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About the Book:
Something is terribly wrong in Detroit.
When Chris and Sarah bought an abandoned library to renovate and live in, they expected to be on the ground floor of the revival of Detroit. But unbeknownst to them, the city is about to fall. The devastation begins with a single woman who mysteriously tears off her clothing and starts walking the perimeter of an empty lot. Within minutes, hundreds of disparate people inexplicably form a giant human circle that slowly revolves like a hurricane of flesh. They twitch and spasm, contorting their naked bodies in a primordial death dance. They’re oblivious to everything, even the unfortunate souls who fall beneath their feet.
Bewildered citizens and authorities are desperate to know what’s causing the bizarre event… at least until it starts to rain.
Chris and Sarah abruptly find themselves trapped in a forsaken city. To survive, they must evade the horrifying illness, find food and shelter in a suddenly primitive world… and have a battle plan for when the circle stops spinning…
***
About the Author:
Originally from small town Vermont, Keith Varney is an award-winning musical theater writer and actor. He has written Book, Music and Lyrics in various combinations for I GOT FIRED (Best American Musical – DIMF), ELWAY: THE MUSICAL, THE OTHER SEX, JOSHUA: THE MUSICAL, PIE EATER & SCOOBY DOOSICAL. He has also written songs for Submissions Only, Hot Mess in Manhattan, See You Lighter, My Mother is a Sex Therapist & Dystopia Gardens. As an actor he has performed professionally in musicals including Les Miserables, The Producers, The Full Monty, Titanic and I Got Fired (Best Actor in a Musical - DIMF). He has a degree in classical voice from the Eastman School of Music. He now lives in Astoria NY with his wife Jillian, who is a Broadway actress. “The Dead Circle” is his debut novel. For more information, please visit www.keithvarneywriter.com.
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EXCERPT
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EXCERPT
“Looks like we’re near
the perimeter.”
“There’s nobody here.
Maybe they got through?” Chris says hopefully.
“There was nobody
anywhere else either.”
They walk slowly between
rows of cars trying to see down the road, hoping to spot what kind of
barrier prevented the cars from leaving.
Sarah grabs his arm and
stops him. “Uh, Chris. Is that a bullet hole?”
There is a large round hole
in the windshield of a Subaru Outback parked to her right. The glass
had splintered out from a three inch impact near the rear-view
mirror.
“I don’t know? Maybe?
Let’s keep moving.”
“I don’t like the looks
of this one bit.”
Reluctantly, Sarah
continues walking between the rows of cars. After another fifty feet,
she can almost see what might be an improvised barrier a half mile or
so up the road. She stops and reaches into her bag for binoculars.
“F*&^. Sarah get down!”
Chris abruptly grabs her by the shoulders and pulls her to the
ground.
“What is it?!”
Slumped between an old
black Saturn and a green Kia SUV is the body of a young woman. Her
head seems to have exploded. Blood and brain matter are sprayed up
the windshield of the Kia. It had obviously rained and the water had
washed the detritus down the glass, thinning the blood until it
covered the entire hood and much of the ground below with a sticky
reddish-brown residue. The windshield wipers had trapped several
bright white chips of skull and some spongy grey bits of brain
matter.
“Oh Jesus.” Sarah
fights hard against her sudden urge to throw up. “What happened to
her? Her head looks like it f*&^ing blew up.”
“She’s not alone.”
Chris can see at least four
other bodies draped over cars or lying on the ground between them and
the barricades.
“This is a massacre. All
these people! What happened?”
She sees a hand limply
sticking out of a window and a set of feet poking out from under a
pickup truck in a pool of drying blood. She turns around searching
for something to look at that isn’t a picture of horror.
“They shot them. Probably
with rifles. High caliber sniper rifles maybe.”
“Again, you’re
apparently a military expert? How do you f*&^ing know that?!”
“Xbox. Call of Duty.”
“You know that from a f*&^ing game? Jesus. That’s sick!”
“Maybe, but it’s no
less true. We have to get out of here. You were right. There’s no
way we’re getting out of the city.”
Sarah, still a little
light-headed, starts to head back in the direction from which they
came. Taking dazed, shuffling steps, she walks back towards their
truck.
“Sarah! Keep your head
down!”
She crouches below the tops
of the cars and keeps moving. She does not say anything. Chris
follows behind her for a moment. After two minutes of silence, he
somewhat meekly speaks.
“Jesus, Sarah. I’m
sorry. You were right. I never should have brought us here. I’m
sorry you saw that. Fuck, I’m sorry I
saw that.”
“Do you think it’s like
this everywhere?” She speaks in a flat monotone, as if she can’t
think logically and process her emotions at the same time.
“I don’t know. I mean,
they blew the bridges, they blocked the highways. We’re already on
a side road.”
“Maybe we could sneak
through the woods somewhere?”
“I thought you didn’t
want to leave at all?”
Sarah shakes her head. “I
didn’t. But whatever’s inside the city has scared the shit out of
the freaking military. Enough to commit murder. Guns or outbreak.
Pick your poison.”
“What do you think we
should do?”
“Well, we walk a hundred
yards in that direction and we get shot. Back in the city, who knows?
I’ll guess I’ll take possible death over certain death.”
Chris thinks for a moment
and can’t find a flaw in her logic.
“Works for me. Let’s
get the f*&^ out of here.”
***
GIVEAWAY:
$50 Amazon Gift Card
10 ebook copies of The Dead Circle
Open Worldwide
Ends Dec. 2nd
Prizing is provided by the author, hosts are not responsible. Must be 13 or older to enter and have parental permission if under 17. Void where prohibited by law. No purchase necessary to win.
Thanks for sharing this book. The whole concept of being trapped in Detroit and trying to survive, sparks my interest.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I really enjoyed reading the excerpt and learning about this book. This book sounds very interesting! Also, I really like the book cover! Very intriguing! Looking forward to reading this book!
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