This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. The author will award a $10 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly chosen winner via Rafflecopter. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour. NOTE: This book is FREE this week as part of the Kindle Select program.
They see death. Can they share a life?
Ruth Scott can read the energy of every person she meets. Then she meets Deacon Walker. She can see his ice-blue eyes, his black hair, and his gorgeous face. But this beautiful stranger has no aura.
Deacon is just as unsettled by Ruth—and, having spent more than two hundred years ushering souls to Purgatory, Deacon is seldom shocked by anything. As he helps Ruth to understand her true nature, she awakens desires that he decided long ago a Reaper can’t afford.
A demon invasion forces Deacon to confront the darkness in his own past even as he fights to save the human souls he’s charged to protect. When he’s taken captive, his first concern is for Ruth. But Ruth just might be able to save herself—and the Reaper she can’t live without—if she can learn to wield her newfound powers.
Enjoy an excerpt:
“I don’t want any trouble, Kylen.” Nervous, she scanned the parking lot again for a possible ally. “I have cold stuff in the trunk and errands to run. If you want Deacon, I’m sure you know how to find him.”
“You know my name? How sweet. Then I guess Deacon’s told you about me?” He eased up closer and cocked his head at an odd angle that made his eyes look even creepier…if that were even possible.
“I heard him call you by your name when we were in…down…below,” she said, unable to call it what it was: Purgatory.
He was right in her face now. Uncomfortable and scared, she palmed the knife in her jacket pocket, wondering when and whether she should show it or use it. Kylen slid a dry hand down the side of her cheek and around the back of her neck, pulling her closer to his face. She stiffened and vacillated between stabbing him through her jacket pocket and screaming.
He was so close. She could hurt him at least. Screaming might also be effective, but either of those options would lead to lots of questions, possibly a confrontation with the police, and the rest of the day would be toast. Besides, she had no explanation that would not land her under “observation” for several hours, if not longer.
She released the knife. Instead, she slid her hand into her pants pocket and extracted a handful of salt, hurling it directly into his eyes. He cursed and bellowed like a wounded animal, clawing at his face. She pushed him hard, and he stumbled far enough backward that she was able to get the Lincoln’s big-ass door open and scramble inside. Slamming the door shut, she popped the electric locks. She turned the motor over, slammed the car into Reverse and peeled out of the parking lot and onto Main Street.
About the Author:
Lisa has always enjoyed reading about monsters in love and now she writes about them, because monsters need love too.
She adores beasties of all sorts, fictional as well as real, and has a farm full of them in her Southwest Missouri home, including: one child, one husband, two dogs, two cats, a dozen hens, thousands of Italian bees, and a guinea pig.
She may or may not keep a complete zombie apocalypse bug-out bag in her trunk at all times, including a machete. Just. In. Case.
This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Deborah will award a $50 Amazon or BN GC to one randomly chosen winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on her tour.
“Sending you an SOS.”
When psychic Trudy Tucker hears this plaintive cry in her mind and then connects psychically with a little girl’s kidnapper, she is drawn to a small town in Missouri where everyone is suspect – including herself and her lover, celebrated psychic detective Levi Wolfe. As she and Levi work together to sort through whom and what to trust, an innocent life hangs in the balance.
Watch the book video:
Enjoy an excerpt:
A shudder raced through her and her stomach knotted. Nausea rose up to her throat as darkness descended in her mind.
“I’m sending you an SOS. Sending you an SOS. An SOS.” Can you find me? Can you hear me?
“I hear you,” Trudy whispered, answering the small, trembling voice.
“Did you say something, Rachel? Are you singing something?” This was a different voice in her head. A deep bass, but gentle. Coaxing, cajoling, cunning.
The darkness parted like a curtain in Trudy’s mind and Rachel came into view. She sat in a child’s white rocking chair, her red tennis shoes dangling inches from the floor. A wedge of purple discolored her right cheek. Her lips twitched and her chin quivered.
“Be a good girl and do what you’re told and that won’t happen to you again. No one wants to hurt you. You gotta obey, though. Can’t say ‘no’ to your elders. Your mama should have taught you that.”
“It hurts.”
“Want me to kiss it and make it well?”
Rachel rounded her shoulders, making herself smaller. “Nuh-uh.”
“Okay then. I could make it stop hurting though . . . I’ll read you a Bible story. How about that? Remember what we talked about? God is way up here . . . then there’s his disciples right here . . . and then your elders . . . and you’re way down below that.”
Glimpses of hands . . . moving up and down, illustrating the levels. Dirty nails, dry skinned knuckles.
“Where’s Mommy?”
“Are you hearing me? This is important.”
“I want to talk to Mommy.”
“She doesn’t want to talk to you! God gave you to us. Your Mommy is busy serving the Lord and now you’re here serving us because it’s been ordained. Quit touching your face! That won’t help it heal. Come sit in my lap while I read. Did you hear me ask nice? You won’t like it if I have to ask twice. That’s my good girl. You act like this all the time and you won’t get any more boo-boos.”
Was he kissing her? Was he licking her?
About the Author:Author of more than 40 novels, Deborah lives in Oklahoma. She has been a full-time writer since she graduated from the University of Tulsa. She worked for a few years as a reporter for newspapers before becoming a freelance writer. Deborah’s first novel was published in the late 1970s and her books have been published by Jove, New American Library, Harlequin, Silhouette, and Avon. She has been inducted into the Oklahoma Authors Hall of Fame and she is a charter member of the Romance Writers of America. She is widely published in non-fiction and writes and edits for a magazine focused on small businesses. Deborah taught fiction writing for more than 10 years at a community college. She is currently working on a series of novels featuring two psychics who work with police nationwide to identify and track serial murderers.
This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. The author will award three randomly drawn winners via Rafflecopter an epub copy of The SEAL's Angel. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
The SEAL's Angel is the third story in the Mystery Angel Romance [MAR] series. Each stand-alone love story in the series has an angel hidden in the plot, and the angel's identity isn't revealed until the finale -- unless the reader figures it out first.
In The SEAL's Angel, Navy SEAL Sean MacKay's teammate is murdered after stealing a deadly nerve-gas formula from Syrian terrorists. Naval Intelligence believes MacKay's teammate was a traitor and shipped the stolen formula to his sister in the states for safekeeping. MacKay is given orders to find the sister before the terrorists do and to retrieve the stolen formula at all costs.
Foreclosure looms for Cory Rigatero as she fights to keep her rustic resort near Mt. St. Helens afloat after her brother deserted her to join the SEAL Teams. Cory's whole world dives into a tailspin when Sean MacKay shows up at her resort with the news of her brother's death and the wild suspicion her brother may have sent her traitorous classified documents. No way will Cory trust MacKay -- the man who once seduced her and then vanished into the night without a trace.
