I'm happy to host an excerpt today from "The Goddess and The Great Beast". Enjoy!
Book Excerpt
I
turned left off the Finchley Road into West End Lane. Not far to go now, I thought. I realised I’d been staring at the
pavement for the last half mile, so I looked up. As I did so it occurred to me
that I could hear footsteps behind me. They were just slightly out of sync with
mine and utterly conspicuous in the otherwise silent night. I stopped. So did
they. I looked straight ahead and saw another unexpected sight for this time of
night. There was a man on the street corner ahead watching me. It was difficult
to see clearly, but he seemed to have Arabic features. He was standing in the
murky glow of a street lamp and I suddenly felt as if I was in a Hollywood
gangster movie.
I
glanced behind to see who was following me but, of course, there was no-one
there, and when I turned back the man under the street light had gone as well.
I shook my head, blew out my cheeks with a deep breath and lifted my face to
the damp night sky. The cold drizzle felt cleansing on my face, flushed with
the whiskey and the brisk walk. I looked around again, but I was completely
alone on the streets of north London at three on a Saturday morning, tired,
paranoid and slightly drunk.
I
hurried on now, keen to be in my bed, and was home in a couple of minutes. By
the time I stumbled in through the door my brain was on the point of total
capitulation to the overwhelming forces of sleep. I didn’t bother switching the
light on, I just discarded my clothes in an unruly heap on the floor and
collapsed into bed. I could still see a dim glow, however, and it was much too
early for the dawn.
Of
course! Not turning on the light meant I hadn’t noticed the curtains were still
open, which allowed the sickly streetlamp pallor of the north London night to
seep into my room. Sighing, I dragged myself out of bed and went over to close
them. I didn’t even look out. Except just at the last moment, as I flung the
two pieces of cloth together, when I noticed a petite female shape standing in
front of a ghastly Victorian mausoleum in the cemetery. It was Ishtar and she
was staring directly at me. Well, what else did I expect? I went back to bed.
The Book
Title: The Goddess and the Great Beast
Author: Adrian Gross
Genre: Supernatural Thriller
1942: a bored British soldier in Baghdad; a
beautiful Babylonian Goddess; a sacred marriage unconsummated.
Five years later, in a dreary post-war
London, the Goddess must be satisfied.
Can anyone save her demobbed consort from
eternal torment?
Or eternal bliss?
Can he save himself?
Does he even want to be saved?
And what’s it got to do with the ‘wickedest
man in the world’?
Author Bio
Adrian Gross is a British
writer. Some bits of him used to be Irish and some others were once Hungarian.
He lives close to Glastonbury and likes to bang his little heavy metal head
whilst drinking chewy real ale!
He has endured many terrible jobs,
including adrenaline-junkie motorcycle courier, record shop
dude-with-bad-attitude, and air traffic control disaster limitation assistant.
When his aching bones and throbbing
hangover allow, he plays football (soccer) and rides bicycles up and down the
Mendip Hills.
Links
Website: www.adriangross.co.uk
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