Showing posts with label book release. Show all posts
Showing posts with label book release. Show all posts

Monday, September 29, 2014

Let's Move On is live! (Book Four of The New Pioneers)



These young women have been with me one way or another since I was barely a teen myself. I grew up with them, and it was my job to make sure they grew up. I hope you've enjoyed the ride...and rest up, because it's not over!

Special thanks to Erin Cawood for the gorgeous promotional materials.


BOOK FOUR
Let's Move On

By Deborah Nam-Krane

Zainab has spent years keeping Emily from going over the edge, giving Miranda a shoulder to cry on and nursing Jessie back to health. They'll be the first to agree that she deserves whatever makes her happy, especially after the drama Richard put her through. But did she have to choose the guy who threw everyone's lives into the shredder?

Richard knows he screwed up and he'd do anything to get Zainab back, but first he needs to make sure his company—and his loyal employees—don't go under. (Who knew kicking your primary investor to the curb would have consequences?) Good thing his family has such deep pockets; too bad he doesn't want to take a cent from them. Why should Zainab take him back if he can't get out of his own way?

Maybe Zainab can eat her cake and have it too—that is, until she's given an ultimatum. The choice isn't Lover A or B; it's protecting her friends or letting them fend for themselves. With that hanging over her head, what's it going to take to make sure she and everyone else can finally move on?


EXCERPT

Zainab was laughing a few hours later as she stretched out in bed. "You continue to be full of surprises."
Robert rested his head on the pillow and took some deep breaths. "Come on, that wasn’t really a surprise, was it?"
"I don’t usually get that dressed up just to go to bed." She flipped over and smiled. "Or is that sort of a Catch-22? Would we not have ended up in bed if I hadn’t been so dressed up?"
Robert sighed. "I think you’re just trying to get me to admit that I had this planned."
"I know you’re intrusive, I don’t think you’re manipulative."
"What about your friends?"
"No, they’re not manipulative either, although at least one of them is intrusive at any given point—"
"I meant, what do they think of me?"
"You know exactly what they think of you, and I’d say it shouldn’t be something that should concern you."
"It doesn’t, except that I don’t like the idea of you leaving and then going to a house full of people who can’t stop telling you how wrong I am for you."
"First of all," she said, playing with his chin, "you’re getting really sloppy. Jessie isn’t living with me—"
"But she’s around enough—and no, I have not been driving by your house."
"Second of all, they have no idea."
"Really?" Robert said, smiling as he looked her over. "Because Emily is pretty sharp. Annoying, but sharp. Miranda could maybe use a little more time at school—"
"Miranda isn’t stupid."
"She just has lousy taste."
"Don’t we all?"
"If you think that, then why are you here?"
"Why shouldn’t I be, Robert?"
He smiled. "Because of Jessie. Because of everyone else. Because of Richard. Because to the untrained eye it might look like I broke you up on purpose—"
"I know that’s not what happened."
"So am I forgiven?"
"It’s not an issue."
"Why don’t you care?"
"What do you want? You want me to be really mad so you can have an excuse to feel bad? Do you think you should feel bad?"
"Let’s just say I don’t usually conduct my investigations that way."
Zainab raised her eyebrow. "I know you were here with Jessie."
"And that doesn’t bother you?"
"How bothered would you like me to be?"
"I don’t want you to be bothered, but I want you to care."
"Why? Do you care about Richard?"
"No, but I do think he can’t be nearly as smart as he thinks he is to let you go."
"He didn’t let me do anything—I left on my own. I was with him by choice."
He kissed her. "And now you’re with me. By choice."
"Now you’re getting the hang of it."
"So why did you choose me?"
"Because I like you, Robert. But why do we need to look at it so closely?"
He rolled on top of her. "True, when there are so many better things we could do with our time."




