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    Little Dead Red
    Little Dead Red
    Little Dead Red
    Ebook79 pages

    Little Dead Red

    By Mercedes M. Yardley

    4.5/5

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    The Wolf is roaming the city in this Bram Stoker Award-winning novella, and he must be stopped.


    Grim Marie knows far too much about the wolves of the world, a world where little girls go missing.  After all, she had married one before she/he showed his claws, and what that wolf did to her little girl was unforgiveable. Grim Marie isn't certain if she can ever forgive herself for putting her Little Aleta in harm's way.

    When Grandmother becomes ill, Aleta offers to take the bus through the concrete forest to Grandmother's house to bring her some goodies. She knows the way.

    What could possibly go wrong?


    In this modern day retelling of Little Red Riding Hood, the wolf takes to the city streets to capture his prey, but the hunter is close behind him. With Grim Marie on the prowl, the hunter becomes the hunted.


    Wolves pad through the darkest kind of fairytale: one that can come true.


    Proudly brought to you by Crystal Lake Publishing - Tales from the Darkest Depths.


    Interview with the Author:

    Congrats on winning the Bram Stoker award for Little Dead Red, Mercedes. What does this mean for you as an author?

    Mercedes: Thank you so much, Joe! This was my first nomination, and winning for my first nom simply blew me away. It's validation for me. I have three small kids at home and I'm always trying to fit my writing in where I can. Writing is my own little luxury that is just for me, my own selfish pleasure, and I constantly feel torn spending that time on myself instead of doing something for somebody else. This award means that readers are aware of my work. It means they took the time to read and to vote, that my work was weighed, measured, and found valuable. It's one of the most touching experiences of my life.


    Did writing this book affect you personally in any way?

    Mercedes: It affected me greatly.  I tried to capture the horror of their situation (abuse/kidnapping/murder/quest for justice) without making it sensational or trivializing the importance. While Little Dead Red is a fictional story, it delves deep into very real, painful issues. I wanted to treat this tale with the respect it deserved. I cried in parts while I wrote it, and I cried when I finished it. I love Aleta and Grimm Marie so much. They deserve all of the beautiful things of the world for their bravery.


    Why should readers give Little Dead Red a try?

    Mercedes: It's a very realistic story written with heart and care. While the subject matter is dark, it's also very important. This story is a social statement. It's an exploration. Hopefully it will make us want to do better, to be heroes and support for those who are grasping. It's also written quite prettily, and I hope that will be a breath of fresh air to readers.

      LanguageEnglish
      PublisherCrystal Lake Publishing
      Release dateDec 21, 2015
      ISBN9780992241469
      Little Dead Red

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        Book preview

        Little Dead Red - Mercedes M. Yardley

        LITTLE DEAD RED

        MERCEDES M. YARDLEY

        Published by Crystal Lake Publishing

        www.CrystallakePub.com

        Copyright 2015 Mercedes M. Yardley

        Join the Crystal Lake community today

        on our newsletter and Patreon!

        All Rights Reserved

        ISBN: 978-0-9922414-6-9

        Cover Design:

        George Cotronis

        http://www.cotronis.com/

        eBook Formatting:

        Lori Michelle

        http://www.theauthorsalley.com

        Proofread Joe Mynhardt, Jan Strydom, and Guy Medley

        This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the authors’ imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

        No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

        PROLOGUE

        Once upon a time, long long ago, somewhere before her second divorce, Marie had smiled. She had simply been Marie then, and occasionally even Happy Marie, and that was a kind and gracious thing. Marie knew of the dangers of the world, but Marie also knew of love and laughter. Marie knew of her tiny little girl, Aleta, who used to hop around on one foot to see if she could keep her balance, and stuck her naughty fingers into Marie’s jam, and would ask for a bedtime story even when it was nowhere near bedtime.

        It doesn’t have to be a bedtime story, dear, Marie would say, and her eyes would twinkle. Smiling Marie. Happy Marie. A story told at any other time is simply a story.

        Aleta, who had dark eyes like her mother, and dark hair like her mother, and it refused to be tamed and combed, also like her mother’s, would say, But bedtime stories are the best. Won’t you please tell me one, Mama?

        Marie often had things to do. There were dishes to be put away and dinner to be cooked and text messages to send to her husband, who seldom came home anymore. There were bags to be packed and an escape to be planned, but this made her smile, too. In fact, it made her nearly happier than anything else ever had, except for her sweet daughter.

        Of course we’ll read. Which one would you like?

        Aleta usually wanted stories about brave soldiers and clever girls and terrible, terrible monsters. Marie made her voice deep and heavy for the monsters, scary and dark, and Aleta snuggled next to her in horrified delight.

        I’m going to EAT YOU, she cried as a troll or a wizard or a wolf.

        Don’t eat me all up! Aleta would shriek.

        Yes, I’m going to eat you all up! Marie would scream, and then she’d chase her daughter around the house, kicking over her husband’s ash trays and piles of unpaid bills and pieces of her broken dreams. Then they tumbled to the floor together and Happy Marie would smile and whisper that good always won, and clever children outwitted monsters and witches, and she would never, ever, ever let Aleta be eaten all up.

        Until, of course, the day Marie discovered monsters were not only real, but had been feeding on her little Aleta without her knowing. Aleta had been eaten all up, for years now, and Marie was never Happy Marie again.

        CHAPTER ONE

        Grim Marie’s mother was dying. She had been dying for several years now, off and on, but this time seemed like it might actually be THE TIME.

        I’m not ready for you to go, Mama, Marie whispered to nobody in particular. She was putting together a basket for her mother, full of treats and homemade breads and jams. Grim Marie liked to cook. It set things right in her mind. She spent the morning pressing flour, salt, eggs, and water together to form noodles. She rolled them into dough. Cut them into strings. Let them dry around the tiny apartment like Christmas tinsel made of carbohydrates. Spider webs of love.

        Talking to yourself again?

        Aleta appeared in the doorway. Her dark eyes were lined in black. She’d pierced her nose and lip and dimple. She had tried her tongue but regretted it almost immediately.

        Marie tried to smile at her, but her lips didn’t quite work right. She

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