by Terrance Mc Arthur
Details at the end of this post on how to enter to win a copy of Midnight Bites, along with a link to purchase the book.
For a novel writer, short stories provide opportunities to—
• Create backstory.
• Throw characters together and see how they react.
• Develop web-only material.
• Explore a theme with other writers in an anthology.
• Try a different point of view.
• Answer a challenge from loyal readers.
Rachel Caine’s Morganville Vampires series of books mesmerized readers from 2006 to 2013, and came to ‘unlife’ as an online series. Along the way, besides the 15 books, Caine wrote short stories for all the reasons mentioned above. They, bundled together with six new offerings, make up Midnight Bites, a taste treat for her fans.
I’ve read and reviewed several Morganville tomes, which helped with my learning curve, but the going won’t be too muddy for newcomers as she offers many explanatory introductions, and the stories are arranged in series-chronological order with indications of where they fit. 
Some of the series regulars get special focus in this one-author anthology. Myrnin, a bi-polar vampire inventor who has bad luck in dealing with humans, wanders through tales where he meets his first vampire, is rescued from a prison, trapped by a killer ghost, rescued from a supposed friend, travels in time, confronts himself, and steals stuff. Shane, who has anger issues (Wouldn’t you, if you lived in a town where “going out for a quick bite” has not-so-good meanings?), ran afoul of a woman scorned who is allowed to get away with anything, has a dad who wants to raise the dead to kill the undead, is put on a no-violence fast by a fanged therapist, and has fun times with Claire who is actually the main character of the series. Eve, a Goth in a town with no sense of irony, goes from teen rebellion to marriage, even though Michael, her boyfriend, is turned into a vampire. Amelie, the town’s queen vamp, is a shadowy presence over all.
The stories are not a replacement for reading the books. They are a supplement, filling in blanks, adding color, and reminding readers of important facets of vampire life. If you’re a fan of the Morganville series, you’ll enjoy these stories. If you’re a REAL fan of the series, you’ve read most of them already. If you’ve never Morganville-d before, you might be a little dazed, but the ride will make you want more Morganville.
To enter to win a copy of Midnight Bites, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line “bites,” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen May 21, 2016. U.S. residents only. If entering via email please include your mailing address.
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It sounds like a good read. A mixture of of several types of books in one story.
I love vampires… This story line is very intriguing and may lead to a great reading journey.
I LOVE Rachel Caine’s books and am super excited to read the new one!
Sorry, corrected my Twitter handle from the previous comment.
I’ve read some of her books and they’ve always been good.
We have a winner!
Oh no I missed this one. Hsve not with the great library cards though did everything from the newsletter and Wattpad to pininterest which I think I got my username wrong as I’m new to that but I did everything. We are lucky to have a talented author. She even came to Aberdeen in Scotland it was like meeting my idols well she is my idol but I mean it’s like someone meeting a kardashain then again I’m fairly certain the word cute would be said 50 times in minute. The Jenner girl has taken out a book so least one of them is working unless she’s not doing the typing herself. I won’t judge until I have read it though. It’s my genre of sci fi and things that go bump in the night.