Terrapin A.C. Troyer
(Nordic Airre, #1)
Publication date: May 30th 2016
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult
Eighteen-year-old Charlotte (Jinx), fights her past to chase her dream of becoming an Elite Nordic Airre pilot, yet her rebellious attitude hinders her hard-earned lead status. Overcoming a string of life-altering events and the unwanted advances of Ghost Allen, a smooth talking pilot, is one thing, evading death at the hands of two comrades is another.
When Jinx comes face-to-face with an unlikely ally, she is forced to trust him in order to escape the clutches of those who want to silence her. Can a once broken girl transform her past into an iron will, or will she ultimately crumble under the destruction?
I froze. My thoughts instantly drew a large coiling snake at my feet, but then a gentle wipe of his thumb swept across my cheek. I jerked away in response. “What are you doing?” I covered his path with my hand, as if the man-germs burned me.
“Hold still. You made it worse. And don’t look at me like I’m your favorite dessert, it’s not helping the situation any.”
There was a tease in his tone. “What situation?” I asked. “And I’m not. Trust me.” I displayed the most repulsed expression I could. The hem of his shirt pulled up over his crossed arms and cleared his head. “Whoa.” My palms few up. “You’re reading the signs all wrong. Put your shirt back on,” I pleaded to him. My eyes widened, soaking up the definition of his stomach. Holy abs.
“You like what you see?” He laughed, waggling his eyebrows.
I gained my composure and mocked a laugh. “I was just thinking you’re almost as toned as I am. Close, but not quite there yet, big guy,” I said, patting his stomach.
His closed lipped dimpled smile awakened something inside of me. The same smile I saw the morning on Senders Rock, the one that sent tingles through my body. I wanted to pull my eyes away. But he was beautiful.
Author Bio:
A.C. grew up climbing trees and spying on her siblings. When not writing, A.C. can be found cheering on her favorite girls at a softball field or sitting in her car reading at practices and eating her hidden stash of chocolate. She enjoys family time, traveling, random road trips, watching movies, decorating, and trying new cocktails. She lives in the mitten state with her husband, two daughters, and their furbabies. Terrapin is her first novel.
Zeus sent Hermes, and the Oracles have used their magic, with no success. A sparkle of hope arises when Eris, the goddess of Chaos, sends an invitation to her wedding engagement party. She’s holding Mason hostage, and Skylar and her friends only need permission to enter Eris’s world to rescue him.
At the party, Eris gives them one condition: In exchange for Mason, they must travel to the Land of Reverse and bring back the bottle of gold water King Midas used to wash himself free of his gift. Further chaos follows when Eris not only sets up a hunt in the Labyrinth of Crete, but makes a bargain with the Titans she rescued.
The Titans possess power more than anyone anticipated, and Cronus is hungry for revenge after his own children locked him up in Tartarus. No one is safe. Not even the humans.
Summary for Book 1:
Did you just see a flash of lightning across the sky on a clear sunny day?
Don’t blame Mother Nature.
Skylar Rome can’t wait to spend her last summer before college with her cousin, Kayla. Everything changes when they meet the Grand brothers. Skylar is sure she should stay away from Mason Grand, but their attraction is undeniable. Then Skylar’s life erupts into turmoil. She steps into a world where descendants of ancient gods have super powers, evil beings chase her, and questions arise about her own identity. She is running out of time and running for her life, while trying to unravel the mystery of what they want from her.
Forced into a battle set into motion long before she was born, will Skylar find the answers she seeks, or will she die trying?
Praise for the Series
“From Gods takes mythology to a whole new level of imagination with its incredible plot and amazing characters. It’s full of hotness that you never want to end!” Michele, Insane About Books
“From Gods by the AMAZING AUTHOR Mary Ting is OMGods good!! If you even LIKE Greek Mythology, set aside some time because you will DEVOUR Mary Ting’s Demi Gods and Vultures!!!” Mindy, Books Complete Me
Did you just see a flash of lightning across the sky on a clear sunny day?
Don’t blame Mother Nature.
