Animal Instincts: The Urban Jungle by S.L. Jackson ➱ Book Tour with Giveaway

Animal Instincts: The Urban Jungle

by S.L. Jackson

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Animal Instincts: The Urban Jungle is a collection of creative stories based on the lives of animals in an urban underworld jungle. The stories are focused around a family of outlaw rabbits who are fixtures in the criminal activities taking place in the jungle while trying to maintain a balanced life and family structure.
Deceit and mistrust lead the rabbits down a dark rabbit hole of revenge and murder. There are no happily-ever-after's in these stories. Join the Jackson rabbits as they navigate their way through the urban jungle using their Animal Instincts.

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Animal Instincts: The Urban Jungle

Excerpts:

Story 1: All Sunny Days Ain’t So Bright
As the twins played farther and farther away from where their mom had told them not to, the sun was beating down on the Jackson brothers. They were from the toughest, baddest, most dangerous rabbits the jungle had ever seen. Poppa Jackson had made his “bones” doing whatever he could, but due to his ridiculous speed, he was a robber; no one could catch him. Mama Jackson, on the other hand, was a sneaky, yet sweet rabbit who’d do whatever to get the money. There was no telling which parent was the most ruthless.
Mama and Poppa rabbit had settled on running a speakeasy for the underworld elite called The Bunny Hop House. Out of all the times the parent rabbits had expected kids, the only ones that made it were Leaps and Jumps, and they were their parents’ pride and joy. Leaps was the eldest by only a minute. Jumps was not far behind and that normally set the tone for the rambunctious twins.
“Leaps, you see that strange bird flying over there? Looks like he’s been following us the whole time.”
“Well, let’s stop and see if that’s the case,” replied the oldest brother.
Just as the brothers suspected, the bird had been following them. This bird wasn’t just any regular bird.
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He was a dove, a black dove that only spoke to a few animals, but he saw everything going on in the jungle and beyond.
“What’s up, twins?” spoke the voice of the black dove. “My name is Blac. I’ve been watching y’all, man, and y’all a long way from home. What y’all doing way out here?”
“What you mean, you been watching us?” said the twins simultaneously.
“Look, I’m going to be all the way real with y’all. Your dad is a good friend of mine and I’m forever indebted to him, so I keep a close eye on y’all for him. I see everything and I’m seeing y’all way outta bounds, so what y’all doing?”
“We doing us, what you mean?” spat Jumps in a fiery tone.
During this odd exchange of words, the twins began to playfully wrestle and stumbled upon some rainbowcolored mushrooms.
“Bro, what are those? They look like mushrooms, but they’re mad colorful. You think we should try some to see what they do?” asked Leaps.

Story 5: YOU CAN’T SLICK A CAN OF OIL
Sly stood admiring himself in the mirror, his tailormade suit with the rabbit fur on the collar.
‘Man, I’m a smooth dude,’ he thought.
And that he was—a slick-talking, hard-hustling, leopard that had been in the game a long time. He’d started in the game as a “lookout” for a numbers racket a long time ago. That numbers racket was also run by dogs, but of a different kind. Larry Fox was the head of the numbers syndicate at that time, which was a family business that had been protected by brutal force.
Larry had a daughter, Groovy, who was one raw fox. Her dad had shown her the ropes because he knew one day he would be passing it down to her. She was a student of the game and had studied well. Groovy had always been a real one, nothing fake about her, and man could she dress. That was a trait she’d picked up from her dad, who’d always told her, “Sugar, always dress for the position you want, not the one you’re in.” That had stuck with her.
Sly wasn’t always so sly, on the other hand. His days as a lookout had come as a result of his humble beginnings. Sly’s family had been poor. A project cat since birth, all he’d ever wanted was to make a better way for his family. His mom was a hard-working maid
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who’d become a single mother to three children, with Sly being the oldest. It was rumored that Sly’s dad, “Big Sly”, was murdered going to get food for the family, and eventually, had been made into a purse and other items.

Story 10: What We Became
“You begging for your life won’t help, Sly,” were the words Sly was hearing as he was coming to from being knocked out. Tied up, bleeding, and almost unconscious. Leaps had been kicking him in the face repeatedly, and when Leaps stopped, Jumps continued. Sly knew the day would come he’d have to answer for trying to slick a can of oil, but he didn’t know the Jackson twins would be leading that charge.
Groovy was getting old. Years had passed and she was happy with the outcome of her life. Her dad, Larry Fox, had taken good care of her, made sure she was set up to live a great life even after he was gone. Then, working with the Jacksons, she had been able to experience true friendship and family. Raising Leaps and Jumps was by far her biggest accomplishment. The twins had turned out to be standup rabbits, the same way they would have if Mama and Poppa were still around.
“Groovy, you have always been here for us, and we need to know if there’s anything we can actually do to repay you for that?” was the question Jumps asked.
“Sugar, neither one of you has to repay me for anything. I made a promise to your parents, and me keeping that promise was the most important thing I could do.”
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“Yeah, we get all that, but let’s be real. We know there’s something we can do for you, and we’ve already put the play in motion,” Jumps said with a grin on his face. That grin was “fox like”, so Groovy paid close attention to what was being communicated.
“Honey, what are you talking—”
“Look, Groovy, a little dove told us a story about a bar, some leopards, rabbits, and a fox. Now, we aren’t the smartest, but you’re a fox. Mama and Poppa were rabbits, and the only thing missing is a leopard, a leopard that happened to be like your brother. So, again, Groovy, is there anything we can do for you, Sugar?”

S.L. Jackson, an Urban Fantasy Author, from Inkster, MI, who now resides in metro-Detroit first entered the publishing scene in 2019 with the novella ‘Animal Instincts: The Urban Jungle’. He’s an auto worker, a community activist skilled in the art of urban jungle survival, a podcaster, and a former entertainer and entertainment education provider. You can always find him reading, watching, and listening to interviews, helping others achieve their goals, and busying with anything that challenges his creativity. “Writing is my need to escape,” Jackson says.

Even though his first novella ‘Animal Instincts: The Urban Jungle’ is considered an Urban Fantasy he prefers not to place himself in a box and stunt the growth of his creativity by limiting himself to one genre. He’s the creator of the hashtag #respecturbanauthors. He’s been nominated for several awards that include Feathered Quill Awards, Ippy/Elit Awards, Top Shelf Magazine Awards, and Top Shelf Book Cover Awards. His podcast “The Connected Experience” is a cultural and lifestyle show.

Jackson is currently working on a comic book and cartoon series for ‘Animal Instincts: The Urban Jungle’. His plans also include more books, awards, and his books placed in libraries across the world.

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