Tuesday, 26 March 2013

State of Emergency


I love being able to promote many different genres on 'Nancy's Novels' and today's treat is from a genre that hasn't been featured very much, as yet, on this blog.
  
I'm delighted to welcome Summer Lane who is sharing her YA/NA Dystopian romance novel 
- State of Emergency. 







What would you do if the world as you know it ended in an instant? How far would you go to survive? 
Cassidy Hart is your typical High School graduate: a little shy, a little sarcastic, and a little naive. But when an electromagnetic pulse takes down the United States, she's forced to kick into full survival mode when she gets separated from her father. Yeah. Things suck. But with the help of a handsome soldier named Chris, she just might find her dad without getting into serious trouble. Emphasis on might. Oh. And there's the matter of avoiding getting killed in a world that's quickly turned into an active war zone. It's going to change Cassidy's life. It's going to be a major pain in the butt.

An excerpt to share... (prologue)
 

I don’t know how it happened.  Nobody does. There are only theories, empty rhetoric and doomsday prophecies. None of them are right, but none of them are completely wrong, either. They all have a grain of truth. All I know is where I was and what I was doing when it happened.

The day had started out like every other day of my life.  I hit the snooze button on my alarm about five times before dragging myself out of bed. I combed back my unruly red hair, threw on some clothes, and went into the kitchen. As usual, my dad hadn’t gone to the grocery store, so breakfast consisted of burnt toast and a teaspoon of olive oil.

Because fatty acids are supposed to be healthy for you.

And because there’s nothing else to eat in my house except a can of string beans from 1999.

Being nineteen, graduated from high school and unemployed, I didn’t have much to do besides surf the internet looking for interesting stories and reading my stack of books from the library. Lately I had applied for a multitude of different jobs, including a flight attendant, car washer and hotel manager. Needless to say, none of those positions panned out.

I’m more of the independent type, getting paid by my dad to help him out with his job as a private detective. He’s been letting me poke around in his cases since I was a freshman in high school. I’m good at it, too. Criminal justice, that is. I even wanted a degree in it, but since I’m flat busted broke and stuck in a two-bedroom home with an empty refrigerator, my options are kind of slim.

Anyway, after I looked for a few jobs online, I closed my laptop and started cleaning the house. My dad and I lived in a small house in the outer suburbs of Los Angeles. Culver City, to be exact. It’s about ten minutes away from Hollywood. The land of spray-on tans and yoga classes.

It’s a nice place to live as long as you don’t drive about five miles in the opposite direction. In that case you’ll end up in the middle of a ghetto. A visit to the grocery store might end up becoming a drive-by shooting.

Unsurprisingly, I’m an introvert.

So that day, that regular, average day, turned out to be a day that not only changed my life – but everybody else’s.

It was the day technology turned on us.

It was the beginning of a major pain in the butt.






A little about Summer Lane;


Summer Lane is the author of the YA/NA Dystopian Romance, State of Emergency. She is a freelance writer, publicist and lover of all things feline. Summer is also the author of Snappy Social Networking: How to Dominate the Blogosphere & Everything in Between.

In her spare time, Summer is the creator of the online magazine/blog, Writing Belle, in addition to being a frequent contributor at NA Alley, a website dedicated to all things New Adult. 

Summer began writing when she was 13 years old, due to the fact that the long afternoons after school were somewhat boring, and writing stories seemed to make the time pass a little quicker. Since then she has written many books about jungle cats, secret agents, princesses and spaceships. She is also a non-fiction writer, but her debut novel, State of Emergency, is her favorite book yet. You can find Summer hopping around on the Internet by following her on Twitter @SummerEllenLane or swinging by Writing Belle.

Summer's Website | Blog | Twitter | FacebookGoodreads

Thank you, Summer, for sharing with us today. Best wishes with all of your writing projects. 

Slainthe!

Monday, 25 March 2013

77p / 99c Topaz Eyes and The Beltane Choice price slash!








