AGAINST THE DARKNESS by A.M. Griffin: Release Blitz

Against the Darkness - Release Week Blitz

By A M Griffin

Young Adult

Date Published: June 4, 2014

    

Seventeen year old Sinta Allen has one objective, to get from Tallahassee, Florida to her mother in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Seems simple enough right? Wrong. Hostile aliens have invaded Earth—and it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that we’re losing the fight. While the aliens bring devastation and destruction and take people away to God knows where in their spaceships, Sinta, along with some of her classmates must rely on their survival instincts, a little luck and each other if they want to survive the venture across the country. The last thing she needs is for Wade, her school friend and Jason, her rescuer, to distract her along the way. 

Excerpt:

“Shayla,” I say with my voice in a mixture of a whisper and whine. I’m scared to say anything louder.

Stomp, stomp, slide.

My left.

I peer in that direction, lifting my sword, pointing it to whatever will come at me. It shakes in the air, my hands almost too unsteady to hold it.

Stomp, stomp, slide.

Shayla approaches my back. “Your turn.”

Stomp, stomp, slide.

“Something is here,” I choke out.

She inhales sharply and steps back, away from me. Only after I feel the tug on the back of my shirt do I realize that she has me, pulling me with her. I take a slow deliberate step back and then another, letting her guide me as I keep my eyes peeled for them. We move to the far corner of the room. All the while the stomp, stomp, slide comes closer and closer, louder and louder.

Briefly I wonder if they can hear it in the basement. They have to. Will they come up and save us? Could they even risk it? I don’t think so. We’re on our own until the aliens leave.

I know we’re at the wall when Shayla stops abruptly and she leads me to rest my back on the wall. We’re standing side-by-side, but I get the feeling that I should stand in front of her. I’m the only one with a weapon. So I do.

“No,” she whispers. “What are you doing?”

“I have a sword.”

“Yeah, one that you’ve been having for all but five minutes.”

“Shhh,” I hiss.

After a blink, it’s there, blocking the entrance. A lizard, green and scaly. Eight feet tall, rippling muscles, staring at me with yellow eyes with black, diamond-shaped iris.

How can a lizard be muscular? My mind screams.

I whimper as it stares down at me, its breathing heavy.

A warm rush of urine travels down my legs.

Shayla’s scream seems to pierce through me.

“You will submit to us.”

Oh, God, No!

In two strides it’s at us. It reaches out for me and all I can focus on are the claws, three black claws, almost like talons, coming closer to me. Instinctively I cringe away from it. But those claws keep coming toward me.

With a “swish” of my sword I swing as hard as I can. It glides through his skin like through butter. A gush of warm liquid sprays me in the face and torso.

I’m not the only one who is surprised by what I’ve done. The lizard stares at his arm with pure shock. I’m in pure shock too. Not that I’ve done it, but that I’ve taken his hand clear off.

Before I can over think about what I’ve done, I take another swipe, this time at its leg. It’s not wearing any clothes, besides some kind of utility belt, so aiming for its knee is easy. The lizard roars as the sword passes through it, making him buckle and fall to his left.

I take a bold step forward and, as it’s falling down, I bring the blade of my sword down across its thick neck, separating its head from his body.

“Oh God!” Shayla cries out.

“I killed it. I can’t believe that I killed it.” My eyes are focused on the ooze instead of blood that’s dripping from my sword and hand.

“We have to get back to the basement.” Shayla rushes past me, but I grab her arm stopping her from leaving the room.

“We can’t. If there are any more aliens, we’ll lead them straight to the others.”

She pulls her arm out of my grasp. “They have guns. They can kill them!” She runs through the door, leaving me to stare at chopped up lizard.

But I have a sword.

Just as quickly as she leaves, Shayla comes back, screaming. “There’s another one!” She runs past me and to a small window on the back wall.

Another lizard, just like the first comes through the door. It takes a quick look at the carnage of its friend and in that time I raise my sword, readying for it.

I killed one. I can kill another.

With a growl it turns and uses its tail to knock me from my feet. As I hit the ground, so does the sword. I hear the clang of metal sliding across the floor and out of my reach. I can’t take my eyes off of it. It peers over me to where Shayla is. It lifts up a foot. I see how rough its skin is, the way his black claws curl inward.

