Dark Shadows the Salem Branch

Dark Shadows the Salem Branch by Lara Parker
published by Harper Collins Publishing
Copyright 2006

As the original Dark Shadows story line
ended, Barnabas Collins had escaped
the curse of the witch Angelique and found
his way back to humanity after two hundred
years as a ravenous vampire. Now actress
Lara Parker, Angelique herself, reveals the
next dark twist in the sage of love and cruelty.

The roots of the Collins family's power and wealth go deep ...

Barnabas Collins is ready to embark on a new life and marriage
with his savior, the virtuous Dr. Julia Hoffman. But when
Antoinette, a beautiful sixties flower child with a shocking resem-
blance to the immortal witch Angelique, rebuilds the Old House,
his past returns to haunt him. Discovering a grisly corpse in the
basement - where his own casket once lay - Barnabas realizes
another vampire has invaded his domain.

Did Antoinette summon the vampire, or is she as innocent as she
is beautiful? And what of her daughter, Jacqueline, confined for
delusions of witchcraft to the local sanitarium?

Back to the corrupt witch trials of old Salem itself ...

Barnabas's fight to protect his family from this new threat will
take him back through time to an evil moment in America's his-
tory. Two hundred years ago, Jacqueline's previous incarnation
was tried and condemned to hang as a witch in Salem.
Desperate, she spilled the blood of her newborn babe to cure her
greedy and corrupt judges - including a Collins. How powerful is
her malevolent curse, and how much of her fate and her witch-
craft does present-day Jacqueline remember?

After a wait of thirty years, the next chapter in the Dark Shadows saga finally unfolds with the full measure of eroticism, spellbind- ing suspense, and gripping storytelling that made the original television series a timeless hit.

This cover is really cool. I think we have a men running from houses cover here. The witch, looming over a sinister house and our poor tormented hero in the foreground. Ah, Photoshop is SO fun.

Best thing about this book ? Lara Parker signed it. Go me!

Dark Shadows Dreams of the Dark

Dark Shadows Dreams of the Dark by Stephen Mark Rainey and Elizabeth Massie
published by Harper Collins Publishing
Copyright 1999

BLOOD REVENGE

Angelique and Barnabas. Lovers once upon
a time, through treachery and deceit they have
now become immortal enemies. To pay for her
evil jealously that left Barnabas damned to
feast on the blood of humans, Angelique has
been banished to the netherworld. Meanwhile,
Barnabas lives a lie, carefully guarding his
hellish secret from the unsuspecting mortals
with whom he lives - including Victoria
Winters, the ethereally beautiful governess to
the Collins family.

Determined to escape her dark
imprisonment, Angelique conjures a diabolical
plan that will make her flesh again. Using her
psychic powers, she will send another vampire
to destroy Barnabas completely. But as she will
soon discover, the powers of darkness may
have found their match in the burning light of
innocence .... and love.

Vividly imagined, grippingly written,
each Dark Shadows novel is filled with the
eroticism, supernatural suspense, and
spellbinding story telling that has made this
classic daytime serial a timeless hit.

Okay, well our covers are getting a little closer to the theme. We have a beautiful house which, for our purposes, we will call scary. We have a bat and we have a man wearing too much make-up posing with a cane in a less than menacing way, but for our purposes we will say that we are being threatened by a cane.

I like to think that in this cover WE are the woman running from the house. Pretty exciting really.

Note to self: Must read gothic romance novels when walking on the treadmill for increased speed inspiration.

Dark Shadows Angelique's Descent

Dark Shadows Angelique's Descent by Lara Parker
published by Harper Collins Publishing
Copyright 1998

Two of the most popular Dark Shadows characters,
Barnabas Collins and Angelique, were eternally
bound by love and hate. Now, actress Lara Parker,
Angelique herself, tells you how it all began.

A PASSION BORN IN ECSTASY ...

The dashing heir of a New England shipping magnate,
Barnabas Collins captured the heart of the exquisite, young
Angelique amidst the sensual beauty of Martinique, her
island home. But Angelique's brief happiness is doomed
when Barnabas cruelly deserts her and becomes engaged to
another. Little, though, does Barnabas know of the evil his
betrayal will unleash ...

AND DESTROYED BY JEALOUSY AND BETRAYAL

For Angelique is no ordinary woman. Raised in the
mysterious black art of voodoo witchcraft, she had long ago
pledged her soul to darkness and become immortal. Vowing
to torment and destroy Barnabas, a vengeful Angelique
damns him to eternal life as a vampire - a companion to
accompany her forever. Little, though, does Angelique
understand the depth of Barnabas's fury...

Vividly imagined, grippingly written, each Dark Shadows
novel is filled with the eroticism, supernatural suspense, and
spellbinding storytelling that has made this classic daytime
serial a timeless hit.

Now I promised all Dark Shadows this month but I have run out of the 60's and 70's novels.

I am a huge fan of Dark Shadows, and of the books written by Dan Ross. And, while this one is actually written far better, it just loses the innocence of the old show and book series. It is still fun and Angelique, of course, is a total badass.