Subhuman Book Blitz

Subhuman
Michael McBride
(Unit 51 #1)
Published by: Pinnacle Books
Publication date: October 31st 2017
Genres: Adult, Horror

THEY ARE NOT HUMAN.

At a research station in Antarctica, five of the world’s top scientists have been brought together to solve one of the greatest mysteries in human history. Their subject, however, is anything but human . . .

THEY ARE NOT NATURAL.

Deep beneath the ice, the submerged ruins of a lost civilization hold the key to the strange mutations that each scientist has encountered across the globe: A misshapen skull in Russia. The grotesque carvings of a lost race in Peru. The mummified remains of a humanoid monstrosity in Egypt . . .

THEY ARE NOT FRIENDLY.

When a series of sound waves trigger the ancient organisms, a new kind of evolution begins. Latching onto a human host—crossbreeding with human DNA—a long-extinct life form is reborn. Its kind has not walked the earth for thousands of years. Its instincts are fiercer, more savage, than any predator alive. And its prey are the scientists who unleashed it, the humans who spawned it, and the tender living flesh on which it feeds . . .

Praise for Michael McBride

“A fast-paced and frightening ride. Highly recommended for fans of creature horror and the thrillers of Michael Crichton.”—The Horror Review on PREDATORY INSTINCT

“McBride writes with the perfect mixture of suspense and horror that

keeps the reader on edge.” —Examiner

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—

EXCERPT:

Anya screamed and ran to Richards. Grabbed him by the back of the jacket and pulled.

“You have to help me!”

The freezing air buffeted her in the face when she looked up and saw a man only vaguely resembling Armand Scott pounce to the ground from on top of Connor. Snowflakes blew sideways past him and stuck to the walkway between them. His cranial deformity was identical to that of the remains she’d unearthed in Russia, only the physical expression of the flesh was for more terrifying than she could ever have imagined. She’d envisioned its face as being similar to that of modern man, but there was nothing remotely human about Scott’s appearance. Everything about him was alien, from the grayish cast of his skin to the way he twitched and moved in lurches, as though unfamiliar with the mechanics of motion.

Fissures crackled as they raced through the Plexiglas.

The creature scuttled forward and cocked its head, first one way and then the other. Blood dribbled from its mouth when it issued a hiss that sounded like steam firing from a ruptured pipe.

Anya screamed and threw herself to her knees.

“Come on!”

She grabbed Richards underneath his arms and shouted with the effort of lifting him. He found his feet, but couldn’t seem to take his eyes off the creature.

“It’s magnificent,” he said.

“Hurry!” Friden shouted.

The stairwell echoed with the drumroll of footsteps hitting the iron steps.

Anya looked back and saw several silhouettes bounding down the staircase toward them. She jerked Richards so hard she nearly sent him sprawling once more, but he regained his balance and stumbled backward with her. She took advantage of his newfound momentum to drag him away from the creature, which lunged forward, cutting the distance between them in half.

A scream from behind her.

She whirled to find Kelly in the opening to the Skyway, her hands clapped over her mouth. When Anya looked back, the creature was within ten feet of them and tensed to make another advance.

More popping sounds from above her. The cracks spread through the walls in her peripheral vision. Chunks of Plexiglas fell to the ground between her and the creature, which released a series of clicking sounds and retreated into the blowing snow.

A loud snap and a cable sang past to her right. The entire bridge shuddered.

“Hurry, Anya!” Friden shouted.

“There’s another one behind us!” Jade screamed.

“Start barricading the stairwell,” Evans shouted.

“And then what?” Jade asked. “We’ll be trapped in here without light or heat or any way to signal for help.”

Anya pulled Richards toward them. If she could just cross the threshold at the end of the Skyway, they could seal the creature on the other side.

Another cable snapped and the floor dropped.

Anya hit the ground on her knees and barely scrambled out of the way before Richards landed on top of her.

The walkway sloped downward toward where the creature crouched. The domed Plexiglas shattered and dropped enormous shards between them. The storm raced through the gap, creating a moving wall of snow between them that nearly concealed the creature as it approached, low to the ground and coming up fast.

A resounding thud.

The Skyway slanted downward, so steeply that Anya started to slide. She grabbed Richards by the back of the jacket with one hand and reached for anything at all with the other.

“Hang on!” Evans shouted and dove for her. He caught her by the wrist and halted her slide.

Another cable snapped and whipped the frozen glass beside them hard enough to shatter the glass and impale her cheek with tiny fragments.

Evans groaned and pulled her up toward the doorway, the seal around which was already buckled and peeling away from the building.

“Give me a hand!” he shouted.

Friden tentatively crawled to Evans’s side, grabbed Richards, and pulled hard enough on the back of his coat to pry him from Anya’s grasp, lightening her burden enough that Evans could drag her up the slope and over the fractured edge.

She scurried past Evans, turned around, and helped the others pull Richards into the stairwell.

Bolts snapped and structural rings disengaged. Bits of Plexiglas cascaded down the bridge toward where the creature crawled toward them.

A chasm opened behind it. Connor’s body slid through, tumbled out over the nothingness, and vanished into the storm.

“Close the door!” Anya screamed.

The creature slapped at the floor with its bare hands as the bridge grew steeper, digging its fingernails into the tiles in an effort to gain traction.

Evans pried the door from the recess until the others were able to help him drag it across the entryway.

The creature shrieked and scrambled uphill, blood dribbling from the gunshot wounds on its chest.

Ten feet.

Five.

It was nearly upon them when the Skyway broke away from the building.

The creature’s eyes widened. Its nails tore from the cuticles. It screeched and flailed.

The last thing Anya saw before they sealed the door was the expression of sheer terror on its face as it plummeted into the blowing snow.

“Someone help me!” Roche shouted from the landing at the top of the staircase, where he struggled to jerk the door from its slot in the wall. “It’s right behind me!”

Anya rushed for the stairs and hit them behind Kelly and Jade, who were already halfway up. She barely had the strength to climb and had to use the railing to pull herself higher. She nearly lost her balance when her hand slipped in something wet, but she managed to stumble forward and made it to the landing, where the others already had the gap down to a mere foot. A dark shape streaked straight toward the opening from the foyer on the other side, the light reflecting from its inhuman eyes.

“It’s coming!” Anya screamed.

She threw herself against the face of the door and used her shoulder to help the others drive it closed with a resounding thud.

The creature struck it from the other side, hard enough to knock her backward, but she braced herself and leaned into it again.

Kelly screamed beside her as the creature hurled itself against the steel door, over and over.

Until, finally, it stopped.

Anya desperately listened for any indication of what it was doing on the other side but couldn’t hear anything over the combination of their heavy breathing and whimpering.

