Exploring Genetics in "Enhancement"

It's a cold and wintery fall day here in the good ol' U- S of A.  What better than to stay indoors and read a book?

Play in the snow!  There's little I like more this time of year than the anticipation of wallowing across a winter wonderland as we sail into the Christmas season.

But until such time as the wintery precipitation decides to arrive, let me take a few moments and introduce you to a book set the the future.  In Anthony J. Melchiorri's Enhancement we explore the world of genetics and biochemistry on the black market stage in the year 2058.  Join me as we step into these pages.

Book Blurb:
In the year 2058, Baltimore's latest crime epidemic is illegal genetic enhancements. Convicted dealer Christopher Morgan swears off black market genetics for good. Before he's even released from prison, he finds himself on a hit list. Someone wants him dead and he has no idea why.

Once released, Chris takes the first job he's offered. But, soon after, the new boss at his lab is murdered. Chris fears it has something to do with his past—and so do the police. He enlists the help of a close colleague, Tracy Harrow, to clear his name and search for answers. They discover a shocking connection between Chris and the other names on the hit list. In a perilous race against time, Chris and Tracy realize that far more is at stake than just Chris's life.

My Review:
The story opens during a prison riot where our protagonist, Chris Morgan, is desperate to escape the melee.  In the process, he is stabbed repeatedly before a fellow prisoner shows up to protect him from further onslaught.  After recuperating in the prison medical ward, Chris returns to his cell to discover a new bunkmate.  Unlike his previous companion, who listened to Chris' ramblings about genetics and biochemistry and spent his own time endlessly journaling, the newcomer gives Chris cause for pause.  However, just when he's convinced he'll never get another full night's sleep, the warden announces an early release.

The one caveat?  He must either take a questionable position offered by a mysterious businessman or secure gainful employment within the next thirty days or he'll be right back with the terrifying cellmate.  With a conviction involving black market genetics hanging over his head, Chris finds himself nearing the end of freedom when no one in the field will hire him, thus forcing him into accepting the businessman's proposition.

Yet things aren't so bad.  Chris quickly delves into the lab work, finds friends among co-workers, and soon garners a girlfriend.  But it all dissipates when the past returns to haunt him.  One-by-one friends old and new turn up dead.  The only common link?  Chris.

Or so he thought.

Enhancement starts off well.  The prison riot, Chris' stabbing and sudden release, revisiting the past with determination not to repeat it - all came together to immediately offer up Chris as the sympathetic character who wishes to right the wrongs in an industry run amok, where men and women can become physically stronger and more attractive than nature intended.  But only for a price.

Soon, however, this thriller loses direction and focus.  I personally think suspense would be a better genre fit than thriller because after the opening events little exciting occurs.  Chris and his girlfriend, Tracy, simply run back and forth between Chris' apartment, Tracy's apartment, the lab, and friends' apartments.  The supposed bad guys are so far off in the periphery, they seem more a pair of bumbling afterthoughts when they do show their hands.  The point of the story is easy to deduce and the real baddie is quite obvious early in the novel.

Pacing never picks up steam after the beginning sequences.  Cutting numerous unnecessary scenes would helps this somewhat, and adding in some thoughts that were merely alluded to and never fully developed might give an adrenaline shot to move the story along.  The style is written in very passive voice, which bogs pacing down as well, but it's a pretty easy editing fix to rewrite sentences to make them more active.

As far as editing goes, very similar issues pop up here as in many indie books - missing small words, duplicate words, transposed phrases, misplaced comas, then instead of than and the like.  There are far too many pronouns and overuse of the protagonist's name multiple times in a sentence, even when we're supposed to be in Chris' POV (i.e. "He didn't expect the man to answer honestly if the intent was to have Chris killed but at least, the man would know Chris was suspicious"). 

