A Dowry of Blood: THE GOTHIC SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER

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We are delighted to announce that we’ve acquired S. T. Gibson’s A Dowry of Blood, a deliciously dark retelling of Dracula; a story of desire, obsession and the lengths to which we’ll go to protect the ones we love. It was previously published by independent press Nyx Publishing and has already established a dedicated fan base; Orbit plans to build on the novel’s cult success and break it out to a wide commercial fiction readership. Liquid rage pooled in my stomach and lit up my face. It made me strong, that rage, hardening to solid iron in my limbs. All of a sudden, I wanted to destroy every man who had beat my father until he stopped moving, held torches to our home while my brother screamed for them to spare the children inside. I wanted to break them, even more slowly and painfully than they had broken me, leave them bleeding out and begging for mercy. Trigger Warnings: graphic depictions of blood, gore, murder, disease, domestic abuse, gaslighting, manipulation, emotional abuse Stand up, my dark miracle," you said, pulling yourself to your feet and holding your hand out to me. "Come and face the night." You tipped my face and pressed your thumb down against my tongue, peering into my mouth. An urge to bite swelled up within me, but I smothered it.

Seductive, lyrical and rich with period detail . . . a dark triumph’ Mary McMyne, author of The Book of Gothel I had no words for it then, the way we take our strength from the veins of the living. But I knew I was being subjected to some unspeakable horror, something not meant to be carried out in the unforgiving light of day. A fragment of one of my grandmother's stories flashed through my mind. An Eastern European peasant named Constanta finds herself dying and is sired and turned into a bride by Count Dracula himself. Dracula later adds two others to his harem, with Constanta realising that Dracula is far more vicious and evil than she's been led to believe.I grasped blindly, heart hammering in my chest as the world blurred at the edges. My fingers curled around the first thing they found; your forearm. A startled look crossed your face and I clung to you tightly, pulling you closer. I didn't know what you were offering me, I just knew I was terrified that you were going to leave me. Serial-Killer Killer: Constanta, upon becoming a vampire, decides to dedicate herself to killing and feeding off the most odious or evil of society. Her victims range from rapists, killers and war profiteers to just general Asshole Victims like people who would spit on a beggar or harass and grab a woman. I never believed her tales of the dead who crawled out of the earth to sup the blood of the living. Not until then. Fully-Embraced Fiend: Dracula enjoys being a vampire and killing his victims, having embraced being a beast. Notably his harem indicate he could feed off the guilty or not kill his victims, but he chooses not to and preys on innocents because he likes it. I will do you a twofold kindness," you said. "I will raise you out of the dirt and into queenship. And, I will give you your vengeance."

A Dowry of Blood is an intoxicating perfume that lingers – an undying love story where beauty and horror clasp hands’Rachel Gillig, author of One Dark Window A delectable jewel of a tale, shimmering with dark, beautiful prose’ Tori Bovalino, author of The Devil Makes Three You taught us to never feel guilty, to revel when the world demands mourning. So we, your brides, will toast to your memory and drink deep of your legacy, taking our strength from the love we shared with you. We will not bend to despair, not even as the future stretches out hungry and unknown before us. And I, for my part, will keep a record. Not for you, or for any audience, but to quiet my own mind.Though Gibson can occasionally stray toward the purple with her prose, it’s more in a “first novel” sort of way. She’s just so excited for and by her characters that it’s hard to critique any little instances of faux pas. They’re elegant, savage, and above all, grandiose. She doesn’t tie them to the minutia of time or place because they are so very out of time and place, creatures who defy mortality—and conventional morality.

S. T. Gibson said:‘I’m absolutely elated to be working with the talented team at Orbit to bring A Dowry of Blood to life on a grand scale. From the first editorial call, I knew that this book had found its perfect home. A Dowry of Blood was my refuge and comfort during a tough period in my life, and Constanta’s story is near and dear to my heart. By writing this book I was able to dive headfirst into themes of love and marriage, abuse and tenderness, and life and death. I hope readers enjoy the chills and thrills of this dark, dramatic story of obsession.’ You need to cut your teeth or they'll become ingrown," you announced. "And you need to eat, properly." Before I go further, I must clarify something. This is a romantic novel, not a romance. I won’t go into detail but considering the ending of the novel this book does not qualify as a romance. I will render you as you really were, neither cast in pristine stained glass or unholy fire. I will make you into nothing more than a man, tender and brutal in equal measure, and perhaps in doing so I will justify myself to you. To my own haunted conscience.Vampire's Harem: Dracula keeps three vampiric spouses that he sired personally. These are two women named Constanta and Magdalena and a young man named Alexei. You came to me when the killing was done, while my last breaths rattled through failing lungs. The drunken singing of the raiders wafted towards me on the breeze as I lay in the blood-streaked mud, too agonized to cry out for help. My throat was hoarse from smoke and screaming, and my body was a tender mass of bruises and shattered bones. I had never felt pain like that in my life, and never would again. Orbit UK and US will publish simultaneously in October 2022, with a further book from S. T. Gibson set in the same world as A Dowry of Blood following in 2023. This stunning cover was designed by Duncan Spilling.