Friday 56 #102 – Double Tap by Steve Martini @StevenPMartini

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The Friday 56 is hosted by Freda’s Voice.The only rules are to grab a book (any book), turn to page 56 or 56% in your ereader and find any sentence or a few ( no spoilers) that grabs you and post it.

Please join Rose City Reader every Friday to share the first sentence or so of the book you are reading along with you initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires.

Please include the title of the book and the author’s name.

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2014-03-25 02.46.13Double Tap by Steve Martini is an action adventure thriller.

This is the cover I have for my 1st edition hardcover publilshed in 2005.

The cover was done by Stephanie Huntwork.

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Amazon  /  Goodreads

My 56

“At least according to the cops,” says Harry. “Could be whoever did it just panicked. Think about it: You just get in the place, getting ready to do your burglary. She walks in. You freak out. You pop her It’s happened before.”

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“Hell of a shooter for a panicky burglar.” I am talking about the two shots to the head. “Less than an inch apart.”

(Page 56 in hardcover, published in 2005)

Book Beginnings

Mist off the ocean was already beginning to drift over the pavement as he cruised along the beach in the rented Chevy. The house stood out like a gem, the last piece of private real estate before the public steps leading down to the beach. With chocolate-brown siding and white trim, the house sported rustic gables going in every direction beneath a river rock chimney.

GOODREADS BLURB: The Arraignment, Steve Martini’s most recent bestseller featuring defense attorney Paul Madriani, has proved his most popular yet. Now Madriani is faced with daunting ballistics evidence: a so-called “double tap”-two bullet wounds tightly grouped in the victim’s head, shots that could have been made only by a crack marksman. Paul’s client, Emiliano Ruiz, is an enigma-a career soldier who refuses to discuss his past though it is clear that he is a battle-tested pro. Ruiz is accused of killing a beautiful businesswoman and guru of a high-tech software empire catering to the military. A key to the case: the murder weapon is one used solely in special operations, where the “double tap” has become the signature of the most skilled assassins.

Ruiz is sitting on secrets-there’s a seven-year gap on his military risumi, for which Madriani can find no details. And, more troubling, he discovers that the victim and her company were involved in a controversial government computer program designed to combat terrorists. Madriani finds himself in a deadly legal quagmire-with a client who is unwilling to cooperate and prosecutors who stonewall his every question about the victim’s shadowy business and his client’s past. Justice, and the unvarnished truth, has never been so elusive-or so dangerous.

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WHICH COVER WOULD YOU CHOOSE, including the one above?

Double Tap (Paul Madriani, #8) Double Tap (A Paul Madriani Novel) Double Tap - Tembakan Ganda Double Tap (Paul Madriani, #8)

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#FREE – What are you afraid of? – Fear of the Scarecrow by Anthony Renfro @atothewr

Anthony Renfro writes some fantastic horror short stories and Fear of the Scarecrow is up there at the top.

FREE

Check out this awesome cover. Looks harmless, doesn’t it?

BUT…

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Amazon  /  Goodreads

I love the cover and as I began reading…OMG…this is so fabulous. Not what I expected. I am horrified and delighted and I don’t believe I will ever look at scarecrows and pumpkins in the same light ever again.

Fear of the Scarecrow was inspired by his Haiku: Fear of the Scarecrow:

In a field you hang

Upon this wood post you wait

for the night’s darkness

And it does arrive in a big way!

I picked this up as an Amazon freebie.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos  5 Stars

FREE

GOODREADS BLURB:  This short story is about a desperate man hungry for revenge seeking justice. Sometimes justice comes with a price.

Anthony Renfro

ABOUT ANTHONY RENFRO

Anthony lives in Apex, North Carolina. He is a reader, writer, runner, husband, father, and stay at home dad – one of the toughest jobs anyone could ever do. His influence for writing horror is Stephen King.

Website  /  Twitter

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Check out some of my reviews for Anthony Renfro’s work.

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Some of the books may be free and you may find your next holiday read.

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The Book Club Murders by Leslie Nagel @leslie_nagel @dollycas

BOOK CLUB MURDERS large banner640

BOOK CLUB MURDERS

The Book Club Murders: The Oakwood Mystery Series

Cozy Mystery
New Series
Publisher: Alibi (September 27, 2016)
224 Pages
E-Book ASIN: B01A4ATX9E
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Synopsis

In a charming cozy mystery series debut, Leslie Nagel’s irrepressible small-town heroine finds that her fellow mystery book club members may be taking their Agatha Christie a bit too literally—and murder a bit too lightly.

