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Archive for October, 2014
An exciting urban fantasy ~ Fading Light ~ Excerpt and Giveaway
Posted: October 8, 2014 in Blog Tour, Excerpt, giveaways, urban fantasyTags: Author Angela Dennis, Fading Light, Shadow Born #2, urban fantasy
She found the body……Dead In A Dumpster ~ Spotlight and Giveaway
Posted: October 7, 2014 in Blog Tour, Excerpt, giveaways, Mystery, suspenseTags: Author B.L. Blair, Dead In A Dumpster, mystery/suspense
Dead in a Dumpster
by B.L. Blair
Genre: Mystery/Suspense
“I found the body on December 1st. It was a horrible way to end an already terrible day.”
When Leah Norwood finds the body of Isabel Meeks in the dumpster behind her store, she never imagined the police would consider her a suspect. Sure, she didn’t liked Isabel, but then again, neither did anyone else. Isabel had a condescending attitude and a bad reputation. As manager of the antique store, Patina, she had made a lot of enemies.
There is Patina’s assistant manager, the handsome and charming Trent. Isabel was blackmailing him. There is Patina’s owner, the aloof and influential Anthony Thorpe. Isabel was smuggling drugs through his store. And there is the entire drug dealing Cantono family. Isabel had lost a box containing heroin from one of their shipments. That is just to name a few and didn’t even include the stranger who was seen arguing with Isabel just hours before her death.
The police have too many suspects and too many soft alibis. Leah needs to prove to the sexy new chief of police that she had nothing to do with Isabel’s death.
Leah loves a good mystery. Can she find the killer before the police charge her with murder?
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~Excerpt~
Both of them turned toward me. Keith seemed a little surprised that I was still there. The other man just seemed irritated that I had interrupted him.
“You found the body?” he asked and then continued when I nodded, “We will need to ask you some questions.”
Keith had been asking me questions. My nerves were shot and my temper short. I am not usually such a bitch, but I had enough of standing out in the freezing rain. I probably shouldn’t have mouthed off to a police officer, but I figured my day couldn’t get any worse. I summoned up my inner diva, gave him my most haughty look, and asked in a snooty tone. “And you are?”
He stared at me a minute, his eyes hard and unyielding. He raised his eyebrows just a notch, pulled out a badge, and held it toward me. “Chief of Police Alexander Griggs.”
Well, damn, my day just got worse.
B. L. Blair writes simple and sweet romance and mystery/romance stories. Like most authors, she has been writing most of her life and has dozens of books started. She just needs the time to finish them.
She is the author of the Holton Romance Series and the Leah Norwood Mysteries. She enjoys reading books, writing books, and traveling wherever and as often as time and money allows. She is currently working on her latest book set in Texas, where she lives with her family.
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Cover Reveal and Giveaway ~ Shamrocks & Secrets
Posted: October 7, 2014 in Adult Fiction, Cover Reveal, giveaways, RomanceTags: Author Cayce Poponea, Shamrocks & Secrets
Welcome to the cover reveal for Shamrocks & Secrets!
This is an Adult Fiction Romance by Cayce Poponea.
I really like it.
The contrast.
The font.
The models.
What do you like?
Let me know!
And don’t forget to enter the giveaway.
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Event Organized by ❤MaE Book Tours & Promo Stars Services❤
❤Cover Design by: Mayhem Cover Creations❤
Synopsis
Event planning, dealing with demanding clients and defusing situations before they get out of hand are all in a days work for Christi O’Rourke. But when a mystery man seems to appear at every turn will she have the ability to handle him as well?
Power and wealth are staples in the world of Patrick Malloy. But when family obligations dictate his future, a future involving a certain spirited young woman, will Patrick have what it takes to win her heart or will his lifestyle place her in more danger than he ever dreamed of?
Genre Romance/ Adult Fiction
Expected Publication Date To Be Announced
Excerpt
I turned quickly in the direction of the voice. Standing there in all of his glory and entourage was Patrick Malloy. His grey shirt had the top two buttons undone and his blazer matched his pants. His hair was in this incredible disarray, on any other man it would have looked unkept, but on him, it was sexy. His eyes, however, were black and his face was absent of emotion. The room seemed to grow very quiet as he waited for Kevin to answer his question. He then turned his attention to me.
“Legs, care to elaborate?”
I didn’t know if it was the alcohol or because I was really pissed that Kevin was taking up air at the moment, but the fact that he couldn’t say my name really pissed me the fuck off.
“Okay, first of all, my name is not Legs, it’s Christi. That shit just pisses me off to no end. I have a fucking name, Patrick, and I’d appreciate it if you’d fucking use it when you address me.”
The look on his face changed as I proceeded to stick my finger in his face, well more like his chest as he was considerable taller than myself. I watched as a tiny smirk began to form at the corner of his mouth.
I didn’t let him speak as I continued my word vomit.