*****Fantastic e-book sale!*****
 
My Crooked Cat books are available from Amazon at only 77p / 99c for the next four days in the Crooked Cat Easter Sale! (25th - 28th March)

77p   Amazon UK 

99c     Amazon US

A peculiar invitation to Heidelberg embroils Keira Drummond in the search for a mysterious collection of extraordinary jewels once owned by a Mughal Emperor; a hoard that was last known to be in the possession of Amsterdam resident, Geertje Hoogeveen, in 1910.
Who among the progeny of Geertje – hitherto unfamiliar third cousins brought together for the quest – can Keira rely on? Distrust and suspicion among them is rife.
Which one is greedy, and determined enough, to hire thugs to tail her… and worse… as she travels to Vienna and Minnesota?  Can Keira even trust Teun Zeger - a Californian she is becoming very drawn to – as they pair up to unearth the jewellery?
As they follow a trail of clues, will they uncover the full collection before the hired gun kills them? Details remain furtive and undisclosed until danger and death forces their exposure. And who harbours the ultimate mystery item that is even more precious than the Mughal jewels?

Greed, suspicion and murder are balanced by growing family loyalty, trust, and love.


77p    Amazon UK 
99c    Amazon US  

Can the Celtic Tribes repel the Roman army? AD 71

Banished from the nemeton, becoming a priestess is no longer the future for Nara, a princess of the Selgovae tribe. Now charged with choosing a suitable mate before Beltane, her plan is thwarted by Lorcan, an enemy Brigante prince, who captures her and takes her to his hill fort. Despite their tribes fighting each other, Nara feels drawn to her captor, but time runs out for her secret quest.

As armies of the Roman Empire march relentlessly northwards, Lorcan intends to use Nara as a marriage bargain, knowing all Celtic tribes must unite to be strong enough to repel imminent Roman attack. Nara’s father, Callan, agrees to a marriage alliance between Selgovae and Brigante, but has impossible stipulations. Lorcan is torn between loyalty to his tribe and growing love for Nara.  
                                             
When danger and death arrive in the form of the mighty Roman forces, will Nara be able to choose her Beltane lover?






Friday, 22 March 2013

Teun Zeger's been nabbed for Familiarise Friday!

Familiarise Friday's guest is the delightful Teun Zeger from Topaz Eyes by...Nancy Jardine! 

Yes, I know that's me, but since I'm off for a fun weekend away from home (read away from the internet as well) I left the guest spot empty. Then I decided the blog looked so lonely. 

Teun's desperate to speak to you anyway! 




I know what you look like Teun (isn't he a lovely man?) but for the readers describe yourself using only 6 words.
Tenacious, dedicated, hardworking, loyal, focused, motivated

www.123rf.com
I'm hearing Keira Drummond might also call you a pain in the ass? 
Probably. She thinks I'm too negative and to distrusting.

Where are you from?
I was born in Rochester, Minnesota, but brought up in California - so people tend to think I’m Californian since I’ve picked up a bit of an accent from living in Sonoma.

Is that where you live now?
Hah! More like out of a suitcase! I've an apartment in San Francisco, my base city, but I travel to my Boston and London labs fairly regularly. That means I’m not in the apartment all that often. I stay in hotels everywhere else. And right now, apart from staying one overnight at my uncle's house in Rochester, Minnesota, I've been in hotels for weeks.

What’s your main occupation just now?
It should be running my three laboratories - I’m an industrial chemist, and my labs do a variety of experimental testing and routine checks - though recently I’ve been trekking around the world with a fantastic woman called Keira Drummond in search of my family’s treasures. We’re on a treasure hunt to find the Tiru Salana jewels before the hired thugs, who’ve been tailing us, get them first. I told you already that I'm tenacious? Now that I've started, I want the quest to be over and all the missing items found. I'm also a bit preoccupied just now with working out who in my new found third cousins are trustworthy. Right now I'm a Doubting Thomas and don't think much of any of them. The bast**** (sorry!) are hiding too many secrets. I'm not stopping till I solve all these puzzles.

