Dancing Nitely (3 page)

“
Stiffed again,” he groaned
as he crawled over the body, cursing the Countess under his breath.
At least you’d think she’d have the decency to dispose of her own
empty, instead of leaving it for him to deal with.

As he glanced down at the
girl’s body, he noticed the barely perceptible rise and fall of her
ribcage. He checked her pulse and lifted her left eyelid. She
wasn’t dead, but she was damn close. He contemplated draining her,
then decided against it. He could get a better meal from one of the
kittens at this point. He pulled her out of the coffin, draping her
limp form over his shoulder like a fur stole. If he broke her limbs
the right way, she’d
just
fit in the incinerator chute. He hoped he wouldn’t
have to dig out the butcher knife and do it the messy,
old-fashioned way.

After all, he didn’t have
all night.

About The Author

Nancy A. Collins
has authored over 20 novels and novellas,
numerous short stories, and worked on several comic books,
including a two-year run on
Swamp
Thing
. She is a recipient of the HWA’s
Stoker Award and the British Fantasy Society Award, and has been
nominated for the Eisner, John Campbell Memorial, World Fantasy
& International Horror Guild Awards. Best known for her
ground-breaking vampire character, Sonja Blue, which heralded the
rise of the popular Urban Fantasy genre, her works include the
best-selling
Sunglasses After
Dark
, the Southern Gothic
collection
Knuckles And
Tales
, &
the
Vamps
series for Young Adults
. Her most
recent novel is
Left Hand Magic,
the second installment in the
critically-acclaimed Golgotham urban fantasy series. She currently
resides in Wilmington, North Carolina with her fiancé, Tommy, their
Boston terrier, Chopper, and an indeterminate number of cats, only
two of which she admits to having anything to do with.

***

Aphra
by Nancy A. Collins

A married man develops a
bizarre fascination for a medical skeleton he finds at a garage
sale. Award-winning horror writer Nancy A. Collins, author
of
Sunglasses After Dark
, tells a bone-chilling tale of sexual obsession and erotic
horror.

***

Calaverada
by Nancy A. Collins

Big Luther and his gang of
bounty hunters have been hired by a gold mining company to ride
into Mexico and dispose of the Wolf Pack, an outlaw band lead by
the notorious Dixie Jim. But when what was supposed to be a
shoot-out turns into a bloody massacre, Big Luther and his men
discover the hard way that its better not to insult the dead on
the
Dia de los Muertos
. Award-winning writer Nancy A. Collins, author of
Sunglasses After Dark,
presents yet another exciting tale of the
Weird Weird West.

***

Demonlover
by Nancy A. Collins

Sina is a woman with a
history of self-destructive romantic relationships. She is drawn to
cruel, heartless men and the danger that they represent. After her
last "demon lover" puts her in the hospital, she tries to put her
past behind her and settle down with someone safe, sane, and
stable. But she soon finds herself bored and unsatisfied--and heads
out to the bars once again, in search of the excitement she craves,
only to find Feral waiting for her. But is he the man of her
dreams--or her nightmares? A tale of erotic horror.

***

Easy’s Last Stand
by Nancy A. Collins

A serial killer called
Butcher John invades the building that houses Easy’s Hot Talk, a
phone sex business that advertizes in the back of porno mags.
Butcher John is on a mission to kill sluts, and Easy is next on his
list. But he soon discovers that the Hot Talkers are anything but
easy.

***

Furies In Black
Leather
by Nancy A. Collins

Cissy, Meg and Mistress
Alexis are a trio of dominatrices who bill themselves as The
Sisters. They operate a S&M dungeon out of a tony brownstone in
the West Village that caters to Fortune 500 CEOs with a taste for
the extreme.One of their best clients is Rolf--a millionaire who
prefers others suffer for his sins. And while confession may be
good for the soul, Rolf soon learns it all depends on what--and
who--you're confessing to. Nancy A. Collins, author of the
award-winning Sunglasses After Dark, presents a tale of erotic
horror, nameless sin, and ice-cold revenge.