“This waste of fucking skin here is the father of my beautiful niece, Abigail, and the fucker knows it, too. He hasn’t seen her in years and he refuses to pay one goddamn dime of court-ordered child support. So yes, Mr. Malloy, you have a low-life motherfucking dead-beat father working for you.”
His expression changed from the cocky smirk to now one of anger. I should have been afraid of this quick change, but in reality, I was starting to get turned on.
About the Author
Cayce Poponea is from southern Georgia. Where the days are hot and the nights are even hotter. Loving nothing more than to find a cool place to invite you into the world that she loves most. A world where every man is perfect and every woman is desirable. Where life is a little easier, less about what you need to do and more about what you want to do. Open the pages and find your spot in the world she has created, who knows you may never want to leave.
When Cayce isn’t writing, she enjoys time with her husband. Riding around on the back of her husbands motorcycle, most of the time with no destination in mind. Reading has always been a passion for Cayce. She discovered early the secret world it has hidden in its pages. From dragons to princesses with knights in shinning armor. Now that she is older, men with perfect bodies and words that make your heart melt. Women who know what they want and are willing to go after it.
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Prizes:
A Kindle
15 Shamrocks & Secrets T-shirts
(US Only)
Click on the rafflecopter below to enter.
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Visit all the sites participating in the reveal for more fun posts!
http://www.fandemoniumnetwork.com
http://lindsey-gray.blogspot.com
http://reneeentress.blogspot.com
http://www.nisabelleblanco.com
http://aone-clickaddictsbookblog.blogspot.com/
http://trinastantilisingtidbits.blogspot.co.nz
https://www.facebook.com/TurnedOnByWords
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https://michbookreviews.wordpress.com
http://www.2writefromtheheart.blogspot.com
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http://www.lovebitessilkties.co.uk/
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http://www.thephantomparagrapher.blogspot.com/
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http://ramblingsfromthesheets.blogspot.com/
http://twobrainbookreviewers.blogspot.com/
http://eskimoprincess.blogspot.com/
http://bemybookboyfriend.blogspot.ie/
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http://essencewrite.blogspot.com/
http://hookedonbooksforever.blogspot.co.uk/?m=1&zx=d8117fe70074ff0c
http://queenofthenightreviews.blogspot.com/
http://throughtheeyesofabookgoddess.blogspot.ca
http://sleepdeprivedbooklovers.blogspot.com
http://www.theliterarymeltingpot.com
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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!
To see all of my giveaways click on the lucky horseshoe below!
Monday Minis Reviews #33 ~ The Abyss Above Us
Posted: October 6, 2014 in Aliens, horror, Monday's Minis, otherworldly, reviews, Science FictionTags: Author Ryan Notch, The Abyss Above Us
Welcome to my Monday Minis reviews
For today I bring you
The Abyss Above Us
by Ryan Notch
A Science Fiction Horror Story
MY REVIEW
So here goes. I’m going to try to explain what this book did to me.
It kept me awake. It was late at night and I was falling asleep. Then that feeling of falling hit me and startled me awake. My first thought was about this book, what I thought was really happening. A dread for what was coming from far, far away. As I drifted towards sleep it happened again.
Not wanting to have it keep happening, I grabbed a cozy mystery by my bed and read from it for a while, finally falling asleep. The same thing happened the next night, so I put the book aside until the weekend so my work didn’t suffer from lack of sleep.
I finally finished the book. And I can’t tell you what it was that affected me so deeply. I’m not one to scare easily. And this book didn’t horrify me so much as fill me with dread, with a sense of impending doom.
Shaw is brought in to help some astronomers with a computer problem. They found a strange signal from an empty place in space but their computers can’t isolate it because they are all interconnected and way old.
Shaw tracks the connections to a blank wall. Considering that it doesn’t lead out the other side he correctly deduces there is a room walled over. A forgotten room with a computer in it, receiving the signal. If they can get in there, they can start to try to understand it.
Down comes the wall and out comes the nightmares.
It all starts gradually. people start acting strange. All of the people who listened to that signal. Soon they start to die, but not by murder. Oh no, it’s worse than that.
Shaw feels responsible. He should never have hit that reply button on that stupid computer. Just what response did he send to the unknown? What hell had he unleashed?
It was coming. It would be here soon. What would happen then?
You’ll get a couple of different POVs but the main one is Shaw. His thoughts and his terror. But several other characters have crucial roles, adding to the suspense and drama. So many are flawed, and one is just plain nuts.
And there’s some technical jargon. It is a computer problem and contact from outer space that starts this whole thing, after all. I got most of it and could guess at the rest. And the thought of our universe ever expanding leaves me bewildered and awe struck. There’s so much out there. There has to be other sentient beings right? Why do we think we’re the only ones? Who’s to say we aren’t being watched, haven’t already been contacted? Who’s’ to say they want to be friends? See why I couldn’t get to sleep. Paranoia!
What got this all the way to 5 stars was the ending. It killed me. It just left me hanging out there. No answers to my nagging questions, no resolution, and no idea what was coming next. I’m worried about that! I know it sounds weird. I should be mad, I should knock off a star in the rating because of it. But that ending fit the mood of the whole book. And thank you, the next book is available so, while dreading it, I’m also looking forward to what comes next in the finale. I’m going to get my answers.