Chris was the only character who received any fleshing-out.  Most of the side players never received any further attentions other than mentions, which left them feeling very one-dimensional.  Motivations among the characters were murky at best.  We never find out the reasons behind the bad guys' actions.  At times even Chris' actions left me scratching my head as he allowed Tracy to simply lead him by the nose (or other body parts).  Then when certain characters face danger and death, there's no evoking of emotion because there is no connection with the character.

Point-of-view, however, remained constant with Chris without straying here and there into other character's heads.  I enjoyed the genetics references and actually could've used more.  Setting was handled well in many scenes without becoming overly descriptive.

The only issues of concern for younger audiences are the plentiful rough language, scenes involving drinking/partying by adults, and consensual sex between adults.  I would say this is a novel best left to those 18+.

For the promising opening suspenseful scenes, the interesting exploration of genetics, and the sympathetic character of Chris, I'll offer up a rating of three stars.

Purchase by clicking on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Google, and Apple.

Author Bio:
Anthony J Melchiorri is a writer and biomedical engineer living in Maryland. He spends most of his time developing cardiovascular devices for tissue engineering to treat children with congenital heart defects when he isn't writing or reading.

Read more at http://anthonyjmelchiorri.com and sign up for his mailing list at http://bit.ly/ajmlist to hear about his latest releases and news.

Tragedy Marks the Past and Present in "Asylum"

This fall I've been plugging along through an assortment of novels in my TBR pile, hoping to finish before the Christmas season is in full swing.  The offering I have for you today is an interesting mix of mystery, history, and intrigue that I found to be an engaging read spanning the tail end of the 1800's into the 1970's.

So let's get right to it and delve into Kathryn Orzech's novel Asylum.

Book Blurb:

Some secrets are best kept hidden, their proof allowed to burn. Some doors are meant to remain closed. But when a young girl's curiosity becomes irresistible, the consequence can turn deadly, too fast—or smolder for generations. ASYLUM takes the reader on a wild ride between creepy and fun, weaving between a granddaughter's struggle to learn long held secrets and a grandmother as a young girl living the drama as it happens …

On an innocent day in 1899 with her father abroad, twelve-year-old Maggie Delito accidentally discovers a scandal so shameful and shocking it will forever haunt her life. The next day she’s locked in an asylum.

Secrets remain hidden for seventy five years until Laura Delito inherits ancestral assets, and her family’s mysterious past comes knocking. After sacrificing an independent career at the brink of success, she assumes control of Delito’s failing jewelry business while dealing with its ghosts. A strange old woman. Back-room betrayals. Cryptic messages. And a rare antique key that might unlock the truth, if only she could find it. As she pursues clues from Hartford and Providence to Italy and Morocco, she doesn’t see a lethal danger looming in an office down the hall.

My Review:
Margaret Rosa Delito reigns supreme over Delito, Inc, a family jewelry business that has spanned generations.  But lately the company has hemorrhaged cash at an alarming rate to the point where the business is facing collapse.  Before Margaret can discover the culprit or bring her beloved granddaughter in on the crisis, tragedy strikes.

Laura Delito feels like the proverbial fifth wheel when it comes to the family business.  After her father died when she was young and her mother remarried, Laura became the de facto heir apparent to a multimillion dollar business and family estate.  But until her grandmother's death, no one in the company took her or her designs seriously, neither her stepfather nor her boyfriend who together wield tight control in order to maintain their secret.  With the company's future on the line, Laura is left little time to grieve - especially after a strange, elderly woman shows up at her grandmother's funeral with the hint of a story and an ancient key holding a secret message.  But what the key opens no one knows - except one who will stop at nothing to ensure she never finds out.

Wonderful little mystery here, and I found it to be the perfect length at approximately 279 pages.  We open with the 1970's, what I will refer to here as the present day, and follow along with the events of the initial stages of the mysterious secret and into Laura's induction as owner and CEO of Delito, Inc.  As the story gets underway and we follow Laura's efforts to figure out what happened in the past and how that affects what is unfolding in her present, we are then whisked back to 1899 when young Maggie Delito's life takes sudden and tragic turns.

