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

Here is where I am going to be this month.

Incendiary will be out in all electronic formats December 15.
December 10  http://www.donnafletchercrow.com/articles.php
December 14 http://www.wendygray.net/
December 16 http://www.morganmandel.blogspot.com/
December 17 http://maryogara.com/?p=297
December 22 http://twoendsofthepen.blogspot.com/

Stop by. There will be prizes!
And one lucky commenter will even win a free pdf of Incendiary, but I'm not telling you which blog I'll give it away at.
cmr

Authorsday: Cherish D'Angelo

Interview with romantic suspense author Cherish D'Angelo


Thank you so much, Chris, for hosting me during my Cherish the Romance Virtual Book Tour, which launches my contemporary romantic suspense, Lancelot's Lady.

What was the name of the first novel you wrote? Did you try to publish it?

Beckoning Wrath. I would have tried to publish it, but Beckoning Wrath was stolen. I'd brought it to school to show my high school English teacher and someone broke into my locker. The only thing missing was my manuscript, which had been typed. Since this was back in the early 80s, it was the only copy.



What do you consider your strengths in terms of your writing?
I have a very firm grasp of my characters and the plot before I even start writing. That I see as a definite strength as many writers I know, haven't got a clue what's going to happen or how their book will end. I always know. My other strength is the ability to really get into my characters' emotions.



What do you consider your weakness and what strategies do you use to overcome it?
My biggest weakness is that I can be distracted from writing by other things that may seem important. Like laundry. Or dishes. Or shopping. I've learned to let some things go in the interest of accomplishing my goals. Goal setting is the key for me. I set my goals early in the day. When I accomplish them, I can move on to other things. Like laundry. Maybe...



How many rejections have you received?
I've received hundreds of rejections. I've been submitting manuscripts since my early 20s. I haven't counted them, but I have enough to wallpaper my home office, probably twice.


What was the worst advice you've been given? Did you know it at the time?
"Don't EVER self-publish a book! It'll ruin your career. No one will take you seriously. A traditional publisher will never pick you up and they'll never publish any self-published book. And you won't get an agent." That was the advice given to me years ago by various people, most of them traditionally published writers. At the time, I believed them, so I sent out query after query and followed the "rules". (See above question and answer.)

That advice has proved to be the very worst advice I've ever been given―in my life. Not only did I successfully self-publish a book, I've successfully self-published many. It has definitely NOT ruined my career; it kick-started it. People take me seriously because they know I'm a serious writer who dedicates herself to the craft and the business. I'm respected in the industry, have been called a "marketing whiz" by many and have spoken at conferences in Canada and the US.
AND I went on to be published by a traditional publisher. AND they published Whale Song, a previously self-published novel. AND a very respected New York agent signed me on as his client. I'm so glad I stopped listening to that terrible advice.



Where do you write?
My writing location changes depending on my mood and my living situation. When we were living in our old home, I wrote in my office about half the time. The other half I spent writing at a couple of local Starbucks. We're now living in a rented home; we sold the old house and are building a new one, which should be ready in November.

I don't have an office in the rental and much of my stuff is still packed, so I write in the living room most of the time. I lounge in a recliner with my laptop and my Pomeranian. Since hubby is at work as well as my daughter, this works for me. But every now and then, I take off to Starbucks. They make better coffee than I do. In my new house, I will have a huge office with a very large window. I can't wait.


What three things would you want with you on a desert island?

My husband, a boat and my laptop.

What place that you haven’t visited would you like to go?
The Bahamas. Especially since doing the research for Lancelot's Lady.



Who is your favorite character in Lancelot's Lady?
Winston Chambers, the evil, blackmailing private investigator that is determined to have Rhianna―at all cost.



You're working on a new novel, SUBMERGED, under your suspense pen name Cheryl Kaye Tardif. Can you tell us about it?
I can. But then I'd have to kill you. ;-)



Author Bio:
When romance author Cherish D'Angelo is not busy relaxing in her hot tub, sipping champagne, eating chocolate-covered strawberries or plotting romantic suspense with scintillating sensuality, she is ruthlessly killing people off in her thrillers as bestselling Canadian suspense author, Cheryl Kaye Tardif.
Cherish's debut romance, Lancelot's Lady placed in the semi-finals of Dorchester Publishing's "Next Best Celler" contest and went on to win an Editor's Choice Award from Textnovel. Currently living in Edmonton, Alberta, Cherish enjoys long walks on the beach, except there aren't any around so she has to make do with trips around the hot tub. And margaritas.