***

Hell Come Sundown
by Nancy A. Collins

Meet Sam Hell, a former law
man turned professional spook-buster. He and his Comanche medicine
woman companion, Pretty Woman, ride the high plains in search of
Sangre,the undead conquistador responsible for transforming him
into something not quite living, but not yet dead. Award-winning
author Nancy A. Collins brings readers yet another thrilling tale
of the Weird, Weird West.

***

The Ice Wedding
by Nancy A. Collins

The Russian Empress
Anna Ioannovna
was famous
for her cruel practical jokes and capricious nature towards those
she considered beneath her. Neither peasant nor prince, was safe
from her wrath. Prince Mikhail, the scion of a noble and powerful
family, found himself forced to become her court jester on the day
his wife died. Later, he was forced to marry her chambermaid in an
elaborate mock wedding. When the Czarina offers the newlyweds their
freedom if they agree to spend their wedding night in the cottage
she has had built for them, they eagerly agree, even though it is
made of solid ice. Award-winning author Nancy A. Collins crafts a
chilling Gothic fairytale based on an amazing historical
event.

***

Judgment Night
by Nancy A. Collins

Four bored teens break into
a house on Halloween in order to vandalize it, only to find the
trick is on them. Can they survive night, or will they fall victim,
one by one, to the blood lust of a depraved serial killer? Nancy A.
Collins, one of the masters of modern horror, brings readers yet
another tale of heart-pounding terror and suspense. Based on
the
real-life crimes
of
Dean "The Candyman" Corrl
and
Jack Walls
III
.

***

The Reflected Ones
by Nancy A. Collins

A murderer uses an ancient
book of forgotten spells to escape justice by fleeing through the
looking glass, only to discover the world on the other side of the
mirror is far more dangerous than he ever imagined. Award-winning
author Nancy A. Collins presents a chilling tale of Lovecraftian
terror.

***

The Thing From Lover’s
Lane
by Nancy A. Collins

It's the 1950s and Misty
Valley is just another sleepy, All-American town, nestled along
the
Miskatonic
River. Unlike sister cities
Arkham
and
Dunwich
, Misty Valley has managed to
avoid the peculiar occurrences that have plagued the region since
the days of the colonial witch trials. That is, until the night
Carol Anne Fairweather and her boyfriend, Billy Mahan, parked too
far down on Lover's Lane. On that old, foggy night Billy was
attacked and knocked unconscious, while Carol Anne was brutally
raped by someone--or something--that came out of the woods. Now, in
order to clear his name, Billy must discover what really happened
that horrible night. But can his mind withstand the awful truth he
uncovers? Or will he end up as mad as Old Gooney, the crazed hermit
who claims to keep watch against the dark forces that would make
Misty Valley their own? Inspired by the work of
H.P.Lovecraft
, award-winning horror
writer Nancy A. Collins adds another tale of terror to the
never-ending
Cthulhu Mythos.
First published in 1995,
The Thing From Lover's Lane
was a
finalist for the
Horror Writers
Association's
prestigious
Bram Stoker Award for Best Novelette.

***

The Tortuga Hill Gang’s Last
Ride
by Nancy A. Collins

The Tortuga Hill Gang, lead
by "Black Hat" Johnson, was one of the Old West's more colorful,
and mysterious, outlaw groups. Rumored to be able to float safes
like toy balloons and walk though bank walls, the six
desperadoes--Johnson, the twin Chandler Brothers, Horseflesh
Donnegan, Coyote Pete and the giant known as "Little
Red"--disappeared without a trace in the 1890s. What really
happened to the notorious Tortuga Hill Gang? Some say they met
their fate at the hands of the Federalis. Others say the Devil came
and dragged them to Hell. The only person who claims to know for
sure is an old man who says he's the sole surviving member of the
gang. This is his story of living the outlaw life in the Weird,
Weird West
.

