BEA'S BOOK NOOK "I can't imagine a man really enjoying a book and reading it only once." C. S. Lewis “If one cannot enjoy reading a book over and over again, there is no use in reading it at all.” ― Oscar Wilde

Friday, February 8, 2013

Giveaway & Excerpt from Byzantine Gold by Chris Karlsen




Book Blurb ~



A sunken warship from the Byzantine Era carrying an unusual cargo of gold has been found off the coast of Northern Cyprus. News of the valuable cache has attracted the attention of a terrorist cell. They plan to attack the recovery team’s campsite and steal the artifacts. On the Black Market, the sale of the relics will buy them additional weapons.

Charlotte Dashiell, an American archaeologist, and her lover, Atakan Vadim, a Turkish government agent, are scheduled to be part of the recovery team that brings up the artifacts. While en route to Cyprus, they find themselves caught in the crosshairs of Maksym Tischenko, a Ukrainian contract killer bent on revenge. Charlotte, Atakan and Tischenko share a grim history. As a result, Tischenko is a man who will stop at nothing to achieve his goal—seeing them both dead.

Publisher: Books to Go Now
Genre: Mystery, Romance, Action Adventure
Format: ebook, paperback
Release Date: December 31, 2012
Buying Links:  Barnes & Noble  Amazon

*****************************************************************************

About the Author:

Chris is a retired police detective. She spent twenty-five years in the law enforcement with two different agencies.

The daughter of a history professor and a voracious reader, she grew up with a love for history and books.

She has traveled extensively throughout Europe, the Near East, and Northern Africa satisfying her passion for seeing the places she read about.

A Chicago native, Chris has lived in Paris, Los Angeles, and now resides with her husband, and five rescue dogs in the Pacific Northwest.

Find Chris online:

Pinterest


*****************************************************************************

Excerpt

Charlotte answered on the fourth ring. Caller I.D. showed “restricted.”



“Hello.”



“They are called, Angelique tulips. You admired them in the hospital garden in Paris.”



Charlotte froze, holding her breath as she listened to the nightmare voice, remembering how his Eastern European accent rounded certain sounds and how he stressed the last syllables in his words. Called became cawl-d.



Tischenko.



“Everything in time,” he said and hung up.

Charlotte dropped the phone on the table. She turned to Atakan.

The shock must’ve shown on her face. “What is wrong?”

“That was Tischenko,” she said, finding her voice. “The flowers are from him. He was watching me in Paris when I was at the hospital. He—”

Atakan didn’t wait for her to finish. He rushed into the living room, grabbed his gun from the bookshelf, and ran out of the apartment.

Charlotte followed as he flew down the four flights of stairs to the street.


“Stop.” Catching up to him on the sidewalk, she hooked his elbow with her hand. Fearful an armed Tischenko hid nearby, she positioned herself in front of Atakan, thinking to shield him. “We can’t stand here. He could be anywhere taking aim at you right now.”



“Go back inside.”



“Not without you.” She tugged on his shirt, pulling him toward their building. “Atakan please, let’s leave. Call the Director.”

Atakan shoved her behind him. Silent, his eyes searched the dark doorways of neighboring apartment buildings and parked cars.


“Atakan please.”



“Get inside.”



She stepped in front of him again. “We stay here together or we leave together.”



An eternity of seconds passed. Neither moved or blinked.



They both jumped and turned at the bellow from the horn of a passing truck. Thankfully, the driver was waving to another coming the opposite direction. He never saw the man in the sling pointing a gun at him.



“Please,” she repeated.



Atakan nodded. He stopped at the building’s entry door and took a last look, surveying the street. “He moves us around like pawns in a private game.”
 

 *****************************************************************************

If you liked that, check out this book trailer  - 


Chris will award one randomly drawn commenter at every stop an ebook copy of "Golden Chariot", the first book in this series, and one randomly drawn commenter will be awarded a $50 Amazon gift card during the tour. A $25 Amazon gift card will be awarded to a randomly drawn host.

You can follow the tour here: http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2013/01/virtual-blurb-blitz-tour-byzantine-gold.html

15 comments:

  1. Reading genre: Mystery, Romance, Action Adventure - you can't miss.

    marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com

    ReplyDelete
  2. Good morning,
    I want to thank Bea's Book Nook for inviting me today and showcasing Byzantine Gold. I look forward to talking with everyone. If those interested, I have book boards on my pinterest page where I got to use my "dream cast."
    Chris Karlsen

    ReplyDelete
  3. I really love this story. It really sounds awesome.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi MomJane
      Thank you. I enjoyed writing it:)
      CHris

      Delete
  4. You have quite the pinrest collection, love your actor choice, especially Charlotte, she is exactly like I imagined her from reading the book.

    jibriel.o at web dot de

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Jibriel,
      How great you read Golden Chariot. I thought Stana Katic was perfect too. She's lovely but not in a flashy Hollywood way.
      Chris

      Delete
  5. Have been enjoying this tour and the excerpts. With your law enforcement background, do you think that you would write a book featuring someone in law enforcement as the hero/ heroine?

    strive4bst(At) yahoo(Dot) com

    ReplyDelete
  6. HI "Anonymous"
    Yes I would but not in the way you probably think. I don't want to write a "cop" story per se. I don't want to relive my career through my characters. Atakan is an investigator as well as an archaeologist. When not in the field, he investigates the sale of looted artifacts on the Black Market.

    I am thinking of doing a third book with Charlotte's brother Nick, who's a Chicago cop working with Iskender on a case in Turkey. Iskender is Atakan's co-agent and also an investigator. So yes, it would kind of be a cop story but not they're not chasing a serial killer or anything like that. I'd probably focus it around a terrorist cell.
    Chris

    ReplyDelete
  7. I want to let everyone know that only the buy link for Amazon is available. Byzantine Gold is an exclusive with them until the end of March. Golden Chariot is available on Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Kobo and Smashwords.
    Chris

    ReplyDelete
  8. I like your idea for the 3rd book if it's any help :)

    lennascloud AT gmail DOT com

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hi Lena,
    It's always a help to hear readers thoughts and what they like and don't like. Thank you for liking the idea. I was on a review tour last fall for Golden Chariot and three reviewers wanted a book with Nick. When I wrote Byzantine Gold, I gave Iskender a lot of page time just in case I wanted to use him as the hero of a book. From the reviewers requests and my possible plan, I came up with the idea to try and use both in the same story.
    Chris

    ReplyDelete
  10. Nice premise.

    bn100candg(at)hotmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  11. That's an exciting excerpt...gets the adreneline going. You write good action in your books, Chris!
    catherinelee100 at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  12. Archaeology and Byzantium = two things I love!

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for taking the time to comment. I enjoy hearing from my readers. Let's talk!