Penny, I
want to thank you for hosting me today. I'm excited about my newest release.
It's the second book in the Jake Carrington Mystery series, Burn in Hell. It's
an exciting time for me and Jake. In September 2012 we saw the first book
published and five short months later the second hit the shelves last week.
Single
again after he and Mia broke up Jake meets and starts dating a woman who runs a
cemetery/crematory. Kyra's (Key-ra) job doesn't bother Jake until he finds
evidence she is burning bodies for the mob along with the legitimate ones. Here's a little taste from the beginning of
the book. I hope you and your guests enjoy it.
Excerpt Burn in Hell:
With
her head down, she sat at her machine, waiting on the supervisor to come
back—to unlock the machine so she could play again. More than anything, she
needed to win. A hand landed on her shoulder, startling her. Jerking away, Kyra
turned to see who belonged to the hand. Crap,
not the supervisor. Joe Dillon, not exactly the person I want to see right now.
“Hi,
Kyra.”
“Hey,
Joe.”
“How’s
it going?” Her host sat down next to her.
“Not
good,” she whined.
“I’m
sorry to hear it. You know you have a payment due soon?”
Double crapola. “Yes, I know.”
“Why
don’t you leave the machine for a while? Come have something to eat with me?”
What
could he be up to, she wondered?
“Why?”
“Why?
Kyra, let’s discuss your loan payment over dinner, explore your options.”
What
options? There weren’t any. All week she racked her brain trying to find a
solution to the mess. Though a quiet guy, Joe scared her. Deep inside, she
understood he could destroy her. Not a person she’d want to cross.
“Kyra?
Please, no one’s going to touch your machine. Maybe a break will change your
luck?”
“What
the hell. I could eat,” Kyra hissed. Something had to change.
“How
about a steak?”
“Fine.”
They
got up at the same time, bumping into each other. Joe sat back down, let Kyra
get up first. He followed her as she headed to the Trenton Steak House. Joe
grabbed her arm and pointed to the private elevator that went directly to the
entrance to the Whale Room. She looked at him. He smiled.
“What’s
up, Joe?”
“I
think you need a real break Kyra, so we’ll head up.”
Curiosity
got the better of her, but she figured she’d find out what he was up to in good
time. Then the fear hit her. Maybe she shouldn’t leave the floor with him. She
owed the casino seventy-five thousand dollars. Behind on her payments, she
spent three grand tonight trying to win her next payment. Stupid—how could I be so stupid? I should’ve made a partial payment
with the three grand instead of gambling tonight. They wouldn’t beat up her
up, would they? Tasting the bile as it violently pushed up from her stomach,
scorching a path to her throat. Kyra couldn’t control the tears that flooded
into her eyes when she started to choke.
“Are
you all right, Kyra?”
“I
don’t want to leave the public floor, Joe.” Kyra’s hands shook along with her
entire body. Unable to control her voice as it cracked, her mind searching for
an escape.
“I have
a deal for you, but I can’t discuss it in an open area. We’ll discuss it
upstairs, over dinner.” He smiled.
Oh
yeah, she thought, the farmer leading the cow to the slaughter. “What kind of
deal?”
“We’ll
discuss it upstairs,” he repeated firmly.
“You’re
not going to break my legs or anything like that. Are you?” she half-heartily
joked.
“No
such thing, Kyra. Relax.” Now’s the time too really worry, she thought. Just
like the “trust me” phrase, it gave her the willies.
* * * *
Joe Dillon
studied Kyra as they rode up in the elevator. To look at her, you’d never guess
she’d lost control of her life. He liked her curves, her full lips, and the
wild, curly red hair. Shorter than he, she stood about five feet four inches—he
didn’t like looking up at a woman. Too many women today were taller than him.
He looked into her green, green eyes, his mind taking off in all directions. Not now, Joe. Kyra’s not worth the trouble.
He knew she had a son—her divorce a by-product of gambling. The boss told him
this morning she was losing custody of her son. What woman gambles to the point
of losing her child? Joe thought about the deal he’d be offering her, dragging
her down even further. He pushed the guilt from his mind. Not my fucking
problem. Kyra did this to herself. If I ever caught Camile gambling, I’d break
her legs. Joe saw what
gambling did to families. Too much heartache for too little reward, he mused.
Joe
thought of the deal he’d lay on the table for her—two choices—wondering which
one she’d choose. Neither was pleasant. I’m
only the messenger. That’s how he justified his work. Blinded by greed,
these people put themselves in this position with their gambling addictions.
Bio:
One of ten children, Marian took to writing to explore new and
adventurous places. While her friends traveled on planes for vacation, Marian
traveled in books. With an overactive imagination, it didn’t take long for her
to start creating her own characters and stories. If I Fail, A Jake Carrington
Mystery that released in 2012, is the first book in the series.
As an avid reader, she discovered mysteries by reading the Daily
News as a youngster. Intrigued by the real life crimes, and how the police
worked and eventually solved them, ignited her imagination beyond the ordinary.
An English professor marked her final paper with an A, but wrote a
note that said, “Well done, though you’re not Virginia Woolf yet, so add a
little action to the story.” That one line had her punching up the action in
stories to come.
Marian
has many plans (books) for Jake Carrington and his crew. She invites you to
discover these wonderful characters and share your impressions at: marian.author@gmail.com or www.marianl.com
Buy
links: I'll have the Amazon ones soon for Burn in Hell and As the World Ends
(I'll forward them as I get them.) Thank you, Marian
If I Fail: Amazon:http://www.amazon.com/Fail-Carrington-Mystery-Series-ebook/dp/B0095GCVX4/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top
As the
World Ends is also scheduled for release in January 2013.
Burn in
Hell Book trailer: http://youtu.be/AP2r5W7zeTo
Wow, I love the cover. Intriguing story line with the crematorium. Great excerpt, too. Sounds like the lady doth have trouble. lol.
ReplyDeleteHope your sales skyrocket.
That she does, Lorrie. As I said I used to do this for a living and had so many stories dancing around in my head.
DeleteThis is one great story, and we learn a lot about both Kyra and Jake - they both have a lot of things going on! This book will keep you guessing until the very end. Loved it, loved it, loved it!
ReplyDeleteWishing you much success, Marion! Skyrocketing sales would be good, you deserve them!
Julie
Thanks, Julie, your lips to God's ear.
DeleteLoved the excerpt! Can't wait to read the story. Congrats, Marion. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Kim, I can't wait for yours to come out this week.
ReplyDelete