FEATURED AUTHOR: KATHRYN COWLING

ABOUT THE BOOK

This powerful, passionate, highly emotional novel tells the story of Jane Fairly and her struggle to find love and happiness after being adopted as a baby and then coerced into marriage at the age of sixteen. She only narrowly avoids being killed by her abusive husband and manages to escape to Cornwall, where she tries to rebuild her life. Only after numerous other ups and downs does Jane start to find herself and discover how to be happy.
 Fairly Jane will move you, shock you, and warm your heart.

Book Details:

 Title: Fairly Jane

Author: Kathryn Cowling

Genre: Historical Fiction

Publisher: The Conrad Press (October 12, 2018)

Print length: 300 pages




LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT WITH KATHRYN COWLING

Things I need in order to write: An uncluttered mind.
Things that hamper my writing: Too much going on around me.

Things I love about writing: It takes me to a an imaginary place where I can create the characters and scenarios I want to.
Things I hate about writing: Proof reading, I go through my books several times to make sure there are no mistakes and by the time I've read it a dozen times, I never want to look at it again.

Things I love about where I live: I live in Cornwall and couldn't imagine not living close to a beach and open countryside.
Things that make me want to move: Absolutely nothing.

Easiest thing about being a writer: Creating new characters.
Hardest thing about being a writer: Getting the general public to know that my books are out there and available to read.

Words that describe you: Ambitious, passionate, creative.
Words that describe you but you wish they didn't: Bossy, and a little controlling.

Something I wish I could do: Fly, but I'm too  frightened - I've never been any place. When my daughter got married in Malta, I went by car and boat. It took three days and everyone else arrived in three hours.
Something I wish I'd never learned to do: Nothing at all.

OTHER BOOKS BY KATHRYN KOWLING

When will the War be Over? 

Someday Soon . . . 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kathryn Cowling and is 52 years old. Fairly Jane is her third book to be published. Her first two books were published by a company called Novum.  This company didn’t charge her to publish the books, but she feels it was a mistake on her part to use them. They priced the books at £16.99 which is far too expensive for and unknown author, and they did not proofread them or advertise them, so no one actually knows they’re out there. They are called Some Day Soon…. and When will the War be over?
Kathryn’s main interest is writing books set in WW2.  Both her first two novels are set in this period as well as her fourth book that is yet to be published. Fairly Jane is, however, set in the 1950s and 1960s.  
Kathryn lives in Cornwall and has done all her life. Once her two children flew the nest she began to write books and would love to her living as an author. Her books are set in both Bristol and Cornwall. She runs a business carrying out Energy Performance Certificates at the moment but would love to write full time.
Kathryn is hoping that Publishing Push will ensure that the public knows her book exists. She has spent months trying to make her books known to the public but constantly comes up against a brick wall. She wonders how successful authors actually get themselves recognised and established in the industry.
Fairly Jane tells the story of a girl that was born in WW2 to parents married to other people. She is subsequently adopted, and when she does find out about her true identity at the age of sixteen years old she is so shocked.

Connect with Kathryn:
Goodreads 

Buy the book:
Amazon 

FEATURED AUTHOR: GARY McAVOY

ABOUT THE BOOK

Truman Capote’s bestselling book In Cold Blood has captivated worldwide audiences for over fifty years. It is a gripping story about the consequences of a trivial robbery gone terribly wrong in a remote village of western Kansas.

But what if robbery was not the motive at all, but something more sinister? And why would the Kansas Bureau of Investigation press the Attorney General to launch a ruthless four-year legal battle to prevent fresh details of the State’s most famous crime from being made public, so many years after the case had been solved?

Based on stunning new details discovered in the personal journals and archives of former KBI Director Harold Nye—and corroborated by letters written by Richard Hickock, one of the killers on Death Row—And Every Word Is True meticulously lays out a vivid and startling new view of the investigation, one that will keep readers on the edge of their seats as they pick up where Capote left off. Even readers new to the story will find themselves drawn into a spellbinding forensic investigation that reads like a thriller, adding new perspectives to the classic tale of an iconic American crime.

Book Details:


Title: And Every Word Is True

Author: Gary McAvoy

Genre: True crime/Memoir/Historical nonfiction

Publisher: Literati Editions (March 4, 2019)

Print length: 310 pages

On tour with: Partners in Crime Book Tours




INTERVIEW WITH GARY McAVOY

Gary, how long have you been writing, and how did you start?
Started writing when I was 10 years old, so a very long time now.

What inspired you to write this book?
While a lifelong writer, I am also a literary manuscript dealer. In 2012, I was approached by Ronald Nye, the son of former Kansas Bureau of Investigation Director Harold Nye (who was also the lead field investigator for the 1959 Clutter murders, on which Truman Capote based his book, In Cold Blood), who consigned to me several books and letters from Truman to his father during the 1959 murder investigation. Shortly afterward, the State of Kansas sued both Ron and me to prevent the material from being made public.

We prevailed in that litigation, but as I dug more deeply into the Nye archives, I found that Capote’s book didn’t tell the whole story—and there is much more to tell. It looks as if robbery was not the motive at all, but something more sinister. Based on stunning new details discovered in Nye's personal journals and archives—and corroborated by letters written by Richard Hickock, one of the killers on Death Row—my book, And Every Word Is True, meticulously lays out a vivid and startling new view of the investigation, one that will keep readers on the edge of their seats as they pick up where Capote left off.

What do you hope readers will get from this book?
That one of the most well-told stories in American literature has much more to it than was told by its author.

How did you come up with the title of your book?
It comes from a quote Truman Capote made in an interview, claiming his book was immaculately factual; but it isn’t.

Do you have a day job?
Yes, I am a professional dealer of historical manuscripts and literary memorabilia.

How would you describe your book in a tweet?
And Every Word Is True lays out a fresh, meticulously-researched perspective on the Clutter murder case made famous in In Cold Blood.

How did you come up with your cover art?
A good friend designed it for me, based on the actual documents used in my research.

Tell us about your favorite chapter in the book.
The suspicions voiced by so many people who questioned robbery as the motive for the Clutter murders.

Who are your favorite authors?
Oscar Wilde, Walt Whitman, Robert Ludlum, Eckhart Tolle.

What was your favorite childhood book?
The Wizard of Oz.

What book are you currently reading and in what format?
A New Earth by Eckhard Tolle, on ebook.


Do you have a routine for writing?
First thing every single morning straight through to around 6PM.

Where do you prefer to do write?

At my desk in my lakeside home.



Name one thing you couldn’t live without.

My trusty Mac, Scrivener writing software, and the Oxford English Dictionary.

That's three, but since those are my three also, I won't be a stickler for details. Name five people with whom you would pick to be stranded in a bookstore.

Elaine Petrocelli (from Book Passage), Mark Bittman (NY Times), Ernest Hemingway, Oscar Wilde, Bradley Cooper (director).

Where would your dream office be?

In a villa on Lake Como, Italy.

Where do you call home? 

The Pacific Northwest.

What’s one of your favorite quotes? 

"My tastes are simple. I’m easily satisfied with the very best." —Winston Churchill

For what would you like to be remembered?

This book: And Every Word Is True.

What scares you the most?

Running out of money and being homeless.

YouTube is . . .

At once entertaining and frightening.

Who would you want to narrate a film about your life?

Harrison Ford.

3D movies are . . .

A headache.

If you had a swear jar, would it be full?

Of course, I’m an Army veteran.

Are you an introvert or an extrovert?

Introvert with brief periods of unforced leadership.

What's your relationship with your TV remote?

There are always too many to judge.

What's your favorite treat for movie night?