Throughout the story we move back and forth between the present and the past quite seamlessly, with proper delineation between Laura and Maggie's lives (and POV) so that it never feels jarring.  You sense Laura's struggle as she goes from a rather menial employee to controlling every aspect of an empire, making the tough decisions as she attempts to cement her position in both her own mind and the mind of the global staff.  You feel her frustration as she fights those who attempt to undermine her tenuous hold on the company as she seeks to unravel the problems and cut a new path.  You want all to be made right in young Maggie's childhood past when she is unjustly locked away because of something she was not supposed to witness, which places her in a position to witness even further devastation as she tries to unravel the mysteries of her new home.  The story is like multiple mysteries all wrapped up into one, and it was interesting to see how they all ended up tying together.

And yes, I'm purposely being vague here so as not to spoil any of said mysteries.

Good POV usage, as I mentioned before.  Showing is handled well, which keeps the reader moving along in both time periods as the mysteries unfold into solving the ultimate mystery.  Most of our main characters were fully fleshed out.

However, there were some murky motivations scattered throughout the story that left me feeling a bit muddled, probably part of the attempts at throwing in some red herrings (though the bad guys are easy to spot right away).  Some of Laura's supposed friends and people who were supposed to care about her did some pretty pathetic things to mess with her and were not held accountable, nor were their reasons for their actions enough to hold merit.  The whole ex-boyfriend thing seemed quite unnecessary and some actions were never explained or resolved.  The will reading was one of those that left me wondering why.  Again, I'm really trying not to give anything away.  Read the book to figure out what I'm trying to say and not say. :-)

I also thought it strange that young Maggie in the flashbacks, being a twelve-year-old from a well-known and highly respected family, acted a little too young in some ways, never questioning or trying to escape or even correct the false name when confronted with it.  At times, I had to remind myself that she was supposed to be twelve and not six.  The fact that she developed friends there who obviously knew she was there unnecessarily and yet never questioned or tried to help her in any way just kept me feeling unsettled.  But then we'd never have had the fullness of the mystery, I suppose - or the tragedy that marked the remainder of Maggie's years.

Overall, I enjoyed reading and discovering the truth surrounding the mysteries in Asylum and recommend it with four and a half stars.

Pick up a copy in paperback or eBook at these locations:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Asylum-dark-suspense-Kathryn-Orzech/dp/0989226166/

Amazon UK: 
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Asylum-dark-suspense-Kathryn-Orzech/dp/0989226166/

CreateSpace for paperback only:  https://www.createspace.com/4744130

E-book only —

Apple iBooks:  search iTunes for Kathryn Orzech

Barnes & Noble:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/asylum-kathryn-orzech/1119864818

KOBO Books:  http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/asylum-41

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22573710-asylum 

Author Bio:

Kathryn Orzech, Connecticut native and seasoned world traveler, writes thriller and suspense fiction with a little romance and a hint of supernatural intrigue. The author's past experience as a jewelry designer helped form the characters and settings in Asylum. Kathy admits to being a news junkie with interests in geopolitics and history, society and culture, behavioral and earth sciences. She is working on a sequel to her psychic thriller, Premonition of Terror. Check out her website at http://www.dreamwatch.com/KO-Books/

Enter the Assassin's World in "Next Exit, Dead Ahead"

Have you ever wondered what it takes to be an assassin?  Not just any assassin, but one for the good guys fighting evil so prevalent in our world?

Now imagine the difficulties of trying to lead a normal life when your enemies are seeking retribution.

That's what we get today in C.W. Browning's latest release Next Exit, Dead Ahead.  Join me in exploring this exciting novel just in time for Halloween.

Book Blurb:

Alina Maschik expected to have a few quiet days alone in New Jersey.

She should have known better.

