Collapse: The Illustrated Guide releases today!

Welcome to the teaser tour for Collapse: The Illustrated Guide by Summer Lane! Collapse: The Illustrated Guide is a companion graphic guide to Summer Lane's bestselling New Adult post-apocalyptic Collapse Series. Today we are sharing some of the artwork inside as well as doing a giveaway for a piece of it!

About the Book:

The Collapse.

After a technological attack destroys the United States, the world is thrust into Chaos. Omega - a shadow army arisen from the ashes - invades. Based on the Collapse Series by #1 Bestselling Author Summer Lane, this book is a guide to the world of Cassidy Hart and her friends from the post-apocalyptic battleground of California.

Explore designs from 20 of the most popular characters from the series. Enjoy concept art and three exclusive short stories from Chris Young, Sophia Rodriguez and Harry Lydell.


​Title: Collapse: The Illustrated Guide

Author: Summer Lane

Series: Collapse Series, Graphic Guide and Short Stories

Genre: Post-Apocalyptic

Release Date: July 17th, 2015

Just 99 Cents for the first two weeks!

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Cassidy Hart (This is the print that is also being given away below.)

Chris Young

Concept Artwork from State of Vengeance, featuring Cassidy Hart in preparation for a HALO Jump.

About Author Summer Lane:
Summer Lane is the #1 Bestselling Author of the Collapse Series and Zero Trilogy, post-apocalyptic survival stories set in California. She owns WB Publishing. She is also an accomplished professional journalist and creative writing teacher. Visit summerlaneauthor.com to learn more.

Twitter @SummerEllenLane   Facebook 

Giveaway:

 Enter to in an art print of Cassidy Hart (shown above). Open to US only.  Ends 7/27

Giveaway provided by the author, bloggers are not responsible for prizing.

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This event was organized by CBB Book Promotions.

The Tale of Willaby Creek releases today!

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Welcome to the release event for The Tale of Willaby Creek by Victoria Lindstrom! This is a middle grade adventure fantasy that has just released! 

About the Book: 

A magical tale of amazing sacrifice...

When a violent windstorm strikes an enchanted rain forest many of the woodland creatures of Willaby Creek are stranded, injured, or lost forever to the frenzied force of the tempest. Basil, a black bear full of doubt and fear, becomes the unlikely leader to head the woodland creatures' rescue. He is joined by Daphne, a spunky blue dryad; Oliver, a wise horned owl; Elbert, a noble elk; and a host of other creatures that inhabit the enchanted rain forest.

Dangerous twists and turns in this animal adventure fantasy cause Basil to discover a courage, and a conviction, he never knew he had. The answers to the ancient mysteries in this magical tale emerge in an extraordinary finale under the tall timbers of the hidden hinterland.

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A note from author Victoria Lundstrom:
For seven years my husband and I owned a cabin on the shore of Lake Quinault, near Willaby Creek. We spent many weekends enjoying the beauty and tranquility of the Olympic National Forest. While there, we saw: Black bears, Roosevelt elk, eagles, herons, river otter, raccoons, one bobcat, and a host of other little critters.

In December 2006 the Hanukkah Eve Windstorm hit the Pacific Northwest causing severe damage to parts of the Olympic National Forest. One afternoon following the windstorm I wondered: What happened to all the animals? After that, a seed of the story that was to become The Tale of Willaby Creek tumbled into my mind.

As writers, we are told to write what we know; the setting for The Tale of Willaby Creek is definitely a familiar place to me!

Willaby Creek Falls

About the author:

VICTORIA LINDSTROM is a full-time writer, a voracious reader, and the author of the children's picture book, The Scandinavian Santa. She loves to wander through the woods, capture the beauty of Nature in photographs, and visit museums and fine art galleries. She and her husband, Michael, live near the shore of the Columbia River in the Pacific Northwest. You may visit Victoria at: www.victorialindstrom.com

Facebook   Twitter @AuthorLindstrom   Goodreads   Pinterest 

Giveaway:

Enter to win one $50 Amazon gift card (INT), one hardcover copy of The Tale of Willaby Creek (US) and an ebook of The Tale of Willaby Creek (INT) as well as 3 bookmarks (US)

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This event was organized by CBB Book Promotions.

