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

The walk was surprisingly warm, probably because of the alcohol. When he reached her place, she answered on the first knock, a nervous smile on her lips. "Uh, hey."


"Hey." He shoved the plastic bag toward her. "Merry Christmas."


She stared at the offering as if it might bite. "Is that a."


"Christmas present?" He grinned. "Yeah. I know the wrapping sucks. My mom already gave me hell for it."


She took it gingerly, her festive red and green nails sparkling. "No, I didn't mean. I didn't know we were doing this. I thought you'd have said something earlier."


He shrugged out of his coat and moved toward the flowered couch. "That's a'right. I didn't get it for you because I wanted you to get me something. I got it because it was cool. Go on, open it."


"No, that's not it. I got you something. Never mind." Her nervous smile remained as she pulled the glass dish out of the sack. "It's an ashtray."


Patrick grimaced inside, but said, "It matches the candy dish on your TV."


Chapter 65