NOSFERATU, INC -- Now in AUDIOBOOK!

NOSFERATU, INC. - Fangs & Fur Book Three

The Vampires & Werewolves You Only Think You Know!

Audiobook

First introduced in the Halos & Horns fantasy saga, these vampires and lycanthropes have their own stories to tell. Nosferatu, Inc. is a worldwide corporation set up to provide relocation services for vampires, who cannot remain in one place indefinitely, lest the "breathers" question why they never age. The battle for control of Nosferatu, Inc. begins as 5,000-year-old Malik, the first vampire and Regina, queen of the demonic vampires known as the Empusae, launch a global attack, while Dracula and his Legion of the Undead attempt a hostile takeover. The werewolf clans return, some to protect a pregnant vampire and others intent on destroying Nosferatu, Inc. And the Egyptian cat goddess Bast learns the secret of the mummy. . *** Book 7 in the Halos & Horns fantasy series *** Book 3 in the Fangs & Fur story arc ***

NIGHTSTALKERS - Now in AUDIOBOOK!

NIGHTSTALKERS - Fangs & Fur Book Two

The Vampires & Werewolves You Only Think You Know!

Audiobook

First introduced in the Halos and Horns fantasy saga, these vampires and lycanthropes have their own stories to tell. Pandora's a carefree party girl who just happens to be a vampire. With her best friend Sharon Mordecai, a hybrid vampire; her boyfriend Cody Fenris, a werewolf; and Cody's sister Lupe, who transforms into a wolf, they run Nightstalkers, Inc., a private detective agency in Las Vegas. Pandora and Sharon also belong to Nosferatu, Inc., a worldwide corporation set up to provide relocation services for vampires, who cannot remain in one place indefinitely, lest the “breathers” question why they never age. When a Grigori unwittingly entrusts trouble-prone vampire Pandora with an ancient leather-bound box containing primordial evil, what could possibly go wrong? At least Pandora doesn't know her best friend slept with her boyfriend. Or that her werewolf beau has been targeted for revenge by one of his victims. Her BFF Sharon — the hybrid vampire infused with an angelic life force — has enough to worry about now that a deranged scientist/occultist is creating his own Frankenstein monster and requires an angelic life force to animate it. He's resurrected the spirit of Jack the Ripper to supply the body parts he needs from Las Vegas prostitutes. Should Kennedy be worried to walk the city streets? After a Valkyrie whisks the Nightstalkers, Inc. team of private eyes — vampires Sharon and Pandora, and lycanthrope siblings Cody and Lupe Fenris — off to the Otherworld dimension of the Fae to recover Thor’s golden gauntlets from the Dark Fae's leader, the Morrigan, the team will be forever changed. And how does that tie in with their new landlord Kitty Bast, an Egyptian cat goddess? . *** Book 6 in the Halos & Horns fantasy series *** Book 2 in the Fangs & Fur story arc ***

FLASHBACKS- Now in AUDIOBOOK!

FLASHBACKS  - Fangs & Fur Book One

The Vampires & Werewolves You Only Think You Know!

Audiobook

Pandora's a carefree party girl who just happens to be a vampire. With her best friend Sharon Mordecai, a hybrid vampire; her boyfriend Cody Fenris, a werewolf; and Cody's sister Lupe, who transforms into a wolf, they run Nightstalkers Inc., a private detective agency. Pandora and Sharon also belong to Nosferatu, Inc., a worldwide corporation set up to provide relocation services for vampires, who cannot remain in one place indefinitely, lest the "breathers" question why they never age. Other Nosferatu members include 10-year-old Artemus, the boy vampire; ex-KGB operative Valentina Petrovna; the maladroit, claustrophobic vampire Claude Gauthier; the vagrant "trampire" Seamus Callaghan; and the corporation's international board of directors: Lady Chiyoko in Japan, Callum in Australia, Isra in Dubai, Amadi in Africa, Magda in Hungary, and its CEO, the mysterious human known only as Remick. First introduced in the Halos & Horns fantasy saga, these vampires and lycanthropes have their own stories to tell. These tales in Flashbacks shed light on their dark pasts while sowing the seeds for the next two books in the Fangs & Fur trilogy. They can be enjoyed as individual vampire and werewolf stories, or read by Halos & Horns fans to learn more about the characters populating that saga, or viewed as the prologue to the story about to unfold in the Fangs & Fur trilogy. *** Book 5 in the Halos & Horns fantasy series *** Book 1 in the Fangs & Fur story arc ***

QuaranTeens Interview

Q: Tell me about The QuaranTeens.

A: It’s probably the most timely novel I’ve ever written. All of us. . . the whole world is in the grip of the devastating and deadly COVID-19 pandemic. No matter where you live or what language you speak, the coronavirus is constantly on the minds of every human on the planet right now. COVID is an acronym for COronaVIrusDisease and 19 indicates the year – 2019 – it was discovered. It’s a unique virus mankind’s never seen before and has no immunity against, and the worst part is scientists and epidemiologists say we can expect several new strains of coronaviruses in the years to come.

