Thursday, January 31, 2013

Chris Karlsen Byzantine Gold Blurb Blitz Tour with Giveaway










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.

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


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.”







AUTHOR Bio and Links:

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.

http://chriskarlsen.com/

http://pinterest.com/chriskarlsen/byzantine-gold/

Book video:











Giveaway Rules

Chris will award one randomly drawn commenter at every stop an ebook copy of Golden Chariot, and one randomly drawn commenter will be awarded a $50 Amazon gift card during the tour.

18 comments:

Ami said...

I love a good love story and if you throw action adventure in it, you have. Some of my favorite movies are still about Idiana Jones and Tombrider :)

shadowrunner1987 AT gmail DOT com

Goddess Fish Promotions said...

Thank you for hosting today.

Mary Preston said...

I imagine that Angelique tulips are real & very beautiful.

marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com

MomJane said...

What an exciting and frightening excerpt.

Chris Karlsen said...

Good Morning,
I'd like to thank Paranormal and Romantic Suspense for inviting me today and for the opportunity to showcase Byzantine Gold.
Chris Karlsen

Lena said...

Hi, how do you go about creating new characters for a story?

lennascloud[at]gmail[dot]com

Chris Karlsen said...

HI Ami,
Charlotte has been the subject of a few character interviews. She has mentioned Indiana Jones as an inspiration for her and her interest in becoming an archaeologist.
Chris K.

Chris Karlsen said...

Hi Mary,

I happen to like tulips and you see them all around Istanbul during the season. I shared my liking of them with Charlotte. I looked into different varieties and the Angeliques are so beautiful. They resemble peonies.
Chris K.

Chris Karlsen said...

Hi MomJane,
Yes, Charlotte is pretty fearful of Tischenko. But I liked the fact she was more afraid of Atakan getting hurt again than she was scared for herself. I want her to be able to call upon her inner strenght when necessary.
Chris

Chris Karlsen said...

Hi Lena,
For me, the first thing that comes in generating a new story is an event or setting. I am inspired by one or the other. Turkey inspired me and then the ruins of Troy. Then I started think who else would be interested in these two places. An archaeologist fit. Once I had Charlotte I build her a "world" to operate in and peopled that world. From one character's world, I can draw upon their friends and family to create the next story.
Chris

Gala said...

Lovely excerpt, now that you are a published author, is it as you thought it would be?

galaschick78 AT gmail DOT com

Chris Karlsen said...

Hi Gala,

I had a good idea what to expect because I knew quite a few published authors. Some of them have been in the business a long time and are NY Times best selling authors now and/or in the past.

I went with a small, indie publisher. I saw the pressure some newly published author friends were under with deadlines and requests for several books to be written in a year in addition to proposals for future books. I just didn't want that pressure at this time in my life. I am comfortable with writing two books a year not more. I am able to have a lot of input in my covers, and trailers etc. They pain attention if I have an issue or question. This type of relationship is right for me.
Chris

Sharon Kleve said...

Sounds great. Very intriguing! Great job Chris.

Karen C said...

Hello again Chris! This was a great excerpt and I also enjoyed the Q&A. I still want to be Charlotte!

Chris Karlsen said...

HI Sharon,
Thank you for the kind words.
Chris

Chris Karlsen said...

Hello again Karen,
She does have an intriguing profession. Each new site has a tale to tell and she's filled with curiosity about the lives of the people who walked the decks of the wrecks she works.
Chris

Vidya Ravi said...

Following the tour..loved your heroine in the first novel in this series. Anything new about her in this book?

booksaremagicblogspot at gmail dot com

Vidya Ravi said...

I liked Charlotte in your first novel. Hoping to see her again..

booksaremagicblogspot at gmail dot com

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