Giveaway – Lies Ripped Open by Steve McHugh

Posted on November 25, 2015 by fundinmental

NBTM_TourBanner_LiesRippedOpen

Welcome to my stop for Lied Ripped Open by Steve McHugh.

I love learning about characters and how authors came up with them, so let me introduce you to Steve McHugh. Welcome Steve.

Characters – sometimes my emphasis is on the story, but lately I have found the characters are speaking pretty loud. Where do you get your inspiration for the characters you write about?

Inspiration for characters can come from anywhere; a video game, another book, TV, real life. At some point I’ll see or hear something, and Ill know it’ll work as character, or a trait, or maybe just a single line or way of saying something. And from there that character will develop into something more.

Mostly my characters develop over time, over the course of thinking and writing the book. I find it easier to let them change and grow naturally, that way their behavior is more organic, more natural. Forcing something to happen because I as the writer want it to, doesn’t mean it’ll work for the characters in question, and balancing those things—what I want and what they want—isn’t always easy. Sometimes you have to forgo the easy thing to do the thing that works best, which in the long run works better for the book and characters.

That means sometimes I’ll be writing a book, and suddenly a new character will appear, someone I had no intention of using, but who fits within the narrative of the book, and they sort of force themselves into the story. It happens with every book, without question, and in my eyes it’s part of the fun of writing. I have to trust in myself not to make anyone do anything out of character, at least not without reason, and I can be hard work to ensure that one character doesn’t behave in a way that would go against their normal personality, but it usually doesn’t take me long to realize my error and go change things.

Character creation, and making those characters come to life off the page for the reader, is one of the harder, but more rewarding parts of being a writer. Yes, I have several dozen voices in my head (although usually only one or two at a time) all making sure I don’t write anything that goes against the order, but anything else would be dull.

Steve McHugh is the author of the popular Hellequin Chronicles. The fifth book, Lies Ripped Open, was out on 25th August 2015. He lives in Southampton on the south coast of England with his wife and three young daughters. When not writing or spending time with his kids, he enjoys watching movies, reading books and comics, and playing video games.

I really enjoyed learning more about you and what inspires you, Steve. Thanks so much for joining us today!

Add me to Goodreads now.

Lies Ripped Open by Steve McHugh

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BLURB

Over a hundred years have passed since a group of violent killers went on the rampage, murdering innocent victims for fun. But even back then, sorcerer Nate Garrett, aka Hellequin, knew there was more to it than simple savage pleasure—souls were being stolen.

Nate’s discovery of the souls’ use, and of those supporting the group’s plan, made him question everything he believed.

Now the group Nate thought long dead is back. Violent, angry, and hell-bent on revenge, they have Hellequin firmly in their sights. And if he won’t come willingly, they’ll take those closest to him first.

The battle begins again.

BUY LINKS: Amazon / B&N

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EXCERPT

I walked over to the second agent, whose back was toward me as he stood a little further into the park, and placed my hand on his shoulder. “That’s enough,” I repeated, but he spun around and all of the breath left my body at once, followed immediately by pain as it exploded across my torso. I glanced down as a shimmering blade of ice was pulled free from my chest. It was covered in my blood. I dropped to my knees and watched as the magical weapon vanished from view. The pain forced me to abandon my night vision, and the darkness once again took control.

The overwhelming thought that bounced around my head was that neither of the SOA agents had been sorcerers. My attacker crouched beside me. “They interrupted me and my prey got away,” his accent was from East London, but sounded slightly different from many of those living in the city. As if he’d been away from here for a long time, and had not quite remembered how the accent was meant to sound.

I glanced up at him, still unable to breathe; the blade had punctured a lung. It wouldn’t kill me, but it would be a few hours until I was back to normal, and without my night vision I could have been staring into Merlin’s own face and I’d never have known.

The man got back to his feet and kicked me onto my back. “I should make sure you remember your time here, but I’m sure your comrades over there will be able to do that better than I could.”

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ABOUT STEVE MCHUGH

AuthorPhoto_LiesRippedOpen Steve’s been writing from an early age, his first completed story was done in an English lesson. Unfortunately, after the teacher read it, he had to have a chat with the head of the year about the violent content and bad language. The follow up ‘One boy and his frog’ was less concerning to his teachers and got him an A.

It wasn’t for another decade that he would start work on a full-length novel that was publishable, the results of which was the action-packed Urban Fantasy, Crimes Against Magic.

Steve McHugh lives in Southampton on the south coast of England with his wife and three young daughters. When not writing or spending time with his kids, he enjoys watching movies, reading books and comics, and playing video games.

Facebook / Twitter / Website

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GIVEAWAY

Steve McHugh will be awarding a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour, and a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn host.

ENTER THE RAFFLECOPTER HERE

Follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found HERE.

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To see all my Reviews, go HERE.

To see all my Giveaways, go HERE.

If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?

Look on the right sidebar and let’s talk.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.

If you have a problem commenting, look for the twitter, facebook…buttons.

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Excerpt: Of Ice and Air by Carlie M A Cullen

Posted on November 25, 2015 by fundinmental

Of Ice and Air is Carlie M A Cullen’s latest fantasy novel.

What do you think of the gorgeous cover?

You can check out my review here.

Add me to Goodreads

EXCERPT

He opened the door to a large stable-like room, but much more comfortable for the animals. In each stall were large fluffy blankets and individual food bowls. The centre had what appeared to be a congregation area which had matting on the floor. Some of the strange animals were sleeping in their stalls while others were in the centre appearing to be conversing in some way.

“Can they talk?” she asked as she watched them.

“In a way. They have their own language which our most talented linguists have tried to learn and translate without success. However, they do understand us and will react to anything we say to them.” They descended the steps and stood on the matting. “Before you make your choice,” the king continued, “I want to show you the Blenorai Kai. They are the elite of the breed and are the only ones allowed to carry members of the royal family. When a Blenorai is chosen, the Kai train them extensively until they are qualified for the title. Once you bond with a Blenorai, they are yours for life and will accept no other rider.”

They walked through a door and found even more luxurious appointments for the beasts. As soon as they saw the king enter, they stopped what they were doing and stood to attention.

“Stay exactly where you are for a moment and don’t move. Understand?”

“Yes, Grandfather.”

He walked around the room and patted each animal on the head. One particular beast got a little more attention than the others and Kailani surmised it was the king’s own mount. “Blenorai Kai, this is my granddaughter, Kailani. She must not come to any harm. She is about to choose her own mount. He or she must be trained as quickly as possible. Now, please acquaint yourself with my granddaughter.” The huge, pure white beasts with the head and mane of a lion, the body of a long-haired bear, a lion’s tail with wicked-looking spikes on the end, and armour on their bodies formed an orderly queue and approached her. The first one stared at her face and she was taken by the beautiful violet colour of its eyes. He then sniffed her all the way to her feet then moved away. This continued in the exact same format until each one had smelled her.

“Which one was my mother’s mount?”

The king strode forward and stopped in front of the beast. “This one. His name is Yashtig.”

Kailani reached forward and stroked his mane. “Hello Yashtig. I’m Princess Garalia’s daughter, Kailani. I wish you could speak my language so we could talk about her. I may have need of your services soon for the benefit of my mother. Would you be prepared to help me?” The beast nodded his head. “Thank you. I will call on you as soon as my mount is ready.” Again, Yashtig nodded.

“Come, Kailani. Let us choose your mount so the training may begin.” She moved toward the door looking closely at the size of each, their leg muscles, and any other attributes she felt were crucial. In a way she thought it might be a test, to see if she had a good eye and could pick the best of the bunch. She didn’t much care about that though, as she knew her intuition would help her.