Charley Carpenter has poured heart and soul into her clothing store, Old Hat Vintage Fashions. She’ll do anything to make it a success—even join the stuffy Agathas Book Club in order to cultivate customers among the wealthy elite of Oakwood, Ohio.

Although mixing with the most influential women in town has its advantages, Charley finds the endless gossip a high price to pay. But after two women with close ties to the Agathas are brutally murdered, everyone falls under threat—and suspicion. When key evidence indicates that both murders are the work of the same hand, Charley realizes that the killer has arranged each corpse in perfect imitation of crime scenes from the Club’s murder mystery reading list. She uses her membership in the Club to convince Detective Marcus Trenault to use her as an inside informant. Not that he could stop her anyway.

Intelligent, fearless, and every bit as stubborn as Marc is, Charley soon learns the Agathas aren’t the only ones with secrets to protect. Passions explode as she and Marc must race against time to prevent another murder. And if Charley’s not careful, she may find herself becoming the killer’s next plot twist.

LESLIE NAGELAbout The Author

Leslie Nagel is a writer and teacher of writing at a local community college. Her debut novel, “The Book Club Murders”, is the first in the Oakwood Mystery Series. Leslie lives in the all too real city of Oakwood, Ohio, where murders are rare but great stories lie thick on the ground. After the written word, her passions include her husband, her son and daughter, hiking, tennis and strong black coffee, not necessarily in that order.

 

Author Links:  Webpage  /  Facebook  /  Twitter  /  Instagram

Purchase Links:  Amazon – B&N – Kobo –  Ibooks

Tour Participants

September 26 – Island Confidential – GUEST POST

September 26 – The Cozy Mystery Journal – REVIEW

September 27 – Nadaness In Motion – REVIEW

September 27 – My Funny View of Life – REVIEW

September 28 – The Ninja Librarian – REVIEW, GUEST POST

September 28 – 3 Partners in Shopping, Nana, Mommy, &, Sissy, Too! – SPOTLIGHT

September 29 – Reading Is My SuperPower – REVIEW

September 29 – Bibliophile Reviews – REVIEW

September 30 – The Power of Words – REVIEW

September 30 – Teresa Trent Author Site – REVIEW

October 1 –  Sleuth Cafe – REVIEW

October 1 – A Blue Million Books – INTERVIEW

October 2 – Shelley’s Book Case – REVIEW

October 2 – A Holland Reads – SPOTLIGHT

October 3 – Pulp and Mystery Shelf – SPOTLIGHT

October 3 – Mallory Heart’s Cozies – REVIEW

October 4 – Books, Movies, Reviews. Oh my! – REVIEW

October 4 – Ashleyz Wonderland – REVIEW

October 5 – fundinmental – SPOTLIGHT

October 5 – Book Babble – REVIEW

October 6 – Author Annette Drake’s blog – INTERVIEW

October 6 – Laura’s Interests – REVIEW

October 7 – Socrates’ Book Reviews – REVIEW

October 7 – Christa Reads and Writes – REVIEW 

October 8 – Mystery Thrillers and Romantic Suspense Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

October 8 – Brooke Blogs – REVIEW, GUEST POST

October 9 – LibriAmoriMiei – REVIEW

October 9 – StoreyBook Reviews – REVIEW

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IPhone Magic Anthology – Giveaway – #Untethered edited by Janine A Southard @XpressoReads

Untethered Anthology
Publication date: October 1st 2016
Genres: Adult, Fantasy

20 stories of magic and technology

Almost everyone carries a smartphone these days. They sit in pockets and on tables. They sleep on headboards and are the first things their owners check in the morning. They’ve edged out more mundane equipment like calendars and MP3 players.

They aren’t magical, of course. Or are they?

In Untethered: A Magic iPhone Anthology, 21 authors twist reality and call into question the mundanity we hold in our hands. They ask the question, “Is that smartphone completely explainable by science?” and they decide the answer is a resounding “No!”

From award-winners and bold new voices, from experienced fantasists and professional technologists, these stories are fun, clever, and often positive about the power of technology.

