This week we are featuring paranormal suspense author Brian McKinley and his Authors Talk About It 2016 Horror Novel Contest Grand Prize Winning novel : Drawing Dead. We will also take a look at Ancient Blood: A Novel of the Hegemony (Order Saga Book 1)
But before we indulge in the succulent pages of his books, let us find out what drink does Brian recommend for our readers on Friday night.
“My favorite drink is Diet Mt. Dew 
but Faolan’s favorite drink is a blood-and-scotch, no ice. The scotch acts as an anti-coagulant for the blood, which needs to be in there. When vampyrs drink straight alcohol, it is too astringent and leads to dehydration. ”
As good as Foalan’s drink sounds, we suggest not to use “real” blood, as some of us are only part-time Vampires. A good substitute for this occasion is Blood & Sand Cocktail thought to be named for a 1922 silent film starring Rudolph Valentino.
Ingredients:
- Scotch 3/4 oz.
- Cherry Liqueur 3/4 oz.
- Juice from Blood Oranges 3/4 oz.
- Sweet Vermouth 3/4 oz.
- Ice
Preparation:
Pour all 
ingredients into cocktail shaker filled with ice cubes. Shake well. Strain into Cocktail glass. Flame orange zest over the top of the glass.
So let us kick back relaxing with this delicious beverage in hand and get a little nibble of Brian’s books. What am I saying? Lets go full force an bite right into them, just like Faolan would have.
Drawing Dead: A Faolan O’Connor novel (Book 1).
Faolan O’Connor spent his life killing for men like Legs Diamond and Lucky Luciano, and now it’s his turn to face the music. But when 
vampire Darcy Killian offers him immortality, Faolan enters a world of violence, wealth, and power beyond anything he’s ever imagined.
Driven by ambition and guilt, Faolan fights his way up the ranks in a battle to justify his sins with success. He’s learned the hard way that relationships are vulnerabilities and friends are just enemies in disguise, but he also knows that he can’t conquer a city alone.
Aided by an emotionally-crippled genius and a warm-hearted call girl, Faolan builds a loyal crew with which to challenge the tyrannical Killian s rule. However, will this re-awakened humanity prove a fatal flaw or his ace in the hole? With his life and the future of the city he loves at stake, can Faolan play his cards right or is he drawing dead?
Drawing Dead is the Grand Prize winner of the Authors Talk About It 2016 Horror Novel Contest.
When your dreams all fail And the ones we hail Are the worst of all And the blood’s run stale I wanna hide the truth I wanna shelter you But with the beast inside There’s nowhere we can hide
– Imagine Dragons, “Demons”
Blurb from Ancient Blood: A Novel of the Hegemony (Order Saga Book 1)
Avery Doyle loves vampires; he’s read every novel, seen all the movies, and researched the folklore. When his first one-night-stand, Caroline, turns out to be a true vampire on the run, he jumps at the chance to leave his ordinary life and join her as a “child of the night.” The honeymoon ends, however, when Caroline’s brutal Creator 
Sebastian enslaves them on his island estate and Avery must confront the dehumanizing reality behind his dreams.
In order to survive, Caroline and Avery take their place as servants in Sebastian’s household during a gathering of the most powerful vampires on Earth, the Hegemony, and soon find themselves involved in the myriad intrigues and deceptions that form the night-to-night existence of The Order.
A society of wealth, power, and inhuman decadence whose existence is protected by human complicity and disbelief, The Order is the immortal aristocracy hidden behind the giant corporations and political leaders of the world. Sebastian, however, has a plan that will change The Order forever and shatter human civilization.
To avoid this terrible fate, Avery and Caroline will not only have to defy the most powerful creatures on Earth, but also confront the darkest aspects of themselves. For in the world of the Hegemony, even victory may cost them their souls . . .
A fast-paced thriller that both re-imagines and pays tribute to the traditional vampire, Ancient Blood is a story of love, ambition, sacrifice, and betrayal that is frighteningly human.
About the Author
Brian McKinley doesn’t really exist. He’s a constructed mortal 
identity used by a relatively young Vampyr in order to publish the truth about The Order. Due to the world-wide influence of The Order and its minions, these accounts must all be published as fiction; however, they are all very real and actually happened. Sometimes the names and sequence of events have been changed to protect the innocent, the guilty, and to keep from getting sued.
Brian is no longer a typical Vampyr and, for this reason, lives in hiding and writes from a secret location. The real “Brian” lives a life of danger and excitement; he loves Star Trek, Game of Thrones, and Boardwalk Empire as much as he loves Chicken Fried Steak. He’s a reader, a role-player, and a dreamer who doesn’t believe that “liberal” is a dirty word. He’s lived many lifetimes and is eager to share as many of them as possible with his readers.
You can follow Brian on Twitter: @BPMcKinley
You can also follow this link for his Facebook page.
suburban town in Bergen County. At 17 years old, he moved to the Bronx, NY and attended college in Manhattan. In 2013, at the age of 24, he wrote John’s LOVE, which was then published in 2016.
to serve revenge up cold. She wants to serve it up now, and she wants to serve it up HOT. And then Kian enters her life and she knows, she just knows she is in trouble because it isn’t wise to let yourself look too long at a hunk that takes your breath away when you think his heart might belong to someone else. But what can you do, when he is in your face every single time you turn around and dark magic, and werewolves keep getting you into trouble?
And when Cain Crowton, a powerful alpha werewolf surrounded with an aura of dark magic, moves into the peaceful town of Golden, nestled in the Canadian Rockies, Wendy, Bray, and Stevie will have to use all the powers they’ve developed. For Cain is not simply a werewolf. His body and mind have been taken over by Valmod, a demon from another realm.
She was bitten by the alpha wolf, Cain, and because she was already a supernatural, the werewolf venom has a strange and devastating effect on her.
All he wants is to get to his pack and tell them he is alive, but when he finds out that Beckett Rheams has taken over his wolves, he becomes obsessed with saving them and Maven. Maven had shared his bed, but, did he love her? Was she the one destined to be his mate? 
rum, I use citron vodka. The drink holds good memories of playing with friends in San Diego several summers ago at a hotel bar that had a special on mojitos. When I ordered one the bartender said she’d run out of rum but would use citron vodka and that I would like it. I did. And that’s the way I’ve fixed my mojitos ever since.
intuitive. Since 1999, Paula’s shown writers how to use tarot, dreams, rituals and other intuitive tools to write stories from the deepest part of their imaginations. She’s presented workshops at small private events on the East Coast, and at both national and regional Romance Writers of America conferences and meetings, at the 2014 San Diego University Writers Conference, and the International Women’s Writing Guild summer conference. Paula publishes a weekly e-newsletter on writing, dreams, and tarot, and is the award-winning author of Weaving a Woman’s Life: Spiritual Lessons from the Loom.
edenfreed.com 