She pictured Arkaim, with its twin fortified rings, a veritable fortress that should have been able to withstand any siege, reduced to little more than scorched rubble in the middle of a field, and the strange remains she exhumed near its outskirts. She’d made a terrible mistake in assuming that the coneheaded species represented a terminal branch in the human evolutionary tree rather than an off shoot from modern man, one facilitated by something lacking in humanity, something subhuman, the outward physical manifestation of which looked an awful lot like the alien species referred to as Grays.

Only there was nothing fictional about this being.

The creature shrieked and threw itself against the door one final time. It released a torrent of guttural clicks, then retreated into the station. The sound of its footsteps diminished until she couldn’t hear anything from the other side at all.

Anya stepped back and looked at the door. Her hand had left a smear of blood on the steel. She glanced down at her palm, expecting to find a laceration, but the skin was intact.

She took Roche’s flashlight from him and traced the railing down to where she’d slipped. There was blood on the rail, and even more on the wall above it, leading up to a hole in the exposed ductwork. Her heart sank when she gave voice to what they were all thinking.

“We’re going to die in here.”

 

Author Bio:

Michael McBride was born in Colorado and still resides in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains. He hates the snow, but loves the Avalanche. He works with medical radiation, yet somehow managed to produce five children, none of whom, miraculously, have tails, third eyes, or other random mutations. He writes fiction that runs the gamut from thriller (Remains) to horror to science fiction (Vector Borne, Snowblind) . . . and loves every minute of it. He is a two-time winner of the DarkFuse Readers’ Choice Award. You can visit him at author.michaelmcbride.net.

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The Girl Who Saved Ghosts Blog Tour

The Girl Who Saved Ghosts
K.C. Tansley
Publication date: October 17th 2017
Genres: Mystery, Time-Travel, Young Adult

She tried to ignore them. Now she might risk everything to save them.

After a summer spent in a haunted castle—a summer in which she traveled through time to solve a murder mystery—Kat is looking forward to a totally normal senior year at McTernan Academy. Then the ghost of a little girl appears and begs Kat for help, and more unquiet apparitions follow. All of them are terrified by the Dark One, and it soon becomes clear that that this evil force wants Kat dead.

Searching for help, Kat leaves school for the ancestral home she’s only just discovered. Her friend Evan, whose family is joined to her own by an arcane history, accompanies her. With the assistance of her eccentric great aunts and a loyal family ghost, Kat soon learns that she and Evan can only fix the present by traveling into the past.

As Kat and Evan make their way through nineteenth-century Vienna, the Dark One stalks them, and Kat must decide what she’s willing to sacrifice to save a ghost.

Excerpt

“I can’t help you now,” I said to the ghost beside my desk. I tucked my blond hair behind my ear and pushed my tortoiseshell glasses higher on my nose.

He remained there in his high-waisted, dark gray suit and fedora hat. Definitely circa the 1920s. He folded his arms and leaned against my desk, the picture of patience. “I can wait.”

I looked out the window in front of me. On the sidewalk below, parents helped my classmates lug their belongings into the dorm. Today was the start of my senior year at McTernan Academy. And a return to normal.

But this was the third ghost to visit my dorm for his reckoning, that one final piece of business they had to complete before they could move on.

Not believing in ghosts had kept them away for years until this summer, when I was forced to confront some incredible unbelievables—ghosts, spells, curses, and time travel. I couldn’t pretend to not believe anymore, so, since then, ghosts kept appearing and asking for my help. I wanted to help them. I truly did.

But it was exhausting. Every time a ghost appeared, it stole energy from the living. And I was always the nearest living person. I scarfed down junk food and sugary snacks to keep my energy up. It wasn’t enough. At seventeen, I had regressed to daily naps.

I’d spent most of August trying to get ahead of their reckonings before the school year started. I really thought it was possible. For a while, it even distracted me from my own issues; but senior year was starting, and the ghosts were becoming a serious problem.

I took a bite of my Twix and tried to reason with the ghost. “Someone might see you in my dorm. Can you all form a line and meet me in the park on Saturdays?” I could devote my Saturdays to the ghosts, just not my every day.

He glanced back over his shoulder and smiled like he saw something I didn’t. “We’ve been in line for years.”

A dull pounding started in the base of my skull. “I can’t keep up this pace.” My voice thinned the way a plastic bag does when you put too much in it.

His smile flickered. “But we need your help.”

“And there’s no one else?” I wasn’t the only person who saw ghosts. There were other believers out there. Some of them were my friends.

“No one quite like you.”

Sometimes I really wished I were mediocre. Being special meant that the ghosts were going to take over my life again. I couldn’t let that happen. Luckily, ghosts from his era were polite. He’d introduced himself when he arrived and that gave me the power to send him away. “Gilbert Wells, go away.”

He frowned and faded into a shimmer of dust that disappeared into a shadow.

It was the best I could do.

I got up and a wave of dizziness made me stumble. I needed to rest for a bit. I sat on my bright blue comforter, laid my head on my pillow, and was asleep in seconds.

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Author Bio:

K.C. Tansley lives with her warrior lapdog, Emerson, and two quirky golden retrievers on a hill somewhere in Connecticut. She tends to believe in the unbelievables—spells, ghosts, time travel—and writes about them.

Never one to say no to a road trip, she’s climbed the Great Wall twice, hopped on the Sound of Music tour in Salzburg, and danced the night away in the dunes of Cape Hatteras. She loves the ocean and hates the sun, which makes for interesting beach days. The Girl Who Ignored Ghosts is her award-winning and bestselling first novel in The Unbelievables series.

As Kourtney Heintz, she also writes award winning cross-genre fiction for adults.

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Necromance Book Tour & Giveaway

Necromance

by Armand Rosamilia

Genre: Supernatural Horror 

 

My name is Cheri Rose Thorne. 

I spend my life hunting Vamps and Fiends and killing them, but my main
goal has always been to destroy my evil father while keeping my
sisters at bay.

Sex, drugs and rock and roll keep me going. Oh, and killing things.

This supernatural horror thriller will keep you turning the pages. I
promise.

The curtain parted a moment later and a very confused, very surprised, male entered. It was my mark, and I could see the excitement growing in his beige pants.

“Join us,” she moaned to him.

I didn’t say a word; I continued to enjoy myself as she continued to play with me without missing a beat and, although I never wavered in my touch, I was enthralled by him.

This was very dangerous ground, but I didn’t care. I’d gotten out of harder positions than this. Yes, pun intended.

He didn’t speak; he simply took his time stripping out of his suit while watching us.

She pulled her hand away from me and motioned for him to sit between us, but instead he knelt before me and glanced at her. She took that as her cue, and slid her hands under my ass and pulled off my thong.

He kept eye contact with me even when she began to kiss his chest and shoulders.

I’d been in a few threesomes in my life but this guy was dangerous, even distracted with two beautiful women wrapped around him.

