Tony-Paul de Vissage author of DARK GOD DESCENDING

Welcome author Tony-Paul de Vissage as he tells us a little about his new book, Dark God Descending.

Official bio:  A writer of French Huguenot extraction, one of Tony-Paul de Vissage's first movie memories is of being six years old, viewing the old Universal horror flick, Dracula's Daughter on television, and being scared sleepless--and that may explain a lifelong interest in vampires.
This was further inspired when the author was kidnapped by a band of transplanted Romanian vampires who were sightseeing in Georgia. Having never seen a human who wasn’t frightened of them, they kept the youngster with them for several months, offering to pay his way through college if he would become an author and write about vampires in a positive manner. He agreed, was returned to his parents (who were also grateful for the tuition offer since it let them off the hook and enabled them to indulge in Carribean cruises and trips to the Orient) and continued to keep in touch with his supernatural mentors.
Though the author didn't begin writing horror--or any other genre--until after graduating with a Bachelor's degree in Fine Arts from a well-known Southern University (and a second in Graphic Art), that one particular interest--and the promise made to his mentors--survived a liberal arts' education and the scorn of friends and family. Marriage, parenthood, divorce, and a variety of occupations ranging from stage work to doctor's assistant took precedent over writing for several years, as did moving from one United States coast to another.
Eventually that first story--a short story about the hapless vampire Clan Andriescu--was published. A voracious reader whose personal library has been shipped more than 3,000 miles, Tony-Paul has read hundreds of vampire tales and viewed more than as many movies.


ABOUT DARK GOD DESCENDING:
The Mayan view of the vampire legend (tentative release date Oct 1)

Dark God Descending is the story of a friendship--between two men separated by millennia, cultures, and customs. Threatened by their love for the same women, it is strengthened when they share something more precious--their lifesblood--and from that moment, their lives are inextricably bound--for eternity.



For five thousand years, the Dark Lords of Hell ruled the Mayan city of Nikte-Uaxac, while the outside world changed and grew and then twentieth century strangers came to the Forbidden City and stole the Maya's most precious possession, its Emperior.

Tucker Upchurch is a graduate student, studying the past but living in the present. Semris is a demon, the son of the god of Death and has been emperor for five thousand years. Tuck never thought he'd lose his girl to a demon or get near-immortality in exchange, and Semris never expected to experience mortal love but when the two meet, both their lives and the worlds they live in are forever changed.

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A lost city in the jungle...a safari of scientists...a stolen artifact... How many times has this theme been played out in books, movies, and television? A curse is exacted upon the thieves, with the hero struggling to save his friends before the sacred object is returned to its home.


Dark God Descending follows this formula to a certain degree. There's a lost city and a sacred object is stolen from the city but there the similarity ends. The stolen sacred object is the Emperor himself--Semris II, son of the god of Death, a demon godling with too much curiosity about the Outside World. An intelligent, articulate being, Semris is befriended by the man guarding him.
Tucker Upchurch is a graduate student, accompanying his professor on the safari which will change his life forever. Ordered to stand guard over the imprisoned demon, he immediately questions the morality of kidnapping Semris and once he begins to communicate with his captive, agrees to help him escape. From that moment on, Tuck's life will never be the same and he'll lose everything he holds dear--his girl, his place at the university he attends, his livelihood--while gaining the friendship of a creature who shouldn't exist. Semris is also changed by his knowledge of those in the Outside. He will learn of human love and human sacrifice, and also the depths of human cruelty.

Others are also changed by their association with the escaped demon. Along the way, they add two more passengers in their voyage toward freedom--Tuck's girl, Shannon, and Shannon's brother, David, a repressed doctor who considers himself without imagination or humour. David’s transformation is both amusing and heart-warming as he finds himself a “permanent resident of the Twilight Zone.”
Dark God Descending is the story of a friendship between two men separated by thousands of years, customs, and cultures. When Tuck, Shannon, and Semris--and even David-- reach the end of their journey, they find that it is only the beginning--for all of them.

Book trailer:     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6whOGyCTg8

(Dark God Descending is scheduled for an October release date.)