In January of 1985, I had an idea for a young adult vampire story featuring a 1970s teen who falls in love with a Victorian vampire for a trip back into time as his wife.
I never started playing with the story in earnest (although I did plenty of mental writing through the years), and I never imagined one idea would spawn dozens of books, a second writer for the series, two others working on collaboration, and many lovely creative types lending their talents to the entire experience.
But although the books overtook that one idea like the specially bred bryony vines overgrowing the old Simons Estate in the fictional Munsonville, Michigan, the series is actually quite organized and each subseries has its own theme.
Here's a quick look. Each title is hyperlinked to Amazon since the BryonySeries book store is currently down.
The original BryonySeries "drop of blood trilogy
These books for young adults and older below originate from the expansion of the initial idea and revolve around the idea of "a drop of blood, a deceptive fantasy.
In addition to the trilogy, this initial subseries has a bonus short story and companion cookbook featuring recipes for all the food references in "Bryony," which is a permanent fundraiser for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Will and Grundy Counties.
Bryony
After her father’s sudden death, seventeen-year-old Melissa Marchellis moves onto the former estate of nineteenth century composer and pianist John Simons, where a mysterious mist stalks her, ghostly piano music plays in her bedroom, and visions of John Simons’ young wife Bryony, who died in childbirth, invade her dreams. Those dreams, Melissa discovers, are simply a distraction for the midnight feedings of John Simons, now a vampire.
So, John proposes a trade: Melissa may visit the past as Bryony in exchange for minute samples of her blood to neutralize his vampire state. For a time, Melissa happily seesaws between her adolescent routine of school, slumber parties, and cute boys to dancing at balls, attending formal dinner parties, and hosting garden fetes.
But fantasy and reality blur when her eccentric, middle-aged English teacher penetrates her dreams as Melissa’s dashing, young vampire chaperone; her brother Brian adopts a peculiar stray cat after a friend disappears in a midnight exploration of the dilapidated mansion; and another girl with a similar vampire pact is gruesomely murdered.
Caught between the
danger of her agreement and her escalating infatuation with John Simons,
Melissa contends with other vampires and their agendas, while struggling with
her feelings for an undead musician.
While grieving the abrupt end of her blood bargain with nineteenth century pianist John Simons, eighteen-year-old Melissa Marchellis packs sensible goals for her life and marches off to college, where her obsession flings her into a relationship with a music professor, a man with a shady reputation and an uncanny resemblance to John.
Meanwhile, Melissa’s peer support crumbles, as her friends make other choices for their lives. Shelly and Laura attend out of town schools. Ann forsakes her wealthy ambitions for a Munsonville boy. Julie is preoccupied with studying and dating a nice, but dull, psychology major. Katie runs away with an aging medicine man.
Melissa quickly cycles from pursuer to victim when the professor develops a mysterious illness requiring unusual treatments; neighborhood pets disappear at alarming rates; and she begins caring for a child with a number of disturbing qualities: a voracious appetite, abhorrence for meat, luxurious red hair that defies trimming, extreme intelligence, and musical abilities beyond its tender years.
As her world unravels, Melissa glimpses the horrifying truth beneath her
choices. Will Melissa use that knowledge to finally break free from Bryony’s
past?
Staked!
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.
Snowbell
While visiting an out of state friend, a snobbish teen
decides to show up the locals by disproving their cherished ghost stories.
However, her calculated prank becomes a terrifying night in a dilapidated
mansion and a desperate wish that the legends were true.
Memories in the Kitchen: Bites and Nibbles from "Bryony"
In Denise M. Baran-Unland's young adult vampire novel, Bryony, seventeen-year-old Melissa Marchellis trades her blood with a Victorian vampire for a trip back into time as his wife, Bryony.
Yet, as Melissa zig-zags between 1975 and the late 1890's, she encounters plenty of food. These range from the familiar dishes that grace her family's dinner and holiday tables to unfamiliar Victorian fare: beef tongue, stuffed pigeons, and boiled calves head.
The recipes included in this collection reflect the culture of both time periods to give the reader an insight into the world of "Bryony."
Whether you read this cookbook to enhance the story's enjoyment or for menu ideas, may you thoroughly delight in each "bite and nibble."