FBI Agent Stephanie Walker has a problem. Whenever Alina comes into town, someone ends up dead. When the enigmatic Damon Miles follows, that count is doubled. Now, a mere week before Halloween, Stephanie's main informant has gone missing. When part of him shows up in a reputedly haunted prison, the local attraction becomes the center of a macabre and baffling spectacle. As bodies start to fill the morgue, Stephanie must trust in Alina's particular skill set to prevent further bloodshed. But that trust comes with a price, as Alina and Damon bring their own brand of trouble, uncovering a sinister web of deadly intrigue reaching far beyond the familiar South Jersey suburbs.

A prison haunted by tortured souls, a puzzling federal investigation, a rising body count, and a pair of deadly assassins...what could possibly go wrong?

My Review:
Just gonna say this up front - I really, really enjoyed Next Exit, Dead Ahead!  It had equal parts creepy, intrigue, suspense, mystery, and a touch of humor and romance to make this a well-rounded read.  It's been far too long since I had the chance to review such an engaging novel.

We open with an introduction to Alina Maschik - code name Viper - as she's delivering a most important "package" back to British soil.  I assume this is closing out occurrences from the previous novel in the series (which I'd love to read also).  Alina then returns home to New Jersey, looking forward to some desperately needed off time, and finds herself dragged by her two best friends to a haunted house on the grounds of the crumbling old prison.  But nothing Stephanie and Angela can do in the fantasy world can ever scare her after everything she's experienced in the real world.

Especially where a certain hawk is concerned.

Damon Miles - code name Hawk - is a counterpart in the world of covert operations.  Rarely seeing one another since their early days of training, the last few missions have brought them into close quarters once again, and ignited a smoldering fire neither wishes to fan into a flame.  Their last mission together, however, has threatened to expose Hawk's real-world alter ego and take him out of the game played across the world's hidden stage.  Damon needs Alina's help.

Because someone besides the hawk is out hunting for blood.

The cast of characters here is wide and varied, which adds to the fun and intrigue.  Alina's friend, Stephanie, is an FBI agent who had a front-row seat to Viper's abilities in the previous novel - and now she's not so sure who this woman really is, but she definitely knows what she's capable of.  Couple that knowledge with the fact that her FBI partner, John, is Alina's former fiancee and things could get out of control real fast if Stephanie doesn't keep her mouth shut.  Angela is a completely different type of friend for Alina, which helps keep her grounded to the real world.  Whereas Alina is all black wrapped in mystery, Angela is flouncy and 100% girlie-girl.  Even dressed in a suit, she oozes feminine charm - but don't underestimate her ability to close a deal.

All the players come together when a cartel threatens to create financial Armageddon by secretly siphoning off billions from two of America's largest banks - and body parts start showing up on the haunted prison's grounds.  And just when Alina and Damon thought they were safe, the cartel comes after them and makes the mistake of targeting their friends.  Enter Viper and Hawk.

Great mystery here, with lots of little pieces coming from all different angles to keep you on the edge of your seat for what happens next.  There's a few gruesome moments, but I was pleasantly surprised how little language there was considering the genre and that we're dealing with hardened criminals and enforcement personnel.  It was a breath of fresh air not to have to weed through page after page of f-words (I can't even remember if there was a single instance here - I don't think there was but don't quote me on that).  Pacing moved along with only a few instances to come up for air - and they were needed.  Even in the midst of the crazy world of espionage and assassinations, the humor was present and accounted for on many levels - and I loved Alina's pet hawk!  Who needs a guard dog to keep the ex at bay when you've got Raven?

Even though I loved this story, there were still a few issues.

The constant back and forth usage of Alina's name and then code name in the same paragraphs at first confused me into thinking we were dealing with two different people.  Seemed strange she would refer to herself by her own code name all the time.  When in Viper persona, sure.  As Alina, not so much.

Point-of-view usage switched multiple times within scenes, a few times quite jarring, and with such a good story this was disappointing though easily remedied.  This was a pre-release review copy, so a few editing snafus may not have been caught yet such as poll instead of pole and some extra spacing at times between paragraphs (obviously not scene breaks).

