Showing posts with label mystery. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mystery. Show all posts

Saturday, December 23, 2017

Winners Revealed

http://www.5princebooks.com/annswann.html


The winner of the random drawing for the paperback copy of The Remains in the Pond  (here on my blog) is Rochelle Jackson! Congrats, Rochelle, your book is in the mail.

The winner of the paperback copy of The Remains in the Pond (Goodreads giveaway) is Hope Burton! Congrats to Hope -  your book is also in the mail.

Many thanks to the 950 folks who entered the combined giveaways. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all.

Excerpt from the novel:

A branch cracked, a shadow moved, and panic slid between my ribs like a blade.

       She stared into my headlights, one hand shielding her eyes like a sailor looking for land, and then, like a flash, she ran straight at me. Straight toward my little Honda with the window rolled down. Her hair flew out behind her and it was all so surreal that for a moment, I simply sat there, paralyzed. Then she raised her right hand above her head. In her grip, I caught a glimpse of silver.

Thursday, April 6, 2017

3rd Annual Brain to Books Blog Hop


Welcome to the 3rd Annual Brain to Books Blog Hop



http://amazon.com/author/annswann
Below is an excerpt from the first book in my bestselling Stutter Creek trilogy:



from 5 Prince Publishing

Beth went in search of an old flame, but she found a serial killer instead.

Mandy was on her way to work the evening shift at the Waterhouse Bar & Grill when she spied a small boy standing beside the road, alone. She immediately decided to pull over and check on him.

This is what happened next:

            The setting sun made the trees appear as black-paper cutouts in a landscape collage.
            After checking her mirrors to make sure no one was behind her, Mandy pressed the button to lower the passenger-side window. It was almost all the way down when a man yanked open the door and exploded into her world like a tornado into a trailer park.  Her hand flew to the gearshift, but she couldn’t engage it.  Even as her flight instinct kicked in, part of her mind was telling her this was almost certainly the same strange guy who had requested her section at the restaurant the night before.  His eyes had seemed to follow her all around the crowded dining room, and his oily stench had made him stand out like a spot of mold on white linen. 
            Mandy drew in breath to scream, her hand scrambling across the console for her phone or the gearshift, whichever came first, but he was too fast.  With lightning speed, he dove across the seat and slapped a rectangle of duct tape across her mouth.
            He buried his free hand knuckle deep in the thick blonde braid at the base of her skull even as his other hand slid down to her windpipe and began to squeeze.
            Mandy’s fight instinct kicked in then, and she whipped her head back and forth in an effort to dislodge his hands. His stench, and the oily filth of his unkempt hair, was sickening. She clawed at his eyes, ripped at his skin, but it was no use.  The psycho laughed and simply leaned his head back out of her reach.
            That’s when Mandy began to claw at her own face, attempting to scratch the silver tape off her mouth. It didn’t matter. There was no one around to hear her scream even if she could have gotten it off.
            Mandy wasn’t a quitter.  She did her best to get her feet out from under the steering column to try and kick him off. But he was pressing down on her with his entire weight. 
            She was trapped. 
            Calmly, the psycho took one hand off her throat, doubled up his fist, and hit her so hard the back of her skull struck the driver’s side window with an audible whap!
            Then he went back to her throat. Mandy’s grip on reality began to loosen.  Tiny strobes flashed inside her skull.

            He squeezed even harder, the tips of his fingers disappearing into her flesh.


To continue the hop, click the link below


Friday, July 19, 2013

Meet Lara Nance, author of Murder in the World Below


Meet Lara Nance

Lara Nance grew up and lived in many cites through the South. She started out with a career in business/marketing for twenty years and then went back to school for a masters in nursing and is currently a nurse practitioner in Virginia Beach, VA.
From ghosts, witches, and energy vampires to thrilling mysteries and Steampunk tales, she is willing to explore a variety of compelling adventures full of danger and suspense, along with a touch of romance. Lara loves to weave interesting true historical tidbits into her fiction which invite the reader to explore further after the novel is finished.
Currently docked in Norfolk, Virginia (until the wind changes) Lara enjoys living on her sailboat and spends time reading, of course writing, indulging a variety of artistic endeavors, cooking and sailing with her husband, Joe and their Yorkie, Rio.