In The QuaranTeens, mankind has faced another of these in the near future, COVID-25, and they think the worst is over when, four years later, a super coronavirus – COVID-29 – comes barreling in and wipes out 80% of humanity. One of the Earth’s governments, realizing they’re facing an extinction-level event, rapidly constructs a massive underground biosphere they call “the bunker” and selects fifty infants and young kids to be the mankind’s last hope.

Q: Which country?

A: (Laughs). Well, that’s left open for the reader to decide.

Q: And you say “last hope” in the event there are no other survivors?

A: Right. So they’re sealed up in this bunker with a few adult scientists, all but one of whom die in the first months. The book opens a dozen years later–

Q: 2041?

A: Right, in the year 2041, when the kids are now teenagers and the only remaining adult has just died.

Q: So the kids are now in control of the bunker; sort of a Lord of the Flies scenario?

A: That’s one possibility. They obviously need to establish some sort of social order or society. But without adult supervision, they may also be curious about what lies outside the bunker’s titanium hatch.

Q: The virus? Other survivors? Zombies?

A: (Laughs). No zombies. Definitely nothing supernatural. This is strictly science fiction.

Q: But for a Young Adult audience?

A: Of course. The story revolves around teenagers so I think younger readers will relate to the characters. But I believe anyone 13-and-up will enjoy it. I had beta readers in their 30s and 40s that went wild over it.

Q: Tell me about these characters.

A: There are the twins: Covid, the quintessential hero, and his sister Corona, the adventurer. Kai is the rebel. Corbin is a cross between Dickens’ Artful Dodger from Oliver Twist and Michael J. Fox’s character Alex P. Keaton from the Family Ties TV series. Coralie is the loner. Lucian and Tristan are the entertainers, a vital role when you’re locked away in quarantine for your whole life. Lucian writes songs while Tristan is the group’s jester. Fiona’s a fair-skinned redheaded girl who becomes the group’s empathetic caregiver. Esme’s the needy girl who has to be in a relationship and will do anything for love. Blaine’s the needy boy who simply wants to belong and be accepted by the others. Nessa’s the youngest: she’s the innocent, filled with optimism and naïveté until reality comes crashing down on her. Ian’s the jock. Varian’s the older, authoritarian wannabe leader.

Obviously there’s no television or Internet, but they do have a library. Destine and Keiana are the most well-read of The QuaranTeens but while they’re the smartest, they have different motivations. Destine believes Covid should lead them and she endeavors to serve as his mentor.

Q: Sort of an Obi Wan to Luke Skywalker?

A: Yeah, or Merlin to Arthur but obviously her wisdom comes from book learning, not from age.

Q: A subtle plug for the benefit of books and reading. (Laughs).

A: (Laughs). Of course. Keiana, meanwhile, sees herself as more of a puppet master, manipulating those around her for her own agenda. Then, there’s Dax. She’s a mysterious character. Arlo and Nico are pair of sociopaths who would have felt right at home at Columbine.

Q: So those are your bunker rats.

A: Ouch! (Laughs). I like that term. I may steal it.

Q: Feel free. Does the story take place entirely inside the bunker or do we get to explore the post-apocalyptic world?

A: Both. One plotline follows what happens at the bunker while other plotlines follow the adventures of what we might call the ‘away teams’. The year 2041 isn’t that far from now but life has been changed dramatically as a result of the COVID-29 pandemic and its aftermath.

Q: In what way?

A: Having to survive in a world of scarce resources leads people to do things they ordinarily wouldn’t. There are scattered outposts of Raiders like the former trailer park where teen siblings Archer and Robin reside. There’s a domed city taken over by far-right authoritarians they’ve dubbed ‘Utopia’ . . .

Q: It sounds more dystopian.

A: One character asks what Utopia’s like and the response is, ‘It depends on who you are.’  (Laughs). I’ve written some fairly evil characters, especially in my Halos & Horns series, but Proctor in The QuaranTeens may be the worst yet.

Q: One last question. You just mentioned your Halos & Horns series and I know you have several other series—

A: The Adventures of Mackenzie Mortimer; Vampires Vs. Aliens;  Fangs & Fur; the Age of Magic; and my Reluctant Blogger series.

Q: Exactly, so will The QuaranTeens be an ongoing series or is this a one-off?

A: Or as we say on this side of the pond, a one-shot? That’ll be up to the readers. There’s no cliffhanger but the ending is left open to imply there are more stories that could be told. I enjoyed writing The QuaranTeens and if enough people enjoy reading it, then I’d certainly write more. But I am doing several series at present, so there’d have to be a fair amount of demand. 

Pre-Order Alterverse!

