(Be forewarned, it gets a bit dark in this little alleyway . . .)
The following is the beginning of my vampire novel House of Shadows, Volume One of a projected twelve volume series called "The Breed Wars".
I laid in darkness on cold dank stone and remembered the day I died.
Prior to death I did not appreciate true darkness, the total absence of light. It is like drowning in a limitless ocean of black ink. And with the absence of light came the absence of sound. No noise, not even the ringing of the ears for company, as though my head had been stuffed with clay. And in my mouth my tongue lay desiccate, like a worm pulled from the earth and left on a hot sidewalk to broil. No scent either, not even the odor of my own flesh as the process of corruption began.
But then came sensation.
It began as a sense of pressure against my back, stronger even than the winepress of the dark. From there it spread to the backs of my thighs and buttocks, my arms and palms, the prickling of grit against bare skin.
Following this came sound, the soft whispering of many-legged insects growing steadily louder as they approached my body, locked in rigor mortis. Soon they would crawl over my hair, my face, my eyes.
I lay there and remembered, it had been my choice to die. . . .
For those who wish to continue reading, I have included the first twenty pages or so here.
This novel will be published in trade paperback form via Amazon, and will also be available as an ebook. Dates are tentative at this point, but it, like Penelope Ember, will most likely arrive with the summer's heat.