A
New Orleans Mystery
Book
Two
M.
M. Shelley
Genre:
YA, Fantasy, Urban
Date
of Publication: June 2014
ISBN:
978-1500255053 /
ISBN:
150025505X
ASIN:
B00L7YLU0W
Number
of pages: 322
Word
Count: 52,500
Cover
Artist: Michelle Marquez
Book
Description:
Sixteen
year old orphan, Ava Lopez, has returned to New Orleans, Louisiana,
just as a dark entity has taken residence in the bayou.
Not
only does Ava have to discover who or what is taking its victims from
the Quarter, and leaving their remains in the Bayou. She will also
have to maneuver her way around a new school and deal with a new
bodyguard.
Ava
will have to uncover the mystery before she becomes its next victim.
Excerpt:
Prologue
It
had been at least three years since he had left New Orleans,
Louisiana and Auguste Cheval still wasn’t sure if he had made the
right decision in returning. It didn’t feel right, yet he no longer
had the option to stay away. His father had skipped out on him again
leaving him no choice but to live with his uncle Prosper Cheval.
Uncle
Prosper was absolutely crazy. He refused to live in town preferring
instead to live out in the Bayou. Auguste had to make the long trek
from town to his uncle’s shack each and every day, to and from his
high school. Auguste attended Ben Franklin, in part thanks to his
social worker, who for some reason or another seemed focused on
making sure he stayed the course. His social worker Phillips believed
that Auguste had the grades and the drive to excel at school; a
school where nearly everyone excelled at one thing or another.
The
only issue Auguste had was that a normal life could never be in the
cards for him, but he wasn’t about to tell his social worker
Phillips just why that was. How could he even begin to explain it?
As
Auguste headed deeper into the Bayou he ventured down a narrow
pathway that was nearly completely covered over with knee high
marshway cordgrass. Auguste had taken the long way home as he was in
no hurry to return. His uncle Prosper probably wouldn’t be there,
more than likely he was out checking on his traps.
A
slight sound came from his left. Something heavy was pushing through
the marshway cordgrass, but Auguste couldn’t see what it was. So he
waited. He didn’t want to move any further until he could see it
clearly. In the light of the fading sun, Auguste held his breath as
he waited to identify what moved in the cordgrass. In spite of the
fact that the sun had reached the horizon, the air remained hot and
humid enough to cause his clothes to stick to his body.
A
man in his early forties rolled out of the cordgrass falling right in
Auguste’s pathway. The man rolled until he was on his hands and
knees, he lifted his head high up in the air, his chin tilted skyward
and his eyes closed. He smelled the dry stillness in the air. His
eyes opened and he quickly shifted toward Auguste. His eyes locked in
on Auguste and his head made a rather sharp movement almost like a
wolf finding the scent of his prey.
As
the man’s eyes focused sharply on Auguste, a deep low growl escaped
his throat. The eerie sound was so disturbing that it caused Auguste
to feel ill. As the man leaned onto his back legs ready to pounce on
Auguste, a wolf jumped out of the marshway cordgrass and latched onto
the man’s throat, dragging him onto the ground and ripping at his
flesh.
He
tried to fight back, sinking his teeth into the wolf’s coat, but to
no avail as the wolf tore fiercely away at him. The man screamed out
in pain against the assault. Sudden silence signaled that the man had
given up the fight. His body grew limp as his life began to ebb,
leaving him unable to endure anymore.
The
wolf turned and shifted toward Auguste, it took a step towards him
with a giant paw. The wolf had an unearthly presence as its paws were
large and sunk into the earth with each heavy step. Its head was
slightly larger than the rest of the body giving it a
disproportionate appearance. The wolf’s green eyes looked like they
had seen centuries of war and chaos and were filled with a sadness
that tore at Auguste’s heart. In spite of his feelings, Auguste
found the hint of darkness lurking beneath the wolf’s demeanor
disturbing. It was a darkness that wouldn’t think twice about
attacking Auguste and harming him, just as it had killed the man
without hesitation.
Auguste held out his arm as if to
prevent it from coming any closer. As he did so, the fading sunlight
illuminated the scar that ran from the outside of Auguste’s elbow
to the inside of his middle forearm. The wolf sniffed at him before
taking another step; then, as quickly as it had appeared, it turned
and ran back into the cordgrass leaving behind the lifeless body of
the man it had just killed for sport.
About
the Author:
M.M.
Shelley is a storyteller, wordsmith and dreamer. She has traveled the
world extensively in search of the magic which is often overlooked in
everyday life. M.M. Shelley is a native of southern California, and a
student of mythology from which she gets much inspiration.
thank you for the chance to win
ReplyDeleteOMG I have to get my hands on this! I love dark mysteries set in the Deep South!
ReplyDeleteThank you for having Bayou Blues on your blog today!
ReplyDeleteAnd thank you to Lisa, Tara and Lori for your comments, I hope you all get a chance to read it! :-)
The prologue sounds good - congrats on your book!
ReplyDeleteI love books that take place in bayous..they're so spooky and mysterious.
ReplyDeletethanks for the chance!
ReplyDelete