Enjoy new stories from:
Rhiannon Held / Manny Frishberg / Edd Vick / H.M. Jones / Kris Millering / Raven Oak / Jon Lasser / Sarina Dorie / Jonathon Burgess / Jeremiah Reinmiller / C.S. O’Cinneide / Stevehen Warren / Aaron Giddings, Sr. / Amanda Hackwith / Dale Cameron Lowry / Dawn Vogel / Kyle Yadlosky / J.S. Rogers / Angela Dell’Isola / Stephanie Djock / A. Moritz

At the intersection of fantasy and technology, iPhones could go either way.

Magic knows your number, and it’s calling you.

Goodreads / Amazon / Kobo / Smashwords

Launch price of $2.99 for a limited time only!

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EXCERPT:

From Jonathon Burgess’s “On Your Right”

Our fishing boat crested another six-foot wave, the deck pivoting sharply before falling back the other way as we slid into the trough. A deluge washed over the bow, the cabin and the stern deck, drenching us all. The South China Sea was doing its best to swamp us.

I fought to keep my balance. Mark clutched at the port side railing, heaving his guts out. His iPhone glowed in the zippered pocket of his jacket, visible through the thin, soaked fabric.

A sailor shouted as he tumbled away, splashing into the half-submerged stern of the fishing boat. “I really don’t think this is the way to Benaroya Hall,” I cried aloud.

Siri’s voice was calm as ever. “Continue one hundred miles south,” she said. “The destination will be on your right.”

***

It started slowly, like most things tend to. I wasn’t fond of downtown Seattle, but Mark went there all the time on work and errands. So he got the cell phone, while I was perfectly happy as the stay-at-home wife with the landline. Why the provider called the house, I’ll never know, but apparently we were eligible for a smartphone upgrade.

Mark was thrilled when it finally showed up. Like most technophiles, he couldn’t wait to try out all the newest bells, whistles, and other features. Frankly, I just hoped the mapping function would help with his abysmal sense of direction.

The box was classic Apple, a monochromatic brick. I liked to say that their products looked more like candy than anything else, but you certainly couldn’t tell from the packaging. This one didn’t even have any pictures, just a logo on the side in tinted foil. The phone itself was slick, some new design I hadn’t seen any of my friends with. Its edges were wholly rounded, and it didn’t have a port to connect a USB or battery cable.

Mark got it all figured out, of course. That’s what he does. Some days he can’t find his rear with both hands, but he’s pretty good with software interfaces. We spent a whole evening on the couch, listening to the bells and finding the whistles and asking silly questions of Siri. It was only the next morning that things started to get weird.

“Emma?” Mark asked. “Where are my keys?”

I was sitting at the kitchen table, reading the paper over coffee. It was a new blend I had found at a local farmers’ market, but I wasn’t terribly fond of it. Throwing it away would have been wasteful, so into the cupboard it would go, stuffed alongside two hundred others.

I’m picky about my coffee.

Mark was hunting under the table. His briefcase, phone, and travel mug were all in a pile atop it, ready for him to bolt out the door with as soon as he could find the keys to the car.

“Have you seen them?” he asked, now checking behind the knife block on the kitchen counter.

“Did you check your other pants?” I asked, taking another sip. Missing keys were a daily occurrence. Almost a kind of ritual, we’d been through it so many times before. The system we’d developed went like this; I would make faces at my coffee, and he would eventually find the keys somewhere strange before rushing off to join the morning gridlock.

“They’re not in my other pants. I’m sure I just saw them.”

“Take five steps to your left, and enter the living room. Then turn left, and approach the sofa. Lift all three cushions and look underneath. Your keys will be on your right.”

Mark and I looked at each other. Then we both looked to the iPhone, softly glowing atop his briefcase. Then we locked gazes again.

I just shrugged. The microphone must have been on. Some new app feature, I supposed.

Mark picked up his phone and walked out of the kitchen. I picked up my mug, trying to decide whether the latest sip had been worth it after all, then followed.

“They’re not here,” said Mark. He had both cushions on the floor, and was rooting around in the crumbs and loose change they’d hidden.

“That is your love seat,” said Siri, maybe a shade less enthusiastically. “Turn around, then take two steps to your sofa. Underneath, you will find your keys. On your right.”

“Oh,” said Mark. He did as directed, then lifted the keys triumphantly. He jingled them at me. “Found them. Thanks Siri.”

