The Midnight Breed Series Companion (6 page)

Crimson
   A club narcotic created and distributed by a human named Ben Sullivan (see Kiss of Crimson). This red powder drug had unfortunate side effects when taken by members of the Breed, inciting a fevered blood thirst that in many cases resulted in a swift spiral into Bloodlust, and, in some cases, turned individuals Rogue (see Camden Chase).

Darkhaven
   A civilian Breed residence or commune. Darkhavens exist in most cities around the world and in some rural areas. Each Darkhaven has a leader, usually the senior member of the family or head of household. This Breed male is responsible for the safety and wellbeing of all who live under his roof.

dermaglyphs
   A pattern of skin markings appearing on an Ancient or one of the Breed, which change colors according to the individual's emotional or physical state of being. Dermaglyphs present in swirling, flourish and arc patterns and can be plentiful, covering an individual from skull to ankle (as seen in Ancients and some Gen One Breed vampires) or more sparsely distributed (as seen in subsequent generations of the Breed).

dreamwalk
   The ability to enter the dreams of another person and "walk" through what the dreamer is doing, seeing, etc. (See Claire Reichen)

Enforcement Agency
   The Breed's self-governing law enforcement arm. The Enforcement Agency is mired in political jockeying, personal empire building and corruption, often resulting in ineptitude and ineffectiveness in protecting the Breed's civilian populations. The Enforcement Agency usually runs counter to the Order, and while animosity on both sides is common, there have been instances of alliances and helpful partnerships between the two organizations (see Mathias Rowan, Sterling Chase).

First Dawn
   The morning that followed the night the Breed's existence was exposed to mankind around the world, after Dragos freed scores of bloodthirsty Rogues from incarceration to terrorize human civilians.

Gen One
   A Breed of the first generation, born of an Ancient and a Breedmate. Gen Ones' dermaglyphs are more plentiful than on later generations of the Breed. Gen Ones are not necessarily the oldest members of the Breed, depending on when they were born and to whom, but they are the strongest of the race, physically and otherwise. However, Gen Ones are also the most susceptible to Bloodlust.

Host
   A human, male or female, from whom a Breed vampire feeds.

hypnotic manipulation
   The ability to make someone see or believe something that's not there (as Lucan did to Gabrielle when he showed her a non-existent police badge in Kiss of Midnight).

Master
   The term used by Minions to refer to the Breed vampire who made them.

mind-blast
   The ability to temporarily cripple someone by psychically delivering debilitating pain in their skull (see Renata).

mind scrub / memory scrub
   The process used by one of the Breed to erase memories from a human or Breedmate, though the latter is frowned upon as disrespectful and seldom done. Mind scrubs are typically done to prevent the subject from exposing the Breed to mankind following the witness of something unexpected or potentially damaging to the Breed nation.

Minion
   A human or Breedmate who has been bled to the very brink of death by one of the Breed, but ultimately kept alive. At that point, the person becomes a Minion, his or her will completely and permanently enslaved by the Breed vampire who drank from them. There is no cure for a Minion, except death. Minions are seldom good interrogation subjects, as they will readily take their own lives to avoid betraying their Master's trust or commands. Only the most powerful members of the Breed (Gen One and second generation, typically) are capable of making Minions.

Order, the
   A cadre of Breed warriors founded and led by Lucan Thorne. The Order was formed in Europe in the mid-1300s as a group of eight Gen One warriors who rose up against their fathers, the Ancients. In 1898, Lucan reformed the Order in Boston along with Gideon and others, all united in the mission of keeping both humans and Breed civilians safe from Rogue violence. The Order remained headquartered in Boston for decades, but since First Dawn has been based in Washington, D.C., with command centers and warrior teams located around the world.

psychometry
   The ability to read the emotional past or actual history of an object, usually with a touch (see Savannah).

pyrokinesis
   The ability to ignite fires or explosions with one's mind (see Andreas Reichen).

Rogue
   A Breed individual who's become irrevocably addicted to blood. Rogues display permanently extended fangs and eyes present solid, glowing amber with vertical pupils fixed in a constant state of constriction (like a cat's eye). Once a Breed vampire has gone fully Rogue, there is no hope for recovery. Rogues' blood systems become corrupted and weakened, in a fatal allergy to the metal titanium. Most Rogues eventually go insane with their disease and attempt, or succeed, to commit suicide.

shadow bend
   The ability to gather shadows around oneself and manipulate them into a concealing mass (see Sterling Chase).

sonokinesis
   The ability to manipulate and amplify sound waves with one's mind (see Corinne, Nathan).

suckhead
   Derogatory word used to refer to a Breed individual who's addicted to blood and gone Rogue.

talent
   A term used interchangeably with ESP ability in regard to the unique extrasensory gifts of Breedmates and the Breed.

trance
   The act of inducing a temporary state of unconsciousness in a human or Breedmate by one of the Breed. All members of the Breed are capable of trancing someone. Trancing a Breedmate for any reason is considered rude and is generally done only as a last resort.

The Novels

Kiss of Midnight

BOOK 1

Romantic Leads

Lucan Thorne

Gabrielle Maxwell

Plot Summary

A gifted young art photographer gets caught in the crosshairs of a growing war within the Breed, thrusting her into the arms of the darkly sensual leader of the race’s warrior Order.

Primary Story Locations

Abandoned old asylum outside Boston, Massachusetts

La Notte night club in Boston's North End

Gabrielle’s apartment on Willow Street in Boston

Order's compound headquarters in undisclosed location in Boston

Various other locations in and around Boston

Playlist

Save Yourself
by Stabbing Westward

Tourniquet
by Evanescence

Falling
by Lacuna Coil

Lunatics Have Taken Over the Asylum
by Collide

Predator
by Collide

Too Sick to Pray
by A3

Possession
by Sarah McLachlan

Story Background

As much as I enjoyed writing historical romances, I have to admit I was getting a little bored with the restrictions inherent to the genre—particularly the limitations on character types and settings. So, when I first sat down to put together a formal proposal for Lucan and Gabrielle’s story, which at the time I was calling,
Kiss of Darkness
, I felt an incredible sense of freedom. I could set my book anywhere. I could populate it with a diverse cast of characters from all walks of life. My heroes—hell, even my heroines—could carry badass weapons, drive cool cars, carry a cell phone, even use the f-word if the situation called for it!

Of course, I also wanted to write something that would interest a publisher, as I’d just received word that I was out of a contract at the same time I’d just become a first-time homeowner. But even that setback fueled my enthusiasm to throw off all of the old restraint I’d learned from writing historical romances and write the kind of book I would want to read but wasn’t finding in the romance genre at the time. A gritty, dark, scary-sexy vampire story set in Boston, a city I love.

Less
Dracula
and more
Underworld.

Better yet, an erotically charged blend of
Predator
meets
Blade.

The story poured out of me fast and furious, and I realized it had been a very long time since I’d had so much fun writing. By this point, I had an amazing three-book contract in hand from one of the top publishers in New York, and a twisty plot that would carry me through the trilogy and bring everything to a big finish.

But then I got to the last page of Lucan and Gabrielle’s story and I realized that the ending I plotted out for this book…well, it sucked. The bad guy (Marek) needed to get away so he could come back again, bigger and badder, in the next two books. But the way I orchestrated his escape—a very lame “exit, stage left” kind of thing, where he dashed out the back door of a warehouse while Lucan ran in to save Gabrielle—read like a lazy cop-out.