Book Spotlight/GIVEAWAY: Company Assassin

 

Please welcome author Claudia Blood to the Reading Nook as we find out more about their new book, Company Assassin and don't forget to enter the giveaway at the end of the post for a chance to win $50 Amazon\BN gift card from the author. This tour is sponsored by Goddess Fish Promotions and make sure to stop at all the stops for more chances to enter the giveaway. 

Talking with author Claudia Blood....

What is your favorite ice cream flavor?

They have a cookie monster ice cream at a local creamery. It's cookie monster blue with cookie chunks! I do not eat it like Cookie Monster eats. That would waste of good ice cream

 

Which mythological creature are you most like?

I have always wanted to be a dragon. I know it sounds funny, but with that change you are almost guaranteed to be in a world with magic and possibilities.

The best part would be to camouflage myself and people watch. I bet I could make a great chai latte with my flame.

 

First book you remember making an indelible impression on you.

Can I pick two?

Ogre Ogre by Piers Anthony. It was the first book I bought with my own money. When I read it, I had my first experience with the all is lost moment. I cried. I wanted to be able to make that moment happen again.

Nor Crystal Tears by Alan Dean Foster. The main character was not human, but I really liked him despite him being, in essence, a giant bug. He wasn't anyone special in his culture and yet he was put in a position that drove the course of first contact with humans. So it doesn't matter who you are, you can make an impact.

 

How do you develop your plot and characters?

I get a scene in my head and I wonder what they are doing. The characters sometimes tell me about themselves. I've had them do journals too. I ask 'how did they get there' and 'why are they doing the things they did'? Then it starts to come together.

For example, I have a Series that started with a dream about a machine in a building that tested to see if you were human. The man going through it thought that he was, but he got to the other side and the alarms went off. I started asking questions like how could someone not know they were no longer human? What kind of world would have a machine like that anyway?

Describe your writing space.

My favorite place to write is sitting in my blue rocking chair in the living room. I can see the backyard from the window. Our backyard slopes up and it's dotted with trees. We have deer that wander through the yard. Wild turkeys will sometimes roost in the trees.

GENRE: Fantasy

BLURB:

 It’s Duff Roman’s eighteenth birthday, but no one is lighting candles.

 

Turning eighteen in the orphanage on Kalecca means starvation for those who aren’t hired into a Family. Outside the Family compounds lies the jungle. And in the jungle lies death. And Relics—the only real currency on Planet Kalecca.

 

The orphans are Duff’s family, and he’s sacrificed everything to keep the orphanage running, even his chance to move on. Now, at eighteen, he has no choice but to leave. Without him to bring in extra money, the orphans will starve under the Company’s control. Duff's only chance to save them is to find a spot on an independent crew and hopefully find a Relic to sell.

 

A seemingly chance encounter with Z, leader of the most feared independent crew, offers Duff his opportunity to score a Relic. And offers Z a chance to relieve the guilt he feels over his past.

 

But a company assassin has plans to lay waste to Duff's future, and the orphanage as well.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Excerpt Two:

 

Duff from chapter 5

 

The upstairs creaked and moaned in the wind. It didn’t seem right. He listened intently, but heard nothing that sounded like there was anything up there. The demons must be hiding. If he and Zachariah made any noise going up, that would alert the demons. He hoped the silence didn’t mean that the demons had killed everyone and left already. Fear dried his mouth, making him wish that he’d checked the basement before coming up here. He knew and had obeyed the rule that the door shouldn’t be reopened until the place was clear. He’d just trust they were all safe in there, waiting like they’d been taught.

 

Zachariah took out his sword.

 

Duff waved his arms to catch Zachariah’s gaze. Then Duff pointed to the side and held up two fingers to indicate the second step creaked. Zachariah nodded and stepped close to the wall, stepping over the second step. Duff followed behind. At the top of the stairs, Zachariah quietly opened the door.

 

The bright light spilled down the stairs. The light was too bright for his gloom adjusted eyes and blinded him.

 

Once his sight adjusted, the room looked normal but that sense that something was very wrong reared its head. The sense crawled up his back leaving shivery foot prints. There should be some evidence of the demons other than their smell that coated the inside of the room like mud, but from here all he could see were the carefully made beds. Could the demons have left already?

 

  BUY links for Trilogy

https://books2read.com/CompanyAssassin

https://books2read.com/HorizonFound

https://books2read.com/TimeRift

 

GIVEAWAY:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

Claudia Blood’s early introduction to Dungeons and Dragons, combined with her training as a scientist and a side trip into the world of IT set her up to become an award-winning author of Science Fiction and Fantasy.

 

For her latest release, visit her at www.ClaudiaBlood.com

 

LINKS:

www.ClaudiaBlood.com

facebook.com/AuthorClaudiaBlood

http://bit.ly/ClaudiasAdventurersFB

twitter.com/AuthorClauBlood

instagram.com/authorclaudiablood

 

Short Story give away for newsletter sign up

https://dl.bookfunnel.com/knyz61msub