It’s going to step on me and dig its claws in my flesh, ripping me apart.

        

About the Author:

A. M. Griffin is a wife who rarely cooks, mother of three, dog owner (and sometimes dog owned), a daughter, sister, aunt and friend. She’s a hard worker whose two favorite outlets are reading and writing. She enjoys reading everything from mystery novels to historical romances and of course fantasy romance. She is a believer in the unbelievable, open to all possibilities from mermaids in our oceans and seas, angels in the skies and intelligent life forms in distant galaxies.

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SAVAGE SUMMER by Ruth Bainbridge: Blog Tour w/ Excerpt

Title:  SAVAGE SUMMER

Author: Ruth Bainbridge

Category/Genre: Mystery/Thriller

Blurb: 

“When life gives you lemons … be sure to spit the pits out of that lemonade you’re making. Otherwise you’ll choke.” – Curt Savage

The past year has not been a good one for Curt Savage. Depressed over the death of a loved one, he’s gone into hiding, becoming entirely too comfortable with saying that he’s in the Witness Protection Program. But the urge to find that elusive killer puts his MIA status on hold. With the help of his new buddy Mike, he delves into the murky world of tracking down a killer — and uncovering who poisoned a neighbor’s dog.

SAVAGE SUMMER is the first in the Curt Savage mystery series. Going from former cop to private dick, he represents a new kind of detective—the reluctant kind. As his best bud Mike puts it, “Private investigation just got Savage.”

Purchase on Amazon

 

Excerpt: 

The phone jarred me out of the fantasy. I awoke suddenly, shielding the light that assaulted my eyes. The odor of Ruthie’s perfume was everywhere.
“Ruth?” I called out. Disoriented, I reached out to her side of the bed, expecting her to be there. It took me several more seconds to realize that she was dead.
“Hello,” I started. The gravel in my throat demanded that I clear it once or twice.
“I’m responding to the ad about Ruth Warwick’s murder.”
 Those words officially woke me up. More effective than any cup of coffee, the voice synthesizer disguised the caller’s identity, but the point was that someone had finally phoned. Ever since I’d been dispensed with as a suspect, I’d placed small pennysaver ads in papers published in both Pennsylvania and Ruthie’s home state of Connecticut. Somebody knew something, but I hoped this wasn’t some clown trying to get the reward money from punking my ass.
“Yes, go ahead. I’m listening,” I replied as I ran for a pen and paper. I wanted to be ready, but all I heard was static and heavy breathing. I guessed that it was “all about the money” time. In a second, they’d be asking for the details of how to collect. I figured I’d beat them to that particular punch. “Look, if you’re worried about the reward, the $10,000 will be released when it leads to the arrest of the person, or persons, responsible.”
“I don’t care about the money. There are bigger things going on.”
“What? What do you mean? What things?”
“In due time, Savage.”
“You know my name? How—“
“Inconsequential, don’t you think? Right now, all I can say is this—Ruth was having an affair.”
The click of the receiver on the other end told me the call was concluded. Shocked by the accusation, I stared at the phone, still in my hand. In a million years, I’d never expected a call like that. I collapsed in a chair, trying to think things through. I concluded it had to be a joke perpetrated by someone that thought I hadn’t suffered enough. I slammed the phone back into its stand and took my shower. My stomach was in knots. I was upset that someone was trying to put things in my head about the woman I still loved.
 

About The Author

 Ruth Bainbridge

Born in the idyllic, sleepy town of Ithaca, NY, Ruth Bainbridge has been a lover of mysteries for her entire life.

Ever since a child, she has consumed detective stories at regular intervals, becoming enamored with all the superstars of crime. She loved nothing more than to match wits with the likes of Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple, Thomas Pitt, Lord Peter Wimsey, Richard Jury and Edward X Delaney, becoming inspired by their brilliance. Hoping to emulate her writing idol’s achievements in dreaming up such characters, she started composing her own short stories.

However, life interfered with her plans of becoming the next hopeful to try a life of crime—on paper at least. Devoting herself to her marriage and the raising of four children, the empty nest syndrome gave her the impetus to return to her first love—murder.