Before The Blood
Before The Blood: John Simons
In Book One, read how nineteenth century
pianist/composer John Simons goes from riches to rags to riches, and the price
he pays along the way.
Before The Blood: Kellen Wechsler
In Book Two, read how Kellen Wechsler goes from rags
to riches, and the lives he discards along the way.
Before The Blood: Henry Matthews
In Book Four, read how Henry Matthews goes from rags
to riches and what he sacrifices to serve the riches.
Before The Blood: Bryony Simons
In Book Five, read how Bryony Simons and those she
loves destroy their dreams.
Before the Blood
Get all five installments in one volume for a lower overall price. Just be aware the paper is white as opposed to cream and the print is very, very small.
Limbo
The Phoenix
Late 1895 in Munsonville, Michigan is all about survival and rebuilding: for the fishing village still reeling from deadly tragedies, for twelve-year-old Marie Clare who is grounded at Munsonville Inn with her dying father, and for two newly turned vampires foraging their meals from a dwindling supply of villagers.
But to rise strong and unscathed, some
will be sacrificed along the way. Who gets to live and thrive? And who decides?
Call of the Siren
Sue Bass is haunted by dreams of her father, who died in a boating accident before she was born, alluring dreams of water and song. But then a soft-spoken outside man with an inside plan comes to town, and Sue's sleepwalking fades, only to resurface with greater magnetism when he leaves.
Two voices beckon. Which one will she heed?
House on Top of the Hill
Change comes slowly to Munsonville, and for Steve
Barnes, who spends his entire life in the village, that's just fine. From
boyhood to manhood, he savors the slow pace and friendly smiles, even while
working by his parents' side from sunup to sundown to run the family diner.
The only blight is this fishing village's
preoccupation with an empty mansion in the woods, whose tales of former glory
and catastrophe fueled a rampage of ghost stories. Steve doesn't believe them,
but some do – and no one can deny the power the crumbling old building holds
over them.
Especially when it changes everyone, including Steve,
forever.
STANDALONE NOVELETTE
This BryonySeries standalone novelette just might be the most complicated book in the series. It's written in second person and mostly in present tense.
That's because the main character is an immortal shapeshifter and is grieving the loss of her mate, who was mortal. The story is written in lyrical quality as it takes the reader through the protagonist's grief journey.
The character also appears in "Before The Blood: John Simons," "Before The Blood Bryony Simons," and is mentioned several times in "The Phoenix."
Here are the opening lines of the book:
You place the snowy candle in the center of your palm
and hold it high.
You gaze across the bubbly foam over the azure lake.
And you take the first step to
Who you are
What you lost
And why all your magic can’t bring it back.
Werewolves
Lycanthropic Summer
Caryn Rochelle loves werewolf stories and promised herself she would write the world's greatest werewolf love story before her eighteenth birthday. With the date just months away, Caryn has shredded more drafts than she's kept and is feeling desperate.
But then she learns the town's most prestigious couple has a dark secret: they're keeping a savage boy her age locked in their basement. One glimpse and Caryn's inspiration skyrockets. Caryn knows she ought to report them, but...
Can it really hurt to wait until she
finishes her story?
Note: Strong language
GRRR: Twelve pawtasic werewolf-themed recipes
By Rebekah Baran
For an especially unique collection of whimsical
werewolf recipes, look no further than “GRRR.” Recipes are simple to prepare
and include snacks, sandwiches and desserts. They will make hungry people howl
with delight.
Ruthless
Ruthless
Step through the mirror. Step through at your own peril.
It was clear enough that Ed Calkins was murdered while delivering newspapers.
Trudy, a poet, sharp-shooter, dominatrix, alcoholic, and auxiliary police officer is certain she knows who did it. She remembers pointing the pistol and pulling the trigger, but she doesn’t remember why she shot her best friend. Is something supernatural haunting Munsonville? Or had something possessed her years ago when Eddie secretly won the lottery?
In either case, he’d become a vampire, and she must face him again in a duel four days from now. In the meantime, Ed Calkins is bleeding to death and only has seven seconds to create a son for Melissa and John with the help of two others, who both live in his imaginary version of Tara in ancient Ireland.
