by M. Lorrox
She sobs and sniffs. “Why not?”
Sadie swallows. “Because Mr. Skip needs positive energy. Why don’t you hug him and tell him how much you love him?”
Minnie leans up and wipes her eyes on the back of her hand.
Sadie picks her up and holds her beside Skip’s head. “Just hug his head and neck, loosely, don’t touch his chest.”
Minnie stretches her arms around him, and she squeezes onto his face. Katlyn smiles and repositions one of Minnie’s arms so she doesn’t cover his nose.
“Thank you for protecting me from that mean lady Mr. Skip, and thank you for protecting me in the castle, and Valentine, and helping all of us escape, and I love you very much, Mr. Skip.”
Sadie glances at Katlyn with a soft, sad smile. “Okay, Minnie, let go now.” Sadie lifts Minnie and tugs her away.
As Minnie’s arm drags across Skip’s face, Katlyn, who is watching, gasps.
Sadie presses Minnie to her chest in a hug. “What is it?”
“Mmm...” Katlyn takes a breath and sort of smiles, then sort of frowns.
Sadie sets Minnie down. “Katlyn?”
She swallows, then she slowly reaches her hand across Skip’s face.
Sadie follows Katlyn’s hand with her eyes.
Her soft fingers set lightly against her lover’s eyelids, and she opens them.
Sadie gasps, looks at Katlyn, then at Minnie—at the dinosaur-print bandage on her daughter’s neck. She returns her gaze to Katlyn.
She lets out a nervous burst of air, then she jerks her head in a nod. She grabs the hospital bed’s attached remote and pushes the button to call a nurse. “He needs blood.”
Sadie holds up her hand. “He needs to be moved to the other wing, then he needs blood.” She grabs Minnie by the shoulder. “You stay here with Miss Katlyn and Mr. Skip, okay?”
“Yes, Mommy.”
“Good girl.” She looks at Katlyn and smiles. “I’ll get nurse Jacqueline.”
“I am flesh and I and bone, rise up -ting, ting- like glitter and gold.”
-Barns Courtney
The small town of Zărnești, Romania is nestled in the forested foothills of the Southern Carpathian Mountains. A small farm with a house, pastures, and barns sits on the outskirts of town. The youngest member of the family is playing in the farm’s oldest barn, jumping into piles of straw and dodging the orange sunset’s rays through cracks in the wooden walls.
She leaps again and falls, laughing into the straw. The dust kicked up mixes like steam into the sunbeams and casts bars of golden light that shimmer above her.
Below her, cold earth. Deep within it, the end of a series of catacombs that stretch from the nearby hilltop fortress—Castelul Bran. A trunk that’s older and thicker than Sadie’s rests there in the darkness, and inside, a single, gold box whose tight lid is sealed with thin oil.
Carved into the lid is a large V, and wrapped around its arms is a snake coiled in an infinity symbol. The snake’s fangs sink into its own tail.
Wow. The hard part is…just beginning! When I started writing Infinite Vampire, I didn’t know exactly what it would turn out to be. I thought maybe a novel or two, maybe a screenplay. Then, it grabbed me by the jugular and wouldn’t let go until it sucked out tons of energy and creativity! It’s a good thing I’ve got plenty to spare! LOL.
Infinite Vampire turned into so much more than I anticipated, and although ANTIVENOM is the last book in this (first) series, I’ve got many more things planned. There will be additional novellas, a series of graphic novels telling the backstory of some of our favorite characters, tons of online fun, and dare I say…possibly a whole sequel series featuring—you guessed it—JULY and EDDY.
Oh, and the movies. There will be blockbuster Infinite Vampire movies someday—that’s happening too! (Fingers crossed!!!)
I learned a lot while writing this series, including what “support” really means. I could not have pulled this insanity off without a ton of support from my family and friends. Lily, my partner, read my books way too many times for any sane person. I hope that I—or my books—didn’t do any serious damage! I also must thank my family and friends who joined my beta reader groups and provided great feedback. I must give another shout out to my friend Zack—my history and science advisor—whom I probably bugged the most!
I hope I didn’t ask too much of them, but I’m confident that you, dear reader, get the greatest benefit of the crazy questions I asked them... Hey, that gives me an idea… But first, I must give another shout out to Ashley Elizabeth and John Gibson, my copyeditor and book designer. They helped me out so much and made my books way more professional than I ever imagined! (Thanks so much, you two!)
OKAY, TIME FOR SOME FUN… BUCKLE UP!
Would you like to play a game consisting of 20 questions?
I should say, it’s not actually the game called “20 questions.” It’s much more M-Lorroxian than that!
You want to? Great! Step one: Leave reviews for my books online… I’m a new author, and I need reviews! Go to https://series.infinitevampire.com/reviews for links.
…
Thanks. I’ll trust that you just spent a couple minutes and helped me out! Okay, so here’s the game. I’m going to list some ACTUAL questions I asked my network and advisors, and I want to see if you can figure out which book I asked that question for.
The options are:
(0) SOPHIA’S JOURNAL
(1) BLOOD 4 LIFE
(2) QUEEN’S GAMBIT
(3) MAELSTROM
(4) ANTIVENOM
For each answer, write down the book number (ex. “0” for SOPHIA’S JOURNAL), and when you’re done, you’ll have a series of 10 numbers. The correct series of numbers for each round will unlock an Infinite Vampire Easter Egg!
