"The Smell of Death & A Taste of Blood" by Marie Krepps

BOOK TITLE: The Smell of Death & A Taste of Blood

AUTHOR: Marie Krepps

YEAR: 2016

GENRE: Fictional Short Stories

SUBGENRE: Vampire Fantasy

GRADE: Extra Credit

The origins of Lord Gerard and his vampire coven are covered in blood, tears, and shattered bones. Life is rarely easy to journey through and any hardships we survive will make us stronger. In the case of the coven, these vampire warriors are strong enough to wage war against their bigoted human brethren. All it takes is an animalistic bite and the sweet and lustful taste of vengeful blood. War has never been so heavenly or so delicious for these sadistic characters.

My favorite short story within this entire collection is the one that made me give this book a full five stars: “Trophy Wife”. All Morgan wanted to do was have a modeling career and a happy life. Instead she did what most women were goaded into doing in the 50’s and 60’s and married a handsome gentleman while doing household chores. The way the husband beat the crap out of Morgan and insulted her was heart-wrenching to me. Even though this part of the book is historical fiction, such mistreatment of women continues to happen in today’s world and the extent of how brutal male supremacy can be is disgusting. The female author of this story has no doubt experienced some kind of sexism in her life and now she’s the teacher of the lesson we all must learn. That lesson is to be kind to our women and show them respect. They won’t all turn out to be vampires like Morgan, but there are consequences for misogyny no matter who the victim is.

Another favorite story of mine that ripped my heart into a million pieces was “Fire Hair”. In this one, a redheaded village girl comes home from a hard day of field work and gets bullied and beaten by a group of other children. The worst part about the beatings is that they happen over and over again for the longest time. We are now in a generation where bullying has to be taken seriously due to the suicides and school shootings we keep hearing about in the news. This particular story highlights just how brutal it can be even though it’s historical fiction. It’s not just the physical beatings that wear children down; it’s the psychological torture and the building anxiety because of it. While going on a blood-splattering rampage is an illegal and dangerous way to solve the bullying crisis, I do commend Ms. Krepps for holding a mirror up to society and showing all of its ugliest features.

Every single one of these short stories deserves praise from even the toughest of critics. She has showing instead of telling down to a science and that is an admirable trait to have in an author. As a reader, you want to feel how badly those punches hurt, how tasty those kisses are, and how relaxing the sounds of nature are. Marie Krepps will take you to her most beautiful and deadliest places in her mind and won’t let you leave. The minute you read the first page, you’re her literary prisoner and your sentence will last until the final page. Your figurative prison sentence will be grueling. It will be heartbreaking. But most importantly, it will be a hell of a lot of fun!

If you want a book that mixes genres into a bundle of nerd heaven and leaves you wanting more, buy a copy of this short story collection. And after you’re done with this, buy another Marie Krepps book. And another. And another. Hell, it’s a lot like taking drugs: the more you have, the more you need. You will become a Marie Krepps book junkie after one read. I promise you that! Five stars for an awesome collection!

"A Naughty New Year's Eve" by Marie Krepps

BOOK TITLE: A Naughty New Year’s Eve
AUTHOR: Marie Krepps
YEAR: 2015
GENRE: Fictional Short Story
SUBGENRE: Vampire Erotica
GRADE: Pass


If you’re a reader of Marie Krepps’ “Some By Day, Some By Night” series, you’ve probably had this fantasy at least five or six times: the curvy Marla and the supermodel Morgan getting it on. Not only will Ms. Krepps’ short story make your wildest fantasies come true, it’ll make them last for as long as it takes you to climax. Forget the bed of roses, the sugary chocolates, and the silly cheese balls. No formalities here, just good old fashioned love-making between two of the sexiest vampires in the world of literature today. These two have had enough violence and war to last them an eternity as vampires. Let them have a little fun every once and a while!

As someone who reads Marie Krepps’ work on a frequent basis, I know firsthand that she doesn’t fool around when it comes to the sex scenes. Her characters will lick, kiss, suck, and squeeze every inch of each other’s bodies before the story really begins to earn its X-rating with the rough penetration and the endless passion. It should come as no surprise that this woman once had a book of short stories called Box of Chocolates. Trust me when I say, reading this short story will be a more orgasmic experience than swallowing the entire Hershey’s Chocolate factory and chasing it with a Twix bar. And by the way, left Twix and right Twix bars are the same damn thing, so go ahead and pull out your packing tape…but only if Marla and Morgan are the ones doing the binding. Hehe!

