32 Quotes from "Staked!"

When we were getting ready to release Bryony back in 2011, my daughter Sarah (who did a lot of the marketing for me) suggested I pull thirty teaser quotes from the book that she could post on Facebook, one each day.

We did the same for the second book, Visage, which is also part of the BryonySeries.

But for some reason, I never did the same for another book.

So now I am catching up.

Here is the synopsis and chapter headings for Staked!, (the third book in the BryonySeries "drop of blood" trilogy), followed by thirty-two quotes, one from each chapter.

The quotes previously appeared on the BryonySeries Facebook page, but I can't even find them on the site anymore.

Anyway...enjoy!

For seventeen-year-old John-Peter Simotes, prodigy of a college music professor that died from a mysterious illness and was staked by his best friend’s vampire-slayer father, growing up in a remote fishing village means tolerating an English teacher mother, enduring a Bible-thumping grandfather, working for a newspaper delivery uncle and a funeral director stepfather, playing with astral projection, and waiting for the right opportunity to rescue the princess trapped in a bedroom mirror.

So when John-Peter accidentally discovers a diary written by his deceased great-grandmother, revealing her claims that a famous nineteenth century pianist and composer with a connection to the village and a resemblance to the music professor was actually a vampire, he and his best friend, Karla Dyer, decide to resurrect the vampire to prove her theory.

But experiments with magic and immortality do more than test the information set forth by a mentally unstable woman. They unlock the truth about John-Peter’s real identity, the evil motives of people he trusts, and the mission upon which he must embark to save them all.

Prologue 

"I have a box of wood from the oldest oak tree in France," Ed said. "'I want you to make something from it."

Chapter 1: Returning Home

John-Peter didn’t have to ask which ones contained only isolated soy protein. The nauseating smell of beef gave it away; his only satisfaction was in knowing Kellen reacted the same way about Mabel’s garlic buns.

Chapter 2: The Leather-Bound Diary

“For the blood,'” John Simons echoed, “'is the life.” 

Chapter 3: Paradise in the Old Oak Tree

3) Bryony moped; the servants moped; and even Mr. Matthews, Mr. John’s house steward, who could always be counted upon for a ready smile and a hearty laugh even as he slipped a few peppermint bits inside my pocket or tweaked my hair, shut himself up in his study and only occasionally made an appearance.

Chapter 4: Midnight Apprentice

       "'There once was a cheap boss named Reece

       "Whose supplies to carriers decreased

       "When the carriers cried, 'Foul!'

       "Reece spat as he howled,

        “'I’ll make you share one sleeve apiece!'”

Chapter 5: School Physical

Dr. Rothgard paused and looked hard at John-Peter. “A man needs to face himself in the mirror." 

Chapter 6: Outcast

"Give the leprechaun a break. Maybe he had guard duty at the end of the rainbow."

Chapter 7: Musical Chairs

“Well, Kellen is gone for the week, and you can spend your time as you see fit. Throw that last paper, John-Peter, and put your shoes back on. We’ll stop at Eircheard’s Emporium after I adjust the leprechaun. The old magician procured an Irish tankard collection from an estate and promised me first looks.'

Chapter 8: The Legacy of Cornell Dyer

Karla giggled. “Just walk through the door. You’re disembodied, remember?"

Chapter 9: Nature of the Beast

John-Peter concluded that a funeral director able to raise the dead would have no problem preserving a plant.

Chapter 10: Teacher's Pet

"John clamped his teeth onto my neck, ripping its flesh as he swallowed a huge, mouthful of blood. I screamed in agony and fright. Peter sat up, fumbling for a candle.

Chapter 11: A New Friend

The boy did not answer as he joined the Steward by the cash register. Without any hesitation at all, John-Peter pulled his wallet from his back pocket, removed Kellen’s credit card, and tossed it on the counter.

Chapter 12: Last Choice

John-Peter only felt the cold, sleek surface, and the princess hadn't offered him an apple, but for tonight, that was enough.

