Blue Line Bone Collector (Chicago Serial Crimes #2) by Kristi Loucks

Publication date: July 12, 2013 ~ Click HERE to pre-order your copy today.

The Blue Line Bone Collector: Chicago Serial Crimes, book 2 by Kristi Loucks
Devon Cole was not prepared for the call that came in the middle of the night. And no one was ready for the wake of bodies that surface in the days that follow an attack on Molly Shaw. Dakota's twenty-three year old friend and co-worker who unknowingly survived an attack by a killer dubbed The Blue Line Bone Collector. What follows is a dark and twisted tale with an origin that pre-dates a killers existence.

Author: Kristi Loucks is a Pastry Chef and Cake Designer with a degree from Le Cordon Bleu Chicago. Her writing and storytelling has always been a way to manage the day to day stresses of working in the world of restaurants and food service. Kristi is currently hard at work on her Chicago Serial Crimes Series! Ms. Loucks currently resides in a suburb of Chicago.


Excerpt from Book Two of the Chicago Serial Crimes Series, The Blue Line Bone Collector:
It had been unseasonably warm for early February in Chicago, but at two o’clock in the morning, the streets were still relatively quiet in Logan Square. Having lived in the city most of her life, Molly Shaw was no stranger to public transportation and she was always aware of what was happening around her.

She had just moved through the turnstile at the “El” station and she was headed towards the steps to the platform, when she noticed a tall thin man lurking in the shadows at the top of the landing. Her instincts put her on edge as she tried to get a read on him before ultimately turning back towards the street behind her. She could feel the rumble of the “El” as it coasted into the station above them, and she prayed that the man would be lured towards the train.

As she made it back to the turnstiles, she chanced a look back in the direction of the stairs. When she didn’t see the man, she breathed a sigh of relief while she berated herself for her evident paranoia. Her relief was short lived. When she turned back toward the exit, Molly caught a glimpse of the man as he reached out from her right side.

She gasped as she saw the glint of a steel blade and tried to scream as his hand clamped over her mouth, just before the blade tore through her skin.

“Such lovely bone structure,” he whispered, staring at the blood that coated her skin and running his thumb over the bones of her wrist.

Molly was fixated on the blood that ran in thin rivulets across the veins protruding from the back on her hand. That was when she noticed the markings that covered the hand of the man who held her captive.

Though she was spared further contemplation of those markings when pain shot through her system. Molly cried out behind his hand, which reeked of bleach and cigarettes, as she heard the sickening crackle and pop of bone and ligaments when he savagely wrenched her arm back at an awkward angle. In an instant, her survival instincts kicked into high gear, briefly drowning out the pain.

She fought hard as he pulled her back towards the shadows from which he’d emerged, slamming her forehead against the rail as she struggled against him. She could feel the warmth of her blood as it ran down her temple. She frantically dug through her bag, which hung to her left side, looking for anything that would give her a moment’s advantage.

Her fingers finally gripped her salvation, a tiny bottle of pepper spray that Devon had given her a few weeks back. She’d thought it was ridiculous at the time, but if she got out of this, she was certain she would kiss him for his part in her escape.

She quickly slammed her eyes shut as she sent a burst of the pepper spray over her right shoulder in the direction of her attacker, feeling the burn against her own skin as well.

The moment she felt his fingers open slightly, she bit down as hard as she could on the hand covering her mouth and flung her head back towards his face. He fell backwards as her skull connected with his and she quickly flung herself towards the turnstiles and out towards the street in the hopes that a car or a taxi might stop for her. Her only hope was that the man wouldn’t pursue her with witnesses.

