Moon Child (Vampire for Hire #4) (18 page)

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And Coming Soon:

(The Return of Aladdin #2)

Written with Piers Anthony

— August 2011 —

(Jim Knighthorse Series #3)

— October 2011 —

with Scott Nicholson

— October 2011 —

(The Grail Quest Trilogy #2)

— December 2011 —

(The Vampire Club #2)

— December 2011 —

(Vampire for Hire, Short Story)

Samantha Moon tackles a very strange case
with a twist.

— December 2011 —

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Other books by J.R. Rain:

Jim Knighthorse #1

When high school student Derrick Booker, the
only black student at a posh Orange County high school, is accused
of killing his white girlfriend, ex-college football hero and
detective Jim Knighthorse is hired to dig a little deeper into the
murder. It doesn’t take long for Knighthorse to realize that not
all is as it seems at tranquil Huntington High, from a band
director who preys on the innocent to a vice-principal with a
secret agenda of her own. Not to mention someone’s hired a
professional killer to keep Knighthorse permanently off the
case.

As the investigation continues, Knighthorse’s
personal life is shattered by the discovery of new evidence
relating to his mother’s unsolved murder, a murder dating back
twenty years. Reeling from the discovery, a determined Jim
Knighthorse sets out to bring two killers to justice.

Elvis Series #1

It’s tough being the King. Which is why in
1977 Elvis faked his own death and endured massive facial
reconstruction surgery, and disappeared from the limelight to live
a normal life as the unassuming Aaron King. Unfortunately, leaving
fame behind also meant leaving his fortune behind, too, and now
Elvis finds himself broke and living in near poverty in a small
apartment in Los Angeles. Luckily for him, it turns out he’s a
pretty good private investigator.

Now in his seventies and contemplating a
return to music (discreetly, of course), Elvis is hired to solve a
baffling missing person case. A young starlet, at the beginning of
a promising movie career, has seemingly disappeared off the face of
the earth.

As Elvis digs deeper, he finds himself
surrounded by the seedier elements of Los Angeles, from nefarious
Hollywood producers who prey upon the young, to twin brothers with
a very dark secret.

And as Elvis pieces the bizarre puzzle
together, he slowly makes his singing comeback—and will be reunited
on stage with someone even the King himself never dreamed
possible.

A Spinoza Novella

Three years ago, high school student Veronica
Fortune witnessed the brutal murder of her parents. Now armed and
dangerous, she sets out to hunt down the very thing that destroyed
her life.

That is, until she disappears.

Spinoza is a private investigator who
specializes in finding the missing. He’s good at what he does. Damn
good. But he’s also a recovering alcoholic and a royal mess. Hired
to find Veronica, Spinoza won’t let his personal demons—or demons
of any kind—get in the way of finding the truth about the missing
girl.

Now following a bizarre set of clues that
leads him into stranger and stranger territory, Spinoza is about to
come face-to-face with something legendary...and something hungry
for blood.

A Ghost Story

Two years ago, a man broke into James
Blakely’s apartment and shot him in his sleep. Twelve times,
killing him instantly. Dead and confused, James discovers he has a
choice: he can move on into the afterlife, or he can stay behind.
Unfortunately, since James has done some very bad things, moving on
into the afterlife can only mean one thing: the fires of Hell. Or
so he thinks. Forgoing eternal damnation, James instead chooses to
haunt his old apartment building.

Now James’s days are mostly spent visiting
his daughter and ex-wife, welcoming new neighbors, and talking to
those who can see the dead. It’s a simple, peaceful life, but with
each passing day, James discovers something more and more alarming:
memories of his former life—and even his own identity—begin
slipping away. Faced with the prospect that he is rapidly
deteriorating into a state of nothingness, James sets out to save
his eternal soul. With the help of his daughter and a world-class
medium, his journey to peace and forgiveness will not be an easy
one, especially for a ghost who still wishes to be a father—and who
fears he is destined for a fiery Hell as punishment for sins he
cannot remember. Now, as James begins to uncover the devastating
secret that connects his soul to earth, he will discover that even
in death life has a few surprises.

The Search for Noah’s Ark

In a lonely bar in eastern Turkey,
ex-National Geographic photojournalist Sam Ward is hired to find an
eccentric professor who disappeared high atop Mount Ararat, fabled
resting spot of Noah’s Ark.

Accompanied by the professor’s beautiful
daughter, archaeologist Faye Roberts, Sam soon stumbles upon a
secret stronghold—a base of operation for unleashing Hell of
Earth.

Now running for their lives, Sam and company
are about to come face-to-face with the greatest archaeological
discovery of all time....

with Scott Nicholson

Albert Shipway is an ordinary guy, an
insurance negotiator who likes booze and women and never having to
say he’s sorry.

And he thinks this is just another day,
another lunch, another order of kung pao chicken. Little does he
know that he’s about to meet a little old lady who knows his
greatest fear. A little old lady who knows what’s hiding in his
heart. A little old lady who dishes up a big stew of supernatural
revenge, with ingredients as follows: First you take one psychotic
ex from a family of serial killers. Next add a pinch or two of an
irrational childhood fear. Now thoroughly mix in an angry sister, a
life-stealing great-granddad, and a notorious mass murderer—who
happens to be dead but doesn’t know it. Let it stew and froth and
bubble thoroughly....

