Night's Gift

Night's Vampire #1

by Mary M. Cushnie-Mansour

After Virginia's heart is torn apart, she moves to a small city and tries to build a new life. One night, she decides to investigate a mysterious old mansion that she passes each day. Petrified by what she witnesses as she peers through a window, Virginia attempts to flee... Awakening inside the mansion, Virginia comes face to face with its secrets - Teresa, a mysterious beauty; Max, a seemingly sinister old man; and HIM, the Count Basarab Musat, a Transylvanian vampire who manipulates and controls everything, and everyone, who crosses his path. When Virginia realizes she is the count's prisoner, she is forced into playing a dangerous game - her very survival depends on the outcome. Virginia prays every day to be free from the evil world she has stumbled upon - where the undead are so alive! Night's Gift is the beginning of her story...

Genres: Vampires, Fantasy

300 pages, Paperback

First published January 26, 2011

About the author

Report cards regularly trumpeted Mary M. Cushnie-Mansour as a daydreamer. Teachers felt if she paid more attention in class, her marks would be better. Little did they know what was going on in her mind. From a young age, all Mary wanted to do was write, and write she did. Through elementary school, high school, and into her early 20's she wrote poetry, short stories, plays, and songs. For a time, though, Mary let life get in the way of her passion, and it wasn't until she was in her mid-thirties when she returned to university that the flame re-ignited. While studying Forms of Fantasy - J. R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings,: " Mary began writing again, pumping out poetry, children's stories, short stories, and the beginning seeds of what would become the "Night's Vampire Series." Mary also enjoys writing mysteries, and has penned the "Detective Toby Mysteries."
Mary loves John Grisham's books and has every one of them. She also reads authors like Ted Dekker, Sidney Sheldon, Patricia Cornwell, Kathy Reichs, Joy Fielding, John Saul, Nicholas Sparks, Sandra Brown,Jodi Picoult, and Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman. These are just a few of the authors Mary reads on a regular basis, and usually, she writes a book review on each of the books she finishes.

In the 90s Mary wrote several children's stories and mysteries that were left sitting on the shelves for far too long. Mary is happy to announce that she dusted many of these stories off and has published nine bilingual children's books, several children's picture books, youth novels, and short story and poetry collections. Mary has also written a vampire series and a detective series.

In 1991, Mary registered a publishing company - Cavern of Dreams Publishing - through which she published not only her works but helped other writers realize their dreams. She collaborated closely with an editing and illustrating staff and in January 2017, Mary turned the company over to her Editor-in-Chief so she could spend more time with her personal writing.

Mary's motto in life is to pursue your dreams no matter what life throws at you - it is never too late to "become."

Reviews

[Sally Wolf · Rating 5 out of 5]

Virginia always had a knack for being in the wrong place at the wrong time and the night she stumbled onto Count Basarab's porch was no exception. Drawn to the window by an unknown force Virginia peeps in to see two individuals in an argument. Frightened she tries to flee but is knocked unconscious by a statue. She awakes to find herself being watched by a beautiful woman. Who informs her that her fate is now to be determined by the Count. After several unsuccessful attempts to escape Virginia decides to play a very dangerous game to stay alive.
This is one of the best books I have read in a while the characters are fantastic, the plot is moving and the pace is smooth. This Romantic Vampire novel is a must read and is going into my to be read again shelf.

[R. Jetleb · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoy this modern take on old world vampires.

[Gayle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would have given this book 2.5 stars, actually. The beginning of the book started off, just all right for me. It was okay..not great. The style of the writing seemed lacking somehow, almost juvenile. As the story unfolded, it got more interesting and towards the end, I couldn't wait to find out what happens to Virginia. I sound like an American Idol judge, here. Started off 'iffy' but picked up and ended well.

I bought this book because I love a good vampire story. I also spent some of my youth, growing up in the city of Brantford. I saw the author interviewed by Nancy Richards on our local news station. At first I wasn't real impressed with the very 'classic' vampire spin on this one, though. I prefer a more modern flavour. Ms. Cushnie-Mansour convinced me otherwise, however. Kudos and congratulations on her debut novel. I liked it and look forward to her next two books in the trilogy.

[Chantal Guay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nights Gifts by marymcushniemansour
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
So I'm going to start off by saying if you didn't see my last post , Mary is a local author in my town Brantford , last year I bought two books off her but this year ( Over the weekend ) I bought 3 books Saturday from her & then on Sunday I bought the rest of the entire series of this Series for the Vampire Trilogy series 🧛‍♂️ witch there is 5 other books in this series 😀
Nights Gifts was an amazing read ! The fact the FMC moved to Brantford (the town I live in ) I find it so cool reading a fantasy about somewhere I have lived my whole life , based on streets I know , based on a mansion I have drove by a few times ! So AMAZING ! This book was super gripping, and I mean, if you love vampires, you're going to love this one !
Mary is such an amazing author, and I will always support her writing ! I love how she brings her characters to life she makes them feel so real !

[Stacey Mosley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Night's Gift

Mary M. Cushnie-Mansour

Marys richly textured characters immediately draw you into their world and hold you captivated in a a fantasy of real and genuine human emotions. So fluidly you follow Virginia, as if a shadow in the room, through her fears of the world around and as the fears in her heart collide. Captivating you and leaving you wanting more ~ thankfully Mary lets us continue to follow this family through Books 2 and three: Night's Children and Night's return!

