Today is the First Day of a New Book

Alistair here ~ and today is the day I began a new book. With The Black Wasp (book 3 of the Vampires of Crimson Cove series) in the editor’s hands, and not a lot going on besides some book marketing and the disposal of an old sofa, I figured I might as well do some writing. Since I’m dying to find out what happens next, I’ve decided to dive right into book 4 of the Crimson Cove series which, for now, I am referring to only as TMR.

TMR picks up where The Black Wasp leaves off, and given that it hasn’t even been released yet, I can’t say a whole lot more about it except that things have really changed for my protagonist, Cade Colter. The Black Wasp not only introduced new characters, but new motives as well – and those motives are what will drive TMR and leave poor Cade with some pretty big fish to fry. And by “pretty big” I actually mean huge.

To simplify it, he’s in way over his head, and when The Black Wasp comes out (this summer!) you’ll see why. Even as I was writing today, I realized just how much Cade is underestimating his situation and how little he actually understands. I’m currently feeling very bad for him, but I can’t help it – I’m a sucker for the drama. There’s nothing more fun than a character who’s bitten off way more than they can chew (insert evil laugh here.)

With so many endings on the horizon, I’m feeling especially excited about the new project (not only was The Black Wasp recently finished, but Tamara and I are creeping up on the climax of our next Thorne & Cross standalone, Spite House, as well as wrapping up the final scenes in Shadowlands, book 4 of The Ravencrest Saga), and no doubt adding to my excitement is the fact that this, the beginning, is my favorite part of the book. It might sound strange to say I prefer the beginnings and (and even the middles) to the endings, but I do – and not just in the books I’m writing, the ones I’m reading, too. Endings just kind of depress me, I guess, but the good news is, you can always start the next one – so, that’s what I did.

I wish I could tell you more about it, but for now, I need to keep its secrets close. When The Black Wasp comes out in the next month or two, maybe I’ll be able to say more …

Until then, happy reading, writing, or whatever it is that makes you shine, and just because, apropos of nothing, here’s me with my familiar, Pawpurrazzi, who oversees all my writing.

~Alistair

Writing with Pawpurrazzi, sometime last year

Dream Reaper is Available in Audiobook!

DREAM REAPER is available in audiobook! Get your copy at: https://adbl.co/3mkSHTw

Angel or Demon?

Naive and heart-stoppingly handsome, he calls himself Alejandro, and Madison O’Riley has no clue what to do with him. As they set out to recover his lost identity, Madison realizes the mysterious man who saved her life harbors deep, otherworldly secrets that will put her in grave danger.

The Devil is in the Details

Gremory Jones has something for everyone, and for a price, he’s willing to make a deal. Walking the streets in top hat and trench coat, he tempts the citizens with mysterious wares from his shiny black briefcase. But buyer beware: All sales are final – and fatal.

A Scorching New Terror Has Come to Town

The townspeople are changing in appalling ways and it’s up to Madison – with the help of a psychic, a local priest, and the new chief of police – to help Alejandro unlock his forgotten powers before an unspeakable evil tears apart the fabric of existence … and costs them their very souls …

Behind the Book: Dream Reaper

I’ve often thought that without dreams, without hopes and aspirations, human beings wouldn’t be much more than empty shells, living day to day, with nothing keeping them alive except, maybe, the biological instinct to survive. Thinking on this more, it seemed likely to me that these dreamless beings would indulge in all kinds of risky immoral hijinks in their efforts to feel alive, to add some kind of texture and meaning to their lives, and the more I explored this idea, the more it started sounding like a story I wanted to write.

I already had my hero waiting in the wings – a beautiful amnesiac who calls himself Alejandro – from something I’d written many years earlier, and now I just needed a villain. Since I also like the idea of new, non-traditional monsters – not to say I don’t love vampires, mummies, and werewolves – I came up with Mr. Jones, a demonic salesman who trades wishes and whims for a person’s innermost dreams.

Mr. Jones came into existence all at once, when I saw a man – impeccably dressed with slicked-back black hair, dark glasses, a black briefcase – walking down the street near my house. I knew then and there that this was my bad guy. I threw in a psychic, a priest, an angel, and a chief of police with a drinking problem, then began exploring what happens when the townspeople start selling off their dreams …

And that’s how Dream Reaper came to be.

P.S. ~ Dream Reaper is coming soon to Audible.com!

~ Alistair Cross

Behind the Book: The Emergence of Constance Welling

From the moment our character Constance Welling walked on stage in The Cliffhouse Haunting, we knew this was a character who was going to entertain us endlessly – and she didn’t disappoint. She is the embodiment of just about every despicable characteristic we could think of, all crammed into a single body. As a result, she was a lot of fun to write. We loved hating her.

The Cliffhouse Haunting by Thorne & Cross is available in all formats at Amazon and everywhere books are sold.

Behind the Book: Gretchen and Her Corset

Little known fact: Gretchen VanTreese, she of the crimson corset, was originally introduced as a throwaway character who was meant to die in her first and only scene, but the moment I started writing her, she took over the page, and ultimately took the plot to new, twisted depths I never would have dreamed up on my own. Her notorious corset is just one of the many diabolical delights she’s given me …

The Crimson Corset, book one in The Vampires of Crimson Cove series, is available in all formats at Amazon.com

Sweet screams,

Alistair

From The Black Wasp

A description of Gretchen VanTreese, through the eyes of the local sheriff, Ethan Hunter.

