SALE: Over 50% off DEADLY DOZEN Mystery/Thriller Bundle

Oct 10-16 SALE: Get over 50% OFF the DEADLY DOZEN Book Bundle via Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk

This bundle contains 12 complete mystery/thriller novels by award-winning and international bestselling authors: Cheryl Kaye Tardif, Catherine Astolfo, Alison Bruce, Melodie Campbell/Cynthia St-Pierre, Gloria Ferris, Donna Galanti, Kat Flannery, Jesse Giles Christiansen, Rosemary McCracken, Susan J. McLeod, C. S. Lakin and Linda Merlino. 

1. THE BRIDGEMAN by Catherine Astolfo 
2. DEADLY LEGACY by Alison Bruce 
3. A PURSE TO DIE FOR by Melodie Campbell & Cynthia St-Pierre 
4. CHEAT THE HANGMAN by Gloria Ferris 
5. A HUMAN ELEMENT by Donna Galanti 
6. LAKOTA HONOR by Kat Flannery 
7. PELICAN BAY by Jesse Giles Christiansen 
8. SAFE HARBOR by Rosemary McCracken 
9. SOUL AND SHADOW by Susan J. McLeod 
10. INNOCENT LITTLE CRIMES by C. S. Lakin 
11. ROOM OF TEARS by Linda Merlino 
12. DIVINE INTERVENTION by Cheryl Kaye Tardif 

With an individual list price total of more than $45.00 and over 640 reviews collectively on Amazon.com, the DEADLY DOZEN Book Bundle is a value-packed, rollercoaster thrill ride that takes you from amateur sleuth to detective to paranormal to ancient mysteries set in intriguing worlds and so much more. 

Oct 10-16 SALE: Get over 50% OFF the DEADLY DOZEN Book Bundle via Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk

Special Guest: Consuelo Roland, author of Lady Limbo

Q&A with Consuelo Roland, author of Lady Limbo

 (Thanks to the Extraordinaires and book friends for the random questions).

TELL US SOMETHING ABOUT YOURSELF YOU’VE NEVER TOLD ANYONE:

I once kissed a total stranger on an empty night train making its way out of Frankfurt. He asked me to go to Paris with him for the weekend and I refused.  I’ve always wondered what would have happened if I’d said yes.

WHO'S ON THE COVER AND WHY IS SHE IN SUCH TROUBLE?

The perfect life… Or a beautiful lie? Forced to hunt down Lady Limbo, the ghost of a youthful love affair that ended in betrayal, Paola Dante risks everything and learns to trust no one in a race to find her missing husband. Lady Limbo leads her into dark territory she never knew existed, where she must question all she knows. What if the great love of your life committed the perfect crime?

GIVE US THE 140-CHARACTER STORY PITCH:

Here today, gone tomorrow. Paola Dante’s husband has disappeared. All she has is the Limbo files.  7 women 7 files. Which one is Lady Limbo?

YOUR CHARACTER, PAOLA DANTE, HAS TO COVER SEVERAL DIFFERENT ANGLES; FROM CAREER WOMAN TO COOL SEDUCTRESS TO RELUCTANT CHILD PROTECTOR. YOU’RE ITALIAN AND YOU’VE WORKED IN THE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY BUSINESS. IS SHE MODELED ON YOURSELF?

Not at all. Paola knows how to stay one step ahead in the combat zone of corporate meetings; she treats bullying shark tactics with the disdain they deserve. On a personal level she is sassy, witty and smart  – this frightening mix of self-control and social maturity  is totally unlike me. But of course there’s a very human side to her. Sometimes it makes sense to work with background knowledge you already have. I could just let her develop organically without too much over-thought.

IT’S AN UNUSUAL PREMISE FOR A PLOT; AN ORGANISATION THAT HIRES MEN OUT FOR COPULATION? DOES SUCH AN ORGANISATION EXIST? WHO IS YOUR SOURCE?