He must also ruthlessly battle agendas or myth and his own unruly imagination while time traveling recklessly through distant future and past.
So step carefully through the
mirror because you’re only guaranteed to learn three things.
- Ed Calkins is ruthless,
- A pistol is no silver bullet in a limerick fight,
- And if Ed Calkins asks you to marry him, he might
not ask again.
The Fifth
Vampires in Munsonville elude the control of both the
living and the dead.
And five particular vampires cause most of the
trouble.
John Simons is about to be staked, but he’s already a
suspect in five murders.
Henry Mathews is already staked but is still writing
attack pieces for the Post.
Kellen Wechsler is responsible for at least one
murder. But is he the puppeteer or just the puppet? If he is a puppet, who
pulls the strings?
Susan Betts is just missing. Where did she go and why
is Kellen looking so hard for her?
Ed Calkins, the world’ first Irish vampire, is
psychotic just enough to be dangerous. As a ruthless dictator, he'll hurt your
feelings.
But as five vampires are wreaking havoc, five living
beings are working to keep Beulah County safe: Sherrif Matt, who’s unlikely to
win reelection; Trudy, a capable, but alcoholic deputy; Marsha, a new deputy,
inexperienced with the supernatural and carrying her own baggage; Eircheard, a
leprechaun, willing to help at a price; and Glorna, a wood sprite, who replaced
a recently killed occultist but should be somewhere – and someone – else.
Can these five living players bring law and order to
the undead world? Or will vampires consume the blood of every living creature
till there are no more?
Recovering Ruthless
If you knew your future, would it help at all?
If you are a dyslexic vampire trying to recover your
sanity or a hypnotized imp trying to recover humanity, then maybe not. Maybe
clinging to ruthlessness is all that can be done.
Because time in Munsonville never really works the way
it should.
Sheriff Matt and his deputy Marsha are reunited after
more than a decade of mystical calendar misunderstanding. It will take all they
have to maintain order.
What of the book on the Sheriff’ Matt’s desk? Although
the novel was rewritten at some time in the future, the story will happen in
the next two months.
What of the new girl – ten-year-old Beth – and her
shoplifting ways?
And what will it take for an alcoholic to quit
drinking, a compulsive gambler to quit betting, a vampire to quit biting, a
farm to reemerge, a leprechaun to stay married, and an ancient order to
reestablish?
This is the story of a ruthless recovery.
Bonus: Denise Unland's Irish Genealogy
The completely fictional Irish back story of one BryonySeries author is told in just fifty-three humorous pages.
Girls of the BryonySeries
Julie and the Too-Hard Homework
Eleven-year-old Julie Drake impulsively choose “psychologist” as her lifelong career after becoming fascinated with one in a thriller she wasn’t allowed to see. But despite studying hard, Julie only makes so-so grades – and college isn’t in her family’s budget. Even worse, Julie’s mother is pressuring Julie to take piano lessons, which Julie hates.
Julie doesn’t know what to do – until she gets her first client.
Katie and the Big Fear
Eleven-year-old Katie Miller has lots of fears. She’s afraid of the dark, strange noises, strong winds, and thunderstorms. And Katie is especially afraid of the big house in the woods. The villagers say it’s full of ghosts, and the stories they tell gives Katie nightmares.
So Katie decides
to stay home, where she thinks she’s safe – until fear comes looking for her.
Summer Sisters
Eleven-year-old Bryony Marseilles and her strict
father live alone in a big house. Bryony doesn’t realize she’s lonely until she
spends three months with a large family of girls at their farm. For the first
time, Bryony can run free and enjoy the company of her peers. She learns people
and situations aren’t always what they seem – and that people, even Bryony, can
change.
Karla Joins In
Eleven-year-old Karla Dyer has one goal in life: to be like everyone else. But that’s hard to do when your father was killed slaying a vampire, and your mother is making it your mission to take his place in the world. Karla and her mom live in his old motor home, which is rotting away, and Karla must study grimoires and crystal balls after a full day of school.
Karla just wants to hang out with her friends. Is that too much to ask?