Chapter 13: The Mad Scientist

Bertrand snagged the chunk with fully extended claws and greedily devoured it as exhaustion dragged John-Peter into the leafy top of a tall oak tree. Below, Ed Calkins sat and played a tin whistle. A cool breeze flitted across the boy's cheeks. A full golden moon cast its beams through the leaves. He stretched his toes and savored the blood still lingering in his mouth.

Chapter 14: Time Out

He drank half a gallon of water and immersed himself into the story of the French Revolution.

Chapter 15: Mouse in the House

"Daddy gave very specific directions for practicing necromancy with a mandrake. If you’re not going to take this seriously…" 

Chapter 16: When a Door Closes, Open Windows

No piece he ever composed had stirred such elusive longings inside him, and it was hard work to replicate it. He recalled his family's tears. It was a powerful piece, to be sure.

Chapter 17: The Gift from the Grave

"You know, John-Peter, this is what pleases me about Munsonville. Nothing ever changes. Look at this snow. It snows like this year after year. I have no reason to expect that this winter will be any different from all the other winters I have known. Munsonville is safe, dependable, just like God.” 

Chapter 18: Fallen Hero

A chubby red-haired candy striper magically appeared from nowhere. Her freckles stood out from her face, as if ready to leap off. Obviously an unlikely candidate for Kellen's photo collection." 

Chapter 19: Blood Revenge

To me, the solution was a simple one: find her a decent man to marry. Women, for all their charms, are rather simple creatures, and I was convinced that a few flowers and declarations of love from another would erase all thoughts of Henry from Millicent’s mind.

Chapter 20: Heartbreak

Lauren seized that opportunity to whip out a compact from her beaded purse--black with clear glass pebbles, which suited the hag that she was--and admire her reflection.

Chapter 21: The Land Beyond the Dreams

Lavender, or C Major 7? It really was not a difficult choice.

Chapter 22: Living on the Edge

An anguished Glorna vigorously protested, but the steward heartlessly laughed, wound a spool of thread around the fairy, as neatly as any seamstress might, and tucked him into his kilt for the journey back to the underworld, a journey that could be hard or easy, long or quick, depending on the steward’s present mood, for he controlled all elements of the story.

Chapter 23: Creature Comforts

Still, he waded through the tall greenery and stumbled upon a few cabbages and potatoes, entirely inappropriate for an ancient, abandoned, Irish garden, but this wasn’t his fantasy." 

Chapter 24: Pot of Gold

The smile vanished from Aodhan’s face as quickly as it came; a stern frown replaced it. "Remember that a secret is a weapon, as well as a friend,' he said, preparing for take-off. 'Be careful it doesn’t turn against you."

Chapter 25: The Steward of Tara

The spread on the table truly astounded him, and, for the second time in twenty-four hours, Dawn subdued him, no easy task to achieve. 

Chapter 26: Ruthless Business

Amerigen nodded and then swept his eyes over the other writers. "Another meeting in twenty-four hours, same time, same place? Necessity requires haste. The duel is in two days." 

Chapter 27: A Royal Pain in 

“Shh! Do you want to get caught? Of course I’m serious, as serious as the time we stacked the baskets on old Mrs. Dobbs’ front porch to get the paper I threw into her rain gutter.'" He set the garbage bag on the ground and said, 'Come on, I don’t have all night." 

Chapter 28: War of the Words

“They’re taking an intermission,' Aodhan said. 'I must depart. I only came to inform you the troops are in formation and ready to fight." 

A Matter of Life and Death

Melissa’s heart stood still. She knew that voice, although decades had passed since she last heard it. What was it doing here, in Jenson? She took a deep breath. She could pretend she was engrossed in the newscast. If she didn’t turn around, he might decide it was a mistake. He might leave. That’s when Melissa knew she really did want to see him.

Chapter 30: Lost and Found

“Melissa, there’s more to laying legal claim to a minor than having one show up in your closet, even if she comes attached with a note."

Epilogue

She blinked, hard. Had the light played tricks on her eyes? For a moment, it seemed that Henry, dressed in gray and lavender to match John, stood in the sidelines.