I’m in love. In love with Yancy Lazarus!
When Author James Hunter approached me about reading Strange Magic, the title had me curious.
I checked out his book and knew right away it was for me.
It’s just released and available HERE on Amazon.
Come on in and meet Yancy.
It’s some feaky deaky hoodoo!
Strange Magic
A Yancy Lazarus Novel
by James A. Hunter
My Review
Yancy’s having one of those days, weeks…. Starts out innocently enough and then goes to s!#t.
It all started with a simple phone call from a friend in need. Now Yancy’s in a world of hurt and it ain’t gonna be getting better any time soon..
“I’d been pumped full of tranquilizers,busted a hole in the back wall of The Full House, got shot in the ass, and had, eventually, passed out in a dog pee under a car. Right?”
“So, how’d I end up Saran-wrapped to a table in white-picker suburbia?”
Yancy Lazarus (AKA The Fixer) He drinks too much. Smokes too much. And gambles too much. Or so they say. He just likes to live large.
He can do magic, using the VIS – Latin word meaning force or energy. Yancy’s neat trick is he can manipulate energy, using things like water and fire. But a big gun comes in handy too when he comes face to face with the Rakshasa, their face kind of like a hyena, with a mouth full of shark teeth, beady eyes, over long arms and gray flesh. Nasty things.
He’s 65 and looks 45 due to the longevity the Vis gives him. The FBI has his mug on a Most Wanted poster for domestic terrorism and murder, among other things. Sure, he’s killed, but most were of the non-human type.
Ya gotta love Yancy. He’s a shit-kickin, blues lovin, rambler and gambler, playing piano for drinks, gambling to feed himself, and living out of the back of his precious El Camino. A true nomad and bad ass.
From the first paragraph
“The piano keys bobbed and danced under the pressure of my fingers. Music – low, slow, and soulful – drifted through the club, merging and twirling with wandering clouds of blue-gray smoke. So many places have no-smoking laws these days, it seems like there’s nowhere in the country where a guy can take a drag from a cigarette in peace. Everyone is so worries about their health, they make damn sure you stay healthy by proxy.”
to the last I had a rip snortin time and can’t wait to see what kind of Hell Yancy winds up in next.
Strange Magic is Author James A. Hunter’s debut novel. They say a writer gets better with each books he writes. If this is true, I can’t imagine what he has in store for this series.
5 Stars
A Tip from Yancy Lazarus
“I cannot tell you the number of fights that start and end in back aleys. Tip: if you find yourself in a bar and about to walk into a dark alley with a guy who would like to do you violence, don’t. Just don’t do it. Not ever.”
“Here’s another tip: sometimes, bad choices are the only ones available.”
Fun tags.
McGoon. Thugzilla.
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Synopsis
Yancy Lazarus is having a bad day: there’s a bullet lodged in his butt cheek, his face looks like the site of a demolition derby, and he’s been saran-wrapped to a banquet table. He never should have answered the phone. Stupid bleeding heart—helping others in his circles is a good way to get dead.
Just ask the gang members ripped to pieces by some kind of demonic nightmare in LA. As a favor to a friend, Yancy agrees to take a little looksee into the massacre and boom, he’s stuck in a turf war between two rival gangs, which both think he’s pinch-hitting for the other side. Oh, and there’s also a secretive ass-hat with some mean ol’ magical chops and a small army of hyena-faced, body- snatching baddies. It might be time to seriously reconsider some of his life choices.
Yancy is a bluesman, a rambler, a gambler, but not much more. Sure, he can do a little magic—maybe even more than just a little magic—but he knows enough to keep his head down and stay clear of freaky-deaky hoodoo like this business in LA. Somehow though, he’s been set up to take a real bad fall—the kind of very permanent fall that leaves a guy with a toe tag. Unless, of course, he can find out who is responsible for the gangland murders, make peace in the midst of the gang feud, and take out said magical ass-hat before he hexes Yancy into an early retirement. Easy right? Stupid. Bleeding. Heart.
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About Author James A. Hunter
Okay … the last one is only in my imagination.
Currently, I work as a missionary and international aid worker with my wife and young daughter in Bangkok, Thailand. When I’m not working, writing, or spending time with family, I occasionally eat and sleep. Strange Magic is my debut novel and the first in a planned series of books featuring Yancy Lazarus. Hope you enjoy.
Website ~ Facebook ~ Goodreads ~ Amazon ~ Twitter
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The author is giving away three eBook copies of Strange Magic.
Mobi or ePub format (Winners Choice)
The entry is easy.
Just leave an email address so I can contact you if you win and answer this question:
“What magical power would you like to have?”
Giveaway ends January 30th.
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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!
Parched
Georgia Clark is an Australian writer and performer based in Brooklyn. She is the author of the young adult novels SHE’S WITH THE BAND (Allen & Unwin) and sci-fi/romance PARCHED (Holiday House). Widely published online and in print. Won some awards/grants/residencies. Has a play on at the NY Fringe festival. Pretty keen on cheese plates.
