I'm thrilled to have author Mandi Casey as my first guest. Her Novel The Bizarre Life of Sydney Sedrick is now available from SoulMate Publishing, Amazon.com or B&N.com.
Author Bio
At age ten, Mandi Casey bought her first paranormal romance. Since then, she’s been bitten with a passion for vampires, werewolves, life-mates, and all matters relating to love and romantic stories of success against all odds. Her writing style draws the reader in with emotionally charged connections, conflict, adventure, and dark, snarky humor.
When she’s not writing, Mandi enjoys Frisbee golfing and researching and writing about urban paranormal romance.
She is a member of Rockin’ Romance Writers, Romance Writers of America and Savvy Authors.
You can connect with her on Facebook or follow her blog at http://whoareyoucallingavampire.blogspot.com
Here is an excerpt from The Bizarre Life of Sydney Sedrick.
Chapter 1
Freezing wind whipped around me as I closed the door of Morning Sun for the night. A longing to be wrapped in the warmth of the heated front seat of my Jetta sped up my step. A thick layer of snow covered the sidewalk, making it difficult to navigate.
It had been my turn to close the store.
Aunt Judith had a treasured event to attend. Some flower and garden show. She seriously needed to enrich the barren wasteland that was her social life. My social life wasn’t any better, but we weren’t talking about me.
Rushing toward my Jetta, parked on the deserted street, I struggled to control my shivering from the subzero temperature. My teeth chattered no matter how hard I tried to stop them. Through my gloves, my fingers felt like ice cubes.
I heard something rustling nearby.
I halted, waiting and listening to see if the noise continued. Besides the occasional set of car tires crunching over snow a few streets away, the night was silent. Snowflakes whirled densely in the air, melting on my skin as I picked up the pace to run to the car. Holding my wool coat tightly against my thin frame, my body wouldn’t relax, despite the quiet of the night. Shrugging my shoulders to lift the scarf up closer to my ears was a wasted effort against the frigid winter air.
That’s when I heard the rustling noise again, like something was being dragged over snow.
I stopped walking, to listen.
The sound came from just ahead. Unfortunately, there were no streetlights on this side of the road. The noise changed from something being dragged to something resembling a baby’s soft whimpering.
My chest tightened. Fear gripped me, and my heart pounded faster, echoing in my ears. I inhaled a deep breath and took a few steps forward. I slowly peeked around the corner of the building before I lost my nerve.
Halfway down the alley, a very large man with long, shaggy hair bent over something on the ground. Trying to be as quiet as possible was difficult, but I must have succeeded. The man didn’t seem to notice my approach.
The outline of his back muscles showed through his thin, dark-blue, short-sleeved shirt. A T-shirt? It was, like, twenty freaking degrees outside, and this guy was in a T-shirt? Oddly, he didn’t seem to be bothered by the cold at all. He wasn’t shivering or huddled into a ball like I would have been without a coat.
The man remained hunched over something the size of a small child. I didn’t know what to do. Should I scream for help? No one would hear me. If I interrupted the man, would he run away, or would he attack me? My mind was in chaos. I couldn’t figure out what to do.
He focused on the small object like a dog with a bone. His mangy hair, torn jeans, and the guttural sounds emanating from his chest made him appear homeless. He didn’t look like he wanted to be disturbed. I took a step forward, and my boot crunched loudly on a small pile of snow. That got his attention. He turned his head, and I saw his long, light-brown hair covering most of his face. Dirt and grime smeared his unshaven jaw. Then his eyes bore into mine.
My heart stopped.
The man’s eyes were feral, like an animal’s. They had bronze colored rims around the irises. The black of his pupils shined with an inhuman iridescence. His eyes burned with anger and hatred.
I froze, paralyzed by fear, unable to move a muscle. The supposed fight or flight response eluded me.
I turned to run, my boot slipping on a patch of ice, only to be pounced upon by the oversized man with catlike eyes. He rammed into my torso like a football player tackling a receiver with the ball and knocked me over. Lying on top of me, he pinned me to the snow-covered ground and snarled, baring his teeth. The serrated razors lining his mouth were overly long, similar to that of a shark.
My breathing quickened, and my chest tightened in fear. The crushing weight of his body made it hard for my lungs to expand.
Thoughts raced in my mind. Oh my god, was he going to kill me? Rape me?
The animal-like man grabbed my arms with both of his hands. His fingernails were like talons digging into my skin. When the tips pierced my flesh, flashes of hot pain made their way up and down my arms. I pulled my right arm back against his hand, and cried out as one of those talon-like nails cut a deep gash across my wrist.
Mandi, Thanks again for visiting me here today. Good luck with your book.
