Lissette E. Manning

Good morning, lovelies.

I thought I’d offer you all a preview of a project that I’m working on that will be published under my real name, Nancy Medina. For the moment, this will the only book that will bear my real name.

I don’t have a synopsis for this book yet, but I promise I’ll share it with you all once I do. Main genre for this is Horror.

The thumbnail on the left is a preliminary mock-up of the book’s cover. It’s still in tweaking stages, so it won’t remain as you see it now, but it gives you an idea of what it’ll be like.

I hope you enjoy the preview and look forward to hearing what you all think of it.

Enjoy!

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1. Standing On Death’s Threshold

I could hear her voice. Ally’s voice filtered all around me. It was as if it permeated through every inch of the house. The sound drew me further into the bowels of Mistmoor Manor. The closer I got, the louder her voice became.

My heart pounded erratically as I yanked open the door leading to her bedroom. A cold draft hit me in the face as I searched within the darkness for the light switch. I fumbled, my hand brushing up against what felt like a small stand to the right of the door. Something moved across its surface, popping back and forth before it crashed to the floor.

I froze, swearing vehemently as I realized that I’d broken the Ming Dynasty vase Ally had acquired recently. She’s so not going to be happy, I thought as I found the switch and gave it a slight tug upwards.

The bright glow stung my eyes momentarily. Blinking several times, I allowed them to adjust. What I saw next would haunt me for the rest of my life.

Ally’s body was tied down to her bed in a spread-eagled fashion. Her neck was bent at an unnatural angle; her unseeing baby-blue eyes glassy and staring at the wall behind me. Jagged and bloodied streaks criss-crossed her entire body, her clothes torn to the point that she now lay in a semi-naked state. It was as if the perpetrator had wanted to do everything within his or her power to make sure that no part of her body was left unscathed.

“Ally!” I cried as I rushed toward the blood-soaked bed, uncaring of the fact that I was now contaminating the evidence of what had been done to her.

I reached out to touch her, my hand hovering inches above her prostrate body. Part of me was afraid to touch her, while the other half wanted to know whether it was possible that she was still alive or truly dead. A wave of nausea threatened to overcome me as I pressed several of my fingers against her carotid artery. There was no pulse, whatsoever.

I recoiled with revulsion, breathing through my mouth in hopes of steadying myself. My mind refused to accept the fact that she was really gone. Granted, the facts were hard to ignore as the evidence was spread out before me.

Inhaling sharply, I stared down at what remained of my beloved sister. A lump began to form within my throat as I mentally catalogued every detail of the grisly scene that I was now a part of. Wrapping my arms about my chest, I slowly backed away from the bed, chewing upon my lower lip in hopes of keeping my whimpers to a minimum.

I turned about with the intent of marching back the way from whence I’d come. Unfortunately, I didn’t make it very far. A sharp pain assaulted the back of my head as I stepped into the hallway. I slumped to the floor, moaning aloud as I tried to regain my scattered senses.

Something moved on the edge of my periphery. I squinted as I lifted my head in hopes of making out what stood just out of my reach. My head pounded further as an unknown object collided with the side of my face. My eyesight swam as I collapsed to the floor. The tips of someone’s blue trainers was the last thing I saw before I sank into oblivion.