Blog Tour: Vice Enforcer by S. A. Stovall

What’s it about?

Holding on to a life worth living can be hard when the nightmares of the past come knocking. Eight months ago, Nicholas Pierce, ex-mob enforcer, faked his death and assumed a new identity to escape sadistic mob boss Jeremy Vice. With no contacts outside the underworld, Pierce finds work with a washed-up PI. It’s an easy enough gig—until investigating a human trafficking ring drags him back to his old stomping grounds.

Miles Devonport, Pierce’s partner, is top of his class at the police academy while single-handedly holding his family together. But when one lieutenant questions Pierce’s past and his involvement in the investigation, Miles must put his future on the line to keep Pierce’s secrets.

The situation becomes dire when it’s discovered the traffickers have connections to the Vice family. The lives of everyone Pierce cares about are in danger—not least of all his own, if Jeremy Vice learns he’s back from the dead. Pierce and Miles face a conspiracy that reaches the highest levels—one that will gladly destroy them to keep operating. As Pierce uses every dirty trick he learned from organized crime to protect the new life he’s building, he realizes that no matter how hard he tries, he might never escape his past.

But he’s not going down without a fight.

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Blog Tour: The Art of Fear by Pamela Crane

What’s It About?

A life no girl should endure. A father no daughter could love. A twist no one would predict.

Ari Wilburn’s life ended long ago—the day she watched her little sister die in a tragic accident and did nothing to stop it. Crippled with self-blame and resented by her parents, she stumbles through life…and onto an unexpected clue that casts doubt on whether the death was accidental.

Now a psychological wreck, Ari joins a suicide support group where she meets Tina, a sex-trafficking escapee who finds her long-lost father dead. Suicide, police ruled it. But Tina suspects foul play. As a bond develops between the women in their shared loss, they’re dragged into playing a dangerous game with a killer.

Faced with a murderous wake-up call and two possibly linked deaths, Ari’s investigation puts her next on the killer’s list. But she’s never been one to back down from a fight.

Needing closure, Ari must face her demons and the killer behind them…or lose everything she loves. Continue reading “Blog Tour: The Art of Fear by Pamela Crane”

Author Interview: Sherry Knowlton

Sherry Knowlton is a fellow ITW author and I introduced her upcoming book in the previous post. Both the protagonist and the subject matter sounded fascinating and I asked Sherry if she would answer a few questions about Alexa Williams, her protagonist and her writing. Here are her answers.

Michael Niemann: How did you meet Alexa Williams?

Sherry Knowlton: About six years ago, I decided that if I was ever going to write that book I’d been mulling, I better get started.  I had retired from full time work and moved into part time consulting, so I had the time I needed to write. Choosing a female protagonist was a given. I don’t believe I ever even contemplated a man as my main character. But, I made some very deliberate decisions about who Alexa would be.

Although I was originally focused on just completing one book, I wanted to lay the foundation for a suspense series. So, I thought a younger woman would provide me with a character who could evolve and mature. I made her a lawyer – a smart, educated, professional with a job that provides some flexibility.

Friends tell me that they see some of me in Alexa. And, certainly, Alexa has some of the same interests that I’ve had in my life; for example, yoga, social causes. But, I’ve tried hard to create her as a distinct person, with characteristics and a life of her own. She’s not just a younger, more attractive and interesting version of Sherry Knowlton.

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Blog Tour: The Vilcabamba Prophecy by Robert Rapoza

The-Vilcabamba-Prophecy-by-Robert-Rapoza-e1459182171998What’s It About?

When a mysterious benefactor funds archeologist Nick Randall’s research, he departs on an expedition to find the lost city of Vilcabamba. Hidden deep in the Amazon, Randall believes this legendary city holds proof that his controversial theories are true. He disappears shortly after arriving in the jungle.

Randall’s beautiful daughter Samantha learns of his disappearance.  An accomplished archeologist herself, she is forced to make a difficult decision. Pursue her career or search for the man she blames for her mother’s death.

But someone else is looking for her father as well. Francis Dumond, a shadowy man with unlimited resources, will stop at nothing to find Vilcabamba and use its secrets to control the world. In a race against time, Sam must find her father, prove his theories and stop Dumond before a stratovolcano destroys Vilcabamba and all of them as well.

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The Expats by Chris Pavone

Expats CoverThe title alone was intriguing enough. I’ve spent a fair amount of time in southern Africa and the term expat conjured up all kinds of images in my mind—characters from the Serbian road contractor to the Canadian water resources professor and everything in between. In Africa, expats stand out because, quite often, they are white, although the Chinese are giving everyone a run for their money (quite literally, actually).

This story, however, takes place in Luxembourg and the Paris. American expats stick out only because of their missing language skills and, possibly, because of their baseball caps. Skin color doesn’t enter the equation. Kate, Dexter and their two sons show up in Luxembourg on very short notice, because Dexter, a nerdy kind of network security expert who protects banks against hackers, has gotten a job there. Or so he says. Kate is rather surprised. One, because of the short notice, and, two, because she works for the CIA, something Dexter doesn’t know, and must be debriefed before they let her go. And so we’re off to the races.

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