Thursday, August 8, 2013

Oh, Deer ~ Re-Released


Oh, Deer was my very first attempt at writing. It’s a creepy little tale about the white-tailed deer in the Northwood’s of Wisconsin. Living there for better than twenty years, and with the idea of a friend, it was a story that was meant to be written.

It was re-released earlier this week with a new cover done for me by the very talented Sarah from Rebel Angel Designs!
 
And I’d like to say thank you from the bottom of my heart to Robin Renee Ray for doing my editing, and to DeAnna Felthauser for doing the copy editing and the formatting. I couldn’t have done this without either of you!
Be sure to stop by all their blogs and show them some love!
 

 
 
Blurb for, Oh, Deer...
 
Jacob Ellis and his wife Donna live in the north woods of Wisconsin. Like most young couples, they have hobbies they enjoy. Jacob likes the outdoors, choosing four-wheeling and hunting as his forms of relaxation. Donna loves cooking, but her true passion is working in her flower garden. That is until her labor of love becomes nothing more than a colorful, tasty treat for the white-tailed deer, who share their surroundings.
One night the pair has an eerie experience with the four-legged visitors in their yard that would haunt them in the nights ahead. The evening sets the path for Jacob’s decision to go against nature. After hearing a legend passed down through generations of the Chippewa Indians, Jacob must now decide if it’s just a myth or a lesson in the balance of law and justice—between people and nature.
 
 
Excerpt ~
Jacob Ellis stood looking out the patio doors. His eyes scanned the yard looking for them, surprised to find that none were in sight. His vision strained to see in the rapidly descending darkness, trying to view the wooded parameter of the acre sized clearing of the yard. There were no signs of movement beneath the apple tree. Even the wire fenced garden was void of their presence.
It seemed as if Jacob’s plan to rid the yard of the destructive, four legged, white-tailed animals had worked. Still, he had expected to see a few of them around. They couldn’t have all been taken care of…
~◊~
 Two days earlier, Donna had asked her husband, Jacob, if there was anything he could do to get rid of the deer that had eaten all the flowers and shrubbery around the house. The animals had also figured out how to get into the fenced garden. They ate everything in sight, leaving behind damaged plants. Some were chewed right to the ground.
Donna was quite upset. Her one true passion was gardening and she spent long hours tending to the many flower beds and the vegetable garden she’d planted. The morning’s conversation had been a repeat of the same discussion they’d had daily over the past few weeks.
 “Damn it Jacob, I really want those destructive things gone,” Donna said in a seriously pissed off voice, entering the kitchen after attempting to retrieve some tomatoes from the garden, only to return empty handed.
“Well, what do you want me to do? You don’t want me to shoot them because it’s not hunting season. Not to mention your poor Bambi philosophy. I built a taller fence this year and tried all the commercial deer deterrents on the market. I even tried Mark’s crazy home remedies, nothing has worked,” Jacob said a bit louder than he intended.
 After grabbing the gallon of milk, Donna slammed the refrigerator door, practically yelling, “Poor Bambi, my ass! I want them taken care of. There’s nothing left of my flowers and I won’t be canning anything this year, they ate it all already!”
Picking up the large, dark green coffee mug, Jacob took a swallow of the now tepid, dark liquid. He remembered one last remedy Mark had told him about. It was highly illegal which didn’t sit well with him. Jacob wasn’t the sort of man to go around breaking the law. Christ, he’d never even gotten a speeding ticket. He would have to think it over more carefully. Maybe use that as a last resort. Maybe.
“I’ll talk to a few of the old farmers when I stop in town after work today and see if they have any other suggestions. It was a rough winter and the weather lately hasn’t exactly helped. They’re just trying to survive too, you know.” Jacob said sympathetically.
“I’ll remind you of that when you want homemade salsa or canned tomatoes’ for your chili. Christ Jacob, have you seen how sick the apple tree looks? The apple’s that are coming in won’t be any good for using, it’s just more damn deer bait.” Donna said, her voice laced with irritation while she rolled her eyes.
“I’ll see what I can do, dear,” was Jacob’s only reply as he picked up the coffee mug again, and reached across the kitchen table for the newspaper. As an afterthought, he also grabbed an apple out of the bowl filled with mixed fruits, which was centered on the table.
~◊~
After work Jacob stopped to talk with some of the old farmers that hung out at the feed mill. The visit produced no more insight as to how to get rid of the vandalizing critters. He had already tried everything that was mentioned.
Now on his ride home, Jacob considered using the last idea Mark had mentioned. He said—guaranteed rather, that the animals that ate anything laced with the antifreeze would die. Antifreeze, Jacob thought as he continued driving his rusty old F150 pickup truck on the wooded back road. He didn’t want to kill anything, he just wanted his wife to stop nagging everyday about her flowers, and he certainly would miss the homemade salsa.
 As Jacob’s truck topped the steep hill, thinking of salsa, he nearly hit the white-tailed deer that stood in the center of the road. Slamming on the brakes hard, the pickup truck skidded as the tires tried to grab hold of the graveled road. That natural reflex to stomp on the brake sent the truck skidding across the gravel, swerving to the right. As Jacob tried to regain control of the vehicle, he overcorrected his steering, causing the truck to fish-tail, sliding to where the road met the embankment. Once the tires caught the uneven ground, there was no stopping the truck from sliding into the tree-lined ditch.
“God damn son of a bitch,” Jacob yelled as the truck came to a sudden halt. The passenger side door of the truck was now wrapped tightly against a big oak tree. Jacob slammed both hands on the steering wheel, muttering a few more choice words he knew his mother would have washed his mouth out for using.
Evidently the deer wasn’t quite as surprised by the arrival of the truck which housed Jacob, because as quick as a flash of lightning, it took off across the road heading for the safety of the woods. Jacob got out of the truck to survey the damage. He was not at all pleased to see the crunched metal crease in the door. However, he knew he should be thankful that it hadn’t been worse. Getting back into the vehicle, he threw it into four-wheel drive and slowly worked the vehicle out of the ditch and onto the road.
He turned his head looking for oncoming traffic before proceeding, and was surprised by what he saw. There about twenty five feet away, just inside the woods was the deer. Not only the one, but five of her companions as well. “What the hell are you looking at?” Jacob asked sarcastically. The doe’s continued to gaze at him, and if he didn’t know better, it almost appeared as if they were smiling and laughing at him.
“Oh this is just bullshit,” Jacob muttered as he pulled out, heading for home once more. Unseen by Jacob, the deer stood their ground and watched his truck fade into the horizon. Once he was out of sight, the animals turned, slowly walking further into the woods.
~◊~

To purchase “Oh, Deer” go to Amazon.com
 
 

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