Release Date April 26th, 2013
Description:
If Mathias thought being homeless sucked, being a vampire is worse. The vampires who transformed him believe he is
the reincarnation of an ancient king. They expect him to quit swearing, use a napkin, and play by their weird, ancient rules. F--k that.
But after the reigning queen assaults Mathias, he has visions of a past life in which he was that king. Turns out the current queen killed him then, and wants to kill him again. He’d better grow up fast, because if he doesn’t his second life may be shorter than his first.
the reincarnation of an ancient king. They expect him to quit swearing, use a napkin, and play by their weird, ancient rules. F--k that.
But after the reigning queen assaults Mathias, he has visions of a past life in which he was that king. Turns out the current queen killed him then, and wants to kill him again. He’d better grow up fast, because if he doesn’t his second life may be shorter than his first.
Excerpt:
Chapter One
You know you’ve been on the streets too long when the sound of an old man peeing in an alley reminds you of falling rain. Mathias stood, stretched his back, and walked out of the alley to escape the stench. He beat his hands against his jeans to knock away some of the grime, but it didn’t help much. Then, he scratched his head and ran his fingers through his dirty brown hair.
“Don’t think. Just move.” Mathias raised his head and looked past the tops of the buildings toward the sky. The sun was bright, a little too bright, but then it always seemed that way.
The early morning mist still crept its way around the feet of the buildings. It was a weightless sludge that looked like it was drifting from the river, but Mathias had never been too sure if that was where the mist was really coming from. It showed the city for what it really was: old, dirty, and worn. He felt old. Older than he was, older than he should be, and the way things were going, he’d be dead before long anyway. If he was lucky, he’d make it another year, but the way things were going, it didn’t seem likely.
His stomach growled. “Fuck.” He patted his hands against his pockets, hoping to hear the jingle of change, but the only sound was the slight rustle of fabric against fabric. “Great, just fucking great.” Mathias grabbed his bag and ran out into the early morning throng.
Dawn in New York was like nowhere else on Earth. It was the one time of day when the city felt a little calm. In a few hours, that calm would disappear- replaced by a din that seemed as if it could swallow the earth if it chose to do so.
Mathias ran down the street, narrowly avoiding a wad of fresh gum on the sidewalk. When he could smell the salt in the air, he knew he didn’t have much farther to go. The docks stretched for miles. He walked past the fishmongers that were busy loading the day’s catch into crates. The smell made his stomach growl.
Standing a ways from the crew stood a man in a plaid shirt holding a clipboard.
Thank God. “Hey Mac!” Mathias yelled.
Mac was generally a decent guy. Kind of grumpy, but tall, and big. He wore an old red plaid shirt and a pair of blue jeans that had seen better days. He kind of looked like a lumberjack, just not as strong.
“Whaddya want, kid?”
“You got any work for me today?”
Mathias watched Mac rub his chin with ink stained fingers. “Not today, kid. Sorry.” He turned toward Mathias. “The order was light.”
Mathias’ shoulders slumped a bit. “Dammit, man. I could really use a job.” He shifted his weight to the other foot.
Mac nodded. “Tell ya what. Jimmy the Fish is supposed to be getting a big order sometime this week. Maybe he can help ya.”
Mathias nodded. “Okay man, thanks.”
Mac shook his head.
Mathias walked further along the docks. Go work for Jimmy the Fish. Yeah, right. Man’d sell his toenails if he thought he’d get anything for ‘em. It wasn’t like he had a choice. When you were well-fed, you had choices. When you weren’t...
Just before he reached Jimmy’s place, he ducked behind a crate. Dammit. He hoped they hadn’t seen him, or heard him for that matter. What he did know was that a black Mercedes and a man in an Armani suit holding a gun was bad news. Shit! His heart throbbed in his chest. Too close. Too fucking close.
He knew trouble when it glared him in the face.
“Where’s my money, Jimmy?” Mathias heard a man say.
