Unholy Embrace Excerpt from Chapter 1. "An unwanted surprise."

Chapter One

An Unwanted Surprise

“Literature and most movies have accurately described the speed and strength of the vampire. Few mortals have witnessed a vampire in the fighting mode and lived to tell about it.”

             Thaddeus Romans, The Vampires among Us

On a crisp April night, Nessa and I held hands as we walked to Broadway on a narrow side street from a theater on the Upper West Side. Without warning, she pushed me aside and turned toward the alleyway on our left. A dark, hairy form raced at her, emitting a growl that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

Nessa ducked, put her hands under its body, and flipped her attacker through the air into a light blue delivery truck. A second dark-haired creature emerged from the same alley, snarling and displaying three-inch-long incisors glistening with saliva. When the second beast tried to bite Nessa, she grabbed the creature’s throat and snapped its head backward. She sank her fangs into its neck and ripped the carotid artery. I gagged at the sight of the blood spurting from the gaping wound.

The first beast rose and was about to charge Nessa when I raced forward to tackle it.

“No!” Nessa yelled, and she put herself between the beast and me. The creature swiped a hairy paw at her head, but she ducked and stepped behind her lethal adversary. The creature tried to turn, but she grabbed its throat and raised the beast two feet into the air. She squeezed its neck until the sounds of bones cracking made me cringe. She let go, and the creature fell to the ground. Nessa closed her eyes and sniffed the air.

“Any more of them?” My thumping heart banged against my ribcage, and perspiration ran down my forehead.

“I don’t smell or hear anything for a quarter of a mile,” she replied. “How do you feel after surviving your first attack by werewolves?”

Nessa inspected the creatures she had killed with such little effort.

“Terrified but happy to be alive.” I stood by her side at the nearest werewolf and examined its paws. Three-inch claws tapering from one inch around at the base to razor-sharp tips made lethal weapons.

“That’s why I screamed at you. I admire your courage, but the creature would have eviscerated you in one swift stroke.”

“I know you’ve told me about the damage werewolves can inflict, but hearing about them isn’t the same as watching them in action.” I shivered at the thought of how easily either of them could have killed me.

She stared at me. “Frank, are you OK?”

“I think so.” My pulse had slowed down, and my lungs no longer screamed for air. I glanced upward at the night sky. “No full moon?”

“They can inject themselves with a serum that enables them to become a werewolf whenever they choose.”

The werewolves terrified me, but the creature Nessa became frightened me almost as much. I stepped back and watched her fangs disappear, and her eyes return to normal.

She stared at me for a moment and then reached out to touch me.

I moved away from her.

“What’s the matter?”

“Seeing you like that and what you did unnerved me.”

“I never wanted you to see me as a vampire. I am sorry the attack by the werewolves put you in danger. Please come to my apartment so we can talk about what happened.”

I took another step backward, not sure if I was safe with her.

Link to Amazon

Unholy Embrace 

The Trunk of the Oak

The Trunk of the Oak

The leaves of the tall Oak whistle as the strong winds buffet branches small and large.

Dark storm clouds swallow the horizon and envelop the tree in a surging gale.

Portions of the Oak bend and groan, straining against the fury of the storm.

Leaves ripped from the small branches cloud the sky like a swarm of lost green birds.

The wind strengthens and presses against the tree until it bends in retreat. 

Branches break and fly into the distance carried by raging streams of air.

Stout branches crack and break in half, exposing the core of the Oak.

But the trunk of the tree is strong with roots going deep into the earth.

The Oak rights itself time and time again, fighting to maintain its long-held place.

The winds lesson as the storm takes its fight to other parts of the forest.

The tall tree stands proud despite its damaged limbs.

New growth will thicken the mighty oak and ready it for the next onslaught of nature.

Water from the ground runs up the mighty trunk, feeding great limbs to tiny leaves.

Sunlight hastens the re-growth of the Oak, helping it reach further into the sky.

Book Review: Unholy Embrace – Author Neil Benson

Posted on 11/19/2010 by Trish Martin  Leave a Comment or Post Review

UNHOLY EMBRACE

Author Neil Benson
Published by Night to Dawn
Publication Date: 2010
Format: Black /White – 204 pages
Price: $13.50
Unholy Embrace by Neil Benson is the story of a romantic and dangerous love affair between a beautiful, ages-old vampire and a mortal man. This story is enchanting and sexy with an edge of excitement. Not only do we read about vampires but of werewolves and demons. The New York night life and seedy underbelly do well to create a dangerous atmosphere. I enjoyed reading about the main character’s blossoming relationship but also the horrific demons and monsters that lurk about in the night. Nessa Harcanu is the sexy vampire born in 1597 in a small town near Budapest.

Though Nessa is voluptuous and sultry, she posses a power beyond mortal imagination. She becomes involved with a mortal man named Frank Thornton who is an attractive architect that is skeptical about the existence of vampires and demons. Also joining the story are members of the Meyer family of which Nessa becomes close with early on in her life as a vampire; they come to serve her and assist her with her needs throughout the ages. We also come across a weaker vampire named Narice whom, after her master is killed by Nessa, begins following Nessa waiting to exact her revenge. There are a few other characters we run across in the story who serve as a backdrop in the evolvement of the two main characters. The interaction with these other characters gives us insight to the character’s lives and personalities.