Alterverse

October 14, 2019

Pre-Order Now!

Pre-Order your copy of Alterverse today! www.amazon.com/dp/B07Y9GMV51

Music "Evolution" from Bensound.com

The Fangs & Fur Omnibus Edition

JUST PUBLISHED! The perfect jumping on point for new readers to the Halos & Horns fantasy saga, The Fangs & Fur Omnibus Edition is the second story arc in the series, focusing on the vampires and werewolves introduced in the first arc. Learn their origins, which span the continents and the ages; then follow the adventures of the supernatural private eyes of Nightstalkers and the vampires of the global corporation Nosferatu, Inc.

Pandora's a carefree party girl who just happens to be a vampire. With her best friend Sharon Mordecai, a hybrid vampire; her boyfriend Cody Fenris, a werewolf; and Cody's sister Lupe, who transforms into a wolf, they run Nightstalkers Inc., a private detective agency. Pandora and Sharon also belong to Nosferatu, Inc., a worldwide corporation set up to provide relocation services for vampires, who cannot remain in one place indefinitely, lest the "breathers" question why they never age. Other Nosferatu members include 10-year-old Artemus, the boy vampire; ex-KGB operative Valentina Petrovna; the maladroit, claustrophobic vampire Claude Gauthier; the vagrant "trampire" Seamus Callaghan; and the corporation's international board of directors: Lady Chiyoko in Japan, Callum in Australia, Isra in Dubai, Amadi in Africa, Magda in Hungary, and its CEO, the mysterious human known only as Remick. First introduced in the Halos & Horns fantasy saga, these vampires and lycanthropes have their own stories to tell.

All three novels in the Fangs & Fur story arc - Flashbacks; Nightstalkers; and Nosferatu, Inc. - have been collected in one huge omnibus edition. A perfect companion to the Halos & Horns Omnibus, this volume is 7x10 like its predecessor and features brand new cover artwork and an interview with the author. Clocking in at just over 600 pages, The Fangs & Fur Omnibus fills the gap between the previous Halos & Horns story arc and the forthcoming The Age of Magic story arc.

Available now on Amazon

May is National Short Story Month

Did you know that May is National Short Story Month? Amber Book Company plans to celebrate by releasing a new volume of my short stories entitled Shards: The Omnibus Edition. Many of you know me from my social commentary posts appearing on my blog, while others are familiar with my young adult science fiction series The Adventures of Mackenzie Mortimer. Still others think of me as a novelist or epic storyteller, pointing to my four-book fantasy series Halos & Horns and my current ongoing fantasy series, Fangs & Fur. There are even some readers who think of me primarily as a nonfiction author because of my internationally top-selling book Issues in Internet Law: Society, Technology, and the Law, my two Web design books, and my Collected Essays of a Reluctant Blogger and More Essays of a Reluctant Blogger books. But the truth is, above all else, I’m a short story writer.

Shards may sound familiar to you. My first short story collection was entitled Randoms. It was lovingly crafted, published in a hardcover edition with a dust jacket. Unfortunately, the printer had tremendous difficulty printing the dust jacket. Every copy rolled off the printing press with a slightly different hue, making each book and instant collectible and the source of much aggravation and vexation. Ultimately, and with great reluctance, we replaced the hardcover edition with a paperback. My second short story collection, Careywood, was a charitable effort published in a limited print run to raise money to restore a historic mansion. Then, in 2011, almost all of my short stories were collected in a giant 450-page paperback entitled Shards. This mammoth collection included the best of Randoms, the stories from the limited edition Careywood, and a host of new short stories, many of which had been shared in public readings but never collected in print. Shards was to stand as my oeuvre: the complete collection of my short story output.

At the time, it was the largest book I had ever written… Ironically composed of the shortest of stories. But with each new edition over the course of 10 years, Issues in Internet Law: Society, Technology, and the Law grew to 680 pages. After I completed the four-book Halos & Horns series, the saga was collected in a single omnibus edition, The Halos & Horns Omnibus, which clocked in at a whopping 904 pages. Suddenly, the 450-page Shards didn’t seem so big any more. And in the five years since its publication, I had written a few more short stories. I wanted to gather these new short stories into a brand-new collection but the Halos & Horns Omnibus had gone over so well that it was decided to create a short story omnibus.

We began with the original 450-page Shards and reorganized the stories by theme. Then we added 300 pages of new material. That’s right, 750 pages of short stories between two covers. Or 191,523 words if you’re counting. We kept the original front and back cover to Shards and christened it Shards: The Omnibus Edition. The themes in Shards: The Omnibus Edition include man’s inhumanity to man; technology in society run amok; freedom; conformity; slice of life; fear; prejudice; revenge; the inevitability of death; sadness and depression; darkness and light; lust; love; regret; repentance; pity; debauchery and selfishness; hubris; obsession; fusion fiction; Christmas; the quest; the trickster; discovery and wonder; alienation (stranger in a strange land); and farewell.