Once back in the first room, King Jaanis cleared his throat and all the animals stood to attention. “This is my granddaughter and today she is choosing her mount,” he announced. He then turned to her and said, “Feel free to wander around them, touch them, feel their muscles, look at their spikes, whatever it is that helps you decide. Take your time as your decision is probably one of the most important you will ever make in your life.”

ABOUT OF ICE AND AIR

On her 21^st birthday, Princess Kailani’s father tells her that when she was a baby, her mother was abducted. She also learns she has family in another world.

Defying her father, she travels from her Cloud Castle home to the ice kingdom of Idenvarlis where Kailani’s instincts drive her to find the mother she doesn’t remember.

Gifted with the magic of two worlds, and skilled in the use of weapons, she journeys into unknown and dangerous territory. Despite her determination to rescue her mother, she’s forced to overcome new fears and find a way to cope with all she encounters.

However, a person in authority will stop at nothing to prevent either of them returning.

Kailani faces isolation, wild beasts, rogue soldiers, and more as she battles to return to the Ice Palace. With the stakes so high, can she make it back alive?

ABOUT CARLIE M A CULLEN

Carlie M.A. Cullen Carlie M A Cullen was born in London. She grew up in Hertfordshire where she first discovered her love of books and writing.

She has always written in some form or another, but started to write novels in 2011. Her first book was published by Myrddin Publishing in 2012. Author of the Heart Search trilogy and Of Ice & Air, she writes in the Fantasy/Paranormal Romance genres for New Adult and Adult.

Carlie is also a principal editor for Eagle Eye Editors.

She also holds the reins of a writing group called Writebulb. They have published four anthologies so far, two for adults and two for children, all of which raise money for a local hospice.

Carlie currently lives in Essex, UK with her daughter.

Stalk Carlie:

Website / Twitter: @carlie2011c / Facebook / Linkedin / Amazon / About.me

Wattpad / Goodreads

My Reviews for Carlie’s Heartsearch Vampire Trilogy but first a little tease:

Trailer for Book I, Heartsearch Lost, where it all started:

Review of Heartsearch: Lost, Book I by Carlie M A Cullen

Heartsearch: Found: Book II by Carlie M A Cullen

Review: Heart Search: Betrayal by Carlie M A Cullen

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To see all my Reviews, go HERE.

To see all my Giveaways, go HERE.

If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?

Look on the right sidebar and let’s talk.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.

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Thanks for visiting fundinmental!

Giveaway & Excerpt – The Face Transplant by R Arundel

Posted on November 19, 2015 by fundinmental

FS_TourBanner_FaceTransplant

BookCover_TheFaceTransplant Add me to Goodreads

The Face Transplant by R. Arundel

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GENRE: Medical Suspense Thriller

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BLURB

An epic journey of suspense, murder, and sacrifice

Dr. Matthew MacAulay is a facial transplant surgeon at a prestigious New York hospital. When his friend and mentor, Tom Grabowski, dies under mysterious circumstances, Matthew uncovers his friend’s secret: a new technique that allows perfect facial transplants. No incisions, no scars. Tom was able to accomplish this monumental feat with the help of Alice, a supercomputer robot with almost human abilities. While trying to find the people responsible for murdering Tom, Matthew realizes he is the prime suspect. He must flee for his life with the help of Dr. Sarah Larsson, a colleague and reluctant helper, who has a secret of her own, and Alice, who helps them make sense of a baffling series of seemingly unrelated events. The clues carry Matthew and Sarah around the world. They stumble onto a sinister plot of monumental proportions that leads Matthew all the way to the White House.

The Face Transplant is a powerful medical suspense thriller of the first order. The novel was written by a surgeon who weaves politics, medicine, and espionage into a tightly paced, intelligent thriller.

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EXCERPT

Guaarrr. It sounds like water draining from a very large bathtub, through a very large hole. I just killed myself. I just killed the patient. Dr. Matthew MacAulay looks down on the operating room table at the gaunt, graying man. Matthew quickly scans the operating theater. Out of the corner of his eye, he can see the short wide man in

the observation area.

I just killed myself, Sarah, and Amanda.

They have been hijacked into performing a face transplant. The patient is unknown. Mr. Glock, the short wide man, hovers in the far end of the operating room. He made it clear that if the patient did not survive, the three of them would be following him in short order. The 9 mm Glock with a silencer on the end gave credence to his profanity-laced words of warning.

Matthew looks across the operating room table at Amanda Soto, forty-two, an American of Spanish ancestry. She has been his scrub nurse, assisting him in the operating room for the last three years. Divorced, one child.

It will take a few more seconds for the monitors to tell everybody what Matthew already knows. Amanda already knows. She is right across the table. She saw him use the robotic arm to dissect the vessel and mistakenly cut the large artery in the neck. An operating room nurse of Amanda’s experience has seen it all. When Matthew looks into her eyes, they flash ever so quickly an acknowledgement that it is all over. Instead of any words, she quietly unclamps the suction. Now a dull hiss fills the air. To the casual observer, or the short wide man holding a 9 mm Glock pistol in his fat stubby hands, nothing really has changed. Amanda, anesthetist Dr. Sarah Larsson, and Dr. Matthew MacAulay act as if all is going well.

Matthew cannot help but glance over to the man with the 9 mm Glock. In his mind he names him Mr. Glock. Adrenaline surges through Matthew’s body and time slows. The short wide man, Mr. Glock, has gray eyes. Pale, gray eyes. Very pale, almost tired. Matthew remembers reading somewhere that people with gray eyes have the best visual acuity. They make the best marksmen, the best assassins. He wonders if this was true.

ABOUT

Arundel is a practising surgeon. This experience brings realism to the story. The novel asks what would happen if a surgeon were to develop the perfect face transplant. This would allow people to have a new face, in essence create a new identity. You can create the perfect double, the perfect Doppelganger.

Contact link: http://www.amazon.com/R-Arundel/e/B00EBCQVEC

FOR A CHANCE TO WIN AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF THE BOOK, go here: http://www.thefacetransplant.com/contact.html FILL OUT THE FEEDBACK AND MARK SUBSCRIBE.

GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE

Prizes for the tour are as follows:

One randomly chosen winner via rafflecopter will win a $50 Amazon/BN.com gift card.

ENTER THE RAFFLECOPTER GIVEAWAY HERE

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To see all my Reviews, go HERE.

To see all my Giveaways, go HERE.

If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?

Look on the right sidebar and let’s talk.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.

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Giveaway – Falling Awake by Debrah Martin

Posted on November 17, 2015 by fundinmental

FALLING AWAKE:

Magic or madness? Can your dreams really take over your life?

Falling Awake is the story of a book and the power of imagination to turn two lives upside down.

When Mary Parker finds an unusual book everything in her life changes. As she reads, she dreams, and the quiet, repressed woman is transformed.

She gives the book and the phenomenon a name, ‘falling awake’. The existence of the book seems to make others act out of character too. Joe’s usually dour father gambles with the factory where Mary works, and Joe, the romantic daydreamer, engages in a sexual eternal triangle to keep the dull routine of the accounts department at bay. The dominant partner in the triangle is Clem; dark and dangerous.

Extricating himself from Clem, Joe meets Mary. They fall in love and marry in haste when Mary falls pregnant, but this is no happy ever after tale. Their joy turns to misery when Mary miscarries and she turns inward to her darkening ‘falling awake’ world. Then Joe’s father dies, and he has to fight for control of the factory. He falls into Clem’s clutches again, and to make things worse, he believes Mary is going mad, and the people and places she remembers all just dreams dreamt inside her insanity. But then how can Joe remember them too?

