Däm’Um: Song of the Vam Pŷr’s Blood Junky
The One Blood Series Book One
Stavros
Genre: Horror/ThrillerPublisher: Crazy Duck Press (CDP)
Date of Publication: September 2010
ISBN: 9780982812112Number of pages: 384
Cover Artist: Stavros
Blood Junky Reader Quotes : http://youtu.be/r7s0Hrs-9fQ
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"Nothing is easier than self-deceit. For what each man wishes, than he also believes to be true." - Demosthenes
As the first book in the epic One Blood Series, Blood Junky sets the stage to an original tale of vampires. Culled from over 15 years of research and development, the book is an easy introduction into the vibrant and realistic world of vampirism that Stavros has crafted. More of a psychological thriller, Blood Junky spans the globe, telling a unique tale of obsession from two distinct time periods in the life of the main character, Linnet Pevensey.
Blood Junky’s lyrical fiction is flawlessly woven with historically accurate places, people, and events, which is just one of the reasons why the book has been called “one of the best vampire novels ever written…I think that this one has the potential to become a new classic in the genre.” (Lori Bowland; LivingDeadMedia.com Review: 2011) Blood Junky establishes new pathos and mythos for the immortal bloodsucker that present a more logical, and scientifically plausible, reality for how vampires could truly exist. Though each book of the One Blood series was conceived as part of an ever-widening, ever-increasing story line, Blood Junky is self-contained and can be read independently.
Linnet Pevensey is 256 years old, and she’s feeling every inch of it. Besieged by a wall of painful memories, longing for simpler times, she’s secluded herself off from the world. Lin’s roommate, Z, is unpredictable. A century-old vampire whose blood parasite has begun its last cycle, she is enthralled in every possible way to avoid the here and now. And fate is moving them both toward clandestine events.
Ryan Silva is a good looking, soulful songbird that has never had a problem getting any girl he’s ever wanted. That is…until he met Z. But getting the alluring punk’s attention is proving more difficult than he’d ever imagined. Seduced by desires to have Z feed from him, Ryan’s lines of reality blur, locking him on a downward spiral that threatens to destroy, not just his soul, but his very life if he does not stop stalking the vampires.
Dominique De’Paul, the freed blood slave of the ancient race, is unsure if she’ll be able to stop the tides of war and its inevitable genocide that have come knocking at her door. She can’t hide from the fact that her Children of Evensong are in peril! And the clock is running out! An emissary from the African warrior tribe has been dispatched to discern Mother Night’s threat to the human race, and it looks as if her darling Linnet will be sacrificed to the man’s passions in order to save her precious brood.
Weaving through the consciousness of time, between past and present, this uniquely intense journey of obsession & love travels the globe from modern day Los Angeles to the bygone eras of London, Tangiers, Africa, and the exotic lands of São Paulo, Brazil. Blood Junky is the first installment to an elaborate voyage of redemption, and the history of our world.
Review
Blood Junky is a new take on Vampire's, on what makes them hunger for blood. The concept is unique, interesting and totally cringe-worthy. The author has an awesome command of the English language and his descriptions are vivid and creative - sometimes beautiful.
Having said that, this book didn't do it for me. I tried to figure out why and the best I could come up with is that I didn't care for the jumping back and forth in time and the only character I cared about was Z and she was iffy. I much preferred the author's book, Dead Girl, and recommend people check that out whether or not they enjoy Blood Junky.
Blood Junky is a new take on Vampire's, on what makes them hunger for blood. The concept is unique, interesting and totally cringe-worthy. The author has an awesome command of the English language and his descriptions are vivid and creative - sometimes beautiful.
Having said that, this book didn't do it for me. I tried to figure out why and the best I could come up with is that I didn't care for the jumping back and forth in time and the only character I cared about was Z and she was iffy. I much preferred the author's book, Dead Girl, and recommend people check that out whether or not they enjoy Blood Junky.
Praise for Blood Junky
“One of the best vampire novels ever written!” -Lori Bowland, Living Dead Media.com
“I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this book. I couldn't put it down.” -Denise F. Gowen-Krueger, "Paranormal Investigator", MI.
“Finally, vampires are awesome again!” -Howard Wendell, MD. 5 out 5 Star Amazon Review
“Mythology is totally original and fascinating.” -Tara Hall, The blood Crossed Writer – VA.
