ExcerpTuesday: Jeremy Burns

That was part of the beauty of the whole operation: they didn’t exist. Not as individuals, not as an organization. They were naught but shadows glimpsed from the corner of one’s eye, ghosts that existed solely in dreamscapes. Dead men begetting more dead men.

Someday, the truth would come out, but not today. Not with the Cold War, as some were starting to call the tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union, escalating as it was. Just days earlier, the Soviets had launched a man-made satellite into space, broadcasting its ominous beeping as it traced a terrifying line across the night sky. No, the secret he guarded could not be revealed in this day. But by the same token, it would no longer be guarded by his hand. His story, his secret, a secret that even his superiors would kill for, was in a safe place, even if its caretaker was unaware of its importance and potential implications for the nation, for the world. All of his loose ends in this life were tied up. All of them save one. Roger gripped the cable in his hands, drawing the noose tight around his neck like a businessman tying his tie in the morning before going off to work. He was already dead, he told himself. He was just finishing what the Division had already done to him. What he had done to so many others in the name of freedom.

He took a deep breath, raised his eyes skyward in a last-minute plea for redemption, and, gripping the cable around his neck with both hands, stepped from the girder into nothingness. Three seconds and thirty-two feet later, the cord drew tight around his neck, lacerating the skin and muscle but leaving the head attached to its body. The eyes rolled back as the head lolled forward. A left shoe plummeting to the dark waters below, the body danced its brief fandango, a lifeless marionette held aloft by one fatal string. On display for the city to see, a man six years dead was just growing cold. The Division had claimed its latest victim. One of its own. Author Bio: A n avid reader since the age of three, Jeremy Burns was devouring novels by the time other children his age were still learning their ABCs. Blessed (and, at times, cursed) with a decidedly active imagination and an insatiable curiosity for nearly everything, Jeremy made learning and storytelling two of his chief passions. After earning his degree in History from Florida State University, Jeremy accepted a position teaching literature, creative writing, political science, and philosophy at an international school in Dubai. Like the characters in his books, Jeremy is an intrepid explorer whose own adventures have taken him from Mayan ruins in the Yucatan to the pyramids of Egypt, from medieval castles across Europe to the jungles of Bangladesh, and beyond. To date, Jeremy has traveled to more than twenty countries across four continents, seeking adventure, discovery, and ideas for future novels. When not exploring a new corner of the globe, Jeremy lives in Florida, where he is working on his next thrilling novel.

Blurb: Graduate students Jonathan and Michael Rickner, sons of eminent archeologist Sir William Rickner, are no strangers to historical secrets and archeological adventures. But when Michael is discovered dead in his Washington, D.C. apartment, Jon refuses to believe the official ruling of suicide. Digging deeper into his brother’s work, he discovers evidence that Michael was murdered to keep his dissertation research buried. Joined by Michael’s fiancée Mara Ellison, Jon travels to New York where he uncovers the threads of a deadly Depression-era conspiracy – one entangling the Hoover Administration, the Rockefellers, and the rise of Nazi Germany – and the elite cadre of assassins that still guard its unspeakable secret. Finding themselves in the crosshairs of the same men who killed Michael, Jon and Mara must navigate a complex web of historical cover-ups and modern-day subterfuge, outwitting and outrunning their all-powerful pursuers as they race through a labyrinthine treasure hunt through the monuments and museums of Manhattan to discover the last secret of John D. Rockefeller, Jr., before their enemies can bury the truth – and them – forever. Links: Jeremy on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JeremyBurnsBooks Jeremy's Website: http://www.authorjeremyburns.com/ Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Ashes-Jeremy-Burns/dp/1936558327 Barnes And Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/from-the-ashes-jeremy-burns/1107870150 Publisher: http://www.fictionstudiobooks.com/Fiction_Studio_Books/Home.html

ExcerpTuesday: Joel M. Andre

EXCERPT: 

Chapter 21

Jessica was dead. The words were more of a shocked thought than an actual statement. Disbelief clung to the poor elf’s face.

First it was Kris and now Jessica. The body count was going up and, in his mind, Pepper wondered who would end up the next victim if they didn’t catch the killer soon. But as far as he heard from the gossip around town, there wasn’t even a solid suspect.

The police had all left the area and the body of Kris had been hauled away to the medical examiner’s office. Now he had stumbled upon Jessica’s body, decapitated, with blood blasted all around.