Review: The Condor Song by Darryl Nyznyk

Press release:

A Tale of Conservation, Betrayal and Murder
Lawyer-turned-author captivates readers with environmental legal thriller 

LOS ANGELES – Lawyers, and killers, and endangered birds? Oh my. This unusual combination sets the stage for a riveting legal thriller by best-selling author and former attorney, Darryl Nyznyk.
Guided by his experience in the legal arena and inspired by the 1960s and 70s Sierra Club battle with Walt Disney over a proposed ski resort in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, Nyznyk brings captivating realism to his newest novel, The Condor Song (June 2013).
Described as “The Verdict”, starring Paul Newman, meets John Grisham’s The Pelican Brief, the book follows Sean Donovan, a new partner in a major law firm who lost everything when he took a costly ethical stand. Wifeless, jobless, and betrayed by his closest friend, Sean spends 13 years trying to find his way back.
Barely eking out a living on small cases, Sean’s redemption comes with the death of renowned environmentalist, Buck Anderson. When the dead man’s niece requests Sean’s help in resolving Buck’s last case with the Sierra Club, Sean happily accepts, but learns too late the opposition is his former law firm and the partner who betrayed him. He may have just signed his own death warrant.
Is Atticus Golden, the Disney-like developer against whose project Buck was working, connected to the Mexican Mafia and groups that would go to any lengths to protect their investments? As Sean gathers evidence against “Uncle Atti,” all signs lead to Buck’s murder. A battle to save a precious environmental resource turns into a classic struggle of good versus evil where a national treasure - and a man’s soul – is at stake.
The Condor Song is a gripping thriller that appeals to suspense lovers and environmentalists alike
“Writing this book, I was able to play with the things that I had been fascinated with for years: Disney, real estate development, the law, the Sierra Club and the environmental movement,” Nyznyk says.

DARRYL NYZNYK lives in Manhattan Beach, CA with his wife, Loretta. After practicing law for 20 years, Nyznyk became a full-time writer and teacher. He is also the author of the holiday novel, Mary’s Son; A Tale of Christmas. For more information, please visit www.crossdovepublishing.com.

My thoughts:
This is truly a story of conviction and desire, of betrayal and perseverance.  The characters are carefully constructed and interesting.  I tend to choose a favorite and for me - it's Carla.  I feel that she was the strongest character, she played an enormous role in the outcome of the book and yet I felt she was portrayed as a secondary or supportive character.  
The rivalry between Richard and Sean is a thread that keeps you reading, wondering what nastiness Richard will come up with next and how Sean will cope.  Richard is a horrible character!  He has been created just right to make the reader really dislike him - well done!  Sean was of course the main character, but there were times that I wanted to shake him and say, "Stop feeling sorry for yourself!!!" So, he too was wonderfully developed.  Each character, no matter how big or small a role they played in the plot of the story, elicited some kind of emotion from me as I read.
I enjoyed the Disney/Golden comparison and Uncle Atti's drive to create a world from his dreams and imagination. 
The mystery surrounding the Condors, the building site, the property buying, and the murders and attempted murders make for a page turner.
I was thrilled with the ending of the book. The author brings closure to every issue of the story and you are left with a completely satisfied feeling as you close the cover.
(I received this book in exchange for an honest review).

**For every copy of the book purchased from Amazon on JULY 1st, Darryl will donate $1 to The Sierra Club.**

Review: The Gordonston Ladies Dog Walking Club by Duncan Whitehead

The Gordonston Ladies Dog Walking Club by Duncan Whitehead

Amazon product description:
Something is not quite right in the leafy Savannah neighborhood of Gordonston. 

As the friends and fellow members of her afternoon cocktail club gather to mourn the death and lament the life of their neighbor, Thelma Miller, not all is what it seems. 

When old friends vie for the attention of widower, alderman and mayoral candidate Elliott, jealousies surface and friendships are strained. An old woman with a dark secret and an infamous uncle plots her revenge for a perceived wrong done over thirty years before, a once successful children's writer with his own secret is haunted by memories of the past and aspiring model Kelly Hudd has just won the trip of a lifetime.

Soon secrets are revealed  and an intertwined web of deceits and lies surfaces in the middle class neighborhood where a killer lurks, but is anyone really who they seem to be? A mysterious old man in South America, a young Italian count parading the streets of Paris and a charitable and kindhearted nephew recently arrived from India add to the remarkable assortment of characters in this story of intrigue, deceit and revenge. What is the secret a recently retired accountant is trying to hide and just why did  former showgirl and attractive sixty two year old widow Carla Zipp really have plastic surgery?

As the plot thickens and the Georgia temperature rises we discover who is destined for an early-unmarked grave in the wooded park that centers the tree-lined avenues of Gordonston.