5 Stars
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Synopsis
There is a place in the sky where there are no stars, no matter how deeply the astronomers gaze into it. Atop a lonely mountain stands a mighty telescope that turns towards the coordinates of this abyss nightly, as if drawn to it. Receiving its commands from a computer that hasn’t existed for twenty years.
Introverted network engineer Shaw is brought in to find out why.
All too soon he finds that while the night sky may be dark, it is not silent. A signal is coming from those coordinates. Creating a sound liquid and hypnotic with layers of data that suggest anything but randomness. A siren’s song that leads to horrific suicides in everyone who listens to it.
By the time Shaw realizes this, it’s too late to stop the signal he sent back into the night. A signal obviously received, for the abyss has begun to move.
And it’s moving towards us.
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For more about Ryan Notch and his books click HERE
What’s New On My Bookshelf #81 and The Sunday Post
Posted: October 5, 2014 in Freebies!, giveaways, Meme, reviews, Uncategorized, What's New on My BookshelfTags: book news and weekly posts, Laura Thomas, The Sunday Post
This is my weekly book haul and all things new on fuonlyknew.
Another fun way to share your book news and enjoy others is The Sunday Post
hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer.
See what everyone else has been up to. Join in the fun!
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I’ve been reading so many scary books I’m surprised only one of them invaded my dreams. I’ve also spent the last week watching The Walking Dead from first episode to last, getting ready for the new season. What I haven’t watched yet is Z Nation. Has anyone watched it? Is it worth it? From what I”ve heard it isn’t. But, I also heard that about The Walking Dead, so I’m thinking I might check it out.
I also hauled out my fall and Halloween decorations. At first, I didn’t really feel like doing it. Then, as I started unwrapping everything and deciding where to put it, the mood hit me. Especially when I got to the scary stuff. The weather also took a turn towards fall so that might have had something to do with it. From 90 to the 60’s is a refreshing cool down. Probably won’t last and I’ll be back in the pool this week, but it’s a nice change.
The cooler weather also got me in the fall cleaning mood. I’ve been rearranging furniture, boxing up stuff for Goodwill, and finding stuff I forgot I had. Now every room has piles of stuff I have to take care of. Should have done one room at a time. LOL
My dog Quigley sure enjoyed the nice weather. He loves the crisp, cool mornings and was out in the yard chasing butterflies and rolling in the grass for hours. In the summer, he’s usually out long enough to take care of business and wants right back in unless I’m out there. He also loves to go out right at dawn and howl. It sounds eerie. Good thing all of my neighbors have dogs too and we all don’t live close to each other.
Now for my book haul!
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Books for Review
I just got Santa’s Little Helper.
I’ve read all of H.D. Gordon’s books and loved them. I’m sure I’ll love this one too!
Plus one ARC that I can’t talk about yet.
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Here are some of the books coming up as my blog goes dark for Halloween this October!
In my to read line up
Reading now
Finished reading and reviews are almost ready.
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These are some I picked up just for me!
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And here are some freebies for ya! Click on the covers to get yours.
And remember to make sure they’re still free before you click that buy button.
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Reviewed this week!
I was shocked when I went to my reviewed list and none were posted! I knew I’d written a bunch. Then I smiled when I realized they are mostly scheduled and will start releasing this coming week.
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Scheduled reviews for next week
I’ll also be adding some Halloween reviews throughout the week.
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What I won this week
I won an ARC copy of Outsider: Flawed #2 by Becca J. Campbell.
You can read my reviews for the other books in the series by clicking on the covers below.
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Other Posts
The White Devil of Dublin ~ Character Bios ~ Dream Cast ~ Giveaway
Carina Press Mystery Blitz ~ 4 Authors ~ 4 Mysteries ~ Awesome Giveaway
Teaser Tuesdays #83 ~ Devil Music by Carly Orosz
Black Dog Nights ~ A New Adult Romance Blast and Giveaway
The Magic, Mystery, and Romance of Midnight Kisses ~ Blitz Giveaway
Cover Reveal for The Union by T.H. Hernandez
Launch Celebration for Brew & Boil ~ Special Sale and Giveaway
Super Sale and Giveaway ~ The Ondine Quartet
A Chiller Thriller! Say Nothing Of What You See ~ Blurb Blitz and Giveaway
The Friday 56 #39 ~ The Abyss Above Us
Friday First Chapter Reveal and Giveaway ~ A Murder of Magpies
Freakin Fridays $34 ~ Ice Massacre ~ A Mermaid Freebie and Giveaway!
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For all of my 2014 reviews go HERE
For a list of free books go HERE
For all of my giveaways go HERE
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So, what did you get to read this week?
Got any recommendations?
I’d love to know and thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew.
Freakin Fridays #34 ~ Ice Massacre ~ A Mermaid Freebie and Giveaway!