“You’re most certainly welcome,” she replied.

 

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Ghosts & Serial Killers – The 5: A Paranormal Thriller by Richard Freeland @dragonlyre

Everything about The 5: A Parnormal Thriller by Richard Freeland spoke to me and spoke loudly. With the horror season upon us, this seemed like a perfect read to share.

Richard Freeland enjoys a good margarita around a warm fire and so do I, so let’s get comfortable…for now.

Look at the creepy cover and tell me what you think the young lady has on her mind.

The 5: A Paranormal Thriller

Amazon  /  Goodreads

Everything about The 5: A Paranormal Thriller by Richard Freeland has everything it takes to stop me in my tracks and check it out further. The fantastic cover is creepy and drew me in and I love paranormal thrillers, and the title finished me off. THEN, OMG, we have a serial killer. I know that may sound bad, but I LOVE serial killers. 😈

Ben is a young boy with a vivid imagination and a penchant for writing. When Sarah comes to visit him from the spectral world, no one will believe him, but she keeps asking him to…

“Find me.”

He is a brave, young man whose investigation takes him down a dangerous path that could cost him his life.

Yes, there is a cellar, and…well, we are going down, no matter how afraid we are.

The 5: A Paranormal thriller by Richard Freeland started out like any ghostly tale and I thought this would be a normal, fun paranormal read. I had no idea where Richard would take me, but the twisty, turny, windy trail into the hidey-hole and the pit of hell had me on the edge of my seat. Each time I thought the story was over, he took me to another horrid and terrifying place.

Richard lulled me into a sense of complacency, then jerked me awake. The 5 was written in such a way that the surprises burst forth like a rose opening its bloom, unfolding each petal slowly, showing me its thorns as I grabbed ahold of the story. The horror kept coming and the ugliness of the killers made me sick as they laughed with glee. They are written perfectly. Camouflaged as ordinary people, the evil is hidden right in front of me.

I never suspected the killers, but I don’t think there were enough clues for me to find out ahead of time. Normally, I don’t like surprises, but Richard, I’ll take these kind of surprises any day of the week. I WANT MORE!

I received a copy of The 5: A Paranormal Thriller from Richard Freeland in return for an honest review.

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos 5 Stars

AMAZON SYNOPSIS & INTERVIEW

Gone Without a Trace

Between 2011 and 2014, five young girls living within a 40 mile radius of Sutton, Tennessee, disappeared. They were never seen again.

Until Now

Sarah Nordstrom has returned. With an anguished request for twelve year old Ben Hilary.

“Find Me…”

These words will send Ben on a terrifying quest to uncover the truth about what really happened to five lost girls. A journey that will cause him to question everything he believes in. And everyone he trusts.

Trust No One

Because there’s someone in the shadows. Watching Ben’s progress. Someone who has everything to lose. Someone who will kill to make sure that the past remains buried.

The 5 – a novel by Richard Freeland

*****

Interview with Thriller Writer Richard Freeland

Q – Your latest book is The 5, a paranormal thriller. What’s the story behind the book?

RF – They say write what you know, and The 5, while fiction, has it’s birthplace in my own youth, visiting my grandparents in a small Tennessee town that became Sutton in the book. Ben’s grandparents’ house closely mirrors my grandparents’ home, right down to the spooky cellar.

Q – Are the issues you touch on in the book, like trying to win a parent’s love, coming of age, burgeoning sexuality, and the uncertainty of growing up, issues that you dealt with as a child?

RF – I think we all go through some of the things Ben experiences. The emotions, I mean. My Dad was a stepdad and I loved him a lot, but sometimes he was hard to relate to. He could be kind of aloof. And all guys, and girls probably, experience that unsettled sexual awakening period. I know that if a girl even looked at me at that age I’d lose my capacity for intelligent thought! Girls were the great mystery when we were in our early teens. So a lot of those feelings crept into the story.

Q – What motivated you to become a writer of occult thrillers?

RF – Riches! Fame! Fortune! No, really, I like to write, to explore ideas and situations and try to come to terms with things. But what’s a writer without a reader? I knew I wanted to reach more people than just my friends and family. Then there’s that whole fame and fortune thing…

Q – What do you want your fans to experience when reading your work?

RF – I want to write stories that resonate. Tales that make my readers care for what’s happening to the characters. That scare and entertain and keep them on the edge of their seats. And maybe learn a little about themselves and others.