BOOK ONE
The Smartest Girl in the Room

Nineteen year old Emily wants her college diploma fast, and she's going to get it. But when the perfect night with perfect Mitch leads her to a broken heart, Emily is blind to her vulnerability. When the person she cares about the most is hurt as a result, Emily's ambition gives way to more than a little ruthlessness. She's going to use her smarts to take care of herself and protect the people she loves, and everyone else had better stay out of her way. But shouldn't the smartest girl everyone knows realize that the ones she'd cross the line for would do the same for her?


BOOK TWO
The Family You Choose

Miranda Harel has been in love with her guardian Alex Sheldon since she was five years old, and Michael Abbot has despised them both for just as long. When Miranda finds out why she wants both men out of her life for good and questions everything she believed about where and who she came from. Finding out the truth will break her heart. Without family or true love, will her friends be enough to bring her back?


BOOK TWO AND A HALF
An Engagement: A New Pioneers Short Story

Annabelle Hendrickson always knew Alex Sheldon couldn't be trusted, but even she couldn't have guessed how far he was willing to go to get what he wanted.

No one was as decent as her brother Jim, but Stephen Abbot had a kind soul behind his mischief. She could accept his reprobate father- he'd be dead soon anyway- but she would never accept his longtime friendship with Alex, her father Gerald's ambitious employee. Annabelle knew it was just a matter of time before he stepped on someone she cared about.

What a pity she didn't realize who that person would be—and who was going to give him the opportunity.

What happened to Michael Abbot and Richard Hendrickson's parents in 1980 is going to affect everyone three decades later.

ONLY 99 CENTS!


BOOK THREE
The China Doll

Hypocrisy, half truths and lies...

Sick of being treated like she's going to break, Jessie Bartolome is back to her old ways and calling everyone on their hypocrisy. Sheesh! One little breakdown and even easygoing Martin Shepard thinks she's too fragile to handle their age difference. Good thing her older and equally yummy teaching assistant Robert Lester thinks otherwise…right?

After spending so long cleaning up after everyone else, Jessie's cousin Richard has never had the time to start a life of his own. However had he managed to find his girlfriend Zainab? So what is Richard going to do now that everyone else has grown up? Marry Zainab and start a family? Things have never been that easy for a Hendrickson…just ask his cousin Michael.

Richard's mother, Lucy, is one of the most powerful women in Boston... so when is she going to put a stop to the blackmail ruthless Alex Sheldon has been holding over her for years? And if Richard knows more than he's letting on, why hasn't he gone after Alex himself? The question is, how much does he- or anyone else- really know?

Welcome to the Bartolome/Hendrickson family.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Deborah Nam-Krane is a writer living in Boston proper who has been storytelling since she was a little girl and writing those stories down since she was eight. Any given day will find her reading, writing, reviewing, editing and, just for fun, homeschooling her children.

Let's Move On is the fourth installment of the New Pioneers series, the sequel to The Smartest Girl in the Room (March 2013), The Family You Choose (September 2013), An Engagement: A New Pioneers Short Story (March 2014) and The China Doll (March 2014). Deborah is currently editing Book Five, The Golden Boy Returns. That book will be set in the world of Boston and Massachusetts politics, and her job will be to tone down the true stories she’s heard so they seem believable. And because she just can't stay away from her characters, she's already started working on the To Be Titled Book Six, a Romantic Suspense.

WRITTEN BY DEB (BLOG) | NEWSLETTER | FACEBOOK | GOODREADS | TWITTER

GIVEAWAY

$10 Amazon gift card
5 copies of both The Smartest Girl in the Room and The Family You Choose

Saturday, March 29, 2014

At long last and finally...The China Doll is live! (Book Three of The New Pioneers)


BOOK THREE
The China Doll
By Deborah Nam-Krane
Genre: Mystery/suspense

Hypocrisy, half truths and lies... 
 
Sick of being treated like she's going to break, Jessie Bartolome is back to her old ways and calling everyone on their hypocrisy. Sheesh! One little breakdown and even easygoing Martin Shepard thinks she's too fragile to handle their age difference. Good thing her older and equally yummy teaching assistant Robert Lester thinks otherwise…right? 
 