Posted: October 3, 2014 in Blitz, Freakin Friday, Freebies!, giveaways, YA FantasyTags: Author Tiana Warner, Ice Massacre, mermaids, YA Fantasy
Freakin Fridays is my own little meme. I’ll be posting about books, movies, and all things scary.
Feel free to join in and do your own Freakin Fridays posts.
Get your scare on!
Today I have the Book Blitz for Ice Massacre, an event organized by Xpresso Book Tours.
Let’s have some fun!
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I was hoping I could have finished reading Ice Massacre so I could share my review with ya’ll, but I have a little ways to go yet.
I do have a short author interview and an excerpt.
And Ice Massacre is free during the blitz!
Check below for the link to get you free copy.
And don’t forget to enter the giveaway!
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Enjoy the author interview
Give us the tweet-sized version of what Ice Massacre is about.
A teenage girl is sent to battle the hostile mermaids that are driving her people into poverty. A story of love, secrets, and ass-kicking.
What makes Ice Massacre unique?
First, I haven’t seen a lot out there that portrays mermaids for what they really are: flesh-eating sea demons. But I think what also sets it apart is its almost entirely female cast. This island decides to send female warriors to kill the mermaids that plague them, because women don’t fall victim to a mermaid’s supernatural allure. We end up with an all-female war on a ship in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
Meela, an aboriginal girl who’s never been away from the tiny island she calls home, also has a pretty unique journey of self-discovery. I don’t want to reveal too much. But I think a lot of aspects make this story unconventional.
What’s your favourite thing about the book?
I love Meela’s antagonists. Meela’s a tough chick and she has a lot coming at her from all directions. Writing those opposing forces was so much fun.
What’s next for you as a writer?
The sequel! This is the first in a trilogy, and I’m hard at work on book two: Ice Crypt.
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Publication date: September 18th 2014
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult
A mermaid’s supernatural beauty serves one purpose: to lure a sailor to his death.
The Massacre is supposed to bring peace to Eriana Kwai. Every year, the island sends its warriors to battle these hostile sea demons. Every year, the warriors fail to return. Desperate for survival, the island must decide on a new strategy. Now, the fate of Eriana Kwai lies in the hands of twenty battle-trained girls and their resistance to a mermaid’s allure.
Eighteen-year-old Meela has already lost her brother to the Massacre, and she has lived with a secret that’s haunted her since childhood. For any hope of survival, she must overcome the demons of her past and become a ruthless mermaid killer.
For the first time, Eriana Kwai’s Massacre warriors are female, and Meela must fight for her people’s freedom on the Pacific Ocean’s deadliest battleground.
And here is the Prologue!
Somewhere on the Pacific Ocean
The young man aimed his crossbow at the water, ready to fire a bolt of solid iron at the first glimpse of flesh beneath the surface.
“Sir,” he said, “shouldn’t we have seen one by now?”
The captain turned his back to the salty wind, jaw tight. “They know we’re here.”
“So what are they doing?”
He followed the captain’s gaze. Blackness merged with the empty grey horizon in every direction. A long silence passed, filled only by gentle swells lapping against the ship.
The captain drew his own crossbow.
“Forming a plan.”
All twenty men aboard the ship readied their weapons, reacting in a chain until the last man at the stern took steady aim at the waves.
“Make ready your iron, men,” shouted the captain. “We have ripples approaching off the port side.”
A handful of places in the water puckered, as if something lingered just below the surface. The sea was too black to tell.
Then it happened. Fifty, maybe sixty sea demons burst from the water and slammed against the ship. The men wasted no time. They reacted with trained speed and agility as the demons thrust stones and jagged shells into the wood, both to break holes in the ship and to scale the sides. The men picked them off with bolts of iron and watched them fall one by one back into the sea.
But they were outnumbered. Soon the demons were upon the ship, pulling themselves across the deck with bony arms.
The young man had already shot a dozen and the water reddened with each passing second.
Slow scraping sounds threatened him from behind. He whirled around, crossbow ready. Burning eyes met his, and sharp teeth, bared to rip into his flesh. He gripped the trigger, felt the bow tighten—
And the demon was gone. The young man stared into the wide gaze of a girl his own age. With a startled cry, he jerked his aim so the bolt barely missed her.
She held a black shell in her hand, sharp at the edges and ready to use as a club. But she didn’t raise it. She just looked at him.
He lowered his crossbow.
Her blonde hair fell heavily over her shoulders, dripping beads of water down her naked chest and stomach, pooling where her torso joined her tail.
He blinked, but made no other motion—where her torso joined her tail. Scales faded into flesh like some sort of beautiful, green and tan sunset.
She pulled herself closer.
“Stay back,” said the young man, unsure what prompted him to hesitate.
He looked into her eyes—emeralds surrounded by pearl white—where moments ago they had burned red. Her sharp teeth had retracted behind rosy lips. The seaweed-coloured flesh of her upper body was now olive and raised with goose bumps from the icy wind.
“Hanu aii,” she whispered. Do not fear. She spoke his language.