As the story progressed, the eye narrowing of every single character became so prevalent I started counting them on each turn of my Kindle page, noting so many I just had to laugh after awhile to keep from groaning.  An abundant use of the words swiftly, silently, and slightly began cropping up as well the further along the story I read.  I know we authors have our favorite words and phrases, but these could be culled with another editing run-through starting from about the middle of the novel to the end.

Even with the above issues, I thoroughly enjoyed reading Next Exit, Dead Ahead and would be very happy to pick up the prequels in this series.  I can comfortably recommend this novel with four and a half stars.

Pick it up for Kindle or paperback on Amazon.  And don't forget to start with the first two in the series  Next Exit, 3 Miles and Next Exit, Pay Toll.

Author Bio:

CW Browning was writing before she could spell. Making up stories in the backyard with her childhood best
friend, imagination ran wild from the very beginning. When she moved to New Jersey from Kansas at the age of seven, those tales became written words as she adjusted to life on the East Coast. Her first full-length novel was printed out on a dot-matrix printer at the age of eight. Through the years, the writing continued as an enjoyable past-time while she pursued other avenues of interest, attending Rutgers University and studying History. In time, though, it became apparent where her heart truly lie. CW still makes up stories in her backyard, but now she crafts them for her readers to enjoy. She makes her home in Southern New Jersey, where she loves to grill organic steak and sip red wine on the patio.

Visit her at: www.cwbrowning.com
Find her on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/pages/CW-Browning

Follow her on Twitter @cw_browning

Welcome Author Brian C Poole to the Interview Table

While I'm steadily whittling away at my own writing, let's get to know another indie author.  Lawyer by day, writer of suspenseful thrillers (with a supernatural twist) by night - sounds like an interesting combination!  Dear readers, join me today in welcoming author Brian C. Poole to the table.

Welcome Brian!

DAB:    Was there a point in your life that prompted your desire to write or have you always wanted to be an author?

BCP:     I think I've always been something of a storyteller, so the drive to write was there, even if I didn't always realize it. When I was a kid, I loved drawing my own comic books to amuse myself; in my mind, there was no reason why Batman and Spider-Man shouldn't have been in the same story. As I got older, I probably had the same dream that every comic book-loving kid did of drawing them professionally one day, but by the time I was old enough to be objective about it, it was clear to me I didn't have the talent for it, so I focused on other things. But I never lost the love for storytelling. I made my first two attempts at writing novels while still in law school, in my mid-20s. They both wound up being fairly derivative and I didn't complete either one, but I learned a few things. The first novel I completed began shortly thereafter; it remains unpublished, but there are parts of it I love. So the attempt at being a writer "for real" is something I've been pursuing for most of my adult life, though it's an ambition that's frequently gotten backburnered due to other "life stuff."

DAB:    What was the catalyst for this novel’s premise?

BCP:     The idea for Grievous Angels first started percolating in my brain many, many years before I began trying to tease it into an actual story. In my 20s I was a volunteer Sunday school teacher, working with high school juniors. One week, the head of the program showed the kids a video called Audrey, which introduced me to the concept of the "victim soul." (I reference the story from this video at one point in the book.) I found it fascinating, but it's one of the more obscure parts of Catholic theology and there wans't a lot of info to be found on it (at least at that time, this was before Google and Wikipedia seemed to have some info on just about everything). It took me several years to figure out how to work the "victim soul" concept into a plot; mixing it with my fascination with secret societies was one of those strokes of inspiration that writers hope for but can't explain.

DAB:    I think I hear 'Dan Brown fan' in your words. :-)  Who is your favorite character in your novel, and why?

BCP:     My favorite Grievous Angels character is definitely Lindsay. She was sort of the anchor of sanity through a series of rather insane events. I tried not to be too obvious about it, but to convey that she really understood how this situation would play out well before it all clicked into place for her fiance, Ben. The fact that I close the book having left a terrible emotional burden on her in no way is an indication of a lack of affection; indeed, I think it shows my respect for her because I know she's strong enough to endure it.