Magic or madness?For Mary and Joe, the impossible – or the deadly – might only be a breath away.

Falling Awake is a brain teaser, an atmospheric mystery, an exposition of madness; an examination of the impossible, a fantasy, a ghost story, a psychological thriller, a love story, and a story of intrigue and sudden death. It will keep you awake at night, wondering, and pausing during the day, questioning …

One editor has already described it as:

“In the best traditions of Audrey Niffenegger and Carlos Ruiz Zafón…”

And others comment:

“…one of the most original, quirky manuscripts I’ve read for a long time…”

“…I especially like the fairy-tale and myth undertones that creep in from time to time throughout the novel: Sleeping Beauty clutching her book with echoes of Snow White in her glass coffin, the transformative red mac with its Red Riding Hood connotations, Mary’s Cinderella transformation from emotionally abused child to confident woman, the mermaid dress, Mariam’s Scheherazade dance, and especially the gambler as Rumpelstiltskin…”

“…a light, authoritative touch with both …story and characters.”

Debrah Martin is a British author writing under three different pen names and in three very different genres. She plots fast-paced thrillers as D.B. Martin, with the first in the Patchwork trilogy, Patchwork Man, having been recently awarded a coveted B.R.A.G. Medallion. Her YA teen detective series is penned as Lily Stuart – THE teen detective; irreverent, blunt, funny and vulnerable. Webs and Magpies are the first two books in the series. And as Debrah Martin she writes literary fiction. Her first literary fiction, Chained Melodies, a startling transgender story to rival The Danish Girl, and described pre-release as “…a beautiful book about love, acceptance and self-discovery…” was also released earlier this month.

Net Galley reviewers can access an ARC of Falling Awake there from 27th October, and all reviewers can obtain a copy and more information about Debrah’s other works by contacting her at the email address below.

For the first thirty reviewers to post a review of Falling Awake on Amazon, if you email Debrah with a link to the review, she’ll send you a bumper bundle (digital) of her other adult fiction books, including the award-winning Patchwork People series. Reviewers are also invited to contact Debrah for review copies of any of her books.

Debrah Martin can be emailed on info@debrahmartin.co.uk;

Her website is www.debrahmartin.co.uk

And she is on:

Twitter: @StorytellerDeb

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DeborahMartin.Author?ref=hl

Pinterest: http://uk.pinterest.com/Debrah_Martin/

And Sign up to Debrah’s mailing list for news and special offers: http://eepurl.com/3-965

Read an excerpt from Falling Awake –

‘What is life? An illusion, a shadow, a story.’

Pedro Calderon de la Barca

Prologue

No-one could sleep forever.

But apparently she could. It was the unusual challenge to the premise that had brought him here against the inclination to evade responsibility and slip home to his own dreams. She’d slept continuously for days now, without the need for water or sustenance; her only requirement, seemingly, a book. He peered curiously through the viewing panel as the attendant hovered behind him.

‘That’s her,’ the attendant announced as if pulling a rabbit from a hat. ‘Mary Parker.’

‘She’s very pretty,’ the tall young man declared, deep blue eyes narrowing to slits as he studied her. The woman’s long red hair cascaded over the side of the bed like blood streaming to the floor, her face a marble effigy of life. She reminded him of Millais’ Ophelia as she floated downstream on her layette of wild flowers – except this frozen beauty was merely asleep, not dead. He wondered what she was dreaming about. She seemed very familiar in a strange half-forgotten way.

‘Yeah, she is – and quiet now, but she weren’t once. Blimey – you should have seen her then, screaming and hollering. Wasn’t until we found that old book and gave it back to her that she shut up.’ The attendant picked at his nails and watched the tall young man lean in closer still. The corner of a book poked out from under the tightly clasped hands. ‘Then she just slept,’ the attendant added, shrugging his shoulders.

‘What’s its significance?’ the young man asked. He could just make out a title scrawled longhand across its spine. He wondered if the woman had written it on herself. He could only decipher the first word – ‘Falling’.

‘Not a clue, Mister; it’s just an empty book.’ The attendant shifted impatiently, as if tired of waiting, then asked, ‘How’d you know her again?’ He flipped the visitors’ page back to read the tall young man’s entry.

22nd Sept ’92: Time in – 5.45pm. John Hathorne, Director: Geo. Tooley & Sons.

‘I don’t really. She worked at the factory, that’s all. We have to be seen as caring employers so I’m here to check on her before we sign her off the books.’ He paused. Now he came to think of it he might have met her once. There had been a girl with bright red hair like hers the day he’d been shown round the factory. He’d been surprised by her scarlet mac because of the colour clash. He dragged himself from his reverie.

‘You said she had no family?’

‘Nope, apparently the mother died a while back and the neighbours say she’s been a bit odd ever since. Before they brought her in here she was wandering the graveyard down the road babbling about how she couldn’t find herself any more. Shame – when you got no-one.’

‘How do you think she can do it?’

‘What?’

‘Not eat or drink for so long – just sleep.’

‘Beats me. Maybe she’s not really there and we’re just imagining her.’ The young man stared at him. The attendant laughed. ‘Only joking. You done then?’ The attendant looked expectantly at him, and the young man found himself involuntarily offering his business card before collecting his briefcase and coat.

‘I suppose I could see if I can do something to help her if she comes back to the land of the living.’

The attendant turned the card over and read aloud, ‘Bespoke leisure wear and stage costumiers; themed event supplies a speciality.’ He studied the tall young man. ‘Versions of reality, huh? You’ll be getting a lot of custom soon, then.’ He sniggered. Outside the midweek rush hour traffic distantly hooted on its way home. The light had dimmed to the half-dusk of early autumn, but fallen leaves and skeletal trees said winter was already in the air.

The tall young man had spotted the now redundant leather straps on the side of the bed when he’d been trying to decipher the title of the book. The reddening round her wrists indicated where no doubt they’d been clasped until recently. ‘Halloween does tend to be a busy time,’ he agreed, suddenly uneasy. The place was oppressive and the sight of the comatose and confined woman depressed him. ‘Such a waste. Will she ever recover, do you think?’

‘Don’t know, mister. Not sure if she’s actually ill. Probably just the stresses of life – grief and disappointment. They do strange things to us, don’t they? Perhaps if she had someone to look after her, she’d get well again, but then who knows when anyone recovers from life.’ He laughed mirthlessly. ‘Maybe it’s better to just dream?’ The tall young man considered the idea for a while.

‘No, reality is always better, no matter how hard.’

He went back to the viewing window and studied the young woman for a few minutes more before gathering up the Essex County Gazette he’d brought with him and stuffing it under the arm carrying the briefcase. The pages creased and he made to flatten them, but stopped abruptly and tossed the paper back on the table the attendant had been sitting at when he’d arrived. He peered at his hand as if there was something wrong with it before shaking his head. The attendant cleared his throat meaningfully and opened the unit’s outer door.

‘I hope her dreams are sweet,’ the young man added sadly as the attendant ushered him out. The attendant flicked the light off and the room behind them sank back into shadow.

Neither saw the frozen figure thaw, stir, and open her eyes – deep green pools of luminescence. They fixed on the door and she listened intently to the low rumble of the tall young man’s voice as he made his goodbyes. The marble features creased to a frown and the slack body tensed. The book still clutched in her hand shivered.

‘No!’ she murmured. ‘No, no, no!’