He loosened his grip on the crossbow, studying her. She lifted a frail arm and pushed the hair from her eyes, then motioned him forwards.
His pulse quickened as he stared at the beautiful girl.
“Hanu aii,” she said again, her voice resonating sweetly, as if she sang without singing.
Suddenly, he was kneeling in front of her, level with her luminous eyes. The sounds around him faded but for the soft purr in the base of her throat.
She reached up and held an icy hand to his cheek, not for a moment breaking eye contact. The hand slid behind his head and pulled his face towards hers, slowly but firmly. He inhaled her sweet breath.
“No!”
He flinched. He turned to see the captain racing towards them, aiming his crossbow at the maiden.
The young man grasped the scene around him. The ship was empty. A few stray weapons and barrels bobbed serenely in the water. Blood soaked the deck in places, and even the main mast had a splatter across the bottom.
The captain fired wide. Before he could reload and aim again, the sea demon put a hand on the young man’s chin and pulled his gaze back to hers.
Her eyes blazed red. Her skin rippled into the rotten colour of seaweed. Her ears grew pointed and long like sprouting coral. She opened her mouth to reveal a row of deadly teeth.
The young man screamed.
The demon pulled him against her with more strength than three men combined, and they dove headfirst off the side of the ship.
They disappeared into the blood-red water.
~~~
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Friday First Chapter Reveal & Giveaway ~ A Murder of Magpies
Posted: October 3, 2014 in Book Promos, giveaways, thriller, YA FantasyTags: A Murder of Magpies, Author Sarah Bromley
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Welcome to this week’s M9B Friday Reveal!
This week, we are revealing the first chapter for
A Murder of Magpies by Sarah Bromley
presented by Month9Books!
Be sure to enter the giveaway found at the end of the post!
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Winter in Black Orchard, Wisconsin, is long and dark, and sixteen-year-old Vayda Silver prays the snow will keep the truth and secrecy of the last two years buried. Hiding from the past with her father and twin brother, Vayda knows the rules: never return to the town of her mother’s murder, and never work a Mind Game where someone might see.
No one can know the toll emotions take on Vayda, how emotion becomes energy in her hands, or how she can’t control the destruction she causes. But it’s not long before her powers can no longer be contained. The truth is dangerously close to being exposed, placing Vayda and her family at risk.
Until someone quiets the chaos inside her.
Unwanted. That’s all Ward Ravenscroft has ever been. To cope, he numbs the pain of rejection by denying himself emotions of any kind. Yet Vayda stirs something in him. He can’t explain the hold she has on him–inspiring him with both hope and fear. He claims not to scare easily, except he doesn’t know what her powers can do. Yet.
Just as Vadya and Ward draw closer, she finds the past isn’t so easily buried. And when it follows the Silvers to Black Orchard, it has murder in mind.
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Title: A Murder of Magpies
Publication date: October 28, 2014
Publisher: Month9Books, LLC.
Author: Sarah Bromley
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Enjoy Chapter One! Happy Reading!
Chapter One
Vayda
Disaster came as a boy in a Catholic school uniform. That boy was my brother, Jonah.
We’d seen disaster, somehow crawled out from the ruins, and lived. It didn’t just happen, all explosive and bombastic so we knew everything changed. A real disaster began with a spark of fire that rose in the air and snuffed out. When the ash landed, it was still hot enough to burn, and from that ember, everything we knew went up in flames.
It happened before. I had reason to fear it would happen again.
My fingers drummed on the time-scarred armrest of a chair in Monsignor Judd’s office. Someone had etched a cross into the wood five, ten, maybe twenty years ago. A saint’s stare bore down on me from the stained-glass window; no comfort lay in his face, only my guilt for not knowing the saint’s name. Outside the office, Monsignor stood, fingers steepled, while the heating vent blew the draping of his cassock. His ear angled to the young nun whispering with him over the manila folder of Jonah’s permanent record. Curls snaked from her nun’s habit, and her eyes slid to watch me. Dull, dark. Nearly dead.
My hands grew warmer. I forced my breathing to slow. Calm down, Vayda girl. Nothing to get worked up over yet.
Not easy when I was a human magnet for emotion.
Slouching in his chair, Jonah fidgeted with a hole in his blue trousers. I always thought he’d blow our cover someday, but that didn’t mean I was ready for it. A bruise purpled his cheekbone. His heat, a mix of emotion and energy, radiated to further prickle my hands until they were scorching. I needed to cool down, put everything on ice to stabilize Jonah and myself. I exhaled in hope of a cold breath. My twin’s fury was more than I could absorb.
You outdid yourself this time. I pointed the thought to his mind like a laser. Do you honestly think fighting with Marty Pifkin is worth all this trouble?
He avoided eye contact, naturally. That didn’t mean he didn’t listen. Silent to all but me, he answered, Dati’s already gonna read me the riot act. Don’t give me any grief, especially since I was defending you.