I slipped off to the side of the couch and let the two of them go at it. I needed a moment and needed to focus on what needed to be done.

She stood next to us and put her hands on his arm, smiling. I wondered if he had anything left in him to pleasure her. I almost felt bad but I was feeling so good right now that I didn’t care.

The sudden change in her expression put me back on guard. She stiffened her hands on his body, keeping him in place before me with my legs still draped over him.

When the curtain parted and someone stepped inside, I knew I’d been tricked. The jerk from the bar, Michael, who wanted to buy me a drink and wouldn’t go away, stepped in, his hands glowing orange.

I pulled the guy, who I thought was the mark, closer with my legs and slid two concealed blades from my boots.

“You should’ve let me buy you a drink,” the real mark said. He was now cocky, unlike the jerk he’d acted like at the bar. He’d suckered me in by acting like a loser to get me to drop my guard. I had. I wouldn’t make the same mistake again, and I was done chatting. I opened my mouth to respond and he smiled.

Before Michael could dodge I’d planted both knives in his chest. He fell back and pulled the curtain down as he collapsed in a heap.

I unceremoniously pushed the spent guy away from me, gave the stripper a withering stare, which told her not to move, and stepped quickly to the prone man on the downed curtain.

I slid the blades, bloody, from his chest and tossed them aside.

His hands began to glow again. “I knew what you were the second you entered the club.” He glanced behind me as he stood. “It was easy to fool you into thinking that he was the one you were looking for.”

“And easy to lure him here, where you hoped I’d be in a compromising position to keep me busy. You should have shown up sooner, because I was already done.”

He laughed at that and raised his pulsing, glowing hands. He’s what we call a Fiend, and a fairly advanced one.

He also wasn’t a match for me or my speed. I knew the two blades wouldn’t affect him but I’d wanted to give myself some room.

Right before he decided to blast me, I dropped to the floor and yanked another, slimmer blade from my boot. This weapon, blessed eons ago, passed down from necromancer to necromancer and given to me by my father, had always served me well.

The blade pulsed in my hand and shot forth of its own volition, impaling him in the throat. I watched as his look went from triumph to shock and then pain. He dropped to the floor, but this time I knew it was over, his hands extinguished.

I turned back to the stripper and the guy and smiled. “Help me get rid of the body and I’ll pay for the hotel room.” I turned to her. “Do a good job and I’ll let you play extra hard.”

She smiled. “I fully intend to.”

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Armand Rosamilia is a New Jersey boy currently living in sunny Florida,
where he writes when he’s not sleeping. He’s happily married to a
woman who helps his career and is supportive, which is all he ever
wanted in life… 

He’s written over 150 stories that are currently available, including
horror, zombies, contemporary fiction, thrillers and more. His goal
is to write a good story and not worry about genre labels.

He not only runs two successful podcasts…

Arm Cast: Dead Sexy Horror Podcast – interviewing fellow authors as well
as filmmakers, musicians, etc.

The Mando Method Podcast with co-host Chuck Buda – talking about writing
and publishing

But he owns the network they’re on, too! Project Entertainment
Network

He also loves to talk in third person… because he’s really that cool.

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Shadowchild & The Shady Corner Book Tour & Giveaway

Shadowchild

by Matthew Williams

Genre: Horror

 

In 1629 something visited the parish of Feckenham. The events that
followed were so terrifying that they never gained their place in the
history books.

Now in 2008, something seems to be wrong with Marie Watson’s young
children.

Her father won’t believe her and her mother is nearing the end of her
tether.

Marie feels utterly alone.

But is she?

Helen stormed into the office and glared at DCI Royal with accusing eyes, she went to speak but Royal got in first.

“One word Roberts and you’re off the case too!” he said with an icy cold stare right back at her. As the two of them locked eyes, three people, cut and bloodied, burst in through the door at the rear of the office. A man in his late forties leapt on to the back of the seated DCI Royal slamming his icy stare into the desk with an almighty crack. A woman in her early forties knocked DI Scott to the ground and ran at Helen. She braced herself and took hold of her upper arms as she was forced back against the wall. DI Scott shuffled back into the corner and hugged his legs while the struggle ensued. DCI Royal was a bloody mess, bleeding heavily from his face as the man continued to smash his head on the desk. The third person, a boy no older than ten was on all fours as he crawled towards DCI Royal. Helen saw the boy over the shoulder of her assailant as he tore flesh from Royal’s leg with his teeth.

“Do something Scott for fuck’s sake!” Helen screamed, “Danny!” she yelled as loud as she could, desperately hoping that he would hear her. Scott had drained to white and was huddled in a tight foetal ball with his eyes screwed shut, he was helping no one and failed to realise he’d be next. The woman snapped her teeth towards Helen’s face but she was able to push away hard enough to make her miss and turn her around so she was facing the wall. “Danny help me!” she yelled again, now only able to hear the child chewing flesh rather than see it; it wasn’t any less disgusting. Helen pushed the woman’s arm up her back and forced her to the ground; still she gnashed her teeth and struggled to twist over. Danny cracked her across the base of the head with his baton knocking her out cold.

“Thanks,” Helen panted, reaching for her cuffs to make sure she wasn’t getting free if she came to. DCI Royal was dead and as the boy chewed on the flesh from his leg, the man was tearing at his throat like a wild beast.

“Who the fuck are these people?” Danny asked rhetorically. He stepped towards the boy and cuffed him with ease; the boy snarled and drooled like a feral dog, the meat from his kill spilling from his jaws. Helen took the child and sat him next to the woman with her foot in his chest to keep him from getting up.

“Scott!” she shouted, he was whimpering pathetically and struggled to force open his eyes, which were full of terror. The man stood tall behind Royal’s slumped corpse, sucking the slivers of flesh into his mouth. “Have you got this Danny?” Helen asked seeing him edge out from behind the desk looking at her partner. Helen grabbed her radio, “Hal, Moran; get to the control room now!” she shouted into it.

“Hey Roberts, you’re early; you and lover boy having a tiff?” Moran joked.

“Cut the shit and get here Moran, DCI Royal’s just been eaten alive!” Danny span round and kicked the man square in the side of the head; he folded over sideways hitting his head into the desk and then flopped flat out on his back.

“Yeah I’ve got it,” he said, turning towards Helen. “You okay?” he asked.

“Better now thanks,” Danny searched the man for some id, he found his wallet and pulled out his driving license; he looked over at Helen.

“Sam Little, that’s the family I told you about; what the fuck happened to make them like this? I guess that’s Eve, and that’s Carl” he pointed at the others.

Hal and Moran ran into the office.

“What the fuck? I didn’t think you were serious, Jesus Christ!” Moran said seeing Royal slumped back with his throat torn open.