Brainy Ann (Available late 2025 or early 2026)
Eleven-year-old Ann Dalton has everything a girl could want. She is pretty and smart. She has her own room with bookshelf walls filled with her favorite books. Her parents are loving and kind; her friends are trustworthy and loyal; she’s teacher’s pet; and even her little brother isn’t bad for a brother. But her support is collapsing, and everyone says it’s Ann’s fault.
Ann thinks they’re just jealous of her. Is she right?
A Room for Laura (draft)
Eleven-year-old Laura Jones lives in a small house with her large family. No one seems to mind, except Laura, who loves to draw and dream. Laura is frustrated with her lack of privacy and jealous of her friends who have their own bedrooms.
But then Laura comes face-to-face with the
one person in the world who can help her – and things begin to change.
Changes for Shelly (draft)
Eleven-year-old Shelley Gallagher loves both her parents equally. That’s the problem. Shelley’s parents fight a lot. They scream and throw stuff at each other, which scares Shelley and makes her cry. Even worse, they expect Shelley, an only child, to choose sides.
One day, someone
really gets hurt. Now Shelley must decide whose side she’s really on.
Eleven-year-old Melissa Marchellis has a terrible life. Her little brother is too annoying. Her father is too old and too sick. Her mother is too busy working and caring for Melissa’s father to pay much attention to any of them. And way too often, Melissa can’t hang out with her friends because she must entertain her brother or sit with her father – literally sit with her father, since he hates television and conversation.
One
day, she finds a dusty old box. And life is never the same again.
The Adventures of Cornell Dyer
Join the incredible, impossible,
and marvelous Cornell Dyer as he unravels mysteries, untangles myths, and
decides what to have for lunch.
Supernatural Super Sleuth Professor Cornell Dyer first appeared in the BryonySeries in "Visage" as a man in his fifties in the latter part of of his sleuthing career.
These short chapter books for ages eight and up share some of Cornell's adventures as he solves one mystery at a time.
Timothy is a storytelling consultant on all the books except one ("Mistical" Being) where Rebekah stepped into that role.
Plus, many more titles are on the to-do list.
Cornell Dyer and the Missing Tombstone
A tombstone with a Viking helmet engraving vanishes. Mysterious brown-outs plague a seacoast village. Supernatural super sleuth Cornell Dyer is certain the historical society leader knows more than he is telling.
Will Cornell learn the secrets and stop the curse?
Cornell Dyer and the Necklace of Forgetfulness
A heartbroken lover wants to forget. Supernatural super sleuth Cornell Dyer desperately tries to solve a mystery as his memory vanishes. Meanwhile, he keeps showing up at places he's certain are clues but can't recall how or why he arrived.
In this "back to front" story,
Cornell races his fading mind to save the day - but which will win?
Cornell Dyer and the Eerie Lake
A cry for help. A glowing green ball. An old tired town with a mysterious old dump. A tale of heartbreak. Before supernatural super sleuth Cornell Dyer can figure out the questions, one man disappears and another dies.
To find the answers, Cornell must cross the lake - but all who
tried never came back. Will Cornell survive and solve the mystery?
Cornell Dyer and the Never Robbers
Cornell is certain soot, a tire swing, and his first unsolved case are somehow connected. But will he solve the mystery before he fades from memory?
Cornell Dyer and the Flu
It’s Christmas Eve and a very sick Cornell Dyer is stuck in the hospital, frustrated because he can’t find the vending machine and because he’s too sick to solve his latest supernatural mystery.
Another patient
tries to help Cornell, not with food and medicine, but with a journey into
realms Cornell doesn’t want to go.
Cornell Dyer and the Whispering Wardrobe
While investigating a home with mysterious whispers, supernatural super sleuth Cornell Dyer stumbles upon its source: an antique wardrobe in a room all by itself. But when Cornell steps inside, he discovers the wardrobe is more than a wardrobe and a whisper is more than a whisper.
Even
if Cornell solves the mystery, will he ever go home?
Cornell Dyer and the Old Folks Home
Cornell Dyer needs a break from solving supernatural mysteries. So he heads to Paradise Falls for a well-deserved vacation at a beach resort, where he meets another sleuth as skilled as he. But dark secrets can lurk even in a sunny paradise, secrets the tanned and energetic natives don’t want him to know.
