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Vampires of Coal Dust #2
Learning To Bleed
Not yet published
Expected 18 Mar 26You can take the girl out of Penny Harbour, but you can’t take the monster out of the girl.
When Spencer and Laurel left Penny Harbour after her death, he promised she could learn to control her hunger. Once she stops being a danger to the people she loves, he can bring her home. His centuries as a vampire should have prepared him to guide her, but every night, he cleans the blood from her hands and hides the corpses she’s made. No amount of careful planning stops the inevitable, and Spencer can’t figure out why.
Laurel is lying. The monster that took root in her veins never left. It whispers to her, robs her of reason, and twists the truth. Out in the big, broad world for the first time, she’s overwhelmed by cities, her own queer reckoning, and the monsters waging war inside her. Terrified of what will happen if she tells Spencer, Laurel has decided to push through in isolation. Things were supposed to get easier, after all. With practice, she should have been in control by now.
Will Laurel be able to overcome the rage long enough to take advantage of her new freedom, or will the violence destroy everything she’s fought so hard to get?
----
This book is the second part of a queer Gothic horror series with romantic themes and handles heavy, complicated topics such as generational trauma, spousal abuse, and grief. A full list of trigger warnings can be found on Cat’s website.
When Spencer and Laurel left Penny Harbour after her death, he promised she could learn to control her hunger. Once she stops being a danger to the people she loves, he can bring her home. His centuries as a vampire should have prepared him to guide her, but every night, he cleans the blood from her hands and hides the corpses she’s made. No amount of careful planning stops the inevitable, and Spencer can’t figure out why.
Laurel is lying. The monster that took root in her veins never left. It whispers to her, robs her of reason, and twists the truth. Out in the big, broad world for the first time, she’s overwhelmed by cities, her own queer reckoning, and the monsters waging war inside her. Terrified of what will happen if she tells Spencer, Laurel has decided to push through in isolation. Things were supposed to get easier, after all. With practice, she should have been in control by now.
Will Laurel be able to overcome the rage long enough to take advantage of her new freedom, or will the violence destroy everything she’s fought so hard to get?
----
This book is the second part of a queer Gothic horror series with romantic themes and handles heavy, complicated topics such as generational trauma, spousal abuse, and grief. A full list of trigger warnings can be found on Cat’s website.
400 pages, ebook
Expected publication March 18, 2026
19 people want to read
About the author
Cat Rector
7 books241 followersAbout the Author
Cat Rector grew up in a small Nova Scotian town and could often be found simultaneously reading a book and fighting off muskrats while walking home from school. She devours stories in all their forms, loves messy, morally grey characters, and writes about the horrors that we inflict on each other. After spending nearly a decade living abroad, she returned to Canada to resume her war against the muskrats. When she’s not writing, you can find her playing video games, spending time with loved ones, or staring at her To Be Read pile like it's going to read itself.
Find her on social media or visit her website, CatRector.com
Cat Rector grew up in a small Nova Scotian town and could often be found simultaneously reading a book and fighting off muskrats while walking home from school. She devours stories in all their forms, loves messy, morally grey characters, and writes about the horrors that we inflict on each other. After spending nearly a decade living abroad, she returned to Canada to resume her war against the muskrats. When she’s not writing, you can find her playing video games, spending time with loved ones, or staring at her To Be Read pile like it's going to read itself.
Find her on social media or visit her website, CatRector.com
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
October 1, 2025
Obligatory Author Review
More info, including Trigger Warnings: https://www.catrector.com/coalgetsiny...
This book, like the first in the series, means a lot to me. While the first was a novel focused solely on life inside a deeply traumatized community, this one is in large part focused on what happens after you take the first step to break cycles. Laurel and Spencer have left Penny Harbour and are on their way to something better, but does that mean Laurel will be magically healed now? If she only knows how to exist under Greg's thumb, how does she adjust to someone who doesn't scare her?
Out in the wide world, contending with her mistakes, her future, her old wounds, and her tip-toeing into queerness, how does Laurel cope with so much change?
This book is for people who have been in the middle of their healing journey screaming THIS SUCKSSSS. But it's also for people who love vampires and bites and betrayals. It's for people who are looking for explorations of late-blooming queerness, spicy delights, vampire roller coaster puns, trips across Canada, monstrous decisions, and exciting new characters.
I'm really excited to share this book with you soon, and the next book after that.
More info, including Trigger Warnings: https://www.catrector.com/coalgetsiny...
This book, like the first in the series, means a lot to me. While the first was a novel focused solely on life inside a deeply traumatized community, this one is in large part focused on what happens after you take the first step to break cycles. Laurel and Spencer have left Penny Harbour and are on their way to something better, but does that mean Laurel will be magically healed now? If she only knows how to exist under Greg's thumb, how does she adjust to someone who doesn't scare her?
Out in the wide world, contending with her mistakes, her future, her old wounds, and her tip-toeing into queerness, how does Laurel cope with so much change?
This book is for people who have been in the middle of their healing journey screaming THIS SUCKSSSS. But it's also for people who love vampires and bites and betrayals. It's for people who are looking for explorations of late-blooming queerness, spicy delights, vampire roller coaster puns, trips across Canada, monstrous decisions, and exciting new characters.
I'm really excited to share this book with you soon, and the next book after that.
Displaying 1 of 1 review