“Moran, keep it together and tie these three up properly will you; I’m gonna get some backup.” She stood back and stretched her leg while Moran and Hal took over restraining the boy. “And keep away from their mouths if you don’t want to end up like Royal.” she patted them both on their backs, “thanks.” Helen knelt down in front of DI Scott. “How quick can you get the armed response unit here sir?” DI Scott looked across at DCI Royal.

“Is he dead?” Scott whimpered and squirmed back in the corner crying.

“Yes he’s dead and you need to pull yourself together before we all are,” He just cried louder. “Scott!” Helen shouted, slapping him across the face, “you need to get the armed response unit here now!” He opened his eyes and Helen held his teary stare, “you need to step up and do this sir,” she said calmly; hoping to get through to him that way instead.

“Helen,” Moran wanted her attention, she looked up and he was gesturing towards the door as if to seek her advice; she seemed to have taken charge of the situation with her authoritative manner.

“Danny, get him out of here,” she saw a cameraman in the doorway filming the scene. Danny was on it already, noticing the man at the same time as Helen. He manhandled the cameraman out of the door and wrenched the camera from his grasp.

“Hey, you can’t do that!” he objected loudly. Danny proceeded to smash the camera on the floor. DI Scott had calmed quickly after realising the immediate threat had been quelled and he clambered to his feet.

“You can’t do that Curran,” suddenly he was trying to claw back his authority at the same time as sniffing backs his tears. Danny looked at him as he stamped the camera angrily.

“You want this shit on the news?” He gestured around the room, “you want videos of you cowering in the corner all over the internet do you?” The cameraman reached down and started grabbing pieces of his camera. “You get out, I won’t tell you again,” Danny said. Helen, Hal, and Moran all looked at him dagger eyed; the man left quickly, leaving his equipment behind.

“Are you sorting the armed response unit or am I?” Helen asked of DI Scott.

“I’m calling the chief of police; he’ll know what to do.”

“Just get us some backup sir, before any more crazies come through here.”

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The Shady Corner

by Matthew Williams

Genre: Horror

 

A shady corner in life can be a dark and mysterious place, but in the
shady corners of the mind, the mystery and darkness know no
bounds!

In a struggle with his conscience and haunted by images of murder, David
is given a choice to right the wrongs of his past.

Can he cheat fate and avoid his future? Or is the evil that dwells within
him more than it seems?

Only one thing is certain . . .

Fate can be cruel, but true evil can be brutal!

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Born in 1975, Matthew Williams has been a keen fan of the
horror/thriller/fantasy genres for as long as he can remember.
Whether it’s a film, a TV series, or a novel; he is drawn to all
the different aspects of these genres. Mainly it’s the complexities
and the mysteries that can be expressed with freedom and imagination
that he enjoys the most.

A fan of authors such as Stephen King, James Herbert, Dean Koontz,
Richard Layman – to name but a few!

A fan of TV shows such as Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead, Breaking
Bad, American Horror Story – to name but a few!

A fan of films such as Saw, Seven, Eden Lake, The Descent, Quarantine,
Skeleton Key, The Sixth Sense – to name but a few!

Matthew now has a small body of work of his own with ‘The Shady Corner’
and ‘Shadowchild’ only the beginning of what he is determined to
grow into an extensive collection of horror/thriller fiction novels.

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Haven Book Blitz

Genres: Paranormal, Young Adult
Published by: Entangled Publishing
Publication date: November 7th, 2017

“We all hold a beast inside. The only difference is what form it takes when freed.”

Rain Ryland has never belonged anywhere. He’s used to people judging him for his rough background, his intimidating size, and now, his orphan status. He’s always been on the outside, looking in, and he’s fine with that. Until he moves to New Wurzburg and meets Friederike Burkhart.

Freddie isn’t like normal teen girls, though. And someone wants her dead for it. Freddie warns he’d better stay far away if he wants to stay alive, but Rain’s never been good at running from trouble. For the first time, Rain has something worth fighting for, worth living for. Worth dying for.

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Author Bio:

Mary Lindsey is a multi award-winning, RITA® nominated author of romance for adults and teens. She lives on an island in the middle of a river. Seriously, she does. When not writing, she wrangles her rowdy pack of three teens, two Cairn Terriers, and one husband.

Inexplicably, her favorite animal is the giant anteater and at one point, she had over 200 “pet” Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches. The roaches are a long story involving three science-crazed kids and a soft spot for rescue animals. The good news is, the “pet” roaches found a home… somewhere else.

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Two Year Anniversary!

Yay me!

Although it has been two years, I am still figuring out all the ups, downs, ins and outs with book blogging and I am definitely enjoying the ride.

Thank you to all my followers and readers for continuing to support this blog. Without you, I’d be hopeless!

Here is to another year of books, books and well… more books!

Titanborn by Rhett C. Bruno (Review)

 
Genre: Science Fiction, Thriller
Publisher: Hydra
Publication Date: June 21, 2016
Pages: 201
Format: Mobi
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About the Book

In this gritty and innovative science-fiction thriller in the vein of Philip K. Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, turmoil on one of Saturn’s moons rattles Earth’s most powerful citizens—and draws one planet-hopping rogue into a fight he never saw coming.

Malcolm Graves lives by two rules: finish the job, and get paid. After thirty years as a collector, chasing bounties and extinguishing rebellions throughout the solar system, Malcolm does what he’s told, takes what he’s earned, and leaves the questions to someone else—especially when it comes to the affairs of offworlders.

But his latest mission doesn’t afford him that luxury. After a high-profile bombing on Earth, the men who sign Malcolm’s paychecks are clamoring for answers. Before he can object, the corporation teams him up with a strange new partner who’s more interested in statistics than instinct and ships them both off to Titan, the disputed moon where humans have been living for centuries. Their assignment is to hunt down a group of extremists: Titanborn dissidents who will go to any length to free their home from the tyranny of Earth.

Heading into hostile territory, Malcolm will have to use everything he’s learned to stay alive. But he soon realizes that the situation on the ground is much more complex than he anticipated . . . and much more personal. (via Goodreads.)

My Rating

4.85 Stars

My Review

I received this eBook from the author in exchange for an honest review.

This, as a total science fiction nerd, was a wonderful mashup Captain Mal and Jayne from Firefly, BladeRunner and a little of Mad Max mushed in to add interest. Especially with Earthian’s surviving after a meteorite strike.

The one thing made very prominent by the storyline is how much the alien species was displaced on Saturn. Ringers, as they were called. Humans had arrived to build colonies and gather gases from the rings of Saturn. In doing so, Humans displaced the alien species already living there and spread their illnesses to the species. The Ringer’s seemed to have a very low immunity to human illness. Which is what happened when settlers encountered the Native American’s.
But also, with the way that the world is going right now, this also struck a cord. The feelings from the immigrants and from the countries accepting immigrants was seen in this novel as well.
I do always enjoy when current events can ring true and loud involving stories.