Oh, shit. Mathias tried to breathe, but it wasn’t easy.
“Tony, I’m sorry. I tried. I really did, but sales just ain’t been good lately,” Jimmy said.
Mathias could hear the fear dripping from Jimmy’s voice.
“So what you gonna do about it?” Tony asked.
Mathias could hear Jimmy begin to whimper. “I swear. I’ll... I’ll have it tomorrow.”
Mathias heard a couple of thumps followed by a howl.
“Yeah, you’ll swear all right, Jimmy. Nobody stiffs Mr. Plague. Nobody!”
Pop! Pop! Pop! A car door slammed. Then, with the squeal of tires and a rush of wind, he was gone.
Mathias couldn’t think. He couldn’t breathe. Suppressing a shudder, he distracted himself, randomly picking at a dirty hole in the knee of his jeans.
Come on. You can do this. He raised himself up on his knees and peeked around the crate. “Fuck.” Blood was on the ground like a dark pool. He scuttled back and tried to calm himself. Sweat formed on his upper lip. “Goddammit. I can’t move. Not now.”
He had no idea if there had been only one man, or if they were sending a so-called cleanup crew. All he knew was that he was witness to something he didn’t need to be a witness of, and that put him in a very bad position. The only thing he could do was wait and see if and when it would be safe to get away.
He raised the bottom of his filthy tshirt and wiped the sweat from his lip. His legs began to cramp. He looked up at the sky. Where the clouds had been earlier, there was nothing but blue sky. “Why is it always this damn hot in August?” He mumbled as he stretched his legs.
The glaring sun beat down on the back of his neck. He didn’t think it could get any hotter, but he also really didn’t want to wait around to find out.
Somehow his stomach didn’t get the message about being quiet because it let loose a growl that was so loud, Mathias was sure that someone had heard it. And yet, nothing happened.
Chapter One
You know you’ve been on the streets too long when the sound of an old man peeing in an alley reminds you of falling rain. Mathias stood, stretched his back, and walked out of the alley to escape the stench. He beat his hands against his jeans to knock away some of the grime, but it didn’t help much. Then, he scratched his head and ran his fingers through his dirty brown hair.
“Don’t think. Just move.” Mathias raised his head and looked past the tops of the buildings toward the sky. The sun was bright, a little too bright, but then it always seemed that way.
The early morning mist still crept its way around the feet of the buildings. It was a weightless sludge that looked like it was drifting from the river, but Mathias had never been too sure if that was where the mist was really coming from. It showed the city for what it really was: old, dirty, and worn. He felt old. Older than he was, older than he should be, and the way things were going, he’d be dead before long anyway. If he was lucky, he’d make it another year, but the way things were going, it didn’t seem likely.
His stomach growled. “Fuck.” He patted his hands against his pockets, hoping to hear the jingle of change, but the only sound was the slight rustle of fabric against fabric. “Great, just fucking great.” Mathias grabbed his bag and ran out into the early morning throng.
Dawn in New York was like nowhere else on Earth. It was the one time of day when the city felt a little calm. In a few hours, that calm would disappear- replaced by a din that seemed as if it could swallow the earth if it chose to do so.
Mathias ran down the street, narrowly avoiding a wad of fresh gum on the sidewalk. When he could smell the salt in the air, he knew he didn’t have much farther to go. The docks stretched for miles. He walked past the fishmongers that were busy loading the day’s catch into crates. The smell made his stomach growl.
Standing a ways from the crew stood a man in a plaid shirt holding a clipboard.
Thank God. “Hey Mac!” Mathias yelled.
Mac was generally a decent guy. Kind of grumpy, but tall, and big. He wore an old red plaid shirt and a pair of blue jeans that had seen better days. He kind of looked like a lumberjack, just not as strong.
“Whaddya want, kid?”
“You got any work for me today?”
Mathias watched Mac rub his chin with ink stained fingers. “Not today, kid. Sorry.” He turned toward Mathias. “The order was light.”
