Night of the Chupacabra
The Chupacabra Series – Book One
Author: Michael Hebler
Style: Anthology
Theme: Dark Fantasy / Thriller / Western
Length: 300 pages (print) / 68,000 words
Binding: Perfect bound & digital (.mobi, .epub, .pdf, .rtf, .lrf, .pdb
I’m thrilled to be able to tell you about this brand new release!
The men huddle around the campfire. The glow from the flames reflects on their faces. A friendly game of poker between the two brothers is interrupted by little Jessica, Drake‘s daughter. Gavin grins, knowing Drake still can’t figure out how she is sneaking out of the wagon.
Fearing Lucy’s wrath, Drake tucks Jessica back in bed and then stops to talk with his wife. That’s when it starts. The animals are an early warning. They jerk loose and tear off into the desert. Then an unholy roar comes from one of the wagons, soon accompanied by screams of terror.
The brothers race to get their guns, but before they can reach the wagon, something too fast to follow leaps from one wagon to the next and the screaming starts again. The chupacabra easily leaps from wagon to wagon, killing in a blood lust. All goes quite.
Then they get their first look at the creature. It’s the size of a man, but there the resemblance ends. It’s covered in brown fur, it’s spiked tail flicks back and forth, it’s red eyes glow, and it’s stench can be smelled from across the fire.
Then it leaps into Drake’s wagan. He dives in after it. The wagon shakes, rocks and bursts into flames. The creature bursts forth, engulfed in flames, and runs right into Gavin, pinning him to the ground. Gavin is being burned alive.
Impossibly, the thing is alive and leaps up to run off into the darkness, leaving Gavin mortally wounded. Lucy runs away into the night, driven hysterical by the loss of her daughter.
All this Drake sees as he lies helpless on the ground, horribly burned.
I can’t believe this all takes place at the beginning of the book. From the first sentence, you get to meet the Chupacabra and by the second chapter, he gets up close and personal.
If this story didn’t take place in western days, say it took place now, I still don’t know what could have been done. The thing is just too fast.
Drake did survive the attack. He’s horribly disfigured, his face a fright to gaze upon. He has traveled from dusty town to dusty town looking for his Lucy. Each time he thinks he’s found her, it’s a false lead.Then he enters Dillmore Valley, A Fine Community. A strange welcome as the town is hidden in a valley, away from view.
He’s not alone. Something has followed him. He doesn’t want it dead. It has it’s uses.
I just can’t resist this kind of tale. I love scary stories of creatures in the night. I have for as long as I can remember.
Michael Hebler is a fine writer. I can feel the heat of the flames, smell the reek of the Chupacabra, and taste the dust of the trail in my mouth.
When Drake rides into Dillmore Valley it reminded me of Clint Eastwood appearing out of the desert and riding into town in the movie High Plains Drifter. Drake has that same aurora around him. No one in their right mind would mess with him, it’s better to avoid his attention.
I can’t tell you a whole lot about the characters as it would reveal too much of the plot. What I can tell you is they are a diverse lot, just like any small town. You have your nosy parkers, the town drunk, the belligerent bully and then you have the ladies. Each character brings a genuineness to the story, keeping you engrossed and curious. I love character driven stories.
Of course, let’s not forget the Chupacabra. He is something else! You don’t just get a little bit of him here and there. He is very busy, rending, ripping and terrorizing throughout the book.
Okay. I’ll stop here. I could ramble on and on, but then I’d be telling everything. I don’t want to ruin it for you.
Michael Hebler gave me more than I ever expected. I’m thrilled to know he is making this a series. It will be interesting to see where it goes next.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Michael Hebler was raised and lived all of his life in beautiful Southern California. He spent a handful of years as an international film publicist before guiding his career path towards writing. To date, Hebler’s previous published works include, “The Night After Christmas,” a timeless holiday picture book for believers of all ages, and the free Chupacabra Series short story, “Hunt for the Chupacabra“. In addition to writing his series of chupacabra thrillers, Hebler also runs a blog, “My Little Obsessions” where he likes to muse about what distractions life has to offer.
CONTACT DETAILS
email: info@michaelhebler.com
You can purchase all of Michael Hebler’s books by clicking on the images below.
6 Comments
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A Knife And A Quill- old 
Great review. You never disappoint.
Thanks so much Sherry. Love reading yours too!
Love the grittiness to this story. Great post.
Good description – grittiness! Thank you.
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