Nessa’s tale of how she became a vampire and her life up until present day is one of intrigue and even sadness. Frank listens to Nessa’s story and becomes even more enchanted with her and begins to understand her a little better. Their relationship is really one of master and subservient, Nessa the master and Frank the subservient. Even with the uneven balance of power the relationship between the two becomes stronger and the need to protect one another grows. The appearance of a demon creates more drama and trouble for the two and they realize in order to save humanity they must defeat this demon in any way possible.


I would classify this story as less horror and more romantic suspense but it is still a wonderful and exciting tale. As I delved deeper into the book I found it hard to put down. It is definitely an easy read and isn’t cluttered with unnecessary plot and lag time. There were times of some light eroticism mixed in with story to give it an edge above the teeny-bopper vampire love stories. Also we examine great power within Nessa making her almost super-heroine like in her conquests. Frank’s mind is torn between his deep love of Nessa and his wish for normalcy in his life. My only complaint as far as this novel was concerned was that I felt that the ending was a tad rushed; I felt that maybe the writer was a little unsure of how to resolve the conflict without creating more trouble for the characters.

Neil Benson has a rare talent for creating a story where you can identify and truly care about what happens to the characters. Giving life to character’s like Nessa and Frank enables the reader to walk in the footsteps of the characters, getting more in-depth in the story and almost being able to see the world through their eyes. I would also have to give Neil Benson props on creating a dueling perspective between the characters; by doing this we can see the story from the perspective of both Nessa and Frank. I would highly recommend this book to all vampire lovers out there and especially those who enjoy romantic flights of fancy.
Available at Amazon

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Attacked by a psychic vampire. . A mostly fictional story by Neil Benson .

Attacked by a psychic vampire. . A mostly fictional story.

I sat on my favorite stool in my neighborhood pub drinking a pint of my favorite brew when a black-haired, swarthy man of middle height approached me. I looked at him while he stared at me. I turned away, hoping he would disappear into the men's room. Unfortunately, I could feel his eyes boring into my back, and knew he wouldn't go away.

I shrugged my shoulders and looked him in the face. "Is there something you want?"

He continued staring at me without showing any indication he had heard what I had said.

"Okay, stare away," I said, and glared at him. After a while, the intensity of his gaze became disconcerting.

"You are the person that wrote the article stating that psychic vampirism is nonsense?" he asked in a strange foreign accent.

"I wrote a post on my blog to that effect," I replied.

"Same thing," he said. "You think psychic vampirism is a joke?"

" I don't know if it's a joke, but it's certainly not real." His intense gaze continued to bother me.  more.........

The rest of the story is contained in my anthology, Dark Journeys available on Amazon Kindle. 

The Night Librarian, a short story by Neil Benson in Satin Beauty

The Night Librarian by Neil Benson

My short story, The Night Librarian, was included in Satin Beauty  Anthology, published by Static Movement. The Night Librarian is a story about a librarian who helps the students at a local college during the day, and helps herself to the local students at night. The librarian is a succubus who uses The virility of the male students to a replenish her energy on a daily basis. She is a "good succubus" because the students are alive, but tired the following morning. Ancient myths portray Lilith as the mother of all succubi. She's also been accused of being the mother of all vampires.Clearly, the woman has a bad reputation. 

In today's horror/paranormal genre authors have rehabilitated many evil creatures. Anne Rice made vampires "almost human" and  Stephanie Meyers made them banal.  Richelle Mead presented  readers with a Georgina Kincaid, the succubus who might live next door in a series of novels. I have read two of them and found them interesting, not heavyweight material, but a pleasant way to pass the time.On Lost Girl, the lovely Anna Silk stars as "Bo" a succubus private detective/problem solver.  She's a kick ass creature with compassion for those in trouble. A sometime lover is a werewolf, which makes for avery odd couple.Humanizing a succubus is one thing, forgetting she's a demon is another.

My short story, The Night Librarian, was included in Satin Beauty Anthology, published by Static Movement. The Night Librarian is a story about a librarian who helps the students at a local college during the day, and helps herself to the local students at night. The librarian is a succubus who uses the virility of the male students to a replenish her energy on a daily basis. She is a "good succubus" because the students are alive, but tired the following morning. Ancient myths portray Lilith as the mother of all succubi. She's also been accused of being the mother of all vampires.Clearly, the woman has a bad reputation. 

In today's horror/paranormal genre, authors have rehabilitated many evil creatures. Anne Rice made vampires "almost human" and  Stephanie Meyers made them banal.  Richelle Mead presented  readers with a Georgina Kincaid, the succubus who might live next door in a series of novels. I have read two of them and found them interesting, not heavyweight material, but a pleasant way to pass the time. On Lost Girl, lovely Anna Silk stars as "Bo" a succubus private detective/problem solver.  She's a kick ass creature with compassion for those in trouble. Her sometime lover is a werewolf, which makes for a very odd couple. Humanizing a succubus is one thing, forgetting she's a demon is another.