DAB:    Do you write full-time or part-time?  If full-time, tell us about the journey to full-time.  If part-time, share with us about your “day” job.

BCP:     I'd say that "part-time" is more accurate. I worked as a lawyer in the financial world for many, many years and would fit in writing when I could. Honestly, a lot of the writing I've done over the years is more "practice" than practical, stuff I'd never show anyone. But I've managed to fit in some writing that developed into actual manuscripts (two of which I've managed to get out to the reading world). Recently, I was working for a great company in Atlanta, working with a team of fantastic people that I liked and respected, but there was this buzzing in the back of my head that told me now was the time to take a chance on doing something different. So, I quit my job and moved back to Massachusetts and have been focusing on writing projects and promoting Grievous Angels, which I'd published a year earlier but for which I hadn't had the bandwidth to do much in the way of promotion. I'm also pursuing another interest of mine; I'm in the process of forming a real estate company with a law school friend. So I'm enjoying this brief period of being able to focus on writing, before the real estate business heats up. And I'm going to have to go back to practicing law in the near future, at least on a part-time basis, to pay the bills. But some day I'd love for "writer" to be my primary occupation.

DAB:    I'm with you there!  When I write, I have particular composers and music that gets me in the mood for certain scenes and characters.  Have you ever written to music?

BCP:     I'm a music junkie, so there's something playing in my apartment quite often. I don't usually employ a particular artist or album to set the mood or get me in the mindset of a character. Rather, I find that music helps get my brain in the right creative place to let ideas flow. Intermittently over the years I've worked on a series of short stories inspired by various songs I've found especially evocative of an idea. At this point, it's been eons since I've returned to that project, so I have no idea if I'll ever finish it. My mother's sung professionally since her teen years and my oldest brother is a professional musician, so I think that kind of creative inspiration comes from the same source. For me, writing seems to be a more effective outlet for that, but I think it's all connected.

DAB:    There's the eternal debate whether to outline or not.  What is your preference?

BCP:     I have to have an outline of some sort. Even though my novels don't tend to be epic-length, I need a map of where I'm going and what points I need to hit along the way. Of course, that doesn't mean I work everything out in the outline; for some key scenes, I might craft a more detailed section of an outline, to make sure I'm hitting the beats I need to, but it's also just as likely an outline entry could be "Person A and Person B have a discussion about The Thing." The outline is an aid for me, but it's not set in stone. I find that once I start writing, ideas occur to me that didn't pop up during my preliminary thinking on the plot, so it's crucial to be flexible, but I do need some structure when writing, to keep myself on track.

DAB:    Do you belong to a critique group?  If so, tell us a bit about it.

BCP:     I don't belong to a group, but I'm lucky to have a good friend who reads even more than I do and whose command of English and grammar is impeccable. She served as my editor for Grievous Angels and having her perspective and comments was really valuable.

DAB:    Usually authors are also avid readers - what are you currently reading?

BCP:     I have a shelf full of books at all times; I can't stop myself, I go into a bookstore or wander around Amazon online and there are more books. But I do read constantly. I just finished Edith Wharton's The Custom of the Country; I'm a late convert to Wharton and have found over the past few years that I very much enjoy her work and that it's very relevant still. That makes me sound hopelessly pretentious, so I'll note that I'm currently reading Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl; I've read Gillian's other books, too, and I love that her characters are as twisted as her plots. And I never quite grew out of comic books, but now I read the collected editions instead. Those pop up frequently; I just read the second volume of The Superior Foes of Spider-Man, which is an extremely entertaining series about several second-rate villains trying to make a dishonest buck in a tough economy.

DAB:    Oh my goodness - that's hilarious about the villains!  You never think what they'd do in a tough economy.  Do you have any writing pointers for the authors in our audience?

