Title: Evolution
Series: Stalker/s, Book Two
Author: L.J. Hasbrouck
Publisher: NineStar Press
Release Date: December 2, 2019
Heat Level: 2 – Fade to Black Sex
Pairing: Male/Male
Length: 118200
Genre: horror, LGBT, dark, zombies/undead, post-apocalyptic, reunited, horror, new adult, gay, trans, tear-jerker

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Synopsis

Brian Jameson left behind a world of
chaos—vicious Stalkers, ruthless survivors, and an unforgiving landscape of
bitter cold and snow—and escaped to an idyllic island paradise with the love of
his life. But now he must abandon everything he fought for and return to the
warped remnants of America, land of the lost and the home of the depraved.
His sizzling affair with hotheaded Cajun
Louis Lavellé came to a boil when Louis’s secrets surfaced: among them, the
fact that he left his sister in the clutches of a twisted, infected psychopath
and let Brian think she was dead. Unable to bear Louis’s betrayal or the enigma
of Eva’s fate, Brian flees the island—without Louis—and returns to New Orleans
to begin his search for the missing girl.
If Brian can find his friends,
gregarious D and her badass brother, Antoine, he thinks he might have a shot of
fighting his way back to Eva’s last known location. But the Stalkers haven’t
died out—in fact, they’re exhibiting frightening new patterns of behavior. And
memories of Louis continue to torment Brian…along with the strong probability
that Louis hasn’t forgotten him either.
Hopes and fears of reuniting with the
Lavellé twins drive Brian as he navigates through familiar but shifting
surroundings and obstacles. Sweltering heat has melted the snow, revealing
once-buried horrors and allowing both Stalkers and other survivors to emerge
from hiding. Everything Brian thought he knew about this warped world is shaken
by mounting revelations, and each one chips away at his hopes for a happy
ending.
But at this point, he doesn’t even know
what his version of a happy ending could be.

Excerpt

Evolution
L.J. Hasbrouck © 2019
All Rights Reserved
The Return
3/9, New Orleans, Louisiana, Orleans
Marina, 12:37 a.m.
There are no happy endings. Because when
a book ends, the story’s not over. The characters continue to exist in their
illusory world, kept alive by the readers long after the author has moved on.
Our own existence lacks such perpetuity. We’re born, we live, we die. I’m still
wondering when my end will come. All I know is this chapter has ended and a new
one is beginning.
Brian closed the journal over his pencil
and slid his palm across the warped image of Van Gogh’s The Starry Night. A
real-life starry night twinkled outside the boat cabin. When he’d been behind
the wheel and spotted the Louisiana shoreline, a surge of triumph had lit him
with such heat he imagined himself glowing. But the realization there was no
one to share the moment with had extinguished his flare of elation.
Flyers and photos stuck out from the
pages of his journal. Brian slid them out, craving company in whatever form he
could get. He swiped away a smiling man with a deer.
Dead.
A pair of actors in ’20s garb facing off
on a poster for Chicago.
Gone.
A freckled girl bathed in light, young
and beautiful.
Abandoned.
A dark-skinned woman in a colorful robe
and turban advertising psychic services while an orange tabby napped behind
her.
Safe—I hope.
His grandfather caught in a rare moment
of laughter with his dog, Rocky, cradled in his lap.
Murdered.
A Polaroid of an Adonis crafted with the
same perfection as the marble chiseled by the masters. And the same deceptive
impenetrability.
Gone but never forgotten.
Brian swept a thumb over the photo and
sighed, regret swelling within his gurgling stomach. He shoved the photos and
flyers back into the journal.
After tearing into a tasteless strip of
dried fish and following it with water that retained a faint seaweed flavor, he
abandoned the kitchen table and descended into the cabin. He crawled into bed
and tugged the sheets to his nose. The scent of suntan lotion and burnt wood
transported him to a less desolate night.
Brian curled onto his side and embraced
the bare pillow beside him. What a hollow victory, returning to the place I
tried to escape from.
Alone.

Purchase

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Meet the Author

Knowledge-seeking animal-lover, supporter of diversity, and OG Floridian. Lifelong gamer who grew up drawing Disney characters, whales, and dinosaurs. Proud INTJ (which I share with the likes of Hannibal Lecter, Batman, and Ellen Ripley).

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