Moon Rise releases today!

About the book:
Just because the battle was won does not mean the war is over. Aein, Lars, and Finn are sent back to the swamps to protect the one object which may save their pack. But in the recent turmoil, the border has been left unguarded and nightmarish creatures are slipping through. There is a reason why two people must always be there to hold the boundary, a lesson which Aein, Lars, and Finn are about to learn.

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Excerpt:
And then, without a word of warning, Finn bent down and pressed his lips against Aein's, his stubble rough upon her mouth.  His arms engulfed her, wrapping her so tight, she wasn't sure where her body ended and his began.  She felt herself melting, the heat chasing away all the horrors of the swamp.  The kiss was desperate and urgent.  It devoured her whole.  It was as if he needed to fit a lifetime of regrets and passion into that one moment.  It was as if he didn't trust she would be there for him ever to touch again.  When they parted, he rested this forehead against hers so he was still just a whisper away.

"Don't you dare die on me.  Don't you dare be the one I find in a heap, slaughtered by some monster because I wasn't fast enough getting back.  Don't you dare.  Live."

About author Kate Danley:

Kate Danley began her writing career as an indie author in 2010. Since then, she spent five weeks on the USA Today bestseller list, has been honored with various awards, including the Garcia Award for Best Fiction Book of the Year, and her Maggie MacKay series has been optioned for film and television development.

Her plays have been produced in London, New York, Seattle, Baltimore, and Los Angeles. She has over 300+ film, television, and theatre credits to her name, and specializes in sketch, improv, and Shakespeare. She wrote sketch for a weekly show in Hollywood and has performed her original stand-up at various clubs in LA. She learned on-camera puppetry from Mr. Snuffleupagus and played the head of a 20-foot dinosaur on an NBC pilot. She lost on Hollywood Squares.

Find Kate:   Website/Blog   FB Author Page   Twitter   Goodreads   Newsletter

Enchantress of Books Blog Tours

Descendants of the Rose author letter and giveaway!

Welcome to the release celebration of Descendants of the Rose by Juliette Harper! This is the first book in the Selby Jensen Paranormal Mysteries series and it's now available for sale for only .99 cents on Amazon! 

About the book:
Selby Jensen’s business card reads “Private Investigator,” but to say the least, that downplays her real occupation. Let’s hear it in her own words:

“You want to know what I do for a living? I rip souls out. Cut heads off. Put silver bullets where silver bullets need putting. You think there aren't any monsters? . . . I have some disturbing news for you. You might want to sit down. Monsters walk among us. I'm looking for one in particular. In the meantime? I'm keeping the rest of them from eating people like you.”

In this debut novel of her new paranormal mystery series, Juliette Harper, author of The Lockwood Legacy books and The Study Club Mysteries creates a cast of characters, most of whom have one thing in common; they don’t have a pulse. The dead are doing just fine by Selby, who is determined never to lose someone she loves again, but then a force of love more powerful than her grief changes that plan.

Join Selby Jensen as she and her team track down a shadowy figure tied to a murder at a girls’ school. What none of them realize, however, is that in solving this case, they will enter a longer battle against a larger evil.

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Author Juliette Harper wrote a letter to her readers to explain why she decided to "genre hop".

To My Readers,

So where the heck did this book come from? It came from a weekend of writer’s block on another manuscript. Descendants of the Rose had been sitting on my desk for more than a year while I’ve been working on The Lockwood Legacy series. Then I switched gears to the cozy Study Club Mysteries, but this other character -- Selby Jensen -- wouldn’t leave me alone.

As usual, she knew what she was doing since the book debuted on the Amazon supernatural mystery bestseller list this morning.

Selby wanted out there in the world, and that Saturday morning a couple of weeks ago, she told me plainly that she’d waited long enough. I spent the weekend with her, and Monday morning I had a complete draft ready for my beta readers and proofreader.