Gretchen was originally meant to be a very minor character who dies right away, but here we are, three books into the series, and she’s still alive (in a manner of speaking) and biting. Sometimes characters do that, and I’ve learned to let them. Gretchen’s presence has changed the DNA of this series in ways that have surprised – and pleased – even me.

~ Alistair

P.S. – The Black Wasp, book 3 in the Vampires of Crimson Cove series, is coming soon

Book Quote From The Cliffhouse Haunting

From the moment Constance Welling walked on stage in The Cliffhouse Haunting, we knew this was a character who was going to entertain us endlessly. She didn’t disappoint.

The Cliffhouse Haunting is available now.

The Ghosts of Ravencrest is Available on Audiobook!

Get your audiobook copy of The Ghosts of Ravencrest, book one of The Ravencrest Saga, now at: https://adbl.co/3r7NwHO

Darkness Never Dies …

Ravencrest Manor has always been part of the family. The ancestral home of the Mannings, Ravencrest’s walls have been witness to generations of unimaginable scandal, horror, and depravity. Imported stone by stone from England to northern California in the early 1800s, the manor now houses widower Eric Manning, his children, and his staff. Ravencrest stands alone, holding its memories and ghosts close to its dark heart, casting long, black shadows across its grand lawns, through the surrounding forests, and over the picturesque town of Devilswood, below.

Dare to Cross the Threshold …

Ravencrest Manor is the most beautiful thing new governess, Belinda Moorland, has ever seen, but as she learns more about its tangled past of romance and terror, she realizes that beauty has a dark side. Ravencrest is built on secrets, and its inhabitants seem to be keeping plenty of their own – from the handsome English butler, Grant Phister, to the power-mad administrator, Mrs. Heller, to Eric Manning himself, who watches her with dark, fathomless eyes. But Belinda soon realizes that the living who dwell in Ravencrest have nothing on the other inhabitants – the ones who walk the darkened halls by night … the ones who enter her dreams … the ones who are watching … and waiting …

Welcome to Ravencrest …

Who is the man digging in the garden beyond Belinda’s bedroom window? Who – or what – is watching her from the vents? From ghostly screams and the clutching bony fingers of death in the indoor pool, to the trio of gliding nuns in the east wing who come at Belinda with black blazing eyes, to the beckoning little girl in the red dress who died more than two centuries ago, Belinda is thrust into a world of waking nightmares where there is no distinction between the living and the dead, and there are no limits to the horrors that await. Witchcraft is afoot at Ravencrest and as unspeakable terrors begin to unfold, Belinda realizes that her beautiful new home is a keeper of tragedy, a collector of souls. And it wants to add her to its collection …

THE CLIFFHOUSE HAUNTING is Available on Audiobook!

THE CLIFFHOUSE HAUNTING is available in audiobook at: https://adbl.co/3dJdzRO

When the Blue Lady Walks… 

Since 1887, Cliffhouse Lodge has been famous for its luxurious accommodations, fine dining… and its ghosts. Overlooking Blue Lady Lake, nestled among tall pines, Cliffhouse has just been renovated by its owners, Teddy and Adam Bellamy, and their daughter, Sara. 

Cliffhouse has not always been a place of rest and respite, though. Over the years it has served many vices, from rum-running to prostitution – and although the cat house has been replaced by a miniature golf course and carousel, Cliffhouse retains its dark history; darkest during the Roaring Twenties, when a serial killer called the Bodice Ripper terrorized the town, and a phantom, the Blue Lady, was said to walk when murder was imminent. 

Death Walks With Her… 

Now, there’s a new killer on the loose, and the Blue Lady sightings have returned. The Bellamys are losing maids, and guests are being tormented by disembodied whispers, wet phantom footprints, and the blood-chilling shrieks of mad laughter that echo through the halls of Cliffhouse in the dead of night. 

The little mountain town of Cliffside is the perfect hunting ground for a serial killer… and the Blue Lady. Police Chief Jackson Ballou has bodies piling up, and between the murders and the mysteries, he can hardly pursue his romance with Polly Owen. And Sara Bellamy may lose her true love before they even have their first kiss. 

CANDLE BAY is Available in Audiobook!

Tamara Thorne’s CANDLE BAY is now available now on audiobook!: https://adbl.co/3qJl3bl – Narrated by the one and only Jamison Walker!

Shrouded in fog on a hillside high above an isolated California coastal town, The Candle Bay Hotel and Spa has been restored to its former glory after decades of neglect. Thanks to its new owners, the Darlings, the opulent inn is once again filled with prosperous guests.

But its seemingly all-American hosts hide a chilling, age-old family secret. Lured to the picturesque spot, assistant concierge Amanda Pearce is mesmerized by her surroundings – and her seductive new boss, Stephen Darling. But her employers’ eccentric ways and suspicious blood splatters in the hotel fill her with trepidation.

Little does Amanda know that not only are the Darlings vampires, but that a murderous vampire vendetta is about to begin – and she will be caught in the middle. For as the feud unfolds and her feelings for Stephen deepen, Amanda must face the greatest decision of her life: to die, or join the forever undead.

Chelsea Quinn Yarbro says, “Tamara Thorne has an uncanny knack for combining the outrageous with the shuddery, making for wonderful scary romps and fun reading.”