Rick Veal was born sometime during the last century and has lived most of his life in the Upstate of South Carolina. He joined the Navy immediately out of high school becoming an aircraft mechanic. During a six year span he sailed four times around the world and had the pleasure of visiting eighteen different countries. He says of that time that he did about two thirds of everything there was to do and was accused of taking part in the other one third!After returning home he attended The University of South Carolina graduating with a double Associates Degree with Honors. He completed his education at Presbyterian College in Clinton, South Carolina where he earned a Bachelor's Degree in History and Education. Since that time he has worked in the education field as a teacher and in various management positions in industry.
He has been a reader for most of his life and enjoyed most of what he's read. He is a big Anne Rice fan ... Go Lestat! He has always enjoyed reading and watching movies about vampires. He was completely hooked by Barnabas Collins in "Dark Shadows" way back in 1966. After reading all the vampire books he could ... Rice, Smith, Harris, Craine ... he decided that if they could write a vampire story, then so could he and he set out to do just that. He wanted a setting in the Low Country of South Carolina with a lot of history surrounding it. The rich history of Charleston, S.C. and the lore of Vampire stories just seemed to be made for each other. So tying the two together he formed the initial idea and then built on it from there.
When speaking of himself he says, there's not really a lot to say ... he thinks maybe his characters are more interesting than he is. He currently lives alone and shares his home with his "daughter", a three year old Tuxedo cat who graciously allows him to think he actually owns the home. Her name is "Daddy's Pretty Girl" but she will actually answer to anything except "Late for Dinner".
His two favorite authors are Anne Rice and Clive Cussler. He loves Cussler's storytelling ability and Rice's attention to detail. Both of them have a way of bringing their characters to life so that you feel as if you personally know them. He hopes that his readers will be able to see their influence in his writing as he tries to convey that same thing with all of his characters. It has been said that that if you want to write, you should write the book you want to read, then others will want to read it too. That is exactly what he has tried to do with "The Master of Whitehall", his debut novel.
After the brutal murder of her parents, Katelyn Corbin, a thoroughly modern twenty-one year old college senior, faces the prospect of restarting her life. After arriving in Charleston, Katelyn meets James Dubois and soon falls madly in love with him. He is a handsome young widower and wealthy patron of her school with an old world aristocratic bearing. She is deeply intrigued by this mysterious man who lives alone in the beautifully restored colonial plantation of Whitehall Manor.
But James is not the man she thinks he is. Dark secrets begin to come to the surface. Katelyn soon begins to develop a series of unsettling questions about her new love. She begins searching her own soul for answers, forcing her to question whether or not to continue their relationship.
Katelyn confronts James with her questions and His confirmation validates her fears that he is indeed the man she fears him to be. His revelations shock her, forcing her to acknowledge things about herself and her world that she never thought possible. She discovers that old folklore and fairy-tales are real in a world where vampires live and love side by side with humans.
Katelyn realizes she must make a choice. Does she continue her relationship with James, becoming a vampire herself and living with him forever, or does she walk away, remain human and live without him … is she really strong enough to make either choice?
The Epic Saga of The Master of Whitehall is a timeless love story set in historic Charleston, South Carolina.
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