This might seem like a big genre hop, so I wanted to take a few minutes and talk to you about how and why I write. Creating strong women characters is my primary interest. I don’t want to be confined to or defined by any genre. My goal is to put my characters in interesting, challenging, and often painful situations and explore how they cope -- or don’t cope -- and wade through the fallout and triumphs with them.

From page one of this book, you’ll meet a woman in pain over a tragic loss in her life. She prefers to keep company with the dead, but her commitment to protecting and improving the world of the living is her real reason for existing. Yes, there is a murder that is solved in the pages of this book, but Selby’s journey is only starting.

As I’m writing to you today, I have a plot map on my desk for book two of this series, Lost in Room 636 that centers around a grisly murder that occurred in San Antonio, Texas on February 8, 1965. San Antonio is one of the most haunted cities in America and it’s also Selby Jensen’s stomping grounds, but you may be surprised where destiny leads this woman over the series arc I have planned.

So, while Selby jumped to the head of the line in my project planning, she’s been an integral part of my creative vision for some time. I’m delighted to introduce her to you, and while she’s different from the women of the Rocking L in one way, in another, she’s not. Selby is the kind of woman you want on your side in a fight. She’s never let me down, and I don’t think she’ll let you down either.

Juliette

About author Juliette Harper:
Juliette Harper is the pen name used by the writing team of Patricia Pauletti and Rana K. Williamson. Descendants of the Rose is the first installment of Harper’s debut Selby Jensen Paranormal Mystery series.

Pauletti, an Easterner of Italian descent, is an accomplished musician with an eye for art and design. Williamson, a Texan, worked as a journalist and university history instructor before becoming a full-time freelance writer in 2002.

Juliette Harper is also the author of The Lockwood Legacy, a nine-book chronicle of the lives of three sisters who inherit a ranch in Central Texas following their father’s suicide. Three of the novels are currently available: Langston’s Daughters, Baxter’s Draw, and Alice’s Portrait. The fourth book, Mandy’s Father, will appear in Fall 2015.

And don’t miss her hilariously funny “cozy” Study Club Mysteries, a light-hearted spinoff of The Lockwood Legacy. The books, set in the 1960s, take on the often absurd eccentricities of small town life with good-natured, droll humor. The first book, You Can’t Get Blood Out of Shag Carpet, will be available shortly, with the second, You Can’t Put a Corpse in a Parade, coming in Summer 2015.

Website   Twitter (@jharperbooks)   Facebook 

Giveaway:

Enter to win a $25 Amazon Gift Card (INT), Langston's Daughters, Baxter's Draw and Alice's Portrait in paperback (US) or ebook (INT). Ends May 27

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This event was organized by CBB Book Promotions.

Tripp (The Life series #2) release day excerpt and giveaway!

Welcome to the release event for Tripp by Kristen Kehoe, a companion novel to Life Interrupted. Scroll down to check out some teasers as well as enter a giveaway of a necklace from Stella & Dot.  Tripp is a Mature Young Adult Contemporary Novel and is now available for sale!

About the book:
Because there are two sides to every story…

I’ve never been the guy who shied away from taking the ball. I’m an athlete; I thrive on the court, and I thrive in life because I don’t shy away from taking chances.

Except that one time.

Except with Rachel.

I fell in love with my best friend when we were ten, and she almost put her fist in my face when I tried to defend her against a fifth grade bully. I didn’t tell her that day that I loved her, or any of the ones following, because she had proved she didn’t need me, and even at a young age, I knew the opposite was true for me.

I needed Rachel with every breath I took, and it scared the ever-loving crap out of me.

Being the mature young man I am (cough), I tried to ignore it. I dated someone else; I stayed Rachel’s friend and watched her from afar because when you love someone who has the potential to break you into a million unrecoverable pieces, that’s what you do.  You watch from afar and you never reveal your true feelings because it’s safer to hide them than to admit them.

Until it’s not. Until the day you take a step forward and alter both of your worlds completely, only to discover that you’ll never, ever be over her.