Book Blurb:

When palliative care nurse Rhianna McLeod is given a gift of a dream holiday to the Bahamas from her dying patient, billionaire JT Lance, Rhianna has no idea that her 'holiday' will include being stranded on a private island with Jonathan, an irritating but irresistibly handsome recluse. Or that she'll fall head over heels for the man.
Jonathan isn't happy to discover a drop-dead gorgeous redhead has invaded his island. But his anger soon turns to attraction. After one failed marriage, he has guarded his heart, but Rhianna's sudden appearance makes him yearn to throw caution to the wind.
Lancelot's Lady is available in ebook edition at KoboBooks, Amazon's Kindle Store, Smashwords and other ebook retailers. Help me celebrate by picking up a copy today and "Cherish the romance..."
You can learn more about Lancelot's Lady and Cherish D'Angelo (aka Cheryl Kaye Tardif) at http://www.cherishdangelo.com and http://www.cherylktardif.blogspot.com. Follow Cherish from September 27 to October 10 on her Cherish the Romance Virtual Book Tour and win prizes.



Do you have a question for Cherish?
Leave a comment here, with email address, to be entered into the prize draws. You're guaranteed to receive at least 1 free ebook just for doing so. Plus you'll be entered to win a Kobo ereader. Winners will be announced after October 10th.

Virtual Blog Tour Stop - The Third Rose

Today I welcome Jean Hart Stewart on the last stop of her Virtual Blog Tour. Hereis an excerpt from her latest The Third Rose.

She found him in the library, as she’d expected. His tousled hair was in his hands as he leaned dejectedly on his desk. She fought back the urge to nestle his beautiful head against her breasts and comfort him. Men were not supposed to be beautiful, but Josh was. None of the paintings or statues she’d ever seen compared to Josh. He’d taken off his coat, and his shirt seemed very white against the black hair showing on his chest.


She wanted to feel none of these emotions. Right now life loomed as much too confusing. Why would she long to touch and run her fingers through those dark hairs she could only glimpse? Why did she long to comfort the man who she’d set out to physically destroy? Comfort him by taking him in her arms? One look at him and she forgot everything but the heat suffusing her. She didn’t want to be romantically attracted to any man.

He looked up, his eyes bleak. “I feel like the veriest dolt. I’ve tried everything I can think of, and yet I come up with nothing. I fear this message is beyond me. Yet it haunts me. I know deep in my bones it’s vitally important I break the code, and soon.”

It took effort for her not to go to him and comfort him. But that would not help him, nor indeed, her. She thought if she once laid her hands on him, she’d forget about the code and the message calling to be deciphered. She didn’t understand much of anything lately. Certainly not her own ridiculous self.

“How did you manage to break the last code?” she asked. Perhaps if they talked about it, one of them would get an idea.

“As I told you, I used the word ‘enemy’, but I didn’t get the word out of the air. Each message so far has contained a clue hinting of the key to the next message. There were no clues in the last message except the words you know, ‘the third rose in the library’. You found the rose in the library. And I’ve worked every combination of those words I can dream up. Nothing. Simply nothing.”

BIO:
I feel I’m very much a Californian although I was born in Ohio. California has been home for a good many years. Life changed drastically when I was six and my father died, incredibly from an errant golf ball. A dishonest insurance agent left us with little income and forced my sheltered mother to seek work, and she became a teacher. Her hours required me to be alone in the house most of the afternoon, and since I was forbidden to leave till my mother got home, I became an avid reader. The local library supplied most of the books and I fell in love with both Jane Austen and King Arthur.

Reading is still one of my favorite activities, although I often have to push it aside to make room for my compelling love of writing. My journalism degree wasn’t much use to me until recently. Marriage and raising two children pleasantly got in the way. After twenty years of being a real estate broker and with the kids raised I could finally devote my time to writing, my first love.



Few things in my life have been so satisfying, especially when all my books have a happy ending. Wonderful to make that happen. It only gets more interesting when a secondary character demands his very own book. Sometimes a new character is so noisy I just have to give in. Shouting inside my head gets my attention, believe me, and those guys usually turn out to be fun to write about.