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GIVEAWAY:

Two (2) print copies of Falling Awake by Debrah Martin (INT)

Ends November 19th

Prizing is provided by the author, hosts are not responsible.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This event was organized by CBB Book Promotions.

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To see all my Reviews, go HERE.

To see all my Giveaways, go HERE.

If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?

Look on the right sidebar and let’s talk.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.

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Giveaway, Review, Book Trailer & Excerpt for Red Tide by Jeff Lindsay

Posted on November 10, 2015 by fundinmental

Red Tide by Jeff Lindsay

Genre: Thriller

Published by: Diversion Publishing

Publication Date: October 27th 2015

Number of Pages: 228

ISBN: 1626817219 (ISBN13: 9781626817210)

Series: Billy Knight Thrillers #2

Purchase Links:

MY REVIEW

Red Tide by Jeff Lindsay is part of a series, but can stand alone. I have been reading his work, since the Dexter novels.

Jeff Lindsay’s abilities to describe his characters and their surroundings are so vivid and detailed they come to life through his words.

He talks about Key West, the only thing on my bucket list, and makes we want to be there. I would be in heaven in a lean-to on the beach.

Billy and Nancy have a relationship that is on again and off again. Billy’s attitude doesn’t help the situation. He’s starting bar fights and going to jail and that sure isn’t going to win her over.

I love Nicky. He is a friend of Billy’s, a quirky character who believes in astrology and crystals and runs a New Age store. He is a true diehard friend of Billy’s and is there when he needs a two by four upside the head, which is all too often.

Comical writing with wit and snark. The characters are so much fun, I would find myself busting out laughing here and there, looking around to see if anyone thinks I’m crazy.

Water, boats, booze and babes, fishing…and dead bodies?

The trio, Nicky, Anna and Billy are going to solve the mystery of the dead Haitians and black magic.

Jeff creates twisted and flawed characters that had me laughing and cussing, thank God for friends and favors, because Billy was calling them all in.

A dark cozy that had me trying to figure the outcome. One of two ways in my book. I want him to be a hero, but which kind? Who will survive the black magic? The chase for the bocor gets pretty intense and the ending was twisted in a way I thought was great and saw coming, sorta. My only complaint, the pacing was a bit slow in the beginning. Until the kidnapping, I felt no sense of urgency. My expectations are always high when it come to Jeff Lindsay, so maybe that is my fault. I would highly recommend any of his work.

I received an ARC of Red Tide by Jeff Lindsay in return for an honest review.

4 Stars

SYNOPSIS

From Jeff Lindsay, the bestselling author of the Dexter series, comes the long-awaited sequel to his debut novel, Tropical Depression, featuring ex-cop Billy Knight.

Billy Knight wants to ride out Key West’s slow-season with the occasional charter and the frequent beer. But when he discovers a dead body floating in the gulf, Billy gets drawn into a deadly plot of dark magic and profound evil. Along with his spiritually-attuned terrier of a friend, Nicky, and Anna, a resilient and mysterious survivor of her own horrors, Billy sets out to right the wrongs the police won’t, putting himself in mortal peril on the high seas.

As the title of Lindsay’s latest book declares, Dexter is dead—the serial killer saga is over. Now, Red Tide offers fans of Jeff Lindsay a new thriller, one twenty years in the making.

Read an excerpt:

Excerpted from Chapter 4 of
RED TIDE: A BILLY KNIGHT THRILLER
By Jeff Lindsay

Miami has this problem with its boaters. Some of them are still sane, rational, careful people—perhaps as many as three or four out of every ten thousand of them. The rest act like they escaped from the asylum, drank a bottle of vodka, snorted an ounce of coke, ate 25 or 30 downers and decided to go for a spin. Homicidal, sociopathic maniacs, wildly out of control, with not a clue that other people are actually alive, and interested in keeping it that way. To them, other boats are targets. They get in the boat knowing only two speeds: fast and blast-off.

I mentioned a few of these things to the boats that tried to kill me. I don’t think they could hear me over the engine roar. One of the boats had four giant outboard motors clamped on the back; 250 horsepower each, all going at full throttle no more than six inches from Sligo. If I had put the boom out I would have beheaded the boat’s driver. He might not have noticed.

“To get a driver’s license,” I said to Nicky through gritted teeth, “you have to be sixteen, take a test, and demonstrate minimal skill behind the wheel.”

Nicky was busy fumbling on a bright orange life jacket, fingers trembling, and swearing under his breath.

“To drive a boat—which is just as fast, bigger, and in conditions just as crowded and usually more hazardous—you have to be able to start the motor. That’s all. Just start the motor. There’s something wrong with this picture, Nicky.”

“There is, mate,” he said. “We’re in it. Can you get us out of here?”

My luck was working overtime. We had four more close scrapes—one with a huge Italian-built motor yacht that was 100 feet long, cruising down the center of the channel at a stately thirty knots, but I got us out of the channel alive and undamaged. When I cleared the last two markers and turned into the wind I told Nicky, “Okay. Raise the sails.”

He stared at me for a moment. “Sure. Of course. How?”

It turned out Nicky had never been on a sailboat before. So he held the tiller while I went forward to the mast and ran the sails up. Then I jumped back into the cockpit and killed the engine.

“Home, James,” said Nicky, popping two beers and handing me one. “It’s been a bitch of a morning.”

I took the beer and pointed our bow south.

It was a near-perfect day, with a steady, easy wind coming from the east. We sailed south at a gentle five knots, staring at the scenery. Cape Florida looked strange, embarrassed to be naked. All its trees had been stripped away by the hurricane. Farther south, the stacks of Turkey Point Nuclear Reactor stuck up into the air, visible for miles. It was a wonderful landmark for all the boaters. Just steer thataway, Ray Bob, over there towards all them glowing fishes.

• • •

The weather held. We made it down through the Keys in easy stages, staying the first two nights in small marinas along the way, rising at dawn for a lazy breakfast in the cockpit, then casting off and getting the sails up as quickly as possible. Part of the pure joy of the trip was in the sound of the wind and the lack of any kind of machine noise. We’d agreed to do without the engine whenever we could.

That turned out to be most of the time. Nicky took to sailing quickly and without effort. We fell into the rhythm of the wind and the waves so easily, so naturally, that it was like we had been doing this forever, and would keep doing it until one day we were too old and dry and simply blew gently over the rail, wafted away on a wave.

The third night we could have made it in to Key West. But we would have been docking in the dark, and working a little harder than we wanted to. So we pulled in to a small marina with plenty of time left before sunset.

Nicky used the time doing what he called rustling up grub. I don’t know if that’s how they say it in Australia, or if he heard it in some old John Wayne movie. From what he’d told me about Australia, there’s not much difference.

I sat in the cockpit with a beer, stretched out under the blue Bimini top, and waited for Nicky to get back. I had a lot to think about, so I tried not to. But my thoughts were pretty well centered on Nancy.

It was over. It wasn’t over. I should do something. I should let it take its course. It wasn’t too late. It had been too late for months. Eeny meeny miny mo.

Luckily, Nicky came back before I went completely insane. He was clutching a bag of groceries and two more six packs of beer.

“Ahoy the poop,” he shouted. “How ’bout a hand, mate?”

I got him safely aboard and he went below to the little kitchen. It sounded like he was trying to put a hole in the hull with an old stop sign while singing comic opera, so I stayed in the cockpit, watching the sun sink and thinking my thoughts.

