Amazon Dry Bones Press Category:  Mainstream Publisher: Dry Bones Press ISBN-10:  188393866X Type: Fiction Pages: 269 Copyright: Feb 1 2000 MOTHER JULIAN AND THE GENTLE VAMPIRE is a story in which Anne Rice meets CHICKEN SOUP meets Gloria Steinem. Told with humor, it combines the work of Julian of Norwich, an actual mystic who penned the first book ever written in English by a woman, with the likes of a vampire, named Lesbiana, who is thirsty for her lost spirit. In desperation, she drinks Mother Julian's blood and is converted, becoming the "gentle vampire." Julian of Norwich was a real mystic born in Medieval England in 1342. She penned the first book ever written in English by a woman, becoming the world`s first documented feminist. In MOTHER JULIAN AND THE GENTLE VAMPIRE, Julian meets a vampire named Little Gift, who is thirsty for more than just blood. She`s after her lost spirit. In desperation, she drinks Mother Julian`s sacred blood and is converted. Little Gift then becomes a vampire in reverse: She must give her blood or she will suffer excruciating pain. Her blood has the power to instill self-esteem and heal broken lives. 600 years lateer, Little Gift, now known as Lesbiana, is living in present-day San Francisco. She volunteers at battered women's shelters and "transfers" her blood to these woman as they sleep. They awaken with a power and sense of self they had never before know. The story continues as it weaves in flashbacks to Old England and Mother Julian`s radical insights. MOTHER JULIAN AND THE GENTLE VAMPIRE mixes fact with fantasy, spirituality with humor, mysticism with mystery, and feminism with science fiction. It also weaves musical composition with novel-writing. All music and lyrics attributed to Julian of Norwich are actually the work of the author, Jack Pantaleo. The sheet music is actually woven into the novel whenever the songs are sung. A recording of the music is also available. (Author can be contacted at jackp100(at)onebox.com)   Excerpt "Alone. Lesbiana was alone in the elevator, the same way she had been alone most of her six hundred years on earth. The emotion flushed through her as the elevator ascended, and she recalled the riddle she had labored to solve all her life: “There is a place between the Light and Darkness where spirituality is born. If you can find that place, you can find each other.” She was yet to find that place or her beloved and had long ago given up hope she ever would. Destined to be alone, she shrugged off the emotion and prepared herself for another day of exemplary work. She took a deep breath." "That night, as Ernestine and Pedro lay next to each other, sound asleep, Lesbiana crept into their shelter room. She was quieter than a moonbeam. She ached with anticipation. It had been too long. The flask was nearly empty now, and the pain was merciless. She rubbed her spittle on their necks and did what she had to do."

Taken Into the Breath of Other Worlds
"Rarely do I find such humor, sensitivity, and pure excitement in a book … the characters expand and grow into so many rich turns--it was like riding a sci-fi roller coaster. Thank you, Jack Pantaleo, for enticing me through your rich writing and taking me into the breath of other worlds."
Joan Buidilovsky, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Meditation


Pantaleo's Novel Is Unique
"Some writers follow strict formulas (as romance novelists do), while others create new ones. Mother Julian and the Gentle Vampire falls into the latter category. Jack Pantaleo juxtaposes present day San Francisco characters with Fourteenth-Century English mystics, spirituality with comedy, and a vampire story with a hard-boiled detective story. And it works! Fast-paced, funny, and unpredictable, Pantaleo's novel is unique."
Dr. Wilfrid R. Koponen, Writer and Literature Professor
Author of Embracing a Gay Identity: Gay Novels as Guides