Joleene Naylor is the author of the glitter-less Amaranthine vampire universe, a world where vampires aren't for children. Comprised of a main series, a standalone prequel, and several short story collections, she has plans to continue expanding with a trilogy and standalone novels. 
In her spare time, Joleene is a freelance book cover designer and for-fun photographer. She maintains several blogs, full of odd ramblings, and occasionally updates her website at JoleeneNaylor.com. In what little time is left, she watches anime, plays PokemonGo, and works on her crooked Victorian house in Villisca, Iowa. Between her husband, family, and pets, she is never lonely, in fact, quite the opposite. Should she disappear, one might look for her on a beach in Tahiti, sipping a tropical drink and wearing a disguise. 

The prequel to the Amaranthine series tells the story of Patrick and Michael, how they got tangled into Claudius' web, and their valiant fight to escape.

When Patrick's missing brother returns, he brings a world of darkness. Turned into a vampire against his will, Michael is the coven's whipping boy. When Patrick tries to help, he's claimed as a slave who spends his weekends preparing victims, scooping ashes, and falling prey to the vampires' twisted desires.

There's only so much hell he can take. When vampires from a warring coven offer sanctuary in exchange for cooperation, Patrick agrees. What he thought would be a few months drags into a long smear of nightmares and, though he fights for hope and freedom, the cost of victory may be more than he bargained for.


Brothers of Darkness

For wanting to kill Anthony, Christenson didn't seem to be in a hurry. By the following Saturday he hadn't made a move, and Anthony was back to normaleven inviting Patrick out for pizza. 


"It'll be fun," Anthony promised. "You need to get out more. You're pale."


"Of course I'm pale. It's fucking February. Everyone's pale. And Twila won't want me tagging along."


"She don't care. After the Valentine's Day gift I gave her, I can do anything I want."


Valentine's Day. Right. Because there was still a real world out there where people worried about shit like that. "I don't even wanna know. Anyway, really, I'm not in the mood for pizza. You guys go ahead."


"Fine dude, but when Christenson shows up, who's gonna hold my jacket while I pound him into pulp?"


"Twila looks like she's good at holding limp things." He snickered at Anthony's objections. "I'll catch ya later. Have fun."


Or at least more fun than I'm going to have.


Chapter 25