A mysterious organization with links to organized crime, a handsome fire fighter who can do no wrong, and a trio of widows with deep hidden agendas compound a story of simplistic complexity. As twists and turns lead the reader to a conclusion that they will not see coming and a sucker punch ending that will leave readers breathless, the Gordonston Ladies Dog Walking Club's top priority remains the need to chastise the culprit who refuses to 'scoop' after his dog walking sessions in their treasured park.

My thoughts:

At under 200 pages this book could easily deceive the would be reader into thinking that it's a quick, mindless read, but this little book packs a BIG story.  This book is filled with mystery and misdirection rolled into what appears to be common, every day happenings in a small neighborhood called Gordonston.  There is so much going on within the pages that you really have to be on your toes not to miss the details.  Irony, steeped in nuance and subtlety, make up an interesting, original and fairly complicated storyline.
The characters are creative and well done.  The connections between and around the characters are brilliantly planned and strategically eluded to until the whole thing comes together in an expertly crafted, ingenious ending.

Well worth a read! Don't let the "skinny book" look fool you.

Book Release and Giveaway! Choke by S R Johannes

The new Breathless novelette, Choke, released Monday, June 24th. 

Choke is the 2nd in a series of sci-fi novelettes and the sequel to Suffocate.

When Eria escapes her home in the Biome, she uncovers more about her
features and specifications as a HumaNot. Following her father's
instructions, Eria embarks on a journey into a dangerous and unpredictable world.

Along the way, she encounters a young rebel, Dirk, who explains he's from the Anarchy, an underground human resistance rising up against the BOTs--advanced man-made robots gone wild. Together, Dirk and Eria battle underground serpents, desert dingos, sand storms, and advanced Bots that are always hot on their trail. As they become closer, Dirk reveals his hatred of machines, forcing Eria to hide

the secret of what and who she really is.

When the truth of her identity comes out, Eria is forced to become the very thing she hates the most.

by S.R. Johannes ~Award-winning author of Amazon Bestselling thriller, Untraceable.Don't forget to hang out with her on Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook or her blog!

Choke is the 2nd novelette in THE BREATHLESS series. It is a 20,000 word young adult thriller that combines the dystopic and science fiction genres. The two novelettes will be available on ebook only for only 99 cents!  The 3rd novelette in the series, Exhale, is scheduled for Nov/Dec 2013 just in time for the holidays.

Fans of Wool, Never Ending Sky, Mila, or Across the Universe will love this mini-series.

=================

 Giveaway:
The author is offering a free ecopy of either Choke or Suffocate to one randomly drawn commenter.  You must be 13+ to enter.  Please leave your name/alias and a valid email address in your comment.  The giveaway will run from June 25, 2013 until July 2, 2013.  Winner will be notified by email and the prize will be sent by the author.  

Spotlight: The Rockin' Chair by Steven Manchester

Brief Synopsis:
Memories are the ultimate contradiction. They can warm us on our coldest days – or they can freeze a loved one out of our lives forever. The McCarthy family has a trove of warm memories. Of innocent first kisses. Of sumptuous family meals. Of wondrous lessons learned at the foot of a rocking chair. But they also have had their share of icy ones. Of words that can never be unsaid. Of choices that can never be unmade. Of actions that can never be undone.

Following the death of his beloved wife, John McCarthy – Grandpa John– calls his family back home. It is time for them to face the memories they have made, both warm and cold. Only then can they move beyond them and into the future.

A rich portrait of a family at a crossroad, THE ROCKIN' CHAIR is Steven Manchester’s most heartfelt and emotionally engaging novel to date. If family matters to you, it is a story you must read.

The Rockin’ Chair excerpt

It was a bitterly cold Saturday morning when friends from far and wide came to pay their respects. Everyone who knew Alice adored her and equally loved her grieving husband. The McCarthy’s tiny field of granite was filled with mourners. As the preacher spoke, an eerie silence filled the frozen air.

“The Lord blessed each of our lives with the gift of knowing and loving Alice. Now He has taken her home to be with Him. Those who remember her, who loved her, walk with heavy hearts today, but we must also remember that Alice has been freed from the heavy chains of this world. She now walks with the Lord and shall dwell peacefully within His house for all eternity. Until the day we meet again...”

