Book: Awilda (short story )

Author: Edward Medina

Price: $.99

Available: Amazon

Where authors promise something sexy and delicious then leave their readers wanting…Edward Medina delivers.

Edward Medina, author of It is Said and Murder of Crows, has taken his storytelling to a new level.

It is also a move away from the youth adult genre, but then again Medina has never been comfortable with being labeled, according to his published interviews. His style has always been smooth and polished, but this latest work is so smooth it is intoxicating. I couldn’t put it down, and have read it twice, since that bittersweet first night I encountered Awilda. I can understand why Medina couldn’t let go off her. I hated leaving her.

Medina’s command of language and vocabulary weaves a seamless tale. He describes her as “a demure young lady of twenty-six…, with an indefatigable mind in a myriad of places. She was very pretty. Not too thin. Not too heavy. She was a bit on the tall side with lots of leg. Her flesh was creamy white with light pink tones. The vampires loved her for all those lovely attributes.” Readers will also be drawn to her for those reasons as well as the way Medina brings her to life.

The tale is a journey through the mind of an incredibly dedicated vampire hunter specializing in a distinct type of vampires. A type of succubus, or so the story implies, whose favorite meal is a succulent virgin.

Edward Medina on his home turf.

Her day job as a librarian leaves her nights free to perfect her skills, while using the books she cares for to help her strengthen her mind and develop strategies. I loved that detail after having worked in a library for six years. Librarians like teachers are creatures whom the general public are intensely interested in, and much time is given over to speculation about private lives. Students like to think that their teachers have no lives and live in school. Yet, they know that they must have a life outside the classroom. So they fantasize about it. Awilda gives a peek into that secret life beyond the cardigans and pencil skirts.

Awilda is no ordinary hunter having killed her first vampire at six. Her second when she was just thirteen. Buffy the Vampire Slayer has nothing on Awilda, who is patient, and disciplined, as well as gifted with a sixth sense when it comes to dispatching the undead. Proud of her kills she maps them to help her end the vampiric infestation.

Medina uses his knowledge of the Big Apple to create a rich urban story that doesn’t play to the usual notes, where everything urban is about thugs, and gangs, or the uber-rich and polished. Awilda is a sophisticated tale in its layers which delicately unfold in this short-story. I wish it had been longer, but like every word Medina uses I am sure there is a reason… one that will delight and entrance in future Awilda stories.

It would be a cliché to say that nothing is what is seems, but there is a twist to this delicious tale making the ending truly amazing, and one which I solemnly swear not to reveal. Independent authors like Medina need readers to support for their work, and this project, as well as his others, genuinely deserves it.

For a free excerpt of the Awilda visit his blog ~ Just Sayin’….;) .