The Bleeding Dusk
by Colleen Gleason

The undead of Rome are racing to unravel an ancient mystery—and only one woman can stop them...

As Rome prepares for its Carnivale, the new leader of the city's vampire hunters—Lady Victoria Gardella Grantworth de Lacy—must prove herself as never before. For, to gain access to the secrets of a legendary alchemist, Rome's vampires have allied themselves with creatures as evil and bloodthirsty as they are.

Reluctantly, Victoria must turn to the enigmatic Sebastian Vioget for help, just as Maximilian Pesaro arrives to assist his fellow slayers—no matter what the sacrifice. Desire puts her at the mercy of Sebastian, while loyalty binds her to Max, but can she trust either man? Especially when a seductive vampire begins luring her into the shadows...

Colleen Gleason's Bio

I can't remember a time when I wasn't writing some kind of story—from the 6th-grade version of Gilligan's Island that starred my classmates and me, to the passed-around-the-classroom story of my friends in high school meeting our favorite rock band and the adventures that ensued, to my first real attempt at writing a full-length novel, which was in college (when I should have been studying).

Off and on over the years, during my career in health care and with small business start-ups, getting married, raising two dogs and three children, I wrote—sometimes finishing the book, sometimes moving on to greener pastures (ie, a different story. New. Exciting. Fresh!).

I recently became addicted to Buffy the Vampire Slayer (thank heaven for DVDs!), and thought... hmm...what would it be like if Buffy had been living during the times of balls and chaperones and the ton? And thus The Gardella Legacy was born.

The first book in the historical Gardella Legacy series of vampire hunters, The Rest Falls Away, will be released by Signet in January 2007, with the second volume following shortly after.