Skylar Rome can’t wait to spend her last summer before college with her cousin, Kayla. Everything changes when they meet the Grand brothers. Skylar is sure she should stay away from Mason Grand, but their attraction is undeniable. Then Skylar’s life erupts into turmoil. She steps into a world where descendants of ancient gods have super powers, evil beings chase her, and questions arise about her own identity. She is running out of time and running for her life, while trying to unravel the mystery of what they want from her.
Forced into a battle set into motion long before she was born, will Skylar find the answers she seeks, or will she die trying?
Excerpt
“Mason, MASON, MASON!” Skylar panicked.
“I know. Skylar, hold on tight. I’m going to brake.”
“But there are cars behind us.”
“We have no choice. Don’t worry. I got this.” Mason pushed down on the brake forcefully. The car hydroplaned to the right. “Hold on.”
Skylar gripped the first thing her hand found. The water from the road jetted up into the air like in a water show, but the car kept gliding sideways, until finally it spun in a full circle and stopped. With no time to waste, Mason turned it to the right and accelerated, hoping to dodge what was coming toward them.
Out of nowhere, a long piece of ice, taking the form of a spear, darted through the trucks’ tires and punctured some of them. More ice spears came soaring out of the rain, but this time ten or more sphere-like ice balls followed, denting the sides of the trucks. One went through a windshield. With flat tires, the trucks now glided as if skating on ice, maneuvering from side to side.
“Did you do that?” Skylar asked excitedly.
“No. Must be Poseidon’s kids. Where the hell are they?” Mason spread his right arm out in front of Skylar as if to protect her. “Bend down, Sky.”
One of the trucks hit another and veered off, hitting yet another one. The crash caused the trucks to flip and tumble, heading straight for Mason’s car. With a look of shock, Skylar held her breath. There was no time to move, think, or get out of the car, so she closed her eyes and prepared for the crash.
Seconds before impact, Mason’s car flew up into the air and over the trucks. Somehow, as if by magic, the water created a liquid bridge, guiding the car safely over, and then it thumped hard onto the ground on the other side. Without looking back, Mason sped away as the sound of screeching brakes and metal hitting metal blasted behind them.
Author Mary Ting
International Bestselling, Award-Winning, Author Mary Ting/M. Clarke resides in Southern California with her husband and two children. She enjoys oil painting and making jewelry. Writing her first novel, Crossroads Saga, happened by chance. It was a way to grieve the death of her beloved grandmother, and inspired by a dream she once had as a young girl. When she started reading new adult novels, she fell in love with the genre. It was the reason she had to write one-Something Great. Why the pen name, M Clarke? She tours with Magic Johnson Foundation to promote literacy and her children’s chapter book-No Bullies Allowed.
Blast Giveaway
$50 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash
Ends 6/13/16
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.
Welcome to my Tag Team Event! Laura and I are the Tag Team Bloggers. You can find Laura at fuonlyknew. We Tag Team an author and publish our posts at the same time. Whether it’s for a cover reveal, giveaway, review, interview, or something more, the author will be tagged by us and you will be alerted to go to Laura’s blog or mine to see additional content. It’s really fun to see how differently we view the same book and you get an extra chance to win with our giveaways!
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Tag Team Event – What do a Baby, a Rattlesnake and a Chupcabra have in Common? Michael Hebler
The fabulous cover for What Adam Wants by Michael Hebler looks like a room we would all want for our baby, but this short supernatural horror thriller will not be a lullaby you want to sing to your child.
They both heard Adam’s cries, but that’s not possible. Adam is dead.
As they pass the blame around through angry words and even a punch to the jaw, Adam lets them know he will not be ignored.
What does Adam want? What do you think? Betcha can’t guess.
In less than 10 minutes, Michael Hebler shares a couple’s devastating loss and adds an ending to die for! I never saw it coming!
I received a copy of What Adam Wants from Michael Hebler in return for an honest review.
4 Stars
Laura and I are the Tag Team Bloggers. You can find Laura at fuonlyknew. Visit her and get her take on What Adam Wants by Michael Hebler.
GOODREADS BLURB
Losing a child at birth is difficult, but not as difficult as when that child refuses to leave.
Days after Rachel and David lose their child, they are haunted by the incessant cries of a baby. It is their stillborn, Adam, and he wants something from Rachel… something deadly.
