fiction – Page 12 – Immersive fantasy fiction

Stunning new cover for ‘A Game For Assassins’

This month, thriller author James Quinn has re-released his edge-of-your-seat political thriller ‘A Game For Assassins’. This stylish new cover casts the perfect image for such a gripping, dramatic storyline.

I spoke with James Quinn about his book:

Introduction:

In association with my publishers – Creativia Publishing – we have decided to spruce up the cover of AGFA. It was felt that since the interior of the book had been brought up to a high standard in terms of story, proofing and editing, we should also afford the same courtesy to the cover.

What we have now is a stylish, theme orientated cover that oozes “Cold War” espionage and action and which grabs the reader’s attention.

I hope you all approve.

Please feel free to share and thanks for all your help

James Quinn

Synopsis:

The assassination of a Caribbean dictator….

The “hit” on a traitor in Beirut……

The brutal murder of a young CIA officer behind the Iron Curtain…..

It is 1964, the height of the Cold War, and British Intelligence is riding high with its top double agent network: Constellation.

But in the secret war fought across Europe the enemy is never far away and soon the agents of Constellation are targeted by an unknown team of assassins. In desperation British Intelligence sends in their best agent to protect the network and hunt down the killers.

Jack “Gorilla” Grant isn’t your typical Cold War secret agent. Short, tough, uncompromising, rough edged. He doesn’t fit in with the elitist spies and debonair intelligence agents. He prefers working at the rough end of British covert operations.

But “Gorilla” is one of the best “Redactors” in the business. He’s an expert at close quarter combat: quick to the draw and deadly accurate when it comes to the elimination of traitors and extremists on behalf of the British Secret Service (SIS). He is soon drawn into a game of cross and double cross where nothing is as it seems and even the most perfect spy can die in a wilderness of mirrors.

“A Game for Assassins” is an action packed edge of your seat thrill ride played out across the global stage of the Cold War.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

James Quinn spent 15 years in the secret world of covert operations, undercover investigations and international security before turning his hand to writing.

He is trained in hand to hand combat and in the use of a variety of weaponry including small edged weapons, Japanese Swords and Hunting Bows. He is also a crack pistol shot for CQB (Close Quarter Battle) and many of his experiences he has incorporated into his works of fiction.

He lives in the United Kingdom and travels extensively around the globe.

For more information check out the James Quinn Website:

http://jamesquinn.webs.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/James-Quinn/1558765681046413

Twitter: James Quinn – Author @Ape101Quinn

http://www.amazon.co.uk/-/e/B00VRR0DYI?ref_=pe_1805931_64002121

http://www.amazon.com/James-Quinn/e/B00VRR0DYI/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0

Oct 20, 2015 by dmcain84

Will O’ the Wisp by C.S. Boyack – blog tour

The Frighteningly Fun Halloween Tour

Will O’ the Wisp is a paranormal tale from C. S. Boyack. It involves a mildly handicapped girl facing a mysterious threat. The wisp has been killing off Patty Hall’s family for generations, and she’s next on the list. It is suitable for young adult readers. It’s a perfect Halloween read.

Interview with C.S. Boyack

Whenever I’ve followed a blog tour, there always seems to be one post about writing tips. This is always one of my favorite posts, because I think we can all learn something from one another.

With a story like Will O’ the Wisp, I really wanted to use a few suspense techniques. I keep a living document on my iPad that’s full of writing advice, tips, and tricks. When I find something new, I update the document. The suspense techniques have been languishing here for a long time, and this was the perfect story to play with them.

Suspense is all about the unknown and waiting until discomfort settles in. There are quite a few tricks to create this, and I used a few of them in this story.

Have someone ask a seemingly innocent question, but have the answer be something vague and cryptic. This perks me right up as a reader. Didn’t seem like that big a deal, why is Aunt Tilly avoiding the question? This makes me want to turn the page. Make sure some waiting is involved to get the reader salivating. Have the phone ring before the character can ask more questions. Distract and avoid. Change the conversation.

Tense moments work well too. If a guy in a hoodie and shades follows your heroine through the park, drag it out. Don’t tell the reader that he saw her drop her wallet and just wants to give it back. While your heroine is panicking, maybe she can come up with a lightbulb moment to propel the plot forward. That sigh of relief can be followed immediately by an encounter with the real bad guy. In other words, she thanks the good samaritan, shakes his hand, and watches him leave. She breathes a sigh of relief, turns and runs right into serial killer #1.

Make a character lie, but make sure the reader knows it’s a lie. This is not the place for immediate consequences. Drag the consequences out. It’s even sweeter if the other character knows it’s a lie, and doesn’t call it out. Maybe the other character has some nefarious reason not to reveal that she knows the truth.

Use distance to your advantage. Have your heroine sit next to serial killer #1 at the cafe. Have him pass the salt, and let them touch. He knows he’s serial killer #1, the reader knows, but she doesn’t.

