The Vampire – Book Blitz – The Review Booth

Jack Townson

Publication date: January 23rd, 2024
Genres: Adult, Paranormal, Thriller

SYNOPSIS:

Trade your entire life for fame, fortune, and eternal beauty. The only thing have to lose is your soul… Magic is real. And real damn scary.

A man down on his luck trips and stumbles into a world of bloodthirsty monsters hidden among the precipices of New York City. A chance encounter with illustrious vampire Alexander LaMont ensnares the clumsy yet hopeful James Donovan in shadow and treachery, thrusting James into his new identity, The Vampire Jack Townson. Will Jack survive the vampiric politics of Manhattan, or will final death come to claim him at the next sunrise?

Welcome to New York. We bite.

Jack Townson’s contemporary fantasy series, The Vampire Jack Townson, is a perilous tale about the dangers of love, deception, and vampiric grit where the action of Jay Kristoff meets the decadence of Anne Rice.

EXCERPT:

I pressed forward, the rain drenching my skin and turning my makeshift makeup into a grotesque display. Passersby had stopped to stare, avoiding eye contact with me as if I appeared unhinged. But I didn’t care about their judgment; I was so close that I could practically taste her. Soon, I would once again know the flavors of the past.

Just one bite

I refused to argue any longer. The voice was right… just one bite.

I turned the corner and, to my surprise, found the woman who had foolishly helped me. However, she wasn’t alone. A masked man in dark clothing held a knife aimed at her, and she was slumped against the wall, her body weakened. The assailant fumbled with her wallet, and her fearful eyes met mine, silently begging for help in her moment of distress. That’s when I realized why her scent had drawn me; she had been stabbed in the side, blood trickling down into the dirty alley. I was the only witness to this gruesome scene.

Kill them!

The voice inside me came back, and I found myself doubled over in pain, my steps faltering as I fell into the dim light of the alley. My palms scraped against the rain-slicked pavement, but the pain in my gut was overwhelming.

“This is my lucky day, holy shit…” the masked man turned in my direction, his blood-coated knife aimed at me. “Wallet, keys, cards, everything, or I’ll slit your throat before I slit hers,” he threatened with a sinister smile, inching closer.

I took a deep, false breath, my mind racing. His scent, like old Slim Jims and stale beer, assaulted my senses, and I knew he would do. I mustered a wicked smile, ready to reveal my true nature.

“Oh… is that right…” I pushed myself to my feet, the darkness seemingly wrapping around me as the alley grew even darker. The dim light above us flickered, creating an eerie atmosphere. “You can’t kill what is already dead,” I proclaimed, my words a blend of my own voice and the demon’s inside me. In that moment, I decided to remove my glamour, revealing my true form to the thief.

The man jumped back in shock, his eyes widening as he stared into my blazing red pits. The knife in his trembling hand betrayed his fear as he began to back away.

“What the fuck are you… hey! HEY!” The thief screamed in terror as he realized I couldn’t possibly be human. But instead of running away, he shouted to his comrades at the other end of the alley. Two more men dressed similarly to him rushed forward, looking at the woman against the wall and then back at me.

“Holy shit…” one of them muttered in disbelief, while the other one laughed nervously. “Is it Halloween yet? Nice makeup, bro.” The first man pointed at my eyes, which were now an inferno of crimson, revealing the monster within me.

“Shoot this motherfucker!” The man to the side raised a handgun and attempted to fire. But in an instant, I moved faster than their eyes could follow. My hand closed around the barrel of the pistol, crushing it before it could discharge a bullet. The thief shrieked in terror as I loomed over him, my monstrous presence dominating the alley.

I couldn’t resist the urge any longer. The demon within me demanded its fill. My hands shot forward, gripping the thief’s throat and lifting him into the air, right before his stunned friends. Bone-like claws extended from my fingers, digging into his soft flesh, crushing his windpipe, and silencing his screams. His mouth opened wide in a silent plea for mercy as he choked for air.

The other two thieves watched in horror, their fear and confusion paralyzing them as they witnessed the gruesome scene unfolding before them.

“Was it worth it, being such pathetic cowards, harming innocents to get another fix?” I felt the hunger take me then, my jaw dislocating as my fangs slid to their full lengths for all to see, my head surging forward violently as I pulled the man’s neck to my mouth.

The pulsating blood flowed into my maw like a river of sweet, crimson nectar, and I drank deeply, the warm life force of the thief coursing through me, filling me with power and satisfaction. His screams faded into the background as I feasted, the euphoria of the kill taking hold.

The other thief, still in shock, raised his hand with a trembling grip on the pistol. He fired round after round into me, but the bullets had no effect. With a swift and effortless motion, I tossed the drained thief’s lifeless body against the alley wall. His head collided with the stone, his skull erupting on impact, leaving him to slide down its face, his lifeless eyes gazing into the gutter.

One down. My crimson eyes locked onto the other thief, my fangs still extended, dripping with gore. I stalked toward him, the hunger still ablaze within me.

“You fucking FREAK!” The man continued to waste all of his ammunition, firing into me over and over as my favorite hoodie became riddled with holes.

Click, click, click. The weapon emptied beyond capacity the man continued to pull the trigger, praying to some god that the monster at his front would go away if he just believed that the weapon would do the work.

“Pitiful, little thing. You’re nothing but a meal, your life utterly wasted… I’ll make sure you’re put to good use.”

The thief’s screams were muffled by the vice-like grip of my claws on his cheeks as I slammed him to the ground, his desperate struggles futile against my supernatural strength. His arms flailed wildly as I forcefully dragged him into the inky darkness of the alley, leaving a gruesome smear of blood in our wake. With a swift motion, I slammed the back of his cranium onto the unforgiving ground with a crack, pinning him in place.

The hunger that had consumed me drove me to sink my fangs into his chest, right above his heart. The taste of his blood was intoxicating, and I drank deeply, feeling his life force drain away with each swallow. He convulsed briefly before going limp, his heartbeat fading to nothing.

AUTHOR BIO:

A 2023 Witchy Award nominee, Jack Townson, a multi-talented artist, is the heart and soul of the thriving FangFam community across various social media platforms, including TikTok, Instagram, and Twitch. With an ever-expanding following that now exceeds four hundred thousand devoted fans, he’s left an indelible mark on the digital landscape, garnering an impressive 4.2 million likes under the #Fangfam hashtag.

Beyond his online presence, Jack is a versatile artist, encompassing the roles of actor, singer, and writer. His most celebrated work to date is “The Vampire Jack Townson,” an original story that first captivated audiences on TikTok and has been endorsed by New York Times bestselling author and 5-time Bram Stoker Award winner, Jonathan Maberry. This immersive narrative plunges into the hidden world of a supernatural being and the profound journey towards rediscovering one’s humanity.

Jack extends an invitation to his followers, beckoning them to peer into the psyche of an undead bohemian—an artist and a creature of the night, eternally ensnared in a world of nightmares. It’s a life devoid of sunlight’s warmth and the enduring embrace of true love, offering a unique glimpse into the enigmatic existence he portrays through his creative endeavors.

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