The preacher’s kind words were carried on the icy wind and John listened carefully to each one. Amidst them, a thousand memories reminded him of why he felt such loss. A thousand more reminded him of the void that now filled the desolate chambers of his heart. He stood rigid, conscious not to sway, and nearly snickered when the pastor mentioned “forgiveness.”

While John fought back the tears that burned to be free, the preacher’s drone drifted and became distant. John tried comforting himself with his own thoughts, but the ache in his heart was worse than anything he’d ever imagined. I’m nothin’ without Alice by my side, he thought, and the pain made him want to join her.

The preacher continued to talk above the sniffles. John glanced down at the scarred earth where friends had dug the hole. Beside his parents, Alice’s pine casket was about to be committed. A roll of old burlap covered the hole, while a mound of dirt mixed with snow sat behind them. Interrupting his own prayer, John questioned the Lord. Why ain’t there another hole dug beside her, Father? It don’t make no sense. It ain’t natural for Alice to be layin’ here alone.

John understood the cycles of life and had always been as comfortable with death as he was with life, but putting Alice in the ground alone was a tough one. I got no purpose walkin’ this earth without my wife matchin’ every step. God, how I wish I was layin’ right there beside her in our eternal bed. He became entranced in the fantasy.

Author Bio: Steven Manchester is the published author of the #1 best seller, Twelve Months, as well as A Christmas Wish (the holiday prequel to Goodnight, Brian) and Goodnight, Brian. He is also the Pressed Pennies, The Unexpected Storm: The Gulf War Legacy and Jacob Evans, as well as several books under the pseudonym, Steven Herberts. His work has appeared on NBC's Today Show, CBS's The Early Show, CNN’sAmerican Morning and BET’s Nightly News. Recently, three of his short stories were selected "101 Best" for Chicken Soup for the Soul series.
steven.h.manchester@sunlife.com
http://www.StevenManchester.com
http://www.facebook.com/#!/AuthorStevenManchester

Paperback & Kindle:http://www.amazon.com/Rockin-Chair-Steven-Manchester/dp/161188067X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1366203850&sr=1-1&keywords=the+rockin%27+chair+manchester
Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-rockin-chair-steven-manchester/1115092542?ean=9781611880670

Blog Tour: Blood Drama by Christopher Meeks

Welcome to The Wormhole and another stop on the tour.

It is still my pleasure to feature:

Blood Drama and Christopher Meeks.

Publisher: White Wiskers Press (June 15, 2013)

Category: Mystery/Thriller/Suspense, Crime Thriller

Available in: Print & eBook, 242 pages

Everyone has a bad day. Graduate student Ian Nash has lost his girlfriend in addition to being dropped from a Ph.D. program in theatre at a Southern California university. When he stops at a local coffee shop in the lobby of a bank to apply for a job, the proverbial organic matter hits the fan. A gang of four robs the bank, and things get bloody. Ian is taken hostage by the robbers when the police show up. Now he has to save his life.

FBI Special Agent Aleece Medina’s analysis of the bloody bank heist drives her into the pursuit of a robbery gang headed by two women. She doesn’t anticipate how this robbery will pit her against both the bandits and the male higher-ups in the FBI while the media heats up during a giant manhunt.

The robbers are about to kill Ian, and all he has at hand is his knowledge of the stage.

Interview:
 How long does it take you to write a book?

It takes about six months to write a draft of a novel, and then it needs to sit around without me looking at it for about six months so that I can get back to it with some objectivity. Then it takes about another six months. That’s the fastest. All three of my novels really took three or more years before I was done. However, if I’m not rewriting, I can be writing a first draft.

 What would you say is your most interesting writing quirk?

I need to chew wintergreen gum and yell really loudly the word “Minneapolis.” (Not really, but this question seems ripe for this.) Actually, I get so involved in writing that I don’t see my body at the keyboard. I’m in the story and not aware of a quirk. Or is that a quirk?

 Where do you get your ideas or inspiration for your characters?

