Today we are joined by two sisters who are more than they seem. Loretta and Pascaline appear in Elizabeth Guizetti’s historical vampire novel, Intrigue Among Vampires.
Emissaries from King Louis XIV, a human girl, Loretta, and her elder sister and recently transformed vampire, Pascaline, glide into the ball. At the sound of the herald, the sisters approach Queen Titania with balletic grace and perfect etiquette. As she speaks, Pascaline hides her vampiric nature with a well-placed fan and the Court fashions of Versailles. Loretta bides her time for her turn at transformation is coming. For now, she pleases the court with a voice as lovely as a chorus of angels.
Character Questions
Would you rather sneak through a dragon’s den, or swim over a mermaid’s grotto? Loretta answers: “Sneak through? I should never never, but as I don’t know how to swim, I suppose we should knock on the dragon’s door and invite them to tea.” Pascaline agrees excitedly, “Perhaps, dragons like to read? I am part of a ladies’ literary salon in Paris. It meets every Saturday, if you or the dragon should like to attend.”
What is the rarest and most precious thing in your land? The sisters exchange a glance. Pascaline answers, “There is a purple dye made from a shell of a giant mollusk, that our dear papa killed two centuries ago. Our goal is to bring it back to fashion in all the best circles.”
Author Questions
Do you write according to an outline, or just let the ideas flow? I generally have a loose plan and work from an outline for the big points I want to make in the book and then let the story travel as it wills. As I learn historical points, I do tend to understand the characters better and the book shifts to suit them.
How do you choose your next project? I let the project speak to me, but right now, I am writing a series of vampire books from the Paper Flower Consortium Universe so I know my next book will be chosen by the next vampire who was changed in a chronological manner. This means the next vampire will be Charles Onfoy and his book, Loyalty Among Vampires, should come out in 2025.
Intrigue Among Vampires
France 1685: Pascaline Aubinet watches in dread as Dragonnades terrorize the Huguenots. Isolated due to her long confinement from the Court, her concerns are dismissed by her husband. Meanwhile, her younger sister, Loretta Fabron, is immersed in the excitement of her debut, her musical pursuits, and the prospect of meeting King Louis XIV.
When the Dragonnades are garrisoned in the Aubinet home, the women are thrust into an unfamiliar and unforgiving world. Pascaline and Loretta are abandoned and struggle to secure respectable employment with skills limited to courtly behavior and a sick infant. Humans can be cruel, and those who linger in the night are hungry. As her daughter’s health deteriorates, Pascaline and Loretta seek refuge in a secluded wood and village untouched by time. There, they encounter a deathly pale count and his beautiful, uncanny wife, who offer sanctuary. Amidst sweeping political upheavals in France, the count and countess have been summoned back into the dazzling world of Versailles after a prolonged absence, borne from sickness of an entirely different nature. They struggle with modern deportment and Court fashion. Pascaline’s devotion to her humanity dies with her daughter.
Pascaline and Loretta must navigate the treacherous waters of the rules and tradition of Versailles, love, and the allure and consequences of a bloodier path.
Ebook available exclusively from Amazon through the month of July. The illustrated hardback and paperback editions are available from Barnes and Noble and the author’s online shop.
Elizabeth Guizetti
Elizabeth Guizzetti is an illustrator and author best known for her demon-poodle based comedy, Out for Souls & Cookies and her historical family dramas in the Vampires of the Paper Flower Consortium. She is also the creator of Faminelands and Lure and collaborated with authors on several projects including Dear Penpal Belgium 1980 and A is for Apex.
To explore a different aspect of her creativity, she writes science fiction and fantasy. Her debut novel, Other Systems, was a 2015 Finalist for the Canopus Award for excellence in Interstellar Fiction. Her short work has appeared in anthologies such as Wee Folk and The Wise and Beyond the Hedge.
Guizzetti lives in Seattle with her husband and dog. When not writing or illustrating, she loves hiking and waltzing.
Have you read one of my books? Then it would be great for you to leave a review! Meanwhile, if you’d like to learn more about me and my work, check out my website, Bluesky, Facebook, Pinterest, or Instagram.
The story sounds… intriguing!
Haha. Thanks – I love to read and write family sagas!
King Louis XIV? A lot can happen during the reign of the longest verified ruling sovereign in history! (Although Elizabeth the Second came in as a close second.)
I do find it fascinating how depictions of vampires have changed a great deal over the years. And now human and vampires sisters?