Here is chapter 1 of my newest book, Jovie Jade and the Monster Under Her Bed. I am immensely proud of the story, though it is easy to be proud of something that is based on such quality source material (Jovie is my oldest daughter). Please enjoy this preview and look for my book on Amazon (click here to find it). Please buy, read, and leave a review!

Jovie Jade and the Monster Under Her Bed:

Chapter 1

Jovie Jade is a very brave little girl. So brave, in fact, that she is not afraid of anything. She is not afraid of heights, the dark, or the mean dog at the Johnson’s house that barks every time she walks by. Jovie was brave enough to climb all the way to the top of the jungle gym and hang upside down by her legs! Jovie is so full of courage that, when Samantha(before she moved to New Mexico) dared her, she ate an earthworm still covered in mud. None of that made her nervous in the slightest.  She is absolutely, positively, undeniably not afraid of anything.

The only thing that might, in the slightest, scare her is the monster that lives under her bed. It was gray and hairy with bright red eyes and teeth so long it couldn’t close its mouth so drool dripped everywhere the thing went. Most nights she heard it growling and moaning, usually not showing its mean, ugly head. Some nights, though, it wiggled and squeezed its way out of its hiding spot and flashed an evil smile at Jovie. Those were the days that she really wanted to scream, but since she was brave, she did not. Her only option, and a desperate one at that, was to simply pretend the nasty beast wasn’t there.

Tonight, was one of those nights. Jovie felt her bed lift, shift, and bounce as the creepy monster pulled itself up. It stretched and stood at full height and, well, and it was shorter than Jovie thought but still frightening. The whole room thumped as it stepped, leaning over Jovie, drool dripping onto the sheets. As it breathed it sounded like something rattled in the back of its throat, like a dog that sees a cat across the street and wants to chase it. 

“Hello,” it said in a deep growl, “I live under your bed.”

Warm, putrid air flowed from its mouth. Jovie coughed, trying not to bring attention to the thing’s terrible breath, and sat up.

“Hello,” she said, in a remarkably brave tone, even though she had the blanket pulled up around her chin.  

The monster slumped against the wall, knocking Jovie’s soccer trophy off the shelf onto the ground. It crossed its arms and huffed much like Trent did at school when he didn’t get his way. Jovie worried the noise would wake her parents, but by a stroke of luck, they must have not thought anything was out of the ordinary, because they never came in to check on her.  

“You’re afraid of me too,” grumbled the monster, “everyone is afraid of me.”

“Am not!” Jovie yelled, wanting to prove she was brave.

The monster rolled its red eyes and stuck at its tongue and wagged its furry head back and forth like it was mocking Jovie. 

“Are too, and you think my breath stinks,” the mean thing said.

Jovie wasn’t quite sure what to say about that. His breath did stink.

“Well,” Jovie said, thinking about the right words to say.

“I just woke up,” the monster explained, “everyone’s breath stinks when they wake up! And you’re a bad host. You didn’t offer me a seat or even ask why I was here.” The growl that he first had when talking seemed to have faded a bit.

Jovie had heard enough, no monster living in her bedroom was allowed to blame her for wanting just a little bit of privacy and safety in her own room. Even though the monster did not seem very nice, and Jovie was beginning to feel a little flicker of worry, she decided that something needed to be said.

“You’re a monster. You’re here to scare me!” she barked. 

The monster held up his hand and moved his fingers like a mouth, once again making fun of Jovie.

 “You’re here to scare me,” he said in the most unflattering, mocking tone. 

Jovie slid off her bed, the wood floor a little cold on her toes, walked right up to the monster, and wagged her finger in its face. It was the same pose her mom made whenever she refused to feed the dog or do the dishes, even though it wasn’t Jovie’s fault that Mom didn't feel well. 

“You need to be nicer,” she said, “good people do not talk like that!”

The monster sighed again, but this time he sounded much nicer.

“Sorry,” he explained, “but monsters really aren’t here to scare kids! Monsters help kids not be afraid of things! We are big, ugly, and scary so that if you face us the little things that scare you in life won’t seem so bad.”

Jovie scratched her head, none of this was making very much sense. How could something scary be helpful? The monster saw her confusion and looked around the room for an example, something he could use to teach her. A thought clicked in his head.

“Monsters are like feelings!” it exclaimed, “Sometimes you feel bad feelings, like sad or angry, and you don’t know why. Well, if you look those feelings in the eye they will teach you something about yourself. Monsters do the exact same thing. If you get to know us, you will see that we can help you, rather than make life hard.”

Jovie still wasn’t sold on the idea, “Monsters want to help?”

“Sure do, and the more you ignore us the more ugly and big we grow, maybe even sprouting tentacles and fangs to try and get your attention. We teach, protect, and warn. Some of us are annoying, like the monsters that hang around at school when you don’t want to raise your hand in class, or the ones that creep through the house when no one is home, but when you listen to us we will make you safer and smarter!”

“So, just why are you here?” Jovie asked.

The monster crawled towards Jovie and, and even though it had lots of large sharp teeth, smiled a wide warm smile. 

“You have quite a few monsters that you need to get to know better,” he said.

“Ok monster, I guess you will have to help me.”

“Call me Todd,” the monster said, “Todd the Monster.”

Jovie crawled into her bed, and Todd crawled under it. They both stayed awake for a little while as they thought about the very strange relationship they were building.