Admittedly Shards: The Omnibus Edition is a mixed bag. Some of the tales are downright hilarious. Some are frightening. And a few are disturbing. There are stories within this volume you will treasure… and others you may wish you had never read. Good writing isn’t about repeating hackneyed memes; it’s about pushing the envelope and extending the boundaries until the reader finds himself well outside his comfort zone. In Shards: The Omnibus Edition you’ll find stories that make you laugh and make you cry; stories you’ll want to share with your children; and stories so horrifying you’ll banish them to the deepest recesses of your mind. So join me in celebrating national short story month with Shards: The Omnibus Edition.

Nosferatu, Inc.

Nosferatu, Inc., the third and final installment of the Fangs & Fur story arc in the Halos & Horns fantasy series, is now available for eBook pre-order (paperback to be published Aug. 31). With the release of Nosferatu, Inc. readers can devour the entire Fangs & Fur story arc in one sitting or even catch up on all seven books (so far) in the Halos & Horns series.

May is National Short Story Month

Did you know that May is National Short Story Month? Amber Book Company plans to celebrate by releasing a new volume of my short stories entitled Shards: The Omnibus Edition. Many of you know me from my social commentary posts appearing on my blog, while others are familiar with my young adult science fiction series The Adventures of Mackenzie Mortimer. Still others think of me as a novelist or epic storyteller, pointing to my four-book fantasy series Halos & Horns and my current ongoing fantasy series, Fangs & Fur. There are even some readers who think of me primarily as a nonfiction author because of my internationally top-selling book Issues in Internet Law: Society, Technology, and the Law, my two Web design books, and my Collected Essays of a Reluctant Blogger and More Essays of a Reluctant Blogger books. But the truth is, above all else, I’m a short story writer.

Shards may sound familiar to you. My first short story collection was entitled Randoms. It was lovingly crafted, published in a hardcover edition with a dust jacket. Unfortunately, the printer had tremendous difficulty printing the dust jacket. Every copy rolled off the printing press with a slightly different hue, making each book and instant collectible and the source of much aggravation and vexation. Ultimately, and with great reluctance, we replaced the hardcover edition with a paperback. My second short story collection, Careywood, was a charitable effort published in a limited print run to raise money to restore a historic mansion. Then, in 2011, almost all of my short stories were collected in a giant 450-page paperback entitled Shards. This mammoth collection included the best of Randoms, the stories from the limited edition Careywood, and a host of new short stories, many of which had been shared in public readings but never collected in print. Shards was to stand as my oeuvre: the complete collection of my short story output.

At the time, it was the largest book I had ever written… Ironically composed of the shortest of stories. But with each new edition over the course of 10 years, Issues in Internet Law: Society, Technology, and the Law grew to 680 pages. After I completed the four-book Halos & Horns series, the saga was collected in a single omnibus edition, The Halos & Horns Omnibus, which clocked in at a whopping 904 pages. Suddenly, the 450-page Shards didn’t seem so big any more. And in the five years since its publication, I had written a few more short stories. I wanted to gather these new short stories into a brand-new collection but the Halos & Horns Omnibus had gone over so well that it was decided to create a short story omnibus.

We began with the original 450-page Shards and reorganized the stories by theme. Then we added 300 pages of new material. That’s right, 750 pages of short stories between two covers. Or 191,523 words if you’re counting. We kept the original front and back cover to Shards and christened it Shards: The Omnibus Edition. The themes in Shards: The Omnibus Edition include man’s inhumanity to man; technology in society run amok; freedom; conformity; slice of life; fear; prejudice; revenge; the inevitability of death; sadness and depression; darkness and light; lust; love; regret; repentance; pity; debauchery and selfishness; hubris; obsession; fusion fiction; Christmas; the quest; the trickster; discovery and wonder; alienation (stranger in a strange land); and farewell.

Admittedly Shards: The Omnibus Edition is a mixed bag. Some of the tales are downright hilarious. Some are frightening. And a few are disturbing. There are stories within this volume you will treasure… and others you may wish you had never read. Good writing isn’t about repeating hackneyed memes; it’s about pushing the envelope and extending the boundaries until the reader finds himself well outside his comfort zone. In Shards: The Omnibus Edition you’ll find stories that make you laugh and make you cry; stories you’ll want to share with your children; and stories so horrifying you’ll banish them to the deepest recesses of your mind. So join me in celebrating national short story month with Shards: The Omnibus Edition.

Halloween Treat - The Pandora Chronicles

A special Halloween treat! Read the lead-in to the Fangs & Fur fantasy series free!

Then buy your copies of Flashbacks (Book 1) and Nightstalkers (Book 2)!

Halloween Treat - The Pandora Chronicles

A special Halloween treat! Read the lead-in to the Fangs & Fur fantasy series free!