This is my story – my story of Rachel and everything I did and didn’t do, everything I said and forgot to say, and everything I felt before and after we made our biggest mistake and walked away from each other.

She told her side – now it’s my turn. I’m including our past, holding nothing back from her ever again, so she better be ready for me.

Mature Young Adult

 ***This is the companion novel to LIFE INTERRUPTED (The Life series Book 1) released January 2014. It can be read as a standalone, as it is different from Rachel’s story.

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Excerpt:
“Tripp,” Stacy says. I snap to the present. “Are you ready?”

I wipe my palms on my jeans and nod. “What do you need?”

Following Stacy’s instructions, I walk down the hall into Rachel’s room. The light is on; I can see the small form under the blankets before I peel them away and scoop my arms under her even though she protests. I want her to fight, even prepare myself for it, but right away I see what Stacy’s talking about. There’s nothing inside of Rachel—even as she attempts to thrash in my arms, I barely have to tighten my hold on her while I carry her to the bathroom. The girl who has so often put me on my ass from one punch has no muscle, and worse, she has no spirit.

Nothing about the girl in my arms right now is the Rachel I’ve always known. The lack of fight worries me more than the lack of weight.

Stacy’s already pushed the shower curtain back. I put Rachel inside, ignoring her half-hearted protests as I turn the water on cold and high. When she screams—the real-deal scream full of terror and anger—the vise on my chest loosens a little and I’m so grateful I could break down and weep. My hands are full because she’s putting much more effort into fighting me than she was a second ago. I forget about how cold the water is on my skin, or the fact that she looks like a ghost with dark circles under her eyes and a pasty pallor to her normally warm skin, and I talk to her while I hold her there.

“That’s right, Rachel, fight me. You fight me and you come back. Do you hear me? We need you, Rachel. We need you to fight.” She screams more, shoving at me with her hands, but I don’t budge. I encourage her as I see the color start to slowly seep into her cheeks. “Come on, baby, come back to us. Come back to me.”

I whisper the last part. I don’t know if it was the words or the fact that she’s finally opened up enough to feel the weight of it all, but she breaks—the dam cracking and flooding. Instead of being angry, she’s devastated.

My heart cracks and my lungs seize; she falls into a sobbing heap. I turn the water off and start to lift her into my lap. Whatever I promised her sister, I can’t do it; I can’t watch her break like this.

Don't miss out on Life Interrupted (The Life series #1), available now for only .99 cents for a limited time!

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About author Kristen Kehoe:

I am a writer of YA/NA contemporary novels. I write about those crazy ages of 18-23 because there is nothing scarier than being told to grow up and decide what to do with your life and who to be so suddenly. I write about love because it’s my belief that love, in one form or another, saves us all at some point in our lives. I am married to a man who understands and believes in me, and mother to a beautiful baby girl and a neurotic Great Dane Puppy.

Find Kristen:  Website   Facebook   Twitter

Giveaway:

Enter to win a necklace from Stella & Dot. Open to US addresses only. Ends May 6

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This event was organized by CBB Book Promotions.

Slayed on the Slopes releases today!

Welcome to the release day event for Slayed on the Slopes by Kate Dyer-Seeley! This is the second book in the Pacific Northwest Mystery series. Slayed on the Slopes releases today, March 31st, by Kensington Publishing.

About the book:
After talking her way into a job writing for Portland’s Northwest Extreme magazine, Meg Reed may now really be in over her head. Actually, about 8,000 feet over her head...

She’s at Mount Hood’s remote Silcox Hut, covering the seriously hardcore Ridge Rangers—Oregon’s elite high-altitude rescue team–during their four-day winter training. Sure, Meg beefed up her outdoor skills over the summer . . . but she’s still hoping to cover the event with some hot chocolate by the cheery fireplace. Then, during a sudden blizzard, she swears she hears gunshots. No one stranded in the hut believes her . . . until self-absorbed Ridge Ranger Ben Rogers is found outside in a pool of frozen blood. Meg’s now got to find this killer quickly . . . before cabin fever does them all in!