Mathias’ shoulders slumped a bit. “Dammit, man. I could really use a job.” He shifted his weight to the other foot.Mac nodded. “Tell ya what. Jimmy the Fish is supposed to be getting a big order sometime this week. Maybe he can help ya.”
Mathias nodded. “Okay man, thanks.”
Mac shook his head.
Mathias walked further along the docks. Go work for Jimmy the Fish. Yeah, right. Man’d sell his toenails if he thought he’d get anything for ‘em. It wasn’t like he had a choice. When you were well-fed, you had choices. When you weren’t...
Just before he reached Jimmy’s place, he ducked behind a crate. Dammit. He hoped they hadn’t seen him, or heard him for that matter. What he did know was that a black Mercedes and a man in an Armani suit holding a gun was bad news. Shit! His heart throbbed in his chest. Too close. Too fucking close.
He knew trouble when it glared him in the face.
“Where’s my money, Jimmy?” Mathias heard a man say.
Oh, shit. Mathias tried to breathe, but it wasn’t easy.
“Tony, I’m sorry. I tried. I really did, but sales just ain’t been good lately,” Jimmy said.
Mathias could hear the fear dripping from Jimmy’s voice.
“So what you gonna do about it?” Tony asked.
Mathias could hear Jimmy begin to whimper. “I swear. I’ll... I’ll have it tomorrow.”
Mathias heard a couple of thumps followed by a howl.
“Yeah, you’ll swear all right, Jimmy. Nobody stiffs Mr. Plague. Nobody!”
Pop! Pop! Pop! A car door slammed. Then, with the squeal of tires and a rush of wind, he was gone.
Mathias couldn’t think. He couldn’t breathe. Suppressing a shudder, he distracted himself, randomly picking at a dirty hole in the knee of his jeans.
Come on. You can do this. He raised himself up on his knees and peeked around the crate. “Fuck.” Blood was on the ground like a dark pool. He scuttled back and tried to calm himself. Sweat formed on his upper lip. “Goddammit. I can’t move. Not now.”
He had no idea if there had been only one man, or if they were sending a so-called cleanup crew. All he knew was that he was witness to something he didn’t need to be a witness of, and that put him in a very bad position. The only thing he could do was wait and see if and when it would be safe to get away.
He raised the bottom of his filthy tshirt and wiped the sweat from his lip. His legs began to cramp. He looked up at the sky. Where the clouds had been earlier, there was nothing but blue sky. “Why is it always this damn hot in August?” He mumbled as he stretched his legs.
The glaring sun beat down on the back of his neck. He didn’t think it could get any hotter, but he also really didn’t want to wait around to find out.
Somehow his stomach didn’t get the message about being quiet because it let loose a growl that was so loud, Mathias was sure that someone had heard it. And yet, nothing happened.
About the author:
Danielle DeVor spent her early years fantasizing about vampires and watching “Salem’s Lot” way too many times. After living briefly in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, she moved back to her hometown to write. When not writing and reading about weird things, you will find her hanging out at the nearest coffee shop, enjoying a mocha frappuccino.
13 comments:
Thank you for the giveaway.
ma cam sperie coperta :))
Thanks for the chance
!
Thank you for entering and thanks to Mythical Books for hosting!
is this INT giveaway ???
Looks like a great read!
Thank you for this giveaway!! Love the excerpt.. Can't wait to read it..
Looks like a great book! Thank you for the giveaway!
thanks for the chance!
This looks so great! Thanks for sharing with us! I adore that cover as well.
Did the author have any say on the design of the book cover? Also, who in the author's life encouraged them to sit down and write their first book?
Thanks for the giveaway!
mestith at gmail dot com
Thanks dude. Seems awesome. Like the cover.:D
Nice cover.
"If Mathias thought being homeless sucked, being a vampire is worse." This first line of the blurb is really unique. That's enough to put Tail of the Devil on top of my TBR list.
And I loved the excerpt! :-)
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