Dear Reader,

If you like character driven narratives, cynical characters who know more than they should, and character arcs with clear growth, last month I wrote just the thing to scratch that itch for you!

Cheater Cheater Bunny Eater follows [Zackalen], an adult who’s been squished into a corner, working retail to afford to live on his own. He’s been down on his luck for a long time- always looking for an lucky break, but never seeing one he could afford. An old friend sends him the opportunity he’s been longing for- one that’s actually in reach… If he’s willing to tip toe in a gray area for the opportunity.

He’d be a fool not to take it.

Now inside Unraveled Online, a massive game about rewriting history and forging new legends, Zackalen must balance his self-serving strategy with the game’s brutal challenges. As he explores unique biomes, kills bunnies, and goes head-to-head with a rival who has everything he ever wanted in the VRMMO of the year, Zackalen has to forge his own story. In a game about unraveling history and creating new legends that challenges him at every turn, will Zackalen finally get to achieve everything he’s ever wanted, or will the developers have the last laugh?

Here’s an excerpt from the book:

‘Be Polite!’
‘Raise your hand’
‘Play nice with your brother’
‘Sit down’
‘The bell doesn’t dismiss you, I do’
‘Keep your head down’
‘Do it cause I told you to’
‘Listen to your sister’
‘Know your place’

Now, as the final boss for the first half of the game of the year, I finally get to turn some of the lines I’ve been hearing all my life around. “Know your place and bow before me!” Acting in character as the final boss, I roar dramatically at the crowd in front of me. I grin maniacally as I ready myself for combat and stare through the small army in front of me to lock eyes with my rival. Sporting a similar crazed grin, he strums his lyre and commands his friends forward. With the fight about to start, I can’t help but let my mind momentarily drift through everything that put me here.

Authority always confined me, so I craved the power to stand against it. I wanted to stand out. I wanted to be something. It didn’t matter where. It didn’t matter how long. Just once. Just once, I wanted to be first.

I didn’t have the guts to do anything more than think about it, but I wanted to impact something, anything, so badly, I thought I might have it in me to lie, cheat, beg, and bribe for the opportunity.

One uneventful day, a doorbell rang at my apartment. I wasn’t expecting anything or anyone, so the sound was jarring, even grating on my soul as it cut through my headphones. I soothed my nerves and went to the door, opening it up to a dark, cloudy evening with nobody in sight, just a very, very ordinary looking package. It was addressed to me and my address, so I opened it up, thinking I had forgotten I had ordered something.

“Happy birthday, Z.” Was all the card inside the package said, but I knew who it was from. I smile wistfully, almost mourning the memory as I picked up the package from my old friend. A very old friend who was more willing than I was to ‘do what it takes’ as he put it. “If you ain’t cheating, you ain’t trying.” He used to say. And perhaps he was right, he certainly got higher grades than I did all through school.

He worked somewhere with enough NDA’s that we didn’t get to talk much anymore, but he sent a birthday gift every year, a small nod to the tight bond we used to share. I hoped one day I could return the favor, but he could never tell me where he lived. His gift was almost always something that would make me a little bit nervous, not knowing where it had come from or what it was for. This year though, this year he gave me what I wanted most.

A chance to be something great.

Booting up the VR capsule, I took a deep breath as I reviewed my notes before the launch of the biggest MMORPG of the year. I had memorized everything I could in the month between my birthday and the launch, but there was so much information available that I wasn’t confident I could keep it all in my head. I was holding in my hands the leak to end all leaks- the game’s plot, events, key characters quests, boss monster attack patterns, and more. I couldn’t help myself from cracking a smile every time I held this massive script, I was absolutely giddy from having so much knowledge about the game, it was practically cheating.

My nerves started shaking. It was cheating. Not in the sense where I hacked the game, but in the sense I shouldn’t know what I would going in. It was an unfair advantage. A part of me felt guilty. I shouldn’t be doing this. I closed my eyes. “This is my one opportunity.” I said out loud. “I can either take advantage of this now, or live the rest of my life continuing to tell myself that one day I’ll get my lucky break.” I open my eyes and step into the VR capsule. I would never get an opportunity like this again. It was either time to put up or shut up.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this sample of Cheater Cheater Bunny Eater! The book is available on Kindle Unlimited and is available for purchase, whether you prefer an eBook or a physical copy.

If you like the book, I hope you’ll consider leaving a review. Or if you don’t like it, that’s okay too. I’ll be happy to hear from you regardless! ^^

Love, Eden