Q – What authors have most inspired you?

RF – I think I should have been born in the pulp era. My Dad turned me on to reading at an early age. He loved Edgar Rice Burroughs, Zane Grey, Luke Short, and a host of others. He had all the Tarzan and John Carter of Mars books, and some really old dime paperbacks from before WWII, and I read most of them as a boy, and they all influenced me. A co-worker once gave me a copy of The Key-Lock Man, by Louis L’Amour, and I was hooked. He’s my huge western influence, and I think of him as a mentor. Then there’s King, Koontz, McCammon, Preston & Child…the list goes on.

Q – What do you have in the works?

RF – My main goal right now is finishing an epic historical paranormal thriller (how’s that for cross genre?). It’s called Seed, and will be released as a trilogy. The first book in the set is being edited as we speak. I’m also in the planning stages of a paranormal thriller series featuring Macon Grant, a really bad ass character with certain Abilities, but also towing along a lot of serious baggage. Mac and his motley crew will be thrown in to some pulse-pounding situations, I think. The first book in the series is tentatively titled Ravager.

Q – Sounds like quite a ride.

RF – Fing

ABOUT RICHARD FREELAND (from Amazon)

Richard FreelandHey there! I’m Richard Freeland, and I write thrillers “with a bite”. Most of my stories are set within the horror, suspense, thriller, and fantasy genres, although I aspire to a more literary flavor. Many of my short stories appear in the compilation “Equinox – Six Declinations”, my first published book.

Currently, I’ve just finished “The 5”, a paranormal thriller. You can find it here at Amazon.

I enjoy writing, reading, fly fishing Georgia’s freestone trout streams, gardening, boating, hiking, playing tennis (bum knees and all) and – after all that – settling down with my lady in front of a warm fire and enjoying a fine margarita.

I live in Gainesville, Georgia with my wife Martha and cat Henry (widely regarded as the “King of the Known Universe). I’m a registered landscape architect and a certified master gardener. I’m currently working on a second collection of short stories and and my second novel, an epic historical paranormal thriller called “Seed”, coming soon from DragonLyre Publishing. You can find all my fiction at RichardFreeland.com

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Sherry’s Shelves #96

Sherry’s Shelves #96 is my weekly update from September 25 – October 1, 2016.

Sunday Post #201 Countdown to Spring..

Stacking The Shelves {200}

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Hello fellow bloggers.

I have so many good books I wanted to share, but I am pressed for time. 😡

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LAST WEEK ON fundinmental

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THIS WEEK ON fundinmental

I may have more posts, I’m just not sure what, so be sure and keep checking back.

  • Sherry’s Shelves
  • Review – The 5 – A Paranormal Thriller by Richard Freeland
  • Teaser Tuesday
  • Giveaway – Untethered edited by Janine A Southard
  • Cozy Mystery – The Book Club Murders by Leslie Nagel
  • Review – Fear of the Scarecrow by Anthony Renfro
  • Friday 56
  • One Sentence Review – Jezebel by Gordon A Kessler

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Hope you are having a wonderful weekend.

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Audio Book Blast – The Voice of Divine Love by Arlene Dayrit

I will be sharing a lot of dark and gruesome this month, so I wanted to share The Voice of Divine Love by Arlene Dayrit to let you now, there is always light at the end of the tunnel.

thevoiceofdivineloveaudioscreen-shot-2016-09-27-at-09-50-35“The truth of God’s love is a message many of us have always known, but we need to be reminded of it again and again. In our limited understanding, we have difficulty comprehending it.

God has loved you with an everlasting love, and yet no matter how deeply we feel him in our lives, the word of God often goes unheard. This is why, in the noise of the modern world, the simplicity of his message is all too easily lost. Yet while our prayers have no answers we can hear, that does not mean God has no voice.

The Voice of Divine Love brings his word to you, brings you the light of God’s acceptance, the comfort of his presence and love, and a guiding hand to live your life in his service. It is a chance to hear his voice amongst the raucous chatter of the world and choose to follow his way to righteousness and eternal love.

With this book, written in the hope of drawing others closer to God, helping them understand the depth of his love, and narrated as in the voice of the Almighty, you are provided a retreat in times of stress; not to simply hide from your problems, but to find their true purpose, alongside the purpose in all things. Close your eyes and rest, find solace in knowing that, even when you are alone, he is always at your side, guiding you and taking care of you, in ways no other can.

