Meet William and Misha!

Good morning and welcome to Meet Me in St. Louis! Just kidding, of course. That movie took place a long time ago. During the World’s Fair, in fact. 1904. But that’s okay, as I’ve taken the Wayback Machine to just that time, in order to talk to two people—William Deming and Misha Rumiantseva. They’re the stars of the novel, My Fair Vampire, which releases October 8^th from Silver Publishing. They’ve kindly consented to this interview with me.  We’re standing at the Fair even now, on the Pike, that mile long strip where the vendors are located. Goodness but it smells good.

Misha has his arm securely about William’s waist and he looks very protective of William. I think it’s sweet, personally. He stands just behind him, his head resting on William’s shoulder as they both regard me.

“Well, shall we begin, gentlemen?” I smile at them. “So, William, why don’t you tell me a little bit about yourself?”

“Good morning to you! Not much to tell with me, a simple boy from a large family of ten. Strict father of  course. We lived in the mountains, in Moab, in the southern part of the state.  I went away to university to study journalism at Brigham Young and then got a job in Salt Lake City, at the Utah Gazette. When the Fair was first announced, I prayed that my editor might send me on such a delicious assignment. Thank the heavens he did, for I have Misha in my life now, and forever.”

Misha smiles at him, and they turn toward one another and exchange a kiss. Oh goodness, how I do love to see two people so very much in love!

“So you came to the Fair for your job and found love, how romantic! Misha, are you from around here, then?” His accent is foreign, but I can’t quite put my finger on what it is.

“Nyet,” he says, nuzzling gently at William’s neck. The blond blushes. Rather prettily, I must say. “I come from Russia. My aunt, she has a—how you say? A boarding house. She take in people. William come to stay, I meet him there.”

“Ah, a boarding house. There was a lot of that during the Fair, was there not?”

“Yes,” William replies. “The people fortunate enough to live in these magnificent houses took in boarders such as myself so we would be closer to the Fair.” I certainly chose the right one.” He kisses Misha again.  “The architecture is just splendid...all of these homes.”

“I’d certainly love to see them, if that’s possible. Maybe you two could give me a tour of the boarding house—“

William glances at Misha, who shakes his head regretfully.

“I’m afraid that won’t be possible, Mrs. Hayes, I’m sorry,” William apologizes.

“Not a problem.” I smile at them. I hadn’t really expected it. I’m really grateful that they’ve taken this much time out of their busy schedules as it is.  I quickly glance at my notes. “I see the boarding house is within walking distance. Do you come to the Fair often? What are your favorite sights?”

"I came to the Fair a few times to write my story,” William says, “and blessedly it was within walking distance. As for favorite attractions, I'd have to say the Ferris Wheel. I didn't get to have quite the look around I wanted, though, I had something far more appealing in the cage with me at the time.” He grins at Misha, who smiles back at him. I want to squee just looking at them.

“I can imagine what, but surely you weren’t alone? I mean I read those cars hold up to like sixty people. How… that is…” I’m trying to be delicate here. “How frisky could you possibly get with witnesses?”

“Luckily the ride operator was kind enough to take a small donation to let us pass into the cage by ourselves. Splendid man.”

I sigh. How romantic is that? Alone on the huge Ferris Wheel? “I understand there are many different kinds of food to be found at the Fair, some of them never seen before, as well as food from all around the world? Did you have any favorite foods?”

Misha makes a sound which almost seems to be a snort. “I did not eat… food at the Fair,” he says. I love his accent, it’s really hot. I look at William inquisitively.

“I must admit, of all the offerings which I was fortunate to be able to sample, I liked the hamburger the most. So delicious and so easy to hold! Though the waffle cones were very good, too. Such innovation!” He waxes enthusiastic, and I can understand why. The invention of the hamburger and the ice cream cone were important landmarks in American cuisine!

“Oh, before I forget, wasn’t there some sort of trouble at the Fair? Someone was killed, isn’t that true?”

Misha and William exchange glances.