He knew he needed to call the police. They needed to get back here and protect the village. This wasn’t a random incident after all. He wondered what, if any, clues had been pieced together.

Then again, Kringle had told him that the killer they were dealing with wasn’t even human. If that was the case, should he even bother getting the police involved?

There was that female detective; perhaps she had something that could help him. Maybe if he told her what Kringle had told him! Although, perhaps that was a remarkably stupid idea after all. She didn’t even believe that the dead man before her was Santa Claus. How was he going to convince her that a demon was on the loose?

He was standing there, deep in thoughts, when he heard the front door slowly open. The sound of the cold and bitter air as it rushed in and mixed with the warm air. Then softly the door closed again. His ears perked up.

Pepper could hear footsteps hammering onto the hard wood floors approaching him. Not just one pair, but what appeared to be two.

He began to back towards the curtains along the window in the back of the room, and slowly slid behind them. He slowed his breathing, taking low silent puffs of air as needed to avoid being discovered.

The sound of shoes falling on the floor entered the room. The rhythm of the falling footsteps started matching the pace of his beating heart, steady and firm. They stopped short and he heard a woman gasp.

Another voice said something he couldn’t understand, but he could tell it was male. He slowly pulled the curtain back to see if he recognized the individuals.

As his eye slowly crossed the edge of the curtain; he saw a large man he had never seen before and the back of a woman with a badge on her belt. The woman who was investigating the other murder!

“Oh thank God!” he screamed. He tore out from behind the curtains. Arms rose to embrace Lauren in a hug.

Protectively, the ghoul, now in human form lunged at the man. He smacked him hard, knocking him to the ground and pinning him there, protecting his friend Lauren.

“You leave lady alone” the tall man growled.

“Let me go you idiot,” the elf screamed at him.

“Well here is an interesting circumstance.” Lauren spoke up. “Drew, let him go.”

The elf shoved against the large man and jumped quickly to his feet. Brushing his elbows and knees he gave a quick and angry glare at the tall man. He then turned to Lauren.

“I need to tell you what’s going on,” the elf quickly said. “It’s very important I tell you.”

“If you are going to admit to the murders, we need to get a sworn statement, and that’s not something I can do right here.” Lauren responded.

“But I didn’t kill them; I came in only a few moments before you! There isn’t even a drop of blood on me. Jessica was dead when I arrived.” Pepper pleaded.

“Well, then let’s hear your side of the story.” Lauren responded.

Pepper looked at her and began recounting the experience with the spirit in the woods, the anger and the search for answers leading to the discovery of Jessica’s body.

The whole time, Lauren stared at him intently, judging the words he said, and trying to find items that did not mesh up, making notes for questions she still needed answered.

As the investigation continued, Lauren again asked Pepper to repeat the portion about the encounter with the apparition in the woods, studying the details and watching the facial expressions of the elf.

After all was said and done, she realized she believed the elf. Worst of all, it appeared as though there was an unholy evil stalking them in the North Pole.

Book Details:

Genre:Adult Suspense, Mystery, Thriller,Horror
Publisher: Darkcountry Publications
Publication Date: June 13, 2008
Purchase:Amazon

Synopsis:
Detective Lauren Bruni has dealt with death for her entire life. She has watched it ruin lives, and brought people closer together. Her job taught her to separate fact from fiction.
But on a cold December day, all Lauren had believed in would be shattered and tossed aside. Thrust in a world unlike any she has seen before, she investigates a prominent figure’s grisly murder, and searches for answers along a strange new set of people.

All while a killer watchers her every movement from the background. He waits in the shadows, waiting to strike at her when the time is right.

What is the secret of the death at the North Pole, and what is the larger horror at hand? Life lessons are learned and a realization that sometimes the most real things in this world are the ones we believe in the least. 

About Joel:
Joel M. Andre was born January 13, 1981. At a young age he was fascinated with the written word. It was at fourteen that Poe blew his mind, and Andre began to dabble with darker poetry.

Between the years of 1999 and 2007 Joel was featured in various poetry anthologies and publications. In 2008 he released his first collection,Pray the Rain Never Ends.

Knowing there was something deeper and darker inside of his soul, Joel decided to take a stab at commercialism. Releasing the dark tongue in cheek, A Death at the North Pole, created a dark world among the death of Kris Kringle. Ultimately providing a tale of redemption.

October of 2008 saw Joel release his second book, Kill 4 Me. A tale in which a woman is haunted by a vengeful spirit through text messages and instant messaging.