My characters tend to be based on people I know or an amalgam of people I know. That’s how I start out, at any rate. The more I work a story, the characters change and find their own life. My friends, other than one, don’t see themselves in my stories, and the one that does now likes using that character’s name, “Sagebrush.”

 How do you decide what you want to write about?

In high school, I was probably like you and many of your readers. I got by. My English classes were okay, but I was as confused as many students were reading short stories by Ernest Hemingway, James Joyce, and nearly anyone. One thing that stayed with me, though, was that these authors often took experiences from their lives and made stories about them.

I read, for instance, one particular short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald about a couple crossing the ocean on a ship, and the more they fought, the worse the seas became. It had been inspired by a fight Fitzgerald and his wife Zelda had had. At the time, I thought something like, “That’s weird. Why take something from your life when you could write about something cool like robots?”

Thus, years later, when I found myself writing short stories, I wasn’t writing about robots but about life as I saw it. I always took something that had happened to me or someone I knew, and then I’d try to find the “story” in it. How was this incident more than just a toss-away event? How at its core might it be an allegory of something or a microcosm of a bigger issue?

Usually I’d write a draft of a story with no ending or theme in mind. When I finished, I’d ask myself why did I write about this and not something else? Why was my conscious or subconscious mind focused on this? In some ways, I’d try to analyze my story much like a psychologist would. That would help me discover the theme that was organically built in. Once I knew what the story was really about, I could shape the story more. I’d never have a character explain everything. Rather, I want to give an experience that the reader then interprets. The goal is to get the reader to participate. “Show don’t tell” is the axiom.

I’d also write about what was bugging me or bothering me but also things that seemed funny or absurd. I’d have to be far enough from an event to see the humor. I wouldn’t stick to how things really occurred but more how they felt. Emotions require stretching things, and humor needs hyperbole.

This is to say that my stories and novels had revolved around first-hand knowledge. However, with Blood Drama, I wanted to try out a genre, a thriller/mystery. My life wasn’t so exciting as the genre required. However, I used to correct my student papers at a nearby Starbucks inside a bank lobby. It was an elegant place to work, and it let me focus on my students. After about a year of noticing people banking, it struck me: what would happen if someone robbed this bank? I could be in the line of fire, or I could be taken hostage.

I stopped correcting papers there, but it was also the start of my novel. My protagonist, 28-year-old Ian Nash, a graduate student in theatre, is taken hostage in a bank robbery gone awry, and he’ll have to fight for his life.

 What do you like to do when you are not writing?

I like to garden, which is a real surprise as it’s what my grandmother used to do but it always looked so boring. It’s a great way to be physical in the world, though, getting dirt on my hands and getting things to grow—nature’s version of a novel. Plus growing tomatoes is so satifying.

Swimming is a good physical thing I do at the local college. We are human and have to keep the body in shape—especially if you sit at a computer a lot.

I also love photography. Everyone with a phone now shoots pictures, but I like shooting sunsets, landscapes, and people in action. Here are a few:



Fun random questions:
• Dogs or cats? We have two of the former, five of the latter.

• Coffee or tea? Coffee. Writers need coffee

• Dark or milk chocolate? Dark. There is no other.

More About the Author:

ristopher Meeks first published short fiction in a number of literary journals, and the stories are available in two collections, The Middle-Aged Man and the Sea and Months and Seasons. Recently, he’s focused on novels. The Brightest Moon of the Century is a story of a man who yearns for love and success, covering over thirty years—a tale that Marc Schuster of Small Press Reviews describes as “a great and truly humane novel in the tradition of Charles Dickens and John Irving.” His last novel, Love At Absolute Zero, is about a physicist who uses the tools of science to find his soul mate–and he has just three days. Critic Grady Harp calls the book “a gift.” The new novel, Blood Drama, has him edge into a thriller. Meeks also runs White Whisker Books and publishes four authors.

Christopher at the Red Room: http://redroom.com/member/christopher-meeks

Christopher’s Website www.chrismeeks.com

Christopher on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/christopher.meeks1?fref=ts

Christopher on Twitter https://twitter.com/MeeksChris

Giveaway:
International (ebook only) US and Canada (choice: print or ebook)