Greetings and salutations, Fire Enthusiasts. It has been a while, hasn’t it? I hope you and yours are well. I am doing fine, thank you very much. In fact, I am better than fine. As you can probably guess, I am quite ecstatic…because at long last my latest novel has been released.
If you have
yet to read Dance on Fire, it is the
crossover horror story of the vampire Nathaniel who saves a woman and her twin
infants from another vampire. Not just any vampire, but the one who killed his
family, kidnapped and ultimately turned him into one as well. Although he knows
the Bible front to back, and knows all too well that he has no place in the
Kingdom of God. The woman he saves in not so convinced. This starts him on a
journey of self-discovery, as well as making him the family's protector. You can get it here on Amazon or on Smashwords for
99 cents.
In the
sequel Flash Point (Dance on Fire Book 2),
Nathaniel lives in a monastery with monks. He has not yet heard God speak, but
he seeks Him nonetheless. Unbeknownst to him, one of the vampires that escaped
in book one has returned with four others. She seeks revenge upon him and
his extended family for a wrong done to her. When he races back to town he will
find it is too late to do much but enact some revenge himself. At the end of
that chapter, the Devil himself steps out of the shadows and proclaims that it
is he that has been after Nathaniel all along. Flash Point is also available at
Amazon or Smashwords.
In this
third book, Satan has returned, armed with over 100 vampires and an Infernal plot to destroy Nathaniel and
his extended family once and for all.
Teaser:
Nathaniel looked down at his
hands and closed his eyes.
“Don’t tell me you’re praying
now?” Satan asked. “Why do you even bother? Look what it’s got you! Before this
next act is through, there will be many more bodies under many more sheets. And
you will be among them.”
“Do your worst, Devil,”
Nathaniel said calmly, his eyes still closed.
Satan relented and laughed. The
sound reverberated off the walls as if a multitude of devils were celebrating
their dark deeds. “Remember you said that.” Satan was delighted to see
Nathaniel open his eyes once again and look upon him. He went to say something
more but turned, distracted by a presence. He glanced behind him as if he could
see down the hall and through the closed front door. He heard the hum of a
motor as it powered itself up the lane. “It seems you have visitors. Good. I
enjoyed a fantastic barbeque on one of my last visits. Perhaps it’s time for
another.”
Nathaniel leapt to his feet and
jumped into his face, surprising him, albeit only momentarily. His expression twisted
into a hard grimace and he noted spittle on his mouth. “Get thee behind me, Satan!” he roared.
“Ah, you do care,” Satan said.
He reached up and made a move to wipe the spittle from Nathaniel’s mouth, but
the vampire caught his arm.
“Do not touch me!”
Satan allowed himself to be held,
and simply stared at the grip on his wrist, the wrinkled fabric of his suit. He
glanced up and looked deeply into Nathaniel’s eyes as if he could now crawl
inside them and up into his mind to read his thoughts.
Nathaniel pulled his arm down
and released it. He backed away slowly, like someone retreating from a venomous
snake, and then moved back near the chair he had graced, but didn’t sit down.
“Go, Satan,” Nathaniel said. His
voice was calm again. “You are not welcome here.”
“You’d be surprised,” Satan replied.
He put his hands back into his pockets and turned to retrace his steps. At the
doorway, he stopped and turned back. “The next time we meet, you will beg for
mercy.”
“There is no mercy in you,”
Nathaniel said. “I learned that lesson long ago in an old dilapidated castle in
Romania.”
“Oh, yes.” Satan smiled. “I
remember it well. Your mother was there. Nasty business, matricide.”
“My mother died at home,”
Nathaniel said. “What I met that night upon my escape was not her.”
“Yes,” Satan cooed. “Dogs, was
it?” He shook his head. “Hilarious.”
Footfalls echoed loudly in the corridor
as someone came running toward them. Satan turned, as did Nathaniel.
“My God!” Luis cried.
“Good guess, but no,” Satan said.
He looked down upon the monk and touched the brim of his fedora. “Hello, Luis.
You’re looking well. Must be all the exercise. Hiking up mountain sides, long
walks, running from a legion of vampires…?”
Luis said nothing. He merely
glanced Nathaniel’s way as if looking for direction. Satan followed his gaze and
held it as he heard the sound of many others entering the hallway.
“Wonderful,” Satan said and
stared the vampire down. “I just love an audience.”
“Satan!” Nathaniel shouted. He took two steps forward.
Raising his left hand, he held
it in the air between them. “I’m leaving. And I was only kidding about barbequing
your friends. These are not the friends I am interested in. Go to California. I
believe Marie is outside, waiting to usher you away from the sleeping vampire
horde.” He spun on Luis. “Isn’t she?”
Luis’ face dropped in shock at the
revelation. Satan frowned. “Please!” he said and turned back to Nathaniel. His
look was a serious one. “I have written this entire play. The monks are safe. I
will make sure the vampires know exactly where you have gone. Don’t doubt that
for a moment.”
Satan adjusted his fedora, turned,
and walked through the doorway. The hall was lined with monks. Some respectfully
moved away and allowed the stranger some space to navigate; others held their
ground as if suddenly troubled for reasons they couldn’t readily explain. Satan
stood before them.
“Nathaniel,” he called without
turning. “Would you have the men step aside, or shall I do it?”
Nathaniel entered the corridor.
“My brothers,” he began. “’Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will
flee from you.’”
“That’s cute,” Satan replied. “James:
four, seven. I have a scripture for you,” he said, staring into the faces of
those standing before him. “Second Corinthians: six, fourteen. ‘For what
partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light
with darkness?’”
“You left a part out, Satan,”
Nathaniel said calmly. It begins: ‘Do not be bound together with unbelievers.’
I believe in God, my Savior.”
“You are the only one here who
doesn’t believe,” Luis added.
“Oh, I believe,” Satan replied. “I simply choose
to disagree.”
Just like all of my novels, Infernal: (Dance on Fire Book 3) is available at Amazon, Smashwords and all other outlets. For the locals who live in Kingsburg, California - my hometown and the setting for the novels - the paperback will be available here in two weeks. We'll be having a release event at the Trinkets & Treasures store. Details will be forthcoming. A heartfelt thanks for all of you who have supported me, encouraged me and have eagerly awaited this next chapter in the saga. You rock!
We'll talk soon.
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