Then buy your copies of Flashbacks (Book 1) and Nightstalkers (Book 2)!

Celebrate National Short Story Month with Shards: The Omnibus Edition

Did you know that May is National Short Story Month? Amber Book Company plans to celebrate by releasing a new volume of my short stories entitled Shards: The Omnibus Edition. Many of you know me from my social commentary posts appearing on my blog, while others are familiar with my young adult science fiction series The Adventures of Mackenzie Mortimer. Still others think of me as a novelist or epic storyteller, pointing to my four-book fantasy series Halos & Horns and my current ongoing fantasy series, Fangs & Fur. There are even some readers who think of me primarily as a nonfiction author because of my internationally top-selling book Issues in Internet Law: Society, Technology, and the Law, my two Web design books, and my Collected Essays of a Reluctant Blogger. But the truth is, above all else, I’m a short story writer.

Shards may sound familiar to you. My first short story collection was entitled Randoms. It was lovingly crafted, published in a hardcover edition with a dust jacket. Unfortunately, the printer had tremendous difficulty printing the dust jacket. Every copy rolled off the printing press with a slightly different hue, making each book and instant collectible and the source of much aggravation and vexation. Ultimately, and with great reluctance, we replaced the hardcover edition with a paperback. My second short story collection, Careywood, was a charitable effort published in a limited print run to raise money to restore a historic mansion. Then, in 2011, almost all of my short stories were collected in a giant 450-page paperback entitled Shards. This mammoth collection included the best of Randoms, the stories from the limited edition Careywood, and a host of new short stories, many of which had been shared in public readings but never collected in print. Shards was to stand as my oeuvre: the complete collection of my short story output.

At the time, it was the largest book I had ever written… Ironically composed of the shortest of stories. But with each new edition over the course of 10 years, Issues in Internet Law: Society, Technology, and the Law grew to 680 pages. After I completed the four-book Halos & Horns series, the saga was collected in a single omnibus edition, The Halos & Horns Omnibus, which clocked in at a whopping 904 pages. Suddenly, the 450-page Shards didn’t seem so big any more. And in the five years since its publication, I had written a few more short stories. I wanted to gather these new short stories into a brand-new collection but the Halos & Horns Omnibus had gone over so well that it was decided to create a short story omnibus.

We began with the original 450-page Shards and reorganized the stories by theme. Then we added 300 pages of new material. That’s right, 750 pages of short stories between two covers. Or 191,523 words if you’re counting. We kept the original front and back cover to Shards and christened it Shards: The Omnibus Edition. The themes in Shards: The Omnibus Edition include man’s inhumanity to man; technology in society run amok; freedom; conformity; slice of life; fear; prejudice; revenge; the inevitability of death; sadness and depression; darkness and light; lust; love; regret; repentance; pity; debauchery and selfishness; hubris; obsession; fusion fiction; Christmas; the quest; the trickster; discovery and wonder; alienation (stranger in a strange land); and farewell.

Admittedly Shards: The Omnibus Edition is a mixed bag. Some of the tales are downright hilarious. Some are frightening. And a few are disturbing. There are stories within this volume you will treasure… and others you may wish you had never read. Good writing isn’t about repeating hackneyed memes; it’s about pushing the envelope and extending the boundaries until the reader finds himself well outside his comfort zone. In Shards: The Omnibus Edition you’ll find stories that make you laugh and make you cry; stories you’ll want to share with your children; and story so horrifying you’ll banish them to the deepest recesses of your mind. So join me in celebrating national short story month with the publication of Shards: The Omnibus Edition.

Callum (& Pandora) - An Excerpt from Flashbacks

Off the Australia Coast, the Present:

Back on the deck, Pandora interrogated the men. “I’m looking for my friend. She’s a Gypsy, looks a bit older than me, more tanned, not quite as hot.”

“We’re just simple fishermen,” Donahue lied. “We haven’t seen any women.”

“Strewth, mate!” his companion exclaimed. “You know her mate will tell her different when he comes up from the hold. Look hun, there was a sheila we met in Africa who we gave a lift to. Brought her all the way to Oz at no charge, ‘cause we’re  really nice blokes. But she fell off the side of the boat and became crocodile bait. Now if you don’t want the same to happen to you, then I suggest you leave now.”

“Zip it and help me throw her overboard before her mate comes back.” Donahue lunged at Pandora.

The strawberry blonde vampire dodged to one side and sank her fangs into Donahue’s neck, draining his blood in seconds. She tossed his bloodied corpse over the railing and turned to his friend. He pivoted to flee, but Pandora leapt onto him, ripping his throat with her trenchant fangs. She slurped the last ounce of his blood from him and lugged his lifeless body to the bulwark, heaving it over the side of the ship. She gazed into the blue waters below at the blurry white forms surrounding the two bodies in a feeding frenzy.