Malcolm is truly the anti-hero. He is a true bounty hunter and rarely cared about anyone except doing his job and getting paid. Except maybe his daughter, who is considered illegitimate, because she was born outside of a human colony.

Then add in the almost cyborg Zhaff (who is actually human) to the mix and you have an interesting team. Especially with Zhaff’s very to the letter way of doing things and annoying everyone in the vincinity. I was pretty sure Malcolm’s eyeballs were going to roll out of his head. It was truly comedic at times.

But that ending! Come on! Now I need to see where the story goes! Sigh.

Where to Buy

Amazon CAN | Amazon US | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

About the Author

Rhett is a Sci-fi/Fantasy author currently living in Stamford, Connecticut. He is represented by Dystel & Goderich out of NYC and his published works include books in the Amazon Bestselling CIRCUIT SERIES (Published by Diversion Books) and TITANBORN SERIES (Random House Hydra). He is also one of the founders of the popular science fiction platform, Sci-Fi Bridge.

Rhett has been writing since he can remember, scribbling down what he thought were epic short stories when he was young to show to his friends and family. When he reached high school he decided to take that a step further and write his first novel. After the encouragement of his favorite English teacher, he decided to self-publish the “Isinda Trilogy” so that the people closest to him could enjoy his early work.

While studying architecture at Syracuse University, he continued to write as much as he could, but finding the time during the brutal curriculum proved difficult. It wasn’t until he was a senior that he decided to finally pursue his passion for Science Fiction. After rededicating himself to reading works of the Science Fiction authors he always loved, (Frank Herbert, Timothy Zahn, Heinlein, etc.) he began writing “The Circuit: Executor Rising”, the first part of a space opera series.

Since then he’s been hired by an Architecture firm in South Norwalk, CT. But that hasn’t stopped him from continuing to work on all of the countless stories bouncing around in his head. He’s also recently earned  a Certificate in Screenwriting from the New School in NYC, in the hopes of one day writing for TV or Video Games.

Connect with Rhett

Website | Goodreads | Twitter

 

Featured Author: Ash Gray

Shh: Can you tell us a little about yourself and your background?

AG: Whenever I’m asked this, I usually go into the I-am-really-a-dragon routine, because I hate talking about myself. And I hate talking about myself because I’ve had a crappy life and I’m sure bringing it up would just bring people down. I can’t even tell you where I grew up because I didn’t grow up in any one place.

Since I’m feeling broody this morning, I’ll share something real and not dragon bullcrap.

Just know that I was born loving stories out of the womb. And that’s not some cliché. My romance with novels began before I could read. My mother read to me every single night, even before I could talk, and I was constantly in front of the tv, and I only looked at things that had actual stories (and maybe the occasional Looney Tunes). I loved stories so much, that I had taught myself to read by the time I was three just because I wanted to be able to access those books without asking an adult to read to me. No one taught me. Not on purpose anyway. So how surprised were they when we were driving down the street and I kept blurting out what every street sign said – no matter how vulgar. I mean, I was three.

My mother told me this story the other day of how I taught myself to walk and actually walked early too. (This is remarkable because I was born with crooked legs and had to wear leg braces on them for a while – yeah, like Forrest Gump.) I was so eager to be in the world. It was like I didn’t even understand I’d only just got there. I also didn’t understand that the world was not for me but for someone else, and that I would spend the rest of my life on the outside looking in, trying to be valued as a human being and acknowledged. Of course, it took several more years to understand that.

Shh: What inspired you to write?

AG: I never wanted to write. When I was a kid, I didn’t yet understand that I was a blind dork with a bad back condition who would never play sports. I wanted to play soccer and tap dance and be a ballerina. People were astonished by how fast I could run. But the older I got, the more my nerdness caught up with me, the further I retreated into books.

Even then, it still never crossed my mind that I could or should write my own stories. I’m not sure who would have read them anyway. I was on my own a lot. Then when I was twelve, my aunt passed away. My mother, who has a degree in journalism and thus values writing highly, handed me a journal and told me to write as a catharsis. She believed writing would help me process what was happening in ways that she couldn’t.

So I wrote. And a bit over twenty years later, I’m still writing.

Shh: What inspired your novel?

AG: Since The Prince of Qorlec is what I’m working on right now (and having a friggin ball, I might add) I guess it’s the series I’ll talk about in this interview.

I was inspired to write book one Project Mothership when I realized how much I loved science fiction and that I should really, really be writing more of it. I came to this realization one evening when I was rewatching the first Men in Black film with Will Smith for the umpteenth time. I started thinking to myself, “Dammit, this is the sort of stuff I love and want to see more of, so why not create it?”

I grew up with movies like Men in Black and Alien and Terminator and even Mars Attacks! I didn’t realize it at the time – I mean, of course, I wouldn’t, I was a kid – but I was very, very lucky to have these science fiction films where people like me were on the screen depicted as human beings and not offensive and harmful stereotypes and caricatures.

It’s easy to get bogged down by negativity and feel like the world is a dark, dark place where you are not welcome and do not want to be – in fact, I feel this way every day, or else I wouldn’t write. But there is evidence that people are at least trying to be decent human beings. I’m not gonna hand out cookies or pat anyone on the back for that because we should all be trying to be good to one another every day anyway. But it’s still great to look back at my childhood and realize how damned lucky I was.

Basically, I realized I wanted to write the things I love, and I love humorous science fiction that is fun and silly and still manages to express some deep and profound truth, even in a lighthearted way. Or sometimes not. We don’t always need to philosophize about pancakes in every dang thing. So I sat down and wrote Project Mothership, which is the story of the last princess of an alien planet who was planted as a fetus inside a human woman so that she could escape the invading aliens who wished to take over her planet Qorlec.

The first book is really funny and lighthearted with some poignant moments here and there. I like to describe it as a cross between Men in Black and Terminator, except the aliens are the good ones (because me love aliens) and the FBI aka men in black and the robots/terminators are the evil ones trying to capture Quinn, the princess of Qorlec.

And because I adore action heroes in science fiction, I’ve always got at least one female action hero, who smokes cigarettes constantly and is sarcastic and tough and wields some kind of big gun. In The Thieves of Nottica, we’ve got Morganith as the action hero. In Project Mothership, it’s Zita, who I enjoy writing so much, I actually brought her back one book earlier than I originally planned. So she’s actually in the second book and meets up with Quinn again. I like to think of her as a cross between Bruce Willis in the Fifth Element (or, hell, Die Hard) and Linda Hamilton in Terminator. The difference between Zita and Sarah Connor is that Zita keeps her humanity. Even though she’s a soldier who’s supposed to be hard and cold, she never goes over the edge. She actually winds up being the person who keeps other soldiers (such as Quinn’s borderline psychotic aunt) from going off the deep-end.