***

The Two Headed Man
by Nancy A. Collins

Louise is a waitress at
Kelly's Stop, a greasy spoon diner in a small Arkansas town. When
she's not waiting on the locals and the occasional traveler, Louise
dreams of the day her Handsome Prince will finally deliver her from
her dead-end job by a rich, handsome Prince. But time is slowly
slipping away, and the odds of her finding her Prince dwindle with
each passing day. Then one cold, wintry night, a handsome stranger
named Gary arrives just before closing--and Louise finds herself
face-to-face with the man she has fantasized about all her life.She
is unprepared, however, for the 'Human Worm' he carries on his
back--a man born without arms and legs. Louise invites Gary and his
strange companion back to her trailer--and quickly finds herself
involved in the strangest, and most intense, erotic experience of
her life.

***

OTHER EBOOKS BY NANCY A. COLLINS

Premier Digital Publishing
(PDP)

Sunglasses After
Dark
: One spring night in London, heiress
Denise Thorne disappears while partying, never to be seen again.
That very same night Sonja Blue, a tough-as-nails
vampire/vampire-slayer, conceived in terror and blood, is born from
the city’s gutters. Saved by modern medicine before she could die,
she is a living vampire who still possesses a soul and is
determined to fight for what remains of her humanity. In the years
following her bizarre resurrection, Sonja Blue travels the globe,
hunting down and disposing of those creatures that prey on the
innocent while searching for the vampire Noble who created her. But
when she investigates the sleazy televangelist named Catherine
Wheele, Sonja finds herself up against a powerful inhuman
adversary. But as dangerous as Catherine Wheele may be, Sonja’s
greatest foe remains The Other, the vampiric personality with whom
she is locked in a constant battle for control of their shared
body. Can Sonja Blue overcome her inner demon in time to rescue an
innocent man from Catherine Wheele’s unholy
clutches? 

Angels On Fire:
Struggling artist Lucy Bender is at the end of
her rope. After being betrayed by both her boyfriend and a jealous
rival in the cut throat art world, she finds herself standing on
the roof of her New York apartment, contemplating suicide. Her luck
is changed, however, when a misplaced angel named Joth plummets to
earth, landing at her feet.  Lucy’s first thought is to alert
the media, in the form of a sleazy reality TV show. But her dreams
of instant fame and fortune are cut short when she discovers she’s
the only person who can see Joth for what it truly is. Making
things even more difficult is the realization that the downed angel
is attracting attention from servants of the Infernal Machine, lead
by the daemon Meresin, who is eager to add Joth to his roster of
imps and devils. Lucy is befriended by Ezrael, who was once like
Joth and is now a wandering Muse.  Ezrael warns her if Joth
fails to find its way back to where it came from, it will
automatically become a daemon, unless it chooses to become mortal.
The only catch is that angels don’t have Free Will. Can Lucy save
her fallen angel from falling further still?  And is she
willing to knock on Heaven’s door to do so?

Tempter:
New Orleans has long been famous for good food, good times,
good music--and voodoo. When troubled musician Alex Rossiter
relocates to the Big Easy, he soon finds his rock star mojo working
again. Not only is his new band attracting notice, he’s also having
affairs with two gorgeous women: the sexy voodoo queen Ti Alice;
and beautiful businesswoman Charlotte ‘Charlie’ Calder. But when
Rossiter stumbles across a long-lost book of ancient spells, he
unwittingly invites the evil spirit known as Tempter into this
dreams, and, soon, his waking hours as well. Tempter is eager to
escape his other-dimensional prison so he can once more slake his
perverted lusts on the flesh of the living, starting with Charlie.
It’s up to Jerry Sloan—Rossiter’s boyhood friend and Charlie’s
not-so-secret admirer—and the one-eyed hoodoo woman known as Mad
Aggie to stop Tempter’s evil plans before he destroys not Charlie
but the descendants of the voodoo priestess who imprisoned him over
a century ago. Together this unlikely duo must travel to the
abandoned plantation deep in the Louisiana’s haunted bayou country,
and face the dark secret that lies waiting for them, locked inside
its rotting heart.