It's been a while since I've put an update on my blog, so this one is a doozy. The 2nd book in The Alcrest Mysteries...The Menu...is out and available on Amazon and Kobo. Things are going well.
A friend asked me why I don't do the Andy Weir thing. If you don't know who he is, he wrote The Martian which became a great movie starring Matt Damon. I saw the movie and it was great. I bought the paperback and found out that Andy Weir wrote the story and put it for free on his website/blog a little at a time. People loved it, a publisher saw it...bing, bang, boom...published and movie. So why don't I do this? I write a book for a year, put my soul on the pages, have fights with my family over the time I put into my writing and stress out over whether the storyline of imaginary people works...doesn't that deserve some payback? I think so.
Of course after saying that I'll take a chance. Here is the prologue for The Cistern (warning: it's not for everyone and the faint at heart) If I get a few comments and interest I will post another chapter every week.
Note: The Cistern will be on sale on Amazon and Kobo for only .99 cents December 15 to 20th.
The Cistern: An Alcrest Mystery
CISTERN
“sistern”
A
tank for storing water, especially one supplying taps or as part of a flushing
toilet
An underground
reservoir for rainwater.
Prologue
Twenty years ago
He
wondered what the cat wanted more - to be let out of the wood box or to have
the cinderblock lifted from its tail.
Meeerrrooowwww
He stared
at it, with what his mother called his big baby eyes. The cat screeched and thrashed about wildly
without getting anywhere. Its feet dug
into the bottom of the box wanting to pull its tail out from under the concrete
block. One of its nails had pulled out
and was stuck in the plywood bottom.
The boy's
tongue flicked out and licked the saliva collecting on his lips. His head tilted to the side as he pondered
how long it would take before Whisker's tail popped off.
He
smiled. It was like that rhyme before
you flicked the dandelion head off the stem with your thumb. "Momma had a baby and her head popped
off."
Meeoooowwrrreeeooowww
Things
were tingling inside the boy. He didn't
know why or how it all started, but he didn't want to let it stop. He wanted to see how far it would go. If the boy saw Whiskers pull its tail off
would he moan in ecstasy like those men in the movies his father watched after
everyone went to bed? Would he be
shocked?
This was
different than the cat he put in the barrel of rain water. He watched Tabby try and swim to the edge. Then he pushed the cat back to the center
with a stick. It splashed around a long
time, but then just gave up and it was over.
Whiskers
was different. His face got warm.
Meeeoooowwwwrrrrrr
He knew
that if the grey cat could pull its tail out...
"Momma had a baby..."
...it
wouldn't be over. Any bone, or whatever
was in a cat’s tail, was crushed. He
could still hear the sounds from when he tipped the heavy cinderblock over.
Meeoooowwwrrrrrooowwwrrr
"Hush
kitty," he said in a calming tone.
"Everything’s okay." He
reached out a hand.
The cat
riled up. Its paw swiped.
The boy
pulled his hand back. There was pain on
his fingers. He looked down as crimson
bubbled to the surface and squeezed through the thin holes left by razor-sharp
feline blades. He put his fingertips in
his mouth and sucked.
Stupid cat.
He searched
the yard. There were more cinderblocks. He could take one, hold it above the box,
count to three...
"What
are you doing?"
Mmmmrrrrreeeeooooowwwwww
He spun
around. The girl from down the road stood
at the corner of his house. It was only
the two of them and the howling cat.
The boy’s
eyes narrowed. He tasted blood on his
tongue. Cats and dogs were one
thing. He took a step toward the
girl. This was going to be something
altogether different. Part of him grew.
"...and her head popped
off."