There is something very special about sunset in a marina. All the people in their boats have done something today. They have risked something and achieved something, and it gives them all a pleasant smugness that makes them very good company at happy hour. A few hours later the people off the big sports fishermen will be loud obnoxious drunks and the couples in their small cruising sailboats will be snarling at them self-righteously from their Birkenstocks, but at sunset they are all brothers and sisters and there are very few places in the world better for watching the sun go down than from the deck of a boat tied safely in a marina after a day on the water.

I sipped a beer. I felt good, too, although my mind kept circling back to Nancy, and every time it did my mood lurched downwards. But it’s hard to feel bad on a sailboat. That’s one reason people still sail.

Anyway, tomorrow we would be home. I could worry about it then.

Early the next morning we were working our way towards Key West, about two miles off shore on the ocean side. We had decided on the ocean side because of the mild weather. With the prevailing wind from the east, we would have a better sail on the outside, instead of in the calmer waters of the Gulf on the inside of the Keys.

And because the weather was so mild, we went out a little further than usual. Nicky was curious about the Gulf Stream, which runs close to the Keys. I put us onto its edge, and by early afternoon we were only a few miles out of Key West.

Nicky had dragged up his black plastic box and, surprise, pulled out a large handgun.

Like a lot of other foreigners who settle in the USA, Nicky had become a gun nut. He was not dangerous, or no more dangerous than he was at the dinner table. In fact he had become an expert shot and a fast draw. The fast draw part had seemed important to him out of all proportion to how much it really mattered. I put it down to the horrors of growing up a runt in Australia.

Somehow Nicky managed to rationalize his new love for guns with his philosophy of All-Things-Are-One brotherhood. “Simple, mate,” he’d said with a wink, “I’m working out a past life karmic burden.”

“Horseshit.”

“All right then, I just like the bloody things. How’s that?”

Nicky had a new gun. He wanted to fire off a few clips and get the feel of it. Since we were out in the Stream and the nearest boat was almost invisible on the horizon, I didn’t see any reason why not. So Nicky shoved in a clip and got ready to fire his lovely new toy.

It was a nine millimeter Sig Sauer, an elegant and expensive weapon that Nicky needed about as much as he needed a Sharp’s buffalo rifle, but he had it and so far he hadn’t blown off his foot with it. I was hoping he would stay lucky.

“Ahoy, mate,” called Nicky, pointing the gun off to the south, “thar she blows.”

I turned to follow his point. A bleach bottle was sailing slowly out into the Gulf Stream.

“Come on,” Nicky urged, “pedal to the metal, mate.”

I tightened the main sheet and turned the boat slightly to give him a clear shot and Nicky opened up. He fired rapidly and well. The bleach bottle leaped into the air and he plugged it twice more before it came down again. He sent it flying across the water until the clip was empty and the bottle, full of holes, started to settle under.

I chased down the bottle and hooked it out with a boathook before it sank from sight. There’s enough crap in the ocean. Nicky was already shoving in a fresh clip.

“Onward, my man,” he told me, slamming home the clip and letting out a high, raucous, “Eeee-HAH!” as he opened a new beer. We were moving out further than we should have, maybe, out into the Gulf Stream. It’s easy to know when you’re there. You see a very abrupt color change, which is just what it sounds like: the water suddenly changes from a gunmetal green to a luminous blue. The edge where the change happens is as hard and startling as a knife-edge.

“Ahoy, matey,” Nicky called again, pointing out beyond the color change, and I headed out into the Gulf Stream for the new target.
“Coconut!” Nicky called with excitement as we got closer. It was his favorite target. He loved the way they exploded when he hit them dead on.

I made the turn, adjusting the sheet line and again presenting our broadside, and swiveled my head to watch.

Nicky was already squinting. His hand wavered over the black nylon holster clipped to his belt. He let his muscles go slack and ready. I stared at the coconut. From fifty yards it suddenly looked wrong. The color was almost right, a greyish brown, and the dull texture seemed to fit, but—

“Hang on, Nicky,” I said, “Just a second—”

But the first two shots were already smacking away, splitting the sudden quiet.

I shoved the tiller hard over and brought us into the wind. The boat lurched and made Nicky miss his second shot. He looked at me with an expression of annoyance. I nodded at his target. He had hit the coconut dead center with the first shot. It should have leapt out of the water in a spectacular explosion. It hadn’t. The impact of the shot pushed it slowly, sluggishly through the water and we could both see it clearly now.

It wasn’t a coconut. Not at all. It was a human head.

Author Bio:

Jeff Lindsay is the award-winning author of the seven New York Times bestselling Dexter novels upon which the international hit TV show Dexter is based. His books appear in more than 30 languages and have sold millions of copies around the world. Jeff is a graduate of Middlebury College, Celebration Mime Clown School, and has a double MFA from Carnegie Mellon. Although a full-time writer now, he has worked as an actor, comic, director, MC, DJ, singer, songwriter, composer, musician, story analyst, script doctor, and screenwriter.

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Giveaway – The Torment of Rachel Ames by Jeff Gunhus

Posted on November 10, 2015 by fundinmental

The Torment Of Rachel Ames
Jeff Gunhus
Publication date: November 10th 2015
Genres: Adult, Thriller

Suffering from writer’s block, novelist Rachel Ames escapes to a lake cabin to calm her mind and regain a sense of herself. The location is perfect. Isolated. Beautiful. Inspiring. It even comes with a good-looking landlord who shows an interest in her. But she can’t shake the sense that something terrible has followed her to the lake, something just beyond her consciousness, something out on the edge where the sounds of a raging fire and sirens linger whenever she slows down to listen. Determined to make the cabin work, she tries to settle in and give her new life a chance. But when strange things begin to happen around her, she wonders if she’s made a terrible mistake. As the darkness that’s followed her manifests itself in inexplicable ways, her concept of reality is stretched thin and she realizes nothing at the lake is what it seems. As she fights to survive with her sanity intact, she understands too late that the location she’s chosen for herself is far from perfect.

Goodreads / Amazon

SEE MY REVIEW HERE

EXCERPT:

Rachel Ames knows she’s making a terrible mistake, but that’s never stopped her before. Even as she speeds down the empty highway, she’s certain nothing good will come of this trip. She can’t say why she has this belief, only that it’s deeply rooted, part of a visceral animal instinct clawing away at her insides. Call it intuition. Or call it common sense, doesn’t matter. Can’t change the fact that it’s the truth.

She refuses to change her destination, even if the rising sense of dread causes her heart to beat right out of her chest. She’s committed, this much is a fact, so she pushes aside all thought of turning around and focuses on the road ahead.

She checks the map on her phone, taking comfort in the little blue dot on the screen that symbolizes the exact spot in the world occupied by her aging Honda Accord with faded red paint, bad muffler and squeaking brakes. The dot sails along a straight white line surrounded by an ocean of green. She appreciates the simplicity of the image, the perfection of it. An object moving at a steady rate along a direct path toward a specific destination. No hurdles. No obstacles to navigate. Not even an intersection or a fork in the road. There are only two decisions to make. To continue forward or stop the car and go back.

And there’s no chance in hell she’s going back.

Her two gentlemen passengers are the perfect companions. Silent, good-looking and only there to cater to her whims and needs. They sit together in the seat next to her, sharing the seatbelt. That might have been overdoing it, but strapping them in together makes her laugh, so she forgives herself the indulgence. This is her journey, her time, so acting odd is her prerogative.

Besides, the two of them are the perfect complements. Daniels and Underwood. Booze and typewriter. Soul mates bound by common history and mutual reliance.

