Last week, I read and reviewed The Hunted by Kristy Berridge, which I thought was such a coolly dark take on vampires with a twist of snark and a cast of fun characters! (You can read my review here.) Today, I have Kristy on my blog to share a guest post on writing as well as a jam-packed excerpt from her book. I hope you enjoy it!
The Guest Post: Being a Writer
There’s no denying that being a writer is extremely hard work. There is an assumption that we sit at our computers all day, coffee in one hand, procrastination in the other. Well, I usually don’t have time to drink coffee because I’m too busy procrastinating.Don't you just love it when you get to meet awesome authors like Kristy? That's another one of many reasons why I love blogging like I do! ♥ Hmm. If I ever finalize my dream of being a writer, I wonder if I'll end up being a waitress on the side... Haha I really don't know what else I love to do besides write! x)
Kidding.
Truthfully, when you’re not Stephanie Meyer or Anne Rice, you still have to go to work and pay your bills. I am no stranger to this, so I find that most of my writing is done before work, after work, and on the weekends. Thankfully I have a super, awesome husband that actually takes what I do seriously, so I have plenty of spare time to actually produce something for you to read!
Alas, The Hunted was born and hopefully will grace the bookshelves of every home in months to come. It’s all about world domination. I’m sneaking in via your Kindle and hopefully making your fingers itch to turn the pages of this kick-ass read. Can you say your own novel is kick-ass?
Kick-ass it is.
Anyway, I thought I’d give you an excerpt to whet your appetite – one of the action scenes between Elena and the Werewolves (Vânătors). And, with the release of The Damned coming in the next few months, you might want to get in soon and find out where all this goes. Let’s just say it’s nowhere you expect and no one is ever who they seem. Enjoy!
Kristy :)
The Epic Excerpt
Before I had a second to think, he grabbed me fiercely by the neck and hoisted me off the ground, my feet kicking wildly in the air. I struggled; his grip on my throat was tight, but not enough to kill me. If he wasn’t going to kill me, the alpha obviously wanted to keep me alive, either to feed from me again or mate with me. Either prospect was unappealing.
I took a second and tried to calm myself. I balled my hands into fits and swung at the Vânător’s face as hard as I could in a one, two, three punch combination. I started from the left, then the right, finishing with one massive hit under the chin.
I watched as my first hit connected with his face, breaking his nose, the second practically exploding into his cheekbone. The third snapped his head backwards, knocking a few teeth out of his jaw. Blood started to spill down his decimated nose and pool around his mouth, dripping onto the floor.
He staggered backwards in surprise, releasing his grip on me so that I fell back clumsily onto the floor, gripping at the edge of the counter for support and rubbing at my sore gravelly throat.
He roared out in pain, the sound erupting from the pit of his stomach soon turning into a mighty howl that spat blood in every direction. His whole body began to quiver in front of me as his skin started to tear open, and thicker tufts of grey matted fur began to poke their way through.
His arms and legs began to grow, the bones shifting within them to allow for the transformation. His fingers and toes pushed through the end of his sneakers, disintegrated them with long black claws. The T-shirt he was wearing began to rip away from his body as he grew larger, the confines of the cotton no longer able to contain his growing form. I could hear and see the bones of his rib cage snapping and contorting painfully in his chest as the beast within released itself from the last of the flesh containing him.
Run, Elena!
This time I listened to the voice. I was not certain it wasn’t mine, but I followed the advice anyway. I swallowed hard and ran as fast as I could, ducking my way around him while his head was being warped by the beast inside of him. I had never seen anything like it, but I had no time to stop and observe. I needed to get out of there as fast as I could.
I ran through into the living room and past the bureau, backtracking momentarily to grab the car keys. The sound of ripping flesh and grunting was still coming from the kitchen. I shot through the front door in an instant, the darkness outside enveloping me completely.
Why hadn’t the sensor light come on?
