Susan Shepherd

A Vampire Story: a Tale of Hunger Susan Shepherd

Publisher Marketing: A grieving widow, obsessed with death, unwittingly calls an ancient vampire to her door. Valarie Rossetti was still grieving the death of her soldier husband when the vampire came to offer her an end to her suffering. Now she is dead and her problems are just beginning. The vampire's bite brings her incredible strength and vitality, but also ushers in her descent to eternal damnation. Still able to work by day she takes a job with the Suffern County Probation Department, but her appetite for innocent blood demands that she kill her only living link to her cherished mortal past, Jack Howell, her superior, and one of Old Inlet's wealthiest and best loved citizens. As Valarie struggles with her vampirism, she is torn between her growning affection for Jack and her hunger for his exquisitely innocent blood. Jack, whose alcoholic wife spends most of her free time mourning their son's death, has led a staid and mundane life of bridge and golf until Valarie reenters his life. As he becomes more and more obsessed with her, he too unwittingly calls the vampire and is bitten. But unlike Valarie, Jack is delighted by his release from mortal, and moral, constraints and plunges into his new life eagerly, orchestrating kill after kill with style and finesse. Then Valarie's new husband, whose own obsession with Valarie is absolute, discovers that Jack may be involved with his wife. Prompted by a dialogue with the devil himself, Dean plots to kill Jack. But his attempt on Jack's life backfires and takes Jack's only surviving son instead, thrusting Jack into a rampage that even Valarie may not survive. Vampire Story is a metaphysical tale of unfulfilled love, damnation and reclamation. Have you ever felt like inviting the devil in? Before you do, meet Valarie Rossetti, a grieving young widow who opens a door to a handsome stranger one night, thinking things can't get worse ... and discovers that hell on the outside is nothing compared to losing your soul. Contributor Bio:  Shepherd, Susan Susan Shepherd is a retired law enforcement officer who spent most of her career interviewing criminals and writing reports for the Court. She lives in Western New York with her husband, three horses and three cats. She is currently working on her seventh volume, RETURNING RAH, the fourth book of the SAGA OF THE RAH series.