Callum came up from the hold and belched. He was carrying two large sacks filled with  rhino horns and elephant tusks he had stumbled upon. His eyes followed Pandora’s gaze to the turbulent, and now crimson, waters below. “Great white sharks. The Aussie national fish. Impressive creatures, aren’t they?” He looked around the deck. “Where are our friends?”

Pandora scrunched her nose and grimaced. “They slipped.”

Callum gazed back into the water. “I see.” He turned to Pandora. “I saw signs that your mate, Lupe, was held captive in the hold. But it looks like she escaped, perhaps wounded.”

Pandora sighed. “They fed her to the sharks. We had our differences, but we were becoming friends. Lupe didn’t deserve to go like that.”

“No one deserves to cark it like that.” Callum gazed back into the ocean at the vanishing remains of the pair of slave traders and smugglers. “Well, hardly anyone.” He paused. “I’m sorry about your cobber, mate. I’m sure she was a fine sheila.”

Pandora grimaced. “I don’t know how I’m going to break the news to Cody. He and his sister were incredibly close.” Pandora noticed the sacks Callum was holding. “What’s in the bags?”

“We can’t leave their ill-gotten gain behind. Have you any idea how much these horns  would go for on the black market?”  Seeing the disapproving look on Pandora’s face, Callum added, “Naturally, I’ll have to turn them over to, ahem, the proper authorities.”

The Vampires & Werewolves You Only Think You Know!

  Fangs & Fur, Book One: Flashbacks

Available in Paperback and Kindle editions.

Callum - An Excerpt from Flashbacks

Nosferatu, Inc.’s Australian Headquarters, the Present:

Callum wiped the blood from his lips as he returned to his office.

“Mr. Remick has left three messages for you, sir,” Kaiya said. “He’s also insisting you use the mobile phones the corporation keeps sending you.”

“Bollocks! It’s bad enough I have to listen to that earbasher drone on during office hours, but I’ll be damned if I’ll carry a phone with me twenty-four seven. I won’t be a slave to a ringing piece of metal. What’s the bloke want, this time?”

“He said it concerns a missing Nosferatu operative. He’s sending a team to search for her and he wants our help.”

Callum grimaced. “So, now we’re the corporation’s bloody Lost and Found Department? Get him on the horn for me.” Callum sat at his desk. “And Kaiya, bring me a cuppa warm blood, dear.”

The Australian director picked up the phone receiver. “G’day, mate. What can I do for you?”

“You might start by returning your calls,” Remick said. “I’ve been trying to reach you for hours.”

“Sorry mate, I had a late lunch. She didn’t show up when I expected her to and had to chase her down when she did. Hate it when my meals are uncooperative. So what’s your bother?”

The Vampires & Werewolves You Only Think You Know!

  Fangs & Fur, Book One: Flashbacks

Available in Paperback and Kindle editions.

Amadi - An Excerpt from Flashbacks

The Jungles of Yorubaland, West Africa, the Present:

Síofra sighed.

Kaya gave her a sympathetic look. “I know why you’re sad.”

The sullen changeling shot her a snarl. “Ya dinnae ken anything. Yar nothing but a child, and an irritating, pestiferous one at that.”

The sanguine Japanese girl ignored her bluster. “Back in Japan, you told me changelings are immortal but that their stolen human bodies don’t last very long. You said you might get a few more years out of this one. That’s what you’re worried about, isn’t it? What happens when that body you’re using wears out?”

Síofra looked away, but Kaya had already seen the sadness in her eyes. “I’ll be reincarnated. My spirit shall transmigrate and find a home in another mortal’s body. But I dinnae ken which mortal or how long it will take. It could be years … or centuries. Asabi will have forgotten me, and even if the lad remembered me, I would nae look the same.” Síofra gave a halfhearted laugh. “Nae that it would matter; he barely tolerates me now, and then only for yar sake.”

“That’s not true. He likes you. If he knew how you felt about him…”

“What difference would that make?” the melancholy changeling asked. “Haven’t ya been listening tae what I said? Changeling energy deteriorates the host body on a cellular level. The form I’m in is due tae expire. This lassie’s body’s a walking milk carton past its ‘sell by’ date.” Síofra sipped her papaya juice. “Although, on the bright side, my next incarnation might be a creature more powerful than a mere human, yet…” Her voice trailed off, as she pictured the ebon emere.

The Vampires & Werewolves You Only Think You Know!

  Fangs & Fur, Book One: Flashbacks

Available in Paperback and Kindle editions.

Isra - An Excerpt from Flashbacks

The Dubai Desert, 1926:

“How much farther?” Rachel spit the desert sand back into the pelting wind. The constant shifting of the saddle chaffed her thighs. Her camel ambled forward, oblivious to her discomfort. Its breath was horrid and the camel farted. Often.

