Interview with Xan Marcelles

It is my absolute pleasure to welcome my special guest today, Xan Marcelles, from the band Crooked Fang. I know how my readers just love vampires so, I had to get Xan over here to tell us a little about himself. So, here is the man! Your all jealous, right?

1-Tell us a little bit about Xan Marcelles. Don't hold back now.

Thanks for the invite, Eva.

Xan Marcelles huh? Well first of all, it’s my stage name. Real name’s Gabriel Nez, but I can’t exactly go running around with a dead man’s name. People would start asking questions because dead guys should kind of not be playing in a band and raising hell in a tavern every night.

What’s there to say really? I’m just a dude with fangs. It’s not a big deal except when it is, and when that happens, I take care of my business and go back to pretending it’s all  right and nothing’s gonna change. But I know it will, and I guess I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it.

2-What's it like working with Carrie and Nerine? They look pretty hot in their pics you know!

They are some slave drivers, if you want to know the truth. Nerine picks on my vocabulary and grammar and tries to get me to use the word ‘whom’. Who the hell uses ‘whom’ in America? I’m not wearing tweed.

Carrie actually killed my ass in her first version of my story about ten years ago. I’m still kind of miffed about that.

3-Who came up with the design for the CF symbol and does it have a special significance?

That logo sure is a pretty thing, isn’t it? The dude that thought it up was Carrie’s bitter-half, Lucas Clevenger. He just was taking one of his bath-naps one evening in the tub and wham. It hit him. Crooked Fang didn’t need just a font; it needed a logo, a recognizable symbol that people would know at a glance. He went and saw James Zuniga later that week and they hashed out something off Lucas’s scribbles. The end result is what you see, made with James’s computer skills. Definitely has a vampire vibe, but fitting for a band (or a hood emblem). If you take a closer look, the logo is full of meanings, but I’ll leave that up to the onlookers for interpretation. It’s more fun that way, don’t you think?

The blue is matched to my bass guitar. There’s too much damned black and red in vampire-land lately.

4-This is a curiosity question. Have you ever considered sneaking up on Carrie or Nerine when they are sleeping and taking a little taste?

I’m assuming Carrie has ice or acid running through her veins, so she’s stayed off the menu. Nerine on the other hand, hmm. Not sure if her husband would like his wife full of holes. But yeah. The thought’s crossed my mind.

5-I read an interview with you where you said you were not "sociable or flashy." You were talking about why you don't sing. You may not be flashy but you are "hot!" Does that get you in trouble with the ladies?

Depends on what kind of ‘trouble’ you’re referring to. The good kind or the thrown-in-jail kind? If you’re talking about the good kind, sure. Chicks dig dudes in bands. They seem to like their men tall. My hair gets mixed responses though. Some ladies like it; some tell me I need to get a haircut.

Anyway, I’m not starving for food or company, if that says anything.

6-Xan, you have that "bad-boy" aura about you. Do you think this is why the women go after you?

I’d like to think I’m a nice guy. Maybe I just look mean, but what can I do? It’s my face. Can’t really change it. Another thing is females have this misconception that big guys are invincible, and probably don’t have much in the way of feelings to speak of. Well it’s not true. I can hurt just like any other man.

7-Tell us about your band and how it got started?

Charlie, the owner of Pale Rider, wanted to bring in some business, so he posted an ad for a house band. I answered it, managed to find all the other members, and well, there you go. What attracted me to the Pale Rider gig over others is that Charlie offers room and board in exchange for playing on weekends and most holiday crowds. Not a bad trade in my opinion.

8-You know if you ever get bored with Carrie and Nerine, you are welcome to come visit me in Md. Just saying!

Bored wouldn’t be how I’d describe it, maybe fed-up? Ha. I’ll keep your offer in mind, babe.

Thanks for having me over Eva. Crooked Fang is due out August 2012 from Lyrical Press, but for now people can pick up Blood and Fire, co-written by Carrie Clevenger and Nerine Dorman, on Amazon. Should hit other e-formats in March. Here’s the official blablahblah about that book:

Bassist and all-round slacker Xan Marcelles spends his nights at a remote tavern in Pinecliffe, Colorado. But there’s something else, he’s also a vampire, and although he reckons he has a handle on this secret, he’s not prepared for the day when people he thinks are the FBI drug him and haul him away.

Ashton Kennedy isn’t human anymore and, as a member of a race of beings known simply as Inkarna, exists through the aeons by stealing bodies. At first his mission seems simple enough: break into the stronghold of a rival Inkarna House and liberate an artifact. He doesn’t bank on discovering a vampire, bound and tucked away neatly in a sarcophagus. 

The two unlikely allies are thrown together in a house of mysteries, and have to battle overwhelming odds against an implacable enemy. The question is, can they overcome their differences long enough to make it out alive, or undead? 

Links:

Blood and Fire on Amazon (currently only version available) - http://www.amazon.com/Blood-and-Fire-ebook/dp/B006SD3F2S/

Just My Blood Type, free teaser collab prior to Blood and Fire - http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/68457

Crooked Fang website - http://www.crookedfang.com/

Crooked Fang on Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/CrookedFang

Nerine Dorman on Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/pages/Nerine-Dorman-author/173330419365374

Twitters:

Carrie Clevenger - @carrieclevenger

Nerine Dorman - @nerinedorman

Xan Marcelles - @crookedfang