

Last year, McCarty released a different vampire collaboration, Dracula Transformed & Other Bloodthirsty Tales, with co-author Mark McLaughlin, with whom McCarty also co-wrote the novel, Monster Behind The Wheel. “The public’s fascination with vampire fiction has endured because vampires represent a lifestyle of fantasy-fulfillment,” McLaughlin said. “Vampire characters ignore society’s rules – and from time to time, all people wish they could do that. Vampire stories present a harmless and entertaining vicarious experience.”

LaGreca noted that years ago, she spent her leisure time at the same nightclub as Andy Warhol. “I used to go to Max’s Kansas City in New York City, where Andy Warhol hung out,” she said. “I could have easily met him back in the day, since we frequently crossed paths at Max’s and were often face to face. Back then, I used to spend my summers tanning on the beach, so I thought Warhol was shockingly pale and living on the fringe. As an artist, he was ahead of his time and beyond amazing.”

(All three ebooks: Bloodless, Bloodlust & Bloodline)

Like McCarty, the cover model for Bloodline is also from the Quad Cities – actress and comedian Nikki Gillette. “When I worked at Augustana College,” Mr. McCarty said, “my wife Cindy and I knew Nikki. I thought it would be cool to have Nikki be on a horror book cover. I told Nikki, she’s both a cover girl and a cover ghoul.”

(The original Bloodline cover and cover for the ebook)