On a less perverted note, Marie isn’t just writing short story after short story: she’s building an entire world for these vampires to live in. The entire series of vampire erotica novels and stories is called “Some By Day, Some By Night”. This sexy adventure could be considered a vacation from the bloodshed, gore, and heartache the other stories bring about (not that those things are bad, but we all need a little hot action every once and a while). It’s a reminder just to relax and have fun with your life instead of taking everything too seriously all the time. I could learn to enjoy that message.

One last thing and then I’ll leave you all to your sexily fun reading adventure. In case you guys weren’t aware, Marie has been my personal mentor since the beginning of 2015. As a mentor, she always encourages me to show instead of tell. In other words, don’t tell us that Mitch McLeod is angry, show us his intense body language. In the case of Marie’s short story “A Naughty New Year’s Eve”, she practices what she preaches, and that’s what makes the sexy action so hot and boner-worthy to begin with. We can see with our own eyes what these two horny young ladies are doing to each other. The more we see, the more energetic we become.

Marie is an independent author through and through, but she writes like a pro and speaks like a badass. Every passing and extra credit grade I’ve given to her was earned through hard work and sagely wisdom. I’d like to think it takes a great deal of wisdom to be a writer and a mentor. If that’s the case, then I’m proud to be learning from the best. A passing grade will be assigned to this ultra-steamy sex story. She knocked it out of the park yet again!

"Love Me Today, Kill Me Tomorrow" by Marie Krepps

BOOK TITLE: Love Me Today, Kill Me Tomorrow
AUTHOR: Marie Krepps
YEAR: 2015
GENRE: Fiction
SUBGENRE: Vampire Erotica
GRADE: Extra Credit


Alexus suffers from acute depression after living a life full of abuse and heartache. Her father and her older brothers Thomas and Brian were the worst offenders when it came to Alexus’ abuse. They tried to control every aspect of her life, tried to make her conform and fall in line. And now she wants to kill herself. She doesn’t know how until she meets a vampire named Artus who could easily bite her neck and drain her dry. Things take a much different direction when Artus can’t bring himself to kill Alexus. Instead, the two of them make love together and become that much closer to becoming a couple.

If you’re familiar with Ms. Krepps’ works, you know how much of a master she is at creating sex scenes. These scenes aren’t a bunch of bullshit from porn magazines or even Fifty Shades of Grey. These are real, love-making, penis-hardening, and vagina-wetting sex scenes. It’s more than just being on top and getting it over with. The variation in sexual acts keeps the love-making fresh in the mind of the reader. These two vampires can make every reader’s fantasies come to life with just their lust for each other. With that said, you might want to keep a box of tissues next to your e-reader for this one. You never know when Mt. St. Helen might erupt or how much of a mess it’ll create when it does.

The vampire logic is another thing Marie Krepps is passionate about. Every last detail having to do with vampires is planned out and well-researched. Everybody knows that vampires burn when they’re exposed to sunlight. But did you know that a vampire’s bite can actually feel like heaven despite the sharp fangs? It can also feel like you’re getting your body turned inside out if you piss off said vampire. And if you think you’re going to get in a slugfest with a vampire and live to tell about it, you’re bat shit crazy. Bottom line: even though this is a vampire story, everything in this book is believable. You actually want to get behind these characters because the author is holding a mirror up to society in the guise of fiction.

But then you have the primary reason why this book earned an Extra Credit (five-star) rating. At the beginning of the book, Marie Krepps dedicates the novel to everybody who has suffered from a mental illness. The struggles that Alexus faces as a depression victim are very real and make the story sound somewhat autobiographical. I know this because I’ve had my fair share of shitty people in my life and they all brought me into a darkened state in one way or another. Nobody takes as much abuse as Alexus has and comes out smelling like roses. Suicide is not selfish by any means. It’s what the mentally ill consider when they see no other solution to their demons. But when you finally see that glimmer of hope, suicide will seem irrational at that point. Let us all come together and be each other’s glimmer of hope. The world will be a better place for it.

Reading Marie Krepps’ writing gives me a newfound respect for her with every passing piece of literature. She shows new wrinkles to her game and is easily coached when it comes to taking advice from other writers. My friendship with her isn’t the biggest reason why she gets five stars. Her writing was what earned her the respect she so deserves. In spite of having a day job, four daughters, a husband, cats, and a mind full of demons, she actually finds time to write such beautiful stories and poems. The next time someone cracks a joke about millennials being lazy, be sure to give that person a kick in the groin. Marie Krepps is far from lazy. She’s the hardest worker in the writing business today.