Critically acclaimed novelist Mark Allen recently revealed the cover photo and a Friday October 06, 2023 release date for his upcoming novel, JUST BEFORE DAWN. This novel, Allen’s third, is a direct sequel to his debut, NOCTURNAL, and picks up five years after that book’s events. The Vampire Eddie Marx has returned to his quiet existence, removed from “the affairs of man”. His great, great grandson, Reggie, along with Reggie’s friend Nick Castle, have continued their careers with the San Diego Police Department and received major promotions.
But a serial killer stalks the city’s vampire Goth scene, leaving kills that mimic vampirism. Reggie once again enlists the Vampire’s reluctant help. Simultaneously, a dark, powerful force from the Vampire’s past arises in the present to destroy him and his descendants, severing his bloodline.
“I had had always envisioned NOCTURNAL as a one-off,” Allen explains. “But everyone kept asking, ‘What happened next?’, I realized I needed to spend more time with these characters because my readers demanded it.”
The first challenge was building a new story that builds on the first novel without rehashing it. Another was developing underlying thematic elements. “To paraphrase George A. Romero,” Allen says, “I don’t write horror novels. I write novels with horror in them so I can talk about other things.”
Allen is also the author of the critically acclaimed, BLOOD RED MOON, a new take on the werewolf mythos. BLOOD RED MOON is the first of a planned trilogy. Allen will be writing the next book in the series, ALPHA MALE, later this year.
Allen is a produced screenwriter, having written DELIRIUM (York Entertainment 2007) and EARLY GRAVE (Fenix Pictures 2013) which is currently available on DVD and streaming on Prime Video and Tubi TV. Allen is repped in all areas of film and TV by Judy Fox Personal Talent Management, Beverly Hills, CA.
Mark lives quietly in Washington state on the Puget Sound. He writes every day.