Enjoy an excerpt:
"I thought I'd go out front and see if Vern needed any help," Cory said.
"He's all done," Cook said and handed Garth a dog biscuit from a jar on the counter. "He had a young man out front helping him when I peeked out the window."
"A young man? You mean Jasper?"
"No, I've never seen this one around here before." Cook went back to her pot. "Handsome, though," she added. "They headed for the barn."
"I better go see who it is," Cory said, already striding for the back door.
She called out as soon as she reached the barn, and Vern hollered from his small office at the back. Cory threaded her way through all the equipment in the back half of the barn and stopped dead in the doorway of the shop that doubled as Vern's small office.
Cook's stranger stood up when she appeared in the doorway and literally took Cory's breath away.
Shaggy hair and dark brown curls perfectly teamed with a matching beard was her first thought. Her second thought was broad -- really broad -- shoulders beneath his black flannel shirt, and hips so narrow his black jeans sagged a bit on his frame. His sleeves were rolled up, and those forearms and biceps belonged to a working man.
Good grief! Stop staring Cory!
She jerked her gaze to his face, and blue eyes stared back. Blue eyes that caught her gaze like a predator traps prey. Blue eyes that twinkled with just enough devilment to cause a wicked flutter in her belly. Blue eyes that looked startlingly familiar.
Maybe she just wanted them to look familiar, so she could already know this handsome man.
"Mac here is our new help."About the Author:
Petie spent a large part of her career working as a biologist at Walt Disney World -- "The Most Magical Place on Earth" -- where she enjoyed working in the land of fairy tales by day and creating her own romantic fairy tales by night. She eventually said good-bye to her "day" job in order to write her stories full-time.
Petie is a member of Romance Writers of America, and she shares homes in Tennessee and Florida with her horticulturist husband, a spoiled-rotten English Springer spaniel addicted to pimento-stuffed green olives, and a noisy Nanday conure named Sassy who made a cameo appearance in Angel to the Rescue.
This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. D.L. Lewis is awarding one randomly drawn commenter via Rafflecopter a $10 Amazon/BN GC. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour. NOTE: This book is on sale for only $0.99!!
Kitten, an American tabby residing in England, is a frustrated cat. He knows his place in the world: he was born to kill. Killing, after all, is what felines are supposed to do. Confined within his Lady's house, however, the young fellow is deprived of the opportunity to hunt live prey. The mansion is a sterile playground for a predator; offering nothing more than furniture which allows itself to be brutalized far too easily. The ambitious cat is bored and hungry for a challenge.
Kitten learns of a passage hidden in his Lady's library: the Door, which leads to an unknown world. The cat has been told that the source of all evil dwells openly in this place. The feline is eager to fight the sinister personage and goes through the Door with no hesitation.
The tabby finds himself in what appears to be a forest like any other in England. It doesn't take long for him to learn that this is a very different place.
Written in the basic style of classic stories like THE LORD OF THE RINGS, WATERSHIP DOWN, and THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA, this novel can be appreciated on different levels. To some readers, it's an allegorical tale: thought-provoking and filled with symbolism. To others, it's an adventure-filled page-turner.
Enjoy an excerpt:
Twilight was too short in this world; expressing itself in a brief moment of pale-purple light that came and went in a tantalizing flash. As the lavender glow vanished, darkest night swallowed the forest in a voracious bite; making it cry out in noises far colder than those of the warm pleasant morn: sounds dreadfully opposite to the birdsong and happy chatter that filled the wood earlier in the day. The force expressing itself now was redolent of hunger, fear, and longing: growls and whimpers punctuated by the staccato of scrabbling feet; whinings and whirrings that bespoke pursuit and flight; shrill screams articulating the futile desperation that comes before a violent end.
The fur along Kitten’s spine rose. Such terrors were foreign to a beloved house pet. In this wild, hungry place each and every bush could conceal a lurking predatory animal; a lion, perhaps, who would think nothing of making the cat into its evening meal. In his Lady’s house, the tabby had been king of beasts; the only beast, if truth be told, aside from an occasional mouse who might cross his path and flee at the sight of the tiny tiger. Excepting his Lady’s water atomizer, Kitten had found nothing to fear in his house. But this place: this wild, hungry place where a Shorthair counted as no more than a tasty dish; this wild, hungry place where rustlings and crunches seemed not mere noises but harbingers of impending death—this wild, hungry place was dreadful.
About the Author:
D. L. Lewis lives in northern California with a cello, four cats, and a crow named Harold. Where Wolves Talk is her first published novel; followed by Something in the House—California Gothic, Doppelgänger, and Fighting Back.
Where Wolves Talk is on sale at 99 cents (for a limited time) at Kindle and iBooks.
This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Debra will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn commenter via Rafflecopter. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
Fighting for his life after an ambush, Sheriff Josh Wellman awakes to find himself looking into the eyes of a real-life angel of mercy. Despite his groggy condition, he knows his life has changed the instant their hands touch.
Devastating heartbreak has left Mercy Smith's faith in tatters, her heart guarded against more loss. Her dedication to the air evac trauma team she leads has insulated her from the realities of the earth below, so now Josh faces the biggest challenge of his life.
Can he find a way around the walls that fortify her heart and convince this angel to stay on the ground with him? Can Mercy open herself to life again and find a way to restore her faith in God ... as well as love?
Enjoy an excerpt:
There were ample hands ready to do just that. Less than five minutes were required to load the patient and get the crew back in their seats before the helicopter took flight again. They had no time to waste, and the race with the invisible, yet ever-ticking, clock had begun.
Mercy began her in-flight assessment, speaking through the mike inside her helmet that linked her with the medical team at the hospital. Onboard technology allowed the doctors to hear her and monitor the patient’s vital readings in order to make the calls on what meds needed to be pushed in-flight. She and Paul worked quickly with long-practiced ease in the tight confines of the jet craft. For the time being, the patient held his own.
Mercy looked again at the readout from the overhead blood pressure machine. Her glance then fell to the face of the patient. She caught a slight flicker of his eyelids as he tried to lift them. On his second attempt, she found herself the focus of the bluest eyes she had ever seen. The thought came briefly that, given another situation, they might be quite mesmerizing, almost like watching the still waters of a serene lake. She hastily pushed the unbidden and whimsical thought to the side and returned to a professionally focused mindset. The oxygen mask kept him from speaking, but his eyes were quite eloquent and anything but calm, holding a mixture of pain, fear, and questions.