The Underwood typewriter was a great find her sophomore year in college, given to her by Professor McNeely’s widow soon after his very public death from a massive aneurism. It’d happened right in the middle of her creative writing class, just as the old bastard was finally saying something nice about her novel-in-progress. Mid-sentence, he’d slapped a hand to his head, made a small grunt and rolled his eyes back in their sockets. At first, she’d thought he was mocking her work, but then his back arched and he collapsed to the floor. After that came the convulsions, followed by the shit and urine filling his pants as her classmates screamed. Then, as the good book says, the lights went out and Elvis left the building.

But unlike Elvis, the man wasn’t much loved. A taskmaster who hated any writer beside himself, he used critiques as an assault rifle to mow down any young soul with the temerity to attempt the art that, in his mind, belonged only to him and a handful of his peers. Sure there were the appropriate candlelight vigils and the church service to honor the brave soul who died fighting the good fight in his ivory tower, but right under the surface, the humor rolled dark and furious.

I heard that the last pages he read really blew his mind.

You know that saying, would it kill you to say something nice?

Rachel guessed it had.

Author Bio:

Jeff Gunhus is the author of thriller and horror novels for adults and the middle grade/YA series, The Templar Chronicles. The first book, Jack Templar Monster Hunter, was written in an effort to get his reluctant reader eleven-year old son excited about reading. It worked and a new series was born. His books for adults have reached the Top 100 on Amazon and have been Foreword Reviews Book of the Year Finalists.

After his experience with his son, he is passionate about helping parents reach young reluctant readers and is active in child literacy issues. As a father of five, he leads an active lifestyle in Maryland with his wife Nicole by trying to constantly keep up with their kids. In rare moments of quiet, he can be found in the back of the City Dock Cafe in Annapolis working on his next novel.

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I think I broke her – Perfectly Toxic by Kristine Mason with Giveaway, Review & Excerpt

Posted on November 2, 2015 by fundinmental

I am so excited to share Kristine Mason’s Perfectly Toxic.

For all you hardcore thriller lovers, this is a MUST READ!

Sooo, buckle your seatbelts because this will be a wild ride into the mind of one of the most wickedly evil villains I have ever had the “pleasure” of meeting.

Add me to Goodreads

Perfectly Toxic by Kristine Mason

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GENRE: Romantic Suspense

MY REVIEW

Perfectly Toxic by Kristine Mason is a thriller that stars Melanie Scarlet. I love the CORE and am so excited to finally read Mel’s story. The language and sex scenes are pivotal to the story and I think Kristine handled them well.

“I think I broke her.”

With a start like that, I knew I was in for a horrific ride into the twisted psyche of Adeline. I can hardly wait to dive into all the creepiness to come, and I know there will be plenty of it. As I read along, mini movies played in my head. When I was done reading, I felt like I needed to take a shower.

Well, what can I say about Perfectly Toxic. I had three pages of notes, but it just wasn’t working for me. So…I tossed them out and here I am, just telling you about my feelings about this, hmmm, horrifying thriller and the sadistic, psychopathic, crazy as a loon villain, Adeline and her cohort, Rodney.

I laugh at Frankenstein. that was a comedy compared to what these two were up to. What they were doing goes so far past that, I am finding it difficult to put into words the events in Perfectly Toxic. The lives lost and the torture suffered under their hands remind me of the evil men behind human testing during the holocaust. Both of them belong under the jail, not in it.

The most repulsive thing of all, Adeline revels in it. She loves to watch her toys squirm. There is nothing she won’t do to get what she wants. Feelings…what are those? She sure doesn’t have any warm and fuzzy ones. She is ice cold and beware, to be near her could be hazardous to your health. She is very smart, well educated, manipulative and broken. Something is very wrong with her. OMG, she is not just a psycho, she is bat shit crazy and evil beyond words.

I love all the CORE characters, but I can relate well to Mel, an ass kicking, swamp raised, don’t look at me cross eyed kind of gal. She is the Ice Cream lady. She is also a cleaner. You need something to disappear, just contact Mel. She hides her girlie girlness behind a really sharp knife. She’s the type to stab you with the knife, then cook dinner with it. She is married to Cash, but it doesn’t seem to be going so well. They are both stubborn and have strong personalities. She hangs with men more than women and I do that too. I love that she goes to the dock when she has heavy thinking to do. The water calms her and it has the same effect on me. I have spent many a day Sitting on the Dock of the Bay…wasting time.

Mel’s cousin, Bobby turns up missing and the mystery begins.

When Mel takes Harrison to meet Cash for help, the scenario could be hazardous to Harrison’s heath, but it is laughable. The who’s dick is bigger scenario had me cracking up. Cash’s mantra to control his anger is Unicorns are magical. Imagine seeing a huge hunk of a man repeating those words over and over. His therapist had called his and Mel’s relationship – TOXIC.

Cash buys Mel flowers from the gas station just because. I can relate to that. Mr Wonderful, my hubby, brings home flowers from the grocery store. The element of realism is coming through loud and clear. I love their snarky and sensual dialogue.

Cash’s housemate is a German Shepherd named Dolly. They served in the Army together and she is the one who came home in a wheelchair. I love dogs, so I had to mention her.

Kristine ramps up the suspense as the search for Adeline takes on new meaning. Each of Kristine Mason’s stories read as the most twisted Criminal Minds on steroids episode. They are unique and original.

I am totally engrossed in the love story and then Kristine shocked me, woke me up and the pacing reached a level of urgency I hadn’t felt before.

I would love to be one of her characters, kicking ass, fighting evil and having some hot and heavy sex with a stud. What an adventure and one I only live through in Kristine’s words, hanging on each one.

NOW, we get to the best part, the last quarter of the book. I know how the story will end, villain 0 vs good guys 1 and the guy gets the girl, but, man oh man, the rollercoaster ride to get there leaves me breathless. The nail-biting, rapid breathing, sitting on the edge of my seat is the suspense reading an armchair junkie like myself lives for. I read a lot of mystery and suspense thrillers and it is books like Toxic and authors like Kristine that feed my need for thrills.

I can’t believe that the story lasted only six days. So much happened, so many emotions ran AMOK as I read, my head was spinning. I had to turn around and read it again. I would apologize for rambling on and on, but eh, I can’t help myself.

I received a copy of Perfectly Toxic by Kristine Mason in return for an honest review.

5+++++ Stars

BLURB

What do you get when you mix a mad scientist, a psychopath, an ice cream lady and a repo man? Something perfectly toxic…

Melanie Scarlet is a knife-wielding badass who knows how to dispose of a body, and make evidence disappear. But Mel, a.k.a., the Ice Cream Lady, draws the line at one thing: she refuses to live with her husband, Cash Maddox, unless he quits the repo business that nearly got him killed—no matter how much she loves him.

To thaw Mel’s heart and convince her to leave the Everglades and move back home to Tallahassee, Cash is finally ready to retire from his adrenaline-fueled job…until homeless men begin vanishing. As Mel investigates the disappearances, Cash’s temper goes into overdrive when he realizes his wife has been keeping a dangerous secret from him. She’s been doing more than scooping ice cream—she’s a cleaner for the underground criminal investigation agency, Above the Law.

Mel isn’t the only one with a secret. A scientist has created a drug that will cure psychopaths by deadening the urge to dominate, hurt and murder. To prove his chemical combination works, he uses the homeless as test subjects. He breaks and scrambles their minds, turns them into killers, then tries to fix them. But what if the scientist creates a killer he can’t fix? A true psychopath he can’t control? As Cash joins Mel and the ATL crew, they learn firsthand, the results could be…toxic.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

EXCERPT

“You’re seriously not staying here?” Since she’d left him, there hadn’t been a time that she hadn’t stayed with him when she’d returned to Tallahassee. And those times had been great, until the topic of their marriage and his job had come into play. Then they’d fight, she’d leave and they wouldn’t speak for weeks. A vicious cycle, but one he’d become familiar with—until now. She was changing things up on him, and he didn’t know how to react. He did, but his therapist would likely have a frickin’ stroke.