I got my answer right away when my sneakers crushed the remainder of the light bulb. I didn’t have time to deliberate.
I ran for the Forester and fumbled around with the car keys until I found the right one, and shakily tried to push it into the lock. The darkness around me made it extremely difficult to see what I was doing, but on the second attempt I managed to get it in the keyhole. I quickly opened the door and got in. I was still inserting the keys into the ignition when the giant wolf appeared at the front door.
Shit!
He howled loudly before running full pelt at the car, slamming its body into my door, denting it heavily and pushing it into the cabin, the window fracturing and shattering into my lap.
I twisted the keys in the ignition, praying for the car to start as the beast rammed itself against the car for the second time. The sheer force of the impact lifted the entire driver’s side of the vehicle off the ground, only to crash heavily back onto the concrete driveway again, the rest of the windows shattering with the impact.
I took a second and tried to calm myself. I balled my hands into fits and swung at the Vânător’s face as hard as I could in a one, two, three punch combination. I started from the left, then the right, finishing with one massive hit under the chin.
I watched as my first hit connected with his face, breaking his nose, the second practically exploding into his cheekbone. The third snapped his head backwards, knocking a few teeth out of his jaw. Blood started to spill down his decimated nose and pool around his mouth, dripping onto the floor.
He staggered backwards in surprise, releasing his grip on me so that I fell back clumsily onto the floor, gripping at the edge of the counter for support and rubbing at my sore gravelly throat.
He roared out in pain, the sound erupting from the pit of his stomach soon turning into a mighty howl that spat blood in every direction. His whole body began to quiver in front of me as his skin started to tear open, and thicker tufts of grey matted fur began to poke their way through.
His arms and legs began to grow, the bones shifting within them to allow for the transformation. His fingers and toes pushed through the end of his sneakers, disintegrated them with long black claws. The T-shirt he was wearing began to rip away from his body as he grew larger, the confines of the cotton no longer able to contain his growing form. I could hear and see the bones of his rib cage snapping and contorting painfully in his chest as the beast within released itself from the last of the flesh containing him.
Run, Elena!
This time I listened to the voice. I was not certain it wasn’t mine, but I followed the advice anyway. I swallowed hard and ran as fast as I could, ducking my way around him while his head was being warped by the beast inside of him. I had never seen anything like it, but I had no time to stop and observe. I needed to get out of there as fast as I could.
I ran through into the living room and past the bureau, backtracking momentarily to grab the car keys. The sound of ripping flesh and grunting was still coming from the kitchen. I shot through the front door in an instant, the darkness outside enveloping me completely.
Why hadn’t the sensor light come on?
I got my answer right away when my sneakers crushed the remainder of the light bulb. I didn’t have time to deliberate.
I ran for the Forester and fumbled around with the car keys until I found the right one, and shakily tried to push it into the lock. The darkness around me made it extremely difficult to see what I was doing, but on the second attempt I managed to get it in the keyhole. I quickly opened the door and got in. I was still inserting the keys into the ignition when the giant wolf appeared at the front door.
Shit!
He howled loudly before running full pelt at the car, slamming its body into my door, denting it heavily and pushing it into the cabin, the window fracturing and shattering into my lap.
I twisted the keys in the ignition, praying for the car to start as the beast rammed itself against the car for the second time. The sheer force of the impact lifted the entire driver’s side of the vehicle off the ground, only to crash heavily back onto the concrete driveway again, the rest of the windows shattering with the impact.
Do you believe me now when I say that Elena is one totally kick-butt heroine?? I don't know what I'd do when chased by a Vânător/Werewolf, but I probably wouldn't have managed to be anywhere near as awesome as Elena kicking butt! x)
So that's all we've got planned for today, everyone! What do you think? :)
Here's to being glad that vampires aren't getting overrated!
-Mimi
Go Find Kristy
Add The Hunted to your TBR pile HERE
You can find the rest of the tour HERE at Missy's Reads and Reviews.
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