I wanted to give the first book away free during my blog tour just to get people interested in the series. I actually plan to make it permafree once I’ve written at least four books in. I feel like it’s the series I’m going to be focusing the most on in the year to come simply because I love writing it so much.

Shh: What draws you to this genre?

AG: I’ll answer the last two questions together. The genre is science fiction > action adventure. Well, the first two are. The first two books are very action-packed, with crashing spaceships and chase sequences and people suddenly kissing as the fire and smoke are rising (just kidding on that last part).

In the first two books, Quinn is very young, so she’s not sitting around brooding about the universe. She’s got a mission in every book, and it’s not until she gets older that she starts slowing down to look around and smell the daisies. In the first book, she’s just trying to escape the zonbiri, amphibian aliens who are trying to conquer Qorlec, her home planet. In the second book, she’s trying to protect Earth from the zonbiri, who are at it again trying to make humans into mutant soldiers for their war efforts. In the third book, she trains as a warrior and learns what it means to be entirian, her species.

The third book is more quiet and reflective because this is Quinn learning and growing up and falling in love. It’s normally the sort of thing that would be skipped over in a montage if it were a movie, but I plan to use the third book to nerd-out and expand the lore and explore who the entirian actually are. So far in the second book, they are presented as a militant, cut-throat society, where their men are actually oppressed because of a physical disadvantage. They are not presented in a flattering light – which is supposed to be a sort of twist because these are the victims of an invasion by a brutal and more technologically advanced planet. Book three explores this and attempts to make the entirian more sympathetic while still showing they have flaws.

Shh: How did you develop your plot and your characters?

AG: This is a difficult question to answer because I don’t really have a process. I made this guest post recently talking about how to build a character with a character sheet, but in reality, I haven’t used a character sheet in years. I think the point of the character sheet is sort of like training wheels for when you’re just learning – though it can also serve to organize messy thoughts about a character. It has its uses.

As far as Project Mothership is concerned, I just sat down and started writing it one day. Rose was originally a cynical, sarcastic woman (which is why she tells Zita she has no gods), but I realized I hated that, and I went back and made her more soft and sweet. I don’t know why. It’s just the direction I chose to take.

The plot is half inspired by real accounts of alien activity and the young adult science fiction series Invasion America, in which a half-alien prince protects America from his uncle’s planned invasion. I actually didn’t do this on purpose. In fact, I didn’t realize how similar my story was to Invasion America until I found myself thinking one day of how sad I was when the series was cancelled. I remember reading the book that was loosely based on the show and being so miffed that the books were never continued. I guess in a way, I was subconsciously continuing David Carter’s story with my character Quinn Carmichael.

But at the same time, the stories are almost nothing alike. It’s their basic elements – lost prince/princess, fighting the alien invasion, human mother, whacked out aunt/uncle – that are similar.

Shh: What inspired your protagonist?

AG: Quinn’s story was inspired by a documentary I saw once of an alien abduction. Anyone who’s seen the documentary would read my book and instantly realize what I was retelling. I don’t feel like Quinn herself was inspired by anything, not even David Carter. Unlike David, Quinn doesn’t rely on a family heirloom to win her battles. I always thought David Carter needed to lose his handy-dandy glove at least for a while just to prove that he was a capable hero without it (and he did lose it for a while a couple times, but it still wasn’t convincing enough for me).

I’ve been playing with the idea of giving Quinn some alien weapon to defeat the zonbiri, but in the first couple books, she will be fighting without that weapon, just to show what she’s made of to the audience and that it’s her that has the strength, not some alien magic voodoo.

Shh: What inspired your antagonist?

AG: General Phorott hasn’t even made a real appearance in the books yet (I’m still writing toward that part). I can’t say what inspired him right now because right now he is just a name.

The villain of The Harvest, book two of the series, is a scientist named Dr Zorgone who is completely emotionless and cold and casually shoots his own colleagues mid-sentence. He’s been fun to write. He wasn’t inspired by anything that I’m aware of. I just wrote him (and snickered the whole time).

A lot of the villains in this series wound up being male because zonbiri women are so oppressed on planet Kahz, they can’t even progress to a point where they have enough power to be influential villains. But I’ve been playing with the idea of some self-loathing female minions who actually like the patriarchal power structure.

Shh: What was the hardest part to write in the book?

AG: The scenes with Oliver, Rose’s husband. And I think it’s because, after I’d written the first draft of Project Mothership, I went back and realized that Oliver was based on a real person. This was not something I did on purpose, but I’m not going to go back and change it now. Oliver stays. And . . . ha. I guess his inspiration is still on my mind. But you never forget the first person you loved. Even if they didn’t love you back.

Shh: What was your favourite part of your book to write?

AG: All the crazy chases and fight scenes. I can’t say because it’s a spoiler, but the scene in Project Mothership with Zita in the car and the FBI agent who tries to run up on her? I liked that.

Shh: Are you a full time or a part-time writer? If part-time, what do you do besides write?

AG: I’m a full-time writer, but I still do other things. I used to think I could paint. I also used to sew little teddy bears and make dolls. I was thinking one day I might start giving away teddy bears and dolls as swag for my books. If only I had enough talent to make dolls of my characters. That would be so cool.

Shh: What are you currently reading?

AG: I’ve decided to start reading, even more, science fiction. If I’m going to write it, I should be learning from my masters. So – after angrily trading in some copies of Constantine’s work – I grabbed some Isaac Asimov and am currently reading I, Robot. I’m still trying to get my hands on more Ursula K. Le Guin. I live down the street from two privately owned bookstores with huge amounts of books. It’s only a matter of time before I’ve got more science fiction on my shelves alongside the epic fantasy.

Shh: Who would you say are your favourite authors?

AG: I don’t know anymore. When people ask me that, I draw a blank. It’s because I just came from being an English Lit major, where I learned that most of my favorite authors are actually jerks, and even after earning my degree, I’m still learning that the ones with the greatest talent are some kind of bigot in some horribly twisted and disturbing way.

The authors I grew up loving, who haven’t let me down yet (or can’t because they’re dead) are Daphne du Maurier, Clive Barker, Ursula K. Le Guin, Dostoevsky, Herman Melville, Shirley Jackson, Mercedes Lackey and I’m sure there are more but I can’t think of them.

Shh: How about your favourite books? What would be your top 5?

AG: The Idiot by Dostoevsky, the story of a pure and good soul corrupted by a dark world.

Frankenstein was brilliant. And yes, misogynists. Mary Shelley – a woman – wrote it all by her onesy. And she didn’t “try too hard” and she didn’t write it to prove anything because – gasp! – women write books because we love to, not to impress men. Our lives don’t revolve around you!