SAVAGE SUMMER is Ms. Bainbridge’s debut novel. It introduces Curtis Owen Savage into the world of ink and fury. Savage is engaged and about to be married when the brutal murder of his fiancée sends the world crashing down around him. Depressed, he isolates himself to better deal with the pain, but his beloved Ruthie won’t leave him alone. Haunting him with her presence, he becomes obsessed with finding her killer, and making him pay for taking her away.

With the help of a quirky friend and an old colleague, he takes his first steps, but the poisoning of a next door neighbor’s dog lands him his first case—and into a new profession. Hired as a private detective, he navigates through a complex series of clues to discover why someone attempted to kill the black Pomeranian. In the midst of trying to track down the motive, he receives his first anonymous phone call from a phantom who insists he knows secrets about his fiancé’s death. Dubbing the caller Dr. Shadows, the tidbits scattered become the breadcrumbs that lead Savage down a dark rabbit hole that was never meant to be discovered.

Her next planned project is MURDER MOST FOWL. Alex “Trout” Matthews, is a former NYC detective. Now retired, he moves to the town of Portsmith, Idaho so he can focus on his one passion—fishing. But as Ruth puts it, “Murder rarely leaves an inquisitive mind alone for long.” He soon finds himself pulled back in the stream of things and knee-deep in mystery.

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MESSENGER by Laury Falter: Book Blitz

Messenger - Week Blitz

By Laury Falter

Young Adult Paranormal Romance

Date Published: May 8, 2014

  

  

Maggie does not know she is a Messenger. She has never met her eternal lover. She has never survived a Fallen One. All this changes when a Messenger awakens in the Hall of Records only to die moments later, never to return.

As Maggie sets out to determine why the Messengers are suddenly beginning to die, she crosses paths with the infuriatingly appealing Eran and their story begins.

In this riveting account of Maggie's first life on earth with Eran, the star-crossed lover's romance transpires amidst treacherous enemies, their friends' resistance, and their own opposing wills. With the odds against her, can Maggie survive long enough to admit the feelings she has so carefully denied?

Messenger is the first prequel to the bestselling Guardian Trilogy - the breathtaking romantic saga about a love that has lasted centuries between a Messenger and her Guardian.

EXCERPT

He strode to me and crouched at my hip. His shirt was already off and the nearness of his well-built chest made it a challenge to stop myself from glancing at it. To my astonishment, he seemed not to notice my internal plight, not even the tremble that shook me when he tenderly took my chin and turned it toward him.

"You're healing nicely," he observed, concentrating on my forehead.

"Mm-hmm." It was all I could muster.

This was the closest we had ever been. His lips were no more than a few inches from me and drew my attention.

"I don't think you'll even scar."

When I didn't answer, I felt a shift in his presence and my eyes darted up to find him staring back with his striking blue-green eyes.

We froze in place.

Only our chests rose and fell, and they did it more rapidly the longer we stared at each other.

As his eyes lowered to my lips, his fingers tightened gently around my chin.

The flare of his nostrils and the intensity of his stare mesmerized me, made me want him closer. And it told me that he was struggling too and was in profound debate over what we were doing. No ward should be this close to their guardian, even if the ward didn't recognize them as one. It was taboo, unheard of, an abject insult to the role the guardian had been given. Yet, here he was, looking at me, at my lips, tensing at the sight of them.

And he wasn't alone in the struggle. For the first time, I forgot my urge to throw him off balance, my need to establish my independence. I was the one quickly losing my poise and forgetting who was dominant. The charm I fought so hard to deny, the very one that drew all others to him, took hold of me. And I gave into it out of my own free will.

About the Author: Laury Falter

Laury Falter is a bestselling author of young adult romantic suspense and urban fantasy. She is also an animal rights activist, a sailor, a one-handed golf putterer, and a Colorado River conqueror.

She has three series out: the Guardian Trilogy, the Residue Series, and the Apocalypse Chronicles.

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TRUE BLUE by Susan Rae: Promo Blitz

TRUE Blue - PROMO Blitz

By Susan Rae

Romantic Suspense

Date Published: May 16, 2014

  

Sometimes we must revisit the past to embrace our future.

Twenty-four years ago, the murder of a Chicago police officer changed Joey DeLuca’s life.  He lost his best friend and first love, Meghan McConnell, when her mother whisked her out of town.  Now, on the eve of another officer’s death, Meghan is back and about to step into his life again.

