Adam and Jesus (the vampire and the hunter) have an innate antagonism, which is only heightened once they discover they’re competing for the affections of the same girl. Olivia (the girl) is an aspiring author struggling to write a vampire novel. What none of them yet know is there’s a menacing force looming that will change the course of their lives forever. With the first installment of The Vampire and the Hunter Trilogy, Martin Lastrapes has created a vampire tale that is scary, funny, thrilling, and satisfying to the very last drop.
Chapter Three
The Girl
In a matter of seconds, Olivia was in the sandbox, beneath the jungle gym, cradled in the powerful arms of a handsome man with pale skin and fangs beneath his lips. Her silver crucifix hung from her neck, causing him to yelp in pain as it touched his hand. Yanking it from her neck, he tossed it into the sand, before pressing his lips to her flesh. She moaned as his fangs entered her, blood trickling out. With the moment finally upon her, Olivia found that it didn’t hurt nearly as much as she thought it might—as it so often happens, the anticipation was far worse than the reality.
It had all begun as such an average day, sleeping in until noon, before going to the donut shop with her roommate, Elowyn. Elowyn was a stripper at Tropical Lei. Olivia also worked at Tropical Lei when she wasn’t working at the Brunswick bowling alley, just down the way from Memorial Park. Elowyn hadn’t slept all night and was up watching TV when Olivia got out of bed. They lived in a pleasant apartment complex adjacent to a Vons shopping center, across the street from DN Top Donuts, which was a family owned shop that Olivia and Elowyn frequented almost daily. Soon after eating their donuts and coffee, Elowyn fell asleep, leaving Olivia to get on with her day.
Part of getting on with her day involved sitting in front of her computer with the intention of beginning her first novel. She’d been trying for weeks—unsuccessfully—to begin this novel, giving up each time when she could no longer stand the taunting presence of the blank page. Olivia had what she assumed was inspiration, as well as a chosen genre. Vampires. What she lacked was a compelling story to tell. She’d assumed all along that writing a vampire novel would come easily to her, given how much she loved watching vampire shows on TV, namely Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Any time she sat down to write her vampire novel, however, Olivia invariably allowed herself to be distracted with checking her email and perusing eBay, with the occasional detour into YouTube, which inevitably led her into the rabbit hole of Internet porn. But, she always forced herself back to the blank page, beginning the whole process over again. When she finished staring at her blank page for the day, Olivia went to Brandon’s Diner for lunch, eating a veggie burger and fries. She took along a Tom Robbins book to read while she ate, hoping that it might massage the beginnings of a story out of her clenched imagination. By the time Olivia got home from lunch, Elowyn was back on the couch watching TV. Olivia joined her on the couch, passing the next few hours like that until it was time to start her shift at the bowling alley. On her way to work, despite running late, she stopped to get gas; even if it meant getting chewed out by her boss, it would be worth it when she didn’t have to stop for gas in the middle of the night, leaving herself vulnerable to whatever dangers might be lurking.
MARTIN LASTRAPES won the GRAND PRIZE at the 2012 PARIS BOOK FESTIVAL for his debut novel INSIDE THE OUTSIDE.
He grew up in the Inland Empire, has a Bachelor’s Degree in English and a Master’s Degree in Composition from Cal State San Bernardino, watches his favorite movies over and over again, learned many a lesson from professional wrestling, wonders if he’ll ever be famous enough to be on “Dancing With the Stars,” thinks good stand-up comedy is rare and under appreciated, is scared of Vladimir Putin, wonders if it’s too late to learn how to play the guitar, gets depressed when he hears the theme song from “M*A*S*H,” wonders why Teen Wolf never made it to the NBA, and wants Morgan Freeman to narrate his life.
He is also the host of THE MARTIN LASTRAPES SHOW PODCAST HOUR. Subscribe on iTunes or listen on the official website MartinLastrapesShow.com. New episodes every week.
3 comments:
Thanks for being on the tour, Diana! :)
It was my pleasure, Giselle! :)
Thank you for this wonderful chance to win one of your books.
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