Sea-salt caramel chocolate bars.

What's the biggest lie you ever told?

I was a spy in the Army (only partially untrue).

What is the most daring thing you've done?

Getting drafted and not moving to Canada.

What is the stupidest thing you've ever done?
Bought a home I couldn’t afford, many years ago.

What is your most embarrassing moment?
Winning an award while chairman of the Awards Ceremony. Awkward.

What choices in life would you like to have a redo on?

I would have gone into filmmaking.

What do you like to do when you’re not writing?

Read.



What’s the hardest thing you’ve ever had to write?

THIS BOOK! Nearly seven years of often excruciating challenges.


What is your favorite movie?

The Wizard of Oz.

Do you have a favorite book?
Not particularly, I have wide-ranging interests.


How about a favorite book that was turned into a movie? Did the movie stink?

Gerald Clarke’s Capote, with a great film by Bennett Miller.


Do you sweat the small stuff?

Nope.


How long is your to-do list?

Endless.


What are you working on now? 

A follow-up book to my current book, And Every Word Is True.

READ AN EXCERPT FROM AND EVERY WORD IS TRUE

Over a half century ago, Special Agent Harold R. Nye of the Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI)—who would later become that agency’s third director—was thrust into an investigation to help solve what would eventually become an iconic tale of true crime in America: the brutal slayings of a Kansas wheat farmer, Herbert Clutter, and his wife and two children in November 1959.
A little more than 50 years later—being a dealer of rare collectible letters, photographs, manuscripts, and books—I was contacted by Harold Nye’s son, Ronald, in March 2012, revealing who his father was and what materials he had to offer for sale. As an ardent collector of historical autograph memorabilia since the 1980s, with a particular appetite for literary manuscripts and signed first editions, I felt privileged to be handling the sale of the rarest books and letters by Truman Capote—presentation copies personally given by the author to one of the principal investigators, during the time history was being made.
The books, first editions of both In Cold Blood and Capote’s earlier work Selected Writings, were each warmly inscribed by Truman to Harold Nye and his wife Joyce. That alone would generate solid interest in the sale, but this particular copy of In Cold Blood was also signed by 12 other people, including Logan Sanford, Director of the Kansas Bureau of Investigation; the other three principal investigators in the case, among them Special Agent Alvin Dewey (who fared remarkably well in the story); and the director, actors, and crew of the eponymous 1967 movie, which used the Clutter house and other area locations to produce on film a chillingly authentic portrayal of what appeared on the page. As of this writing, only three such books signed by all principal figures are known to exist.
But the two personal letters Truman had written to Agent Nye were the most tantalizing of the lot. Both were sent in 1962 from his villa in Spain, overlooking the Mediterranean on the Costa Brava, where he spent three springs and summers writing much of his book. In one letter, neatly composed on thin pages the color of wheat, Capote laments having to suffer yet another delay in finishing his book, the Kansas Supreme Court having issued a stay of execution for the killers. For the frustrated author, this meant he didn’t yet have an ending—one way or the other—and he was to endure another three years before realizing that goal, with the hanging of Richard Hickock and Perry Smith in April 1965. For a collector, this is the most vivid form of autograph correspondence: handwritten documents richly infused with direct historical impact and solid provenance.
The second letter, also in Capote’s cramped, childlike scrawl but this one on 3-holed, blue-lined composition paper, teasingly informs Nye how often he appears in the book and that “…my editor said: ‘Aren’t you making this Mr. Nye just a little too clever?’”
Along with the two signed books, then, these letters were to form the centerpiece of the auction. The rest of the material, though interesting on its own, held little tangible value to serious collectors. But it did contribute historical relevance and an in-person, chronicled authority to the auction as a whole, so we chose to offer all materials to the winning bidder—and only one bidder, since Ron Nye felt the material should stay together for historical continuity.
Sensing the gravity of the task ahead, like an eager historian I began educating myself more deeply in the Capote legacy. As I paged through Harold Nye's investigative notebooks and copies of actual case reports he had written—not digging deep, just skimming the material—I was reminded of key passages in Capote's masterwork—but they were hazy, since my first and last reading of it was the year it was published, in 1966. So I reread the book with new vigor—though now every word seemed to have fresh perspective, since I was privy to actual handwritten notes describing Nye’s interviews, his discovery of clues and gathering of evidence, his random thoughts, and a hastily penned transcript gleaned while extracting a confession from one of the killers—all of which made the experience as visceral as being on the scene in 1959.
I watched the indelible 1967 film In Cold Blood, as well as the 1996 TV production of the same name, followed by 2005’s film Capote and 2006’s Infamous. I absorbed Ralph Voss's skillful examination of Capote’s book, Gerald Clarke's rich biography, George Plimpton's interviews with Capote’s “friends, enemies, acquaintances and detractors,” Charles Shields’ portrait of Harper Lee, and anything else I could find that brought objective viewpoints to the table—along with many not so objective.
As prepared as one could be, then, I began assembling the material for an online catalog exhibiting the auction—excluding, ultimately, the crime scene photos, most of which were simply too gruesome to release “into the wild,” realizing well before the auction went live that we would have no control over how they might be used in the future. Not wishing that burden on our shoulders, we removed the photos from the auction, and instead voluntarily sent them to the KBI for archival disposition.
To our surprise and dismay, a few days later we were served with a cease and desist letter from the Kansas Attorney General at the instigation of the KBI, claiming among other things that Harold Nye’s personal journals were state property and were possessed of “highly confidential information.” On the face of it this was a farcical claim at best, since they had never even seen the notebooks, not to mention that it had been well over 50 years since the case was closed and those charged with the crime had been executed, as the Court itself would ultimately point out. Our position, obviously, couldn’t have been more at odds with Kansas’s reckoning, and believing we were on the right side of the law, we took on their challenge. After a grueling legal battle lasting years, it’s clear now that Kansas thought Ron and I would just roll over and be done with it. That was their first mistake.
Over the time we prepared our defense—all the while baffled as to why Kansas was so vigorously mounting an expensive, and unusually high-level campaign of suppression and intimidation—a new thesis emerged that seemed at odds with the State’s declared rationale. And the deeper we looked, the clearer that proposition became. To our thinking—not to mention the views of independent lawyers, journalists, forensic criminologists, and others who in some way touched our case—it looked more and more as if Kansas had something to hide. At the very least there was something more to this story, and I intended to find out what it was.
And therein lies their second mistake and the irony of this cautionary tale: Had the State of Kansas simply avoided such heavy-handed tactics as pressing the lawsuit against us, and publicly tarnishing Harold Nye’s good name, we might never have discovered the sensational “new” details of the Clutter case that time and opportunity revealed as our own investigation deepened. Had they not interfered in our legitimate business—to provide for the Nye family’s medical needs by selling the books, letters, and notes that rightfully belonged to his father—the KBI would not now be suffering under the weight of the embarrassing disclosures being made here.
Throughout his life Truman Capote maintained that his book was “immaculately factual,” as he told George Plimpton in a January 1966 interview. Shortly after In Cold Blood first appeared in print—in September 1965, when the story was serialized in four consecutive issues of The New Yorker magazine—critics, pundits, and others assessing the work were already taking Capote to task for inaccuracies found in his account, or as one reviewer put it, “reaching for pathos rather than realism.”  Not least among these was Harold Nye, who not only lived it, but whose prominent role in the book ultimately ensured a firsthand comparison of the known facts.
But for as much as Capote added to or reshaped the brilliant telling of his story, in analyzing Harold Nye’s notebooks I found that much had been omitted from In Cold Blood, and in many cases there were surprisingly crucial details that, at the time, would have appeared in the eyes of many to be of little value. It was only when other documents came into my possession that we were able to connect the dots, alluding to something very different than was passed on to readers of In Cold Blood.
In a striking coincidence, within a matter of weeks another new client—a grandson of Garden City Undersheriff Wendle Meier, one of the central characters in the story—consigned to me the Death Row diaries, family photos and correspondence, poetry, and a whole passel of riveting memorabilia given to Wendle Meier and his wife, Josephine, by one of the killers, Perry Edward Smith, on his way to the gallows. To be clear, I have no interest dealing in the so-called “murderabilia” market. But this was becoming more of a literary mystery the likes of which few people in my position could resist.
By this point any writer would feel grateful to have such an abundance of material to work with. But later, as a result of the media coverage our case had sparked, synchronicity struck again. I came into possession of copies of handwritten letters by the other killer, Richard Eugene Hickock, which had originally been sent to Wichita Eagle reporter Starling Mack Nations. Hickock had contracted with Nations to write his “life story” while he was on Death Row To the chagrin of both Hickock and Nations, though, no publisher showed interest in the book, High Road to Hell, at the time. But it’s clear from Hickock’s remarkable memory and his command of precise details, which both Capote and case investigators marveled over, that he did have compelling things to say.
As of this writing neither the Smith diaries nor the Hickock letters have been published, and only a handful of people have seen Hickock’s letters to Mack Nations. But at least one thing is clear from putting all this material together—it appears there was a good deal more to the foundations of Capote’s story than was originally told. And if there were any doubt as to whether Ron Nye and I would just give in to the bullying tactics of a well-funded state government—saving ourselves a lot of time and money fighting a senseless battle—the new evidence coming at us from all directions made it unambiguously clear that we were on to something. And we had to believe Kansas suspected it, too.
Presented here, then, are several new hypotheses—undoubtedly bound for controversy, while nonetheless supported by facts—including one in particular that would surely have given authorities in Kansas every reason to fight as hard as it did to keep this material from being published: that robbery may not have been the motive for the death of Herbert Clutter and his family.
Despite an abundance of leads pointing in this darker direction, it appears that the original KBI investigation overlooked this fundamental possibility, one that no responsible law enforcement agency would ever rule out, given the circumstances. Indeed, this was and remained for some time coordinating investigator Alvin Dewey’s strongest opinion, and he personally knew Herb Clutter very well.
Yet despite new information coming out years later, before the killers had even been executed, the Kansas attorney general at the time appears to have adopted a stance of letting sleeping dogs lie, without further investigation. But why? As is often the case with powerful institutions, could their keen drive for self-preservation have overshadowed a full accountability of justice?
Now, nearly six decades later, and with the passing away of nearly every involved character since 1959, it’s unlikely any final determination can be made, short of a “Deep Throat” insider emerging from the shadows of time. But much of what you find here will present compelling new arguments, and I leave it to readers to draw their own conclusions.
***
Excerpt from And Every Word Is True by Gary McAvoy.  Copyright © 2018 by Gary McAvoy. Reproduced with permission from Gary McAvoy. All rights reserved. May not be reproduced in any form without written permission from the author.