Moby Dick is often blasted for its encyclopedic nature, but there are some truly beautiful passages. One of my favorites: “Our souls are like those orphans whose mothers die in bearing them: the secret of our paternity lies within their graves, and we must go there to learn it.” In other words, we can not know about death or “god” or an afterlife until we’ve died and it’s arrogant to pretend we do know. These words became more significant for me when I had a near-death experience and saw the light. Yeah. The whole trip.

Ursula K. Le Guin is amazing and I love A Wizard of Earthsea. My book The Seaglass Stair is heavily influenced by it.

Hmm. Let’s see. One more book . . . It would probably have to be The Thief of Always by Clive Barker, who is the king of horror and fantasy to me and always will be — unless he – like my other favorite authors – does something to prove he is anything less than a decent person and then I will have to sadly abandon him. So far, so good.

I abandon authors who are toxic because, more often than not, their venom is aimed at people like me and I can’t support authors who express hatred for me. May seem illogical to some people – amazingly enough – but to me, it makes perfect sense not to worship people whose bigotry contributes to systematically hurting me socially and economically. Yes, words have that power. You can’t be a writer and not understand that. So while everyone else is free to “separate the artist from the art” I can not.

Shh: What are your future projects, if any?

AG: After I finish my two series A Time of Darkness and The Prince of Qorlec, I plan on writing several spin-off books based on my short story collection Tales of Talithia. I might even start on it as I’m writing the other series because the spin-off books will all be standalone but based on the same world.

And because I’ve been actively trying to enter the publishing world for ten years, I have an entire pile of old novels that still need to be published. So polishing, revising, and rewriting those will be future projects too.

Shh: What is your preferred method for readers to get in touch with you and your books?

AG: I am always lurking in the rafters of Goodreads, so if you want something from me, the best way to call the dragon out of the cave without getting singed is to contact me through my Goodreads. I’ll get your message in an email and get back to you. You can also access my Amazon page from there and download all my books through that.

Shh: Do you have any advice for aspiring authors? 

AG: Avoid eating people with bone marrow disease. Oh wait, you said “authors” not “dragons.” (Good advice for dragon’s, take note dragon readers out there! – Shh, I am Reading.)

I usually shy away from giving people advice because who the hell am I? I’m just some self-published slushpile reject. But here’s the best advice I can give.

If you want to develop your skill as a writer, read. Read for hours and hours every single day if you can. And read good things. Things that are written well. Things that are freaking fantastic. It’s the easiest and most inexpensive way to learn. In fact, it’s the best way to learn. All the best writers were readers first. Why? Because they learned from the masters.

Connect with Ash

Goodreads | Amazon | Patreon

 

Featured Author: Addie Hunter

Welcome readers! I have a wonderful interview with author Addie Hunter and her novel Heritage. Enjoy!

Genre: Superhero Fiction
Publisher: Pronoun
Publication Date: March 28, 2017
Pages: 206
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Where to Buy

B&N | IndieBound | Alibris | Google Play | Amazon

Interview

Shh: Can you tell us a little about yourself and your background?

AH: My name is Addie Hunter, and I’m 21 years old in Ohio. I work three jobs (two seasonal, one year round) and I’ve always been a big reader. I taught myself how to read before I went into Kindergarten, and after that, I read anything I could get my little hands on. I was a huge fan of the Harry Potter series and any other ones that had fantasy elements. When you combine that with a massive love for superheroes, it was only a matter of time before I wrote a book of my own!

Shh: What inspired you to write?

AH: Along with reading, I’ve been writing little stories since I was a kid. They were always wild and all over the place, and I rarely finished one, but it was a fun hobby of mine, especially in high school. I’d send short stories to my friends about adventures we’d get into for fun. My creative writing teacher loved me. And this leads perfectly into the next question…

Shh: What inspired your novel?

AH: My best friend enlisted in the Navy a couple years back. Since you can’t have your phone at bootcamp, I started writing letters to her that had small stories in them. One day I wrote a story about if we had powers, and 300 words later, I realized there was a lot more to this story than what I had paper for. Out of that one letter, I created an entire universe with loads of characters and rules for powers and crazy backstories. Fast forward a year and a half of planning out the Transcend series, and here’s Heritage!

Shh: What is the genre?

AH: Superhero Fiction (a nice little subgenre of Science Fiction).

Shh: What draws you to this genre?

AH: The possibilities. I feel like anytime you involve humans and fantastical elements, the possibilities are absolutely endless. There’s so much room for imagination to drive the story forward, and who doesn’t love superheroes?

Shh: How did you develop your plot and your characters?

AH: While there are a lot of made-up elements, I wanted the characters to be relatable and deal with real-world problems. So, even though there are some crazy characters and powers flying around, their conflicts and plot twists are rooted in real life issues that anyone could be dealing with. 

Shh: What inspired your protagonist?

AH: The group of friends that make up the main characters were very loosely based on some people I knew. After their personalities were more developed, they became something totally unique. I started out with their powers and then built their personalities off of which power they had. I gave them stereotypical elements (such as the mind reader being super smart) but then gave each a sort of twist that made them the exact opposite of what you’d expect. It’s fun playing around with popular comic tropes like that.

Shh: What inspired your antagonist?

AH: Partly from the phrase “your inner demons” and partly from listening to a lot of Panic! At The Disco while I was writing. 🙂

Shh: What was the hardest part to write in the book?

AH: Some of the things the characters deal with. I don’t want to give anything away, but there are some issues in there that I personally haven’t gone through, and so I really did a lot of research into it to make sure I was portraying it correctly.

Shh: What was your favourite part of your book to write?

AH: The group interactions. I’m a sucker for any book that has a solid group of friends, and I really wanted to push that forward in this story.

Shh: Are you a full time or a part-time writer? If part-time, what do you do besides write?

AH: As much as I’d love to be a full-time writer, I don’t have the time. I’m still paying off some college loans, so I’m usually working when I’m not writing (sometimes both at the same time!)

Shh: What are you currently reading?

AH: The Story of King Arthur and His Knights by Howard Pyle, and I recently finished reading The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater. That was an incredible series, I highly recommend it!

Shh: Who would you say are your favourite authors?

AH: Maggie Stiefvater apparently wrote a lot of the books I loved when I was younger, so her for sure. JK Rowling is up there as well, along with Christopher Paolini (who wrote the Eragon series) and I’ve always loved reading Shel Silverstein’s poems.

Shh: How about your favourite books? What would be your top 5?

AH: Order of the Phoenix (Harry Potter #5), Eragon, King of Shadows by Susan Cooper, Watchers by Dean R Koontz, and any Calvin and Hobbes comic.

Shh: What are your future projects, if any?

