Here's a short teaser from my new release with Riverdaleavebooks.com, Fangsters. This is from a scene where Anton and Digger, two young vampire cousins, were sent out on an assignment handed down from the boss of their organized crime clan. One thing leads to another, and Anton and Digger wind up trapped in a set up without a clear cut way to escape. And this all takes place in a south Jersey tanning salon, where the UV rays can kill them instantly.
This is from the raw unedited version. I do these excerpts to show what the raw version looks like, and to show how I submit a manuscript for those who might be interested.
I'd also like to thank all the people who've contacted me so far and who've purchased the book today. I never know what to expect with a new release because with each book it's always different.
They released Craig and climbed off the desk. They crossed to the middle of the room and showed their fangs to the werewolves. Even with the door slightly cracked, they were still far enough away from the UV rays to feel any sensations. Anton knew these werewolves were an inferior breed of the supernatural world, but not all were completely stupid. They were all human, except for the fact that they could shift into werewolves and they had superhuman strength when they did this. He knew they could understand him, so he said, “Back off or you’ll all die.”
The wolves didn’t move. They growled louder and moved a few paces closer to the middle of the room. In the background, Craig said, “Kill them both. You have your orders.”
This vampire/werewolf connection in Southern New Jersey also passed Anton by. In Northern New Jersey werewolves roamed alone and rarely associated with vampires. In fact, it was considered low end to even associate with a werewolf casually. But in Southern New Jersey vampires used them for whatever purposes they needed. And as with all canines, werewolves followed orders well, especially from superior creatures.
A second or two later, the wolves lurched at Anton and Digger, attacking them with such force they both wound up on the concrete floor with wolves devouring every inch of their bodies. While Anton and Digger fought them off, they sank their teeth into Anton and Digger’s legs, arms, and necks. Anton grabbed one by the throat and twisted its head around. He felt the neck snap and the lifeless wolf fell dead beside him. They weren’t the living dead like vampires; they were as vulnerable as humans in this regard. Digger threw one against the wall and at the same time spun another around in circles. When two more tried to sink their teeth into Anton’s neck, he grabbed them both by the throat and crushed the bones in their necks until their lifeless bodies fell beside him.
When Anton glanced over to check out Digger, he saw Digger fighting off three above his head. And three more were dragging him toward the door. Though Anton was tiring, he knew he had to do something to save Digger, and fast. This was their goal: to get them both into the front of the tanning salon where the UV rays would render them helpless and turn them to dust.
So he grabbed a wolf by the throat and sank his teeth into the wolf’s neck. He needed blood; he needed strength to continue. Though true human blood would have been better, he could drink blood from any living creature and gain strength. He sucked it dry and lifeless within seconds he felt a surge of energy rush through his body. While four wolves bit and chewed his legs, he jumped up and ran to the door right before they pulled Digger into the hallway. He grabbed Digger by the shoulders and dragged him backward into the dark storage room so he wouldn’t be exposed to any UV rays. There was blood everywhere; piles of dead wolves littered the floor. He felt the pain but knew he had to keep fighting. The only way to get out of there alive was to show them he could be just as strong.
But he noticed that Digger was failing. There were six wolves over him now, each one chewed at his body, trying to tear him to shreds. He tried to fight, but couldn’t seem to find the strength. Their goal was to make him weak enough to drag him into the UV rays.
Anton grabbed another wolf by the neck and dragged it over to Digger. He shoved the wolf’s neck into Digger’s face and said, “Drain it. You need it,” and then he grabbed another one and threw it into the wall so hard its body went limp as it slid down to the floor.
Up until this point in his life as a vampire, Anton had never done anything more than go to school, pretend to be human, and play around with other humans who looked his age. No one had prepared him for anything like this and he wasn’t sure he could get through it. He wondered if he’d been set up, and if his dad had known something like this might happen. Maybe the clan wanted to test them.
But he also knew how important this was to his clan, and to his dad. If they lost this battle and Edwin von Sutton won, it meant Edwin von Sutton could win anything and that he was just as strong and powerful as the clan in Northern New Jersey. This would give him an edge and the war that would ensue would be the most brutal in the history of the clans of New Jersey. Then others would take sides, from Philadelphia and New York and Chicago. The magnitude of what could happen if they didn’t get out of this situation alive meant Anton had to fight harder and push with all his strength.
And that night he discovered he had an unusual kind of strength he never knew he’d had. He’d been told all those things about superiority all his vampire life, and yet he’d never actually understood them until then. Digger grew a little stronger after he sucked the blood out of a wolf, but not as strong as Anton. At one point, while Anton flipped the wolves and snapped their necks, Digger sat on the floor and watched him, absolutely stunned.
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