 Amazon

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One Sentence Review – Where Darkness Dwells by Glen R Krisch #GlenRKrisch

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I have read so many books and don’t have time to do long reviews for all of them, but I do want to share my thoughts. So…here is my…

One Sentence Review

Where Darkness Dwells by Glen R Krisch

10671932Goodreads  /  Amazon

MY REVIEW

Coal mining and the great depression are horrors in their own right, but add to that an underground world where no one dies and they want you, (and if you are like me and a bit claustrophobic and afraid of being buried alive) Where Darkness Dwells by Glen R Krisch will have you cringing and shivering, maybe even keeping you up at night. LOL

Animated Animals. Pictures, Images and Photos 4 Stars

Goodreads Blurb:  During a hot summer night in 1934, tragedy strikes when two local boys search for the truth behind a local legend. They stumble upon the Underground, a network of uncharted caverns just below the surface of Coal Hollow. Time holds no sway in the Underground. People no longer age and their wounds heal as if by magic. By morning, one boy is murdered, while the other never returns home.

The Underground is hidden for a reason. Certain locals want to keep their lair secret, no matter the cost.

After learning a long-held family secret, Theodore Cooper is set adrift. Once well off and set in his ways, he is no longer sure of his role in society. He leaves his comfortable life in Chicago to tramp the countryside, searching for meaning in this new context. During his travels, he’s drawn to an abandoned house in Coal Hollow and impulsively buys it.

Cooper doesn’t know that a massacre had taken place in his new house. In 1851, a group of bounty hunters tracked a family of runaway slaves to the home. They wound up killing the homeowners as conspirators, then chased the runaways into a cellar tunnel leading to the Underground. The bounty hunters cornered the slaves and killed them. To everyone’s astonishment, the slaves then rose from the dead. Over time, the bounty hunters chose to stay below ground, taking advantage of their new slave labor to build what they term “Paradise.”

Their numbers are augmented by deathbed miners who are offered immorality in exchange for their subservience and labor.

Below a town struggling to survive both the Great Depression and the closing of the local coal mine, there lives an immortal society built on the backs of slavery and pervasive immorality.

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I am Participating in #BlogAhead2016

It’s time, once again, for Blog Ahead! Woohoo!
This challenge it’s all about getting ahead and giving yourself a blogging buffer.
It’s amazing how much having extra scheduled posts can make during emergencies, vacations or just when dealing plain ol’ blogging slumps. It can really cut the stress during every day blogging as well 🙂 And what better way to get ahead than with the support of other bloggers?
Dates:
Begins– Oct 1
Ends– Oct 31
Who Can Join?
Anyone who has a blog.
Blog genre/topic doesn’t matter.
You can be a reviewer or an author, brand new, been at it for years, etc.
Everyone is welcome!
Goal:
 The goal is to hunker down for the month of October and increase the number of scheduled posts you have by 30.
Ex. On Oct 1st if you have 5 posts scheduled you would then need to end the month with 35 posts scheduled.
Whatever number you’re starting with just add 30 to get your final goal.
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MY CURRENT STATUS.

I spent a lot of time blogging ahead. My hubby, Mr Wonderful, has a lot of time off the last six weeks of the year, so I used this challenge as motivation to get ahead, instead of scrambling trying to put something together in between the FUN we have traveling, golfing, and hanging out with family. I feel good about where I ended up. How about you?

  • Nov:  26
  • Dec:  17
  • Total:  43

Now the real challenge is to stay ahead! 🙂

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She Knows Your Secrets – Touching Death by Becky Johnson #Becky Johnson

That hand…the Touching Death by Becky Johnson cover…reaching out…touching me.

Have to have it!

 

Today’s guest is Becky Johnson, author of the mystery suspense novel, TOUCHING DEATH.  Please leave a comment or question for Becky below to let her know you stopped by!