“Well, you’re seriously not going to change and I seriously want a divorce. So, yeah. I think it’s best if I stay at a hotel.”

He pulled her close. “Stay with me.”

Her gaze dropped to his mouth. “No.”

He pressed his body against hers and slid his hand along her rear. “Give me a few days.”

“I’ve given you two years,” she said, breathless, her gaze shifting from his mouth to his eyes.

She had him there, and he had nothing to counter her argument. She had given him two years, and he arrogantly figured she’d eventually come back to him.

“You’re right,” he said honestly.

“I’m right?”

He nodded and walked her backward. “I don’t want a divorce, but we can’t keep going on the way we’ve been.” He pressed her against the foyer wall. “Give me the time you’re here to prove we can make this work.”

“I’m here to find Bobby, not deal with our marriage.”

“I know, baby. We’ll find him. I promise. I’ve already put word out on the street that we’re looking for him.” He leaned closer. “Just give us a chance.”

Her eyes filled with tears again. “I can’t keep doing this. It hurts too much.”

Knowing he was hurting her left him hollow and shameful. “I’m sorry.”

She punched him in the arm. “You’ve said you’re sorry more times than I can count. Do something about it.”

He kissed her.

She pushed him away. “Not with sex.”

“That’s right. You have your period.”

“I lied.”

“And I just want to kiss you.”

She stared at him, her eyes unreadable. “Sometimes I hate you,” she said, then shoved her hands through his hair and captured his lips.

His therapist would tell him to end the kiss, that they weren’t solving anything, only prolonging the hurt. His therapist could go fuck himself. He had his woman in his arms and she was kissing him. Running her hands through his hair in that possessive way he loved. Pressing her breasts against his chest as if she couldn’t get close enough. Skimming her tongue along his in a way that him hard and ready.

The damned horn beeped again. Mel tore her mouth away from his, then gave him a push. “I’m leaving.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ABOUT KRISTINE MASON

Kristine Mason is the bestselling author of the popular romantic suspense trilogies, C.O.R.E. Shadow and Ultimate C.O.R.E. She is currently working on her next trilogy, C.O.R.E. Above the Law, along with a series of Psychic C.O.R.E. novellas.

Although Kristine has published a few contemporary romance novels, she focuses most of her energy on her romantic suspense stories, which she loves for their blend of dark mystery/suspense and sexy romance. She is fascinated with what makes people afraid, and is famous for her depraved villains whose crimes present massive obstacles for her heroes and heroines to overcome.

Kristine has a degree in journalism from Ohio State University and lives in Northeast Ohio with her husband, four kids, and two dogs. If she’s not writing, she’s chauffeuring kids, gardening, or collecting gnomes. Oh, and she makes a mean chocolate chip cookie!Connect with Kristine on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/kristinemasonauthor, Twitter https://twitter.com/KristineMason7 or email her at authorkristinemason@gmail.com. You can also find out more about Kristine’s books at http://www.kristinemason.net

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GIVEAWAY

Kristine Mason will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN to two randomly drawn winners via rafflecopter during the tour.

ENTER THE RAFFLECOPTER GIVEAWAY HERE

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Giveaway – Midnight Burning by Karissa Laurel

Posted on October 23, 2015 by fundinmental

Midnight Burning

by Karissa Laurel

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Publisher: Red Adept Publishing
Cover Designer: Streetlight Graphics
Release Date: July 7, 2015

Solina Mundy lives a quiet life, running the family bakery in the foothills of North Carolina. But a nightmare of a vicious wolf devouring her twin brother changes everything. When Solina learns her dream was real, she journeys to her brother’s home in Alaska, the Land of the Midnight Sun, to search for answers.

Solina soon suspects her brother’s friends are more than they seem, and they know more than they’re willing to admit. Skyla, an ex-marine, is the only one willing to help. As Skyla and Solina delve into the secrets surrounding her brother’s death, Solina learns her own fate is tied to his friends, his murder, and a dark history of forgotten myths and legends.

Solina also discovers a powerful new ability. She must learn to control it if she’s to keep everyone safe. If she fails, a long-lost dominion will rise, and everything she knows will fall into darkness.

My brother, Mani, once told me Alaska was the first place he had ever traveled where he knew he was somewhere different—somewhere decidedly not home—before he ever set foot on the ground. I didn’t understand what he meant until now. Outside my airplane window, the glassy waters of Cook Inlet reflected a bright blue late-summer sky. Dark and looming, the Chugach Mountains encroached from the east. Far to the north, the ghostly, snow-crusted visage of Mount McKinley rose above the landscape, an ancient king, high on his dais, surveying his kingdom.

By comparison, Mani and I had been raised somewhere a little more commonplace. Home was a small town in the foothills of North Carolina, over three thousand miles away. And this was the first time I had ever left it. I probably should have eased into long-distance travel in the same way I eased into a cold swimming pool—one toe at a time. A trip over the border into Gatlinburg. A weekend visit to D.C. But no, I had taken a plunge from the high dive instead, and boy, was I in over my head.

The captain’s calm and assuring voice spilled across the cabin, announcing our approach and descent into Anchorage. Seatbelt signs chimed and flashed. A pair of flight attendants swept down the aisles, collecting trash and reminding passengers to raise seat backs and lock away tray tables. I closed my eyes, drew in a deep breath, and urged my heart to return to its regular pitter-patter pace, but it refused to obey.

I breathed in again and trapped the breath in my lungs. Chill, Solina, I told myself. It’s only a week. I could survive anything for one week, right? And I wouldn’t be on my own. My brother’s best friend, Val Wotan, was at the airport waiting for me. Val had texted me a dozen times to make sure I hadn’t missed my connecting flights or fallen out of the plane somewhere over Canada. Val was expecting me, and I was a glutton for fulfilling others’ expectations. I also owed this trip to my brother, to the honor of his memory. How could I ever look myself in the eye again if I gave in to my doubts? If I didn’t give Mani my absolute commitment?

Val deserved my loyalty, too. In the few years I’d known him, Val had risen from casual acquaintance to something I wasn’t quite ready to label, but just thinking of him made my heart beat a little faster, my breath come a little quicker. Val had earned my regard by being the sibling I couldn’t be for Mani after he’d left home. He had watched Mani’s back, made him welcome and comfortable in a strange and foreign place. He had even saved my brother’s life once.

I chuckled, remembering how Mani had loved to recount the story of the raging bull moose—deep in a rutting frenzy and crazed by the need to mate with anything female and fight anything that wasn’t. Not long after Mani had first arrived in Alaska, he and Val had gone off on a backpacking trip. They came upon the moose on the edge of a meadow and caught it off guard.

The moose turned its hostile gaze on Mani, lowered its rack, and charged. Stunned and uncertain how to react, Mani stood frozen in place and watched his life pass before his eyes. Meanwhile, Val calmly drew a .44 Magnum from the side pocket of his backpack and fired off a warning shot. The moose reconsidered his challenge and lumbered away into the woods.

If only Val and his gun had been there the night my brother died. Then I might be coming to Alaska for an entirely different set of reasons.