Defending me from Marty Pifkin of all people. Let it go. What’s done is done. I didn’t know whether to give my brother a good wallop upside the head like our mom would have or pray we’d skate on by. Keep at it, Jonah, and people will notice what you can do. Throwing a desk without using your hands isn’t exactly wisdom for the ages.
Why don’t you keep that in mind the next time you lose it and break all the light bulbs in the science lab? He swiped a rogue strand of long, dark hair from his face. You lack subtlety and finesse, Sis.
Subtlety. Finesse. Words sixteen-year-old boys knew ohso-much about. I choked on a laugh and lowered my eyes to the ratty, blue Chucks I paired with my Catholic school plaid, wool skirt, and tights. Even if it wasn’t my school uniform, I wore dresses most days. I could move my legs and didn’t feel so caged in.
Brushing away the glass dust on my thighs, I ignored the blood drying on my hands and clasped them together. They were less dangerous that way.
The door to the office lobby opened. The new nun resembled a black dandelion seed as she glided into Monsignor’s office. She was followed by the head priest and my father. The scent of wood dust clung to him. Most parents visiting St. Anthony of Padua High School rolled in wearing suits or golf attire, and then there was Dad with his Fat Tire shirt and varnish-splattered jeans—evidence he’d been working on a restoration when called to the school. Even if the fight between my brother and Marty hadn’t already strained my mental barriers, I still would’ve noticed Dad’s disappointment.
Dad lived by so-called cardinal rules. Looking at Jonah, there was only one rule I thought: There’s a devil on every man’s shoulder, whispering in his ear. Only he decides if he’ll throw salt at the devil or feed him his soul.
“What happened, Magpie?” Dad asked, a Georgia-born drawl buttering his voice as he checked out the cuts on my hand.
“Broken glass, Dati,” I answered.
“You ought to be more mindful, don’t you think?” His question had nothing and everything to do with breaking glass.
Monsignor cleared his throat. “Sorry to have you back in my office so soon, Mr. Silver.”
“Twice in one week is overkill.” Dad stood behind Jonah and me, a hand on each of our shoulders.
“I’ve spoken with our new staff psychologist, Sister Polly Tremblay.” Monsignor introduced the new nun. “She was hired this year after Dr. Fernandez took a position in Madison. Our newest Sister is a licensed practitioner, educator, and bride of Christ.”
Dad raised an eyebrow. “Is she now? That’s all so very impressive, Sister. Do you go by Sister Polly or Sister Tremblay?”
The nun blinked twice, no emotion registering on her face.
“Sister Tremblay. Polly is from my past life.” Monsignor grabbed the manila folder from the nun’s hands and hurried through his words. “Sister Tremblay has acquainted herself with Jonah’s file and feels he may benefit from some sessions with her. If I may be frank, Mr. Silver, your family came to Wisconsin two years ago, but of the people I’ve spoken with, no one really knows you. Certain appearances are important, especially for an institution such as St. Anthony’s. I’m sorry to have to say anything in front of your children, but you must all be aware of the situation I’m in while I’m deciding Jonah’s punishment.”
“You’re a widower running an antiques business,” Sister Tremblay added.
“What’s that got to do with anything?” Dad snapped.
“The adjustment period after moving, especially when grieving, can be prolonged. In that regard, two years isn’t very long at all,” Sister Tremblay answered. “Teenagers often cope by acting out. If you’re as busy as I suspect—”
“I’ve got time for my kids,” Dad argued. “Always.”
The heating vent blasted more hot air into the office. My brother burned with frustration, and my shoulders tightened. I cracked my knuckles, all too aware of how the lights dimmed.
Monsignor Judd let out a sigh. “Sister Tremblay is only suggesting that talking to someone away from family could be good for Jonah.”
There was no “outside the family.” There never was. Hard to make friends and get past the New Kid stigma when we were either cooped up at home or at Dad’s shop under his watch. No wonder our classmates thought we were weird—we were.
The hairs on the back of my neck stiffened. I shifted in my chair for a better view into the lobby where another boy waited to talk with Monsignor. The hair curling near his jaw was the color of liquid cinnamon dashed with espresso, and a wire tethered an iPod to his ears as he held an icepack to his bottom lip.
Jonah’s sort-of friend, Ward.
He averted his eyes from mine.
My hands grew hot while the overhead lights flickered, drawing everyone’s attention to the ceiling. Dad’s grip pumped my shoulder.
Jonah stretched his legs. “I’m not hanging out with no damn shrink. Marty Pifkin’s got everyone wrapped around his finger.”
“Here we go again,” I muttered. “Jonah, stop it.”
“That guy is a creeper, and—”
I glanced to Dad for sympathy. “Marty asked to compare answers on our homework and Jonah lost it.”
“—he was bothering Vayda,” my brother talked over me.
“Guys like that shouldn’t be talking to her. He’s gadje. I didn’t throw the first punch, didn’t ask for Ward’s help. I barely know the kid.”
Monsignor waited until Jonah and I both quieted down.
“What’s gadje?”
