Burn the Rabbit Preview!

Rabbit in Red started because, quite simply, I love horror. It’s my celebration of the genre from horror riddles to virtual reality to ultimately a hands-on Hogwarts of horror experience. There’s more to it than that—characters with dark pasts, themes of fear and death, and even love and bullying, but at its core my first book is a tribute to all of the great stories I loved.

It’s the first in a trilogy, and I want to tell you a bit about the second in the series, tentatively titled Burn the Rabbit.

If book one is my celebration of horror, book two is my chokehold. From the first page, I want to wrap my arms around your throat, squeeze as hard as I can, and not let go until you’ve read the final word.

SPOILER ALERT! Before you go any further, have you read book one? If not, go grab a copy today! We keep the e-book super cheap (less than specialty coffee drink at Starbucks!), and you can get print for just a few bucks more.

Seriously, some of the things you’re about to read may give away certain things that happen in book one.

STOP AND GET BOOK ONE if you haven’t. Bookmark this article, and read it after you’ve finished.

OKAY, here we go. Let’s chat about book two.

Here’s a current back-of-the-book blurb for Burn the Rabbit.

I also created an unofficial trailer, unofficial meaning that I was just playing on my phone. Here’s an iMovie trailer for book two. Watch!

What’s most important about the trailer are the taglines. If you’re wondering what book two is really about, re-watch and re-read the lines used throughout.

“Revenge brings blood and death.” Burn the Rabbit begins with someone (who— one of the many mysteries!) wanting to destroy Rabbit in Red along with our beloved characters.

“Be ready to face the scariest challenge yet.” At the end of book one, JB says that he won’t do the same thing twice. True to his word (and mine) Rabbit in Red challenges returning and new characters alike with something called Hellfire. I won’t tell you about Hellfire yet. But rest assured, if it really existed, you’d need to change your underwear by the time you finished it, IF you were able to finish.

“They will feel pain.” This is a hint as to what Hellfire is all about. It’s also a clue as to what the book is about. There are all kinds of pain.

“Not all will survive.” I’m not killing off anyone to just kill them off. One challenge with horror is that you expect death, and you don’t really feel anything for the characters who died, right? What I want to do differently is get you to feel for our characters. By the end of book two, my hope is that you will really have grown with these characters, and WHEN (not if) some don’t survive, you’ll feel for them. That’s true horror and tragedy in my book.

“It’s not a game.” Book one ultimately centers on a game. Book two goes much deeper.

“It’s life or death.” For real, baby.

“Who wants to destroy Rabbit in Red?” Revenge, again!

“And what will our heroes do to protect the ones they love?” More than just dealing with death, I want this story to be about how horror-obsessed, fear-conquering fanatics ultimately deal with those who try to hurt them. It could get messy. Very messy.

Sound cool? If so, help me spread the word. Like and share this story. Like and share my Facebook page. Tell everyone you know to read Rabbit in Red. Leave a review of it on Amazon, Goodreads, or Barnes and Noble. All of those things help.

So when can you expect book two?

Well, my process is long (not George R.R. Martin long, but I try to be patient for quality). First, I write the book (finished the draft last July). Then I don’t look at it for a couple of months. Then I re-read it, mark it up, tear it apart myself. Then I re-write it. Then it goes to a trusted team of beta readers, and I ask them to do tear it apart, ask me lots of questions, and give me their best feedback (this part is happening over a top secret lunch this coming weekend, so I’m getting close to the end!). Then I re-write it again. Then it goes to my professional editor. Then we re-write again. Then it gets published. Maybe it could be out this summer. Or maybe it will be an annual Halloween release :)

It’s more important that I give you my best, though, no matter what.

How about a little excerpt? Keep in mind it’s a work in progress. Here are two short blurbs from the opening that I hope tease you. Thanks for reading and supporting. Enjoy!

“Burn the rabbit,” the man whispered. “If that’s what you want, JB, that’s what you’ll get.” He grinned at himself in the mirror, not bothered one bit by his yellow-stained teeth. He could clean up nice when he had to do so, and he had more than one costume in his closet. He could become anyone he wanted to be.

Then why do you stay you?

Shut up!

His thoughts yelled back and forth at one another. He turned on the water in the shower and waited until it got as hot as it could. He took off his clothes and looked in the mirror.

Would Jaime like this sight?

He rubbed his chest, feeling the muscles that could pin Jaime to the ground—no, that would pin her to the ground! His hand glided over his belly. Oh, yes. This was the treasure he’d give her, and she was going to love it.

*****

Bill heard a loud thud from outside. It sounded like someone had smashed the front door. He dropped his phone and ran out front, his mother and grandparents behind him. They were immediately blinded by flames, and Bill’s mom screamed.

“I’m calling the police,” his grandfather stated.

Bill just stared, speechless. Someone had slammed an axe into their front door and lit it on fire. Through the flames, he could see a message that had been written on the axe, a message certainly intended for him. He swallowed hard as he read it.

Prepare to burn.

******

Again, thanks for your support!

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