“Hang in there.” She tried to reassure him with her practiced, soothing tones. “We’ll have you on the ground at the hospital in just a few minutes. Squeeze my hand if you can understand me.” She placed her hand under his. Very slowly, long fingers moved to grasp hers. “Good job.”
About the Author:Born and raised in the Lone Star state of Texas, Debra grew up among horses, cowboys, wide open spaces, and real Texas Rangers. Pride in her state and ancestry knows no bounds and it is these heroes and heroines she loves to write about the most. She also draws upon a variety of life experiences including working with abused children, caring for baby animals at a major zoo, and owning a wedding planning business (ah, romance!).
Debra’s real pride and joys, however, are her son, an aspiring film actor, and a daughter with aspirations to join the Federal Bureau of Investigation. (more story ideas!) When she isn’t busy writing about tall Texans and feisty heroines, she can be found cheering on her Texas Tech Red Raiders, or heading off on another cruise adventure. She read her first romance...Janet Dailey's Fiesta San Antonio, over thirty years ago and became hooked on the genre. Writing contemporary western romances, is both her passion and dream come true, and she hopes her books will bring smiles...and sighs... to all who believe in happily-ever-after’s.
The Seymour Agency represents Debra and she is soon to have two contemporary romances published by Spencer Hill/Tulip Romance and Astraea Press. She loves to hear from other aspiring authors or readers via email at debraholtbooks@gmail.com.
This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Amy Impellizzeri will be awarding a signed copy of the book (US Only) and a $15 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
Five Things We Might Not Know About Amy
Fun!
Ok. Here goes.
1. Like Ian in Lemongrass Hope, I’m a pretty good craps player. My husband and I once sat next to John McCain at a craps table in Vegas. He rolled dice for over an hour. When we finally left the table, we thanked him for his service … and the $900 his roll had won for us!
2. I’m not afraid of spiders, snakes, tunnels, or the Bermuda Triangle. The only thing I’m currently afraid of are 90 degree water park slides which my oldest always insists I go on with him.
3. I go to a lot of fundraising events, and I have pretty decent luck at the silent auctions. Probably because I usually bid on things no one else is bidding on!
4. I’ve never missed a deadline – either as a writer or a lawyer. Once, a brief of mine was stuck in a fed ex warehouse not too far from my office – in danger of missing its due date - and I convinced a delightful security guard to let me climb up on the warehouse conveyor belt – in my navy blue lawyer suit and block heels in order to sort through the packages to find and retrieve my brief so I would not miss the deadline. True story.
5. The original version of Lemongrass Hope had a character that shared the name of an old boyfriend. (I won’t tell you which boy or which character). Just before the book went to print, I changed the name to avoid, you know, confusion. :-)
Set in the past, and present, LEMONGRASS HOPE is a captivating and unpredictable love story, with a dose of magical realism and time travel. LEMONGRASS HOPE weaves together ordinary lives and events to tell an extraordinary tale of connection, loss, renewal, and of course, hope. As Kate Sutton's decade-long marriage to Rob erodes and unravels, Kate fears that the secrets she guards from the world, including Rob's emergency room proposal, and a whirlwind love affair from her past, have always doomed her fate. When Kate unwittingly receives a glimpse at what her life could have been had she made different choices all those years ago, it is indeed all she could have ever wanted. A confirmation of her greatest hope ... and her greatest fears. Read the book hailed by New York Times Best-selling authors and reviewers, including Jacquelyn Mitchard, Oprah's very first book club selection author.
Enjoy an excerpt:
“It seems you did not actually read my amazing piece on all of this in Time Travel, Inc.”
Kate laughed. “Is that for real? The real name of your magazine?”
“Well, yes. Seems it caused a bit of confusion with my Botswanan guide, as well. He saw me faxing some notes back to my editor and asked if I was really writing about time travel.”
“So you told him yes, naturally.”
“I actually did.” Ian looked only mildly sheepish when he said this.
“Anyway, that Botswanan guide invited me to drinks the next day. They make a drink down there from the fruit of the marula tree. It’s known to cure disease and do all sorts of things. So, over this decadent marula tree booze, my guide told me a story of a mystic in the delta who swears that through some combination of the fermented marula tree fruit and Botswanan agate, he can make things happen.”
“What things?”
“Well, time travel, of course.”
For a moment, Kate thought Ian was mocking her, or perhaps was a complete lunatic, but then he burst out laughing. “I know, crazy right? That’s what marula drink will do to you. At any rate, I have spent the last six months trying to convince my editor that there is another story down there in the delta – something about the mystic and the agate and the marula. And I’ve finally succeeded. If nothing else, I’m going to treat myself to one helluva marula drunk.”
Kate stopped eating and blinked hard at her plate of curry. She could not help but wonder what it would be like to drink marula booze in the Botswanan delta with this handsome man who seemed like he just might believe in time travel.
And who was making her want to believe as well.
About the Author:
Amy Impellizzeri is a reformed corporate litigator, former start-up executive, and best-selling author. In 2009, she left her 13-year litigation career to write and advocate for working women, later joining the executive team of the award-winning website, Hybrid Her (named by ForbesWoman as a “Top Website for Women” in 2010 and 2011). Through her work at Hybrid Her, and as Vice President, Community & Content, for its later re-brand, ShopFunder, Amy worked closely with hundreds of creative and inspiring entrepreneurs and fundraisers, writing and marketing their stories to new audiences.
In October 2014, Amy transitioned to full-time writer, with the publication of her first novel, Lemongrass Hope (Wyatt-MacKenzie 2014), which debuted as an Amazon best-seller (Romance/Fantasy and Romance/Time Travel). Oprah's very first Book Club Selection author and New York Times #1 Best-Selling Author, Jacquelyn Mitchard, has called Lemongrass Hope a "fine and fresh thing - a truly new story." Lemongrass Hope was featured by Library Journal and Foreword Reviews Magazine, and has been a favorite with Book Clubs and numerous Book Bloggers (including as the #1 favorite reviewed selection in 2014 by The Literary Connoisseur). Lemongrass Hope was recently selected as an INDIEFAB 2014 Book of the Year Finalist (Romance) by Foreword Reviews Magazine.
Amy's first non-fiction book, Lawyer Interrupted (ABA Publishing 2015), is due out Summer 2015. Her essays and articles have appeared in The Huffington Post, ABA Law Practice Today, The Glass Hammer, Divine Caroline, Skirt! Magazine, among more.
This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Stella will be awarding a $50 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter. Click the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
Cataclysm. Now. Run.
A cryptic, urgent text message turns the peaceful life Skye Barrows has created for herself and her sister into chaos. She must follow her father’s instructions to the letter, but Sebastian Connelly is blocking her way. Telling Sebastian what she must do is not an option.
What He Doesn’t Know Will Get Them All Killed
When a prison break in the midst of a security system upgrade threatens to destroy the reputation of Sebastian’s company, Black Raven Private Security Contractors, he goes on the hunt for escaped prisoner Richard Barrows – a delusional and paranoid computer software genius.
Sebastian’s mission: find Richard Barrows and return him to prison, but stonewalled by Skye, who refuses to give him answers, and with the added complication of her special needs sister, Sebastian finds himself always a step or two behind vicious killers.
Nothing About This Case is Normal
For Sebastian, it should be simple, but this case will test him in ways he never imagined. As probing interrogation becomes urgent protection, the search for Barrows forces Sebastian and Skye into a murky world of shadows and illusions.
My Review:
I was intrigued by this book just from reading the blurb-- it sounded like it was just up my alley. And, it didn't disappoint. It is the second book in the Black Raven series, but can very much be read as a standalone. I've not read the first book yet and am looking forward to being able to.
The characters are very well-drawn-- neither of the main characters are perfect, but their flaws just add to their personalities and make you believe in them as real people. I love how the author shows them interacting with Spring - even when Skye and Sebastian are fighting, they still have to use their "nice voices" to keep her calm. It made a really neat counterpoint to the action and tension elsewhere in the book.
Unfortunately, the scenario they find themselves is all too believable--and it's a bit disconcerting to read such a plausible scenario--and a bit scary. I can only hope that should we find ourselves in a similar situation nationally, that there is someone like Black Raven to help protect us-- and that they prove to be just as honorable.
This romantic suspense comes very highly recommended with a 4 flower rating. Can't wait to read about the next member of the team in Ms. Barcelona's upcoming book.
Enjoy an excerpt:
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The number stream, the one and only communication she’d received on the phone that was dedicated solely to transmission of such a message, jolted the last sleep-induced blur from Chloe’s brain. Her hands shook as she mentally translated numbers to letters.
C-A-T-A-C-L-Y-S-M-N-O-W-R-U-N.
She gripped the phone tighter, checking her translation. Same result. It was the message she’d been hoping would never come. Maybe she’d made a mistake. Kicking aside the sheet and blanket, she turned on the lamp, opened the top drawer of the nightstand, pushed her revolver to the side, and pulled out a pen and paper. Drawing a deep breath, she started over, writing as she assigned letters to numbers.
Cataclysm. Now. Run.
Adrenaline surged through her veins, but as she stood, hope glimmered – maybe the message itself was a mistake. No. Not possible. A wrong-number text message would have made sense in a simple, uncomplicated life, rather than in her father’s private code. As her father’s daughter, her life was neither simple, nor her own. And despite her father’s propensity for paranoia, the cataclysm part of his secret code galvanized her into action.
‘Normal’ wasn't part of her father’s vocabulary. He wasn’t normal, but he was her father. While a majority of the world now ridiculed him, Chloe didn’t. Cataclysm wasn’t supposed to happen. The word meant only one thing in her father’s world, and she had instructions to follow. Without question. Well, maybe with questions. A train car full of questions, starting with how her father, who was imprisoned in a federal penitentiary, had managed to send her a text and why this particular message now. Yet she knew if he had a few minutes with a computer–any computer–he could do anything. Other questions bombarded her, but now was not the time to entertain them. Even with doubt, she’d follow the pre-arranged steps of his cataclysm scenario as though her life, and a whole lot more, depended on it.
About the Author:
Stella Barcelona has always had an active imagination, a tendency to daydream, and a passion for reading romance, mysteries, and thrillers. She has found an outlet for all of these aspects of herself by writing romantic thrillers.
In her day-to-day life, Stella is a lawyer and works for a court in New Orleans. She lives minutes from the French Quarter, with her husband of seventeen years and two adorable papillons who believe they are princesses. She is a member of Romance Writers of America and the Southern Louisiana Chapter of the Romance Writers of America. Her first novel, DECEIVED, was inspired by New Orleans, its unique citizens, and the city’s World War II-era history.
Her third novel, JIGSAW, a Black Raven novel, will be released in 2016.
This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. The author is awarding a randomly drawn commenter via Rafflecopter a $20 Amazon/BN GC and a randomly drawn commenter via Rafflecopter all three books in the MAGE series.
Lauren Trinidad is the best private security money in the League of European Nations can buy. She's been trained by her father for her entire life to protect the good guys from the bad. But when the good guys seem to be working for the mad man responsible for blowing the world into chaos and her family is suddenly the bad, she is forced to choose between what she is taught to do and what she thinks is right.
Captain David Trinidad is the best soldier the New Republic of Texas can find to pull off a secret mission that will decide the fate of the small country. He’s been raised in his military family to do anything to help his homeland. But when he discovers he is the only chance at saving someone he loves, he has to choose between the only two things in his life that he's never doubted.
Meagan Trinidad is the best assassin the United Countries of America has for hire. She has walked the tightrope between making her father proud and protecting those she cares about for a while. But when her work threatens to destroy her friends, she must choose between the familial loyalty that has guided her whole life and the promise of being loved for who she is and not what she does.
Enjoy an excerpt:
“We both know you’re not going to college.” Jacob moved his mouth closer to her ear. “Why are you going to New Haven? To kill my sister?”
“What?” Meagan jerked back to see his face, but he held her too tightly.
“I know what you are, darling.” His voice was so quiet she barely could hear him. “An assassin.”
“That’s not true!” She swallowed, her head spinning. How had he figured it out? Her father was going to be pissed. “I would never hurt Kayla.”
“That may be true, but you have been hunting my brother for years.” Jacob’s hands crept up her body. They stopped on either side of her throat. He pressed harder against her. “Why do you think I’ve been keeping you so close?”
Meagan didn’t say anything. Sliding a hand behind her back, she glared at him. She went for the knife hidden in her waistband.
“I don’t think so, darling.” He grabbed her wrist and twisted it along with the other one above her head, pinning them against the door. She refused to cry out in pain. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. “I kept you so close I know all of your little tricks. Didn’t you wonder why I cared? You should know by now that I don’t fuck the same girl more than once. I was keeping an eye on you instead of ending you.”
She brought up her knee in a swift movement and hit him in the crotch. He grunted and doubled over in pain. She punched him in the face and pushed him off her. Spinning, she kicked him in the head and knocked him to the floor. She drove her boot into his stomach for good measure.
“Don’t ever threaten me, Jacob Godard,” she whispered in his ear, kneeling over him. “Next time I’ll slit your arrogant throat.”
About the Author:
K R Yaddof was lucky enough to take a few writing classes at the University of Iowa Writer's Workshop when she was there as an undergrad getting her degree in cinema. Now she lives in Denver, CO with her husband, two kids, and one fat cat.
KR is currently finds time to write while staying home with her two small children. If you want more MAGES, cross your fingers for her children to start sleeping through the night!
This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. The author will be awarding a $40 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
Why do you write in your genre? What draws you to it?
My genre is urban fantasy/paranormal thriller with a dash of horror. The main reason I write in it is because I love magic, but I’m not a big fan of medieval fantasy. I like the present day, and have always been fascinated by the paranormal, and all the weird things that happen in the world that can’t be adequately explained. I want my mage to wear a long coat and Doc Martens, not a robe and a pointy hat! And I want to explore the things that live between the cracks in our modern-day world, that most people just look away from because they don’t want to acknowledge that they exist. I’ve been a fan of horror authors Stephen King and Graham Masterton since I was a young child (yeah, I had cool parents who didn’t censor what I read) and they’ve influenced my work a lot.
What research/worldbuilding is required?
I actually do have to do research since I write in the present day and my protagonist teaches at Stanford. I’m in the process of expanding my research about what it’s like to be a college professor, what their day-to-day activities look like, and what it’s like at Stanford (favorite spots, best places to eat or study, etc.). Fortunately I don’t live far away from it, so I’m planning some research field trips soon. I’ve also got two good friends who went there, so they’ve been a big help as well. As for worldbuilding—for my series it’s mostly getting the magic system and the magical society right. I don’t have an overarching magical body in my world (like, for example, the White Council in the Dresden Files series)—my mages are rarer and less organized. Part of that was I wanted my protagonist to be more of a maverick, and part of it was that I didn’t want to deal with trying to re-invent the wheel and come up with a new take on the magical society. That’s not the story I wanted to tell.
Name one thing you learned from your hero/heroine.
Sometimes you just have to step up and do something even if you’re scared. Dr. Stone (my protagonist) is a pretty brave guy, but he’s not a lantern-jawed action hero. Sometimes he’s very tempted to just say “the hell with it” and let somebody else handle the problem. However, unfortunately most of the time there isn’t somebody else who can handle it.
Do you have any odd or interesting writing quirks, habits or superstitions?
I don’t like to write on laptops unless I absolutely have to—I like having my big monitor, comfy chair, full-sized keyboard and mouse, and writing-friendly surroundings. I also don’t like having people, other than my spouse, around when I’m writing. I envy people who can write in coffee shops, on airplanes, or in other public spaces. I have a really hard time doing it.
Oh, and I read all my books aloud (complete with accents) to help me get the flow of the narrative and the dialog right.
Are you a plotter or pantser?
Kind of halfway in between, leaning a little more toward plotter. When I start a novel I need to know where it’s starting, generally where it’s heading, and where I’m trying to end up. I’ll usually plot out the first few chapters, but leave the rest of it for inspiration to strike. My characters have taken me in some pretty odd (and amazing, and wonderful) directions, so I need to let them have enough freedom to do that. I still show them who’s boss if they get too out of hand, though!
Look to your right – what’s sitting there?
Let’s see…I’ve got a bunch of old badges from conventions I’ve attended hanging on the wall, a Blue Snowball microphone on a stand on the desk, and a little bendy figure of Jack Skellington from Nightmare Before Christmas wrapped around the frame of my loft.
Anything new coming up from you? What?
Plenty. I’ve got the next Stone Chronicles novel, called The Threshold, coming out sometime this fall, and then two more in the series finished and in various stages of editing. I’ve got one more as a finished first draft, another one just starting, and ideas for at least five more. And I’m hoping to get approval to write my second novel in the Shadowrun line (my first one, called Borrowed Time, was published earlier this year.)
Do you have a question for our readers?
What urban-fantasy tropes do you enjoy, and which ones do you think are overdone?
Thank you very much for inviting me to your blog!
Dr. Alastair Stone, Occult Studies professor, powerful mage, and snarky British expat now based in Palo Alto, California, does his best to keep his academic and social lives separate from his increasingly frequent brushes with various malevolent forces from the supernatural side of the street. A little horror, a little humor, but mostly straight-up urban fantasy.
Stone and a Hard Place
Dr. Alastair Stone, Occult Studies professor and powerful mage, has his hands full trying to keep the two sides of his life separate as he trains a new apprentice, deals with a malevolent entity trapped in the basement of a wealthy old woman's massive home, and battles dark mages intent on enslaving it for their own ends.
Debut novel of the Alastair Stone Chronicles.
The Forgotten
Dr. Alastair Stone is back, this time teaming up with Jason Thayer, a young man hunting for his missing sister. Embroiled in a web of odd homeless people, a growing conspiracy, and deadly danger, they soon realize that even if they find Jason's sister, they might not be able to help her.
What do you do when you discover an extradimensional plot that threatens the safety of the entire world, but you can't tell anyone about it because literally anyone on Earth could be part of it?
Book Two of the Alastair Stone Chronicles.
Enjoy an excerpt from STONE AND A HARD PLACE:
“Dr. Stone?”
The voice was trembling, female, and sounded terrified. It took him a moment to identify it. He stared as Megan stirred again, draping her arm back over him. “Mrs.—Bonham?”
Whoever was on the other end sounded like they were on the verge of hysteria. “Dr. Stone, is that you?”
“It’s me, Mrs. Bonham. What’s wrong? Is something wrong?” He sat up a little, propping himself up on his pillows. Megan’s arm slid down over his stomach, but he didn’t even notice that she was there.
“Something’s here,” she quavered. “Something’s…happening.”
He was fully awake now. Carefully, he moved Megan’s arm and sat on the edge of the bed. “Calm down, Mrs. Bonham, please. I’ll help you if I can, but you have to tell me what’s happening.”
“I don’t know,” she sobbed. “It’s like the whole house hates me. Noises—cold winds—things slamming—”
“Is Iona there? Can you put her on for a moment?”
There was a shuffling sound and then a different voice spoke, sounding almost as frightened as Adelaide Bonham had. “Dr. Stone? This is Iona.”
He took a deep breath. “Iona. What’s going on? Is Mrs. Bonham—”
“She’s not imagining things, Dr. Stone,” the woman said. In addition to sounding frightened, she sounded like she couldn’t believe what was going on. “I can hear them too. The noises. The feelings. It’s horrible, Dr. Stone. Something’s going on.”
About the Author: R. L. King is an award-winning author and game freelancer for Catalyst Game Labs, publisher of the popular roleplaying game Shadowrun. She has contributed fiction and game material to numerous sourcebooks, as well as one full-length adventure, "On the Run," included as part of the 2012 Origins-Award-winning "Runners' Toolkit."
Her first novel in the Shadowrun universe, Borrowed Time, was published in May 2015.
When not doing her best to make life difficult for her characters, King is a software technical writer for a large Silicon Valley database company. In her spare time (hah!) she enjoys hanging out with her very understanding spouse and her small herd of cats, watching way too much Doctor Who, and attending conventions when she can. She is an active member of the Horror Writers' Association and the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, and a member of the International Association of Media Tie-in Writers.
This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Clarence will be awarding $10 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
Welcome to It's Raining Books. Why do you write in your genre? What draws you to it?
The genre I chose to write in is literary fiction. As a poet, I am an observer, a witness to the world that surrounds us. I am drawn to the world, the wonders that are made, and the horrors we live through. Literary fiction is the essayist, the author who is able to put perspective on that which appears to be so unconceivable, so indescribable; it is the essayist who describes it, and does it well.
What research is required?
There was little research required for this book. Since they are mostly musings, poetry, and short stories, the research was mostly inspiration. What writer, what painter, what individual doesn’t experience inspiration? I am inspired by human interaction, the way we act and react to each other. The research (if you want to call it that) was little more than people watching, interacting with co-workers, friends, and even at times total strangers.
Name one thing you learned from your hero/heroine.
There isn’t a hero/heroine per se in this book, however I did learn that the art of writing the essay is not dead. There are still topics to be explored, still stories to be told, still lessons to be learned. I think so many of us were forced to write high school and college essays, we never found out how cleansing writing an essay could be. We never took the time to say, “hey this part of the world sucks—I’m going to write about it and expose it!” I think we get caught up in Facebook post and Tweeting, that we never took the time to really sit down, collect our thoughts and write a cohesive and thought provoking essay. So yea, I learned I can do that, and, if I may be so bold, that I’m pretty good at it!
Do you have any odd or interesting writing quirks, habits or superstitions?
The quirk I found myself doing while writing this book was finding really good small business coffee shops and writing there. Yea, I know it’s pretty cliché that writers always go to a coffee shop but since I’m not really drinking, (and there’s always a conversation at a bar—uggh) the coffee shop became a good space. I live in Denver, and there’s a particular coffee shop I like to go to, because, well, it’s legal here, and at Strange Grounds, it’s, well around. So going there and being with open and like-minded individuals who (don’t necessarily work for a better world) but discuss it, they converse about it. It gave me a lot of insight and continued inspiration for completing the book.
Are you a plotter or pantser?
I guess you could say that I’m a bit of both actually. Sometimes I’ll get an idea at work, and won’t get a chance to sit down and explore it fully. So I’ll just make a note on my phone, or in my notebook, then dissect it later that night, or the next day I’m off. Other times, I’ll use bullet points while sitting at my desktop to collect my thought, and flesh them out fully. The one thing that did help me out greatly was going over the book with my editor. She is a dear friend who knows a bit about my background and my style of writing, so that part was definitely plotted.
Look to your right – what’s sitting there?
To the right of me are a few things. The head/foot of my bed, (depending on how I decide to sleep) two laptops, (one playing my Pandora, the other is where I’m playing the ‘My Singing Monsters game), and a chair that’s full of my good clothes I need to take to the cleaners. So please support this book, as I am lacking in money to have my clothes laundered *chuckles*.
Anything new coming up from you? What?
There are always new things on the horizon! I’m currently working on two books; one is a collection of short stories, because I love short stories. The second is going to be a collection of short stories that I’m thinking of turning into a series. I know that I want it to be filled with a lot of different characters, who seemingly have different backgrounds, but come together in a sort of special and unconventional way. The collection of short stories will hopefully be finished by mid-fall sometime, and we’ll see what happens with the other idea. I will say that I’m very excited about the short stories, they are all over the place; from shorts on suicide, to religious relationships, to two boys and their adventure in a treatment facility. It will be a very interesting read!
Do you have a question for our readers?
The question I have for the readers, is, what makes you want to buy a book? Is it the genre, the author, the cover? What makes you take a chance on an untested author? I hope that’s not too many questions!
Thanks for the interview; I had a bunch of fun writing this!!
Chicken Soup, and a Shot of Jack is a strikingly impressive work of literary fiction from new author Clarence Barbee. The writer weaves his form of prose, delighting readers with thought provoking lessons on how to balance the good and bad in life. The book offers common sense values filled with humorous stories and tales.
Enjoy an excerpt from the short story "Just Had to Be Grown":
She was amazing! A fire was burning on the stove, her son, who she had spent fourteen hours birthin’, was in danger of losing his left nipple by way of a hot dog grease fire. And all she could do was rock in that damn chair, and talk about the pork chop; which at this point was nothing more than a gnarled up bone.
About the Author: Clarence Barbee has been writing and performing poetry for over a decade. He has produced 9 spoken word albums, under the pseudonyms Nabraska and Poet402. Clarence is now working on self-publishing books of essays and short stories.
In his professional life he has worked with, educated, and supported many children. Clarence believes in keeping an eye on political planes and social occurrences such as changes in world leadership, and social inequalities. These actions of men are a huge curiosity to the author; he believes in writing about them, and discussing them, so solutions can be made.
Clarence has taken these experiences and written about them extensively. He asks, “Who doesn’t want to be happy,” then goes about the business of finding the answer. Please take some time to join him on this journey as they are set through words, sometimes with music, and always taken with a grain of salt.
This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions for Nikki McCormack's newest book Forbidden Things: Dissident. The author will award a $50 Amazon/BN GC to one randomly chosen winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
Welcome to It's Raining Books! Any weird things you do when you’re alone?
When I’m alone I have a tendency to talk to everything out loud. That includes my truck, my computer, my kayak, the odd figurine or sword. Anything is game and most of those things have names because I have an overabundance of characters in my head to assign to things. That’s probably also why I tend to assign all of my pets multiple nicknames.
What is your favorite quote and why?
“Look, there's a great big hunk of world down there, with no fence around it. Where two dogs can find adventure and excitement. And beyond those distant hills, who knows what wonderful experiences?” Tramp from Lady and the Tramp, 1955
I know this is a really odd choice, but it was something that stuck out in my head. No, I’m not a dog, but I do look at the world and see a great big open place full of wonderful experiences waiting to be had.
Who is your favorite author and why?
It’s hard to pick only one. Many amazing authors have delighted and inspired me with their work over the years. One of the most prominent in my collection is C.S. Friedman. I always find something to love in her work and her tendency to switch between science fiction and fantasy is comforting since my writing ventures into both genres as well.
What, in your opinion, are the most important elements of good writing?
The first would have to be the craft of writing itself. Readers deserve a clean manuscript free of plot holes, typos, bad grammar, etc. No matter how good you are, you should be bringing outside parties into this process to make sure that the final product is well edited and as error free as possible. As the author, it can be too easy to see what you wanted to write and overlook the errors in what you actually wrote.
Another element worth mentioning is that of believability. Even writing fantasy, you need to do good research to make the story relatable for your audience. If you character gets hurt, make sure the suffering they experience and the recovery realistic to the injury or have a clear reason why it isn’t. Research historical battles if you’re going to have battles in your book so you can start with something realistic and build upon it with any aspects of your fantasy world that might alter the events. If you give people something they can believe as a foundation to everything in your world, they will make an easier transition to accepting the fantastical elements.
Where did you get the idea for this book?
I’ve heard it said that book ideas rarely come from dreams. I’m not sure how true that is, but this series is an exception to that. A few chapters of the book came entirely from a dream and in that dream, I already knew most of the backstory for myself (I got to be Indigo) and for Yiloch. When I woke, I also knew where it would go from there and I wrote down everything I knew.
Ascard power can strengthen, heal and create. It also has great potential to destroy, enough to topple entire governments. Indigo’s country places strict limitations on the use of ascard so she must channel her talents into the healing arts or risk severe punishment. An orphan from a disgraced family, trapped by her father’s treason, Indigo struggles reclaim her place in a society that has driven her into an abusive engagement.
Then a mysterious stranger from a neighboring country contacts her using ascard. He needs help escaping his prison so he can bring an end to his emperor's oppressive rule or die trying. His unshakable devotion to his cause and the passion hidden behind his cool arrogance move her to help him at the risk of being branded a traitor herself.
When the politics of society bring them together a second time, Indigo decides to use her growing powers to help him fight his war. If only she dared fight for her own future with such passion. Perhaps she can find the courage to do so by helping the man she has fallen for win his revolution. She might have exactly the power he needs to succeed.
Enjoy an excerpt:
Her attention wandered to the fountain sprouting up in the center of a nearby courtyard, simple and elegant like a great stonework lily. A man stood by the fountain, watching water droplets falling with the shimmer of multicolored gems in the bright sunlight. Long silver hair hung to the middle of his back like a frozen waterfall. His smooth pale skin and unusual hair marked him as Lyran, but his regal bearing and rich attire didn’t befit a slave or merchant.
Curious. “Have you seen him before?”
Andrea turned, following her gaze. “Who?”
“The man beside the fountain.”
“There’s no one by the fountain.”
Andrea’s reply tugged at her awareness, but the silver-haired Lyran was turning toward them now. His pale eyes met hers and the air pressed from her lungs as if a corset were being pulled too tight. The buildings lurched and spun in her vision.
“Indigo?”
She sank to her knees. Andrea crouched down with her, her eyes wide and frightened. She held Indigo’s shoulders tight, her lips moving. Indigo heard only the pounding of blood in her ears.
About the Author:
Nikki started writing her first novel at the age of 12 (which is still tucked away in a briefcase in her office). Despite a successful short story publication with Cricket Magazine in 2007, she treated her writing addiction as a hobby until a drop in the economy left her with an abundance of free time to focus on making it her career.
Nikki lives in the magnificent Pacific Northwest tending to her awesome husband, two sweet horses, three manipulative cats, and a crazy dog. She’s a wine and tea fanatic who loves sitting on the ocean in her kayak surrounded by open water or hanging from a rope in a cave, embraced by darkness and the sound of dripping water. She also enjoys horseback riding, archery, PC gaming, dancing, good anime, etc. She studies Japanese and practices Iaido because she believes we should never stop learning.
This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Candi will be awarding a $10 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour, as well as an autographed paperback copy of Primitive Nights to two randomly drawn winners, and an autographed paperback copy of Stay to two other winners. All books are US ONLY. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
Home Is Where the Heat Is, Book 2
As far as Chloe Garrison is concerned, Nick Westing was carved by the gods. Her one and only plan while visiting her best friend in Texas: get that sexy cowboy into her bed as often as possible until it’s time to return to New York.
After a whirlwind week she slips away, thinking it best to make a clean break. Except she can’t get Nick out of her head. And when he unexpectedly walks into her office, her first instinct is to find her defenses before she loses her panties.
Nick jumped at the chance to accompany his brother to New York for a photo shoot, but now that he’s here, he’s pissed. Seems Chloe is doing everything in her power to ignore him. The tender part of him understands her need for space.
The wilder side of him teases and torments her until she finally admits she’s missed him. Even though she walks away, in his book it’s a win. Because one way or another, he’s going to convince her they belong together.
Enjoy an excerpt:
She was a shark, carving a path through numerous workers and barking out orders that somehow brought the chaotic room into order.
“Last chance to offer suggestions, ladies and gentlemen.” She waited, every eye on her.
Nick couldn’t resist. She was so stiff and severe, he had to try to bring out a bit of the Chloe he met in Texas. “How ’bout a few more lights? Wouldn’t want the camera to miss a moment of my brother’s debut.”
She whipped around in his direction. So did most of the people in the room.
Chloe smiled, but it wasn’t anything close to the expression he was used to seeing. “Nick, you weren’t at the staff meeting where I pointed out that there is a difference between making helpful suggestions and creating time sucks that StyleU can’t afford.”
That was a bit snarky. She was in rare form today. He took a step forward. “I’m guessing my suggestion landed in the time-suck category?”
“Clever cowboy,” she countered sarcastically.
“Ya’ll figure talking is a waste of time?”
“Only when it doesn’t pertain to the shoot.” She waved to indicate the entire room. “Which is costing a bundle.”
“How much is a bundle exactly?” He kept his expression blank, eyes wide, waiting for her to either blow a gasket or laugh.
“Between the photographer, staff, Cash’s contract and odds and ends, we’re looking at close to five thousand an hour.”
“Holy horse shit.” He noticed a few chuckles. Good. The room was a damn morgue. City folks took things way too seriously.
About the Author: Candi Wall is probably the only person whose real name is more epic than any pseudonym she could have come up with – even as an author! She writes because the voices in her head have to come out somehow. Animal rescue-ess, mother of four, and soccer mom by day, she spends her free time writing – often on napkins at kids’ games because she never knows when a juicy story will reveal its delicious self. She once wrote a sex scene at a wrestling meet. Shhhhhh!
This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Becky will be awarding a $50 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
Hi there, thanks so much for having me on the blog and for supporting The Day Of The Wave! I had such an interesting experience writing this, so it's great to finally share it with the world!
So here we go, five things you'd never guess about me. Hmmmmm. OK, well, here goes:
1) I haven't had a stable home since I was about 21. I'm now 35, but I've been travelling, living and working all over the world pretty much since I graduated university in England. I guess itchy feet, a severe case of wanderlust and a passion for writing just kept me moving. I lived in New York for a bit, where I started working for magazines, then I moved to London, then Dubai, where I wrote my first travel memoir following a stint at a glossy magazine (and dating a man I shouldn't have dated!) Then I moved to Sydney for a bit to work at a radio station, then Bali... and now I'm in Vancouver! I think I might stay put for a while now. I'm kind of tired!
2) I once worked as a jello shot waitress. I was 21, living in New York and trying to make some cash on the side. I worked a couple of shifts and made a fortune in tips, but in the end, it was a lot of hassle trying to transport a hundred jello shots a night across Manhattan, and all the leery businessmen got too much. I quit after that, but it was an interesting experience!
3) I have a tattoo of tiny footprints. It's on my lower back and sometimes I forget it's there! I had it done in New York, around the same time I worked as a jello shot waitress! I tell people it's a symbol of my passion for travelling... leaving footprints all over this beautiful world, but really I think I was a bit drunk when I had it done (ssssssh).
4) I'm obsessed with ghosts and the paranormal. I don't really know how this started but sometimes it's out of control! I listen to all the podcasts of ghost stories I can find, and I probably spend a couple of hours a week reading the latest ghost stories from around the world! Recently I went on a ghost walk around a cemetery in Vancouver with some professional ghost hunters. They had all the equipment and we picked up an EVP - a little girl's voice saying "hi!" It was awesome and terrifying at the same time!
5) I once dove with sea lions and sharks in the Galapagos. I love scuba diving but this was probably the most incredible experience of my life. I was writing a book at the time, a travel memoir about a year travelling South America. I got to do a lot of cool stuff while I was writing it and was lucky enough to be flown to the Galapagos to dive. It was as amazing as everyone says it is - I've never seen water like that anywhere else, and the animals had absolutely no fear of humans. Amazing! I highly recommend you visit!
Torn apart by the tragedy. Thrown back together ten years later by destiny... Isla and Ben were just sixteen when the Boxing Day tsunami ripped through their beach resort in Thailand. Just days after forming a life-changing bond, both were missing and presumed dead.
Based on real life events, The Day of the Wave is a story of healing, learning to let go, and figuring out when to hold on with everything you have left.
Enjoy an excerpt:
'Isabella,' I said to the girl in braids behind the computer. She was frantic, tapping away a million miles an hour. A line of people were behind me. All of them were bedraggled and beside themselves, like the cast of a war movie. 'Isabella from England. Izzy. I left her on the beach. Can you look again?'
'We don't have any Isabella's yet, I'm sorry,' she said. I asked a hundred times about Toby, too, and Charlie and Van and Tee, but I always got the same answer.
They'd brought in experts from everywhere - Austria, the Netherlands, Australia, Germany, and all of them I realized quickly were carrying out the gruesome tasks it took to identify the dead. Most of it wasn't even happening behind closed doors. There weren't enough doors.
After a while, no one was bringing the injured in anymore. It was just more bodies and still none of them were Toby. Still none of them were Charlie or Izzy... at least, I didn't think they were. There were panels of photos of the bodies as they were brought in, on the walls. But they were all so horribly deformed. You can't even imagine what water does. People go black, their eyes bulge out of their sockets. The only way to recognize somebody at first is by their jewelry.
They were fingerprinting the corpses, I discovered. They gave them full dental examinations and took X-rays, then they sent the DNA samples away for analysis. It was when I learned they were matching them to a missing-person's list in Phuket that I begged to be taken there, to the International Hospital. I knew more bodies were there. Maybe I'd find Toby there.
I found my mom instead. She'd just flown in and been allowed a transfer. 'My baby,' she cried when she found me, pulling me against her and sobbing. I was sixteen but her words hit hard. I felt like a baby; a useless, helpless, broken baby. Glenn stood solid like a tree behind her. He hugged me too. It was the first and last time he ever did.
We moved to a hotel, where we stayed for two weeks and I made it my job to look out for Sonthi. He was going through the same thing, only he was still searching for twenty people he loved. We played guitar at night. We knew the same Beatles song so we sang together outside, taught ourselves the harmonies to take our minds off all the tragedies. Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away, Now it looks as though they're here to stay, Oh I believe in yesterday.
Even though Sonthi didn't know the meaning of the words, I think they helped us both somehow. The yesterdays we missed were haunting everyone but at least we escaped with our lives.
I went with mom to the councilor, too, but she cried all the way through, and she cried so much at the hotel that I didn't sleep for days. I was a shell. I had no tears left. 'They're gone, they're never coming back,' mom yowled.
'We don't know that!' I yelled at her, but she yowled even more into the walls and the floor and the pillow, while a thousand other people doing the same made even the hotel feel like a funeral parlor.
We got told that DNA breaks down once bodies decompose. The longer we had to wait, the less chance we had of identifying anyone. Eventually I had to say goodbye to Sonthi and everyone at the hospital I'd gotten to know. Our flight was booked; my brother and uncle and Izzy were officially missing, assumed dead. My mom was a pale-faced Martian I didn't know anymore and she hadn't really spoken to me in days. 'Toby, my baby, Toby!,' she wailed into Glenn's expensive shirt as he helped her outside and into the taxi.
I was just about to leave for the airport when the girl in braids came to grab me. 'Ben,' she said, leaning down, putting a hand to my shoulder. I could tell by her face she had bad news. 'We found Isabella, from the UK,' she said as the tears careened down her face. 'There's only one on the list. I'm so sorry.'
It was raining when I got outside. It was a real tropical downfall; the kind of rain that lashes and hurts. I turned my face up to it and let it hit me as the wind howled. I wanted to feel the physical crash of everything that had been breaking my heart. The only thing I felt was how it wasn't rain at all. It felt like my brother and Izzy and Charlie and two hundred thousand other souls were crying.
About the Author:
Becky Wicks is mostly powered by coffee. She had three travel memoirs published by HarperCollins before going the indie route. Her first book in the Starstruck Series, 'Before He Was Famous' recently reached #1 in Amazon's Coming of Age and New Adult & College categories. The second in the series, 'Before He Was Gone', and the third, 'Before He Was A Secret' are both out now along with 'The Day Of The Wave' - a romance based around the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami.