OTHER WORKS BY GARY McAVOY

Co-author with Dr. Jane Goodall, Harvest for Hope: A Guide to Mindful Eating

Editor: Cracking the New E-conomy

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 


Gary McAvoy is a veteran technology executive, entrepreneur, and lifelong writer. For several years he was also a literary media escort in Seattle, during which time he worked with hundreds of authors promoting their books—most notably Dr. Jane Goodall, with whom Gary later collaborated on Harvest for Hope: A Guide to Mindful Eating (Hachette, 2005).

Gary is also a professional collector of rare literary manuscripts and historical letters and books, a passion that sparked the intriguing discoveries leading up to his latest book, And Every Word Is True (Literati Editions, March 2019), a revealing look at startling new disclosures about the investigation surrounding the 1959 Clutter family murders, heinous crimes chillingly portrayed in Truman Capote's In Cold Blood. And Every Word Is True pulls back the curtain for a suspenseful encore to Capote’s classic tale, adding new perspectives to an iconic American crime.

Connect with Gary:
Website  |  Blog  |  Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Goodreads  |  Amazon  | 
Instagram

Buy the book:
Amazon  |  Bookbub 

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FEATURED AUTHOR: NANCY JACKSON

ABOUT THE BOOK

An irrational need for blood draws the killer, compelling them to kill. Two Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation agents, Carrie Border and Randy Jeffries are working hard to find and take down the killer before their own tangled lives trip them and take them down first.

Book Details: 


Title: The Blood


Author: Nancy Jackson


Genre: Crime/Mystery/Thriller


Series: The Redemption Series, book 1


Published: January 2019


Print length: 404 pages

   

LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT WITH NANCY JACKSON

A few of your favorite things: Custom painting from my friend, Angela Westerman, warm coffee first thing in the morning by my fireplace (winter) or on my patio (summer), spending time with grown children and grandchildren.
Things you need to throw out:
 Old electronics! (they need to be in a museum), business files from a decade ago, and my worn out sofa which I can’t bear to part with.

Things you need in order to write:
 Quiet. I prefer to work at home in my office in the quiet, coffee, my iMac or iPad (which has its own little keyboard).
Things that hamper your writing:
 Being interrupted with other things I have to do. I get distracted and drawn into marketing as well, creating graphics, video trailers, etc.
 
Things you love about writing:
 I love stories, always have. Now I get to be in the big middle of creating a story just the way I want it.
Things you hate about writing:
 Waiting to hear what people think. Also, being bombarded with companies who want to sell me the best way to help me make a million dollars writing.



Easiest thing about being a writer:
 The writing. Coming up with a story. I have a list of books I hope to write.
Hardest thing about being a writer:
 Getting it broadcast out for everyone to see. Amazon has removed more reviews that it has left, that is discouraging.

Things you love about where you live:
 Oklahoma is a great state to live in, but the neighborhood I live in is amazing, not because of the homes, but the people here are like family. They rally around me in whatever I’m doing. I know that if I should need one of them, they would be here for me.
Things that make you want to move: 
I don’t like the cold. I lived in Tucson for awhile and loved the scenery and the climate. But I missed my family and friends.



Things you never want to run out of:
 Coffee and creamer, toilet paper (that happened once), days spent only enjoying family and friends.
Things you wish you’d never bought:
 I yearned for a sports car years ago, but could never have a vehicle with just 2 seats since I transport grandkids, etc. Got married, got a husband with a vehicle where I could do that, so I bought a Nissan 350Z convertible. Loved it passionately for a few months. SO not practical, and SO loud, and SO hard to crawl in and out of. Finally gave it to my husband and now I can hardly stand to ride it in.

Words that describe you:
 Optimistic. Creative. Content. Love people, but love being alone.
Words that describe you but you wish they didn’t:
 Inactive (I’m a bit of a couch potato), introvert (although others are surprised at this).

Favorite foods:
 Pizza, pizza, pizza. I could eat it everyday, but it has to be from my favorite places with my favorite stuff. Ice cream, and steak.
Things that make you want to throw up: 
I’m blank on this one.

Favorite music or song:
 "Reckless Love" by Cory Asbury, 
anything by Willie Nelson which is odd because I am not a fan of C&W music. 
I grew up in the 70’s so those tunes always get my attention.
Music that make your ears bleed:
 Metal
Rap

Favorite beverage:
 Coffee, then water.


Something that gives you a pickle face:
 Pickles, but I love them!

Favorite smell:
 Clean babies and spring/summertime.

