Bad Juju by Dina Rae : Guest Post & Excerpt; FMB Tour Stop

 

 

 

 

 

 

Title: Bad Juju

Author: Dina Rae

Genre: Dark, Fantasy, Horror, Paranormal, Romance, Suspense, Thriller, Young-Adult, (R-Rated although teens would love it)

Publisher: Amazon

Ebook

Words: 93,000

 

Purchase: Amazon

 

Book Description:

 

Lucien Nazaire flees his Haitian homeland and meanders around the United States for decades.  He settles in a Wisconsin trailer park filled with elderly tenants.  He meets Jake, his teenage neighbor, and hires him for odd household jobs.  As their relationship progresses, Lucien invites the boy into the world of Voodoo.

 

Jake LaRue lives in foster care with his abusive uncle.  The Voodoo lessons give him a sense of power within an otherwise helpless situation.  Although the boy is a loner, he feels an instant connection with his classmate, Henry, and introduces him to Lucien.

 

Henry Novak has Asperger’s Syndrome.  He fixates on historical events, most recently the 2010 Haitian earthquake.  Like Jake, he becomes passionate about the dark side of Voodoo.  They learn how to cast spells on those they hate and lust, leading up to dire consequences.

 

Several months after the Haitian earthquake, Henry convinces his family to volunteer with their church in the island's reconstruction.  Their mission turns into a nightmare when he mysteriously walks off of the campsite.

 

Bad Juju is a balance of horror, romance, and literary fiction intended for ages fifteen and up.   Research about the Voodoo religion, shapeshifting, zombies, and possession and themes of redemption and loneliness emerge throughout the plot.

 

Jake rolled out of bed and army crawled to the doorway.  Looking through the opening that separated the door from the carpeting, he saw Leah’s head bloodied.  She lay limp on the floor.  Pete stopped hitting her.  His whole demeanor changed.  With a wolfish expression, he began to unbuckle his belt. Rhianna’s screams got closer.  She must have darted to the other side of the living room, putting her smack-dab in front of Jake’s bedroom door.  He could now see her foot.  It partially blocked his view.  Shit!  Can’t get involved! If I open the door…

 

 

“Pete, what the hell is a matter with you?  Stop it!  She’s passed out.  You beat her into a coma, man!  And now you’re gonna…Sober up and think of what you’re doing!  Right in front of your daughter!” T.J. yelled.

Is he suicidal?  Jake knew his uncle would make T.J. regret his words.  Like Leah, T.J. was small.  He was filled with faults, but violence was not one of them.  On perfect cue, Jake could hear his uncle’s bare fists hooking T.J. in the jawbone.  Rhianna’s screams turned into full-blown hysteria.  The poor girl
was hyperventilating while desperately grasping Jake’s locked doorknob for refuge.  I don’t want to be involved!  Go back to your closet and lay still!

 

 

“Jakey, Jakey, pwwweeeze!” Rhianna sobbed.

Jake couldn’t take her suffering any longer.  Quickly unlocking the door, he grabbed the little girl and pulled her inside his room and then relocked the door.

The living room had grown eerily quiet.  Jake had a difficult time hearing while Rhianna wailed.  “It’s okay now.  Try to be quiet,” he whispered, straining to hear.  Nothing but silence was on the other side of his door.  His heart rate doubled.  Always quiet before the storm.  Was it over?  Or was I next?  He slid on his gym shoes, took a can of Comet cleaner from his bathroom, and crept up to the only window in the room.  It was small, but Jake knew he could fit through. Then came the sound he was waiting for.  Click, click, click.  Pete was delicately trying to open the door.  He now knew it was locked.

 

 

 

 

Are Zombies Real? By Dina Rae

Earlier this summer there was a real life zombie incident in Miami. Rudy Eugene, a.k.a. the Causeway Cannibal, was allegedly high on bath salts and attacked 65 year-old homeless Ronald Poppo. Eugene first pounded him into unconsciousness then ate away at his face.

Before the attack, Eugene was at South Beach then crossed MacArthur Causeway, stripping off his clothes until naked. Once the police had him surrounded, Eugene refused to stop eating Poppo’s flesh. Police shot him down in response. The victim’s face was eighty percent gone: no nose or mouth, one eye, and bone of forehead exposed. Poppo is still alive.

Eugene’s girlfriend of five years didn’t blame drugs for his violent behavior. Because of Eugene’s Haitian background, she claimed he was a victim himself to a cannibalistic Voodoo curse. At this point I was polishing up my third novel, Bad Juju. The Voodoo aspect of the story scared the hell out of me. It matched much of my research. But the Voodoo link was soon buried…

Bath Salts? I’ll admit to being out of touch, thinking that bath salts were products like Epsom and junk sold at Ulta and Crabtree and Evelyn. Apparently the term describes illegal, designer street drugs that give the user delusions of violence. The chemicals responsible for the ‘high’ are Mephedron, MDPV, and methylone and are banned in thirty-eight states.

Miami soon added the horrific event as a stop on their bus tours. Sadly, this wasn’t the only cannibal/zombie attack on the record. Baltimore had a recent, similar story of Alexander Kinyua eating the heart and brains of his roommate. Wayne Carter of New Jersey allegedly cut open his stomach and threw his intestines at the police. Luka Rocco Magnotta, an adult film star in Canada, hacked up his victim, another adult film star, and sent body parts to two political parties.

These events were not related, but the similarities gave more fuel to the prepper movement. Sales of survival food and ammunitions spiked, and fear and conspiracy are still running rampant. Many believe these events are leading up to the zombie apocalypse connected with End of Days. I’ve read opinions that range from the government using the attackers as their own personal guinea pigs to the above mentioned Voodoo curse.

Bad Juju touches upon the possession and zombification process of Voodoo.

 

 

 

Dina Rae is a new author here to stay.  As a former teacher, she brings an academic element to her work.  Her three novels, Halo of the Damned, The Last Degree, and Bad Juju weave research and suspense throughout the plots.  Her short story, Be Paranoid Be Prepared, is a prequel of sorts to The Last Degree, focusing on the James Martin character.  Dina also freelances for various entertainment blogs.

Dina lives with her husband, two daughters, and two dogs outside of Chicago.  She is a Christian, an avid tennis player, movie buff, and self-proclaimed expert on several conspiracy theories.  She has been interviewed numerous times in e-zines, websites, blogs, newspapers, and radio programs.  When she is not writing she is reading novels from her favorite authors Dan Brown, Anne Rice, Stephen King, Brad Thor, George R.R. Martin, and Preston & Childs. 

 

Website | Blog | Twitter | The Last Degree | Halo of the Damned

 

 

FULL TOUR SCHEDULE

 

Next few stops

 

Oct. 11th- Lauie's Non-paranormal Thoughts and Reviews (Guest Post/Giveaway)
Oct. 12th- Waiting on Sunday to Drown (Review/Giveaway)
Oct. 13th- The Avid Reader (Excerpt)
Oct. 14th- The Life of Fiction (Excerpt/Giveaway)
Oct. 15th- The Insane Writings of a Crazed Writer (Book Playlist/Giveaway)

More

 

 

Giveaway ends November 4th

 

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