ℚ Code Blood - Kurt Kamm

Today we have the pleasure of meeting up with author Kurt Kamm to talk about Code Blood (31 October 2011, MCM Publishing, 234 pages), a Paramedic Thriller / Vampire Suspense.

In his chilling and suspenseful multi-award winning novel, Code Blood, Kurt takes the reader into the connected lives of a fire paramedic, a Chinese research student with the rarest blood type in the world, and the blood-obsessed killer who stalks her.

Colt Lewis, a young Los Angeles County fire paramedic responds to a fatal accident. The victim dies in his arms. Her foot has been severed but is nowhere to be found. Who is the woman, and what happened to her foot? During a weeklong search, Colt risks his career to find the victim’s identity and her missing foot. His search leads him to a dark and disturbing side of Los Angeles…an underworld of body part dealers and underground Goth clubs. He uncovers a tangled maze of drugs, needles, and rituals. Emergency medicine, high-tech medical research, and the unsettling world of blood fetishism and body parts make for an edgy L.A. Noir thriller.

|| Synopsis || Teaser: KCR Preview || Author Q&A || About the Author || Giveaway & Tour Stops ||

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A very warm welcome back to Kurt Kamm; thank you for joining us again on BooksChatter!

What was the inspiration for Code Blood?

"I was the Chairman of the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Foundation at UCLA for several years. During that time I was exposed to high tech medical research and the people involved in it. It’s a fascinating activity, done with some very high-tech equipment. I always thought it would make a great backdrop for a novel. When I began writing my firefighter mystery series, Code Blood, the book about firefighter paramedics, was the perfect opportunity."

How much of yourself is reflected in this book, and how?

"I think every novelist’s personality is reflected in his work. In the case of Code Blood, there is an underlying dark sense of humor which is definitely me.

I also enjoy living in Los Angeles, a truly multi-cultural city, and I have incorporated that as the background. I have also shown the reader some of the kinky, less savory places, which don’t appear on the Star Maps."

The first thing that draws me to a book is its cover. Can you tell us about your cover for Code Blood - why you chose that concept and who the artist is.

"I am especially glad you asked this question. One of the characters, Audra, who is an “exotic dancer,” has a full body tattoo. Audra was inspired by a friend, a woman named Justice Howard who is known around the world for her pictures of women with tattoos.

When I told Justice about my character, she provided me with the picture of the woman on the cover. Here it is in the original. I hope it’s not too shocking for your readers. This lady spent approximately $30,000 on the tattoo and it took over 3 years to complete. (Sad to think about how it will look in 30 years.)"

"My publisher, Monkey C. Media developed the Code Blood cover, using the picture and incorporating the flames motif which appears on all of my other books."

Why should we read Code Blood and what sets it apart from the rest? What makes your book unique?

"Code Blood won several literary awards, including a first-place cross-genre award for Mystery and Horror. I think your readers will be very entertained because this is not a typical mystery, nor is it a typical horror story. It moves very quickly, with surprising plot twists which cannot be anticipated.

I think it is a fun read. It will also tell your readers about the lives of fire paramedics, medical researchers, Russian body-parts dealers, and a kid who thinks he is a vampire. Enough?"

Can you tell us something quirky about Code Blood? Who would you recommend Code Blood to and what should readers be aware of (any warnings or disclaimers)?

"Frankly, the entire story is quirky. I’ll make a confession here. My regular audience has been firefighters (predominantly male). They are not big readers, but really took to my firefighter mystery series, and in the fire stations and camps in the West, I became built a modest reputation for writing firefighter faction (fact based fiction). When Code Blood came along, the firefighters didn’t know what to make of it. They didn’t get it. They liked the part about the rookie paramedic, but had no interest in the weird goings on with the rest of the characters.

I found that female readers liked Code Blood a lot and those who want a little bit of horror and the dark side of life in their novels really enjoyed it. The story has a smattering of sexual content and drug usage, so it’s not for Young Adults."

Can you tell us something about its story and characters?

"When I first started riding with the Los Angeles County Fire Department paramedics, one of them told me the story of his first call. A woman’s foot had been severed in an unusual accident on Pacific Coast Highway. When the paramedics arrived, it took them several minutes to locate the severed foot, because it was lodged underneath a pickup truck which had been involved in the accident. When I heard that, I decided that would be the beginning of my story.

The characters are composites of people I know in the fire department and at UCLA medical school. But Markus? Markus is a medical IT worker who decides to search the medical files for someone with Bombay Blood, the rarest blood type in the world. Markus isn’t like anyone I know, he’s straight out of my imagination! "

What do you like to write about? Do you stick to a particular genre or do you like to explore different ones?

"I write fiction about people whose lives are determined by the quirks of fate. An accident, an illness, an addiction, or a personality trait which leads them into life crises."

What is your writing process?

"I write for about three hours a day. Usually I do a couple of hours of hard exercise (bicycle riding) which clears my head and gets the endorphins flowing. Then I sit with my laptop on my kitchen table, where I can pause to look out on Malibu and the Pacific Ocean. Not a bad life."

What is in store next?

"I am finished with my firefighter series, and have also written a novel about a drug cartel boss who is trying to collect a rare lizard. On that book, I had some help from the DEA’s Public Information Officer who advised on Breaking Bad. After 5 novels in 10 years, I’m taking a rest."

And as a final quirky thing, to get to know you a little bit better... do you have a pet or something that is special to you that you could share with us?

" I cannot go anywhere without picking up a stray dog. I have several living here in Malibu with my wife and me. Here is a picture of my most beautiful daughter, Sierra."

Absolutely gorgeous; thank you for sharing Sierra with us! (btw got to pick up those strays, much easier than people might think - we found one of our fur babies whilst on holiday in Greece)

Code Blood
Available NOW!

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