Interview & Contest with Nancy Haddock

My guest this week on Amberkatze's Book Blog is Cesca from Nancy Haddock's amazing vampire series! Nancy has already been a guest on Amberkatze's Book Blog and is a regular reader so it was time to see what Cesca has to say about things ;)

I hope you all enjoy the interview and get to know Cesca a little better. Make sure you enter the contest so you can read even more about her!

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Amber - Welcome to Amberkatze's Book Blog. Thank you so much for taking the time to answer some of my questions. Now to start things off I need to clear something up. We met up earlier and had a quick introduction and you asked me to call you Cesca but I heard some people calling you Princess? What is that about?

Cesca - First, Amber, thank you for inviting me to visit! I’ve followed your blog for some time, and your guests are such fun!

As for the Princess tag, it seems that the French vampire who turned me in 1800 -- the one who called himself King Normand -- was a true a descendant in the French line of kings. Back then, I thought he was just an arrogant royal pain when he gave me the title of Francesca, Princess Vampire, Most Royal Highness of the House of King Normand. ‘Course, only the press and Jo-Jo the Jester call me Princess now, and Jo-Jo only does it because of his comedy act.

For those history buffs wondering how a French vampire came to live near the Spanish settlement of St. Augustine when the Spanish and French were rivals, Normand and his entourage originally came over with French soldiers. Those soldiers established, and later lost Fort Caroline in what is now Jacksonville, Florida. When the Spanish wiped out the French, Normand moved his bloody band to a spot north of St. Augustine. His presence annoyed the devil out of the Spanish, and also the English who ruled St. Augustine for a short time, but it took a village uprising to finally destroy the nest in 1803. Well, all of the nest except me.

Amber - Okay, now that we have that sorted out maybe you can tell my readers a little bit about yourself?

Cesca - I was born in St. Augustine in 1780, the youngest child and only daughter of my Italian father and Minorcan (or Menorcan) mother. My mother raised me to be polite; my father taught me adventure and independence. I don’t know where my psychic abilities came from, but I suspect from my mother’s side. She sure had mastered the evil eye!

My constant friend and girlhood crush was Triton, and we shared everything from the time we were children – including mental telepathy. Even when he began to shape-shift into a dolphin during his teens – freaky as that was! – I was there for him. I would’ve married Triton, flippers and all, but he thought of me as a sister. Bummer, huh?

Now, though, I’m happily living a sometimes normal afterlife. I study design online, work as a ghost tour guide, have friends, and have an amazing man in my heart.

Amber - What was it like being trapped underground for so many years? How do you stop yourself from going crazy?

Cesca – During my first week of entombment and on many other days after, the threat of crazy hovered every moment. I kept thinking that, if I hadn’t urged Triton to flee the city, he could’ve dug me up. Or so I figured at the time.

The good news was that Triton talked with and soothed me through our telepathic connection. He reminded me to astral travel, a trick I’d used to connect with him while he was on his dolphin shape-shifter adventures. That gave me something to do, a way to keep busy. I also discovered that, while astral traveling, I could siphon energy from people as a way of feeding – much better than drinking blood. Other vampires may acquire a taste for the stuff. Me, not so much.

Amber - If you could go back in time and change things, what would you change and would you still want to be a vampire?

Cesca - I never wanted to be a vampire, so I’d probably change history to make me have married Triton and lived a mostly normal life. His shape-shifting being the exception to normal. On the other hand, if not for being a vampire and being buried so long, I wouldn’t have the friends I have now.

Amber - All vampires have to have a sponsor. Who is yours? Is she nice?

Cesca - Maggie O'Halloran is one of those friends I have now. She’s my sponsor and mentor and BFF, in fact. She is amazing and accepting, and if she ever freaked about finding me under the Victorian house she bought to restore, she never showed it.

Now her fiancé Neil and I had issues, but I can’t blame him for being protective of Maggie. Plus, once we became surfing buddies, he mellowed enough that we usually get along.

Amber - I heard you have a hot guy hung up on you? How is that going? Is a problem with him being human?

Cesca – Mmm-mmm, Amber, afterlife is great with my hunky lover. Deke Saber is an ex-slayer cum special investigator who only hunts vampires that go Rampant. My darling Saber is not quite as human as he looks, though. He’s got some serious powers he’s kept hidden, and I don’t mean behind bedroom doors.

Amber - You work as a tour guide in St. Augustine. Does anything interesting ever happen on the tours? See any ghosts?

Cesca – I hope the most interesting things – like being stalked, being hit on, and being evaluated by a paranormal investigator – are behind me, but every night and every group holds its own energy. Since I seem to have an affinity with ghosts, my tours are often filled with sightings of orbs and apparitions. But, hey, except for a cranky few, our ghosts are playful and harmless. Tourists enjoy learning more of our St. Augustine history, too.

Amber - How do you like to relax? Do you watch TV, Read or listen to music? Do you have any hobbies?

Cesca - I love watching old TV shows and old movies, and I read – especially mysteries, romances, and urban fantasies. I don’t have much time to just chill with music, but I crank up the Beach Boys when I clean my cottage. In between errands and helping Saber with investigations, I surf, study design, and putter in Maggie’s garden. Then, of course, there is bridge club. I’m a fiend for bridge.

Amber - I know you are putting your adventures as a vampire into books. How is that working out? Do you like the author you are working with?

Cesca - Nancy is fun to work with - when she listens to me. Did you know authors get weirdly hung up on what they think should happen instead of what I know happens? These authors are an odd lot, but I like Nancy just fine. It helps that she buys me things, like caramel macchiatos and the occasional piece of jewelry.

Amber - You are stuck on a desert island. What five things would you really need to have with you to survive?

Cesca - Ay-yi-yi! If Saber sees this question, he’s going to push me to perfect my flying so I’ll never be stuck anywhere!

Okay, for the sake of fun, first I’d need Saber with me. Super sun block and deep shade are must-haves. Then, I’d want books and my surfboard – you know, for those times Saber needs a break from my, ah, attentions.

Logically, I should make room for cases of Starbloods, but I think Saber and I can live off love for a while. After all, with my GPS implant, the Vampire Protection Agency would rescue us before long.

Amber - Thank you so much for answering my questions! I look forward to reading more about you when the time comes!

Cesca - Thank you, Amber, and come see me in St. Augustine sometime. The Old City Gates are always open!




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Contest Time!

Leave a comment and be entered in the drawing to win a copy of Last Vampire Standing. If you’re a published author, please also leave your web URL or title of your last or upcoming book. Nancy says she likes sharing the stage!

Please post a vampire joke – or any paranormal joke? Jo-Jo is always looking for material, and Cesca will be sure he reads the blog!

The usual rules apply!

No joke = No Entry.

Earn another entry for each place you link this contest on the net. Make sure you add links here for me to confirm your entries!

You can also earn extra entries by emailing your friends about the contest. Just make sure you send a copy of your email or receipt to me at Amberkatzes_book_blog at gmx dot net.

The contest will stay open until Sunday 14th of June 2009 4pm CET and the winner will be picked by a randomizer. Entrants should check back to see if they have won. I do not hunt down winners and will pick new winners for any prizes not claimed within 7 days.

If you are claiming a prize, have emailed me and have not heard back before the 7 day limit is up then post a comment here on the blog. Your email may get sucked into my spam filter.

For more opportunities to win a book, see the Beach Party page on Nancy’s web site – www.nancyhaddock.com.