Michael Hebler also wrote the Chupacabra series and is offering a free ebook of Night of the Chupacabra to subscribers at www.michaelhebler.com. I read the entire series (reviews to come soon) and LOVED it. If you are into creature features, this series is for you.
Post Civil War. Families move west to begin rich new lives, only some never make it. There is a creature that lurks in the vast open deserts of the west. It can only survive on blood and, although it prefers to prey on the weak and young, it will slaughter anyone or anything, once provoked. It is unnatural, deceptive, and difficult to kill. Word about the existence of this elusive beast has not spread since anyone who has crossed paths with it did not live long enough to tell of their account. Night of the Chupacabra is one man’s journey to reunite with his missing family, while the lethal creature that separated them, the mysterious and ravenous chupacabra, is never far behind. Night of the Chupacabra is not only a gruesome regale of carnage, but a unique combination of science fiction bloodshed with a more poignant tale of lost love set against a Western backdrop. Night of the Chupacabra is an unflinching look at the impossible choices made for family, while knowing the consequences will ultimately lead to a fate worse than death.
They never thought their luck would be their curse. In the months following the onslaught, the extraordinary survivors continue to know no peace, as they are haunted by signs that the relentless creature remains on their trail. However, this fight will be better matched, now that they’ve discovered an advantage that will help protect them from the monster’s bloodthirsty lust. But once faced with the decision to kill the beast, the choice will not come lightly since it is still unclear which loved one the chupacabra possesses.
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ABOUT MICHAEL HEBLER
Prior to becoming an award-winning author of his dark fiction Chupacabra Series, Michael was a full-time international film publicist who had worked on multiple titles for Walt Disney, Pixar, Lionsgate, Lakeshore Entertainment, Warner Bros., Summit Entertainment, and the 2013 Academy Award-winning Best Foreign Language Film, “La grande bellezza” (The Great Beauty).
Born in the early 1970’s in Los Angeles County to a salesman and homemaker, Michael dreamed of following his passions for entertainment and storytelling by acting. It was while studying theatre arts at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa, California, did he realize his penchant for stories were better suited on the page rather than the stage. But creating tales with suspense, laughter, and heart is not Michael’s only love. Hebler also enjoys volunteering in his local community, as well as aid in the capture/spay/neuter/release feral program.
To date, Michael’s publications include NIGHT OF THE CHUPACABRA, CURSE OF THE CHUPACABRA, and LEGEND OF THE CHUPACABRA (Books I, II, & III of the six-part Chupacabra Series) as well as his first publication, THE NIGHT AFTER CHRISTMAS, a holiday picture book for believers of any age. Michael’s fourth book in the Chupacabra Series, DAWN OF THE CHUPACABRA will be available in print and for ebook on October 13, 2015.
Europa Awakenings by Pam Garcia has an amazing cover that made me feel I had to have it. After reading the synopsis I knew I had to have it. I even enjoyed learning about Pam from her bio, be sure and check it out. Her commitment to the oceans around us makes me feel I have met a kindred spirit.
I realize this is a long post, put P R Garcia has so many wonderful things to share, I could not decide what to keep and what to discard…so I included it all! Sci-fi, fantasy, reality…you decide.
Let’s welcome P R Garcia and be sure to enter the giveaway at the end of the post!
GUEST POST FROM P R GARCIA
EUROPA Awakenings in the first book in the EUROPA Series, a collection of six novels that addresses the question of “What happened to Atlantis?” It is a new, fresh concept connecting the legendary city to *******’s ice moon, Europa and to the ancient city of Puma Punku in Bolivia, plus gives an explanation as to why the city was sunk overnight and what happened to the inhabitants. (Hint: They’re still here)
INSPIRATION FOR BOOK
EUROPA Awakenings came about as an inspiration while watching a documentary one uneventful day. I am a big sci-fi fan and watch numerous shows about possible life on other planets and moons. This particular day the documentary was discussing *******’s moon, Europa. I had never heard of this moon and was completely enthralled. She is totally shielded by a thick layer of ice and astrologists believe that beneath her ice there exists a moon-wide ocean that may contain simple life. Immediately, I wondered why the life had to be simple? Europa has been in existence almost as long as Earth has, so why couldn’t it contain complex-life? Even sentient life? And since it is a closed-environment, uninfluenced by anything in the universe, the possibilities could be endless. That idea sparked the beginning of the Europa Series concept. When I went to bed that night, my thoughts were still filled with the possibilities, thus causing me to dream about a race of intelligent beings, called Oonocks, who had to flee Europa and came to Earth – the Atlantians. For the next few days the thoughts of Europa and the Atlantians filled my mind, as well as my dreams. Unable to shake the thoughts, I sat down at my computer and began to type, hoping to possible write one book. When EUROPA Awakenings was finished, I stopped typing, but the feeling that there was more of her story to be told plagued my thoughts. I’m no working on book number ten.