After spending so long cleaning up after everyone else, Jessie's cousin Richard has never had the time to start a life of his own. However had he managed to find his girlfriend Zainab? So what is Richard going to do now that everyone else has grown up? Marry Zainab and start a family? Things have never been that easy for a Hendrickson…just ask his cousin Michael.
 
Richard's mother, Lucy, is one of the most powerful women in Boston... so when is she going to put a stop to the blackmail ruthless Alex Sheldon has been holding over her for years? And if Richard knows more than he's letting on, why hasn't he gone after Alex himself? The question is, how much does he- or anyone else- really know? 
 
Welcome to the Bartolome/Hendrickson family. 
 
The China Doll is Book Three in The New Pioneers Series
 

EXCERPT
 
“My dad drowned. My mom died in her sleep.”
“How old was she?”
“About twenty-six.” Jessie shuddered just a little bit. “Just a little older than Miranda is now.”
“That’s awfully young to die in your sleep.”
“Heart condition, they said.”
“Who’s they?”
“Richard and Lucy.” Jessie shook her head. “No. Just Richard.”
“What did your aunt say?”
“Nothing,” Jessie said quietly. “She just let Richard do all the talking.”
“How old was he?”
Jessie sighed. “Thirteen, I think.”
“And how old were you?”
“Four.”
“So how do you know you remember it correctly?”
Jessie looked at him square in the eye. “Because you know when you’re that age. When you’re a little kid, you don’t have to go through the apologetic BS you do when you’re older. When you’re eight, even. You just get it. And people think you’re crazy or in the way or rude because you get it and then you say it. So then no one wants to talk to you or they send you to your room. Then you start making up excuses for why they must be right and you must be wrong. Then you grow up, and you realize that you had it right back then, and if your world seems messed up, it’s because you bought into someone else’s lies. So don’t lie anymore, and everything will be just fine.”
“And when did you come to that nugget of wisdom?”
“When I was fifteen,” Jessie said quietly. “And I’ve been very happy ever since.”
 


BOOK ONE
The Smartest Girl in the Room
Genre: Coming of Age

Nineteen year old Emily wants her college diploma fast, and she's going to get it. But when the perfect night with perfect Mitch leads her to a broken heart, Emily is blind to her vulnerability. When the person she cares about the most is hurt as a result, Emily's ambition gives way to more than a little ruthlessness. She's going to use her smarts to take care of herself and protect the people she loves, and everyone else had better stay out of her way. But shouldn't the smartest girl everyone knows realize that the ones she'd cross the line for would do the same for her?



BOOK TWO
The Family You Choose
Genre: Family Saga

Miranda Harel has been in love with her guardian Alex Sheldon since she was five years old, and Michael Abbot has despised them both for just as long. When Miranda finds out why she wants both men out of her life for good and questions everything she believed about where and who she came from. Finding out the truth will break her heart. Without family or true love, will her friends be enough to bring her back?
 


BOOK TWO AND A HALF
An Engagement: A New Pioneers Short Story
Genre: Family Saga

Annabelle Hendrickson always knew Alex Sheldon couldn't be trusted, but even she couldn't have guessed how far he was willing to go to get what he wanted. 

No one was as decent as her brother Jim, but Stephen Abbot had a kind soul behind his mischief. She could accept his reprobate father- he'd be dead soon anyway- but she would never accept his longtime friendship with Alex, her father Gerald's ambitious employee. Annabelle knew it was just a matter of time before he stepped on someone she cared about. 

What a pity she didn't realize who that person would be- and who was going to give him the opportunity. 

An Engagement is Book 2.5 in The New Pioneers series. What happened to Michael Abbot and Richard Hendrickson's parents in 1980 is going to affect everyone three decades later.



ONLY 99CENTS!



AUTHOR INFO

Deborah Nam-Krane is a writer living in Boston proper who has been storytelling since she was a little girl and writing those stories down since she was eight. Any given day will find her reading, writing, reviewing, editing and, just for fun, homeschooling her three school-aged children (she’s very grateful the fourth is now college-aged).
 