John peered through his binoculars. “We should be coming up on the site soon. We made excellent progress on the dig before the sandstorms necessitated our return to the village. But now we can finish what we started. How’s the girl holding up?”

Rachel glanced behind her at Isra. The 17-year-old sat comfortably on her camel, amazed at the seemingly endless, selcouth desert. Isra had never been this far from her village and the vastness of the desert astonished her. “Better than me,” Rachel replied. She wanted to wash the sultry desert from her skin and longed for the bathtub she had left behind in the village, realizing it would be at least three months before their return.

“There it is!” John pointed ahead toward the partially excavated ruins. The four Arab men the archaeologist had hired for the mission rode ahead to set up camp. “It’s just as we left it. If we can find a way into the crypt beneath the ruins, I’ll bet we could fill an entire wing of the British Museum with the artifacts we recover.”

Rachel shared John’s enthusiasm – such an expedition had been a mutual dream of theirs since their days at college — but she was equally excited to be able to dismount from her camel. She hitched the camel to a makeshift post and joined John in the ruins, determined to prove to her parents the money they had spent indulging her penchant to study archaeology at college had not been wasted on a foolish girl’s whim. Few girls had been admitted to the college and fewer still expressed an interest in archaeology. In fact, Rachel had been the only woman in the class. But her fervent passion for ancient civilizations was exceeded only by her ardent passion for her classmate, John. She made sure the camel was securely tied to the post, grimacing at the odious beast, and then turned her attention to the swarthy Arab men erecting the canvas tents.

The Vampires & Werewolves You Only Think You Know!

  Fangs & Fur, Book One: Flashbacks

Available in Paperback and Kindle editions.

Remick - An Excerpt from Flashbacks

Castle Dracula, Transylvania, Four Months Earlier, January 1891:

The dungeon was dark and damp, illuminated only by candlelight from several sconces on each wall and a shaft of light shining through the cast iron bars on the window of the  bolted door. The spider webs that hung from the ceiling glistened in the flickering light, casting weird shadows on the floor. A dozen ragged, young women were manacled by their wrists or ankles to iron rings lodged into the brick walls. The weeks of their insufferable durance had turned their initial agitation into melancholy torpor. Some were local townswomen; others merely unfortunate travelers waylaid as they had journeyed through the Carpathian Mountains. The tatterdemalions shivered and awaited their daily meal of gruel, as did the anxious rats scurrying across the floor. Scattered straw covered the prisoners’ excrement, but did little to mask its lingering miasma or discourage the buzzing flies from landing upon the human waste.

“It’s no use, Annabelle,” a forlorn girl said. “We’ll never escape. That madman and his insane friends will kill us, as he has the others.”

“Someone will rescue us, Antoinette,” her companion replied. “This horror cannot last forever.”

“They are not human. They are fiends from Hell. You’ve seen what they did to the other girls they kidnapped. They drink their blood and leave them to die, or worse, turn into creatures like themselves. They abduct innocent women and use them as food for their debauched parties.”

Annabelle arced her head, observing their bound cellmates. “Surely, someone will notice the rash of abductions and investigate.”

“But when, Annabelle?  It might be too late for us, by then. The dungeon fills with new girls, but whenever the count hosts one of his soirees for his fellow fiends, our numbers are soon depleted. Who knows when we will be next to be chosen for their depraved gatherings?”

“When our family discovers we did not arrive at our destination as expected, they will realize our coach had been waylaid. Father will send out a search party. They might even be combing the Carpathian Mountains as we speak, and—”

The wooden dungeon door creaked open. A misshapen man entered the tenebrific chamber, pushing a cart containing chipped wooden bowls of gruel. He was charged with seeing the prisoners were well fed and cared for during their durance, until Dracula summoned them as refreshment for himself or his entourage of vampires living at the castle. The manservant had a slight hunchback, greasy hair, and warts dotting his face. He stopped, focusing his gaze on several flies sitting on a pile of excrement amid the stramineous floor. The rebarbative man stealthily approached the flies, and reached out with lightning fast reflexes, catching two between his gnarled fingers. “Dinnertime for you ladies, and dinnertime for Renfield as well.” He grinned and plopped the flies into his mouth. He smacked his lips and swallowed. Then, Renfield distributed the bowls of unappetizing gruel to the prisoners.

“What a disgusting man,” Antoinette said to Annabelle. “From the way he stinks, I doubt he’s ever bathed.”

Renfield overheard her and approached the two women. “Disgusting, am I? I’m not the one dressed in rags, flailing about in my own urine. You think you’re better than Renfield?” Antoinette flinched, as he ran his coarse finger down the captive woman’s soft cheek. “You’re a pretty bitch, I’ll give you that. You think you’re too good for me, don’t you? The women in the village think they’re too good for poor old Renfield, too. Until they end up here. Then, I can have any woman I choose. As long as your hearts are pumping blood, the master doesn’t care what happens to any of you.” He tugged the remnants of Antoinette’s dress from her, exposing her nude body. “If you’re nice to Renfield, maybe I’ll ask the master to let you become one of his vampires.”