 

About the Book:

 

Title:  Touching Death
Author: Becky Johnson
Publisher: Independent
Pages: 209
Genre: Mystery/Suspense
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Rachel Angeletti knows things. She always has. With one touch she sees secrets, emotions, lies. Her gift helps her to be the best museum curator in Chicago. It also makes her personal relationships difficult.
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Her life is complicated enough when a run in with her ex and an unanticipated vision sends her reeling. One touch and she sees death. One touch and she is thrown into the midst of killer’s dark fantasy. Now Rachel is in a fight for her life against a killer she knows too little about.
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With danger stalking her around every turn Rachel is in a thrilling race against the clock. Can she catch a killer before he catches her?
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Touching Death will take you on a riveting, page-turning, journey into the mind of a killer and the heart of a survivor.
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For More Information

  • Touching Death is available at Amazon.
  • Discuss this book at PUYB Virtual Book Club at Goodreads.

Book Excerpt:

I was eleven the first time I saw someone die.
It was hot. The kind of hot where your shirt sticks to your back and every breath feels  thick and heavy. The waistband of my plaid, pleated school uniform was itchy. It was always itchy, but in Chicago in early September with the temperature in the nineties, I could barely stand it.
“Look,” my best friend April gave my arm a sharp and eager tug, “I can’t believe he’s talking to her.”
I looked across the museum where she was pointing. Jonathan Adams. With his dark hair and blue eyes he was the cutest guy in our class. He was talking to Carol, the prettiest girl in our class and our sworn enemy. April had such an intense crush on Jonathan. She had already named their children and when we played the name game she always wanted to get him.
While April plotted revenge on her arch nemesis, I looked across the Ancients room in The Chicago Museum of Anthropology and Archeology to where Billy Masters stood by a glass display case. His hair was unruly and stuck up in odd peaks from his forehead in complete disregard of the rules. His white, button-down shirt hung out over his waistband. Technically, he was wearing the school tie; he just wore it tied around his belt loop, a bright red flag of rebellion. I never wanted to admit it, but when I daydreamed and played the name game, I was always looking for Billy Masters.
Our class slowly moved through the large room. My teacher, Ms. Daniels, stood at the front of our group lecturing on the Egyptian Empire. With her graying hair pulled back into a tight bun, her stockings sagging around her skinny legs, and her soft and squeaky voice the lecture didn’t keep my attention. Her high-pitched voice faded to the background as I gazed at the surrounding exhibits. They were all so beautiful and fascinating. My imagination ran wild with stories and images. I imagined hands cupping a bowl or pulling a comb through a child’s hair. In my mind’s eye a thousand stories and possibilities ran wild.
We walked through the center aisle of a room, clustered with pottery and remnants of houses. I felt the strangest urge, the almost all consuming desire to touch. My fingertips itched. The power of it drew me. The crumbled edges of the pottery bowl almost begged me to touch them. Only a velvet rope and a few feet separated me from that tantalizing edge.
One touch. No one will know.
I didn’t even realize I’d stepped forward until the velvet rope stopped me from going any further. Vaguely, I heard my teacher discussing social structure and family groups, but the pounding of my own heart overpowered all other noise.
Rachel, the past whispered, “come. See. Life and death.”
I reached my hand out and my fingers brushed the edge of the bowl.
Laughter.
Raised voices.
Yelling.
Screams.
Crying.
The images bombarded me — a woman sat in front of a fire pit making dinner for her family. A dispute nearby grabbed her attention. Two men were fighting. The crowd surged and pulsed with the energy of the fight. Screamed words sounded foreign to my ears, but the emotion made perfect sense — fear, anger, uncertainty.
Only the woman with the bowl saw the little boy standing too close to the fighters. Only the woman with the bowl saw the danger. She screamed his name. Her screams went unheard in the din. The crowd moved with the fight, their bodies cutting off her view.
The bowl was clutched tight in her fingers as she struggled forward, pushing people aside. It grew eerily quiet. The crowd slowed, then paused responding to a different energy. Shoulders and heads slumped as they parted before her. The little boy was on the ground. A bloody rock lay near him. She dropped the bowl as she surged forward, screaming.
I awoke on the ground in front the display my face wet and my throat raw with the echo of the screams still ringing in my ears.
About the Author

 Books are Becky Johnson’s passion and always have been. She used to get in trouble in school for reading during class!

Becky has Master’s degrees in social work and history, and for her day job she is a social worker. In her writing she tries to answer a question that is important to both social work and history: Why? She always wants to know why people do the things they do or feel the way they feel.
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When not reading or writing she enjoys yoga, photography, cooking, and makes a
pretty mean chili!
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Her latest book is the mystery/suspense, Touching Death.
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For More Information

 

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