Currently EUROPA Awakenings has a 4.5 star rating on Amazon and a 5 star rating on Goodreads. (Which I consider very good since the Harry Potter Collection has a 4.5 star rating and the Star Wars Trilogy has a 4.6 rating.) It received a 5 star Reader’s Favorite Rating.
A huge thanks to P R Garcia and I am very excited to share all her goodies with YOU, my readers.
I am AMAZED and BLOWN AWAY by the epic saga, Europa Awakenings by P R Garcia!
I was hooked from the beginning and putting down this almost 500 page novel was done with much reluctance, but my hands hurt from holding the book and my eyes are blurring, making the words almost unreadable. I read the book slower than normal, savoring the story unfolding page by page, experience by experience, good and bad, life and death and above all, love and sacrifice.
Atlantis was born from a need to hide…hide not just from their enemies, but us…humans. If aliens are watching us, walking among us, it would behoove them to be wary, secretive. I agree with P R Garcia’s writing, we humans kill what we fear.
Europa has no idea she comes from Atlantis, from a alien race forced to leave their planet.
This is her journey of discovery.
The first threat comes from a source I figured out pretty quick. I pride myself on that. It also creates a great twist to the story.
I knew there would be a romance and I wondered where her boyfriend, Terrance would come from. Would he be alien or human? Does love conquer all? We shall see.
The characters are so much more than they seem, changing forms, sacrificing, always loving, doing their duty to protect…her. The characters and world building are complex and developed to such a point, I feel I am there, interacting with them. I feel their paralyzing terror, their need to protect at the cost of their own lives. I weep with those who mourn their fallen soldiers.
Of course, I love Europa and her soulmate, Terrance, a naive human that has no idea what he has stepped into, but goes all out just to be at her side. I don’t know if I can choose just one hero, but I love Jeanip. Loyalty and duty could be his middle name. With a protector such as Jeanip, I cannot help but feel they will survive, but will he?
As P R Garcia explains what happens when they return to the water to die, it makes me think of spreading a loved ones ashes on the water, allowing them to travel on.
Europa Awakenings contains so much action and adventure, the suspense and pacing so intense, the book is unputdownable. Everywhere I look, there is another hint of danger. The sense of impending doom follows me through the pages. I know something is coming, I just don’t know when. More than once, P R Garcia caught me by surprise and I love that.
Europa Awakenings is a wonderful combination of the paranormal and supernatural, myth and folklore, fantasy and romance. P R Garcia took me to the depths of hell and brought me up to the light of the sun. I am at a loss for words to describe the elaborate and imaginative world and characters, on land and in water, that Pam has created. I am entranced, enthralled, amazed and astounded.
There will be much more of their story, but…for now…they are safe.
I am so happy that Book II is on its way!
I received a copy of Europa Awakenings by P R Garcia in return for an honest review.
5 Stars
ABOUT EUROPA AWAKENINGS
EUROPA Awakenings is the story of a young human who’s heard of Atlantis, but never given it much thought. All she knows is that she is going off to college and will, at last, be free of the strict security rules she must live by. But her future is a delusion, her life a fabrication, a charade created to keep her from knowing the truth. And what neither she nor her protectors know is that their family’s enemy has returned and is stalking her, waiting for his chance to end her life.