“No!” Antoinette screamed. “Please, don’t!”

Renfield laughed, as he raped her. “Scream, if you wish. The master and his friends are asleep in their coffins and there is no one outside of this dungeon for miles who might hear your cries. I like fresh, virginal girls like you. As your reward, when we’re done, I’ll bring you some tasty spiders to snack on.”

He’s insane, Annabelle thought. She closed her eyes and tried to drown out the sound of her sister’s screams. She imagined they were back in the stagecoach from which they had been abducted, fast asleep, and that this was all merely a horrific nightmare.  

The Vampires & Werewolves You Only Think You Know!

  Fangs & Fur, Book One: Flashbacks

Available in Paperback and Kindle editions.

Magda - An Excerpt from Flashbacks

The Forests of Transylvania, 1725:

Zoltan’s wife, Nataliya, pointed to a scorched wagon. “One vardo was not consumed by the flames. We might be able to salvage something from it.”

Zoltan nodded. “See what you can find inside. The rest of us will bury the dead.”

Nataliya climbed the vardo’s shaky steps and entered the scorched wagon. She rifled through the drawers of a small dresser, pocketing the jewelry and trinkets inside. She was startled by a creaky noise behind her. Nataliya turned in time to see a loosened floorboard rise and fall. “Who’s there?”

The wooden floorboard rose again and a pair of young eyes peered from the dark crawlspace. “Is it safe to come out?” the girl asked tremulously.

Nataliya dropped to her knees and beckoned the apprehensive child, who clambered out from the ebon hole in the floor. “What is your name, chavi?”

“Magda. My mother told me to hide in the crawlspace until she came back. I didn’t want to; I wanted to go with her. But she told me I must do as she says because she is my mother. She said I would be safer here. She couldn’t fit in the crawlspace with me, so she went outside with my father and brothers.” The little girl looked up at Nataliya with doleful eyes. “My mother’s not coming back, is she? None of them are coming back.”

As her brusque exterior gave way to a maternal mien, Nataliya hugged the frightened child. “Your mother was very brave and very wise. You did the right thing by obeying her. She found a way to enable you to survive the carnage and probably led the villains away from your vardo.”

“Is there… Is there anyone else, besides me?”

Nataliya shook her head.

The Vampires & Werewolves You Only Think You Know!

  Fangs & Fur, Book One: Flashbacks

Available in Paperback and Kindle editions.

Lady Chiyoko - An Excerpt from Flashbacks

Kyoto Prefecture, Japan, early 2012:

Hiroko entered Lady Chiyoko’s office. She was greeted by a distinctive herbal aroma that wafted up to her nostrils from a censer on the director’s desk. She removed her shoes and walked across the tatami mats to a decorative shoji screen, which hid a futon. Hiroko fluffed the makuras on the futon and walked to a credenza on the other side of the room. An Oriental teapot and several tea cups rested atop the credenza. Hiroko poured a cup of warm blood and placed the tea cup on a serving tray, which she brought to Chiyoko.

By outward appearances, Chiyoko was an attractive Japanese woman in her late 20s. But she had been aptly named, for the “child of a thousand generations” looked the same as she had in feudal Japan, when her clan had been one of the powerful regional families of the 12th century.

“Thank you, Hiroko.” Chiyoko took the tea cup from the tray and sipped the sanguine fluid.

The Vampires & Werewolves You Only Think You Know!

  Fangs & Fur, Book One: Flashbacks

Available in Paperback and Kindle editions.

Callaghan - An Excerpt from Flashbacks

The Otherworld (Realm of the Fae), October 1607:

 The Morrigan laughed. “Even assuming the magical anchor is still near the British Isles and a gateway could be opened, what delusional thought process leads you to believe your actions so far would give me the slightest confidence in you?” She gestured with one of her feathered arms and the dullahan was incinerated. Flakes of charred flesh floated to the floor. Staring at the pile of ash, the Morrigan called out to her couchant goblin servants. “Bring a broom and a dustpan.”

Another goblin approached her timorously. “Mistress, you have visitors.” The goblin took two rapid steps back.

The slender goddess spun around. “Visitors?”

“A clurichaun and a mortal. They seek an audience. Shall I admit them or turn them away?” The goblin trembled, not knowing what to expect from the mercurial goddess.

The Morrigan smiled. “How delightful. By all means, send them into my chamber. And bring two more dustpans.”

The acquiescent goblin scurried away, only to return moments later, with Callaghan and Flannigan.

The Vampires & Werewolves You Only Think You Know!

  Fangs & Fur, Book One: Flashbacks

Available in Paperback and Kindle editions.