My  source is a ground hostess who told my mother a very sexy naughty story one long night at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris. Her name is forever lost in the torrential downpour of that stormy night. Real Man International (aka RMI) is an invented name, but the organisation exists; it’s details reside in a ground hostess’s little black book. It was fun to turn things around and evoke a world where men are  paid ridiculous stud fees to be at the beck and call of wilful women who can afford to be extravagant. Occasionally a perfectly ordinary independently-minded woman – such as  a ground hostess – will use their services.

ISN’T THE WHOLE IDEA OF A VIRGIN AUCTION ON THE INTERNET A BIT IMPROBABLE? IT’S A COMPELLING AND ORIGINAL STORY IDEA BUT DO SUCH THINGS ACTUALLY HAPPEN IN REAL LIFE?

A good thriller chills our blood, readying us for a mesmerising journey through the glowing portals of hell. Lady Limbo transports us into a parallel reality where humanity’s worst instincts are at play. The “dark web” (an invisible black hole of untraceable activity) is estimated to be an incredible 15 times larger than the web we know, with more than 900 billion pages. It is a world where the illegal is openly available, providing a hidden shop window for criminal gangs and sexual predators. On the dark web innocence is traded like any other commodity.

WHAT DO YOU LOVE ABOUT LADY LIMBO?

I love that it’s a thoroughly twenty-first century story full of enigmatic twists and turns. Just when you think the story is going one way then it suddenly gets even more interesting and ups the ante. The shocks and surprises keep on coming at the character like she’s in a shooting arcade, dodging a hidden shooter in a world of seduction and darkness. Paola has to think on her feet all the time, or the truth will find her before she finds the truth.

Stellalinkbooks (Joni Rodgers); Youtube Review of Lady Limbo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGp2dBYQRyg

Joni L. Rodgers; Amazon Review of Lady Limbo: http://www.amazon.com/Lady-Limbo-ebook/product-reviews/B009N36A5Y

Author photo by Bernadine Jones

Do You Read Mysteries While You're Writing One?

There are some mystery writers who say they never read mysteries while they are writing one. Of course the reasoning is they don't want to borrow something from another author's work sub-consciously.

If I didn't read any mysteries while I'm writing, I'd never get any reading done. I don't read anyone's work that is anything like what I write. Lately I've been reading James Lee Burke. Wow, I'd like to write like him, but I never will. I don't write about the brutal crimes and crazed and warped people like he does. (Sure wish I could write descriptions like he does though.)

My books border on being cozies--I had one reviewer say my Rocky Bluff P.D. series was like a soap opera because of the way the private lives of the cops are depicted. To me, what is happening to them and their families at home is as important as what's going on in whatever crimes they are trying to solve. (Actually the review was quite flattering and had much more to say than that.) I have lots of characters and POVs in this series. The setting is a beach community and I love writing about the kind of place I used to live in.) Angel Lost is the latest one in that series.

In my Deputy Tempe Crabtree mysteries, Tempe is the main character and usually the story unfolds totally through her point of view. Her "side-kick" is her preacher husband and he often helps her a lot--and in Bears With Us, the latest, he is right there to assist her in chasing bears out of people's houses.

I say borders on being cozies because the cases are solved by law enforcement officers rather than amateur sleuths as what is the usual case in a cozy. However, I don't much bad language and you don't see much in the way of blood and guts, though both do get spilled. An Axe to Grind began with a beheading. Though my characters are normal they do have sex, but usually it happens behind closed doors. So I do have some of the ingredients (or lack thereof) that are required in a cozy.

I do read cozies, but I tend to like the ones best that are a bit edgier than the norm. Frankly, I'll read anything that comes my way--the only thing that holds me back is time. I read horror, thrillers, any kind of mystery, and occasionally non-fiction.

But when it comes to writing, though I've written other genres, right now I'm sticking to my not-quite cozy mysteries.