There is very little gray in Joey's line of work as a Lt. Detective--it is either black or white, right or wrong. But Meghan’s insistence on finding answers to her father's murder threatens those beliefs and throws his marriage to CPD Detective Andi, his career, and the entire DeLuca family in jeopardy when new revelations come to light.

Can Joey save his marriage, solve the murder, and keep his family together all at the same time?

The third book in the DeLuca Family Series, TRUE blue can also be enjoyed as a stand-alone novel.

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EXCERPT

Chapter One

Lieutenant Detective Joseph Anthony DeLuca Jr. of the Chicago Police Department knelt beside the victim and lifted the edge of the plastic sheet to expose the bloodied head and lifeless torso. His gut clenched. This never got easier, but this guy was a cop, a detective under his own watch, and that fact irked him even more.

“How the hell did this happen?” he asked Sergeant Davis, the slain detective’s immediate supervisor.

Oh, yes, he’d gotten the quick initial briefing when he’d arrived on scene. A convenience store robbery in progress. Shots fired. Officers responding, but before backup could arrive, more shots fired, and then a car screaming down the street and Detective Mark Beattie, pursuing on foot, struck down, his body flying through the air on impact, his head smashing against the pavement when he landed.

“Why was he here in the first place?” Lieutenant DeLuca added, ignoring the sweat that beaded on his brow. The late afternoon heat was stifling. The August sun’s hot rays radiated off the pavement. It didn’t help the sick feeling in his gut.

“He was following up on a lead on a previous robbery attempt,” Sergeant Davis said, “questioning a woman in the apartment across the street. As near as we can tell, he must have heard the first gunshots and he ran outside to check it out.

“We got the call at 3:47 for shots fired. According to witnesses, right after the first shots were fired, a man wearing a ski mask ran out of the store and took off on foot. Seconds later, another guy comes running out of the store, again wearing a ski mask. From what we’ve put together so far, when the second suspect came out of the store, Beattie called out that he was a police officer and told him to stop. About the same time, a car pulled up in the parking lot and a woman started to get out.

“The suspect began shooting toward Beattie, and Beattie returned fire, but then the suspect ran toward the woman’s car. He grabbed the woman and threw her aside so he could get into the car. That’s when Beattie took off after him on foot, right about the time another car came racing down the street. The car slammed into him. Beattie didn’t have a chance. Near as we can figure, it was the getaway car.

“The woman’s sitting in one of the patrol cars. She’s pretty shook up. Her eleven-month-old baby was in a car seat in the back. Both are okay. The suspect never made it out of the parking lot. It seems Detective Beattie got off a fatal shot before he was struck by the car. CSU is still working over the perp.”

Lieutenant DeLuca’s jaw clenched as his eyes focused on the bloodied features of his detective. Beattie was a good man, one of his best. He’d left a wife and two children, middle school age. Just last week, the man was telling him about a trip he was planning to take with his family to the Wisconsin Dells. He remembered the light in Beattie’s eyes as he talked about how excited the kids were.

“EMS worked on him for a full twenty minutes before calling it,” Davis continued. “CSU found a bullet hole in his neck and one in his chest. Not sure what really killed him—the impact, the gunshots, or smacking his head on the pavement. Take your pick.”

“What about the owner of the convenience store?” DeLuca asked.

“Deceased.”

Lieutenant DeLuca shook his head. “Are they done here?” He nodded down at Beattie.

“Just finished up, for now.”

The lieutenant eased the edge of the sheet down and said a silent prayer for his detective before looking up again at Davis. “Then let’s get him the hell off the street. Has his wife been notified?”

“I’ve already sent one of our men over there.”

“We’re not releasing his name until I know his wife’s been notified.”

“Right.”

“Any chance the first guy out of the store is the same one that slammed into Beattie?”

The sergeant shook his head. “I don’t know. The timing’s pretty tight. So far, none of the witnesses have put the two together.”

“Then we’re looking for a third suspect.”

“I think so. I’ve got officers canvassing the area.”

Lieutenant DeLuca glanced around at the crime tape surrounding the scene, at the crowd of gawkers and media already assembled around the perimeter. He hoped their man got there before word got to Beattie’s wife. With today’s instant information age, he was sure the news of another cop killing in the city of Chicago was spreading like wildfire across the airwaves, as well as the Internet. He glanced again at the assembled media. They’d want an official statement soon.

