Celtic Triangle necklace Giveaway & Interview with p.m. terrell

BOOKS BY P.M. TERRELL

Political strategist Christopher Sandige is driving along Interstate 95 in North Carolina when he is involved in a one-car accident. Stranded for the weekend, he meets a beautiful but mysterious woman and is immediately pulled into a double homicide. Now he’s on the run from law enforcement—and a hired assassin. As he falls deeper for Brenda Carnegie, he begins to wonder if she is the killer. As he pieces everything together and comes closer to the truth—time runs out.

EXCERPT

He placed his hands on the dock ladder, the frigid steel biting his hands with an unexpected ferocity. Quickly, he began to scale the ladder as Brenda knelt down beside him.

She had just started to hold her hand out to assist him when a great blue heron cried out, it’s trumpeting voice aggressive and hoarse as it floated on the wind just above their heads. Chris watched Brenda as she pulled back and tilted her head to admire the huge bird, the wind catching her hair.

He heard the sound of the shot in almost the same instant as he felt it whiz between them in the exact location where she’d knelt only a moment ago.

“Jesus!” he cried out, releasing his grip on the ladder and plunging into the water.

In a flurry of activity, Brenda threw herself back into the boat with a sudden fury, crossing the open stern as another shot rang out and echoed across the lake. Chris bounced out of the water almost the second his body struck it, flinging himself onto the deck in a fluid movement borne of a rapid surge of adrenaline. He half-crawled, half-propelled himself toward the rope that tied the boat to the dock as Brenda frantically tried to start the engine. As it sputtered and stalled and another bullet barely missed his bobbing and weaving body, he frenetically loosened the rope, his fingers feeling fat and uncoordinated and the rope stiff and unyielding.

His eyes darted toward the house as he threw the now-loosened rope into the boat and raced toward the bow, where it bobbled in the water with one remaining rope tethering it to the dock. The man from the hotel was walking calmly from the back door, his arm raised, his eyes measured as he crossed the small yard toward them. He was too far away for him to strike his target, but Chris knew it would be only seconds before he was close enough for his aim to be sure. Maniacally, he worked at the rope as the engine coughed, its slow groan in contrast with his rapidly beating heart.

As the last inch of rope was freed, he threw himself into the bow as another bullet whizzed past him and the engine sprung to life.

“Jesus!” he screamed again. “He’s trying to kill me!”

Then he was throwing himself toward the steering wheel, pushing Brenda away as he thrust the boat into reverse. The boat’s sudden movement knocked his breath from him, but his hands continued to grip the wheel with stubborn ferocity. Brenda pulled herself from the floor and raised her gun over the windshield. As he turned the boat from shore, he vaguely sensed her moving through the vessel, returning the man’s fire as they sped away toward open water.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Following a flawed CIA mission, Vicki Boyd leaves the CIA to begin a new life in a new town assisting an elderly woman. But when she arrives, she finds Laurel Maguire has suffered a stroke and her nephew has arrived from Ireland to care for her. Vicki quickly falls in love with the charming Dylan Maguire, but all is not what it seems to be at Aunt Laurel’s house. And when the CIA arrive to recruit Vicki for one last mission, she finds her past and her future are about to collide… In murder.

EXCERPT

Vicki found herself in Dylan’s bedroom as if she was a phantom hovering in the far corner. She could see her own body sound asleep, curled into a ball under the covers. As her eyes roamed around the room, she found her pocketbook on the coffee table, the contents strewn, her driver’s license and CIA identification in plain view.

Her heart began pounding so hard it left her breathless. She turned back to the bed, where her body lay still and quiet. Dylan was no longer curled up behind her, keeping her warm. He was sitting on the floor beside the bed, watching her sleep, dressed in jeans and a cotton shirt. At his feet, laid across the floor, was the newspaper article of her parents’ plane accident.

And standing just behind him was an elderly woman with tightly curled hair, dressed in a sheer gown that reached to tiny feet that were so frail, the skin so thin, that they appeared almost translucent. As Vicki watched, she leaned over Dylan’s shoulder and glowered at Vicki’s sleeping body with opalescent eyes. Her red hair almost appeared to be exploding in angry flames as she screamed at the still body.

“Run!” she screamed in a voice so shrill and so loud that the sound sent a wave of terror through Vicki’s soul. “Run!”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Irishman Dylan Maguire is back and in his first assignment with the CIA, he must interrogate recently captured Brenda Carnegie. But when she escapes again, it’s obvious that she’s had help from within the CIA’s own ranks. Psychic spy Vicki Boyd assists him in locating her again—but when he discovers Brenda’s true identity, he realizes his mission has just become very personal.

EXCERPT

Brenda turned to fully face Dylan and he found himself unable to tear himself away from her eyes. They were like liquid pools a man could drown in. She continued staring at him, expectantly waiting for his response.

“You shouldn’t keep me here, Irish,” she said. “It’s only a matter of time before he finds me. You’re harboring a fugitive. You’ve got to know it carries serious consequences.”

“The last place they’ll be lookin’ is right under their noses.”

“Is that so?” She sounded unconvinced.

“They think you’ve gone to Washington, you know.”