The day after her birthday, Europa’s perfect world is destroyed when JeffRa assassinates her mother, believing she was Europa. Seeking solace in her mother’s bedroom, Europa discovers an entrance to a secret attic where she finds picture of her parents hundreds of years old. But the most terrifying find is her mother’s diary. Inside, Queen Medaron wrote that Europa would be born human and never know who she really was. Unwavering in her attempt to learn the truth, she embarks on a journey of discovery, a journey of many dangers as JeffRa chases her, determined to personally end her life. Along the way, Europa will lose almost everyone and everything she loves, learn that shapeshifters are real and the powers of magical Orbs. Somehow, through all of this, she must discover the truth of her past and awaken the queen inside her. To accomplish both, she has to learn and accept the true story of Atlantis, embrace the Oonock race and identify with what lies beneath the ice shield of Europa.
ABOUT P R GARCIA
When asked who I am, I usually tell people I am a not-too-grayed-haired old lady who, at the age of 61, was inspired to write a book. The book turned into two, then three. In three years I have written nine and am presently working on book ten. All are full length novels, averaging 464 pages each.
In 2008, I moved from Michigan to Southern California. Since I grew up along Lake Erie, I had a love for the water, so it wasn’t long before I could hear the ocean calling to me. I began to volunteer on the whale watching boats as a naturalist through Birch Scripps Aquarium and the San Diego Natural History Museum. It is there that I expanded my knowledge of cetaceans and other marine life, a knowledge and love I carried into the books.
MY DREAMS
To see my story play out on the big screen before I leave this world. My other dream is to receive at least one hundred reviews on the books. I welcome both favorable reviews and those with criticism.
For more information about the books, or me, visit my website: prgarcia1.com. There is an index on the web site showing the characters, as well as a listing of places and Oonock terms. I have a YouTube video on EUROPA Awakenings at https://youtu.be/EvSVloULZ2I
I just recently updated the cover of EUROPA Awakenings to better reflect the story. The cover now shows the red-haired Europa, with her sanctuary, Saint’s Isle, on the right had side, and the presence of large whale’s tail on the left. The whale is key to her survival, but you’ll have to read the story to find out who he is. The first chapter was also updated, so you will note that the paperback holds a release date of 2-27-2016, while the eBook maintains the original 12-9-2013 date. They are both the same book. Due to the significant changes in Chapter One, the paperback required a new ISB Number and a new release date.
EUROPA Awakenings can be ordered through any bookstore or online on Amazon. For exciting news about the ocean, cetaceans or important environmental issues, you can follow my Facebook page Europa Awakenings, which is just shy of 1300 likes.
We have a fabulous giveaway to share with you. There will be two winners. P R Garcia is offering a signed copy to one US commenter and one ebook to another commenter, so International is all good. Entry is easy…just leave your email and answer the question:
If anything is possible, what would you do first to help our oceans and the creatures who live there?
The Sugarspear Chronicles, the incredible twenty-six-novella saga that started with a little girl and her willow tree, is finally available in one complete collection.
The Sugarspear Chronicles: The Complete Collection is the story of young Sadie Sugarspear, a girl who endures intolerable abuse by reading about a fantasy world filled with incredible sights and outlandish people—a place she’s only ever encountered through her real father’s storybook.
One day, when the cruelty becomes too much to bear, Sadie runs away and hides inside her beloved willow tree. To her surprise, the tree opens, sending Sadie down into the abyss, into a land she’s only ever read about—where she must being a long, terrifying, and heartbreaking journey home.
Readers can now enjoy the entirety of author Nicole Arlyn’s dark fantasy saga in one complete book. This complete collection also includes a note from the author detailing the inspiration and events that led to The Sugarspear Chronicles.
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Excerpt One:
The wind was ripping through the dandelion fields. The fence that stood alone shook but the blue flowers hanging off it stayed still. A pale girl walked on the dirt road through the fog and mud puddles towards the fence, her long brown hair slapping against her face, covering her green eyes that seemed blue when she turned them to the sky. She pushed her thin body through the wind, the black Rolling Stones t-shirt she wore as a dress blowing into her stomach. When she stood in front of the fence, the flowers finally swayed. Sprinkles of dew dying. Then she pulled them off, the crushed flowers in her hands, falling to earth. The wind never took them.