“What about the hit-and-run?”

“We’ve got a description of the vehicle. Put an APB out on all channels. Nothing yet, but we’ll find him, Lieutenant.”

“You’re damn straight we’ll find him. What about the prior attempted robbery? Any leads there?”

“We’re checking the surveillance video. We’ll be putting a description of all the suspects out within the hour, along with the video. Of course, they’re all wearing ski masks, but who knows? Maybe we’ll get lucky and somebody will recognize them. The two robberies could be tied together.”

“Best guess?”

“Gang bangers.”

“In the middle of the day?”

“A dare. An initiation, maybe. Crazy what these punks are trying now.”

The lieutenant’s stomach burned. No matter how hard they tried to clean up the streets, some days it seemed like the gangs were getting the better of them.

His cell phone buzzed. He reached into the inside pocket of his suit coat and pulled it out. The caller ID indicated it was Andi, his wife.

Officer Andrea DeLuca was a detective, too. She would have heard about the incident already. She’d also know who was shot and that it wasn’t him.

Deciding he wasn’t ready to talk to her about it just yet, he let the call go to voice mail. Less than thirty seconds later, it buzzed again, this time indicating a text.

You okay?

He sighed and texted back.

Yes.

Are you going to be able to make it to the dinner tonight?

Damn, he’d pretty much forgotten about the dinner. His sister Angela and her boyfriend had invited the DeLuca clan, along with about fifty of their closest friends, to the soft opening of her boyfriend’s bistro. His sister had been pretty adamant about all of them attending.

He texted back, Chances are, not. Go on without me.

Understand. Love you.

He paused for a second and then typed, Me too, and hit send. Why did he hesitate? He didn’t exactly know. Things had been tense between them lately, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on why. Perhaps it was because he was up for a promotion soon and he was working long hours to try to not screw it up. Between that and Andi’s own dedication to their chosen line of work, it seemed they were spending less and less time together. He glanced back down at Detective Beattie. The team had returned and was now placing his body into a body bag. He frowned. Maybe it was time he and Andi did some re-evaluating.

He was about to slip the phone back into his pocket when it buzzed again. Glancing once more at the caller ID, he didn’t recognize the number or the area code. It definitely was not one of his fellow officers or a member of his family. Ignoring the call for now, he slipped the phone back into his pocket and scanned the assembling media again. No less than three satellite trucks had joined them.

According to his cell phone, it was 4:53—just in time for the evening news. Loosening his tie, he took a step toward them. The temperature was a searing ninety-seven degrees. Add in the humidity and the heat index, it had to be about one hundred and five. The heat didn’t help the tension in the streets. It was a well-known fact that crime, including homicides, went up when the temperatures rose.

He glanced up at the sky. They could use a cold front to come blowing through, complete with thunderstorms. It would be a welcome relief.

But there wasn’t a cloud in sight.

About the Author: Susan Rae

Susan Rae grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and received her Bachelor of Arts Degree from Columbia College, Missouri with an emphasis in creative writing. She penned her first melodrama in fifth grade for a Girl Scout Drama badge. Complete with hero, heroine, and dastardly villain, it wasn’t so different, really, than the romantic suspense she writes now.

“I love writing romantic suspense because it allows me to combine a sexy, passionate love story with a gritty suspense tale—in my opinion, the best of both worlds.  It also allows me to express my appreciation for the outdoors in the settings that I recreate on the page.”

Freefall,  Susan’s second novel, takes place in Wisconsin's Kettle Moraine Forest and beautiful Door County.  ICE blue returns to the busy streets of Chicago and the shores of Lake Michigan to continue the story of the DeLuca family which began in her award winning first novel, heartbeats. In TRUE blue, the third book in the DeLuca Family series, Susan was thrilled when it became apparent that her characters must take a trip to Montana’s majestic Glacier National Park.

When she is not sketching characters, you might find Susan on the golf course working on her handicap, or traveling around the country seeking out new settings for her novels with her husband and empty nest puppies, Ginger and Nikute.  To read more about Susan’s novels and the writing life, please visit her website/blog at www.susanrae.com

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Blog tour w/ excerpt: DECEPTION IN THE SHADOWS by T.L. Hiddix

Title:  Deception In The Shadows

Author: T.L. Haddix

Genre: Romantic Suspence

Release Date: TBD (Late April)

Buy DECEPTION IN THE SHADOWS

 

Blurb:

When all the lies come to light, nothing will be the same.

