In 2006 Mario Acevedo published humorous novel The Nymphos of Rocky Flats about an Iraqi vet, Felix Gomez, who gets turned into a vampire shortly after a nasty fire fight. Now he's back in the US and is working as a private investigator. An old college chum asks him to investigate an outbreak of nymphomania at Colorado's Rocky Flats nuclear facility. What could be more interesting?
The sequel is X-Rated Bloodsucker. Rayo, 2007 (February). Felix faces his toughest task ever—navigating the corrupt world of Los Angeles politics to solve the murder of a distinguished young surgeon turned porn star. But both human and vampire alike have reasons to want the secret to stay buried. . .
Below is a brief Q & A with Acevedo
A Conversation with… Mario Acevedo author of
X-Rated Bloodsuckers
Q. Your book takes place in and around the porn industry in Los Angeles—what’s the connection, in your mind, between vampires and porn?
A. Both porn and vampires tap into the lurid, forbidden recesses of our psyche. Plus, writing this book gave me the chance to look at porn and legitimately claim it as research.
Q. You were once a soldier, and can even fly an attack helicopter. How much of your own personal experience fueled the premise of this, your second, novel?
A. This second novel had little to do with military action. In the first draft I did have some helicopter stuff but the story worked better without it. Plus, people would rather read about porn than helicopters.
Q. Felix, X-Rated Bloodsucker’s protagonist, goes into combat in Iraq and comes back a vampire. Are you making a stronger statement, using an admittedly hilarious vehicle, about how your own combat experience changed you?
A. I was lucky. I didn’t come back with any disorders I didn’t already have. In X-Rated Bloodsuckers I had to remind the readers how Felix became a vampire and that could be an allegory to the lingering affects of war on people.
Q. The Vampire genre continues to fascinate readers—why do you think this is?
A. Vampires tap into our primal fears about death and monsters. While we deny it, death is always nearby and vampires represent the monsters who live among us. That, and vampires wear great clothes and throw fabulous parties.
The sequel is X-Rated Bloodsucker. Rayo, 2007 (February). Felix faces his toughest task ever—navigating the corrupt world of Los Angeles politics to solve the murder of a distinguished young surgeon turned porn star. But both human and vampire alike have reasons to want the secret to stay buried. . .
Below is a brief Q & A with Acevedo
A Conversation with… Mario Acevedo author of
X-Rated Bloodsuckers
Q. Your book takes place in and around the porn industry in Los Angeles—what’s the connection, in your mind, between vampires and porn?
A. Both porn and vampires tap into the lurid, forbidden recesses of our psyche. Plus, writing this book gave me the chance to look at porn and legitimately claim it as research.
Q. You were once a soldier, and can even fly an attack helicopter. How much of your own personal experience fueled the premise of this, your second, novel?
A. This second novel had little to do with military action. In the first draft I did have some helicopter stuff but the story worked better without it. Plus, people would rather read about porn than helicopters.
Q. Felix, X-Rated Bloodsucker’s protagonist, goes into combat in Iraq and comes back a vampire. Are you making a stronger statement, using an admittedly hilarious vehicle, about how your own combat experience changed you?
A. I was lucky. I didn’t come back with any disorders I didn’t already have. In X-Rated Bloodsuckers I had to remind the readers how Felix became a vampire and that could be an allegory to the lingering affects of war on people.
Q. The Vampire genre continues to fascinate readers—why do you think this is?
A. Vampires tap into our primal fears about death and monsters. While we deny it, death is always nearby and vampires represent the monsters who live among us. That, and vampires wear great clothes and throw fabulous parties.