In just a matter of minutes, Albert’s life
turns upside down and he enters a world where magic and evil lurk
beneath the fabric of Southern California. And all his choices have
brewed a perfect storm of broken hearts, broken promises, shattered
families, and a couple of tiny problems. Namely, killer mice and a
baby.

Albert Shipway is finally getting a chance to
right some wrongs.

That is, if it’s not too late.

With Scott Nicholson

First in a new series featuring paranormal
investigators Ellen and Monty Drew. Ellen claims to possess a sixth
sense but Monty, a former P.I., only believes what he can see. She
views their work as a sacred mission while Monty just wants a happy
wife and a paycheck.

Then the Drews are summoned to a Southern
California bible college after workers report hearing mysterious
voices at night. When they encounter the unhappy ghost of a young
girl, Monty’s skepticism is shaken, but he resolves to help his
wife free the trapped spirit. Their search uncovers the Latin
phrase “Non omnis moriar”—not all of me shall die—and they learn
more about the site’s history as a Catholic school destroyed by an
earthquake. But a mysterious presence has plans of its own for the
young ghost, and Monty and Ellen must go head to head with a Dark
Master that’s had more than a century of practice in demonic
deeds.

Now Monty must leave his body to do battle
with the Dark Master, and he’s not sure Ellen will be able to bring
him back in one piece. He’s not even sure what’s happening is real.
All he knows is that all hell is breaking loose and he’s taking a
crash course where an “F” means eternal damnation.

with Scott Nicholson

Over 150 years ago, a man was killed with a
silver bullet in a rural, Pennsylvanian town. A man who just might
be a vampire.

The Vampire Club, a group of misfits who meet
regularly in the basement of Western Virginia University’s library,
think that they might have found their first documented case of a
real vampire. Better yet, the Club thinks that the vampire might
still be alive to this day, lying comatose in a hidden grave. And
this is good news indeed for a group of vampire lovers.

The hunt begins, and as they close in on
their immortal prize, they soon realize that they aren’t the only
ones interested in the vampire; indeed, a powerful group of killers
will use whatever means possible to keep the vampire permanently in
its grave.

The first in a series that features The
Vampire Club, a group of lovable, laughable, larcenous college
students turned vampire hunters.

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Also available in ebookstores everywhere:

The Grail Quest Trilogy #1

by

J.R. Rain

(read on to sample the first three
chapters)

Chapter One

The dream is always the same.

I’m standing at the base of a cross. High
above, jagged bolts of lightning crisscross the starless night sky.
Rain angles down like slashing silver daggers. The crowd behind me
is cheering, roaring, surging. A living animal. An enraged
animal.

Lightning flashes again, and I see that there
are actually three crosses rising straight out of the earth. They
stand side by side along the crest of a steep hill.

Three crosses. And three broken figures
hanging upon them.

In my dream, I’m standing before the middle
cross, looking up into the rain, up toward what had once been a
man. I can see that his hands have been hammered to either side of
the cross, the rusted nail jutting from his bloodied palms. His
shoulders sag in such a way as to suggest his arms have been torn
from his shoulder sockets. A third nail protrudes from his feet,
which have been hammered together on the lower center beam. He’s
wearing a crown of thorns, which had been thrust cruelly low on his
face. Blood from his many wounds, lash marks that reach from behind
his back and legs, pours down along the center beam, pooling
briefly at the base of the cross.

Behind me, the crowd is chanting.

I do not understand their language, but I
know what they want. They want these three men to die. In
particular, the center man.

Rain drives hard into my face. Lightning
pierces the churning sky. There’s something happening here.
Something supernatural.

Something slams into my shoulder. It feels
like a punch, but it’s not. A fist-sized rock settles near the base
of the cross. I’m about to turn around to see who threw the rock
when another hits me. And another.

The last rock hits me in the kidney and I
stumble forward, gasping, and fall forward against the cross, which
I hold onto for dear life. Why it’s so important that I hold onto
the cross, I do not know. But I refuse to let go.

And while I hold it, wrapping my arms tight
around the wooden base, I realize a pair of bloody feet are now
just inches from my face. The head of a rusted nail projects from
them. I watch with fascination and horror as the toes curl in
obvious pain. Blood seeps from around the protruding spike.

I’m still being pelted with rocks. Some
ricochet off me harmlessly. Others hit me with greater force. I’m
certain that it’s only a matter of time before one of them kills
me.

But it’s the man on the cross who takes the
brunt of the rock throwing, and that’s when I realize the crowd
isn’t throwing rocks at me. Indeed, they’re throwing rocks at him.
As if he hasn’t suffered enough pain, now he must helplessly endure
projectile after projectile, many of which hit home, plunking
solidly into his chest and thighs.

He winces with each impact.

As rocks continue to hail down around me, I
look up into the falling rain. I want to see the face of the man on
the cross. Perhaps there’s something I can do for him. Perhaps
there’s some way I can help him or ease his pain. But his face, I
see, is hidden in the late evening shadows.

More rocks, more shouting from behind. I can
feel palpable waves of hate emanating from the crowd. Their anger
and fear is a living thing.

Lightning suddenly explodes across the
heavens, illuminating everything, including the man.

The broken man; the badly beaten man.

I think at one time he had been handsome, but
that’s nearly impossible to tell now. His jaw is clearly broken,
and the bones in his face appear pulverized. Blood drips from his
many open wounds, most obviously from wounds caused by the
vicious-looking crown of thorns. His body hangs grotesquely upon
the cross. But perhaps most shocking of all is that he’s returning
my gaze.