Dark Passages: A Novel

She was born a vampire...Meg Harrison was raised by her mother to resist the temptation of human blood. But as a new actress filming the cult hit TV show Dark Passages in Mad Men-era New York, using her powers isn't the only temptation she has to resist…not with costars like dark, troubled Michael Halliday and enigmatic Brit Ian Fletcher.And Meg isn't the only one with secrets.When a beautiful, 300-year-old witch bent on destroying Meg forces her into a spectacular battle for love and supremacy, it will take all of Meg's wit and tenacity to realize that the powers she's denied herself might not be a curse, but a blessing."You know those books that make you feel sad because you're done reading it? That's the way I felt about Dark Passages."—Amazon reader"The writing is so engaging and funny, and the tale so entertaining that even non-Dark Shadows fans will find this an enjoyable read."—Amazon reader"A gutsy vampire novel…Highly engaging."—Amazon reader

Jonathan Frid, Barnabas Collins on Dark Shadows

"Reading Dark Passages was like being back on the set of Dark Shadows, except with real vampires behind the scenes."

Goodreads reader

"Ghosts, spirits, witches and, yes, even a vampire...Compelling, three-dimensional characters; fast-paced and clever plotting; fascinating background setting; and some new twists on old vampire lore. Just like Charlaine Harris did not allow her True Blood series to be hamstrung by vampire traditions, Kathryn Leigh Scott has some new twists on what real vampires can and can't do."

Publishers Weekly

"Will be a hit with Dark Shadows aficionados."

Amazon reader

"Buy this book and prepare to be entertained for hours."

Amazon reader

"Fans of vampire romances will simply find this a fun read that is impossible to put down. Highly recommended!"

Amazon reader

"Beautifully written, wonderfully romantic, poignant, humorous, and not just for Dark Shadows fans!"

Amazon reader

"A great summer beach type read."

Goodreads reader

"Scott's idea of a vampire falls into the Twilight camp--gorgeous, strong, indestructible, even impervious to normal vampiric weaknesses...these skills were ultimately in service of building up protagonist Margaret's power and self-esteem."

Amazon reader

"Fun, creative, and interesting. The story line has the main character as a vampire who is paired up with a witch as her enemy from years back...Nice light summer read like her other book Down and Out in Beverly Heels."

Scribd reader

"I love vampire and urban fantasy books. I was thrilled to get this one."

Goodreads reader

"I loved this book. Loved the story, characters, setting, descriptions and everything else in between."

Goodreads reader

"This book is not your normal vampire book. It was a great twist on what you would typically read a vampire novel for...The writing style was easy to read and the story flowed nicely...I also thought the characters and world were very well developed and full of details. I would easily recommend this book to both the YA crowd and any adult fan of vampire fiction."

Goodreads reader

"I loved it so much! Loosely based on what happened behind the scenes of the show [Dark Shadows] but told with a paranormal/supernatural twist. It also sets up a love pentagon between Meg, her co-star Ian who plays the vampire, their other co-worker Michael, Camilla, and Meg's high school boyfriend Eric. The book also features ghosts and other creepy events and leads to a great showdown all the while they're filming what becomes a hit TV series."

Goodreads reader

"I loved Meg & Ian's budding romance."

Goodreads reader

"My book club chose this as our Halloween read and I think it was a good one."

Goodreads reader

"A compelling and well-written novel that grabs you by the throat and doesn't let go during its thrill-packed ride. I only hope that there's a series in the work so we see more of these characters!"

Goodreads reader

"A fast, enjoyable read that only gets better as it goes along."

Goodreads reader

"A rip-roaring story packed full of perfect period detail, conspiracy, romance, and a heroine of such delightful complexity who is not just a rising star but who also happens to be a vampire. This is no small inconvenience and it leads her to places where her courage is tested in unimaginable ways no mortal would survive. This book is the perfect summer read and takes vampire stories to a new level."

LibraryThing reader

"Meg is a wonderful, unique character and I thought she was really well written...I'm really enjoying the unique vampire lore that Scott has included in the book, particularly the part about the different powers Meg has (such as shape-shifting and astral projection)."

Robert Masello, author of The Einstein Prophecy

"A deliciously wicked witches' brew...a Halloween treat that's equally tasty any time of the year."