Praise For Scene Of The Climb
“A splendid overview of the greater Portland and Columbia River Gorge region, perfect for travel buffs. Her protagonist shows promise with her determined attitude and moxie.” –Library Journal

Includes Adventure Guides!

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Guest post from author Kate Dyer-Seeley:
Welcome to the top of the world. Okay, well maybe not quite. Welcome to the top of Oregon. In the second installment of the PNW Mystery Series Meg Reed is on the slopes of Oregon’s highest peak—Mt. Hood. She’s on assignment for Northwest Extreme to cover an intensive training weekend with the Ridge Rangers, a group of mountain guides who are dedicated to helping novice climbers trek to the summit.

Meg has high hopes for her weekend at high altitude. She plans to cozy up in front of a roaring fire with a cup of hot chocolate. She’s thrilled to be spending the weekend at the historic Timberline Lodge, one of Oregon’s most famed hotels and a national monument. 

The iconic lodge sits at 6,000 feet in elevation and is a testament to American craftsmanship and resolve. It was constructed in just fifteen months as part of President Roosevelt’s New Deal. Unemployed workers from all over the country traveled to Mt. Hood to learn a new trade. They carted timber from the surrounding forest to carve out the lodge’s magnificent staircases and wood-beamed ceilings.

Today the lodge houses guests from all over the globe, making it one of Oregon’s most popular tourist attractions. In partnership with the National Forest Service, Timberline maintains the same high-quality craftsmanship as it did back in the 1930s. All the brightly colored Pendleton blankets in each quest room are woven by hand. The lodge is like stepping back in time. Down each cheery hallway you’ll discover Native American artwork, vintage ski photos, wood carvings, and stunning views of the summit and the entire Cascade Mountain Range.

After a long day on the slopes, you can gather in front of the giant basalt fireplace with steaming mugs of hot cocoa to warm your hands, or head to the Blue Ox Bar or Ram’s Head for a pint of Ice Axe Ale. You can soak your toes in Timberline’s outdoor hot tub or take a refreshing swim in its year-round heated outdoor pool. There’s nothing more magical than swimming as snowflakes fall and skiers fly past you.

When Meg arrives at the lodge she learns that the Ridge Rangers are actually meeting at the Silcox Hut, which is located a thousand vertical feet above Timberline and accessible only by snowcat or the chairlift. Meg’s not a fan of heights, so she opts for a bumpy ride up to the remote hut in the snowcat. The SilcoxHut is equally charming and fashioned after the lodge. Maybe she’ll be able to have her relaxing weekend after all… or maybe she’s going to be in way over her head.

Don't miss out on the first book, Scene of the Climb, available now!

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About author Kate Dyer-Seeley:

Kate Dyer-Seeley writes the Pacific Northwest Mystery Series for Kensington Publishing. The first book in the series, Scene of the Climb, features the rugged landscapes of the Columbia River Gorge and a young journalist who bills herself as an intrepid adventurer in order to land a gig writing for Northwest Extreme.

Her work has appeared in a variety of regional and international publications including: The Columbian, The Vancouver Voice, Seattle Backpacker, Portland Family Magazine, and Climbing Magazine.

Kate lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and son, where you can find her hitting the trail, at an artisan coffee shop, or at her favorite pub. Better yet—at all three.

Website   Facebook   Twitter

Giveaway:

Winter warmer package- signed copy of Slayed on the Slopes, Signed copy of Scene of the Climb, Ghirardelli Double Chocolate Hot Chocolate Mix, Oregon Chai Tea, 1 Pound of Coffee and Collectable Mt. Hood art coaster (US). Ends April 21, 2015

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This event was organized by CBB Book Promotions.

Five Stages of Falling in Love

Today I'm excited to help promote Rachel Higginson's new book, The 5 Stages of Falling in Love. Like contemporary romance? Then you will definitely want to grab this one!
   

About the book:

Elizabeth Carlson is living in the pits of hell- also known as grief.

Her husband of eight years, the father of her four children and the love of her life, died from cancer. Grady’s prognosis was grim, even from the start, but Liz never gave up hope he would survive. How could she, when he was everything to her?