We’re going to play two rounds: easy and INSANE difficulty! Excited? Ready to play? Go!
ROUND ONE
How exactly would someone harvest skin-derived epithelial cells from corpses?
How much bone marrow would be “reasonable” to harvest from a teen girl?
But what if you did open a door at altitude?
What kinds of chemicals would be needed for an in-the-field blood draining kit to prevent coagulation?
If you were going to land a helicopter on this building, where would you?
Just how exactly does one blow up a gun?
How would you use drones to take out troops?
I know I’m over going over the top here, but have you had their burritos?
Without being insane, just how high can you jack up a Jeep Wrangler?
What’s your favorite anime?
ROUND ONE answers: __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __
Remember, the options are:
(0) SOPHIA’S JOURNAL
(1) BLOOD 4 LIFE
(2) QUEEN’S GAMBIT
(3) MAELSTROM
(4) ANTIVENOM
ROUND TWO
Wait, you’re telling me that not only does that exist, but it’s still being used?
What kinds of trees grow in the American Southwest?
Don’t arrest me, but where would deliveries come in, and what’s the security like?
Does that look like a Christmas tree to you?
What’s your favorite sci-fi/fantasy weapon?
How would you lower the flash-point of diesel?
Do you think anyone will get the Top Gun reference?
Do you think anyone will get the Archer reference?
Why do all the windows look yellow on the inside? And is that plexiglass?
You’re telling me that they don’t have squirrels?
ROUND TWO answers: __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __
Remember, the options are:
(0) SOPHIA’S JOURNAL
(1) BLOOD 4 LIFE
(2) QUEEN’S GAMBIT
(3) MAELSTROM
(4) ANTIVENOM
Whew! If you get all the answers correct in a round, you can unlock an Infinite Vampire Easter Egg. Collect a few of them, and you can win free stuff from me! Here’s where you check your answers: https://1sf.co/XXXXXXXXXX (replace the X’s with each round’s answer)
Example: https://1sf.co/0123401234 (not an Easter egg)
I wish you luck! If you haven’t checked out the Easter egg site, it’s here: https://eastereggs.infinitevampire.com
I hope you’ve loved the Infinite Vampire stories I’ve told, and I want to tell you one thing: Thank you for joining me on this adventure so far! I feel like we’re now lifelong adventure-buddies. The only way for us to stay in touch though requires you to take the next step. You can follow me on the social media platforms (I’m on the main ones as @MLorrox), but the best way is to subscribe to my mailing list. I send out an email a month, on average, and I never ever ever ever ever will sell or spam the list. Like I say, I hate spam more than zombies, and I’ll tell you, the only person/being/god/thing that hates zombies more than me…is Rusty!
Join my list here: https://series.infinitevampire.com/join/
I hope to talk to you soon!
-M
I’m an emerging American author. My story is like any good novel; it’s full of mystery, suspense, drama, and comedy. Hopefully my story turns into a fine wine—instead of a stinky cheese. In any case, while I’m writing that book (as slowly as possible), here are some highlights so far:
I was raised in a barn in rural, upstate New York. It was cold. We had a wood-burning furnace that never worked well. I gained an early appreciation for sweaters.
In junior high, I tried…and failed, to publish a book about dragon science. I still have the manuscript, and I’ll publish it someday.
In college, I made up some BS, then earned a MFA in story-telling. I learned Northern Shaolin Kung Fu and taught it for a while.
After college, I discovered I had problems with authority… And conformity… And bigotry… And misogyny… And etc., etc., etc. I tried to make small changes while still fitting in, then I gave up on fitting in altogether, and I started flipping tables like no tomorrow.
I bought a motorcycle and crashed it. Then I fixed it and kept riding. Hey, want to harden your nerves? Spend a couple years riding 25 miles a day, rain or shine, on Route 66 and the 495 Beltway of DC in rush hour. You’ll either be dead or a badass.
After gaining badass status, I wanted to postpone putting that last update on a gravestone, so I decided to move out of the busy DC area. Instead of renewing the lease on my apartment, I signed up for an awesome gym membership, moved my stuff into storage, and squatted in a DC warehouse for a few months. I worked out and showered daily at the gym, which required me to carry various bags around. Homeless people on my routes thought I was also homeless, and they would offer me advice. I always thanked them.
After six months of shenanigans, I decided to push my luck in DC, and I signed a lease for an affordable apartment on the top floor of a building. The roof
collapsed on me on Valentine’s Day. I took a selfie with the rubble on my head; I was pissed.
I now live in Durham, North Carolina in a nice, warm house with a good roof. My local gym isn’t fancy, but it does the job. I enjoy riding my motorcycle to local coffee shops, very safely. Most importantly, I continue flipping tables like no tomorrow.
Tomato Potato Co.
PO Box 51368
Durham, NC 27717-1368
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2017 by M. Lorrox
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information, address Tomato Potato Co. Rights Dept., PO Box 51368, Durham, NC 27717-1368.
Edition: First Blood
978-1-947130-15-9
For more information, visit online:
https://mlorrox.com
https://series.infinitevampire.com
https://tomatopotato.co