In the gritty underbelly of 1990s Columbus, Ohio, Lee Vance?long-haired 5-string bassist for the hard-rocking band Animal Instinct?lives for the stage, the roar of the crowd, and the neon haze of Doug's Bar. But when a shadow begins creeping through his mind, everything starts to unravel.

What begins as a simple medical scare spirals into a nightmare of paranoia, betrayal, and violence. A mysterious red-haired woman in a white dress appears at the bar one rainy night, pulling Lee into a dangerous web of secrets that threatens the only family he has left: his band brothers. As the "demon" inside his head tightens its grip, Lee must navigate rigged gigs, suspicious cops, blood-soaked back alleys, and the thin line between reality and delusion?while the band fights to keep their dream alive and the music playing.

Raw, dark, and unflinchingly honest, Animal Instinct (Lee Vance's Younger Days) is a semi-autobiographical rock noir thriller that blends pulse-pounding suspense, Gen-X sarcasm, and psychological horror with the authentic sweat-and-leather energy of the 90s underground music scene. Inspired by real events, real people, and real demons, this is a story of loyalty, loss, redemption, and the animals?both literal and figurative?that pull a man back from the edge.

The Lee Vance Story: A Mini Novel serves as the gripping prelude. The saga continues in Animal Instinct 2 (coming soon).