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BLOG TOUR: Vinny by Andy Siege (Excerpt + Q&A with Author)

BLOG TOUR

Book Title: VINNY

Author: Andy Siege

Publisher: UpLit Press

Release Date: July 2, 2024

Pairing: MM, MF, MT

Tense/POV: A mix of tenses: first/third/present/past/single

Genres: Sci-Fi/Futuristic/Dystopian

Tropes: Forbidden love, friends to lovers

Themes: Coming out, bisexual awakening, trans awakening

Heat Rating: 3 flames 

Length: 40 000 words/180 pages

It is a standalone book in the DIVERGENCY SERIES

and does not end on a cliffhanger.

Goodreads 

Buy Links – Available in Kindle Unlimited

Amazon US   |  Amazon UK

A sci-fi novella about Vincent van Gogh’s queer clone.

Blurb 

1888: A young prostitute opens a gift from a painter and discovers van Gogh’s bloody ear.

2042: The inventor of gene-tweaking buys a desiccated ear which he believes holds the key to bottling human genius.

Vinny lives on an isolated island and paints. Scientists watch him, waiting to see if his artistic genius or his latent schizophrenia will manifest first. He’s been cloned to be an artist; he’s surrounded only by things that stimulate his art. Until he discovers rock and roll…

The island is full of secrets. Vinny is hiding a guitar cut out of paper. His surrogate parents are hiding their anger and shame. And in an underground lab lurks a far more dangerous secret, a warped, wrathful angel that longs for freedom.

As these secrets explode into the public eye, Vinny must discover what it means to be true to himself when he’s been born to be someone else.

Excerpt 

The painting van Gogh was working on depicted a group of prisoners walking in a circle around an oppressive prison yard. In the center of the painting was a convict that resembled van Gogh himself, and Peyron figured that the artist was expressing his own feelings of claustrophobia inside the asylum. The work was dominated by depressing tones of blue and green with splashes of red on some of the bricks that enclosed the prisoners. 

Peyron cleared his throat. “Monsieur van Gogh.”

The artist jumped a little at the noise, but then kept painting. “You almost made me misplace a line, Doc.”

“I apologize. Were you not able to sleep?”

Van Gogh shook his head. “Not before finishing.”

“Does painting help you?”

Van Gogh turned around slowly and smiled. “It does.”

“How does it help?”

The artist scratched his red beard with a paint-speckled hand. “When I don’t paint, I worry about delusional things. But when I paint, I worry about the next drop of color. In this way my mind is occupied with logic when I paint.”

Peyron nodded. “Thank you for putting it so well.”

“Why are you awake, Doc?”

“I dreamed something that upset me.”

Van Gogh took a sip of water from a metal cup, spilling some of it onto his chest. He was wearing an open shirt and the droplets ran down across his belly, dampening the top of his pants. The painter had put on a little weight since coming to the asylum. A sign of increased health. Peyron also noticed himself getting aroused. Not a good sign under these circumstances.

“I, um… I should go back upstairs,” the doc stammered.

“No. Stay.” Van Gogh scratched himself just above his left nipple. “I’m a bit lonely.”

The doc’s eyes lit up. He had been waiting for a sign from the painter and here was a sign. Peyron swallowed hard and then took a step forward. Van Gogh mirrored him and also stepped closer. The doc lifted his right hand and placed it on the painter’s chest. Van Gogh took the hand in his and their fingers entwined. Then the painter pulled Peyron towards him and the men kissed. Peyron could feel van Gogh’s stubble against his own clean-shaven face. 

Suddenly the painter pulled away. “No. I… I can’t do this.”

“But… why?”

“I’m not a pervert.”

“Neither am I.”

“Other people, all of them, they don’t understand.”

Peyron remembered the crowd at the dock in Marseille. “I know.” He turned and walked away.

Q&A with Andy Siege

Interview Questions 

Q: Tell us something about yourself that most people don’t know.

I have been suffering from paranoid schizophrenia for many years. During that time I became a successful filmmaker. Because of the stress in that industry though, I ended up switching to my other dream job, which is WRITING! I struggle with my illness every day and writing is the best therapy for me. 

Q: What’s your favorite scene in your latest book and what makes it a favorite?

My favorite scene in my book “Vinny” is the scene in which Vincent VanGogh and his psychiatrist Dr Peyron, almost hook up. I find that scene so bittersweet. It’s gorgeous.

Would you care to share an excerpt from the scene with us?

