Book Information

• Title: Invited: Initium
• Author: Jerrimiah Stonecastle
• Rating: 5/5
• Format: E-book

Quick Take

Invited: Initium by Jerrimiah Stonecastle is as juicy a tale as it is gothic. It has been a long time since I’ve read such a tale reminiscent of old-school horror, and I can honestly say that I have been swept off my feet.

Tell Me More

I’m always a fan of horror novels, especially those about the occult.  Jerrimiah Stonecastle’s newest short story Invited: Initium is all of that, and so much more.  His work reminds me of classic horror and occult writing, and if you are a fan of these like I am, then you are in for a treat.

                Invited: Initium is set in 1631 and follows Bianca Lupei, a woman about to be married to a man named Sebastian Barbaneagra .  However, her life is interrupted when a vampire, Lord Lucian Dascălu, comes into her life and claims that she is his heir.  He proceeds to bite her and afflict her with a curse that will continue his bloodline, but Sebastian knows that he cannot live without Bianca, so he chooses to become damned as well.  The story follows the lovers as they try to find a way to end the curse, all the while being chased by Jesuit Priests who are intent on banishing them. 

                Stonecastle has a unique way of welcoming the reader in before dragging them straight into his world, and even though this was only a short story less than one hundred pages, I found myself completely absorbed.  Bianca and Sebastian were such vibrant and loveable characters, that I couldn’t help but feel connected to them and empathize with their experience.  While this story does interweave the occult into its love story, I felt that it became more of a gothic period piece.  Stonecastle made sure to include just enough descriptors that his characters and world became vibrant, but he did not put the reader through heavy filler.  Each word was an integral part of the story, and I found myself reminiscing over classic horror authors, such as H.P. Lovecraft and Edgar Allan Poe.  Having read some of Stonecastle’s other work, I was impressed to see how diverse his writing has become over the two stories I have read thus far, and I would attribute that to his talent as a horror author.

                If you are a fan of classic horror short stories with a touch of romance, then you can’t go wrong with Invited: Initium.  Jerrimiah Stonecastle is not an author to be missed, and I look forward to his innovative writing as it comes. 

AUTHOR INFORMATION

Born and raised in the slums of New York, he was raised by a single mom who earned her Master’s in Early Childhood Development while working as a teacher’s aid. She sent young Jerrimiah to the prestigious Power Memorial Academy for Boys, the Alma mater of NBA great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. He worked part-time after school to help his mom pay for his tuition.

He declined a full scholarship from Concordia University and joined the US Army and became a combat medic. He returned to New York upon his discharge where he was hired by the NYC Chief Medical Examiners Office as a medical stenographer.

In 1982 he joined the New York City Police Department. In 1983 he was recruited by the Organized Crime Control Bureau (OCCB) as an undercover officer in their narcotics division. He finished out his career as a detective assigned to the Bronx Homicide Task Force.

When he retired in 2002, he relocated to Florida to pursue his passion for writing. After hundreds of rejection letters and reading Amanda Hocking’s story, he decided to self-publish his own works. In 2016 he formed Stonecastle Publications LLC and has published 21books and publications so far. He has an additional 225 fiction and nonfiction novels in draft form in his company’s literary vault.

On October 31, 2018, He launched his first horror novel “FRANKENSTINA” and released the sequel “FRANKENSTINA REBORN” on Halloween 2019. There are two more books in the horology.