Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Not Really Vampires

Cover for 'BiteMarks' More vampire fiction? No, not really. I mean, yes, the description of the book on the page where it can be purchased and downloaded says it's about vampires, but really it isn't - not at all. Check out this portion of the description:

"The vampires in 'BiteMarks' are human, as real as you and me. With immensely strong jaws and capable of extreme violence, they have, of course, long fangs and a desperate - and sometimes depraved - craving for blood that some can control and some cannot."

And perhaps this portion, too:

"Shane Marks is a cop and an outsider. He is a vampire (he prefers the less loaded term 'blood-fetishist'), with a horrific and haunting past, facts he has gone to great lengths to hide."

This last part is perhaps the most honest and correct of all the lines in this description, since the main character, as well as all others in this story depicted as "vampires" are exactly what the aforementioned words indicate - blood fetishists, not vampires. Not vampires at all. No one in this story sleeps in a coffin or ceases moving when the sun rises. No one lives strictly off drinking blood, though those involved in this "fetish" certainly enjoy the taste as well as the sight of that red life-fluid. No one is immune to death other than having a wooden stake driven through his heart or exposed to direct sunlight. Why then does the author give the impression in his description that these actually are vampires? Hell if I know.

Still, I found BiteMarks, by Drew Cross to be an interesting, if not engrossing read. It's about a cop, Shane Marks, who not only is involved in a murder investigation involving someone who seems to have been bitten by something akin to a vampire, but is himself a "blood fetishist" who enjoys drinking blood and engaging in pseudo-sexual play involving cutting and lots of blood-letting. The insight into the lives of these who enjoy such a bizarre ritual as involving the letting of blood is interesting enough to warrant reading BiteMarks. I simply would have preferred having the description entice me with the facts, not that which does not exist within this book. If it's going to say there are "vampires" involved in the story, then I want to read about actual vampires, not blood fetishists.

BiteMarks, by Drew Cross and found FREE on Smashwords.com, is an engaging story about police work as well as blood fetishists and gives us an interesting look at the tormented background (childhood) of the main character and perhaps why he decided to become a police officer in the first place. As an author Drew Cross does a fine job portraying his characters and telling their story. Perhaps a little revision is in order on the book description to make it more obvious what readers will find inside.

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God's Country by Cara Ellison. $6.99 from Smashwords.com
When an experimental aircraft crashes into an anti-government militia compound in Texas, the FBI's elite Hostage Rescue Team is activated. Julia, the team's first female agent, is shocked to find Jon Fielding on scene. In order to stop the militia's catastrophic plans, Julia must put her life and the lives of her team in the hands of the man who once betrayed her.

Man From the Moon by Richard F. West. $3.00 from Smashwords.com
The crash landing of a suspected UFO near a small isolated town in Montana threatens the sanity and the religious faith of the people of the community as they struggle to understand the impact this incident will have on their lives.



Sunset by Steven Katz. $1.99 from Smashwords.com
They were right. Global warming melted the ice caps and the world united... and survived. Now, a generation later, can that unity sustain itself for Earth's next challenge, or is this the beginning of humanity's final chapter?


Alexandra by Declan Stanley. $4.95 from Smashwords.com
The story of one man's sexual obsession, miscommunication and heart break with "the love of his life". And of him ultimately finding true love. When Kevin meets Alexandra he thinks he knows what true love is. It is not until he loves Jasmine that he really finds true love.


Sistienn by Wendy Brumback. $0.99 from Smashwords.com
The dark love of a vampire can be exciting - or deadly. Sistienn is a vampire of the worse kind, she enjoys her kills. But, when handsome Alex enters the scene her only thoughts are for him, to control him as an immortal, her lover and slave, forever.


* * * * *

From Jacob M. Drake

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From Jackson Williams
New Life by Jackson Williams 
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Meri XXXMas Cherry by Jackson Williams 
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NecroTales by Jackson Williams 
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3 comments:

  1. Big thanks for taking the time to read and review my debut effort, Crescent - much appreciated! I'm pleased that you enjoyed elements of the story, and that you've been kind enough to post your thoughts. To answer the question around the whole 'vampire' slant - simple - it wasn't my call. I protested from the outset that this isn't a 'vampire' novel; and that there are no supernatural characters involved in the story - the publisher over-ruled me and wanted to play up that angle...

    Here was my short 'blurb' for the book: 'Blood, lust, and bloodlust collide, when the police hunt for a vampiric attacker threatens to uncover the dark secrets of one that they call their own...'

    Just out of interest; if you hadn't felt misled to some extent by the description, would you have rated the book more highly?

    Thanks once again, Drew

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  2. Sometimes publishers aren't always right. This was one of those times. I like your idea better. It was more to the point of the story and was true to what you wrote. Smack your publisher up-side the head next time you meet.

    ReplyDelete
  3. LOL! I'll bear that in mind! Thanks! :D

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