BooksChatter: ☀☄ When The Serpent Bites: The Starks Trilogy [1]

Thank you for joining us on the Virtual Book Tour for When The Serpent Bites, a Psychological Thriller by Nesly Clerge (30 October 2015, IngramSpark/ Clerge Books, 406 pages).

This is the first book in The Starks Trilogy series.

PREVIEW: Check out the book's synopsis and our Exclusive excerpt below. Read the first 12 chapters with Amazon Look Inside.

When the Serpent Bites explores choices, consequences, and the complexities of human emotions, especially when we are placed in a less-than-desirable setting.

"Downright Amazing." ―Bobbie Grob, Readers' Favorite
"A fascinating read." ―John Murray, Pacific book review
"A plethora of twisted and suspenseful events." ―San Francisco Book Review
"An arresting prison tale about penance.” ―Kirkus Reviews

Author Nesly Clerge will be awarding signed paperback copy of When The Serpent Bites to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour. Please do take part: comment on our post and follow the tour where you will be able to read other exclusive excerpts (☀).

Synopsis | Trailer | Exclusive Teaser | About the Author | Giveaway & Tour Stops

Synopsis

Frederick Starks has it all—a gorgeous wife who was his high school sweetheart, three beautiful children, a mansion and cars others envy, millions in the bank, respected in his community, admired by his employees, loved and respected by loyal friends.

He revels in the hard-earned power and control he’s acquired. As the saying goes, “All that glitters is not gold,” which Starks discovers when gut-wrenching betrayal by his wife sends him over the edge and into a maximum security prison. There, Starks is a new “fish,” stripped of nearly everything he’s always relied on.

In that place, where inmates and guards have their own rules and codes of conduct, Starks is forced to face the darker side of life, and his own darker side, especially when the betrayals, both inside and outside the prison, don’t stop. He must choose which path to follow when the line between right and wrong becomes blurred: one that leads to getting out of the physical and emotional hellhole he finds himself in or one that keeps him alive.

Teaser: Excerpt

     Ozy lowered his voice. “You’re as stupid as you look standing here like a self-righteous ass. You’ve got a hot woman in your bed. You should be doing her instead of jacking off in front of my wife. Besides, there’s no reason for you to be here. I’m done with Kayla, who, as you know, has another man polishing her chrome now. No reason for you to be here other than some misplaced pride.”
     “She was my wife!”
     “What can I say? I’m a use ’em then lose ’em kinda guy.”
     Starks backed up a few steps, realizing how pointless it was to try to get Ozy to feel remorse of any kind. He’d done what he came here to do: Margaret had heard him. It was time to leave, time to return to Emma and her soothing warmth.
     Ozy moved forward. “You don’t know how to please a woman. Kayla was so fucking grateful that she couldn’t do enough for me. If that new piece of ass of yours needs it done right, tell her to call me.” He jabbed Starks’s chest with his finger. “In the bedroom Mechanical Man, you’re a waste of space.”
     Starks had always seen himself as a rational man. But Ozy’s arrogance overwhelmed him. The fact that he was no longer able to go home to his children, no longer able to kiss their foreheads each night as they slept, in effect, having been forced from sharing daily life with them because of this man, had festered inside him like a wound with no cure.
     Howling, he charged at Ozy. Used his shoulder to ram the man into the glass door. Sharp shards rained down on both of them and scattered across the floor. Blood trickled from small cuts on both men. Margaret screamed.
     Ozy yelled, “Upstairs. Call the police.” He ran to the kitchen.
     Starks ignored his instinct to leave and followed the man.
     Ozy stood on the other side of the island cutting block centered in the room, with his back against the countertop. He edged his way left, his eyes fixed on Starks.
     “I don’t know why you’re angry with me. You told Kayla you wanted her to be happy, whatever it took. It took me. She liked what I did to her.” His grin was malicious. “Said she’s been spoiled after having one my size. Said I knew what she wanted before she did. In fact, she liked what every man in my firm did to her. Liked me to watch.” His face conveyed amusement. “Didn’t know there was more than me? You’re the loser.”
     Starks saw Ozy rest his left hand on the countertop. Saw him then move his hand behind him. He got distracted when Ozy said, “Are you upset that I did your wife or that sometimes a buddy and I did her at the same time? Get a fuckin’ clue. Get your head out of your—”
     Starks heard metal slide against wood. He saw the large knife Ozy held in a white-knuckled grip.
     Adrenaline surged. Rage replaced reason. A heavy glass bowl rested on the counter near him. He took hold of it. Rushed at Ozy. Survival instinct and something he’d never felt before took over, blocking sound and sensation from his mind. He slammed the bowl into the side of Ozy’s head. Fell onto the downed man. Used his fists to vent the tornado of emotions he’d held in for so long.
     He didn’t notice how much blood there was.
     Or the absence of any defensive blows from his wife’s former lover.

When The Serpent Bites
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About the Author

Nesly Clerge received his bachelor’s degree in physiology and neurobiology at the University of Maryland, and later pursued a doctoral degree in the field of chiropractic medicine.

Although his background is primarily science-based, he has finally embraced his lifelong passion for writing. Clerge’s début novel, When the Serpent Bites, was released in October 2015 with the sequel to follow in 2016.

When he is not writing, Clerge manages several multidisciplinary clinics. He enjoys reading, chess, traveling, exploring the outdoors, and spending time with his significant other and his sons.

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