The blurb for this sounded interesting and I knew I had to participate in the promo blitz for it. It mixes two of my favorite genres, urban fantasy and mystery. The book was released on December third, so if you like the excerpt below, you can go and purchase it.
The author,R.J. Hore was a reader of genre fiction since a very early age. He got down to serious attempts at writing over thirty years ago, although employment kept getting in the way. He did write a considerable amount of non-fiction during his business career, enough to be listed as a professional writer by the Canadian Authors Association.
His hobbies include
trying to keep on the good side of his wife, keeping track of his children
and grandchildren, and wrestling the blasted cat off of his keyboard.
In his diminishing spare time he sails on Lake Winnipeg and try not to get lost.
He currently reviews science fiction and fantasy genre novels and anthologies for an on-line magazine aimed primarily at school libraries. He's losing track, but has done somewhere over 60 reviews so far.
He currently reviews science fiction and fantasy genre novels and anthologies for an on-line magazine aimed primarily at school libraries. He's losing track, but has done somewhere over 60 reviews so far.
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Excerpt
Faith tongued my ear and moved on, leaving me quite damp. I don’t know
what some parents think about raising children, but Grizzly’s methods leave
something to be seriously reviewed by the Committee of Public Knowledge and
Enlightenment. A young lady should definitely not be brought up and educated in
an all-night snack and beverage emporium. And she should at the least learn to
respect her elders. I dragged my tired carcass onto a pair of flat feet and
headed for the exit sign.
The rain had stopped but the early morning air remained chill. I often
thought things out clearest while strolling during these purple-grey hours before
the sun cleared the buildings. My own little rooms were only blocks away. After
the first block I knew I was being followed.
The empty street stretched out ahead, a long mist-clad tunnel of dark
shadows and faint gaslight. One or two of the street lamps in the next block
had already burned out, leaving gaps of pure blackness not yet touched by the
yawning whisper of the dawn. There were at least two of them trailing behind
me; I could tell that much by the muffled footsteps. Which two, and why they
were not bothering to hide their approach, I could only guess at. But if I were
a gambler, I’d wager Bertha’s next pay cheque that they had some connection
with our little lost love, dear Rupert. Passing through the pale ring of light
on the sidewalk cast by the next lamp, I paused, slipping my left hand into the
glass knuckles in my coat pocket, and casually turned around so that my
followers would be caught in the glow.
“Good evening gentlemen, taking an early morning stroll? I don’t believe
I've seen you in the neighbourhood before.”
The Vampire smiled, fixing his sunken black eyes upon me. The more
elderly and taller partner of the pair, he stood motionless, long grasping
hands dangling out from the sleeves of his greatcoat, thin fingers twitching.
The Demon shimmered silently beside him, the light sparkling on his green
scales. Shorter and stockier than his cadaverous companion, he licked his lips.
The bloodsucker spoke first, in a voice that echoed as a cross somewhere
between coarse sandpaper and an untuned fiddle. “I believe you know a close
acquaintance of ours, a young Master Rupert? We are searching for him.”
“Don't know the lad, I’m afraid.” I recognized the tall Ghoul’s accent
though.
The Vampire drifted to the nearer edge of the dim circle of light. The
Demon faded toward my right and the deserted street. I loosened the splatter
gun with a slight move of my shoulder.
“Oh dear, we just want to speak with the boy. What can you tell us of
his whereabouts?”
Not only was this parasite on the ripe side of the last century, but he
had a set of bad teeth and nasty breath I could smell from ten feet away.
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Author: R.J. Hore
Publisher: Champagne Books
Format: ebook
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Mystery
Release Date: December 3, 2012