Something that makes you hold your nose: 
Poopy babies, and sometimes the inside of my fridge.

Something you’re really good at: 
Jewelry design, metal/silversmithing.


Something you’re really bad at:
Cleaning house

Something you wish you could do:
 Art painting.
Something you wish you’d never learned to do:
 I love learning so I am thrilled that I’ve been able to learn so much.

Something you like to do:
 Watch TV, read, go to neighborhood BUNCO.
Something you wish you’d never done:
 OH NO!!! Can’t answer that one. But maybe I could say I’ve been married a few too many times.

People you consider as heroes:
 Anyone who will suffer hardships and loss for others. That includes our military, missionaries, and so many more unsung heroes.


People with a big L on their foreheads:
 Selfish people. They lose so much by focusing on themselves. By giving of yourself, and of what you have, you will always get far more than you ever wanted.



Last best thing you ate:
 Ice cream.
Last thing you regret eating:
 Hot link with chili and cheese.

Things you’d walk a mile for:
 My family and friends. Pizza.
Things that make you want to run screaming from the room:
 Arguments. I hate it when people argue and fight.

Things to say to an author:
 I loved your work, I liked (a specific thing) about your work. We love specifics. 


Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book:
 I found a typo… Who edited your book… I wouldn’t have written it that way…

Favorite places you’ve been: 
Hawaii, Tucson (I love the desert and I love the beach)

.
Places you never want to go to again:
 Lubbock.

Favorite genre: 
Murder mysteries, but I love true stuff too. One of my favorite books is Amelia Earhart: The Truth at Last by Mike Campbell. Amazing!!! 


Books you would ban:
 Not sure I want to go there. I don’t like to start fights or make others feel bad even if I disagree.

People you’d like to invite to dinner:
 Truthfully, my family. They are my favorite people. But I know that this question is not about that. I would say John Grisham. I have a few all-time favorite authors, but he has inspired me the most. He and Ted Decker.


People you’d cancel dinner on:
 Politicians.

Favorite things to do: 
Spend a quiet morning on my back patio with coffee.


Things you’d run through a fire wearing gasoline pants to get out of doing: 
Sweep my floor.

Things that make you happy:
 People, particularly family and friends. Doing what I love. Writing, making jewelry, reading.


Things that drive you crazy:
 Communicating with people who do not have their thinking caps on.

Proudest moment:
 Each time I held one of my newborns in my arms for the first time.
Most embarrassing moment:
 I ran through a busy airport with toilet paper hanging out of my pantyhose. 



Biggest lie you’ve ever told: 
Nothing jumps out at me, but probably something like… The check is in the mail…


A lie you wish you’d told: 
I can’t think of a situation where I would lie. I really don’t like to do that. But if it would not hurt someone, and would genuinely comfort them, I might.

Best thing you’ve ever done:
 I am an encourager, and when I look back, the best thing I have ever done was to constantly come alongside others and cheer them on.


Biggest mistake:
 Loving the wrong people to the point of marrying them.

Most daring thing you’ve ever done:
 Walked the French Quarter in New Orleans all by myself at night, more than once.


Something you chickened out from doing:
 Nothing comes to mind, but I’m not fond of heights so it probably involved that.

The last thing you did for the first time: 
Stood in a bookstore with my first novel.


Something you’ll never do again: 
Get married.





ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

Nancy Jackson is a mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, and lives in Oklahoma. She discovered a love for writing in seventh grade. When given writing assignments, she found she flourished. The praise of her teacher fueled that passion.

She worked in various corporate jobs where she was responsible for writing policy and procedure manuals. Her creative writing side was satisfied as she wrote at home and shared various stories and then blogs.

Working in many different industries in many roles, she was exposed to a treasure trove of people, places, and things that would later serve her well as she wrote her first, and subsequent novels. She writes both fiction and non-fiction in various blogs and short stories as well.

Before publishing her first novel, she spent many years as a silver/metalsmith designing and making jewelry. She is also a full-time realtor. Her true passion though, is writing, and she is thrilled that she is now able to pursue it with the passion she has always desired.




Connect with Nancy:

Website  |  Blog  |  Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Goodreads


Buy the book:
Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble 

Purchase both signed hardcopy and ebook of The Blood.

FEATURED AUTHOR: MARC JEDEL

ABOUT THE BOOK

When a camping trip uncovers a murder, this amateur sleuth is stuck putting out the fire . . .

Marty Golden enjoys time with his nieces, but he wanted to spend the weekend with his new girlfriend — not chaperone a Girl Scout camping trip. Once he stumbles upon the corpse of a friend in the woods, the outdoors adventure becomes an open-air disaster. When the police label it an accidental death, the meticulous Marty vows to investigate the murder. After all, it’s poor manners to let your friend’s death go unsolved.

On the hunt for clues the cops ignored, Marty uncovers a disturbing connection to himself. And as he digs deeper, a misbehaving pup, a kooky cousin, and a maniacal ninja put his survival skills to the test.

Will Marty unravel the mystery before the killer, or his imagination, gets to him?

Chutes and Ladder is the side-splitting second novel in the Silicon Valley cozy mystery series. If you like quirky sleuths, wacky side characters, and laugh-out-loud moments, you’ll love this offbeat whodunit.

Buy Chutes and Ladder to decode a great mystery today!

Book Details:

Title: Chutes and Ladder: A Silicon Valley Mystery


Author’s name: Marc Jedel


Genre: Cozy Mystery


Series: A Silicon Valley Mystery series, book 2


Publisher: BGM Press (March 12, 2019)


Print length: 213 pages

   


LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT WITH MARC JEDEL

Easiest thing about being a writer: Working from a detailed outline. I don’t have to try to remember who dies, or whodunit, or why. And believe me, without an outline, I get confused partway through. (I’ve tried.) With an outline, I can focus on crisp writing and coming up with funny situations/anecdotes to throw in there. This also means less editing, and I can hang on to what little sanity remains.

Hardest thing about being a writer: For me, it’s figuring out the details of the plot in advance. I’m definitely an outliner. Other authors are ‘pantsers.’ While I wear pants about as often as the next author, I definitely can’t write without an outline. I like to have all the main parts of the novel pretty much settled before I start writing.


Things you love about where you live: Like my protagonist, Marty, I live in Silicon Valley. What I like best about living here includes the weather; the rich, diverse culture which also brings great food along with it; and lots of things to do from kayaking and hiking to museums and plays.
Things that make you want to move: What I like least is the traffic, the high cost of living, and did I mention the traffic?


Things you never want to run out of: Cheese.
Things you wish you’d never bought: Percussion instruments for my kids. No wait, that was my sister who bought a drum set for my kids. So the thing I bought that I wish I hadn’t would be a record player for my son. Do you know how hard it is to transport albums and a record player across country to college? Why can’t he listen to Spotify like everyone else?


Words that describe you: I’d say ‘persistent.’ I hate to give up when one more attempt might solve the problem. That’s usually a sign of a good engineer. Or detective!
Words that describe you but you wish they didn’t: Others have called me ‘aggressive’ or ‘obsessive.’ Yet, one of my favorite bosses once told me that often a person’s biggest strengths are also their greatest weaknesses. So, I’ll stick with ‘persistent;’ it’s more positive.

Favorite music or song: If I’m just listening, I like rock and classic rock. When I’m writing, I need to have instrumental music in the background. It drowns out the noise of my brain scurrying around to look for good sentences. Whenever I listen to music with lyrics while writing, I find that I end up writing down the lyrics. Sometimes I think this works out pretty well, and when my editor agrees, they stay in the book. Chutes and Ladder has a variety of song lyrics woven into the dialogue so pay attention when you read!
Music that make your ears bleed: I hate loud, thumping music. I’d tell you what kind that is, but I never stop on those stations long enough to figure it out. Just enough to know it’s not for me.