It takes two to solve the mystery – but will the
sleuthing team live that long?
Cornell Dyer and the "Mistical" Being
When asked to banish ghosts in a backyard lake, supernatural super sleuth Cornell Dyer encounters one mystery after another: a ghostly mist with eyes, a ghost town, and a town that keeps changing its name.
Delving into each one will change Cornell's life. Is he ready?
Cornell Dyer and the Calcium Deficient Bones
When supernatural super sleuth Cornell Dyer finds himself between sleuthing jobs, he fills the time by teaching science while the real teacher is ill. But in a school that’s supposedly getting remodeled, Cornell encounters one mystery after another: vanishing classroom skeletons, plants that come and go, and a piano for every student.
Cornell is certain his classroom holds the answer – and that he is one of the clues.
Cornell Dyer and the Howls of Basketville
Howls. Shadows. Disappearances.
Something is roaming the run-down town of Basketville, Michigan, and Detective Sherman Homes is struggling to connect the dots. So he asks supernatural super sleuth Cornell Dyer for help - but the mystery bites back.
Brains or beast: which will win?
Cornell Dyer and the House of Horreur (Available late 2025 or early 2026.
Bertrand the Mouse
Have you met Bertrand the Mouse?
He’s always on the go and happy to lend a helping…paw…to bring the joys of
reading to children.
Bertrand first appeared in the BryonySeries in "Staked!" as part mouse and part red herring. His entire mission is to make books approachable and fun for children (and the young at heart).
Bertrand and the Lucky Clover
Bertrand is tired of fighting for his share of cheese.
But when Frances, a very wise cat, offers a solution, Bertrand's luck begins to
change.
Bertrand's First Book of Numbers
In this first book of counting and addition, Bertrand shows the joy of playing with numbers. And when he runs out of items to count, he turns to the reader for help.
Bertrand Gives Back
Bertrand puts the "fun" in fundraising by showing young readers the different roles they can play in working for a good cause.
Bertrand's Silly ABC Book
Learn the ABCs with Bertrand the Mouse. Bertrand poses with examples of each letter in this rhyming alphabet story.
Bertrand Spends the Night
Some children enjoy spending the night at a friend's
house. Some are still uncertain about leaving home. Either way, they can
experience the joys of a sleepover when they "stay overnight" with
Bertrand and his best friend.
What do adventures look like for a crocheted mouse? Take a pictorial journey with Bertrand in his first compilation of experiences and see.
Bertrand's Second Book of Adventures 2
What do adventures look like for a crocheted mouse? Take a pictorial journey with Bertrand in his second compilation of experiences and see.
Bertrand's Day at the Lake
Bertrand Faces His Fear
Bertrand was enjoying fall until he saw a scary Halloween decoration. But with Uncle Barty’s help, Bertrand confronted his fear and found the fun in the holiday.
Bertrand and the Christmas Surprise
Bertrand and the Hunt for the Great Golden Egg of Cheese
One night, Bertrand dreamed the Easter rabbit left a
golden egg in the grass, just for Bertrand. He woke up that morning wondering
if it were true. So he decided to find out for himself.
Bertrand's Shakespeare ABCs
Learn the ABCs of Shakespeare with Bertrand the Mouse. Bertrand sets the stage to understanding Shakespeare by posing in scenes that correlates with alphabetically arranged elements of the works of William Shakespeare.
Squeak: Twelve mouse-themed recipes
By Rebekah Baran
Wash your hands, put on your apron, and join Bertrand the Mouse in preparing twelve recipes that will delight humans and crocheted mice alike. Recipes either feature cheese or mouse shapes. Cooking safety tips are included.
In conclusion, here is a reference book to the entire BryonySeries.
Welcome to Munsonville: The People, Places, and Things of the BryonySeries
Welcome to Munsonville: The People, Places, and Things of the BryonySeries is a guide to the entire series as of 2023. Its pages contain, in alphabetical order, hundreds of references for the people, places, and things that appear in the first phantasmic series of titles for all ages.
Enjoy the journey!
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