The China Doll is the third installment of the New Pioneers series, the sequel to The Smartest Girl in the Room (March 2013) and The Family You Choose (September 2013). While her long-suffering editor works her magic on the fourth installment Let’s Move On, Deborah is working on the fifth. That book will be set in the world of Boston and Massachusetts politics, and her job will be to tone down the true stories she’s heard so they seem believable.
 
Deborah is all over the place on the internet- no, really- but the best way to keep in touch is to follow her blog Written By Deb and subscribe to her newsletter (only publishing news, never spam).

@dnkboston
 
A big, huge thanks to Danielle-Claude Ngontang Mba for making this happen!
 
GIVEAWAY
$10 Amazon gift card
5 copies of both The Smartest Girl in the Room and The Family You Choose

Friday, October 11, 2013

Bird of Prey by Danielle-Claude Ngotang Mba- paperback release and review



Bird Of Prey
Series: Sémya Slotin Mystery  - Book One
Mystery Romance
By Danielle-Claude Ngontang Mba

Release date: October 7th (paperback only)

Paperback Cover

Buy Links
Only $4.99/₤4.29 until November 25th 






Blurb:

This was supposed to be an easy case…

Sémya Slotin had spent the last three years living in London with her best friend Polliannah Koch staying away from solving cases. After Hawaii, she was taking a break from puzzles, cases and mysteries that could potentially get her killed. Instead, she had been doing her second and third favorite things, drinking and selling expensive vintage wines and having earthshattering sex with the mysterious, sexy, beautiful but ever so secretive Josh Heinz. Life in London was good….until her funds ran out. Too much wine drinking, not enough wine selling!
When fashion designer and adoptive mother, Annika Slotin, summoned her back to Paris to hire her for what Sémya considered being the easiest case of her amateur sleuth career, all she could think of and see was money signs and a well-deserved Cuban holiday once it was solved.
What Sémya didn’t see was her stumbling on the fresh corpse of supermodel Johanna Cartier. She didn’t think that male model turned fashion designer Julian Marais-Caldwin, who also happened to be Sémya’s ex, would be suspected of brutally murdering her. Johanna was his girlfriend, his muse and he loved her. Sémya didn’t see the dead bodies piling up or the conspiracy theories.
Sémya was a little rusty. But then again, it was supposed to be an easy case and she was going to solve it. One vintage wine at a time… Sémya Slotin was officially back in business!



My Review

I received an advanced review copy but this in no way affected my review.

I wasn't sure I was going to like something set in the fashion industry, but as it turned out I couldn't put this down. We get to see a little bit of how a haute couture house is run, but really, we get to see a lot more about how a brilliant detective thinks.

Semya Slotin may have a rough exterior- she seems to revel in dressing like an upscale tomboy, in spite of her mother's and adoptive mother's connection to the fashion world- but you will instantly recognize the powerful, glamorous and brilliant woman she is. You'll also wish she was your best friend: she's loyal, honest and compassionate. And while the circumstances of her childhood could have left her an emotional mess, she's instead someone who commands control in any situation she's in. Beware if you get a jab in; she only wants you to think you did. Really, she's analyzing whether you use a right hook or a left uppercut, and why. 

She thinks she's being asked to solve a cream puff case that Nancy Drew could solve in ten minutes, but within the first few chapters she finds herself in the middle of two mysteries, and one of them is murder. All of that on top of the mysteries she's been embroiled in for years: who is her father, and what kind of game does her hot, mysterious boyfriend Josh think he's playing with her? And what the hell does her best friend Polli think she's going to get into while she's not looking?

You might be able to figure out "whodunnit" pretty quickly, but *why* is the question. When you realize the answer, you'll be able to see the little clues that were dribbled throughout the story. Well done.

Can't wait to read the rest in this series!