Favorite smell: I like the smell of Italian food, Mexican food, Indian food, Chinese food . . .  I guess you could say I pretty much like the smell of food
.
Something that makes you hold your nose: I recently discovered that I hate the smell of boiling bones. Don’t ask me how I know this.

Things you always put in your books: Humor, goofy side characters, mostly realistic decisions made by characters.

Things you never put in your books: I write clean cozy mysteries where violence or sex takes place off the page, if at all — mostly because writing violent scenes when it’s dark outside would probably frighten me and writing sex scenes would frighten my family and friends.

Things to say to an author: “I liked your book.” Or “I think you could have done xxx better.” Or just about anything, good or bad. Most authors love to get emails or social media comments from their readers. The connection to actual readers is awesome. Public service announcement: contact an author today.
Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book: “I don’t read.” Or “Are you into writing because of the money?” Or “I have this great idea for how someone could be killed off in your next book.”



ABOUT THE AUTHOR  


Marc Jedel writes humorous murder mysteries. He credits his years of marketing leadership positions in Silicon Valley for honing his writing skills. While his high-tech marketing roles involved crafting plenty of fiction, these were just called emails, ads, and marketing collateral.

For most of Marc’s life, he’s been inventing stories. Some, especially when he was young, involved his sister as the villain. As his sister’s brother for her entire life, he feels highly qualified to tell tales of the evolving, quirky sibling relationship in the Silicon Valley Mystery series.

The publication of Marc’s first novel, Uncle and Ants, gave him permission to claim “author” as his job. This leads to much more interesting conversations than answering, “marketing.”

Family and friends would tell you that the protagonist in his stories, Marty Golden, isn't much of a stretch of the imagination for Marc, but he accepts that.

Like Marty, Marc lives in Silicon Valley where he can’t believe that normal people would willingly jump out of an airplane. Unlike Marty, Marc has a wonderful wife and a neurotic but sweet, small dog, who is often the first to weigh in on the humor in his writing.

Visit his website, for free chapters of upcoming novels, news, and more.




Connect with Marc:
Website  |  Blog  |  Facebook  |  Goodreads  |  Amazon  |  LinkedIn

Buy the book:
Amazon

Giveaway

GUEST POST BY KATE PARKER

ABOUT THE BOOK 

Everyone hides secrets. Some provoke murder. 

Olivia Denis discovers her father kneeling over the body of a man . . . a man who supposedly drowned in the Channel years before. Olivia wants to ring for help, her father wants to hide the body, but a mysterious phone call brings Scotland Yard to the murder scene.

Olivia can’t stand by and let her maddening, disapproving father hang. To prove his innocence – and learn his secrets – she must work with a master spy. The search for clues takes Olivia to the continent and the Kent countryside, Hastings and London, pushing her deeper into the world of danger and deception.

As war between Germany and Britain stalks closer, the hunt for a Nazi collaborator intensifies. With a mounting death toll, Olivia knows she must unmask the killer or be the next to die.

Book Details:

Title: Deadly Deception

Author: Kate Parker
Genre: Historical Cozy Mystery

Series: The Deadly Series, book 4

Publisher: JDP Press (March 22, 2019)

Print length: 316 pages

GUEST POST BY KATE PARKER

Kristallnacht

In writing historical mysteries, it’s always important to remember what was happening in the world at that time. For Deadly Deception, a key event occurring during the four weeks of the story is Kristallnacht.

The bare facts about Kristallnacht are simple enough. On November 7, 1938, a seventeen-year-old Polish-German Jewish student shot a Nazi embassy official in Paris. The student, who had grown up in Germany but whose parents were born in Poland, was angry at the treatment of his family. On October 28, Germany had expelled many Polish-Jewish citizens who were living in Germany, but Poland refused to let them in. Thousands of people were trapped at the German-Polish border, unable to get into either country, left without food, shelter or their basic human needs being met. Winter would soon kill them all by cold and illness. The parents of the student were in this borderland.
The embassy official died of his wounds on the morning of November 9th. In retaliation that night, “spontaneous” attacks, well-organized and led by Nazi SA thugs, looted, attacked, and burned thousands of Jewish owned businesses, homes, and synagogues all over Germany and Austria, which had been annexed into Germany. So much glass was broken from shop windows that it looked like the roads were paved in it, giving the event the name Kristallnacht, which means the night of broken glass.

The army, the police, and the fire brigades all over the country were ordered to look the other way. While many members of these organizations were happy to stand back and let the attacks go on, or where afraid to act against the orders of the Gestapo, some policemen and firemen did try to stop the destruction.

The destruction went on all night and into the next day. When it ended, 91 people were killed and 30,000 males between 16 and 60 were arrested and sent to concentration camps. Hundreds of buildings were burned and destroyed. Thousands of homes were ransacked. All compensation money paid by insurance companies was confiscated by the Nazi government. The government fined the Jewish community in Germany and Austria one Billion Reichsmarks in damages, blaming the Jews for starting the fires.

Since the war had not yet started, newspapers from various countries had reporters in Germany who reported on the violence and destruction of Kristallnacht. Citizens and governments around the world protested against the riots.

This was considered the beginning of the Holocaust. Jewish children were barred from attending school starting November 15, and by December, Jews were banned from most public places in Germany. Jewish newspapers were closed. Jews were no longer allowed to possess weapons. If found in possession of a weapon, the penalty was twenty years confinement in a concentration camp.

In the ten months from Kristallnacht until the beginning of World War II, more than 115,000 Jews were able to leave Germany for other European nations, the US, Palestine, and Shanghai, China. This was despite the resistance from other nations to take in German refugees. The German government was in favor of Jewish emigration because the government would then take everything they left behind, buildings, home furnishings, businesses, to give to their own followers.

Olivia Denis, the heroine of Deadly Deception, is in Berlin to help two older women escape to Britain when Kristallnacht is about to begin. She’s warned by a German army colonel she first met in London in Deadly Scandal that they must leave that day. The colonel isn’t a Nazi or a fan of their politics, and he is happy to warn Olivia of the coming danger. From the train heading for France, the three women see the fires of Kristallnacht.

Kristallnacht is just one event in Deadly Deception. Olivia’s greatest wish is to hurry back to London, because her father has been charged with murder and with the police not looking for another suspect, she needs to prove her father innocent.

The Deadly Series, including the latest, Deadly Deception, can be found in e-books and paperbacks at your favorite online retailers, including:
Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble  |  iTunes  |  Kobo

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kate Parker grew up in Washington, D C, spent several years along the Carolina coast, and now finds herself in the Colorado front range. All the time, she has been busy plotting to spend more time in her favorite city, London, where her books are set. So far, she hasn’t been able to build a time machine, so she has to visit historical sites and books to immerse herself in the details of life in bygone days.

2019 will see the publication of her fourth Deadly Series book, Deadly Deception, as well as a novella, The Mystery at Chadwick House. Chadwick House will both be for sale at the usual retailers plus given away to the readers of her newsletter. It is her first contemporary mystery. Later in the year, Kate plans on publishing the second Milliner Mystery. Her daughter has informed her this year she will also become the servant of a large, exuberant dog.

Connect with Kate:

Website  |   Facebook  |   Twitter  |   Goodreads 

Buy the book:
Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble  |  iTunes  | Kobo 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

FEATURED AUTHOR: MATTHEW WILLIAM

ABOUT THE BOOK

Space-sheriff Joe Corbit may have just found the greatest collector's item in the history of the universe.


