Title: Crimson Kiss
Author: Trisha Baker
Published: Pinnacle Horror
Who knew that one night could change your life forever....
One night at a party in 1944 changed Maggie O'Neil's life forever when she met a handsome tall mysterious stranger named Simon Baldevar. Maggie's life is made, she is engaged to be married and is going to start college in the Fall to become a psychologist. She wasn't expecting to start falling for Simon but she can slowly feel herself becoming quite comfortable around him.....almost to comfortable. Simon has a way of persuading others to do as he wishes even if he doesn't know the person.....he wastes no time in using his persuasion on Maggie when he takes her home. Maggie feels Simon's warmth going through her body and she can feel herself wanting him, when they both arrive at her home she begins to fumble with her keys at the door becoming nervous around Simon until he looks her in the eyes sending that warm feeling through her body again. He persuades her to let him in which she does without hesitation. The next thing Maggie knows they are making love in her bed, Maggie is confused by the fact that she wants Simon even though they just met...it's not like her to have sex with a random stranger. Maggie feels herself falling deeper and deeper into the haze that her body is in until she feels a sharp pain on her inner thigh, just a moment of pain before she passes out.
The next morning Maggie wakes up very sick and unable to hold anything down, she also can't bear the sight of the sun. Her weakness and sickness lessen later that day when she fill her craving for blood by sucking on a raw steak. The blood was just a random craving that Maggie couldn't control but strangely it made her feel much better and she was able to walk and do things as if she was never sick. Maggie's father comes over later that day for steak dinner and while she and her roommate Birdie were doing the dishes from dinner when they hear a knock at the door. Simon Baldevar shows up again striking up all the images in Maggie from the night before that she has tried to forget. Simon quickly becomes friends with Maggie's father as well as her roomie which is strange since her father doesn't get along with most people. Simon eventually persuades Maggie's father and her roomie to go out for a movie which they do as if under a spell leaving Maggie alone with Simon once again.
Maggie tries to control herself around Simon this time trying to have just a normal conversation with him until he bestows upon her a very old very expensive looking pendant with the word "Amor" on the back, "it means Love" Simon tells her. Maggie tries to turn down the gift but is persuaded to keep it instead. The next thing Maggie knows they are kissing and she can feel the haze in her body rise up again almost like a date rape drug. Simon gets her in bed again as they begin to make love again but Simon teases her a bit before stopping, He wants her to promise that she will never forget that he never intends to hurt her and that she must pledge herself to him body and soul before he will continue. Maggie is caught up in the moment agreeing with him just so she can have him again. The haze becomes to much for Maggie as she passes out yet again, she wakes to the awful smell of smelling salts that a doctor has placed under her nose. Her roommate and father returned to find her passed out and called the doctor. Maggie is once again very sick and the doctor notices that her body is shutting down from lack of iron among other things and he tells her father and roommate that she will need tests done as soon as she is strong enough to make it to the hospital. The doctor gave her some medication to hold her over until she could make it to the hospital the next day then tells them to let her rest. Maggie's father leaves for his home and Birdie leaves to go to work that night leaving Maggie by herself at home. Maggie doesn't understand how she can go from being a healthy young person to being so sick she can barely stand. A small itch on her inner thigh draws Maggie's attention to two small marks with dry blood around them.....they almost look like.....but that can't be right can it.....vampire bites? Simon returns later that night leaving Maggie with the option of transformation or death, Simon will only transform Maggie if she promises to stay with him forever...body and soul...When she made that deal that someone who seemed so gentle could be such a monster.
Possessed body and soul by love in an endless cycle of pleasure and pain......
Thoughts: I love this series so much! I have read Crimson kiss three times and I would love a fourth book in the series to continue on with the story. I will give out a WARNING this book is for adults due to graphic sexual scenes as well as graphic violence. I love this book so much because I love vampire stories but after you read so many you get tired of the same old vampire story. This book gives you something different, the vampires in this book have a lot more abilities than the vampires you are used to I have never seen vampires in books that are depicted as they are in this book. That is a main reason why I love this series so much but it also helps that I enjoy the characters even the bad ones. This book is for those who are looking for a paranormal vampire story that isn't like anything you have ever read. If you feel up to read one of the best vampire stories I have ever read then get your hands on this book!
Author Q&A
Q: How does it feel to have your first book reprinted after 13 years since it's original
publication, and did you make any changes to the reprint from the original?
A: I made a few minor changes to Crimson Kiss and Crimson Night, but my basic feeling was if it
ain’t broke don’t fix it.
Q: What inspired you to write the crimson series, did any real life people or events in your life
play a part in your writing or characters?
A: One of my favorite questions! Fifteen years ago, I was a Special Education teacher in New York City. We were required to take Enrichment Classes—i.e. Bore You To Death Classes. If
I looked like I was daydreaming, I got snarled at. On the other hand, writing made it appear you
were diligently taking notes.
I’d just seen a movie called
Vampire Journals and a scene in the bedroom where the girl
realized the only way she’d leave the room was immortal or dead intrigued me. I wrote my own
alternative scene, which kept growing and growing. That was the start of the series!
At first, I thought there would only be one book and Simon (originally called Gavin) would die
at the end. By the end of the book, there was no way such an unapologetic villain could die and
he was quite insistent on getting to tell his side of the tale in
Crimson Night.
Q: So taking a look at your bio it looks like you are a bit of a traveler or a "gypsy" what has
been your favorite place to visit/live and did any locations inspire you in your writing?
A: It’s extremely cliched for a vampire writer to say this, but I loved Transylvania—particularly Sighisoara, a mountain citadel in Transylvania. Sighisoara inspired a scene in Crimson Revenant
where my newly introduced Harper Lupeni has a most unfortunate encounter with a vampire.
All the places she describes—The Painted Staircase, cemetery with chickens strutting around
where things I saw in Romania.
Q: Who is your favorite author/ favorite book?
A: Richard Adams, Watership Down.
Q: Having personally looked for copies of your books while they were are out of print, are you
surprised about the cult following you have that kept your books so highly valued?
A: Quite surprised and grateful! What really surprised me was the outrageous prices people were demanding for the books, particularly Crimson Night. Usually you only get hundreds of dollars
for a book if the author’s dead—I’m very much alive. One thing that really makes me happy
about republishing is knowing the books are available for reasonable prices again.
Q: How do you feel about the new covers and the options of ebooks hard cover and trade
paperback being available for your re-releases?
A: I’ve been admiring the hardcover—a format I never expected for the Crimson series—since they
arrived in the mail. I think they’re gorgeous and I love the new covers!
Q: Originally you had decided not to re-release the 3rd book in the series Crimson Shadows
what had your torn on the republication and what made you decide to change your mind?
A: The Crimson fans changed my mind. My feeling was the Crimson Shadows is the weakest
book in the series, and I wasn’t inclined to let my problem child see the light of the day. Then
fans kept emailing me, saying they’d really looked forward to having all the original novels in
hardcover. I thought, who am I to deny them, after being so patient and loyal all these years?
Q: Can you give us any clues about the two new Crimson books you are writing/ working on?
A: Crimson Revenant is complete and should be available before the end of summer. It contains the diary of Isabelle Baldevar—Simon’s mortal wife. One thing I enjoyed in Crimson Revenant was seeing Jimmy Delacroix become a stronger character. I also quite like Harper Lupeni—my new,
Gypsy character.
As far as Crimson Resurrection goes, one thing I will say is that it completely turns Crimson
Shadows on its head!
Songs That Reminded me of the Story:
