A Human Element by Donna Galanti - Spotlight and Giveaway

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Donna will be awarding a $15 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.

Evil comes in many forms…

One by one, Laura Armstrong’s friends and adoptive family members are being murdered, and despite her unique healing powers, she can do nothing to stop it. The savage killer haunts her dreams, tormenting her with the promise that she is next. Determined to find the killer, she follows her visions to the site of a crashed meteorite in her hometown. There, she meets Ben Fieldstone, who seeks answers about his parents’ death the night the meteorite struck. In a race to stop a madman, they unravel a frightening secret that binds them together. But the killer’s desire to destroy Laura face-to-face leads to a showdown that puts Laura and Ben’s emotional relationship and Laura’s pure spirit to the test. With the killer closing in, Laura discovers her destiny is linked to his, and she has two choices—redeem him or kill him.

Read an excerpt:

She planted her feet shoulder-width apart, and facing the woods, commanded its inanimate objects to obey her wishes. Her hands danced in fury as rocks and branches flew through the air toward one another.

She stripped off her sweater and turtleneck, now damp with sweat. The sun hit the lake from the treetops burning off the fog, shooting millions of sparkles across the water toward her. But Laura closed her eyes to the beauty and fought her war with evil.

The sounds of her battle echoed around the lake as wood and stone broke against each other. She was a creature of nature and hypnotized in the darkness of her mind as she fought. She shrieked with bitter triumph.

Then exhaustion overcame her and her rage drained away. She sank to the ground, weeping. The pain of her many losses overcame her. How could she win against something she didn't even know? But she did know one thing. She and this killer had to be connected. Just as she was connected somehow to the man she sensed deep in the earth here all those years ago. She rose up on her knees and threw back her arms wide open in protest, her chest reaching out toward the sky.

"Just come and get me you bastard! I'm ready!" She opened her eyes and squinted from the sunlight now all around her.

"Laura," a voice called softly from behind her.

She jumped up and turned around to see Ben standing by the shoreline. The adrenaline that had surged through her body disappeared. She felt weakness crash over her in waves. She couldn't form words to say. Tears still streamed down her face.

She reached out a hand to him and it shook. She stared at it as if it weren't part of her body and she tottered on her feet. Ben lunged toward her and caught her before she fell.

About the Author:

Donna Galanti is the author of the paranormal suspense Element Trilogy (Imajin Books -http://www.imajinbooks.com/ ) and the children’s fantasy adventure Joshua and The Lightning Road series (Month9Books -http://www.month9books.com/ ). Donna is a contributing editor for International Thriller Writers the Big Thrill (http://www.thebigthrill.org/) - magazine and blogs with other middle grade authors at Project Middle Grade Mayhem (http://project-middle-grade-mayhem.blogspot.com/search/label/Donna Galanti) . She’s lived from England as a child, to Hawaii as a U.S. Navy photographer. Donna enjoys teaching at conferences on the writing craft and marketing and also presenting as a guest author at elementary and middle schools.

Visit her at www.elementtrilogy.com and www.donnagalanti.com.

Website: http://www.elementtrilogy.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheElementTrilogy
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DonnaGalanti
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/donnagalanti
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5767306.Donna_Galanti
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/donnagalanti/

Purchase books 1 and 2 in the Element Trilogy

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A Human Element by Donna Galanti - Guest Blog and Giveaway

It's Raining Books is pleased to welcome Donna Galanti. Enter the Rafflecopter at the end of the post for a chance to win a $15 Amazon Gift Card, e-book of The Dark Inside, Element Trilogy story collection, and become a character in the final Element Trilogy book!

Do your dreams have power over you?
by Donna Galanti

Do you dream about the same thing over and over?

For years I had theme dreams. How I wish they were of nice things. Rainbows. Birthday parties. Cooing babies.

Nope. Mine were scary. A man with a machete chasing me to whack off my head. Of course I never actually died in this dream. I always woke up just before being decapitated. But the heads of my loved ones did roll.