She sat on top of the fence watching the sky for rain. Instead she saw the faces that the clouds made morphing from evil to angel in one blink of her eyes. She ran her hands along the old brown wood, digging her fingertips hard in, crusted blood under her fingernails. She kicked her legs against the fence half wanting to knock it over and half wanting to fall with it, but it wouldn’t fall. She rubbed her thighs with the splinters until they burned and then made a fist with her right hand and bit down on it. She bit hard enough to stop her own tears. Only cry when the rain comes, she thought. That way the rain would wash away her tears and no one would know. She saw a caterpillar sitting beside her and picked it up.
“No one knows youʼre here but me,” she whispered. She laid the caterpillar where she found it. She opened her hands and kept waiting to catch the rain. She waited as the sky twisted around her, sealing her in a mist she wished only the sky could see through.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Nicole is a writer and an actress born in Brooklyn, New York. She has worked in films such as Clay Pigeons, opposite Joaquin Phoenix; The Wedding Planner; and Brooklyn Bound, among many others. She has performed, written and directed theater productions in New York, Los Angeles, and Europe. She has also read her poems in many poetry lounges in Europe and America, and is a song lyricist for musicians.
After living in Rome, Italy, for the past several years, Nicole has returned to New York City where she lives with her husband and son. She is at work on more novels.
When Seattle yoga teacher Kate Davidson agrees to teach doga (yoga for dogs) at a fundraiser for a local animal rescue, she believes the only damage will be to her reputation. But a few downward-facing dogs are the least of Kate’s problems when an animal rights protest at the event leads to a suspicious fire and a drowning.
The police arrest a woman claiming to be Kate’s estranged mother and charge her with murder. To prove her innocence, Kate, boyfriend Michael, and German shepherd sidekick Bella dive deeply into the worlds of animal activism, organizational politics, and the dangerous obsessions that drive them. All while discovering that when it comes to murder, there’s no place like hOMe.
About The Author
Tracy Weber is the author of the award-winning Downward Dog Mysteries series featuring yoga teacher Kate Davidson and her feisty German shepherd, Bella. Tracy loves sharing her passion for yoga and animals in any form possible. Her first book, Murder Strikes a Pose won the Maxwell Award for Fiction and is a 2015 Agatha award nominee for Best First Novel.
Tracy and her husband live in Seattle with their challenging yet amazing German shepherd Tasha. When she’s not writing, Tracy spends her time teaching yoga, walking Tasha, and sipping Blackthorn cider at her favorite ale house.
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 This is a giveaway hosted by Diversion Books for Jeff Lindsay. There will be 5 winners of 1 eBook copy of RED TIDE by Jeff Lindsay. The giveaway begins on October 26th, 2015 and runs through November 11th, 2015. a Rafflecopter giveaway
Rose Strickland’s life is complicated. Besides her waitressing gig, she works part-time for Andre Thomas, a PI with no faith in Rose’s ability to investigate, her love life with Sullivan has stalled, and her BFF, Roxy, has found a new bestie, leaving Rose out in the cold.
Determined to prove herself, Rose takes a case on the sly. As she searches for a missing MMA fighter, Rose discovers an illegal fight club, a group of ruthless businessmen, dead bodies, and a trail of drugs.
Hunting down clues that lead too close to home, Rose finds herself in the fight of her life. Can she beat the killer to the punch before she gets knocked out for good?
Related subjects include: cozy mysteries, women sleuths, murder mystery series, whodunit mysteries (whodunnit), amateur sleuth books, book club recommendations, humorous murder mysteries.
MY REVIEW
Diner Out is the fourth book in the Rose Strickland cozy mystery series. I love the humorous writing style and snarky dialogue that kept me entertained, “cover to cover.” This is my first book of the series, but it didn’t affect my enjoyment of the story, though I would love to go back and find out what I missed.
Rose Strickland loves playing superhero, sometimes landing herself in some very hot water. She gave up her ritzy life, not to slum on the south side, but because she knew that was where she belonged.
Rose works for the Thomas Detective Agency, when she isn’t waitressing. Her boss, Andre is the yin to her yang, when it comes to work. She has a mind of her own, is a “bit” cocky and by going rogue, she is playing with fire.
When I first heard of her boyfriend Sullivan, the scene was so romantic and sexy. The details were left to my imagination and that worked very well for me. She’s good, him not so much. She is drawn to bad boys. The heart wants what the hearts want and she cannot deny him.