Distance should be increased to isolate your character. The more distance to rescue, the more tension. Just your heroine and serial killer #1 all alone at abandoned castle.

Make your heroine sneak, even if it’s not completely necessary. Back at the cafe, serial killer #1 heads for the restroom. Your heroine could ask the waitress how to get to Carnegie Hall. Instead, she grabs SK #1’s cell phone and Googles it. You know, the same phone with pictures of his dismembered victims on it.

Throw in a few temptations too. Temptations are things your heroine wants. The new office stud muffin invites your heroine to Aspen for the weekend, his treat. She ought to torture herself over the decision. She wants this, but promised to watch Aunt Tilly’s cat. Aunt Tilly lives right next door to Serial Killer #1.

There are hundreds of ways to establish suspense, and I used a few of them in Will O’ the Wisp. I’m pretty happy with the way things turned out, but readers will be the ultimate judge. Please consider being one of them.

***

Patty Hall is perfectly prepared for the wrong problem. She is enamored with the space race, and knows the history of NASA by heart. She is faced with an ancient threat that has been targeting the Hall family for generations. Hampered by an overprotective mother, if Patty can’t figure it all out in time, she may be the next member in the Hall family cemetery plot.

It’s not hard enough to be a fifteen year old girl, and a social outcast. As she watches her friends mature and grow, she has to face the idea of never turning sixteen. Please consider joining Patty on her incredible adventure.

You can pick up a copy on Amazon using your Kindle or a free reading app. Download it here:

North American version: http://a-fwd.com/asin-com=B00UPH6BNS

International version: http://a-fwd.com/asin-com=B00UQNDT2C

Author Bio
I was born in a town called Elko, Nevada. I like to tell everyone I was born in a small town in the 1940s. I’m not quite that old, but Elko has always been a little behind the times. This gives me a unique perspective of earlier times, and other ways of getting by. Some of this bleeds through into my fiction.

I moved to Idaho right after the turn of the century, and never looked back. My writing career was born here, with access to other writers and critique groups I jumped in with both feet.

I like to write about things that have something unusual. My works are in the realm of science fiction, paranormal, and fantasy. The goal is to entertain you for a few hours. I hope you enjoy the ride.

***

Follow Craig at the following locations:

Follow my blog: http://coldhandboyack.wordpress.com

Check out all my novels here: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00ILXBXUY

Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/Virgilante

On Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/9841203.C_S_Boyack

“This tour sponsored by 4WillsPublishing.wordpress.com.”

Oct 17, 2015Oct 17, 2015 by dmcain84

The Phoenix Project Cover Reveal!

Cover Reveal for The Phoenix Project by D.M. Cain

It’s here! Dark, gritty psychological thriller The Phoenix Project undergoes a makeover in the brand new Booktrope edition. Completely re-edited and re-designed, don’t miss this stunning cover by the talented Amalia Chitulescu.

Dark and gritty dystopian thriller The Phoenix Project by D.M. Cain has undergone a complete revamp with US publisher Booktrope. It has been re-edited from start to finish with new background information on some minor characters, and a few scenes altered. The biggest change to the content is that the epilogue has been removed from the book itself and can now be found HERE.

To go with the changes in content, The Phoenix Project has had a completely new cover designed by the very talented Amalia Chitulescu!

The image was chosen very carefully to suit the tone and plot of the book. The man on the front (protagonist, Raven) is looking to the floor, to symbolise the guilt and sadness that weigh him down. Chains coil around his arms, indicating his captivity – both in the physical and psychological sense. The background is bleak and hopeless (a theme that is very prevalent in the book), yet the flames around Raven suggest the possibility of rebirth and regeneration.

The book will be available to buy soon from a wide range of digital and paperback distributors.

Author: D.M. Cain

Title: The Phoenix Project

Genre: Psychological thriller/Dark thriller/Dystopian

Book Content: Occasional adult language, graphic violence, and mild sexual content.

Original Cover Design from the first edition:

Synopsis:

How can you fight to the death, when you’ve given up on life?

A thought provoking and compelling dystopian world that will change the way you view justice…

A man fights for life—and redemption—in D. M. Cain’s riveting re-released novel, The Phoenix Project.

Britain has descended into chaos as violence and terrorist attacks seethe across this once-peaceful country. Outraged by the steady stream of lawlessness, citizens demand a harsher penal system, and the Phoenix Project is born.

In prisons across the country, inmates fight to the death in a weekly bloodbath while the nation cheers them on.

Raven Kennedy, a prisoner who has never forgiven himself for his unspeakable crime, struggles against his own guilt and self-loathing. But even as the real war wages on within himself, Raven is forced to battle some of the prison’s most ruthless killing machines. Can he survive long enough to unravel the anger and regret that shackle him—and one day find the forgiveness he seeks?

‘The Phoenix Project by D.M. Cain is a superbly written debut, soaked in tension and intrigue,’ Jack Croxall, author of the ‘Tethers’ trilogy.

Oct 14, 2015 by dmcain84