Maybe dreaming of monsters is why my favorite show is Supernatural. Okay, it wouldn’t have anything to do with the fact that Dean and Sam Winchester are HOT! I guess I’ll have to keep them forever in my dreams. Sigh…

And perhaps we’re better off not remembering our dreams – or re-living them over and over. Perhaps they need to stay as dreams to ward off the dark.

In my paranormal suspense novel, A Human Element, Laura Armstrong is also haunted by nightmares of an evil man chasing her. Only, this man is not a figment of her imagination. He is very real and very capable of killing her from afar. When her dreams become a reality and she discovers her stalker is part of her own destiny she has to decide whether to kill him or redeem him. Ben Fieldstone in A Human Element also dreams of a Laura and a meteorite coming to crush him to death, as it did his parents.

But back to machetes. I ran for miles in my dreams avoiding decapitation from that unknown machete wielding maniac. He swung blades of steel seeking my neck. He chased me. On and on.

Then one day a crowd came. They surged onto the brute and whacked him to death with garden hoses. He disappeared and never returned. For the first time someone came to help me. And they destroyed the thing that haunted me most. They gave me hope.

Maybe this is the reason I write from the darker side with a touch of hope. No matter how dark things are, there is hope for survival.

And then it hit me. The machete man was awfully familiar to the villain in my book, X-10. I think he hides inside me and comes out when I write, and that is the only place he’ll remain safe from now on. If not, I’ll send back in the angry hoard of garden-hose attackers to get him good.

The power of dreams, right? Have your dreams had power over you?

Evil comes in many forms… One by one, Laura Armstrong’s friends and adoptive family members are being murdered, and despite her unique healing powers, she can do nothing to stop it. The savage killer haunts her dreams, tormenting her with the promise that she is next. Determined to find the killer, she follows her visions to the site of a crashed meteorite in her hometown. There, she meets Ben Fieldstone, who seeks answers about his parents’ death the night the meteorite struck. In a race to stop a madman, they unravel a frightening secret that binds them together. But the killer’s desire to destroy Laura face-to-face leads to a showdown that puts Laura and Ben’s emotional relationship and Laura’s pure spirit to the test. With the killer closing in, Laura discovers her destiny is linked to his, and she has two choices—redeem him or kill him.

Enjoy an excerpt: Ben Fieldstone’s Dreams That Haunt Him

That night he dreamed. He stood at the lake on its shore. The stillness covered him in peaceful quiet. The moon shone high overhead painting the wave tops with gold that lapped at the water's edge. Something moved in the distance on the path leading around the lake. It was a girl. She walked toward him as if she knew him. Finally, she stood before him and smiled. He found himself smiling back.

She took his hand and stared at him with her large, brown eyes. She looked so lovely. Her hand was warm in his, her touch sent waves of yearning through his body. She reached up on her toes and kissed him. He squeezed her hand and found himself kissing her back. Their tongues intertwined in a soft, embracing dance. He gave himself to her mouth, falling into her sweet wetness.

She put her hand behind his neck and pulled him closer. "Ben, do you know what I am?" Her eyes held him in a trance.

"What you are? What do you mean?"

"Come with me, I'll show you."

He followed her as she led him down the path. Then he looked up. Something green shone in the sky. The meteorite. It would crush them. She was leading them toward the spot where it would crash.

"No!" He pulled her with him to go back.

"Come." Her large eyes drew him into her.

"No, follow me," Ben urged. "Can't you see, it's coming!"

"Come." She caressed his hand. "It's where I belong. We can belong together."

"No!" He dropped her hand and ran.

His legs pumped fast over the rocks and fallen logs on the path. He turned once. She still stood there under the moon. The green thing filled the sky behind her as it streaked toward them.

She was smiling.