“I was reading so diligently, I bit my own tongue!” -Ryan Parson – Badmoon Productions.
“Captivating! Kept me up until 3am. I just couldn’t set it down.” -Maria Barth, Long Beach, MD.
“A delicious new twist on vampires.” -Dan Mahoney, Washington DC
“It kept me on the edge of my seat!” -Paula Atkins, Denver, CO.
“I already predict that the endearingly sociopathic punk vampire “Z” will give Rice’s much beloved Lestat, (a long time favorite of mine), a run for his money as this series unfolds.“ -Leigh-Cheri, Franklin, TN.
“I love Z! She’s so spunky and fun. I love the contrast between her and Lin, its amazing how they’ve stayed together for so long – they’re like the vampiric odd couple!” -Tina Losh, Baltimore, MD
“This is not your typical Vampire novel, and Stavros is not your typical writer. This story has layers.” -Paula S. – Prince Frederick, MD
“All Hail Blood Junky!!!!!“ -Ashley Nichole Ramirez, Aberdeen, MD
“Originality is a true feat to achieve in a genre that has recently become uber trendy to the point of banality. Blood Junky may be his first published book, but as his biography attests, (writer, musician, poet, photographer, painter, graphic designer, and award winning filmmaker), Stavros is no neophyte in the arena of creative endeavors; the sheer magnitude and cohesiveness of this work is a testament to a craft well-honed.” -Leigh-Cheri, Franklin, TN.
“As the pages turn, each paragraph overflows with vivacious and seductive description, the reader cannot resist being pulled onto the page.” -Lauren Donahoo – Fairfax, VA
“The writing is gorgeous. You don’t see writing like this anymore. It’s classically lyrical; robust and packed full of metaphors.” -Tara Hall, The blood Crossed Writer – VA
“This is vampire literature how it used to be, and how it should be again.” -Tara Hall, The blood Crossed Writer – VA.
“Stavros brings fresh life and punk vibrancy to the Vampire genre with this tale of two strong women caught in the longstanding tradition of a mysterious and powerful dynasty. Blood Junky mixes the world of the cultured and restrained with the hedonistic, misguided, and sometimes violent lost souls coming to terms with their dark powers. Getting to know the striking Dominique De’Paul and the beautiful Linnet Pevensey as their lives entwine down through the centuries is pure pleasure.” -Carol A. Russell, Writer and Editor
“This novel has a distinct style which can be characterized as being like a very rich dessert. It's like crème brulee on a literary level.” -Lori Bowland, Living Dead Media.com
“Stavros has created a very unique realm where vampires and science fiction meet head-on. Purchasing Blood Junky and adding this book to anyone's book shelf is a must!!” –Amy J. Ramsey, Ramsey’s Reviews. 5 out of 5 Stars.
“Essential Reading” – Horror Snark Review, March 21st
Däm’Um: Song of the Vam Pŷr’s Love in Vein
The One Blood Series Book Two
Stavros
Genre: Horror/ThrillerPublisher: Crazy Duck Press (CDP)
Date of Publication: August 2011
ISBN: 9780982812174Number of pages: 454
Cover Artist: Stavros
"Love is a serious mental disease" - Plato, 428 BC - 348 BC
When one’s life is long, the opportunity for sin is great. How great, then, are the sins of a vampire strung to the wheel of fate?
This is the driving question that consumes the continuing saga from the critically-acclaimed novel, Blood Junky. Beginning just mere hours after the last page of Blood Junky has turned with “some of the best vampiric characters ever written in a novel,” (Lori Bowland; LivingDeadMedia.com, 2011) Stavros takes the story to new heights. Love in Vein is a tale of crime and consequence, of love and sacrifice, intricately woven with real historic events. Set amidst gorgeous southwestern landscapes, a seemingly innocuous journey unravels a tapestry of events that threatens to crush the lives of all who are stitched into fate’s delicate skein.
Linnet Pevensey is a two hundred and fifty-six-year-old Child of Evensong. Plagued by the memories of a horrific sandstorm in 1934 and the brutal murder of an entire farming village, she has been locked into returning to the scene of the crime every decade looking for redemption. With the wild, violent, and unpredictable century-old vampire Z joining Lin on her ritual, the two lost souls have wreaked havoc in their own right, killing and burning their feed sites, to cover their tracks, when Lin feels the pull to return to that northeastern corner of New Mexico.