Six months later, she is trying to pick up the pieces of her shattered life and get the kids to school on time. Both seem impossible. Everything seems impossible these days.

When Ben Tyler moves in next door, she is drowning in sorrow and pain, her children are acting out, and the house is falling apart. She has no time for curious new friends or unwanted help, but Ben gives her both. And he doesn’t just want to help her with yard work or cleaning the gutters. Ben wants more from Liz. More than she’s capable of ever giving again.

As Liz mourns her dead husband and works her way through the five stages of grief, she finds there’s more of her heart to give than she thought possible. And as new love takes hold, she peels away the guilt and heartache, and discovers there’s more to life than death.

Purchase on Amazon   iBooks   B&N   Kobo  

    
About author Rachel Higginson:
Rachel Higginson is the creator of The Star-Crossed Series, Love & Decay Novella Series, The Starbright Series, The Siren Series, Bet on Us and the soon to be released, The Five Stages of Falling in Love! She is also the co-creator of the podcast "Zach & Rachel Take Over the World."

She was born and raised in Nebraska, and spent her college years traveling the world. She fell in love with Eastern Europe, Paris, Indian Food and the beautiful beaches of Sri Lanka, but came back home to marry her high school sweetheart. Now she spends her days raising four amazing kids. In the few spare moments she has to herself, she is either reading for hours on end or writing her own stories.

Find Rachel:   Website   Facebook   Twitter

Unseelie King (The Kings Series #6) releases today!

About the book:

For thousands of years, two realms of unspeakable magic and mystery have existed in peace side by side. One is a land of light, of kindness, of dreams, and of color. The other is rendered in the gray lines of wickedness and seeped in the unbearable beauty of all that is forbidden. The first is ruled by the Seelie King. The other is ruled by Caliban… The Unholy.

Minerva Trystaine has always been the quiet twin, bullied by reality’s fierceness into a life of solitary sensitivity. What she witnesses, she feels. Living in a world that breeds one misfortune after another, she has had no choice but to sequester herself from outgoing life and any hope it might have otherwise offered her. She hides in her music, her hopes and dreams silent but for the harmony she gives them upon rare occasion, allowing them to be heard in perfect pitch by the rest of the world.

But when Minerva’s sister, Selene, is forced into a fantastical  realm of supernatural magic and mystery and taken as queen of the seelie kingdom, the twins are reunited with a world they can scarcely remember – but could never forget. They are Wishers. Born of furious magic and fueled by the need for justice, Wishers are the most feared magic users in the fae realms. For this reason, they were all but annihilated thousands of years ago. Minerva and her sister are the last of a slaughtered breed.

Just as Selene accepts her place on the seelie throne, Minerva struggles to come to grips with her changed world. But as she faces off with her lost-and-found identity, and with the unbelievable power swimming through her veins, she realizes she must also contend with the fact that Wishers are no more safe in this day and age than they were millennia ago. Someone wants her dead.

And the one man she should probably fear most, the one fae lord more dangerous than any other, the notorious and cruel Leanan King – just happens to be the only man in all the realms who can protect her.

The Unseelie King is the sixth book in Heather Killough-Walden’s acclaimed paranormal romance series, The Kings. Within its pages, a dark lord finds long lost hope in a beautiful, powerful soul, a lost spirit finds faith in tempting and forbidden magic, and a fierce and willful love finds the unbelievable strength to do what must be done to survive against overwhelming odds.

Find on Goodreads!

Available for purchase at Amazon   B&N   Kobo   Smashwords   itunes

About author Heather Killough-Walden:
Heather Killough-Walden is a California native currently living in Texas with her husband and child. She is the New York Times bestselling author of the Big Bad Wolf series, The Kings series, The Chosen Soul series, The Lost Angels series, the Neverland series, and the October Trilogy. Heather’s educational background includes religious studies, archeology, and law. She has traveled and lived all over the world but hopes to one day live in a town with a world-class hockey team. (Let’s Go Pens!) Visit Heather’s website at www.killough-walden.com, where you can sign up for her newsletter.

