Thursday, June 25, 2020

Book Spotlight & Excerpt: How a Monster is Made by RaShell Lashbrook


How a Monster is Made

By RaShell Lashbrook
Genre: Psychological Suspense/Thriller, Dark Domestic Thriller

About the Book

From the author of Hidden in the Dark comes a novel about the childhood of a man who will go on to commit unimaginable crimes against the most vulnerable in society.

Curious and energetic, Randy Carter is an ordinary enough little boy in the beginning. Born post-WWII in a sleepy Texas town, he is the middle child of an alcoholic father and a mother who suffers from bouts of severe psychosis. Forced to survive in an unpredictable world of violence and poverty, Randy develops into a calculating young man with a growing need for control.

Bad things happen when Randy is around.

Evil incarnate or just a broken child? Sociopath or victim? What is undeniable is the path of destruction left in his wake. There is a fine line between prey and predator, and Randy Carter is about to cross over it.

About the Author 


RaShell Danette Lashbrook was born in Wellington, Kansas. Her parents threw the television away when she was just two years old, so she spent her childhood in the little town of Mulvane, Kansas reading, exploring, biting her nails, and picking her nose.

Her deep love of reading always fueled a small flame of desire to write, but it wasn't until 2012 that she began to practice the craft of throwing words onto paper and rearranging them repeatedly.

She is blessed to share her life with her six magnificent children and their friends, parents that anyone would be envious of, the best siblings in the whole world, and a "top-shelf" circle of close friends and extended family.

RaShell's fascination with many different subjects has served her well in her writing. She prefers to think of her dabbling as "research". Her lasting passions have been organic gardening, music, cooking, murder, mysteries, aliens, and mental disorders.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RaShellLashbrook
Twitter:  @PoppyJuiceBlog


Brief excerpt 


The jagged edges of the stick burned deep in his throat, but he couldn’t turn away. The bitch had his head trapped between her feet. Arms and legs bound; he was at her mercy. No doubt, she was loving every second of this. Raine had always been a little off in the head, and this was just more proof.

The seriousness of the situation was sinking in. Randall had a fleeting thought that he might not make it out alive. He stopped fighting back in hopes she might ease up some - but no luck. She pushed even harder, and he could feel the blood trickling down the back of his throat. The damned stick was taking up all the space in his mouth, and swallowing was impossible.
She repositioned the rod, and with a grunt, shoved it in harder. The trickle turned into a gush, and breathing was no longer an option. Panic didn’t take over like he’d thought it would. The booze from earlier in the day helped make everything softer.

Strange, he thought, how calm he felt, knowing he was a goner. It was as if he could see everything from a distance. His last thoughts meshed with his first memories.

His mouth was full but not with the hardened, rough edges of the stick. Soft flesh filled his mouth. He suckled furiously, milk from his mother’s breast spraying the back of his throat with each swallow.

Her arms were around him, cradling him close. He was safe now. Warm and loved. He reached up for her face, and she smiled down at him, kissing the palm of his hand. Mama pulled the soft blanket up around his shoulder and began to stroke his head gently. When she did this, he could barely keep his eyes open. Drifting off to sleep, he left the cruel stick, the blood, and the last part of his life behind.

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