Taking some time off and doing a lot of soul searching, Joel took things in a new direction and dabbled in the Fantasy Genre with, The Pentacle of Light. The tale dealing with five major races battling for control of Earth, and the acceptance of their God.

Finally, after missing his detective Lauren Bruni, he released the book The Return in October 2009, this time moving the action from the North Pole and placing it in the small Arizona community he was raised in.
Andre’s latest book is The Black Chronicles: Cry of the Fallen about a dead man who seeks revenge on the woman that tormented him in peaceful Northern Arizona.

Currently, he resides in Chandler, AZ.
You can visit his website at www.joelmandre.info

The Next Stop:

December 14th-Guest Post@ I'd Rather Be At The Beach

Author Excerpt: Vincent Zandri

Excerpt:

From my bed, I shoot a glance at his wedding finger and see that it’s empty. Moonlight the observant. I also see that the sun’s rays haven’t quite tanned the white ring-line that remains. Another newly-separated-on-the-way-to-divorce cop. Big surprise there.

“Mind if I ask you a few questions, Mr. Moonlight?”
“Dick,” I offer. “Dick.”
“’Scuse me?” the uniformed side of beef breaks in. He’s obviously under the impression I’m trying to mess with his boss. Or maybe he’s just trying to pick a fight with the near dead, or the hardly alive.“That’s my name. Dick. As in, your boss may call me Dick, as opposed to a dick.”

Book Details:

Genre:Adult Suspense, Mystery, Thriller
Publisher: StoneGate Ink
Publication Date: August 13,2011

Synopsis:
“Life sucks. Then you die. Or, if you’re Dick Moonlight, first you die and then you live.”

Dick Moonlight is dead.

Really dead this time, now that three President Obama-masked thugs dressed all in black and communicating only with hand-held voice synthesizers pressed up against their voice boxes have beat the life right out of him inside a dark, downtown Albany alley. What are the thugs after? A box. Size, weight, description unknown. They also want him to stay away from his newest and only client: a handicapped nuclear engineer of dubious Russian heritage by the same of Peter Czech.

But then, now that they’ve killed him, Moonlight’s problems seem to be over. In fact, as he undergoes an out of body experience, his soul floating above his train-wreck of a corpse inside the Albany Medical Center I.C.U., he feels pretty damned good. Great in fact. To make death all the more sweeter, his one true love, Lola, is standing by his bedside. With her long dark hair draping her chiseled face and big round Jackie O sunglasses hiding tear-filled eyes, she appears every bit the grieving sig other. Nothing could make the dead-and-gone Moonlight prouder.

But then something happens. Something bad. A man enters into the I.C.U. Some young guy. He takes hold of Lola’s hand, and pulls her into him. Together, the two share a loving embrace over Moonlight’s dead body. Now, what seemed like a peaceful death is anything but. Moonlight wants back inside his body so he can face-off Some Young Guy and find out if his true love has in fact been cheating on him. At the same time, he wants to find out the true identity of those thugs who killed him so he can exact his revenge. No doubt about it, Moonlight needs to live if he’s going to uncover some pretty painful answers and take care of business.

Like a little kid dropping down a playground slide, Moonlight slides right back inside his bruised and broken body. Opening his eyes the white light blinds him. He feels the pain of his wounds and the pain of his breaking heart.

Life sucks, then you die.

But Moonlight rises. 

Author Bio:
Vincent Zandri is the No. 1 International Bestselling Amazon Kindle author of THE INNOCENT, GODCHILD, THE REMAINS, MOONLIGHT FALLS, CONCRETE PEARL and the forthcoming MOONLIGHT RISES. He is also the author of the bestselling digital shorts, PATHOLOGICAL and MOONLIGHT MAFIA. Harlan Coben has described his novels as "...gritty, fast-paced, lyrical and haunting," while the New York Post called THE INNOCENT, "Sensational...Masterful...Brilliant!" In March, April and May of 2011, he sold more than 100,000 Kindle E-Books editions of his novels, and is rapidly closing in on the 200K mark all totaled. An MFA in Writing graduate of Vermont College, Zandri's work is translated into many languages including the Dutch, Russian and Japanese. An adventurer, foreign correspondent, and freelance photo-journalist for RT, Globalspec, IBTimes and more, he divides his time between New York and Florence, Italy.

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The Next Stop:

October 27th-Review@Thoughts In Progress

Purchase Links: 

Amazon|BarnesAndNoble