Finish Bloodsucking Fiends

AGENDA:

Work on your flash fiction stories.

Finish your study guide Part II/III for Bloodsucking Fiends.

Contest entries

Handout:: BSF Part III

Homework: Finish reading Bloodsucking Fiends for WEDNESDAY

THERE WILL BE A TEST ON THE BOOK!

• Jody is totally unprepared for being a vampire. How do you think you would react to waking up one day having been changed into a vampire? Would you try to live a normal life? Once you adjusted to being a vampire, do you think youd want to change back into a human being if the opportunity was offered?
• Jody has obviously had a tough time with the men in her life; do you think this affects how she reacts to becoming a vampire? Was the way Jody thought about herself shaped by how men reacted to her? How did you feel when Jody started to come into her own as a vampire and enjoy her powers?
• The Emperor seems genuinely concerned about the well-being of the residents of his city, despite the dire circumstances in which he lives. What does this say about mental illness? Do you think the Emperor went crazy from being homeless, or is he homeless because he is crazy? Is it possible that being crazy isnt always such a bad thing?
• Toward the end of the book, it looks as if Jody may run off with the old vampire. Did you think that was a possibility? If she did it for the right reason (i.e., to save Tommy), how do you think that would have worked out?
• At the end of the book, it seems that Jody has decided to turn Tommy into a vampire. Where does their life go from there? Will they stay together? Will they stay in San Francisco? If not, how do you handle travel as a vampire, short of owning a multi-million dollar yacht? Where would you send them?

Objects

1. Bummer - This is a dog that belongs to the Emperor of San Francisco. Bummer is sensitive to the presence of vampires and sniffs out the resting place of the elder vampire.
2. Lazarus - This is the Emperor of San Francisco's golden retriever.
3. Rosenante - This is Tommy's car. He drives it from Indiana to San Francisco, and it breaks down and catches fire when he reaches the city. The police use Tommy abandoning his vehicle as an excuse to arrest him and get his fingerprints.
4. The Marina Safeway - Tommy gets a job as night supervisor at this location, where he meets the Animals, the night crew.
5. The Van Ness Motel - When Jody realizes that she is a vampire, she gets a motel room at this motel. She uses it as a private, protected place during the day.
6. The Loft - Tommy rents a loft in the SOMA district for himself and Jody. He falls in love with the loft because it sports a wall of bookshelves.
7. On the Road by Jack Kerouac - Tommy's copy of this book is found with Tommy's fingerprints on it at a crime scene.
8. French Fries - After changing into a vampire, Jody can no longer eat, and she misses eating this food. She takes Tommy to a restaurant to watch him eat these.
9. The Freezer - Jody asks Tommy to buy this so that they can hide the homeless man's body in it.
10. The Laundromat - Jody goes to this place in the dangerous Tenderloin district at night, and she is attacked by three men. Jody severely injures all of her attackers with no difficulty.
11. Peary - This is the "name" of the body in Jody and Tommy's freezer.
12. The Little Black Dress (LBD) - After a fight with Tommy, Jody goes out shopping and buys this to show off her figure.
13. The Sanguine II - This is where the vampire sleeps during the day. At the end of the book, the Animals blow this place up, severely injuring the vampire.
14. Scott and Zelda - These are the turtles that live with Tommy and Jody in Chinatown. His downstairs neighbor offers to take the turtles, and Tommy consents, not realizing that the sculptor intends to electroplate the two animals.
15. Saint Francis Yacht Club Marina - The elder vampire's yacht is moored off of this marina.
16. 754 - After buying her little black dress, Jody goes to this club, where she is brought to the front of the line by the doorman while her ex-boyfriend Kurt has to wait.