What happens when a high school senior takes a university writing class and falls in love with a fellow student who just happens to be a vampire? Find out as Brushstrokes hosts Atlanta author K. Murry Johnson reading his debut novel, "Image of Emeralds and Chocolate," at Mixx on Thursday night.

Johnson spent years writing the gay vampire love story while also pursuing his technology career. He chatted with GA Voice about the writing process, what makes vampires so compelling, and how two greats of black gay literature helped inspire him.

Your novel, “Image of Emeralds and Chocolate,” was years in the making. What is it like to finally have the book in the hands of readers?

The Bravo network’s roster of reality programming, including the “Real Housewives” franchise, Tabatha Coffey’s takeover series, and “Millionaire Matchmaker,” has become so ubiquitous that it’s coined its own term: Bravolebrity. The network embraced this image wholeheartedly, launching a promotional campaign depicting its reality menagerie at summer camp together, with a solid emphasis on the “camp.”

Critics hold the Bravolebrity up as the prime example of “famous for being famous,” as the casual viewer would struggle to identify what most of these people actually do for a living. They have job titles most of us never encounter in real life: Fashionista. Lifestyle expert. Home staging consultant.

Too often, they are more clearly defined by their general lack of self-awareness, and a tendency toward throwing drinks in faces or overturning tables at the slightest provocation.