Jonah gave Dad a pleading stare. We never let others knowthe meaning of words we’d grown up with, but Dad confessed,
“To some, it means outsider, though you could say we’re the outsiders here.”
Monsignor gave a reluctant nod. “Marty claims Jonahthrew a desk. That’s not behavior that will go unpunished.”
“And the physics lab? Every light was broken.” Sister Tremblay crossed her arms.
I sank into my chair and hid behind my hair. No one could avoid those dull eyes. I wanted out of the office. Now.
The Flickering of the lights grew faster. I shuddered, not cold, but burning up. The poster of a kitten clinging to a clothesline while cheering “Hang in there!” obviously didn’t relate to how fragile my grip was when so many emotions flooded a room. Usually I kept it together with mental barriers to deflect the constant flow of others’ feelings, but so much tension…
“You’re seriously suggesting a couple of kids broke every light bulb just like that?” Dad’s voice rose. He gestured to the palsied lights. “Y’all would be better off hiring an electrician before the school burns down.”
The room skewed left, and my vision blurred, head dizzied. Too hot, cluttered. My hands—I shut my eyes. Monsignor and Sister Tremblay had to be staring, but I couldn’t worry about them.
Energy. Rising.
Crack!
A fracture drove down the length of the fluorescent light above the desk. Sister Tremblay yelped and snatched Jonah’s folder to her chest.
“Hell of a power surge.” Jonah’s black eyes searched for a way into my mind. Not gonna let him in, not this time. He was worried, but nothing was wrong, nothing at all, except that I felt like I could pass out.
“Vayda, go get some fresh air,” Dad ordered. “You’re flushed.”
Monsignor dismissed me, and with the expected curtsey before hoisting my backpack onto my shoulder, I cracked my knuckles one last time to diffuse the energy swelling in my hands. I stepped out of the office, out of the glow of the stained-glass window, and paced near the chairs where Ward waited. Jonah started this whole mess. Marty had done nothing to me—this time. Marty never listened until Jonah made him. Ever since that first fight, Jonah had his anger centered on Marty. Anything Jonah felt, I felt ten times worse. When he was happy, he was very happy, but when he was angry, he was furious.
Mom had been the same way.
“I promise you won’t go belly-up if you hold still.” Ward’s voice was deep, raw honey. His head rested against his chair, his left eye cracked open, watching me.
I gave him a weak smile. I liked his voice.
Ward had been at our school only since Monday, and already the social boneyard where Jonah and I roamed had claimed him. After we transferred in following Christmas break nearly two years ago, we tried blending with the nameless, faceless uniforms, but it wasn’t so simple. The other students never warmed to us, and we hadn’t to them. We weren’t from here, didn’t look or act like them. We were among the Avoided, but, as of yesterday, we had a shadow. A gadje shadow.
“How’s your hand?” Ward asked. I glanced to my brother and father talking to Monsignor. That Jonah hadn’t chased off Ward was a tacit tolerance of him. “A few cuts. I’ll live.” I twisted my black hair, skimming my hips. “You hardly needed to play the white knight. Marty’s not much of a dragon, more like a salamander.”
“Maybe I like fighting salamanders.”
Chipped, gray polish colored his nails. Artsy in an I-don’t give- a-damn-I’ll-wear-it-if-it’s-clean way. If Monsignor noticed, that’d earn Ward a detention or two.
“Listen, gadjo.” He didn’t deserve social devastation all because of my cavalier brother. He needed to back off from us. While he still could. “Marty won’t bother you if you don’t bother him. Tangling with him will never be forgotten.”
His mouth twitched, neither a grin nor a frown. “I don’t scare easily.”
He slipped on his headphones once more. Must be nice to be so untouched, unfazed. Must be peaceful.
“Hey,” I called. He lifted one side of his headphones. “What are you listening to?”
“Music.”
Smart ass.
Thud! A chair had overturned in Monsignor’s office and rocked ever so slightly. A chair no one had been sitting in. Dad’s muffled voice came fast as he pulled Jonah by the arm. From the dark expression on his face, we were in for a major talking to.
“We need to leave. Now,” Dad said as he steered Jonah out of the office.
He whisked us past the sanctuary where our footfalls echoed on wood floors polished by nuns until glistening. The school was a dour extension off a century-old Catholic parish. The walls in the language arts wing were painted rich blue, the Virgin’s color. Hung between classrooms were carvings from the Stations of the Cross, thick with dust except for Christ’s gaze, which followed us and knew my family’s secrets and sins.
Outside was better. Riding in the car, the windows lowered to allow in the
Sarah Bromley lives near St. Louis with her husband, three children, and two dogs. She likes the quiet hours of morning when she can drink coffee in peace, stare into the woods behind her house, and wonder what monsters live there. When she’s not writing or wrangling small children, she can be found volunteering at a stable for disabled riders.
Connect with the Author: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads
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Three eBook copies of A Murder of Magpies (International)
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The Friday 56 #39 ~ The Abyss Above Us
Posted: October 3, 2014 in Aliens, horror, Science Fiction, The Friday 56Tags: Author Ryan Notch, The Abyss Above Us
Welcome to The Friday 56 hosted by Freda’s Voice.