Red Adept Publishing

Karissa lives in North Carolina with her kid, her husband, the occasional in-law, and a very hairy husky named Bonnie. Some of her favorite things are coffee, chocolate, and super heroes. She can quote Princess Bride verbatim. She loves to read and has a sweet tooth for fantasy, sci-fi, and anything in between. Sometimes her husband convinces her to put down the books and take the motorcycles out for a spin. When it snows, you’ll find her on the slopes.

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Giveaway, Book Trailer & Excerpt for Haunting Me by #Jody A Kessler

Posted on October 16, 2015 by fundinmental

Haunting Me

by Jody A. Kessler

Series: An Angel Falls, #3

Genre: New Adult Paranormal Romance

Release Date: August 28, 2015

Angel of Death, Nathaniel Evans’, newest case sends him on a perilous and magical journey to the Irish countryside in search of one unattainable answer: How does an Angel of Death fall from grace and return to life?

Back in Colorado, Juliana’s mishaps with a book of spells and her well-meaning attempts to save her brother’s life could cost her more than a ghostly haunting and a deadly virus. It could cost her everything she loves – her family, her home and her relationship with Nathaniel.

While on the hunt for answers, Nathaniel finds himself imprisoned with fairies and fighting a battle of strength, skill, wit and sorcery to win his freedom back from a ruthless fallen angel. Nathaniel must survive the duel if he wants to change his destiny and fulfill his desire for mortality and a chance to be with Juliana forever.

I’m tender with her to the point of agony as I lower my lips to hers and brush soft caresses down her back with my hands. I know she’s delicate right now, and I can’t break this fragility between us. Any human going through half of what she has had to deal with would be too easy to shatter. I’m about to pull back and wrap her securely in my arms when she presses into me harder. We rise to our knees so our bodies are pressed together. Her hands explore places which have me nearly to the edge of no return. Down my arms and across my abdomen. She grips me at the waist and strokes the muscles running down my back as our tongues meet.

“In another second, I’m not going to be able to stop, Jules.”

“I don’t want you to,” she says.

Her breath is ragged. Her chest is rising and falling a little too quickly.

Who could resist that request? Not me. I taste her again. Her mouth is perfect. Soft, wanting, playful, and heavenly.

Her hand moves under my shirt and I feel light nails and the soft pads of her fingers trailing over my skin. A low groan of pleasure rumbles through my chest. It seems to encourage her and she moves to one of my nipples.

As difficult as it is, I break our kiss. “This isn’t the place,” I murmur.

“It’s a perfect place to me.”

Book 3: Haunting Me – 99¢ limited time

Book 1: Death Lies Between Us – 99¢ limited time

Book 2: Angel Dreams – $2.99 limited time

Jody A. Kessler’s debut novel, Death Lies Between Us, won the Readers’ Crown Award for Best Paranormal Romance and was a runner up for Best First Book. She also writes historical time travel fiction and contemporary romance.

When she isn’t navigating the terrain of her imagination and writing it down, she can be found exploring the wilderness of Colorado with her family, or in the kitchen baking cookies & brownies – and trying not to eat them all. She’s passionate about continuing to learn and reads anything and everything that catches her interest. Jody is a full time mom, a Reiki Master, and has taught Hatha yoga for over a decade.

Jody invites you to stop by her website and see what’s new at: www.JodyAKessler.com

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Giveaway & Excerpt for The House at Homecoming Cove by Ginny Baird

Posted on October 16, 2015 by fundinmental

For those of you needing to take a break from the horror of October, here is a romantic mystery set on Virginia’s Eastern Shore.

THE HOUSE AT HOMECOMING COVE by Ginny Baird

From New York Times Bestselling Author GINNY BAIRD

A breathtaking romantic mystery set at the Virginia Eastern Shore…

Seeking out solitude in which to work, New York City music composer Melissa Carter rents a century-old farmhouse on the Virginia Eastern Shore. There, she meets a loner with rugged good looks and smoldering gray eyes, who has long-term ties to the property. When strange things start occurring at the historic home, the handsome groundskeeper comes to her aid, but is Melissa really safer in his arms?

When Stone Thomas meets a pretty northerner with a musical gift, he’s immediately drawn to her. He’s also determined to protect her from the increasingly odd happenings at the fifty-acre farm where he’s employed. Soon, Stone finds himself wondering whether he and beautiful Melissa might share a future. Yet the secrets of Homecoming Cove threaten to drive them apart.

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Excerpt

Her words came out in a whisper. “Thank you for everything. For coming to my rescue, for…” She was saying goodbye, yet her chin tilted toward his and she took a step closer, her lips barely parted, inviting. She peered up at him and met his gaze with a look that was surprisingly heated, decidedly predatory. There was no mistaking it. Melissa wanted him too. That was all the encouragement Stone needed to take her in his arms and bring his mouth down on hers with a hungry desire that surpassed all expectations.

Melissa gasped with delight and sighed into his kiss. Stone’s empty mug slid from her grasp and landed somewhere on the sofa. Stone pressed his eager body to hers and ran his hands up her back, threading his fingers through her hair. She was glorious, beautiful, her gaze sparking with reciprocal passion. Stone groaned and kissed her again, savoring the taste of her, delighting in the sweetness of her body molded to his, as his blood pumped harder and his heart beat like a kettledrum gone out of control. It was more than a kiss; it was like coming home.

“Stone,” she said breathlessly. He opened his eyes to find his cheeks nestled between her palms.

She looked up at him her face flushed with longing. “I think you’d better go.”

“Yeah,” he said, his pulse pounding. “I’d better go.”

Thunder boomed and rain slapped the windowpanes, while the fire hissed and moaned.

Neither one moved.

“Melissa,” Stone whispered, brushing his lips over hers. “You and me… It’s like… I don’t know.”

“I know,” she replied, meeting his kiss. “I feel it too.”

Praise for Ginny Baird Paranormal Ghost Romance

The Ghost Next Door (A Love Story)
“A fine suspense and you just won’t believe how it ends.” ~ Barbara Baker
“The twist at the end took me by surprise! Great job to the author!” ~ Melinda Burchett
“Wow…wow…wow!! I did not see that coming.” ~ Mary Ann
“This is a mind bender! Very well done!” ~ Sandra D. Griffin

The Light at the End of the Road
“A gripping tale with a hint of paranormal.” ~ Dawn Pearson
“New, refreshing twists and turns.” ~ Anna Gibson
“Ms. Baird has again exceeded any expectations.” ~ Dianna Plano
“Wow. I mean, WOW. This is not your normal romance…” ~ Anita Slaugh

Author Ginny Baird

NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY Bestselling Author Ginny Baird has published novels in print and online and received screenplay options from Hollywood for her family and romantic comedy scripts. She writes heartwarming contemporary romance about single women facing everyday challenges. Known for featuring holidays and family themes in her work, Ginny frequently portrays the struggles of single parents or others who’ve given up on finding true love.

Ginny has two novella series, The Holiday Brides Series (holiday romance) and The Summer Grooms Series (summer romance), a Romantic Ghost Stories series (paranormal ghost romance), and additional single titles available. She is a NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY Bestselling Author, a Top 10 Best Seller on Kindle, NOOK and iBooks, and a #1 Best Seller in several Romance and Women’s Fiction categories. Visit Ginny’s website www.ginnybairdromance.com to learn more about her and her books.

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BookBlast Giveaway

$50 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash

Ends 11/6/15

Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

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To see all my Reviews, go HERE.

To see all my Giveaways, go HERE.

If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?

Look on the right sidebar and let’s talk.

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Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.

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Thanks for visiting fundinmental!