Ebook Release: November 25th, 2013
Pre-order Links:
only $2.99 until November 25th
©    iTunes
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©    B&N
©    Smashwords


Ebook Cover



Chapter 14

Camera left…camera right…camera left…camera right… Sémya had been staring at her board for the past three hours. Maybe she should take a break and go work at the store today.  Or maybe she should give up all together and book their Cuban holiday. London was so cold right now they should just go soak up some sun.
She shifted her attention to her phone. She was still waiting on Gary Finch’s aliases from Sergey. She had been reading Emma’s emails over and over again. Nothing about another flat popped out. What she found instead was the number of the moving company she was going to use for her move but–
“Wait a minute!” She finished her glass of 2005 Wolf Blass Black Label Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon. “Where is that file?”
Emma had a file called expenses on her laptop. Maybe, just maybe, some of these expenses were taxi fares to this mysterious place. Johanna couldn’t always be two steps ahead of them. The woman had been dead for more than two weeks! She should also check Oyster card records for tube stations or buses. Expenses…she would need to speak to Eileen and Julian. But first let’s see what she could find on her own.
Emma’s passwords were always the same or just a variation. The name Peter was always coming up. Then again Sémya had access to her email account she could always reset it if she couldn’t find it. 
“p-e-t-e-r-t-f-l-1,” she mumbled and typed. The access had been granted. Yeah! Emma lived in the small flat near Hammersmith station. She printed out her journey history of the last three months. Hammersmith to Oxford Circus kept showing up which made sense. It was her regular journey to work. East Putney Station was also showing every three weeks and not on the weekend which could mean that it was an errand she was running for Johanna. Sémya highlighted it. The last trip was…the day she died. “What’s in Putney Emma?”
She checked if there were any other suspicious travels. A bus route came up a few times. She was either going to Chiswick or to Chalk Farm.
“So…which one is it?” Josh whispered in her ear and made her shriek. “Sorry, I thought you heard me,” he said sliding on the sofa next to her, only wearing a towel. He picked up the bottle of wine off the floor. “Already?”
“It’s two o’clock in the afternoon…in Paris,” she told him.  She had one glass with her sandwich. “Is that the kind of shit I have to expect now that you’re my boyfriend?”
“Nagging you about your drinking? That’s not new,” he shrugged. He smoothed his damped hair back. He smelled like aftershave and peppermint. Josh seductively nibbled her shoulder, “Good afternoon,” he groaned and took her in his arms.
“We promised Polli, no more hanky panky on her sofa.” She gently pushed him away. “Go put some pants on!”
He reluctantly got up and entered her bedroom, “Where is she anyway?” He came back out with a tank top and flannel pants on.
“With the mysterious John, she didn’t come home last night so I’m guessing he is back,” Sémya told him. As soon as this case was resolved she would have a serious conversation with Polliannah about John Smith. She might even create a small board…
“So what do we have here?” Josh said with a coffee in his hand. He looked at her board and whistled. “And I thought your board in Honolulu was crazy!”
“Oh…did you now?” she giggled. “There are two murders on that board.” She got up and added the information from Emma journey’s history.
“Do I have a board?” he asked her.
“No!” she answered without turning around. I make a board for everyone…so yes Josh Heinz you do have a board…
“You didn’t answer my question,” he said tilting his head toward the board.  “Which is it?”
“I’m not sure.” She pointed at the map. “Emma lived in Hammersmith, it’s a four lines station but still the only time she took the bus was for the same trip.”
“I haven’t taken the bus in London in years but the way I see it  I would only use it if it would take me as much time or less time than the tube,” he said and yawned.
“Good point… for commoners like me, we use the bus for twenty minutes or less trip.” She circled the twenty minutes travel zone around Emma’s flat. “Okay…” she mumbled walking back. “So…I’m thinking that she was going east.”
“Do you have her bank statements?” he asked.
“Yes, and before you say anything…it may not be very legal–”
“There’s a charge on the seventeenth for Bramwell Eatery, isn’t that in Notting Hill?” he asked her.
“Yes...let me check the journey history.” She jumped up, “Yes, she used that route on that day!”  She sat back next to him and grabbed her laptop. “I need to check the expense file…I copied her hard drive,” she explained.
“Yeah…that’s not illegal at all,” he joked.
“She wasn’t dead then…at least we didn’t know she was!” She opened the March spreadsheet. “Can you check the March statement for the same expense?”
He wrestled through all her papers. “Got it! And I even had the Oyster journey.”
“The twenty-second?” she asked, looking at the expense for Dinners.
“Yeah, it could just be Emma’s favourite restaurant,” he said.
“No baby, it’s not.” She got up and went back to her board. “Charges are too high for it to be hers, it’s for Johanna.” She put her hand on the Emma side of the board, “Emma was a hard core vegetarian. She would have never gone to this place for herself.” She pointed at the map, “The bus records indicate less than thirty minutes between both trips…they don’t deliver,” she said with a wicked smile on.
“She called her assistant to pick up and deliver her food order.” He looked disgusted.
“Bigger picture, baby…her second flat is in Notting Hill and walking distance from Bramwell Eatery,” she shrieked. Where is a chilled glass of wine to celebrate when you need one? “I need to do the same thing with East Putney?” she said and joyfully straddled Josh.
“Did you just call me baby?” he asked, caressing her flat stomach. He kissed her neck and brought her face closer. “Now I deserve a reward…”
“I tell you what, if you help me crack that case, I’ll take you to Cuba with Polli,” she mumbled. He was weakening her defences and she needed to stay focused. “Better yet, you’ll take us. You seem to have strange deep pockets,” she giggled.
He got up still holding her by her thighs. “Deal!”
“Heinz, put me down. I have calls to make,” she moaned. They were heading to her bedroom. “I’m very busy…big case.”
“I have a big case for you right here,” he grunted and laid her on the bed.
“Seriously? I have to tell Ally about Notting Hill. She could contact the restaurant and maybe trace the number used to place the order…It could be Gary Finch’s,” she said trying to justify herself.
Josh was just nodding back; he was very busy removing her knickers. “Do what you’ve got to do and I’ll do the same,” he whispered so close against her ear it made her whole body shiver as she moaned. “Baby…”
“You devil man, you,” Sémya moaned back. 