What makes you happy?
It used to be the thrill of getting my laboratories set up and running smoothly, but now I’d just be happy to be anywhere so long as Keira's by my side. I’ve just discovered what it’s like to have one woman who matches me perfectly!

wwww.123rf.com
I think she matches you very well, Teun! 

You've been granted a whole week where you can choose every single thing you want to do. What would that be? 
This would be assuming the Tiru Salana hunt is over, since there’s going to be no leisure till that happens? 
Well, I’d like Keira to introduce me to all the fantastic European cities that she’s already been to. She’s a fabulous tourist guide and speaks so many European languages. She’s just blown me away with her competence! I’d wine and dine her in all the venues she can’t afford to go to normally, and sometimes we’d just hang out *wink*  You don't need those details here...


What’s your favourite reading material?
I guess I'm a bit of a nerd. I read Scientific American, National Geographic – magazines like that. I don’t get around to much in the way of fiction, but if I do read any it’s generally science fiction.

You’re going to begin a new hobby. What would it be?
That would definitely be to learn to speak Dutch. My grandparents were Dutch though I never learned any of their language. Now, having met my new European cousins, I think I owe it to my ancestors to learn Dutch, and maybe some German as well.

Who, or what, is the love of your life?
Last week I would have had trouble answering that question, but today it’s without a doubt Keira Drummond. I love everything about her- even her sometimes too trusting optimism...though actually she reads people better than I do!

What is your biggest goal for 2013?
Make that plural! I’ve lots of goals. Get the treasure hunt over; keep Keira safe from the lunatics who are harming my family to the point that someone has already died; and marry Keira as soon as possible. 

I haven’t asked her yet, so I guess that’s another goal. 

Thanks for answering my questions, Teun. Good luck with that quest for the Tiru Salana Jewels and with your plans for Keira. 


Topaz Eyes:

A peculiar invitation to Heidelberg embroils Keira Drummond in the search for a mysterious collection of extraordinary jewels once owned by a Mughal Emperor; a hoard that was last known to be in the possession of Amsterdam resident, Geertje Hoogeveen, in 1910.

Who among the progeny of Geertje – hitherto unfamiliar third cousins brought together for the quest – can Keira rely on? Distrust and suspicion among them is rife.

Which one is greedy, and determined enough, to hire thugs to tail her… and worse… as she travels to Vienna and Minnesota?  Can Keira even trust Teun Zeger - a Californian she is becoming very drawn to – as they pair up to unearth the jewellery?

As they follow a trail of clues, will they uncover the full collection before the hired gun kills them? Details remain furtive and undisclosed until danger and death forces their exposure. And who harbours the ultimate mystery item that is even more precious than the Mughal jewels?

Greed, suspicion and murder are balanced by growing family loyalty, trust, and love.

Excerpt:
“Would you ditch the mystery, Jensen, and just enlighten me as to what you think I have that interests you? And tell me why you couldn’t have asked for it in the letter you sent to me? I came here of my own free will – granted – but I’m not hanging around any longer if you’re going to drag this out, for I’m damned sure I’ve no idea what you’re referring to.”
            Jensen’s reply lacked emotion, his face a blank screen, his gaze focused on Teun as Keira regarded the by-play.
            “Teun. It may come as a surprise to you, but you actually know more about this invitation than Keira. At least you knew from my letter I had something of family interest you might be glad to take back to the USA with you. Keira had no such suggestion made to her.”
            Tension rose in the room, which didn’t only radiate from Teun.
            Keira sat uneasy, also unwilling to be in the dark any longer. “Would you please explain why you think I may have something you want, Herr Amsel?” She found herself reluctant to use his first name, considering the antagonism now mounting.
            “All in good time, Keira. And please call me Jensen. I don’t set out to be anyone’s enemy. I believe each of you can provide access to items belonging to the collection. All the pieces are likely to vary in monetary value but, viewed as a complete entity, it will make an impressive display. It’s a historic set… and unique.”

Topaz Eyes available from:
Amazon UK author page for all novels  http://amzn.to/N6ye0z   
Amazon.com author page for all novels http://amzn.to/RJZzZz


Slainthe!