From the time she came to live with her uncle Ron after the tragic deaths of her parents when she was a young girl, Carrie Greer never had reason to doubt she was wanted.  Now a dispatcher with the county, she's a grown woman building a life of her own.  But after a trip to Florida, her uncle's attitude changes...and not for the better.  While struggle to come to terms with this shift in their relationship and all the collateral damage it causes, another tragedy strikes.  Ron Smith is murdered.  And the only person with an obvious reason to want him dead...is Carrie.

Robbie Bailey is finally free to pursue his lifelong dream of becoming a teacher.  But instead of attending classes, he ends up having to return to Leroy and to Carrie, the girl he's been in love with since he was a teenager.  He finds himself in the position of having to convince her of the depth of his feelings while protecting her from a vengeful killer bent on keeping long-buried secrets hidden.  And he isn't sure he can succeed at either task.

Deception in the Shadows is the sixth installment in the Shadows/Leroy's Sins Collection, a series of Romantic Suspense novels by author T.L. Haddix.  Other titles include Secrets in the Shadows, Uncle the Moon's Shadow, and In the Heart's Shadow.


 EXCERPT:


The tastefully appointed den was quiet, save the sounds of the antique clock ticking on the mantel and the occasional popping of the logs that burned sedately in the fireplace. The room’s two occupants were holding an entire conversation with their eyes, as the woman seated behind the ornate mahogany desk turned an envelope corner to corner to corner. The socially polite smile she usually wore was absent, a cold harshness in its place that would have surprised most who knew her.
That harshness was no surprise to the man seated in the comfortable leather chair in front of the desk. Trey London shifted, moving so that he could set the cut-glass tumbler he held on a strategically placed coaster on the table beside him.
“How do you want to handle this?” he finally asked. His voice was quiet, even though they were alone in the big house and being overheard wasn’t a concern. Most things he did, he did quietly. People found his calm demeanor reassuring for the most part, with only a handful seeing that predatory watchfulness for what it truly was.
She sat forward, stunningly elegant even though she was attired in a simple blouse and skirt. Her fingers ran across the top of the envelope where she’d slit it with the pearl-handled letter opener earlier that day. “The same way we handled all Hatcher’s other little… indiscretions. Quickly and without blinking. Making those go away was fairly simple, and I see no reason this has to be different. You’ll take care of it?”
He nodded. “Of course. You know this will have to be dealt with in a more severe fashion than the rest. We can’t pay him off or scare him off.”
An arched eyebrow lifted as she gave a little shake of her head. “I’m aware. And I don’t care. He’s not worth my concern. Do you have a problem doing it?”
“You know I don’t. I’ve not spent the last fifteen years protecting your interests only to balk now. When?”
“Soon. The sooner, the better.” She lifted her own glass and took a sip of the amber liquid it contained. In the firelight and the warm glow of the Tiffany lamp perched on the edge of her
desk, he saw her lips lift into a tiny smirk. “I worked too hard to get where I am to let someone traipse in and take it all from me with this kind of drivel. Hatcher and I never saw eye-to-eye about how these matters should be handled. Apparently, he’s been paying through the nose to keep this quiet. Well, this bitch doesn’t pay.”
That was the God’s honest truth, he knew. Oh, she compensated him well, very well, to act as clean-up man for whatever needed to be swept under the rug, but that was part of their understanding. He made problems go away; that was his job. And he was good at it. In the grand scheme of things, removing this newest problem wasn’t even the vilest act he’d ever performed to keep her safe. But it would be the first time he’d ever killed for her.
“I’ll see that it’s done.” He stood and straightened his sweater before leaving.
She stopped him as he reached the door.
“If you could make it look like an accident, that would probably be best. And we’ll need to find out what he has written down or stashed away, and make sure it disappears as well. Because you know he’ll have something. They always do.”
“Of course they do. I’ll take care of it. You know I will.”
“Why else would I keep you around?” Her eyes dropped to his crotch, and he shut the door of the den back with a quiet snick.
Watching her smile was like looking into the eyes of a shark, and despite the emptiness, he felt an odd sexual thrill run up his spine as she traced the edge of her glass with a blood-red fingernail.
“Why else, indeed?” He went to her, knowing better than to wait for her to come to him while she was in this sort of mood, and stood at the corner of her desk as he waited for instructions. His arousal grew as she slowly unbuttoned her shirt and stood, only to kneel before him. Of all the perks of his job, he thought, closing his eyes as her mouth found its way to him and started working skillfully, this was his favorite. The thrill of the danger of knowing she could have him killed, or that he’d be imprisoned for the rest of his life if the crimes he had committed on her behalf came to light, just added to his pleasure. 