The peripheral characters have unusual names to go with their unusual personalities that make reading Diner Knock Out so much fun. Her pseudo family is unique, interesting and lovable, keeping the story lively. As her family grows, so does the fun and adventure.
Terri Austin is a master at misdirection, as I danced from one suspect to another. The suspense and mystery kept me reading, questioning and laughing while I worried and fretted over the outcome.
I received an ARC of Diner Knockout by Terri L Austin in return for an honest review.
4 stars
Books in the Rose Strickland Humorous Mystery Series:
As a girl, Terri L. Austin thought she’d outgrow dreaming up stories and creating imaginary friends. Instead, she’s made a career of it. She met her own Prince Charming and together they live in Missouri. She loves to hear from readers. Drop her a note at www.TerriLAustin.com.
After a terrible virus ravages the planet, Carly Daniels, one of the few survivors, hides in her apartment in Juneau trying to survive the best she can with only occasional forays to gather food. With her is Sam, a wolf puppy she found starving on the streets. He becomes her companion and a reason to continue when giving up sometimes seems like the more attractive option. Still dazed with shock and grief, she hopes for the world to go back to normal soon.
She is discovered by Justin, an ex-soldier who is intent on making his way to Florida before the winter sets in. Justin coaxes her out of her hiding place and convinces her to join him on his journey, because a warmer climate will be their best chance against the extremes of Mother Nature.
Together, they begin a perilous journey through a nation laid to waste by the disaster. Challenges abound along the way. The weather, injury, and shortage of supplies all help to slow them down. In time, they discover that they aren’t the only survivors. Some are friendly but some have had their minds destroyed by the high fever. Then there are those who simply take what they want, leaving Carly and Justin with no choice but to defend what is theirs.
But their journey is not without joy and love. Together, they face every struggle, including an unplanned pregnancy. Despite the perils of bringing a child into a world of chaos, their baby is a new beginning for themselves and a symbol of hope for the other survivors they find along the way.
This is the story of their journey to find a place to begin a new life, and a home in each other.
EXCERPT from Book 1, The End of All Things
Two days later, they were out of food again, and Carly was faced with the prospect of trying to make it out to the store.
Sam swatted his metal bowl with his paw, and then stared down at it with a hint of expectation, as if rattling it would make food appear. Perhaps, in his little doggy head it did, because Carly had always filled it whenever she heard the bowl clatter on the floor.
Carly went over to the window to peek out at Biker Guy. Still there. Yesterday, she had gathered all of her courage and gone down to the lobby door again, but he had met her there with another Hello, and she’d panicked and darted back upstairs.
He was looking up at her window. He waved and reached down beside his bucket to pick up something that looked like a large white sheet of poster board. He held it up, and she could see the words he’d painted on it in black: PLEASE DON’T BE AFRAID. I WON’T HURT YOU.
He dropped the top poster to reveal another beneath it: I JUST WANT TO TALK TO YOU.
Carly thought that was highly unlikely. Whatever this guy wants, it isn’t just a scintillating conversation.
He held up another sign: I’M REALLY A NICE GUY. HONEST.
Yeah, like he’d tell me if he wasn’t.
He grinned as he held up the last board: SURRENDER, DOROTHY.
Carly had to giggle, but it faded as she realized it was the first time she’d laughed since the Crisis. She retreated and let the curtain drop. Indecision gnawed at her. She had to get food, and that meant confronting Biker Guy, whether she liked it or not.