You can find Heather at   Website/Blog   Facebook   Twitter   Goodreads

Presented By

The Debt Collector releases today!

The Debt Collector Season 2 releases today!

About the book:

What’s your life worth on the open market?

In this gritty urban fantasy, debt collectors take your life energy and give it to someone more “worthy”… all while paying the price with black marks on their souls.

“Wraith is amazing and just as compelling as Lirium—once again I'm hooked!!”

“I loved being back in this world! Wraith has captivated me.” 

Wraith is a shadow in the night, haunting the bedrooms of the rich "high potentials" who have stolen life energy from the desperate and dying. The justice and the sweet mercy hit that follow keep her from falling into her own personal abyss. Her secret nighttime work also keeps her on level for her real mission: carrying on her father's legacy of attempting to bring an end to debt collection as a whole. But when a mysterious debt collector interrupts her in the act and discovers her secret, everything Wraith loves may be destroyed by the one thing she can never fix-- the original sin of being a debt collector herself.

Contains mature content and themes.

OPTIONED FOR VIRTUAL REALITY BY IMMERSIVE ENTERTAINMENT 

2014 Semi-Finalist in Science Fiction in the Kindle Book Awards

The nine episodes of Season Two of the Debt Collector serial are collectively 125k words or about 500 pages. 

It is recommended that you start with the first season, but each season is a complete story for that debt collector and can serve as an entry point to the series. There are five planned seasons in the Debt Collector series, the first four each from the perspective of a different debt collector with the fifth season bringing all four together. 

READING ORDER

Season One – Lirium - COMPLETE

Episodes 1-9: Delirium, Agony, Ecstasy, Broken, Driven, Fallen, Promise, Ruthless, Passion

Season Two – Wraith 

10 – Wraith (10.20)

11 – Specter (10.27)

12 – Menace (11.3)

13 – Temptation (11.10)

14 – Shattered (11.17)

15 – Penance (11.24)

16 – Judgment (12.1)

17 – Corruption (12.8)

18 – Atonement (12.15)

BOX SET (Vol 10-18) – (12.15) 

Available for purchase at

Excerpt:

Excerpt from Debt Collector Season 2, first episode – Wraith

My new collection suit weighs less than a shadow on my skin, and my soft-soled boots don’t even whisper as I creep across the thick, yielding carpet of my target’s apartment. With the best bullet-resistant synthetics money can buy, the black curve-hugging suit makes me look more like female-special-forces than someone’s hot date for the night. It raised the bellman’s eyebrows, but an untraceable debit card got me waved through the lobby, no problem. Money buys a lot of things. Access to one of the highest-security luxury buildings in LA. A ninety-fifth-floor apartment high above the smog-soaked city, complete with all the clean air you can breathe. And the no-doubt illegal collection of ivory-handled daggers I passed on the way in. It’s too bad for data-mining mogul Adrien Odel that money can’t buy your way out of a blackened soul.

I know.

I’ve tried.

And tonight I’ve come to collect a debt he doesn’t even think he owes.

Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows of Odel’s apartment, the city is lit up with a nighttime electric haze, the kind that makes it look seedy even in the high-rent district. It’s the perfect backdrop for a collection, and my suit is a black silhouette against it, a hole of death punched in the city’s twinkling lights. The high-tech fabric clings to me like the original sin I can never expiate, the one every debt collector is born with: the ability to deliver death with the slightest touch. We traffic in it, surround ourselves with it, and can never escape it.

Not that I haven’t tried that, too.

But even a short three-week dry spell away from collecting has me needy as all hell. The craving for a life energy hit claws at my back, and every step across the carpet amps up the desire. Even the possibility of Odel pulling a gun and shooting me dead hypes the thrill a little. My palm aches in anticipation—for the justice and the high that comes with it—but I take it slow, watching the placement of my feet and checking the windows. Along one edge, next to a mile-wide screen and some pretentious artwork, there’s a control panel. Only the rich want windows that open in the city, but it’s a bonus for me, especially given the windows face the broad expanse of the skyline and not the high-rise next door.