BCP:     It's something of a cliche, but I think if you want to be a writer, you need to write regularly, even if no one else is going to see it. I have folders full of stuff that no one but me will ever see, but it's valuable. It's helped me learn pacing, how to develop characters, how to structure plots... writing really is something that you need to do a lot of to become good at (he says, ending a sentence with a preposition). I mentioned my first two attempts to write novels that I abandoned because they weren't coming out well. I don't regret trying to write either one; they didn't work out, but they taught me a lot of lessons that have helped with what I've written since.

DAB:    I imagine all authors can relate to those throw-away manuscripts.  So much work that will never see the light of day.  Care to tell us what is next on your writing horizon?

BCP:     I've been using my brief break from the law to finish the first draft of what I hope will be the first in a new series (I'm almost there). The impulse came from me thinking about what a cool lawyer job would be, total lawyer fantasy stuff, and I thought it would be a lot of fun to be a lawyer who worked for a museum like The Met who basically went around troubleshooting the big crises for the museum. That might be an indication of how hopelessly uncool I am, that such would occur to me as a fantasy job, but it seemed like good terrain for a series. And it lets me indulge another of my junkiedoms, for museums. It's got a ways to go yet, but I'm hopeful about its future.

DAB:    Sounds like something I'd take a gander at (to use your preposition ending).  Now’s your chance – give us the final plug for your novel.

BCP:     Grievous Angels is a great thrill ride, with lots of action and suspense. It has a bit of a supernatural edge, but really is a family story that gets into how a family copes with an unreal crisis. It has some chills, some laughs and a few scenes that should give you a good scare. It's a great ride and I really hope people will come along and enjoy it.

Thanks again, Brian, for taking time away from your incredibly busy schedule to sit down with us and share your work and what being an author means to you.  One of my favorite things is hearing how authors got their start and all of the myriad "day jobs" we all carry but yet how we all cling to our dream of writing.  I'm with you there!  I look forward to having a chance to read your work.

Author Bio:
Brian C. Poole is a writer from the Boston area who’s trying really, really hard not to be a lawyer anymore. Well, at least not a full-time one. Brian’s novels include Grievous Angels , now available wherever e-books Echoes of a Distant Thunder (harder to find, but out there in the world of used books if you really, really look).
are sold, and

Connect on Facebook or follow on Twitter.  Stop by and check out profiles on Goodreads or AuthorsDen.

Grievous Angels is available at Amazon, B&N, iTunes and other e-book sellers.

Freebie Mania - The Study



http://www.amazon.com/The-Study-ebook/dp/B007JQ5OTA/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_2


I've another freebie coming up!

This Saturday and Sunday my short story, The Study, will be free on Amazon for Kindle and Kindle PC.  Even though it is a short story, it's still over ten thousand words.  It is a suspenseful tale of a medical study gone wrong.  There are some funny moments, a passionate moment, and sorrowful heartbreak.

Hey, it's what I know.

So this weekend take a chance on a little piece of something that is close to my heart.  You'll be glad you did.

And please don't harrass me about the ending!

Final Tally

Well the final tally of free downloads for Running into the Darkness is in.

The free period for my novel ended at midnight Saturday night with a final download number of 727.  RITD was as high as #20 on the suspense/thriller genre free list.  If I must be honest, I was crossing my fingers to try and make the top ten list, but considering where we started, I'd say the top twenty wasn't too bad.

It was so much fun to be a part of this little ongoing experiment in the Kindle universe.  Running into the Darkness will be free a couple more days during the ninety day window as part of the Kindle Select program, but you can still pick it up for a bargain price in the meantime.  However, I'll be sure and let you know what the next free period on Amazon will be, that is as soon as I decide for certain when that will be.

Those of you who downloaded during this window - thank you so much for taking a chance on my work.  I look forward to sharing my short story, The Study, with you soon.  I'm also hard at work on the sequel, Piercing the Darkness.

Loving where it's going thus far and can hardly wait to share it with you. 

Happy reading!