He also may have doomed the human race.


When a distress call leads him to the ruins of a lost, alien civilization, he finds an illegal archaeological dig underway. The Chinese Galactic Empire is working alongside the Martian mob in order to smuggle an ancient artifact across state lines.


One deadly shoot-out later and Joe finds himself the sole custodian of the curious relic. His plan is to auction it off to the highest bidder, that is, until he finds out why the Chinese were after it in the first place.


They believe it to be an ancient alien super-weapon.



All Joe has to do is hold off the most powerful space fleet in galaxy, long enough to prove that this whole 'ancient alien super-weapon' thing is being blown way out of proportion.



You see, Joe is hellbent on selling this artifact. Even if it kills him.

Book 
Details:

Title: The Star Collector


Author: Matthew William


Genre: Sci-fi

Publish date: March 27, 2019


Print length: 250 pages

   

LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT WITH MATTHEW WILLIAM

A few of your favorite things: Sitting by the fire with a little bourbon and my wife and cats.
Things you need to throw out: All my crappy clothes.


Things you need in order to write: My laptop.
Things that hamper your writing: My laptop.


Things you love about writing: Creating new worlds.
Things you hate about writing: Feeling like I have to perform. It’s not something you can do mindlessly, it has to be concentrated effort.


Easiest thing about being a writer: Not having to wake up early.

Hardest thing about being a writer: Fear of writing something people will hate – or worse – be indifferent to.

Things you love about where you live: The nature out in the country is really beautiful.
Things that make you want to move: The lack of stimulation that a city can offer.


Things you never want to run out of: Contact lenses.
Things you wish you’d never bought: Usually, it’s a bag of chips the moment after I eat the last of the crumbs.


Words that describe you: Friendly. Deep thinking. Kind.
Words that describe you but you wish they didn’t: Grumpy. Anxious. Lazy.

Favorite foods: I’m a fan of almost all food, so it’s so hard to whittle it down to just a few. I guess sushi would be near the top. Or a spicy curry. Or a good Italian sub.
Things that make you want to throw up: I’m not a fan of carrots.

Favorite music: Indie rock of all sorts.
Music that make your ears bleed: Death metal could probably do the trick.

Favorite beverage: A nice coffee. Cranberry juice. Yuengling beer.

Something that gives you a pickle face: Pickle juice, I guess.

Favorite smell: Tomato plants. There’s nothing like that smell, and it brings me back to being a kid.

Something that makes you hold your nose: Having to clean out a liter box.

Something you’re really good at: Basketball.

Something you’re really bad at: Snowboarding, skateboarding, anything that involves a board and balancing on it. 


Something you wish you could do: Speak Chinese.
Something you wish you’d never learned to do: I feel like learning to write in cursive was a colossal waste of time. But, since I was only seven years old, I didn’t really have anything better to do, so it’s a wash.

Something you like to do: Host dinner parties.

Something you wish you’d never done: Thinking I could sing in front of a crowd.

People you consider as heroes: Single moms and dads.

People with a big L on their foreheads: People who litter. I mean, it’s the simplest thing in the world to just put your trash in the bin and it makes everything look so much nicer.



Last best thing you ate: We went over to a friend’s house who’s a pro chef. He made fish tacos. I almost died.

Last thing you regret eating: When I tried to make the fish tacos myself.

Things you’d walk a mile for: See answer to 2 questions ago.
Things that make you want to run screaming from the room: See answer to 2 questions ago.

Things you always put in your books: A sprinkling of humor.

Things you never put in your books: Any of the real bad swear words.

Things to say to an author: “I blew through your book in one day!”

Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book: “Where do you get your ideas from?” I don’t really hate that question, per se, but I find it interesting that I get it so often. And I don’t really have a good answer for it. The ideas just sort of appear one day.

Favorite places you’ve been: Amsterdam – perfect mix of cool, pretty and lived in.

Places you never want to go to again: The DMV.

Favorite genre: Anything sci-fi. Old school, brand new, indie authors. I love it all.

Books you would ban: I don’t think books should ever be banned. That being said, some of the Star Wars new canon books would be ideal candidates.

People you’d like to invite to dinner: All of my favorite writers, but only one at a time.

People you’d cancel dinner on: The people who made the decision to cancel “Community.”

Favorite things to do: Writing. Video games. Watching movies.

Things you’d run through a fire wearing gasoline pants to get out of doing: Taxes.

Things that make you happy: My job, my friends, my wife.

Things that drive you crazy: My job, my friends, my wife.

Most embarrassing moment: Some campfire guitar playing comes to mind.

Proudest moment: Unplugging a seriously clogged bathroom drain this past week.

Biggest lie you’ve ever told: “It’s fine.”

A lie you wish you’d told: I think I told all the ones I wanted to tell.

Best thing you’ve ever done: Took the dive to move to another country.

Biggest mistake: Not saving enough when I was younger.

Most daring thing you’ve ever done: Moved to Sweden when I was 23. I wanted to try out life in another country and had friends in Malmö. So I decided to go for it. 

Something you chickened out from doing: I went to do relief work in Louisiana in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina when I was 19. I was there for one week and had the opportunity to stay longer, but wimped out. I was too young and didn’t really have the courage to be away from home so long. I still regret that one.

The last thing you did for the first time: Played D&D
.
Something you’ll never do again: Life’s too short to say never. It’s also too long to say never.



ALSO BY MATTHEW WILLIAM

The Enoch Pill

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

Matthew William grew up in the woods of Pennsylvania, reading the works of Philip K. Dick, Arthur C. Clarke, and other science fiction writers with abbreviations for middle names.



Currently he lives in Sweden and keeps himself occupied with podcasting, expanding his fiction library, and spending time with his wife and two cats. He enjoys connecting with other fans of good storytelling on social media.

Connect with Matthew:
Facebook  |  Twitter  |. Goodreads 

Buy the book:
Amazon

FEATURED AUTHOR: ANDREA KANE

ABOUT THE BOOK

What would you do if your daughter was kidnapped and given only a week to live?



Lauren Pennington is celebrating her junior year abroad when life comes to a screeching halt. At Munich’s Hofbräuhaus, she engages in an innocent flirtation with a charming stranger for the length of a drink. Drink finished, Lauren leaves—only to be snatched from the streets and thrown into an unmarked van. 

Officially, Aidan Deveraux is a communications expert for one of the largest financial firms in the world. In his secret life, the former Marine heads the Zermatt Group, a covert team of military and spy agency operatives that search the data stream for troubling events in an increasingly troubled world. When his artificial intelligence system detects Lauren’s kidnapping, Aidan immediately sees the bigger picture.



Silicon Valley: Lauren’s father, Vance Pennington, is about to launch a ground-breaking technology with his company NanoUSA—a technology that the Chinese are desperate for. No sooner does Aidan arrive on Vance’s doorstep to explain the situation than the father receives a chilling text message: hand over the technology or Lauren will be "dead in a week".



In a globe-spanning chase, from the beer halls of Germany, to the tech gardens of California, to the skyscrapers of China, and finally the farmlands of Croatia, Aidan’s team cracks levels of high-tech security and complex human mystery with a dogged determination. Drawing in teammates from the Forensic Instincts team (introduced in The Girl Who Disappeared Twice), the Zermatt Group will uncover the Chinese businessmen responsible, find the traitors within NanoUSA who are helping them, and save Lauren from a brutal death.

