Many cozy mystery authors step back and forth between genres, or just add bonus elements of a romance into their mystery novel. The author for November has given us an equal measure of mystery and romance in this “mashup.” (hmmm, what music will I choose for a Halloween reel on social media?) It doesn’t get any better than that! It’s like two books for the price of one, and with today’s economy, that’s a bargain I will jump on every single time! Especially when a bestselling historical romance author Alexandra Vasti jumps into the market with a paranormal mystery/romance. It’s a killer combo.
Kym: Welcome to the Cozy Corner, Alexandra!
Alexandra: Hi! Thanks so much for having me!
Kym: Your dedication in the beginning of the book tells us where your love of vampires began, but reading the BLACK DAGGER BROTHERHOOD by J.R. Ward with your mom! That’s not the typical series a daughter shares with her parent. LOL Can you tell us how your love affair began with vampires?
Alexandra: Absolutely! I’ve been reading romance novels since I was eleven—I often joke that this is the longest-running love affair of my life! My first romances were historicals, but paranormal romance was another early love for me. I devoured the Black Dagger Brotherhood, as well as Jayne Ann Krentz’s paranormals, then later Nalini Singh’s, etc. Around the same time, I was also endlessly watching Buffy and Angel—so the vampire love runs deep. Now, I teach Dracula every year, and of course living in New Orleans, I’m also a devoted Anne Rice fan. I think there’s something really exciting about taking an existing myth and finding ways to make it your own. For me, the integration of supernatural lore with modern technology was especially exciting.
Kym: Vampires definitely come naturally for you, and it shows! The language and relations in SWIPE BITE make it more contemporary than cozy, with a delicious mystery, but SWIPE BITE is actually considered a mashup novel. To be honest, I’d never heard the term before, and yet it’s been a ‘trope’ in the mystery, horror, and romance genres forever. Were you aware of the category prior to writing the book?
Alexandra: Yes, I was immediately intrigued when the publisher asked me to consider writing this book as a mystery/romance mashup. I think that paranormal romances are often full of thrills and excitement—why have characters with superpowers if they’re not going to battle with them?! So I always knew that this book was going to be action-packed and tense, with heists and high-speed car chases and lethal vampires. But being asked to make it a mashup inspired me to add a few extra twists and turns to the plot.
Kym: Which character (vampire or human) do you relate to the most and why? (Although I have to say, not blushing in a board meeting when someone attempts to humiliate you would be an awesome super power!)
Alexandra: Well, one fun fact about this book is that Casey’s Nonna is 100% based on my own grandmother. Grammy Vasti, like Nonna Amato, was hilarious and brilliant—Casey’s grandma is a former movie star, and my grandmother was a former print and runway model. So, I definitely relate to Casey in having a gorgeous, scheming, mischievous grandmother who loves whiskey sours!
Kym: I’ll toast an Amaretto sour to that! Tell our readers about dating app, Stokr, Sophronia developed. (What a great way to pay homage to Abraham Stoker!)
Alexandra: Yes, this is the very first thing I conceptualized about the story! In this world, vampires can safely feed from humans without exsanguinating them if they’re a “hemoenzymatic match”—meaning that the vampire’s salivary enzymes are a match for the human’s blood. I was primarily inspired by Bram Stoker’s Dracula here. I’m a British literature professor, and I teach this book every year—and one thing that I find so interesting about it is that it combines spooky vampire lore with cutting-edge 1897 technology, including blood transfusions! I think there’s something tempting and compelling about the idea of living in a world where supernatural creatures and technological innovations coexist. It makes you dream about what could be possible—including vampires and humans having their own happily-ever-afters. In my world, Bram Stoker is a vampire, which is why the app is named for him!
Kym: Absolutely delicious. In this book you immortalized your grandmother with one of your characters, Lola Lovell. Where do you get the inspiration for your stories?
Alexandra: I get a lot of inspiration from historical research! As I mentioned above, the dating app in Swipe Bite was inspired by the technology present in Stoker’s Dracula. I’ve also been inspired by things like eighteenth-century French plays, Regency-era encoded lesbian diaries, Gothic architecture, and more. As a professor, I am constantly reading works from history, and I do a ton of research into primary sources, such as handbooks, letters, etc, from the nineteenth century.
Kym: You left us hanging with Valeria! When will her story be released? Or will it still be Sophronia and Casey on the case?
Alexandra: Yes, the book ends on a bit of a cliffhanger! The main mystery and romance is wrapped up, but there’s still a big loose thread. The next book picks up shortly after the end of Swipe Bite. It features a new protagonist and romance (Delphine’s story!) and a continuation of the overarching mystery from Swipe Bite. It should be out in fall 2027.
Kym: Great news for vamps! Are you still writing historical romances, if so when is your next release?
Alexandra: Yes! I have a sweet-and-spicy Regency Christmas novella out on December 10 called The Christmas I Stole a Viscount! It’s a brother’s-best-friend romance with tons of festive pining.
Kym: A wonderful holiday gift. Are you online, and if so where can our readers find you?
Alexandra: Yes, readers can find me on my website (sign up for my newsletter for bonus content!), or Instagram.
Kym: Thank you, your publisher and Net Galley for an advanced copy of SWIPE BITE and thank you for joining us at the Cozy Corner on Fresh Fiction!
Alexandra: Happy spooky season!
Until next month, cozy up with a great mystery!
SWIPE BITE by Alexandra Vasti
Corporate Bloodsuckers #1
An icy vampire corporate heiress and a human software engineer must team up to thwart the saboteur who’s turned their sexy human-vampire dating app into a bloodbath, in this mystery romance romp by USA Today bestselling author Alexandra Vasti.
As heir to HemoCorp Industries, vampire Sophronia Vega has devoted herself to the company her family founded. Most recently, she’s led the creation of Stokr: the wildly successful dating app that pairs lusty vampires with humans they can’t accidentally, er, eat. But when Stokr’s matching technology goes haywire—and vampires start draining their dates—Sophronia’s disciplined life goes up in flames.
Enter Casey Amato, the human software engineer whose team programmed Stokr. Casey knows the Stokr failure wasn’t a glitch—the app’s been sabotaged. To fix it, he’ll have to convince the gorgeous, guarded vampire exec that someone in her inner circle has betrayed her.
Sophronia has never met a human who makes her feel quite so . . . thirsty. But to fix her app and save its users, she must team up with the brilliant programmer. As they hunt the traitor, their attraction burns hotter, and the stakes couldn’t be higher. Because without Stokr, giving in to temptation could be deadly.
Romance Paranormal | Romance Suspense [ Berkley, On Sale: November 10, 2026, Trade Paperback / e-Book / audiobook, ISBN: 9798217189434 / eISBN: 9798217189441 ]
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About Alexandra Vasti
Alexandra Vasti comes from a long line of romance-reading Vasti women. She fell in love with historical romance at age 11 and still swoons for Laura Kinsale and Judith McNaught.
Alex lives in Louisiana, where she teaches literature at a university by day and writes romance by night. Somewhere in there she also raises three kids and two mostly feral kitties. She’s powered by guacamole and oat milk lattes, though not usually at the same time.
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Kym Roberts also writes historical mysteries and romance under the pseudonym Helene Matheson. Experience the thrill & catch the wave of passion, mystery and suspense with her on her website, Facebook, and her favorite social media site, Instagram.
Watch for her new historical Bow Street Mystery BEYOND OBSIDIAN, coming December 22nd!
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