How about your? What do you read while you're writing?

Marilyn
http://fictionforyou.com

Today on The Russell Show: Children of the Fog by Cheryl Kaye Tardif

What would you do if a kidnapper told you you had 10 seconds to make a decision: let him take your child, or watch your son die?

A special thank you to my friend Russell Brooks for always being so enthusiastic about my books. Check out his narration from my bestselling supernatural thriller, CHILDREN OF THE FOG.

CHILDREN OF THE FOG is available at Amazon, Smashwords, Barnes and Noble and more.

There's a New Kid in Town

You're not going to believe this, but as soon as I typed the title to this post, my ipod began playing The New Kid in Town by the Eagles. Seriously!  That just about made my hair stand up. So you'll have to excuse my Kramer-like entrance. Can't help it. I'm here, I'm stoked and I'm excited to be the latest contributor to this way cool blog. With that said, I hope you don't mind if I lay my goods before you and introduce myself.

My name's Jeff Bennington, the author of Reunion, a supernatural thriller, Killing the Giants and The Rumblin'. I love suspense-thrillers and they love me. Currently, I'm wrapping up my next book coming in late 2011 called Act of Vengeance, a supernatural crime thriller. More importantly, my wife and I have been married for 19 years and we have 4 great kids. I also write at my blog, The Writing Bomb, a sight where readers can meet their favorite thriller authors and writers can hang out and talk shop.

Now that I'm here, I should probably make myself useful and give you a taste of what I write.  I'm going to post the first page of Reunion and hopefully wet your appetite for the rest. In a sentence, Reunion is a story about a group of kids who survive a school shooting and then decide to reunite twenty years later only to discover that the school is haunted! Here's a short excerpt...


Reunion
J.Bennington

David Ray stood in front of his mirror, dressed to kill. I look good, he thought, like the real deal, like a real killer. He narrowed his eyes, grit his teeth and unfolded his checklist. Sharp blades of black hair dangled in front of his face, covering the brownish rings that encircled his eyes. He peered at his scribbled writing and read the list as he felt his insides tense with hatred.

This is it, he thought. No room for mistakes. 

David had learned over time that life needed to be carefully navigated to avoid pain. He had come to the conclusion that the only way to control his life was by controlling the lives around him. The list helped him stay on track. He paced back and forth, quietly going over the details of his plans as his adrenalin increased.

He slouched down at his desk, clenched his hair as it draped over his eyes and pondered how the neglect and abuse he’d suffered had snuffed the music from his soul. David longed for old, familiar melodies to bring him comfort and laughter, but found only the clamoring sound of an off-tempo dirge. Although he tried to arrange the chords and time signatures in a way that was intelligible to his ear, he stepped out of time, his notes were flat, and those around him cringed and laughed. He was humiliated and he hated them for it.

He glanced at a picture on the desk of his mother holding his hand as a young child. It stood in a bright red clay frame; a misshapen art project from the fourth grade. Neither of them looked happy, and a lot had happened over the past eight years. Smiles were a rare commodity in their household. He turned the picture face down and stood up...

Reunion is available in Print at most online retailers and is only .99¢ digitally at Amazon & B&N
Reunion is currently ranked #34 in "Goodreads Best Books of 2011" and is getting rave reviews. Show some killer love and check it out. 

You can find out more about me at jeffbennington.com. Thanks for stopping by. Come back and feel free to comment and ask me anything you want. If you're nice, I'll bring in an excerpt from Act of Vengeance next time! Later.

"Divine Intervention captivated me"

"Para-psychic, Para-psychotic, Para-captivating! Ditto on the previous reviewers who loved the scenery, intricate plot lines with twists and turns...Divine Intervention captivated me and I think it will turn out to be better than the movie!"

--Yale R. Jaffe, author of Advantage Disadvantage

Read the entire review on Amazon.com.

(Note: No movie deal at this time. Film rights are available; email Cheryl.