From the Inside Flap

An excerpt from Dark Passages:Two detectives from the 16th Precinct rapped on my door shortly after 7 a.m. to tell me that Mr. Haddock was dead. He'd fallen from the bedroom window of his 11th-floor apartment. His body had been found at dawn by a neighbor walking her dog."Sorry to break it to you like this, sweetheart." A beefy detective, who didn't look a bit sorry, sucked his teeth and said, "We found your name and phone number inside a Playboy Club matchbook that was in his hand when―you get the picture, right, kid? So when did you last see him?""Last night, at the Club," I said, hanging on to the doorknob with both hands. Haddie? Dead? I could barely breathe."You mind if we come in, have a word with you?"I stepped aside. The two men, stinking of cigarettes and a long night in overcoats, squeezed into the narrow foyer of my studio apartment."You want some coffee?""Sure thing. You up early or just getting in?" the one doing all the talking asked. His voice was flat, his insinuation clear."I was getting ready for an audition. I have a camera test this morning.""Yeah? I thought you were a Playboy Bunny.""I am. I work at the Club, but I'm an actress. Look, if you have to talk with anyone at Playboy, could you please not mention the bit about Mr. Haddock having my phone number? Please?"The skinny, younger detective pulled a notebook and pencil from his coat pocket. My heart bumped down a flight of stairs. I could see the tabloid headlines. Bunny Call Girl Involved In Geezer Death. I would lose my job and the Club would lose its liquor license, bringing down the entire Playboy empire. Worse, I'd miss my camera test."Please," I pleaded. I was on the verge of tears and didn't want puffy eyes for my camera audition. "I'll tell you all I know about Mr. Haddock, just please don't go to the Club with this!""Just doing our job, kid.""You don't think that he--" I couldn't make myself say the word."Jumped? Now why would he do that?""He was depressed about his wife, that's all. She died and he was all alone. I told him he could call me. To talk.""Yeah? And did he?""No! I wish he had!""We can get phone records, you know. So his wife died when?""I don't know. Maybe seven, eight years ago.""And he was still depressed?" The beefy one heaved a sigh. "So he was lonely and called and you went over there?""Of course not! If I had, I would've made sure he didn't fall!"None of this was sounding good. Worse, I'd carelessly left my roll of cash tips with Haddie's lighter on the kitchen table. What would these detectives make of seeing a wad of money lying around, especially if they discovered the lighter had been Haddie's? I had to get them out of my apartment and make it to the studio on time."Look, he was a nice old guy. He left the Club and I didn't see him again," I said, focusing my energy on their overcoats. "I came straight home after my shift."A thick sheen of sweat surfaced on their faces. The beefy one, his cheeks slick and red, fumbled with the buttons on his coat, pulling it open. "You keep it awful hot in here, kid.""Really? I was going to turn up the heat," I said, hugging my arms and shivering.The detectives exchanged looks, sweat dripping off their chins and soaking through their shirts. A sickening fug of scorched, unwashed flesh clouded the air around them. The skinny one shook drops of moisture off his notebook and fanned himself."Okay," the heavyset detective said, mopping his face with a sodden handkerchief. "Nothing we can't check out. We know where to find you."He opened the door and they left, taking the putrid stench of sweat with them. With shaking hands I double-locked the door and pulled the chain.Poor Haddie. If I'd been focusing properly I could have prevented his death. But I was functioning nowhere near capacity, and it was my own fault. I had decided that if I was going to be a serious actress and prove I had the talent on my own to compete on the level of humans, I had to deny my vampiric nature. To feed on the blood I craved meant enabling my supernatural powers. Juiced on fresh blood, it was almost impossible not to take advantage of superhuman strengths and abilities. That's not how I wanted to win a role.But denial had taken its toll. I was in a weakened state. Even the slight exertion it took to turn the detectives into human furnaces had left me drained. I'd actually begun to require sleep at night. My energy reserves were dangerously depleted. For a while I'd been binging on steak tartare at Brasserie, normally low-grade fuel but not in the quantities I'd been consuming night after night. I'd also regularly breezed through Central Park on my way home from the Club, consuming tangy sparrow blood and the nutty-flavored squirrel blood I'd come to like. My mother would have been appalled had she known about my indulgence.Meat, when she occasionally ate it, could never be cooked well enough for Ruth, who avoided blood at all costs. "Farm folk always eat their meat well done," she'd tell us, serving up her charred pork chops and desiccated meatloaf.I didn't know meat could be pliable, let alone pink, until I was in high school. Homegrown vegetables were the staple of our diet. My dad grew corn, cabbage, tomatoes, rutabaga, beets, lettuce, potatoes, peppers, boiler and green onions, three kinds of squash, three kinds of beans, crabapples, rhubarb and muskmelons that he took to market three mornings a week.We also had fresh eggs, but no poultry was ever killed on our farm. The chickens we ate, roasted to a crisp, were home-grown but came back to us dressed and oven-ready through an arrangement with a neighboring farmer. Mother took denial to extremes to prove she could be just as human as anyone else.I only once saw her resort to blood lust. That was to aid my father, Orville, a tall, rugged human with broad shoulders, who wore overalls six days a week and spent most of his time in the fields. One Saturday morning in early spring, my dad was plowing the fields in the meadow near the house while mother and I were setting out trays of cabbage seedlings from the cold frames. We both happened to look up to see my dad swing the wheels of the old Allis Chalmers around the end of the field to begin another furrow. He was steering the tractor with one hand, as always, and leaning over to check the placement of the plow.Suddenly my mother gasped and started running toward the meadow. My insides churned and I started running after her. Moments later, the tractor lurched forward as the right wheel struck rock and slewed sideways. My dad jounced in his seat, lost his balance and fell backward off the tractor.I stopped in my tracks, screaming, but my mother kept running, her feet flying across the field to reach my dad. The tractor leaned precariously, its wheel spinning in the furrow, spewing dirt as it ground deeper into the earth.I ran even faster, racing toward the tipping tractor. I clambered up the far side, gripped the steering wheel and punched my hand against the choke. I don't even know how I knew to do that, but the motor shuddered and jolted to a stop. The wheel, jammed against a deep boulder, rocked back and eased into the earth. I held on to the steering wheel with both hands, my eyes clamped shut, fearful of what I would see when I looked back at my dad.Slowly I turned my head and opened my eyes―but what I saw stopped my breath. My father lay cradled in my mother's arms, her head bent low over his bloody upper torso. As I watched, she lifted her face and looked up at me with glittering eyes, her mouth dripping blood from the bone-deep gash in my father's shoulder."Look away! Go!" Her voice was a snarl, deep and guttural. "Go!"