About T.L. Haddix

T.L. Haddix was born in Hazard, Kentucky, a small town in the center of the Appalachian coal fields. Taught to read by her grandmother, T.L. has had a life-long love affair with books, devouring whatever she could get her hands on. From childhood favorites such as the Trixie Belden series and Laura Ingalls Wilder’s “Little House” books, to her current favorites from authors like Tami Hoag, Alex Kava, J.A. Jance and Lisa Kleypas (among many others), T.L. still finds refuge in the written word.

“Growing up, I wanted to be everything – astronaut, police officer, doctor, teacher, reporter, psychologist – there was no clear choice for me. I wanted to do it all. Becoming a writer has allowed me to do just that, because I can live vicariously through my characters.”

A resident of eastern Kentucky, T.L. is hard at work on her next book, when she isn’t chasing after her three cat-children with her husband.

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STEEL ROSE by Barbara Custer: Promo Blitz

Steel Rose - PROMO Blitz

By Barbara Custer

Horror/Sci Fi

Date Published: February 1, 2013

  

The denizens of hell attack. The zombies feed. She’s their meal.

Sometimes they come back. At least the Kryszka aliens do. Their leader injects captured humans with a drug, turning them into zombies. Yeron escapes the Kryszka Colony, hoping to practice medicine on the humans who fear him. Alexis—a patient—is afraid too, until his seductive attentions arouse her. Despite his experimental drug, severe arthritis leaves her too weak to handle most guns. The Kryszka troops and zombies who break into the hospital are hungry. Very hungry. How will she fight them?

EXCERPT

Shattering glass. Plodding footsteps. IV poles crashed to the floor. Glass shards tinkled, punctuated by low-pitched groaning from the rear elevator, the exit Hoffman had claimed to seal.

“Dear God, help us.” Alexis reached for her gun.

“What are you doing? Guns are forbidden on this floor, and…Oh, my God!” Ms. Grese cupped her hands over her mouth. Her authoritarian demeanor vanished, replaced by horror-stricken pallor. “Where are the officers?”

“You think our visitors give a shit?” Alexis scuttled toward the door, feeling vulnerable. The vest didn’t protect her face or hands, but the intruders wouldn’t care about that either. She shoved Ms. Grese ahead of her, pushing with her mind, Yeron beside her. “Run!” she hollered.

As the creatures poured through the ward, a stench crawled down her throat, the stink of things many days dead. Moaning drowned out the sound of Ms. Grese’s cries, a continual chant of “hungry.”

Skeletal figures in tattered rags skirted around Mark, who fired at any who got too close. Their tendons flashed gray against cold cobwebs of rib and knuckle. The flesh that quivered through widened skin tears had the sheen of rotting meat. The skin resembled cracked leather. Weeds sprouted on some of the figures’ necks and hair, the way they did in her nightmares. They made their way to the desk, where two nurses sat. The two women jumped up, both screaming. One of them opened fire with a Glock.

The armed woman was her mother.

Barbara Custer

Barbara lives near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where she works full time as a respiratory therapist. When she’s not working with her patients, she’s enjoying a fright flick or working on horror and science fiction tales. Her short stories have appeared in numerous small press magazines. She’s published Night to Dawn magazine since 2004.

Other books by Barbara include Twilight Healer, City of Brotherly Death, and Close Liaisons. She’s also coauthored Alien Worlds and Starship Invasions (both now out of print) with Tom Johnson. She enjoys bringing her medical background to the printed page, and then blending it with supernatural horror. She maintains a presence on Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter, and The Writers Coffeehouse forum. Look for the photos with the Mylar balloons and you’ll find her.

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