“Is that what they think?” She cocked her head.

“It is.”

“What would make them think that?”

“Now, why do you think?”

They stared at one another for a long moment. He knew his brows were knit, his eyes narrowed, and he could feel his lips slightly turned down. But her face remained completely expressionless. She stared at him with neither malice nor friendship and though he felt as though his soul could be sucked into those amber pools and lost there, he couldn’t read what the woman behind them intended to do.

“You know,” he said slowly, his eyes moving from her eyes to her lips and back, “you wanted to be seen on that camera.”

“What camera?” Her lips turned up slightly and one eyebrow rose.

He felt the heat rising in his cheeks and his brows knit tighter.

“Oh,” she said, perhaps sensing his mood, “that camera.”

“You wanted us to be searchin’ for you northward. And all the while you knew you’d be here.” She didn’t respond and after a moment, he added, “And these little games you keep playin’ with me are beginnin’ to foul m’ good humor.”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

INTERVIEW WITH p.m.terrell

1. Tell us something about your book that is not part of the book description (blurb)..

The Black Swamp Mysteries series brings together several main characters whose lives are intertwined through blood or circumstance: a psychic spy who is based on the United States Government’s real psychic spy program; a CIA ground operative; a computer hacker who prefers to stay on the wrong side of the law; and a political strategist. To keep each book interesting and fresh, the plots bring one or more of the main characters to the forefront, much like an ensemble cast in a television series.

2. Who is your book cover designer and what do YOU think about the cover?

The book designer varies depending on the book. My favorite cover of all my books is Vicki’s Key, the second book in the Black Swamp Mysteries series.

2. What are your current literary works?  Any sneak peaks?

I am currently working on two books for which I’m under contract to complete in 2012. The Pendulum Files picks up where Dylan’s Song leaves off in the Black Swamp Mysteries series; with the bombing of ships laden with cargo bound for the United States. It will be up to the group to investigate—and their discovery could lead to murder. This book is scheduled for release in 2014.

Then I am working on the second book in the new Ryan O’Clery series. The Tempest Murders hasn’t yet been released but I am working on the sequel, After the Tempest. Both deal with a serial killer who has targeted a detective’s lover.

4. If you could invite any 5 people to dinner who would you choose?

An eclectic group, to be sure: the Dalai Lama, Alex Band, Isaac Asimov (assuming I could invite anyone dead or alive in this fantasy), Steven Spielberg and Daphne du Maurier. I would want to know what the Dalai Lama thinks of the universe we live in and the meaning of life; how Alex Band comes up with his absolutely awe-inspiring song lyrics and melodies; how Isaac Asimov believes science fits into the universal human need to believe in souls; Steven Spielberg to know what motivates him to pursue such amazing and varied true stories and bring them to the big screen; and Daphne du Maurier for a glimpse into the soul of another writer of mystery, romance and suspense.

5. Please tell us in one sentence only, why we should read your book.

If you want to be whisked away by a romantic, handsome Irishman, held in suspense by a plot that ratchets up one notch at a time, and kept on the edge of your seat by a story in which action doesn’t let up… the Black Swamp Mysteries series is your cup of tea.

6. Tell us your most rewarding experience since being published.

It is always extremely rewarding to meet fans who love my books, particularly when they have fallen in love with the leading man as I have, and they eagerly await the next installment.

7. What's one piece of advice you would give aspiring authors?

Get your ego out of your book.

8. If you could jump in to a book, and live in that world, which would it be?

It would have to be a romance that takes place in Ireland… do you happen to know of any?

9. If someone wrote a book about your life, what would the title be?

Against All Odds.

10. What TV show/movie/book do you watch/read that you'd be embarrassed to admit?

TV Show: Two and a Half Men. Movie: Leap Year. Book: can’t think of any I’m embarrassed over!

11. What is one book everyone should read (apart from yours)?

The Haunting series by Erin Quinn.

12. What is your favorite way to spend a rainy day?

Curled up in front of a cozy fireplace with an open bottle of wine, a tray of appetizers and my lover in my arms.

QUICK ANSWERS

   1. Favorite place? A cottage in Ireland that has personal significance to me

   2. Best Christmas present? A Jack Russell named Eddie.

   3. Favorite book? I love the Haunting series by Erin Quinn.

   4. Favorite author? Daphne du Maurier

   5. Favorite smell? Fresh earth and wood burning in fireplaces.

   6. Favorite series? True Blood

   7. Nickname? Trish

   8. Favorite writing spot? In my living room surrounded by angelfish aquariums

   9. Favorite movie? I have so many! Bridesmaids makes me laugh out loud; The Gift and The Others are favorites for suspense.

  10. Favorite dish? Pasta I make myself with a tomato-cream sauce.

  11. Favorite color? Blue.

  12. Favorite quote? Bloom where you’re planted.

  13. A bunch of small gifts or one big expensive one? Small gifts that mean something.

  14. Your best trait? Super-organized.

  15. Your worst trait? Super-organized.

GIVEAWAY

p.m. will be giving away a Celtic Triangle necklace to one randomly drawn commenter during the tour (international giveaway).

Just comment in this post to win this awesome necklace.