I had intended to write a free scary/romantic short story around the theme of Halloween for you all, but got seriously sidelined by an unexpected illness right at the end of the month.
Instead, I'm offering my thriller "Taste of Blood: A Reese Mackenzie Novel" for free, as a one-day promotion Halloween only.
"Taste of Blood" was a story that I developed with a producer/director, who was looking for a vampire-themed story he could film in Romania. By a stroke of luck I had a vampire story ("My Immortal") but he wanted to get away from the more traditional Gothic love story that contained. Instead, he wanted a grittier, contemporary, urban take on the myth that could basically be summed up in the pitch: "Interview with a Vampire" meets "Se7en."
What he did like from "My Immortal" was my heroine, who had a tenuous grasp on her sanity. This is largely due to the fact she used to be a vampire in a past life. So I developed the protagonist of TOB, Reese Mackenzie, to face similar paranormal challenges. Instead of being a reincarnated vampire like "My Immortal's" heroine, Adele, Reese has psychic visions concerning murder victims just 'cuz she was born that way. These start as premonitions prior to any contact, but once she heads over to good ol' Transylvania, her gift kicks into overdrive. She makes the frightening discovery that merely coming into physical contact with someone can give her the foresight of their death.
Reese already knows what can happen if she makes the mistake of telling people they're going to die before they do, so she hides from this gift as long as she can. Each clue hits closer and closer to home until she is propelled into action. Ultimately she becomes her own detective to piece together the clues left behind by this serial killer, who is bound and determined for the world to think he's a vampire.
Whether he is or not... eh, you'll have to read the book to know for sure. ;)
If you're a fan of my romances, this is not a romance novel - although there is a romantic element. This was written as a thriller/horror story, and it gets scary even for me. I get to flex a little different muscle with "Taste of Blood." And Reese is a lot of fun to write, and I can definitely see taking her into other mystical adventures in the future. Book One is mostly based on the screenplay I developed with aforementioned producer/director, that was sadly shelved after financing fell through. (Ah, Hollywood.)
The Kindle version is free for Halloween only, and I'll be giving away paperbacks through a Goodreads contest starting November 1.
So enjoy this spooky read as a Halloween treat from me to you. And if you do get to read the book for free, consider giving it a rating/review - especially if you really enjoy it and want to see another book in the series.
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