Sample 60 Saturday: A DEMON INSIDE

Every Saturday, until I run out of books--or decide to go to page 70--I will present an excerpt, page 60, from one of my books. No matter what it says--funny, filthy, scary, dumb, or tantalizing--you'll get it here.

And I'd love to hear what you think. Leave a comment below and let me know if this made you want to read more.

Let's continue the chronological tour with my haunted house story, A Demon Inside. Bookwenches Reviews said, "...A Demon Inside does not lead you gently into the wading pool; it shoves you into the deep end of horror...I plan to read it again, if only to remind myself what constitutes a satisfying scare..."

BUY A Demon Inside

SYNOPSIS
Hunter Beaumont doesn't understand his grandmother's deathbed wish: "Destroy Beaumont House." He'd never even heard of the place. But after his grandmother passes and his first love betrays him, the family house in the Wisconsin woods looks like a tempting refuge. Going against his grandmother's wishes, Hunter flees to Beaumont House.

But will the house be the sanctuary he had hoped for? Soon after moving in, Hunter realizes he may not be alone. And with whom--or what--he shares the house may plunge him into a nightmare from which he may never escape. Sparks fly when he meets his handsome neighbor, a caretaker for the estate next door, but is the man his salvation...or is he the source of Hunter's terror?

PAGE 60
Nana lies propped once more on the pillows, her eyes engaging and imploring him. “Destroy Beaumont House.” His grandmother makes the command over and over again, a litany, her voice dead and toneless. Soon, other voices join in, people hidden in shadows in corners of the room. The chorus rises in volume until it hurts his ears.
And then it stops. Hunter moves toward his grandmother, but before his eyes, she morphs into something else, something scaly, with yellow feral eyes.

Hunter awakened all at once. There was no swimming upward out of a haze of sleep. He shivered and looked over to see he had left the window open to cool himself after his bath, but now the room was freezing, the pale curtains billowing inward. They made Hunter think of ghosts. He got out of bed, hearing the soft hiss of rain outside. He pulled the windows closed and hurried to get back beneath his comforter, pulling it up to his chin. He didn’t know if he would get back to sleep tonight, at least not with the imagery from his nightmare still so fresh in his mind.

What did it mean? Was it some sort of omen? Or just psychological residue, his mind processing the odd and frightening day he had had?

Either way, the dream still clung to him, like something sticky and wet, disturbing him when he knew it shouldn’t. If it was something paranormal, like an omen, shouldn’t he listen? After all, what were omens anyway, other than warnings? And more logically, if it was his own psyche’s wake up call to him, then maybe he should stop and consider these thoughts he was having of taking up residence in rural Wisconsin.

And finally, he thought of Nana. Beyond the dream images, beyond her final pathetic entreaty about the house, Nana stayed alive in his heart for all the good she did. She had taken him, as a shell-shocked little boy, and raised him. Protected him. Nurtured him. And yes, spoiled him, giving him practically whatever it was he wanted (riding lessons, a piano, a car on his sixteenth birthday), taking him to China, Italy, France, England, Egypt, and Argentina. The old woman could never say no to him, but she always had a bottomless well of love for her grandson and always put his best interests first.

BUY A Demon Inside