Now, as they barrel down the road to that hallowed site, pursued by two Arizona homicide detectives, Lin finds hope for her salvation in the form of a young medical student named Sarah Somers. But Sarah is more than just a stranger that Lin has met along the way. She is the spitting image of one of the slain villagers from the massacre that haunts the vampire.
Sarah’s uncanny resemblance to the murdered woman draws Lin into a deep emotional journey of karma and lies. She abandons her long time friend for the young woman, causing unsettling repercussions that pits her very soul against her dark vampiric nature.
Will Lin risk her sanity to save the girl that destiny has re-birthed for her, or will she become the monster that she has always feared?
As with each book of the One Blood Series, it was conceived as part of an ever-widening, ever-increasing story line, but is self-contained and can be read independently. Love in Vein is a pulse-pounding horror novel fueled with an adrenaline-induced joyride on the wrong side of night!
Praise for Love in Vein
“Attn Vamp Lit Lovers – Finally a writer on par with Anne Rice.” – Crystal Gimesh, TN
“I cannot wait to dive into this book - I have a girl crush on Z:-)” – Crystal Gimesh, TN
From Lori Bowland, LivingDeadMedia.com:
“Once again the author creates a superior universe filled with an entirely new culture of vampires.”
“In the previous novel, I compared ‘Blood Junky’ to a very rich dessert, but ‘Love In Vein’ is a full course meal. The series is a gift for those that love vampire fiction.”
“It has some of the best vampiric characters ever written in a novel.”
“Vampire novels of the past have included some very formulaic visions of simple blood exchange. Yes, there is an exchange of blood but this series adds more to the basic scheme. It breaks many molds and expectations of this being another generic story of immortal bloodsuckers. This series and more directly this novel is comparable with, and at times, surpasses the ‘Vampire Chronicles’ by Anne Rice.”
About the Author- Stavros:
Notorious Poet. Fool. Born in Washington DC. Stavros was a writer and editor for The Independent Underground Magazine. Raised in Southern Maryland, he fled the Chesapeake Bay to the wilds of the New Mexican desert. He is a single father of two, whose poetic works have been published in several online and print publications, including Central Avenue, The Sword That Cuts Through Stone, Poets Against The War, Conceptions Southwest, The Mynd, Imagine: Creative Arts Journal, and Bartleby, where he won a specialty award for his poem, Blackbird.
In 1999, he won an Official Selection into the Writer’s on the Edge Festival for his play, The Redline. In 2001, he created the Poetry Television Project for public cable access in Albuquerque, NM. All eight volumes of Ptv’s ground-breaking show were broadcast to over 100,000 viewers on a network of regional PAC channels throughout the Southwest and Baltimore. He helped to launch Unpublished Magazine, sponsored the monthly poetry series, The Word Café, in the Duke city, and produced a political compilation, Poetic Democracy. In 2007, he released the award-winning documentary film, Committing Poetry in Times of War.
In 2010, he launched the production management company, Organic Ghetto, and released its first imprint, Crazy Duck Press, with his first novel, Blood Junky. Blood Junky received exceptional praise and review, even being called "one of the best vampire novels ever written," by Living Dead Media. The following year he helped to launch BioGamer Girl, undertook a bigger East coast tour where he began selling his original photographic art, and released two new novels through Crazy Duck Press. Dead Girl: A Romantic Zombie Tale of Revenge features a stunning full-color cover and twelve black and white illustrations from tattoo artist, Charles Hearn. Blood Junky’s sequel, Love in Vein, cemented the One Blood series with its continuation of the story, garnering such review as to claim that the book and the series is "comparable with, and at times surpasses, the 'Vampire Chronicles' by Anne Rice."
In 2012, Stavros joined forces with the Vampire Professor, Bertena Varney, M.A.M.Ed, to co-create the nonfiction annual anthology, Vampire News, and officially became a Fangsmith with the creation of Organic Ghetto's second imprint, Kaos Kustom Fangs. He rounded out the year by writing and editing screenplays for the One Blood Transmedia Project, recording Dead Girl as an audio book, and undertaking his biggest national marketing campaign, The Book & Fang Tour.
In 2013, he and the Vampire Professor released the second volume of Vampire News: The (not so) End Times Edition and is currently working on writing and growing his imprints. Stavros is also a musician who has scored commercials, film shorts, documentaries, and television programs.
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