Original Title: Byzantine Gold
Series: Dangerous Waters #2
Author: Chris Karlsen
Publisher: Books to Go Now
Release Date: December 31st 2012
Genre: Romantic Thriller
The sequel novel to the best-selling, thriller, Golden Chariot.
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.
Atakan didn’t answer as he sped out of camp, spraying dirt and stones behind them.
“What’s going on? Why are you in such a hurry?”
He stared straight ahead, silent.
“Atakan?”
Tight-jawed, he continued down the side road that paralleled the beach, ramming the stick shift into place as he went through the gears and ignoring her questions. She’d never seen him this tense, not with her at least. A bad feeling crept over her. She had a sick sense his mood involved her plan to leave.
They’d gone a kilometer from the camp when he came to a stop. He hopped out, slammed the driver’s door shut and came to her side.
Opening her door, he said, “Get out.”
She did.
“Atakan,” Charlotte started to ask the same questions again, but he was already turned and walking toward the sea.
She followed. He finally stopped near the water’s edge with his back to the surf and faced her. She stopped a couple of yards away.
“When were you going to tell me?”
She knew exactly what he was asking about. Who told him? It wasn’t Nick. He’d honor the twenty-four hour rule.
“Who told you?”
“That’s not an answer.” He stood still as a statue, arms crossed, feet apart.
She hesitated, trying to choose her words so he’d understand and not be hurt. She gazed out at the incoming tide. The blue-green waves, effervescent with bubbles, rushed toward shore in rapid succession. White foam droplets filled the air as they crested, framing him like a new, angry version of Poseidon.
“Answer me.”
“Today.”
“You weren’t going to tell me until today, although you’ve been planning to leave me for awhile.”
“Not awhile.”
“Long enough to send job inquiries to several museums.”
So that was how he knew. One of the museums contacted MIAR and they must’ve sent the questionnaire to Refik and he told Atakan. She hadn’t considered the possibility. She’d thought any contact from the museums would be handled by MIAR’s headquarters.
“I’m so sorry you had to find out this way. I intended to tell you if it looked like I’d definitely leave. If none of the museums showed interest, then you never had to know what I’d done.”
“And you believe that is acceptable?”
It killed her to see the look of disgust on his face with the question. “Yes...” she said low.
“Why?”
“Because I’m bad luck for you—everyone can see it, even your--, it’s obvious. There’s something about me, and God knows, I don’t know what, but I’m like a magnet for Tischenko.”
She never cried and she wouldn’t cry now, but she was close. “I can’t bear to see you hurt again, or worse. There are people that bad luck follows, even Iskender thinks so.”
Atakan inhaled deeply and let out a slow breath. Uncrossing his arms, he closed the short distance to where she stood.
“It’s not forever,” she offered, “I’ll return.”
He shook his head. “If you go, you cannot return. You’re either in my life or out of my life. There’s no in between.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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.
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. A $25 Amazon gift card will be awarded to a randomly drawn host.
Giveaway is open INTERNATIONALLY and ends February 8th 2013!
Series: Dangerous Waters #2
Author: Chris Karlsen
Publisher: Books to Go Now
Release Date: December 31st 2012
Genre: Romantic Thriller
The sequel novel to the best-selling, thriller, Golden Chariot.
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
Atakan didn’t answer as he sped out of camp, spraying dirt and stones behind them.
“What’s going on? Why are you in such a hurry?”
He stared straight ahead, silent.
“Atakan?”
Tight-jawed, he continued down the side road that paralleled the beach, ramming the stick shift into place as he went through the gears and ignoring her questions. She’d never seen him this tense, not with her at least. A bad feeling crept over her. She had a sick sense his mood involved her plan to leave.
They’d gone a kilometer from the camp when he came to a stop. He hopped out, slammed the driver’s door shut and came to her side.
Opening her door, he said, “Get out.”
She did.
“Atakan,” Charlotte started to ask the same questions again, but he was already turned and walking toward the sea.
She followed. He finally stopped near the water’s edge with his back to the surf and faced her. She stopped a couple of yards away.
“When were you going to tell me?”
She knew exactly what he was asking about. Who told him? It wasn’t Nick. He’d honor the twenty-four hour rule.
“Who told you?”
“That’s not an answer.” He stood still as a statue, arms crossed, feet apart.
She hesitated, trying to choose her words so he’d understand and not be hurt. She gazed out at the incoming tide. The blue-green waves, effervescent with bubbles, rushed toward shore in rapid succession. White foam droplets filled the air as they crested, framing him like a new, angry version of Poseidon.
“Answer me.”
“Today.”
“You weren’t going to tell me until today, although you’ve been planning to leave me for awhile.”
“Not awhile.”
“Long enough to send job inquiries to several museums.”