About the Author

Kathryn Leigh Scott is an author/actress. Her novels: September Girl (2019), Jinxed (2015), Down and Out in Beverly Heels (2013), Dark Passages (2012); nonfiction: Last Dance at the Savoy (2016) and Now With You, Now Without, (2017). Kathryn appeared in Blacklist with James Spader (2019); Woody Allen’s A Rainy Day in New York (2019) and soon-to-be-released The Eleventh Green (2019) with Campbell Scott, Three Christs with Richard Gere and Juliana Margulies. She’s also appeared in Hallmark Channel’s Broadcasting Christmas (2016), Lifetime’s A Wedding to Die For (2017), has a recurring role as George Segal’s girlfriend Miriam in The Goldbergs. She wrote Dark Shadows: Return to Collinwood (2012), and appeared in a cameo role in the Johnny Depp/Tim Burton film, Dark Shadows (2012). She is recording all 32 Dark Shadows novels by Marilyn Ross, published 1966-1970. Kathryn grew up on a farm in Robbinsdale, Minnesota. Upon graduation from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Kathryn landed the ingénue lead in the classic Gothic daytime drama Dark Shadows (ABC, 1966-1971), and starred in the 1971 MGM feature House of Dark Shadows. Kathryn played four roles in the series: Maggie Evans, Josette du Pres, Lady Kitty 
Hampshire, and Rachel Drummond. Kathryn wrote Dark Shadows Memories to coincide with its 20th anniversary, and Dark Shadows Companion as a 25th 
anniversary tribute. Kathryn launched Pomegranate Press, Ltd. to publish books about the entertainment industry, including guide books, biographies, textbooks and coffee table art books. She wrote The Bunny Years (the 25-year history of Playboy Clubs told through
 the women who worked as Bunnies), which was sold to Imagine Entertainment’s Brian Grazer. She also co-produced a two-hour special for the A&E Network and a one-hour documentary for BBC-1 and Canadian TV, based on the book. Pomegranate has published over 50 nonfiction titles, including Scott’s books Lobby Cards: The Classic Films (Benjamin Franklin Award for Best Coffee Table
 Book) and Lobby Cards: The Classic Comedies, both of which were published in the UK by Bloomsbury. She published a trade paper edition of the hardcover biography Coya Come Home, with a Foreword by Walter F. Mondale. Kathryn's theatrical credits include a lengthy run with James Stewart in Harvey in London's West End. She has appeared in many television series and miniseries, including the "Who Watches the Watchers" episode of Start Trek: The Next Generation, Barbara Taylor Bradford’s Voice of the Heart, as Dan Travanti's wife in Murrow, as George C. Scott's mistress in The Last Days of Patton, as Philip Marlowe's girlfriend in Chandlertown, and as a series regular with Brian Dennehy in Big Shamus, Little Shamus. Feature films include Providence, The Great Gatsby, Brannigan, The Greek Tycoon, Assassination, 187 and Parasomnia, Dr. Mabuse, Dark Shadows, Three Christs, The Eleventh Green, A Rainy Day in New York. Kathryn maintains homes in Los Angeles and New York. www.Kathrynleighscott.com [email protected]

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