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my introductions of this series, Mary M. Cushin-Mansour was at chapters in Guelph and as I always do bought her book because she took the time to promote it . When I started reading the book , it got me instantly. The book has many characters which makes the story that much better, I was never into vampire books much until this book. I finished reading in days of my purchase . The story about a vampire and the women he loved ,truely and completely was going to be a hard sell, but ..... well you will just have to read it to find out. Enjoy!!!

[Laurel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book, the story-line was very interesting and the characters I felt were believable in their setting. It took me a while to warm up to the story as I don't normally read vampire books but I won this book in a giveaway and I felt it wouldn't hurt to try. I'm glad I gave it a shot as it turned out to be very entertaining. I enjoyed the spin on vampire lineage and how the author tells about the history of Basarab.

[Cin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vampire stories are not my favourite type of books to read. I received a free copy of this book from the Goodreads First Reads program. Thanks for sending me this book. I enjoyed reading this. The story is captivating and it’s hard to put this book down. I would definitely check out other books in the series. I have recommended this book to my friends. Nice book!

[Mary Cushnie-Mansour]

Virginia's always had a curious nature, so when she observes that there is never a living soul seen on the grounds of the huge mansion she passes every day on her way to work, Virginia decides to check it out. Why she chose to do so on a dark night, though, is beyond even her comprehension - especially when she finds herself trapped inside the walls of this mansion and is confronted with those who seem to be alive, yet are from another world - that of the undead. This is just the beginning of Virginia's fall into the vampire world!

[Mary Cushnie-Mansour]

Virginia's always had a curious nature, so when she observes that there is never a living soul seen on the grounds of the huge mansion she passes every day on her way to work, Virginia decides to check it out. Why she chose to do so on a dark night, though, is beyond even her comprehension - especially when she finds herself trapped inside the walls of this mansion and is confronted with those who seem to be alive, yet are from another world - that of the undead. This is just the beginning of Virginia's fall into the vampire world!

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Virginia feels that she is all alone in the world. Her parents are gone and she just threw out her cheating boyfriend. Needing a new start she moves from Toronto to Brantford, starts a new job, hopes to enrol in college classes and get her life back on track. Everything seems to be going well until she is out for a late evening stroll and her curiousity gets the better of her. The old (seemingly deserted) mansion at the end of the street is beckoning. She just wants to take a peek through the window. What she sees astounds and terrifies her, and through a series of misfortunes she finds herself held prisoner within its walls.

This book was given to me as a gift, and as I read the author’s forward I was not expecting too much. Ms. Cushnie-Mansour freely admits she self-published because her friends urged her to get this book out now to get in on the “vampire bandwagon”. Because the book was a gift I felt obligated to read the whole thing. Had I purchased it or borrowed it from the library I might have put it aside after the first few chapters. That would have been too bad because I ended up enjoying the story. Although I found the beginning a bit tedious the author seemed to find her voice and strength as the book continued, so much so that I recently purchased the e-book of the second instalment to the trilogy. I appreciated that she stayed true to the original vampire lore (no sunlight, no food, aversion to crosses) but she did stray from the “undead” theory. She presented an excellent scenario for the creation of the “vampyre” giving the reader a little history lesson in the process. It made the premise of her story a little more believable (as believable as a vampire story can be). It’s all a little difficult to explain with a big “spoiler alert” at the top of the review so I’ll stop at what I’ve written. Although I wouldn’t rave about the book with 5 stars, it was definitely worth the read if you are a fan of the genre.

I’d like to publicly thank my friend, (another) Mary for the gift. The house the book is based on exists and the artwork on the front of the book depicts it. She included newspaper clippings about the house being featured in this book as well as having the book signed. Always nice!

[Carolyn Vaningen schroeder · Rating 1 out of 5]

Although I like the fact that this book is local, and I enjoy stories of the supernatural, I am disappointed with this book. I purchased it at the recommendation of the book store clerk and I definitely need to go back and chat with her.

This writer can't seem to decide which decade or era the characters are living in. The main character Virginia speaks and thinks as if were the early 1900's, using such phrases as, "scared out of my wits" and calling herself a, "foolish little trollop!", but then makes a comment about her mother worrying about her being out partying. Seriously who talks like that? It is set in modern Brantford, and I'm an adult and I know trollop is not a word generally used in my vocabulary. Also she flip flops from being terrified of the count to undressing for him and having a night of passion beyond any experience before in less than 12 hours. Then the next day she is pregnant with, "his seed growing inside me." Wow.. Give it a rest...

Sorry but this is just so poorly written I can't get past it. Decide on your timeframe and a plausible back story too. No single woman out alone for a walk at night goes into a neighbour's yard in the dark because she is sooooo curious. Nancy Drew would have loved this.

[Janna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although I didn't like how she submits to her fate so easily in the beginning she comes back fighting strong as she learns the engaging tale of the vampire's story. I did enjoy most of all the authors wonderful history lesson on how the vampires came to be and the resulting affects through history that are recognizable to the reader. I really enjoyed the ending!! But I won't go on and ruin it for anyone :)

[Evelyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads. I found this book a little hard to get into but probably because its not my usual style of book. There were some good story ideas in the book and I will probably read the rest of the trilogy because I really want to find out what will happen next! There are some unanswered questions I have that will probably be revealed in the other two books, I'm hoping!