As I check out the control panel, the high-rise becomes a peep show. A woman’s naked body is pressed against the glass, exposed to the city’s onlookers as a man clutches her bare skin and makes love to her. I’m transfixed by the way they move, skin against skin, without care for the contact or the watchers. In a moment, they’re gone. Maybe reason broke through the passion. Maybe the glass was cold, in spite of the perpetual heat of LA.

Regardless, the image holds me hostage.

Having a lover isn’t something that’s part of my future. Or my present, for that matter. But that doesn’t stop the base need from surging up, usually at the least convenient of times. Then a different image—a cold, pale specter from my past—crawls out of the dark corners of my mind and reminds me I’m not the kind of woman who gets to have a normal life. I’m the kind who takes life and then gives it away. And the ecstasy of that is the closest I’ll ever get to the normal kind again—so it had better be good enough.

I couldn’t stomach even that pleasure for a while, not after what the debt collectors did to my father. I managed a whole three weeks without a single collection. But in the end, it’s the only thing that keeps me stable. And I’ve had a severe lack of stable ever since my father’s death nearly tore down the teetering scaffold of lies that comprises my life. That’s when the abyss reared up and stared me full in the face. Will-power alone wasn’t enough to stop it—the darkness just opened its maw and threatened to swallow me whole. At least that would have put an end the torment… but I couldn’t let the sin of who I am destroy everything my father had worked for. That we had both worked for. So here I am, dressed like a phantom, stalking the rich to give to the poor. With a tremor in my hands that’s more than a little unsettling. For better and worse, it’s the one thing that keeps me out of that dark place and gives me hope that one day I might redeem everything I am and everything I’ve done.

I stalk, heel-to-toe, past the windows, through a long hallway tastefully decorated with more pretentious art, and toward the back bedroom where Odel is supposed to be sleeping. I buy information just like I buy access. My source tells me Odel is in bed every night at ten, like clockwork, occasionally with companions, but mostly not. Tonight, his companion will be a darkness-clad nightmare who will leave him in a cold sweat, instead of a hot one.

When I reach his room, it’s vast—there’s a ridiculous round bed that’s so large, it’s practically a playground; several lacquered pieces of furniture that form glistening shadow-lumps around the perimeter; and more windows, the kind with wide vertical slats that leave shadowed stripes across Odel’s room. A giant aquarium is built into the wall behind the bed, and bioluminescent creatures undulate through the clouded water. They cast a blood-red glow that oozes in between the slices of darkness. I have no idea how the man sleeps in this room, but his barely audible breaths are the slow, steady rhythm of the unconscious.

There’s a lot of floor to cover before I can reach him, so I keep my footfalls muted. I give silent thanks that he’s alone in his bed—I could handle two at a time, but his companions are probably innocent of any real crime, with the exception of their bad taste in men. I slowly tug off my gloves on the way and tuck them in the back of my suit. The less DNA I leave behind, the better. Not that my targets are eager to call the police—too much scrutiny in their lives might turn up the source of those ill-gotten hits. And the mob doesn’t like it when a bright light shines on their bustling life energy trade business. The mob cutting Odel off from his supplier would be the best he could hope for. The worst would involve caskets and weepy nighttime companions. At least with me, he only stands to lose the years of life he’s stolen.

I reach the bed without him waking. His bio says he’s ten years older than me, but thanks to a steady supply of life energy, he looks about my age: twenty-five, if you count the years, not the mileage. With all that life energy in store, he would outlive me by a long shot, if he kept everything he has taken.

I’m about to fix that.

About author Susan Kaye Quinn:

Susan Kaye Quinn is the author of the bestselling Mindjack Trilogy and the Debt Collector serial, as well as other speculative fiction novels and short stories. Her work has appeared in the Synchronic anthology and has been optioned for Virtual Reality by Immersive Entertainment. Her business card says "Author and Rocket Scientist" but she mostly sits around in her PJs in awe that she gets to write full time.

You can find her at            

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