So that was how he knew. One of the museums contacted MIAR and they must’ve sent the questionnaire to Refik and he told Atakan. She hadn’t considered the possibility. She’d thought any contact from the museums would be handled by MIAR’s headquarters.
“I’m so sorry you had to find out this way. I intended to tell you if it looked like I’d definitely leave. If none of the museums showed interest, then you never had to know what I’d done.”
“And you believe that is acceptable?”
It killed her to see the look of disgust on his face with the question. “Yes...” she said low.
“Why?”
“Because I’m bad luck for you—everyone can see it, even your--, it’s obvious. There’s something about me, and God knows, I don’t know what, but I’m like a magnet for Tischenko.”
She never cried and she wouldn’t cry now, but she was close. “I can’t bear to see you hurt again, or worse. There are people that bad luck follows, even Iskender thinks so.”
Atakan inhaled deeply and let out a slow breath. Uncrossing his arms, he closed the short distance to where she stood.
“It’s not forever,” she offered, “I’ll return.”
He shook his head. “If you go, you cannot return. You’re either in my life or out of my life. There’s no in between.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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.
BOOK TRAILER
GIVEAWAY
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. A $25 Amazon gift card will be awarded to a randomly drawn host.
Giveaway is open INTERNATIONALLY and ends February 8th 2013!
Wonderful excerpt!
ReplyDeletegalaschick78 at gmail dot com
What did inspire your writing career?
ReplyDeleteshadowrunner1987 AT gmail DOT com
Good Morning,
ReplyDeleteI hope everyone had a great weekend. I also want to thank Vidya for inviting me today and for showcasing Byzantine Gold. It's the sequel to Golden Chariot, which Vidya kindly showcased last spring.
Chris Karlsen
Hi Gala and Ami,
ReplyDeleteI was an only child and read a lot. I had many "fictional" friends. As a result, I wanted to write from an early age but when it came time to go to college, I feared I'd never earn a living at it. I went with the safer degree of business. After I retired, I decided to fulfill my longtime desire. I had a story floating around in my head, a romance, and sat down and just started putting it on paper. I've been working at it every since:)
Chris
:)
ReplyDeletemarijabasta@hotmail.com
Hi Bela,
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you liked the excerpt. I hope you enjoyed the trailer as well. I was very happy with the way it turned out.
Chris K
Looks like a great story. I need to read Golden Chariot fist, though :)
ReplyDeleteHi Lisa,
DeleteBoth books are stand alones but Golden Chariot is the story of how CHarlotte and Atakn met. Byzantine Gold is them as a couple a year later and you see how the relationship has grown.
I care deeply about all my heroes and heroines. I love giving them incredible hurdles to get over, Charlotte and Atakan are no exception:)
Chris K
Hi Chris,
ReplyDeletewhat do you like best in being a writer?
lennascloud AT gmail DOT com
Hi Lena, thank you for joining me again. There's many things I like and a few I don't like. I like story telling. I like having an idea and putting it on paper and sharing it with readers. It is especially wonderful for me when someone who's read it tells me a scene they loved or how a character moved them.
DeleteI do not like writing back cover blurbs. It is so hard for me. I have to condense the essence of the story down to two paragraphs and chatterbox that I am, that does not come easy for me:)
Chris K
Will definitely be reading this one soon :) Hope youre enjoying your tour! Thanks for hosting
ReplyDeleteoddball2003 at hotmail dot com
Hi Let it be,
ReplyDeleteThank you for joining me again. I am having a nice time on the tour talking to everyone. I've had some very interesting questions, which I enjoy answering.
Chris K.
There is so much to love here, the archaeology alone fascinates.
ReplyDeletemarypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com
HI Mary,
DeleteArchaeology is a fascinating subject. The Indiana Jones movies gave it sex appeal and action not associated with the field in the past:)
Chris K
I love these kinds of books. As soon as I saw the cover, I knew I was coming over to enter. Thanks so much for the great giveaway.
ReplyDeleteHi Findimental,
DeleteThe books were fun to write. I enjoy mixing in the history, with danger and romance. I like using the different settings too.
Chris K
Congrats to Chris on the new release! Thanks for sharing :)
ReplyDeleteHI Erin,
DeleteThank you. I have an inkling of an idea for a third book in this series. If I can cobble together a full plot, I'll start the book this fall or late summer.
Chris K
Did you always want to write?
ReplyDeletejibriel.o(at)web(dot)de
Hi Jibriel,
DeleteI am an only child so I read a lot growing up. I loved books and knew as a young teen I wanted to write. By the time I got to college, I wimped out on making it a career. I was afraid I wouldn't earn a living so I got a business degree instead and sought employment elsewhwere. When I retired, I told myself now is the time to fulfill my secret desire to write:)
Chris
Both books sound interesting and are on my to be read list.
ReplyDeleteHI Stacy,
DeleteHow nice. I am always happy to hear the stories are intriguing and tempting:)
Chris