Girl Desecrated: Vampires, Asylums and Highlanders 1984

The Fergus She, #1

GONE WITH THE WIND meets THE LOST BOYS in this addicting Gothic Fantasy series by award-winning author, Cheryl R Cowtan!

The time is 1984.

We are in a seedy bar with Rachel, as she celebrates her 18th birthday alone. But we realize she's not alone, never has been alone, as we witness the hypnotic, terrifying, and erotically charged events that herald the resurrection of her 'other', Scarlett.

Scarlett's memories carry us back to a time of romance, cultivated manners, and slavery, to a time of courage and displacement, to the Jamestown colony in Virginia. Arriving on a bride-ship, Scarlett seduces and wins William Cain as her lover and husband. Sustaining herself on the blood of trappers and sailors, Scarlett hides her evil nature from all except William's brother and Ebba, a slave on the Cain plantation. Driven by their persecution, Scarlett is forced to hide her soul until the time is ripe to unleash her superior will on a world of sensual pleasures.

As Scarlett rises within Rachel, Rachel's senses are heightened, and the night curves into a passionate and dangerous alliance with Angus, a Scotsman from across the sea. Thirsting for love, Rachel battles her 'other' for control while hoping for a 'normal' relationship with her new lover.

But unknown to Rachel, she has embarked on a perilous, spiralling journey of disaster in which those in her life will take sides in a desperate battle to subdue or raise Scarlett, The Fergus She. Desperate to belong, to be loved, to be normal, Rachel is her own worst enemy as she tries to survive, strives to know what is happening and why, where the She came from, and what her future can be . . .

From Canada to the US, to Scotland, the story of Scarlett eerily weaves a magnetic draw on the reader as we discover the terror and intimacy of possession.

In its unceasing flow of suspenseful storytelling, of threat and survival, of loyalty and treachery, Girl Desecrated bears witness of a unique and powerful literary imagination.

The compelling, deeply seductive novels of Cheryl R Cowtan have been compared to Anne Rice and Diana Gabaldon.

Experience Rachel's battle against vampire possession through this novel of hypnotic beauty and shocking impact. It is a story of menace and love, family and loss, suspense and determination, and the extraordinary power of heritage.

"9/10 for originality--Blends thriller and horror seamlessly"! -Publishers Weekly Booklife Magazine

"This is the best book I've read in a long time...a deliciously dark, character-driven, psychological, Gothic fantasy. ... At times, the writing is stunningly beautiful and at other times raw and thrilling." -E.M.G. Wixley, author of The Witchfinder Series

"Girl Desecrated is a stand out in a crowded genre. I tore through it. The use of the vampire metaphor to explore issues associated with mental illness, and the search for identity in the context of an abusive past, gives the book a powerful undercurrent." -Kathleen McFall, author of TheCowboy and The Vampire Series