Always the Vampire

Table of Contents

 

 

 

“
Last Vampire Standing
is a mystical novel that had this reader holding her sides from laughing so hard.”

—
Romance Junkies

 

“Seeing the world and all its wackiness through this spunky heroine’s eyes makes the adventure just plain fun. Don’t miss out!”

—
Romantic Times
, 4½ stars

 

“Nancy Haddock is an amazing author who has the talent to mix mystery [and] paranormal and twist it all up with a dollop of comedy.”

—
Night Owl Romance
, Top Pick

 

“Witty humor will keep you glued to the pages of this delightful vampire romance.”

—
Fresh Fiction

 

“The second humorous Vampire Princess urban fantasy is an enjoyable, lighthearted thriller filled with tension somewhat abated by the amusing observations of modern life by the heroine . . . Nancy Haddock provides a jocular tale.”

—
Genre Go Round Reviews

 

“A wonderful second part to this great new vampire series . . . With a lovely leading lady, a well-written plot, and quirky characters, this has all the ingredients of a great paranormal urban fantasy book.”

—
ParaNormalRomance.org

 

 

“After reading Nancy Haddock’s debut, I want to live La Vida Vampire. A quirky and fun read.”

—Erin McCarthy

 

“Nancy Haddock had me hooked from page one with
La Vida Vampire
. The wonderfully charming heroine, sexy-as-sin hero, and fabulously engaging mystery kept me turning pages into the wee hours of the morning!”

—Julie Kenner

 

“A sultry setting, a clever mystery, and strong, sparkling characters . . . Nancy Haddock delivers everything it takes to make a fan out of me!”

—Jane Graves

 

“
La Vida Vampire
is fun, fun, fun! Nancy Haddock’s fresh and sassy new voice enlivens a well-known genre, and her heroine is one of the most entertaining in years. Readers will enjoy the snappy dialogue, the irreverent tone, the fabulous setting, and the fascinating world. Wonderful!”

—Kathleen Givens

 

“I loved
La Vida Vampire
! Nancy Haddock has written a delightful blend of mystery and humor with a touch of romance . . . Haddock has moved to the top of my must-read list.”

—Lorraine Heath

 

“I loved it. Distinctive, amusing characters and a brilliant mystery make this one exciting ride. Vampires, ghosts, and shape-shifters all wrapped up in one fun, sexy story. I can’t wait for more! This is one vampire chick I’d love to hang out with.”

—Candace Havens

 

“Bright, charming, imaginative, romantic, sexy, and suspenseful.”

—Joyce McLaughlin

 

“One bite of this sassy story and you will be hooked!”

—
Romance Junkies

 

“Funny, witty, and absolutely intriguing . . . A great debut!”

—
Fresh Fiction

 

“This funny, clever novel is sure to hook readers and leave them wanting more.”

—
Romance Reviews Today

LA VIDA VAMPIRE
LAST VAMPIRE STANDING
ALWAYS THE VAMPIRE

Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada
(a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.)
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(a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd.)
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South Africa

 

Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

 

This book is an original publication of The Berkley Publishing Group.

 

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

Copyright © 2011 by Nancy Haddock.

 

All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without
permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the
author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.
BERKLEY
^®
is a registered trademark of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
The “B” design is a trademark of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

 

PRINTING HISTORY
Berkley trade paperback edition / May 2011

 

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Haddock, Nancy.

Always the vampire / Nancy Haddock.

p. cm.

eISBN : 978-1-101-51428-3

1. Vampires—Fiction. 2. Bridesmaids—Fiction. 3. Shapeshifting—Fiction. I. Title.

PS3608.A275A79 2011

813′.6—dc22

2010042083

 

 

First, a belated but sincere shout-out to wonderful author and friend Sandy Blair, who came up with the title for my second book,
Last Vampire Standing
. Apologies again for the omission last time, Sandy!

Thanks to my critique group and manuscript readers Lynne Smith (Lynn Michaels), Julie Benson, Sherry Winstead, and Thomas “Tommy” Kerper. They make my work better and my life brighter.

Leis Pederson is my editor and a special kind of star in my galaxy, and Roberta Brown is an agent extraordinaire and dear friend. I’m blessed to know and work with them both!

A mega thank-you to all the kind folks who assisted me with research. They include members of the City of St. Augustine government staff, the park rangers of the Castillo de San Marcos, and the officers of the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Department, the St. Augustine Police Department, and the St. Augustine Beach Police Department. Everyone answered my questions with professionalism and humor. Any errors and/or embellishments are mine.

I must include Elizabeth Topp and Nicole Ritsi of the Nisiotes Dance Troupe in my gratitude. In the midst of the annual Greek festival, they took the time to patiently answer my dance questions, and later demonstrated the fire dance. Awesome, ladies!

I deeply appreciate my pals at Starbucks (Store 8484) for the caffeine and caring, and my friends at Barnes & Noble (Store 2796) for helping me ferret out books for fun and research. And to the ladies of Second Read Books, you have my heart for all you do and for all you are.

Never last or least, my abiding gratitude goes to my friends and fans for their encouragement and support. Thank you for sharing your Light!

That phrase may strike stark fear into the hearts of some women, but I’m not one of them.

Okay, that’s partly because I’m a vampire. Not a scary one, mind you, but caterers and florists hop to when I’m around.

Of course, it helps that the bride is my mentor and friend, and is usually cool under fire. As an interior designer and home-restoration specialist, Maggie O’Halloran has calmed dozens of fractious clients, from the picky to the pushy to the outright psycho. With that kind of experience, I can’t see her going bridezilla on me, no matter what the provocation.

Last, I have a secret weapon. I’m locked and loaded with a ginormous binder filled with lists, notes, and phone numbers. Not to mention printouts of every maid of honor scrap of information I could find on the Internet and pages torn from bride magazines.

Yep, I’m Francesca Melisenda Alejandra Marinelli, the Oldest City’s only vampire, now doing my first and likely last tour of duty as a maid of honor. As Maggie’s retired Army dad said, my mission was to make Maggie’s Victorian-themed wedding perfect.

The only element of the wedding weekend that veered from the Victorian theme was the rehearsal dinner. Maggie refused to have one. Instead, she and Neil and those of the bridal party who wanted to join them would attend the first night of the annual Greek festival. Why the one-eighty on the Victorian theme? Because her first date with Neil had been at the festival. She was too sentimental to change her mind; no matter that Neil, her dad, and even I had tried to talk her out of it.

But, hey, I
had
talked her out of bustles for the bridesmaid dresses, hadn’t I? Winning that skirmish was good enough for me.

With less than three weeks until the wedding day, I collected my trusty maid of honor binder to head out the door for a meeting with Maggie. The dining room in her restored Victorian home served as Wedding Central, and we were sorting yet another pile of invitation RSVPs.