Excerpt from Immortality and Beyond Interview:
Today we have a dark comedy, Blood:The New Red by David S. Grant. David is on tour with the Virtual Book Tour Cafe' - Follow his tour HERE - and we are so pleased to have him at the Round Table.
Welcome David, glad you could stop in.
BK: Please tell us a little bit about your current release...
Blood: The new Red begins at an after party where Mickey, and ex-adult movie star turned supermodel, is aligning himself with one of top Designers of Seventh Avenue. While trying to land a job on the runway Mickey is thrown into the center of a scene where sex is often the motivation, the wine is served by year, and cocaine is back in full force. Juanita, Mickey’s girlfriend is having difficulties staying sober, fully clothed, and off of her famous boyfriend.
Mickey goes to work for Fashion icon Paul Johnson, one of the two top Designers in NYC. The other is Sandy Johnson, another Designer who will stop at nothing including murder to guarantee victory. A runway exhibition has been scheduled for the two to compete in and find out who truly is the best Johnson. Mickey will be Paul’s top model, and Sandy has found a homeless person nicknamed Kung Fu Master to show his line.
In addition to getting his new line in place, Paul Johnson is also buying chain saws, the louder the better, to put the special in this special event.
Did you know that you can’t be sentenced to prison if actively seeking help at a mental facility? Paul Johnson knows this.
Somewhere between the girls, counting Vicodin pills, and show preparation Mickey has grown a conscience and no longer likes what he sees. He believes (and his psychiatrist agrees) that he has the power to change what’s happening around him.
Days before the show Kung Fu Master turns up dead and there is an attempt on Mickey’s life. After a brief period of unconsciousness Mickey is back, is told that Juanita and brother Cheeks are now also dead and that he must continue with the show. After all, what would Steven Tyler do?
The night of the show is laced with celebrities and models on the runway as well as one particular popular day-time talk show host that may or may not be murdered on the runway.
In the end only one Johnson will walk away, although this is temporary as Mickey has the last word.
Right before he pops his last Vicodin.
BK: What inspired this particular novel/book?
The story of BLOOD: The New Red really starts with one of my first books titled Corporate Porn that featured a model, named Mickey, turning to the adult movie industry for work.
After other writing projects I started thinking about Mickey and what if he was the main character, the narrator, and what if he came back to New York to regain his career as a model? Is this interesting? It was for me. Throw in fashion week, a pair of competitive designers, and Oprah on the runway and I was all in! Given the initial through that went into this tale the story wrote itself, at times I felt more like a ghost writer than I did an author. This also explains the break-neck speed of the book, moving from neighborhood-to-neighborhood and psychiatrist-to-psychiatrist, bridged only by drugs, low morals, and chainsaws!
BK: When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
I’ve always been writing in some form. At a very young age I would write short stories and essays which evolved into writing longer pieces of fiction and then finally, novella and novel length books. It’s cheaper than therapy. Whether it’s writing books or just scribbling in a journal, writing will always be part of my life. If not, then I will have a healthy psychiatrist bill.
BK: How do you keep your writing different from all the others that write in this particular genre?
It takes time to find your voice on paper. I’ve always been a fan of transgressive fiction and books that explore the underworld that surrounds us. My goal has always been to mix humor with taboo topics and dark undertones. Over the past ten years I believe I have created a unique style that translates across my novels and columns.
Read the full INTEVIEW here.
David S. Grant is the author of "Blood: The New Red", follow David on Twitter: .david_s_grant
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