This is a really fun meme!
The only rules are to grab a book (any book), turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader and find a sentence or a few (no spoilers) that grabs you and post it.
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October is here and it’s going to go dark on fuonlyknew.
I have so many scary books to tell you about this month.
The Abyss Above Us
Book #1
by Ryan Notch
My 56
The wall fell out and there it was, the door behind the wall. All at once Shaw was no longer hot. His sweat quickly turned to such intense chills that he thought he might see his breath when he exhaled.
The thought came unbidden to him, Oh my God, what have I done?
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Synopsis
There is a place in the sky where there are no stars, no matter how deeply the astronomers gaze into it. Atop a lonely mountain stands a mighty telescope that turns towards the coordinates of this abyss nightly, as if drawn to it. Receiving its commands from a computer that hasn’t existed for twenty years.
Introverted network engineer Shaw is brought in to find out why.
All too soon he finds that while the night sky may be dark, it is not silent. A signal is coming from those coordinates. Creating a sound liquid and hypnotic with layers of data that suggest anything but randomness. A siren’s song that leads to horrific suicides in everyone who listens to it.
By the time Shaw realizes this, it’s too late to stop the signal he sent back into the night. A signal obviously received, for the abyss has begun to move.
And it’s moving towards us.
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I picked this up as a free download from Amazon. The cover art and blurb were interesting. When I first started reading it I didn’t think it was going to be very scary.
Then it started to affect my sleep. You know how you are almost asleep and you’re startled awake because you feel like you’re falling? That happened to me after reading this. Once I was awake again, the book crept into my head. This happened several times and it happened the next night too. I have only a little bit left to read, but I’m setting it aside until the weekend when I can read it during the day. I don’t know what it is, but something is creeping me out here.
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Leave your link and I’ll drop by your 56!
A Chiller Thriller! Say Nothing Of What You See ~ Blurb Blitz & Giveaway
Posted: October 2, 2014 in Blitz, giveaways, thriller, YATags: Author Christy Effinger, Goddess Fish Tours, Say Nothing Of What You See
I’m thrilled to be hosting a stop on this blitz tour.
The title, Say Nothing Of What You See, begged for me to take a closer look.
Then I gazed upon the cover. Oh man, it’s perfect.
Just look at her eyes, her expression.
Do you think she’s stunned? Afraid? Mesmerized?
What does she see I wonder.
This is one I have got to read.
Check it out. Read the peek inside the book.
And don’t forget to enter the giveaway!
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Say Nothing of What You See
by Christy Effinger
BLURB:
When her aunt steps off a grain elevator into the emptiness of a prairie evening, Mira Piper loses her one protector. Chloe, her flighty mother, impulsively drags her daughter to Bramblewood, an isolated spiritualist retreat in northern Michigan, run by the enigmatic Dr. Virgil Simon.
Chloe plans to train as a medium but it’s Mira who discovers she can communicate with the dead. When her mother abandons her, Mira discovers a darker aspect to Bramblewood: the seemingly kind doctor has a sinister side and a strange control over his students.
Then one winter’s day Troy Farrington arrives, to fulfill his mother’s dying wish and deliver her letter to the doctor. But calamity strikes and he finds himself a captive, tended by a sympathetic Mira. Haunted by her dead aunt and desperate to escape Bramblewood, Mira makes a devil’s deal with Dr. Simon. But fulfillment comes with a steep cost…betrayal.
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Doesn’t this sound chilling! I was born in Michigan and the fact the story is set there has me equally excited. I wonder if I’ll recognize anything. Here is a good one for your Halloween reading list!
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Check out the Excerpt
I remember the way she fell.
I remember, too, the moment just before it happened, when I came home from my summer job at the snow cone stand and found the house empty.
Aunt Charlotte had not set foot outside her bedroom for days, and now suddenly she was gone. She left a candle burning on the kitchen table, a damp towel on the bathroom floor, an empty shot glass on the nightstand. Her bedroom smelled of rose lotion and whiskey.
One of her straw sandals lay in the living room. The other lay on its side in the hall, as if she had hastily kicked it off on her way out the door. It meant trouble, all right, if Aunt Charlotte was barefoot. She never did anything sane when she was barefoot.
I picked up the sandals and stepped outside. A fat bumblebee ascended from one of the peonies by the porch steps, drunk with nectar. He banged stupidly against the screen door once, twice, and then careened around the house, clearly annoyed.
My gaze swept across our small yard and down the country road to the grain elevator. From somewhere far away came the discordant wail of a train. I glanced along the tracks and out into the cornfield before turning back to the grain elevator. What I saw there made me drop the sandals.
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AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Christy Effinger’s poetry, fiction, and essays have appeared in various print and online publications. She lives near Indianapolis. Her website is www.christyeffinger.com.
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Wild Rose Press / Amazon / B&N
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$25 Amazon Gift Card
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