Praise for the Element Trilogy:

"Unrelenting, devious but full of heart. Highly recommended." —Jonathan Maberry, New York Times bestselling author of Code Zero
"Chilling and dark…a twisty journey into another world." —J.T. Ellison, New York Times bestselling author of When Shadows Fall
"Fascinating…a haunting story…"—Rebecca Cantrell, New York Times bestselling author of The World Beneath

Purchase the Element Trilogy on sale through December 7th
Book 1 A HUMAN ELEMENT for $0.99
Book 2 A HIDDEN ELEMENT for $1.99

About the Author:

Donna Galanti is the author of the paranormal suspense Element Trilogy (Imajin Books) and the fantasy adventure Joshua and The Lightning Road series (Month9Books). Donna is a contributing editor for International Thriller Writers the Big Thrill magazine and blogs with other middle grade authors at Project Middle Grade Mayhem. She’s lived from England as a child, to Hawaii as a U.S. Navy photographer. Visit her at www.elementtrilogy.com and www.donnagalanti.com.


 


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Review: A Human Element by Donna Galanti

(Full length, paranormal thriller from Echelon Press)

This review is done in conjunction with the author's virtual tour with Goddess Fish Promotions. Donna will be awarding a $50 Amazon GC to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour, so comment today AND follow the tour (if you click on the tour banner above, it'll take you to a list of her tour stops) -- the more you read and comment, the better your odds of winning. You could be introduced to a great new author AND win a GC!


One by one, Laura Armstrong’s friends and adoptive family members are being murdered, and despite her unique healing powers, she can do nothing to stop it. The savage killer haunts her dreams, tormenting her with the promise that she is next. Determined to find the killer, she follows her visions to the site of a crashed meteorite–her hometown. There, she meets Ben Fieldstone, who seeks answers about his parents’ death the night the meteorite struck. In a race to stop a mad man, they unravel a frightening secret that binds them together. But the killer’s desire to destroy Laura face-to-face leads to a showdown that puts Laura and Ben’s emotional relationship and Laura’s pure spirit to the test. With the killer closing in, Laura discovers her destiny is linked to his and she has two choices–redeem him or kill him.


I was intrigued first by the cover to this book, and then by the premise.  It has all my hot buttons: serial killers, psychic powers, romance ... what's not to like?

The book starts off with a bang, literally.  A meteor falls to earth while a little boy watches.  In another place and time, a few months later, babies are born and one is surrendered to a mysterious man in black, putting into play everything that matters in the book.

We spend about half this book watching our hero and heroine grow up.  I admit to finding the heroine, Laura, a little too perfect, too nice, too friendly, too loving.  She seemed to have no flaws. But the hero more than made up for it since he seemed to have no virtues.  I admit, I struggled to like him and giving him the label "hero" felt wrong.

Still, they were clearly meant to be together, and as they came together he began to redeem himself and to find that sweet little boy he used to be.  Laura never developed any real flaws, but I liked watching her with Ben.  It made her seem a bit more normal, which may have been the author's intention.

The evil here is truly evil in every way.  I shudder to think that something like X-10 could ever exist.  He had no mercy, no pity, no positive emotions.  He thrived on hate and anger and perverted lusts.  The courage Laura must have had to face him would have been enormous.

"A Human Element" had everything it needed to be a edge-of-your seat thriller, but I found it a bit slow.  I think we spent just a little too much time watching Ben and Laura grow up. Some parts of their lives were integral to the plot (like Laura's friend, Jim...I really loved him!), but some was a bit dull and unnecessary. 

Still, overall it was a good book with an ending that surprised me.  Ms. Galanti has an amazing imagination and solid writing skills, and I expect to see great things in the future from her.

3.5 / 5 Flowers -- I liked it!

Donna Galanti is the author of the paranormal suspense novel A HUMAN ELEMENT (Echelon Press). Donna has a B.A. in English and a background in marketing. She is a member of International Thriller Writers, Horror Writers Association, The Greater Lehigh Valley Writers Group, and Pennwriters. She lives with her family in an old farmhouse in PA with lots of nooks, fireplaces, and stinkbugs but sadly, no ghosts.

Visit her at: http://blog.donnagalanti.com/wp/

Connect with Donna here:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/DonnaGalanti
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/DonnaGalantiAuthor
Blog: http://blog.donnagalanti.com/wp/

Purchase A HUMAN ELEMENT here:
Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/dg-the-Kindle
Barnes & Noble: http://tinyurl.com/dg-he-Nook