Spotlight on Virtue Inverted (Excerpt!)

Today I'm excited to share an excerpt from Virtue Inverted by Piers Anthony & Kenneth Kelly, a new fantasy release from Dreaming Big Publications! 

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Virtue Inverted

by Kenneth Kelly and Piers Anthony

Genre: Adult Fantasy

*Available as Paperback and eBook* 

Amazon | Goodreads

Genre: Adult Fantasy

Virtue Inverted is the first novel of a hard-hitting sword and sorcery trilogy by Piers Anthony and Ken Kelly. Benny Clout is a poor mountain boy who has found true love in Virtue the vampire. However, Virtue is not an ordinary vampire; she's actually a very nice girl. Her bites contain extraordinary power, but will that power be enough to combat the evil that awaits them?

Excerpt: 

“I could go with you.” Now what was he thinking of? Was he trying to get the measure of the man Nadia liked? Jack looked up, surprised, and Beranger gave a snaggletooth grin. Did I just say that?! Benny thought. A lump formed at the back of his throat, and it was beginning to get hard for him to swallow. He was regretting his statement already. 

“No!” cried Jack. “No! Absolutely not! You’ve never even left Gant before, Ben! What makes you think you can keep up with this guy?” He was furious. 

“Laughing Jack, you cut me to the quick,” Beranger said. “You know I’ll look after him, and besides, the boy’s big enough to do a bit of exploring on his own. The boy’s grown his pubes, hasn’t he? It’s not like we’re tackling bat monsters in the Bletian Caverns. We just gotta deliver a package.” He winked at Benny again. 

“Oh, really? And what kind of package is that?” Jack inquired. 

“Sorry, lad. It’s confidential.” He slugged Jack on the shoulder and chuckled again.  

“Well, I’m telling you, Ben, it ain’t a good idea. Not that I don’t trust Dale here, but I can’t…” 

Benny cut in again, speaking against his own urge not to. His voice didn’t even sound like his own. “You can’t what? You’re not my father or my brother. You can’t make decisions for me, Jack. Everyone else my age has already left home. Aiken was the only reason I stayed around, and he’s gone now. Come on, Jack! It’s not like I’ll be gone forever; Beranger said himself it’s only one little job. We’ll be back before you know it, right?” Benny turned a pleading look to Beranger. 

“Yeah, Jack. We’ll be back before you know it,” Beranger said, his whiny voice mocking Benny’s. 

“Well, Ben, I guess you’re a grown lad; you can do as you please.” Jack stood up and walked back to the kitchen. He was obviously hurt. Benny’s guilt was already bringing tears to his eyes. He didn’t know why he’d said he wanted to go with Beranger; in all honesty he didn’t want to. But in some strange way, which he couldn’t explain, he felt compelled to join the scar-faced man in his journeys, regardless of what hells awaited them. Had he turned towards the window behind him, he would have noticed the figure of Cycleze, watching his every move while muttering strange incantations.

* Published by Dreaming Big Publications*