Book Details:


Title: Dead in a Week

Author: Andrea Kane

Genre: Suspense/Thriller
Series: A Forensic Instincts/Zermatt Group thriller
, book 7

Publisher: Bonnie Meadow Publishing, LLC (March 19, 2019)

Print length: 320 pages
On tour with: Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours

INTERVIEW WITH ANDREA KANE


Q: Andrea, what’s the story behind the title of your book?
A: For starters, Dead in a Week introduces a whole new team of international investigators: the Zermatt Group, an exciting “core-four” who work hand-in-hand with member of the Forensic Instincts team to solve a high-stakes global crime. NanoUSA is a Silicon Valley company about to release groundbreaking technology that the Chinese are desperate to get their hands on. Vance Pennington is the VP of Manufacturing there, and his teenage daughter is kidnapped in exchange for the technology—and given only 7 days to live. It’s a race to the finish with the clock ticking on Lauren Pennington’s life.

Q: Tell us about your series. Is this book a standalone, or do readers need to read the series in order?
A: Dead in a Week is both part of my Forensic Instincts series and, at the same time, the first of the Forensic Instincts/Zermatt Group novels.  It introduces a whole new team, one that folds FI team members into the mix. The Forensic Instincts series (which consists of 7 books so far, including Dead in a Week) features a maverick investigative team that operates both inside and outside the boundaries of the law to solve difficult cases. Each team member is unique and brilliant unto themselves—from a behaviorist, to former FBI and military, to a tech-genius, to a claircognizant, to a former pickpocket, to a human scent evidence dog.  (Quite an eclectic team, wouldn’t you say?)

Q: Where’s home for you?
A: Warren, New Jersey.

Q: What’s the most valuable thing you’ve learned?
A: Count your blessings and take life in baby steps.

Q: What do you love about where you live?
A: It’s private, but not secluded, and nature is everywhere.



Q: Have you been in any natural disasters?
A: I call the one cruise we took a natural disaster since Hurricane Felix came with us. The trip was way too treacherous for the ship to have been allowed to leave port, and everyone on it was violently ill. Thankfully, there were no other casualties.

Q: What is the most daring thing you've done?
A: Submitted my first manuscript. It was like baring my soul on paper and waiting for it to be judged.


Q: What’s one thing that you wish you knew as a teenager that you know now?
A: That the biggest trauma in life is the one you’re going through right now.

Q: What makes you bored?

A: People who love to hear themselves talk, but don’t have anything interesting to say.

Q: What makes you nervous?

A: Anything that has to do with praying for good health or dealing with doctors.

Q: What makes you happy?
A: My family.

Q: What makes you scared?
A: The unknown and sometimes change.

Q: What makes you excited?
A: Typing the words “The End.”

Q: Do you have another job outside of writing?
A: My family and my writing are my loves and my jobs.

Q: How did you meet your spouse? Was it love at first sight?
A: We met at college. It was best friendship at first sight. Love blossomed from there. To me, there’s nothing better.

Q: Would you rather be a lonely genius, or a sociable idiot?
A: I hate being lonely, but I couldn’t tolerate being an idiot, so I guess I go for door #1!

Q: What’s one of your favorite quotes?
A: “There are three rules to writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.” –W. Somerset Maugham

Q: What would your main character say about you?
A: That I’m as much of a perfectionist as she is!

Q: What’s one pet peeve you have when you read?
A: Hanging endings. I want to read a whole book, not one that ends by informing you that, if you want to know what happens, wait for the next book. Sequels are great, but make each one complete. Oh, and I really dislike books that are based entirely on misunderstandings. I keep wanting to shake the characters and saying, “Yoo-hoo, there was a letter explaining all this to you, but it flew out the window five minutes before you walked into the room.”

Q: What’s the best compliment you’ve ever received about your writing?
A: That I made a difference in someone’s life, whether it was as simple as a much-needed and relished break in their routine or that something in the book or the characters helped them through a terribly difficult or traumatic time.

Q: What’s the hardest thing you’ve ever had to write?
A: Always, always, the words “The End.” Because as much as I’m elated that I’ve completed my book, I always feel as if I should do more, add more, change more, because nothing is ever perfect—and I’m such a Type A+ perfectionist! I also hate saying good-bye to characters who have become like friends to me. That’s one of the reasons I love writing the Forensic Instincts series: I always know that when I type “The End”, the FI team will be back.

Q: What are you working on now?
A: I’m hard at work researching and writing my next Forensic Instincts novel. As always, it’s both an overwhelming process and a labor of love.