About Murder in the World Below

Murder in the World Below introduces a tight-knit community of second and third generation survivors of a government institutional system that went horribly wrong at the hands of people in control.

Description

A Haven Mystery

In 1922 the federal government built the largest facility for handicapped children in the country, hidden in the Shenandoah Mountains of Virginia. It was closed forever in 1960 amid horrifying stories of deplorable conditions, overcrowding, illegal testing and sexual abuse of the young inmates.

Sixty-one years later, the academy is now a community college, all trace of its evil past swept away. Or is it? For under the campus of renovated buildings, escapees from the academy and their descendants still live in an elaborate series of tunnels and caves, hiding their differences and fear of the upper world.

Haven, as the residents call their underground home, is a happy, thriving community until they learn their source of power is about to be cut off. A resourceful young woman named Awen sets out to find an alternative source of energy. But someone in Haven is murdering people and sabotaging her efforts.

Aided by a professor from the college, Awen is in a race to expose the killer and hunt for a source of energy that will save Haven. Unfortunately, the murderer now has their sights on Awen as the next victim, and time is running out for the world below.

A Sneak Peek at MURDER IN THE WORLD BELOW
Billy Two flung aside the tarp and stomped into the small cave Awen Four used as her bedroom. She jumped, startled. Her rat, Coco, squeaked then dove into the crook of her arm.

“Damn it, Billy!” She huffed. As usual, the young boy disregarded Haven’s rules of privacy.

“Old Harvie’s dyin’.” He grimaced then flopped into a battered armchair, his face grim, rounded cheeks streaked with a layer of perpetual dirt. “Shit’s gonna hit the fan now.”

“What? I saw him this morning. I thought he was better.” A chill crawled over her skin. They couldn’t lose Harvie. The Boss. He was the heart and soul of Haven. “It must be a rumor. People are scared.”

She stroked Coco who'd poked her head out, blinking dark sparkling eyes at the boy.

“Nope, he’s dyin’. Now Kinnik’ll take over and you know what that means.” He pressed his lips together in a thin line. He took off his newsboy cap and smacked it against his knee. He pulled open a much patched wool jacket, revealing layers of several T-shirts, two button-up shirts, and a sweater vest.

Awen stared at him askance. Maybe it was denial, but Harvie seemed too integral to Haven to die. A part of their secret world would diminish in his absence, and she feared it would be the best part.

“Heard it from Pop himself,” Billy insisted. He rubbed a hand under his nose and planted his cap over matted brown hair. “I overheard him talkin' to Joe outside the group room. He’d come from Harvie’s place ‘n said the Boss was going downhill fast. He went lookin’ for Kinnik to tell him.”

“Oh, no. This is horrible.” Her heart lurched. Harvie wasn't just important to Haven, he was the dad she never had. She ran a hand through her hair. What were they going to do?

Praise for MURDER IN THE WORLD BELOW

Lara Nance’s writing shines brightest when she’s building new worlds. Murder in the World Below will draw you in where her characters win your affection. Her story takes you on a grand adventure, and you never want to leave.” - Author, Laura Kitchell
Buy Links
Kindle:  http://www.amazon.com/Murder-World-Below-Mystery-ebook/dp/B00BKFNXXK/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1368908047&sr=1-1-catcorr

Amazon print: http://www.amazon.com/Murder-World-Below-Mystery-Volume/dp/1482585901/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1368908047&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=murder+in+the+world+below

B&N Print:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/murder-in-the-world-below-lara-nance/1114696004?ean=9781482585902
Awards:
Memories of Murder:
1. Best paranormal romance 2012 - NEC's Bean Pot award- a readers choice award.
2. Award of Merit for Best book by a Virginia Author in VRW's Holt Medallion contest in 2012

DraculaVille - New York -
3. Rudy Award for best novel with strong romantic elements 2013, Chesapeake Romance Writers, Finish the Damn Book Contest.

Find Lara Nance
FB: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lara-Nance-Author/164262596944196?ref=hl

Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Lara-Nance/e/B004RAOZ7S/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1368908812&sr=1-1