Beginning of Book: My name is Edgar and I'm a vampire. Kidding! I just have very sharp teeth. No, that's not true. Well, it is true, I do have sharp teeth. But that's because I am a vampire. Really. Only the thing is, it's a secret. Obviously my family knows. They're all vampires, too -- Mom, Dad, Grandmother, Grandfather, Granny, Gramps, great-grandparents, great-great-grandparents, great-great-great-grandparents (you get the idea), all my aunts and uncles and cousins. But the kids at school don't know. And according to my parents, they can't know, not ever. I've heard this lecture for as long as I can remember. "If a mortal discovers our true nature, there will be a vicious mob at our doors, armed with stakes and torches. It's happened before and it can happen again. A couple of centuries ago, Cousin Julius bit a dog in the park -- the stupid fool couldn't wait until dark. He was too hungry, and the dog smelled delicious, like the kind you would slurp up slathered with onions and relish. Anyway, a man strolling by saw Julius with fangs bared and raised such a ruckus you wouldn't believe! Julius flew home, but it was too late, word was out. When it was over, all that was left of Julius was a pile of garlic-covered ashes." Grandfather always leans forward and stares at me with his glittering cold eyes whenever he comes to the end of the story. "And that's why," he grills the moral into me, "that's why we may walk among mortals, but we can NEVER trust them. They're never our friends!" Excerpted from Blood Diaries: Tales of a 6th-Grade Vampire by Marissa Moss All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.