The painting van Gogh was working on depicted a group of prisoners walking in a circle around an oppressive prison yard. In the center of the painting was a convict that resembled van Gogh himself, and Peyron figured that the artist was expressing his own feelings of claustrophobia inside the asylum. The work was dominated by depressing tones of blue and green with splashes of red on some of the bricks that enclosed the prisoners. 

Peyron cleared his throat. “Monsieur van Gogh.”

The artist jumped a little at the noise, but then kept painting. “You almost made me misplace a line, Doc.”

“I apologize. Where you not able to sleep?”

Van Gogh shook his head. “Not before finishing.”

“Does painting help you?”

Van Gogh turned around slowly and smiled. “It does.”

“How does it help?”

The artist scratched his red beard with a paint-speckled hand. “When I don’t paint, I worry about delusional things. But when I paint, I worry about the next drop of color. In this way my mind is occupied with logic when I paint.”

Peyron nodded. “Thank you for putting it so well.”

“Why are you awake, Doc?”

“I dreamed something that upset me.”

Van Gogh took a sip of water from a metal cup, spilling some of it onto his chest. He was wearing an open shirt and the droplets ran down across his belly, dampening the top of his pants. The painter had put on a little weight since coming to the asylum. A sign of increased health. Peyron also noticed himself getting aroused. Not a good sign under these circumstances.

“I, um… I should go back upstairs,” the doc stammered.

“No. Stay.” Van Gogh scratched himself just above his left nipple. “I’m a bit lonely.”

The doc’s eyes lit up. He had been waiting for a sign from the painter and here was a sign. Peyron swallowed hard and then took a step forward. Van Gogh mirrored him and also stepped closer. The doc lifted his right hand and placed it on the painter’s chest. Van Gogh took the hand in his and their fingers entwined. Then the painter pulled Peyron towards him and the men kissed. Peyron could feel van Gogh’s stubble against his own clean-shaven face. 

Suddenly the painter pulled away. “No. I… I can’t do this.”

“But… why?”

“I’m not a pervert.”

“Neither am I.”

“Other people, all of them, they don’t understand.”

Peyron remembered the crowd at the dock in Marseille. “I know.” He turned and walked away.

Q: If you could spend some real-life time with one of the characters in the book, who would you choose and why?

I would definitely choose to spend time with the title character Vinny. I would try to tell him that everything is going to be fine, that all the horrible things happening to him are temporary. I feel a deep connection and kinship with Vinny. He isn’t just mentally ill like I am, he’s also decided not to pursue his primary form of expression (painting) and wants to be a musician instead. That reminds me of the fact that I no longer want to be a filmmaker, and am now an author instead.

Q: On the flipside, which character would you probably least get along with? Why?

I would least get along with Moose, the pimp. He’s just a horrible person, who uses and abuses the innocence of people for his own gain. I would literally punch him in the face if I could. Now that I think about it, I did write it so that Vinny punches Moose in the face. Nice!

Q: What books and authors would you say influenced you to become a writer? 

I’m definitely heavily influenced by Ernest Hemingway. However, I would be lying if I wasn’t also influenced by my mother, Nasrin Siege. She’s a children’s book author, and watching her write as I was growing up, definitely helped put me on this track.

Q: What are your least and most favorite things about being an author? 

My most favorite thing is that I get to think about my stories all the time. Because of my mental illness, I run the risk of thinking about delusional things. However, when I’m working on a book, I get to focus my mind on the story instead. This makes it so that I can live a relatively normal life.

My least favorite thing is trying to find an agent! I’ve been looking for a long time now and I haven’t found one yet!

Q: What’s the best piece of writing/author advice you’ve ever received that you’d pass on to someone just getting started in the business?

Just write. That’s it. Just write.

Q: If you could choose one of your books to be adapted for the silver screen, which would you choose? Why do you think it would translate well to film?

Vinny! I think that there is a huge audience out there for this book, and for a possible screen adaptation as well. The visuals would be amazing. The soundtrack too. I really think it could work.

Q: If I were to interview your main characters, what would they say about you? 

My main characters would probably hate me because of all the bad things I put them through. But at least I give them happy endings, so maybe not.

Q: If you were to sit down and write your autobiography today, what would the title be?

Film Festival on the Moon

Q: Star Trek or Star Wars – both or neither? Explain.

Star Trek… way smarter and much more realistic. Plus, a future that I’d be happy in.

About the Author  

Andy Siege born as Andreas Madjid Siege in Kenya in 1985 is an award-winning film director and writer. His debut feature film “Beti and Amare” which he wrote and directed was nominated for multiple high-profile international film awards. He has a BA in Creative Writing and an MA in Political Science. Andy Siege is also neurologically divergent and a member of the LGBTQ community. 

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