“We must go,” Misha says abruptly. He takes a step backward, pulling William with him.

“Oh, really? Right now?” I cannot seem to hide my disappointment. I’d barely started with my questions on the murder. Why did they feel the need to leave right now?

"We must go...thank you for your time,” William says.

Misha smiles and suddenly I see—But no, I must be mistaken. I have an overactive imagination, I tell myself with a laugh, even as the two young men melt into the crowd around us.

Everyone knows there’s no such thing as vampires. Right?

Well, that’s it for me. I think I’ll walk around the Fair for a little bit, but I’ll be back!

Until next time, take care!


♥ Julie

Meet Me in St. Louis!

On October 8th, my first joint venture with co-author S.L. Danielson will be released by Silver Publishing. It's entitled My Fair Vampire, and I'd like to tell you a bit about it, introduce you to the characters. If we're lucky, we might talk them into coming by the blog one day before the book releases!   Check out this awesome cover by the talented and gracious Reese Dante!






My Fair Vampire is an historical novel. It takes place in 1904, during the Louisiana Exposition, more commonly known as the St. Louis World's Fair. Here's our blurb:

In 1904, the world’s spotlight shone brightly on St. Louis, Missouri—gateway to the West and host of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition. Visitors came from all points of the globe to wonder, to gape, to taste, to explore and to enjoy the marvels which the World’s Fair had to offer. An ambitious young reporter from Utah, William Deming, sees his chance to not only visit the fair, but make a name for himself by reporting on its goings on. He takes a room in a boarding house, close to the Fair itself. What he doesn’t count on is meeting Misha—a young and handsome Russian, whose aunt owns the boarding house.

Misha is something William has never encountered before—a vampire! As if that isn’t enough to accept, when a man is discovered murdered at the Fair, William has to wonder if his Misha is involved. Especially as there seems to have been a connection between the vampire and the victim. Will an old flame cause new problems for William and Misha? Will they find love at the World’s Fair? Or will theirs be doomed to be a fatal attraction?

The bulk of the action in the book takes place either at the World's Fair or at the boarding house that is owned by Misha's aunt, where the young reporter, William Deming, is staying for the duration of his assignment at the Fair. The house is situated right on Lindell, within walking distance of the fairgrounds.

It helps that both SL and I live in the St. Louis area, and that we have access to these places. Although the boardinghouse itself is fictional, the place where the fair was held very much exists, although most of the buildings are long gone, only designed to be temporary. One - the Fine Arts Building - was built more securely, as it housed a lot of expensive artwork, and became our very own St. Louis Art Museum, a very wonderful place to spend time. I've spent a lot of time there and will again.

Standing outside the museum, you can look down Art Hill to the Grand Basin, and just imagine what it must have been like - brightly lit, crowded with eager, excited fairgoers. It must have been very exciting to be there. There is a small prologue at the beginning of the book which covers the Fair's origins and how it came to be. The Olympics were held here that same year.

William sees the Fair as his big journalistic break and he's determined to shine and be noticed by his editor! He doesn't figure on meeting anyone, much less the handsome reclusive Russian, who quickly fascinates him and mystifies him both.  Let me show you the inspirations for our fellows:

This is William Deming:  

And this is Misha Rumiantseva.  Yeah, that's a mouthful lol  

A man is found murdered at the Fair, and everyone blames Misha for it. Can William prove his lover's    innocence? If he's innocent? Find out when you meet them at the Fair.

Want to know more about my co-author/friend/bff/sister SL Danielson? Check out her blog, The Adventures of Author S.L. Danielson!

We've written another book, the first in a series we call The Mark of Love. The first book, Finding His Mark, has been subbed, we're waiting to hear now yea or nay. The second book is done, and we're working on the third. We like to call this our Cracker series, about two teenagers in rural Georgia. More about that later.

Come and meet us in St. Louis, return with us to the World's Fair, for romance, mystery, intrigue, and above all - love! You'll be glad you did!

Until next time, take care!

♥ Julie