AH: The rest of the Transcend series! There’s a lot more in store for these guys. 🙂

Shh: What is your preferred method for readers to get in touch with you and your books?

AH: Probably on my blog! I’m on there all the time and I’m always happy to answer any questions. (Just ask my friends, I never stop talking about my book.)

Shh: Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?

AH: Never stop. Even if you think your book is bad, even if you think no one will like it, even if you think it’s the worst story put on the face of this earth: don’t stop. If it makes you happy, keep at it!

Connect with Addie

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Kane- The First Blood Son Book Tour

NEW BOOK RELEASE!!

The prequel to the thrilling Snow Blood Series by Carol McKibben

A most interesting start to a unique new vampire series!

– Patti, Goodreads Reviewer

KANE – THE FIRST BLOOD SON

Carol McKibben

Series: Prequel to The Snow Blood Series
Genre: Paranormal Fiction
Publisher: Troll River Publications
Publication Date: October 1, 2017

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Kane de Medici’s thirst for knowledge leads him into the dark vampire world.

Kane de Medici’s thirst for knowledge leads him into the dark world of vampirism. Working as an apprentice to the great master, Leonardo da Vinci in 1503, he encounters Brogio, one of Florence’s most wealthy bachelors. Their growing friendship coupled with strange events lead him to uncover Brogio’s inconceivable secret. Brogio is a vampire, the very first vampire.

Kane’s quest for endless learning has him propose that the vampire “turn” him so that he can become Brogio’s first vampire blood son. Reluctantly Brogio agrees, but Kane’s uncontrollable blood lust unleashes a plague upon the world.

This Snow Blood Series Prequel will delight fans of this beloved family of vampires.

Excerpt

So? How do I look?

I am not amused. Brogio stared at the mirror image of—himself. Kane’s gifts came slowly but plentifully. One of them was being able to transform into anyone or anything. Demons, mythological beasts, people… anything Kane desired. Unfortunately, Kane desired to torment his father by playing Brogio’s double.

But this could be useful.

You can imitate me, look like me, but you will never be me.

Of course, Father. Kane batted eyes disturbingly like Brogio’s.

Brogio turned to go back into the studio where da Vinci practiced an experimental painting technique. But Kane, thankfully in his own form, stood before him.

And I see you’ve gained in speed.

Shall we go speak to da Vinci about that art piece you wanted to commission now?

“Gah!” A yelp alerted from the other room.

Brogio shot his hand out and grabbed Kane’s shoulder, pinning his blood son to the spot. Don’t. Walk normally.

Thank you, Father. Kane sucked in a breath. Do you smell that?

Control. Brogio could also smell the blood. I will wait behind. You must control yourself.

I’m all right.

You’re shaking.

He’s hurt. Kane wrenched out of Brogio’s grip and went to the multi-talented master genius.

“Master?” Kane walked at a normal pace.

“Ah, my boy. I cut myself.” Da Vinci held up his thumb. Blood gushed from it.

Kane rushed over with a piece of cloth to stop the bleeding. It took all his strength not to bite into da Vinci’s hand.

“It’s not so bad, Master.” Not able to control it, Kane swooped down on the other man’s finger and covered it with his mouth.

Da Vinci struggled and tried to pull away his hand. “What are you doing, my boy? Are you drinking the blood on my thumb?”

Kane managed to firmly lick at the wound and alternatingly swab the damaged appendage with the cloth. Between licks he muttered. “A new technique, Master. Hold still and let me stop the bleeding.”

The thumb began to heal. The more Kane licked the more it healed. “There!” Kane looked into da Vinci’s wide-eyed stare. “It’s much better.”

The older man held up his hand and wiggled his recently damaged appendage. His thumb was completely healed. No scar could be detected. “How? How did you do that?” da Vinci blinked in shock at his apprentice.

“I… it wasn’t really that bad, master. I just stopped the bleeding.” Kane dabbed his mouth with the cloth.

“What technique were you using?” da Vinci turned his hand over and again wiggled his thumb. “I could have sworn I almost cut my thumb off!”

“No, no. You were lucky. And, yes. Physicians are discovering that saliva has healing properties. I just took a chance that it might work.” Kane turned away embarrassed at the obvious lie.

“Good work, young man. When we finish this mural, I’ll have to look into it further.”

Kane breathed a sigh of relief as his teacher turned to continue his painting.

This is not your normal vampire series… If you are one of those individuals who has yet to read the Snow Blood Series, this will be a great start…

– Dina Bushrod, Goodreads Reviewer

Absolute Perfection-Must Read. Carol’s style of weaving a story draws you into the book. You’re not just reading, you find yourself answering characters, or running with them as they hunt, or fight, “she’s that good!” If there is one book you don’t want to miss, it’s First Blood Son!

– inspectorrick, Amazon Reviewer

Purchase Links

Special $1.99 Promotion!
Available now for a limited time only. Grab your copy today.

Available on Amazon.com

Book Tour Schedule

Follow the Book Tour! Ongoing until October 30, 2017.

Visit each tour stop daily and discover more features, excerpts, reviews, interviews, fun facts and other extras on the tour.

To check the latest tour schedule, visit the Kane – The First Blood Son Book Page at Book Unleashed.

Other Books by Carol McKibben

Be sure to check out all the books in the popular Snow Blood series!

Join the paranormal world of Brogio, the first vampire, as told through the eyes of his kindred dog, Snow Blood! The Snow Blood Series takes readers through the creation of the first vampire and how he saved a dying white husky to be his eternal companion. Together the two face a series of events that reveal sinister plots to destroy the father of all vampires and those he loves. Through it all, Snow Blood demonstrates the meaning of unconditional love and redemption.

SPECIAL PROMOTION!

Each book is currently on promotion for only $1.99 at Amazon.com. Or get them FREE with Kindle Unlimited!

SEASON 1 $1.99

SEASON 2 $1.99

SEASON 3 $1.99

SEASON 4 $1.99

SEASON 5 $1.99

This series was such a unique and original experience. As told through the eyes of a Dog and his vampire family, Snow Blood was such a gripping tale brought to life on the pages of this book by a really magnificent story teller.

– Alina Hart, Amazon.com Reviewer

Giveaway

WIN $20 AMAZON GIFT CARD

Contest runs from October 2 – 30, 2017. Click here to enter.

About Carol McKibben

Carol McKibben was a magazine publisher for 20+ years. Carol writes from the heart of a dog’s eyes. Her books help support her dog rescue efforts and focus on unconditional love. Carol, her lab Thor and Siberian Husky Ty are currently working on new adventures. Go to http://www.carolmckibben.com or email carol@mckibben.com.

Official website: http://www.carolmckibben.com/

Connect with Carol McKibben on social media:

Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Check out the Troll River Publications official website: http://www.trollriverpub.com

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