Tales from the End by Lissa Bryan
(4 Short Stories / Companion Pieces)
Series: The End Of All Things #1.5 Genre: Dystopian Publication Date: February 4, 2014
From the author of The End of All Things comes a collection of short stories about the Infection that swept around the globe, decimating the population, and leaving behind a small number of survivors, unprepared to deal with the brutal new world which had replaced the one they’d known. The Horsemen
L.A.’s mayor has declared quarantine to try to halt the spread of the Infection. Pearl sets off across the city to buy supplies, but already the world is changing. Something strange is in the air. The Horsemen are coming … Veronica
When Veronica’s mother doesn’t come home from work and no one answers the phone when she calls for help, a nine-year-old girl is thrown into the chaos of a world coming to an end. Veronica decides it’s up to her to find her family. “Veronica” is the story of a little girl’s courage in the face of the end of all things. “I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud”
They called her Shadowfax– the mare Carly and Justin found on their travels. But before she was found by Carly, the retired dressage horse was known as Cloud. An unusual tale of the end, told through the eyes of a confused and lonely horse, left in her pasture. Birthday
A previously-published bonus story. Carly knows Justin has never celebrated his birthday, and after society crumbled, no one knows what date it is, anyway. But she wants to do something special for him. Celebrating the little things helps them keep hope alive, and as a blizzard rages outside, a small gesture of love warms their home.
The Land of the Shadow by Lissa Bryan
Series: The End Of All Things #2 Genre: Dystopian Publication Date: August 21, 2014
After surviving the Infection and a perilous journey through the wasteland that was once the United States, Carly and Justin have found a safe home in the isolated town of Colby.
Even so, balancing the duties of survival and a growing family isn’t easy. As they emerge as leaders, they face difficult questions about justice in a lawless land, basic human rights, and freedom in a world where strength defines worth. More than ever, they have to rely on one another for strength and support during the darkest of times.
The Crisis is far from over. Their fences won’t keep the world out forever, and a new threat is emerging—a gang of predators who see the town as easy pickings. When danger looms over Colby, Carly must decide how far she’ll go to protect those she loves.
It’s a journey down the long and broken road through The Land of the Shadow.
Shadows Have Gone by Lissa Bryan
Series: The End Of All Things #3 Genre: Dystopian Publication Date: March 26, 2015
Carly Daniels knows what it is to suffer loss. She knows what it is to sacrifice. In the two years since a pandemic virus—known only as the Infection—decimated humanity, she’s made choices she never could have imagined. She’s condoned violence in the name of peace and done the unthinkable in the name of mercy. But with Justin at her side, she’s also learned there’s nothing she can’t face and nothing she wouldn’t do to protect those she loves.
But now another threat has arrived in the form of a uniformed man driving an army truck, claiming to represent the remnant of the United States military. Someone has set their sights on their community . . . and on Justin. The struggle to defend their little homeland is far from over, and the visitors may have brought more danger with them than just their weapons.
The shadows are closing in. Carly has to find out whether she has the strength to stand on her own when all of her support has fallen away. What remains when the shadows have gone?
Lissa Bryan is an astronaut, renowned Kabuki actress, Olympic pole vault gold medalist, Iron Chef champion, and scientist who recently discovered the cure for athlete’s foot…. though only in her head.
Real life isn’t so interesting, which is why she spends most of her time writing.
The cover for Glistening Swarm, along will all the rest of the covers of this shape shifting dystopian series by Jill Cooper are fantastic.
Jill has created a brand and these are some books I would love to add to my collection.
How about you?
Man’s reign is over. Now fear the day of the dragon.
The human resistance bands together—to fight for their very survival. Staying ahead of the glistenings led by the savage Victor is their top priority, but as the children they have sought to protect fall ill, their days are numbered. Fighting is their only chance of survival and it’s one that the passive glistening, Jake Monroe, has been dreading for over a year. But, he will have no choice but to meet the dragons head on. No matter the cost, no matter the personal sacrifice.
I could write this in the third person. I could tell you what I like, where I was born, and what my favorite things are.
But instead, I’ll say I don’t want to write like everyone else. I don’t want to craft stories you’ve read a thousand times before. I want my novels to be a cinematic experience, blending themes, genres, and situations unlike any you’ve ever read.
I want to break the rules. I want you to break out in a cold sweat as you read my books out of fear, love, and excitement. I want my books to be an experience. When you finish, I want you to feel something. Good or bad.
If you do, then I’ll have succeeded. If not, I’ll keep trying.
Terrapin
Look on the right sidebar and let’s talk.
4 Stars
series featuring yoga teacher Kate Davidson and her feisty German shepherd, Bella. Tracy loves sharing her passion for yoga and animals in any form possible. Her first book, 
won the Maxwell Award for Fiction and is a 2015 Agatha award nominee for Best First Novel.
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.
