Blood Diva

Publisher Marketing: The 19th century's most infamous party-girl is undead and on the loose in the Big Apple. When 23 year-old Parisian courtesan, Marie Duplessis succumbed to consumption in 1847, Charles Dickens showed up for the funeral and reported the city mourned as though Joan of Arc had fallen. Marie was not only a celebrity in in her own right, but her list of lovers included Franz Liszt -- the first international music superstar, and Alexandre Dumas "fils," son of the creator of "The Three Musketeers." Dumas "fils" wrote the novel "The Lady of the Camellias" based on their time together. The book became a play, and the play became the opera "La Traviata." Later came the film versions, and the legend never died. But what if when offered the chance for eternal life and youth, Marie grabbed it, even when the price was the regular death of mortals at her lovely hand? Now Marie wonders if perhaps nearly two centuries of murder, mayhem, and debauchery is enough, especially when she falls hard for a rising star she believes may be the reincarnation of the only man she ever truly loved. But is it too late for her to change? Can a soul be redeemed like a diamond necklace in hock? And even if it can, have men evolved since the 1800?s? Or does a girl's past still mark her? "Blood Diva" is a sometimes humorous, often dark and erotic look at sex, celebrity, love, death, destiny, and the arts of both self-invention and seduction. It's a story that asks a simple question: Can a one hundred ninety year-old "demimondaine" find happiness in 21st century Brooklyn without regular infusions of fresh blood? Contributor Bio:  Gautier, VM VM Gautier is a pen name.