AUTHOR BIO
Meet Danielle-Claude Ngontang Mba
The Author, The Blogger, The Cheeky Reviewer

 
Have you ever been to The Champs Elysee in Paris? (overrated!!!)
“My life journey is like my playlist, amazingly unique but full of contradictions with surprising joys with every song...”
I was born in Quebec City, Canada from Gabonese parents but grew up in Paris and Libreville the Gabonese capital until the age of 18. Are you yawning yet? I am...
I moved back to Canada in 1999 after high school in Libreville to study Cinematography and Digital movie production in Laval University in Quebec then The International Academy of Design and Technology in Toronto. After graduating in 2003, I decided to sell my soul to the corporate world and worked in the Benefit Outsourcing Industry for seven in Toronto before reconnecting with her first passion writing.
"A teacher told me in high school that people didn't read anymore so I decided that I would make movies instead...so that didn't stick…"
I finally went back to school to study creative writing at Georges Brown College in 2010 and 2011. I started to write The Coulda Woulda Shoulda Song Series as an assignment and finished Book One in late 2011 before moving to London.

And the rest as they say is history... Almost two years later, I'm in London and wrote three novels: This Could Have Been Our Song! A coulda woulda shoulda ballad... (Book one) currently available on amazon and soon in iTunes, Kobo, Barnes and Nobles and Smashwords. The sequel This Would Have Been Our Song! Catchy tune and dancers tales will be release in January 2014. Bird Of Prey, my first mystery novel will be release in October 7th, 2013 on paperback before its wide release in November 25th, 2013. It will be followed by The Plot Thickens (a novella) in January 2014 and Polliannah Got Married! in April 2014 or earlier. 

Authors Links:


Bird Of Prey Paperback release Giveaway!
5 Ebooks of Bird Of Prey (Sémya Slotin Mystery 1)
5 Ebooks Of This Could Have Been Our Song! a coulda woulda shoulda ballad…

3 Ebooks of The Plot Thinkens (Sémya Slotin Mystery 1.5)