Sunday Share: Gargoyles, by Alan Nayes

Today I'm happy to welcome back Alan Nayes. His guest spot for BARBARY POINT is my 3rd highest viewed blog post, he's the author of SMILODON, a book I LOVED, and today he's sharing with us an excerpt from his 5 Star rated book GARGOYLES.
3 lucky commentors will receive a Smashwords coupon for a free copy of this book. At Smashwords you can download the book for any ereader format.

Take it away, Alan!

GARGOYLES (Resurrection Trilogy, Book 1) by Alan Nayes

Genre: Sci fi/ thriller

Buy Links: Amazon Barnes and Noble Smashwords

Pre-med student Amoreena Daniels becomes a surrogate mother in order to pay for her mother's cancer treatment and unwittingly becomes a pawn in a high-stakes game of biomedical experimentation. GARGOYLES is the first book in the Resurrection Trilogy series.

Excerpt:

Prologue 

Somewhere near Itzimté Ruins, Guatemala, rainy season

   She turned her first trick four months shy of her thirteenth birthday. Patricio had been a small man, only a boy really, being just two years older than she. His father had been a teniente in the security police that patrolled Mexico City, and he’d paid sixty pesos for Gabriella’s services. Gabriella wasn’t her real name then, but it was the name she’d used while plying her trade, and it was how she was currently registered at Las Canas.

   Now, three years later, the teenage girl with the truculent almond eyes sat huddled under a gnarled tree limb, seeking refuge from the tropical shower. Her skin glistened moistly from sweat and precipitation, and she could smell her own fear above the pungent odor of the earth.

   Gabriella stroked one hand across her gravid abdomen, then quickly climbed from the security and cover of the lush vegetation to resume her flight along the muddy carretera that would eventually lead her to San Andres. Nightfall was fast approaching. She pressed onward, prodding herself another half kilometer, though her feet and thighs cried out for rest. Surrounded by miles of unfettered jungle that comprised the Guatemalan lowland rain forests, she longed for a shortcut. There was none. And carved out of this most intimidating habitat in all of Central America was Las Canas.

   Wump. Wump. Wump. Wump. Los helicopteros. The choppers.

   “Mi bebé!” My baby. Gabriella dashed back under the gloomy cover of the rain-forest canopy. She would rather risk an encounter with el tigre or even Desmodus rotundus, the loathsome bloodsucking vampire bat.

   Wump. Wump. Wump. Anything but the choppers. She could never return to Las Canas. Never.

   Gabriella clutched desperately at her stomach. It heaved with each laborious breath. She couldn’t maintain this frenetic pace; it was impossible. She forced herself to think through the tears, through the pain. She might still stand a chance if she could thwart their initial assault.

   Wump. Wump. Wump. Wump.

   “Que mierda,” Gabriella cried out.

   Her hands protected her eyes as she stumbled farther through the thick underbrush. Thorns ripped at her skin, and vines threatened to ensnare her ankles as if they possessed wills of their own.

   She tripped, stumbling forward. Terror gripped her like a giant anaconda. Her breaths catapulted from her convulsing chest in short gasps.

   Oh Dios, por favor, she prayed. Please, God. If she could just make it to the Itzimté Ruins before dark.

   High above her head, the canopy of epiphytes, vines, and towering ferns gyrated into a living tempest. The powerful downdraft from the Sikorsky’s blades created a whirlwind of flying debris.

   Gabriella threw herself on the forest floor, cowering under the onslaught of tangled vegetation.

   Wump. Wump. Wump. Wump.

   “No!” she cried. “No!”

   With nothing to cling to but remnants of past dreams, Gabriella began to pray. She prayed for herself. She prayed for Las Canas. But mostly she prayed for the bebés.

   The men from the plantatión de azúcar were coming.

 ABOUT THE AUTHOR

          Alan Nayes was born in Houston and grew up on the Texas gulf coast. He lives in Southern California. He is the author of the horror/thrillers, GARGOYLES (Resurrection Trilogy, Book One) and THE UNNATURAL. His most recent releases are BARBARY POINT, SMILODON, GIRL BLUE,  PLAGUE (Resurrection Trilogy, Book Two) and RETURN TO UNDERLAND, a children’s adventure story. 

         An avid outdoorsman and fitness enthusiast, he is one of only a few individuals to ever swim across Wisconsin’s chilly Lake Winnebago. When not working on his next project, he enjoys relaxing and fishing at the family vacation home in Wisconsin.

         Read more about Alan Nayes at http://anayes.com/  and in the interview below.

Alan, how did you get started in writing, and how long have you been writing for?  Stacey, I started out the conventional way. I completed a manuscript, found an agent and eventually—after numerous rejections—sold to a big six publisher. Unfortunately the book didn’t do well so for some years I found myself adrift in the Nopublishing Sea. Then the ebook opportunity came floating by, so here I am an indie author, as well as a trad pub author--GIRL BLUE was recently released by Samhain in April, 2012.  I am both traditional and indie at this time and have been writing for almost two decades, if you don’t count my brief foray into song writing while in college. And no, I can’t sing too well, lol.

My kids tell me I don't either, but what do they know? LOL  What genre do you enjoy reading? Do you stick with what you write, or play the field? I enjoy most genres—I usually don’t choose a book to read based on what genre the story falls in but more so based on the story itself. By the same token, when I’m deciding on my next project, it’s the story that must capture my interest and if it does, then regardless of the genre I’ll attempt to write it.

What do you find most challenging in the writing process? That’s easy to answer, finishing the book.  Ideas seem to come without too much difficulty but actually planning out a full length novel is always a challenge for me. Also, research—I’m not too keen on researching material. I’d rather just make it up, though that doesn’t always work. Readers are pretty astute.

What do you enjoy most? Several things are really enjoyable for me in the writing process, Stacey. As an author yourself you have to admit it’s a great feeling when you finally finish that first draft. For me anyway, I’d much rather rewrite than face a blank page or screen. However what I really find fun is when I receive an email from someone what tells me how much they enjoyed my story. That’s a great feeling. Or if they are reading a series and are wondering when the next book will be out—love that too.

Yes, I agree, writing The End is pretty great. But you also nailed it with hearing from someone about my book.  So, what do you have in store for readers next? (I'm hoping for a SMILODON sequel one of these years.) I have several projects in the works, Stacey. HEMLOCK  POND  is a horror story about a woman and her young son who move into an old farmhouse with a haunted pond. THE LEARNER is a paranormal love story that I’m still in the process of hashing out. It will be compelling, though, I hope. I’m also just beginning work on the third book in the Resurrection Trilogy—RESURRECTION. Hopefully, I’ll have it out sometime this summer.

Thx again for having me on your blog, Stacey.

You're welcome, Alan--good writers are always welcome here. *grin*

Comment for your chance to win one of 3 copies of GARGOYLES (Book One of the Resurrection Trilogy) ~ or buy your copy now: Amazon Barnes and Noble Smashwords

Stacey Joy Netzel