READ AN EXCERPT FROM DEAD IN A WEEK

Munich, Germany

20 February

Tuesday, 4:00 p.m. local time

Normally, Lauren Pennington loved the sound of her combat boots clomping across the cobblestone apron. But right now, all she could think about was the growling of her empty stomach, urging her to move faster. She was oblivious to everything else—the couple on the corner sharing a passionate, open-mouthed kiss, the guy puking up his over-consumption of beer into the storm sewer grating, and the man watching her every move as he talked into his cell phone in a language that Lauren wouldn’t have recognized had she been paying attention.
She walked into Hofbräuhaus’ main hall, took a seat at one of the wooden tables, and placed her order. Minutes later, the waitress came over and brought Lauren’s food and drink. Barely uttering a perfunctory “Danke,” Lauren bit into a pretzel the size of her head and took a healthy gulp of Hofbräu.
The semester had ended, and she was entitled to some carbs and a dose of people-watching at the historic Munich brewery. Pretzels and beer were addicting, but people-watching had always fascinated her. Despite a whole winter semester of her junior year abroad studying art history at the Ludwig Maximilian University at Munich, she still enjoyed playing the tourist. Not at school, but every time she strolled the streets, studied the architecture, chatted with the locals.
Hofbräuhaus was less than a mile from campus, but the brewery’s main hall had a reputation all its own. With its old-world atmosphere of wooden tables, terra cotta floors, painted arches, and hanging lanterns, how could anyone not feel a sense of history just being within these walls?
Maybe that’s why Europe called out to her, not just here, but from a million different places. Museums. Theaters. Cathedrals. She wanted to experience them all, and then some. She’d be going home to San Francisco in July, and she hadn’t been to Paris or London or Brussels. She’d gotten a mere taste of Munich and had yet to visit Berlin.
When would she get another chance to do all that?
Not for ages. And certainly not with the sense of freedom she had as a college student, with little or no responsibilities outside her schoolwork to claim her attention. On the flip side, she felt terribly guilty. Every February, her entire family traveled to Lake Tahoe together. It was a ritual and a very big deal, since her father rarely got a day, much less a week, off as a high-powered executive. Her mother usually began making arrangements for the trip right after the holidays. In her mind, it was like a second Christmas, with the whole family reuniting and sharing time and laughter together.
This year was no different. Lauren’s brother, Andrew, and her sister, Jessica, were both taking time off from their busy careers to join their parents at Tahoe—no easy feat considering Andrew was an intellectual property attorney in Atlanta, and Jess was a corporate buyer for Neiman Marcus in Dallas. Lauren was the only holdout. Lauren. The college kid. The baby. The free spirit who always came home from Pomona College to nest, especially for family gatherings and rituals.
Her parents had been very quiet when she’d told them about her plans. Lauren knew what that silence meant. After the phone call ended, her mother would have cried that she was losing her baby, and her father would have scowled and written off her decision as college rebellion. Neither was true. But no matter how she explained it, her parents didn’t understand. They’d traveled extensively in Europe, and to them, it was no big deal. But it was Lauren’s first time here, and to her, it was like discovering a whole new world—a world she felt an instant rapport with. It was like discovering a part of her soul she’d never known existed. And she had to immerse herself in it.
She’d entertained the idea of flying to Lake Tahoe for the week and then returning to fulfill her dream. Her parents would definitely pay for that. But given the long international travel, the flight changes, the time differences, and the jet lag, Tahoe would put too much of a crimp in the many plans she had for her break between semesters. She’d had invitations from school friends who said she could stay with them during her travels—friends from Germany and so many other countries.
The world was at her feet.
No, despite how much she loved her family, she had to do things her way this time. There’d be other Februarys, other trips to Tahoe. But this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
She was still drinking her beer and lamenting her situation when a masculine voice from behind her said, “Hallo. Kann ich mitmachen?”
Turning, Lauren saw a handsome, rugged-featured guy, gazing at her with raised brows. He was asking if he could join her.
“Sind Sie allein?” he asked, glancing to her right and to her left.
“Yes, I’m alone,” she answered in German. “And, yes, please join me.”
The man came around and slid onto the bench seat. He propped his elbow on the table, signalling to the waitress that he’d have the same as the lady. The waitress nodded, hurrying off to get his refreshment.
He turned his gaze back to Lauren. “You’re American,” he noted, speaking English that was heavily accented.
“Guilty as charged,” she responded in English. “Is it that obvious?” She gave him a rueful look.
He smiled, idly playing with the gold chain around his neck. “Your German is quite good. But I picked up the American…what’s the word you use? Twang.”
Lauren had to laugh. “It’s my turn to take a stab at it, then. You’re French? Slavic? A combination of both?”
“The last.“ His smile widened. “You have a good ear, as well.”
“Your German and your English are excellent. I guess I just got lucky.”
“Speaking of getting lucky, what’s your name?” he asked.
His boldness took her aback, but she answered anyway. “Lauren. What’s yours?”
“Marko.” He held out his hand, which Lauren shook. “I’m in Munich on business. And you?”
“I’m an exchange student. I’m on break, and I’m looking forward to enjoying some time exploring Europe.”
Marko looked intrigued. “I can give you a few tips.” A mischievous glint lit his eyes. “Or I could travel with you for a few days and give you the best taste of Munich you’ll ever have.”
Lauren felt flushed. She was twenty years old. She knew very well what Marko meant by “the best taste.” She should be offended. But she couldn’t help being flattered. He was older, good-looking, and charming.
Nonetheless, she wasn’t stupid. And she wasn’t in the market for a hookup.
“Thanks, but I’m tackling this trip on my own,” she replied. “I’m meeting up with friends later, but I’m good as planned.”
“Pity.” The glint in his eyes faded with regret. “Then at least let me give you some pointers about the best sights to see and the best restaurants and places to visit.”
“That would be fantastic.” Lauren rummaged in her purse for a pen and paper. Having found them, she set her bag on the floor between them.
She spent the next twenty mesmerizing minutes listening to Marko detail the highlights of Munich and other parts of Bavaria, as she simultaneously scribbled down what he was saying.
“Thank you so much,” she said when he was finished. “This is like a guided tour.”
“Once again, I could do it in person.”
“And once again, I’m flattered, but no thank you.” Lauren signaled for her check, reaching into her bag and retrieving a twenty euro bill when the waitress approached the table. “The rest is for you,” she told her.
“I’ll take care of that,” Marko offered, stopping Lauren by catching her wrist and simultaneously fishing for his wallet. Evidently, he was still holding out hope that she would change her mind.
“That’s okay. I’ve got it.” Lauren wriggled out of his grasp, leaned forward, and completed the transaction.
“You’ve been a tremendous help,” she said to Marko as she rose. “I’m glad we met.”
This time it was she who extended her hand.
Reluctantly, he shook it. “I hope we meet again, Lauren. I’ll look for you the next time I’m in Munich.”
Still smiling, Lauren left the café and walked through the wide cobblestone apron outside. There were little tables with umbrellas scattered about, with patrons chatting and eating. Sated by the beer and pretzel, she inhaled happily, and then, walking over to the sidewalk, began what she expected to be a thoughtful stroll. Maybe she’d text her parents this time, try explaining her position without all the drama of a phone call.
She was halfway down the street when she heard a male voice call after her, “Lauren!”
She turned to see Marko hurrying in her direction. “Here.” He extended his arm, a familiar iPhone in his hand. “You left this on the table.”
“Oh, thank you.” How could she have been so careless? She protected her cell phone like a small child. “I’d be lost without that—“
As she spoke, a Mercedes van tore around the corner and came screeching up to them.
The near doors were flung open, and a stocky man jumped out, his face concealed by a black hood. Before Lauren could so much as blink, he grabbed her, yanking a burlap sack over her head and tossing her over his shoulder.
"Merr në makinë,” he said in a language Lauren didn’t understand.
By this time, Lauren had recovered enough to struggle for her freedom. Her legs flailed in the air, kicking furiously, and she pounded on the man’s back as he carried her and flung her into the back of the van.
Marko jumped in behind her, slamming the doors shut and barking out something in the same dialect as the other man—neither French nor Slavic—as the stocky barbarian held her down.
Finally finding her voice, Lauren let out a scream, which was quickly muffled by the pressure of Marko’s hand over her mouth. She could taste the wool of the sack, and she inclined her head so she could breathe through her nose.
A short-lived reprieve.
Marko fumbled around, then shoved a handkerchief under the sack, covering her nose and mouth. Lauren thrashed her head from side to side, struggling to avoid it. The odor was sickeningly sweet and citrusy.
Chloroform.
Tears burned behind her eyes. Shock waves pulsed through her body.
Oh God, she didn’t want to die.
Marko clamped his other hand on the back of her head, holding it in place while he forced the handkerchief flush against her nose and mouth, making it impossible for her to escape.
Dizziness. Nausea. Black specks. Nothing.
“Shko,” Marko ordered his accomplice, shoving him toward the driver’s seat.
The van screeched off, headed to hell.

***
Excerpt from Dead In A Week by Andrea Kane. Copyright © 2019 by Andrea Kane. Reproduced with permission from Andrea Kane. All rights reserved.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 


Andrea Kane is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of twenty-nine novels, including fifteen psychological thrillers and fourteen historical romantic suspense titles. With her signature style, Kane creates unforgettable characters and confronts them with life-threatening danger. As a master of suspense, she weaves them into exciting, carefully-researched stories, pushing them to the edge—and keeping her readers up all night.

Kane’s first contemporary suspense thriller, Run for Your Life, became an instant New York Times bestseller. She followed with a string of bestselling psychological thrillers including No Way Out, Twisted, and Drawn in Blood.

Her latest in the highly successful Forensic Instincts series, Dead in a Week, adds the Zermatt Group into the mix—a covert team of former military and spy agency operatives. With a week to save a young woman from ruthless kidnappers, this globe-spanning chase, from the beerhalls of Germany, to the tech gardens of California, to the skyscrapers of China, and finally the farmlands of Croatia will keep readers guessing until the very end. The first showcase of Forensic Instincts’ talents came with the New York Times bestseller, The Girl Who Disappeared Twice, followed by The Line Between Here and Gone, The Stranger You Know, The Silence that Speaks, The Murder That Never Was, and A Face to Die For.
Kane’s beloved historical romantic suspense novels include My Heart’s Desire, Samantha, Echoes in the Mist, and Wishes in the Wind.
With a worldwide following of passionate readers, her books have been published in more than twenty languages. 

Kane lives in New Jersey with her husband and family. She’s an avid crossword puzzle solver and a diehard Yankees fan. Otherwise, she’s either writing or playing with her Pomeranian, Mischief, who does his best to keep her from writing.

Connect with Andrea:
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