Category Archives: Excerpt

Excerpt, Of Blood & Bone

Of Blood & Bone excerpt

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I know, I know, you’ve been waiting to learn what happens next in The Chronicles of The One.  I’m so happy to share with you the excerpt from Of Blood & Bone.

Here’s the jacket copy:

An epic of hope and horror, chaos and magic, and a journey that will unite a desperate group of people to fight the battle of their lives.

They look like an everyday family living an ordinary life. But beyond the edges of this peaceful farm, unimaginable forces of light and dark have been unleashed.

Fallon Swift, approaching her thirteenth birthday, barely knows the world that existed before―the city where her parents lived, now in ruins and reclaimed by nature since the Doom sickened and killed billions. Traveling anywhere is a danger, as vicious gangs of Raiders and fanatics called Purity Warriors search for their next victim. Those like Fallon, in possession of gifts, are hunted―and the time is coming when her true nature, her identity as The One, can no longer be hidden.

In a mysterious shelter in the forest, her training is about to begin under the guidance of Mallick, whose skills have been honed over centuries. She will learn the old ways of healing; study and spar; encounter faeries and elves and shifters; and find powers within herself she never imagined. And when the time is right, she will take up the sword, and fight. For until she grows into the woman she was born to be, the world outside will never be whole again.

The excerpt won’t answer all your questions but should answer some.

Of Blood & Bone is out December 4.  Your first look is here.

Laura

Excerpt, General

Leverage in Death excerpt

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What would you do to protect your family?When Paul Rogan sets off a bomb at his office, killing eleven people, no one can understand why. He was a loving husband and father, with everything to live for. Then his wife and daughter are found chained up in the family home, and everything becomes clear. Rogan had been given a horrifying choice – set off the bomb, or see his loved ones suffer and die.Lieutenant Eve Dallas knows the violence won’t end here. The men behind the attack are determined, organised and utterly ruthless. In this shocking and challenging case, both Eve and husband Roarke are heading into serious danger.

You’ll find the first chapter of Leverage in Death here.

 

Laura

Conversation, Excerpt, reader discussions, trilogies

Year One Excerpt – Updated to include Chapter 2

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Late last fall, Nora wrote a blog post about New Directions in which she shared the challenges and excitement of starting down a new path.  I watched from the peanut gallery as Nora sweated through writing Year One.  She’d share tiny bits and pieces of what was happening in the book so I first met the characters and situations through her verbal storytelling.

When I had an opportunity to read it in the spring, I nearly swallowed Year One in one gulp.   I remembered the verbal cues and would get to one, then press on for the next.  It’s an amazing start to the ride.

Now,  it’s time for you to get a first taste of the journey that starts December 5.  I’ve read comments from long time readers unhappy with the direction, wanting more traditional romance.  For those readers, I ask you to consider this:  relationships are the framework of this book and Nora’s approach to relationships is why you’ve read her for more than 30 years.  There’s enough familiar to balance the different so I encourage you to give it a try.  Borrow from the library if you’re not keen to invest in something unknown.  But try.

Edited 12/7/17 — Updated to include chapter two here.

Laura

Conversation, Excerpt, teasers

Echoes in Death teaser thread

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We must be less than a week out from release if I’m putting together teasers for Echoes in Death!  As always these do not spoil the case in any way, just consider them some nuggets you’ll unearth along the way.

As a refresher, the Echoes in Death excerpt is here.

And I recently shared the Echoes in Death commercial from St. Martin’s Press on social media. I think the universal response has been “Cool!!!”

I’ll add a teaser to this post the next three days.   Come back and check tomorrow.

Feb. 1

Three small things:
1) When Peabody sees how Eve dressed for the charity ball, she immediately coins a new word.
2) Sticky buns get to everyone, even Eve.
3) New closets can get to her too.

St. Martin’s Press created this fun infographic for In Death basics. Some readers commented on Facebook that there are 54 published pieces in the series, but SMP took the facts from the Did You Know feature on the website where I deal with full-length books only. There’s so much more to add, but for a piece on the basics, I think it’s fun.

Now for today’s teasers.

Feb. 2
Two things that come and go quickly, one that is dear to my heart:
1. What do an inventor, a tragic Greek hero and an egg-laying mammal have in common?  Peabody will help you out on that one.
2. Dr. Mira is braver than Eve.
3. Who is Nora’s border collie?  (That may take some time.)

Feb. 3
Three more passing things:
1. A snowy night brings out Eve’s protectiveness to a certain butler, for pragmatic reasons.
2. A snowy night is a good time to fill in pop culture gaps.
3. Some gifts are sheer perfection.

That’s it for the teasers — a lot of this book is the case and you want to encounter that at your own pace.  Come Feb. 7 you can discover the rest for yourself.

Laura

Notes:  This is the final reminder of the Echoes in Death sweepstakes from St. Martin’s Press (open to readers in the US and Canada — except Quebec).  The grand prize is a leather coat and all the details are here.

There’s also time to  submit your pre-order receipt for a limited edition pop-art In Death poster.  Again, as this is Nora’s US publisher the offer is open only to readers in the US and Canada (ex. Quebec). Unfortunately rules on sweepstakes are imposed country by country and it’s just not possible to open this to international readers — as much as we’d like to.  For information and how to submit your receipt, please click here.

 

 

Cover reveal, Excerpt

Come Sundown excerpt

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In view of the winter weather practically everywhere in the US right now, how about a little taste of summer?

Come Sundown is Nora’s 2017 June release, just in time for vacations and relaxed reading.  What’s it about you ask?  Well…

The Bodine ranch and resort in western Montana spreads a family business over a little over thirty thousand acres, and provides home and history to four generations. Bodine Longbow runs the resort operation with the help of a large staff, including her older brother’s best friend and new hire Callen Skinner, just returned from California. Like Cal, Bodine’s Aunt Alice ran off for bright lights. Alice, gone before Bodine was born, never returned. The Longbows don’t talk about her much. While the younger generation never met Alice and presume she’s dead, she isn’t. She’s not far away, part of a new family she never chose. And her mind has been shattered…

If you subscribe to Nora’s News, you were first to read the excerpt from Come Sundown yesterday.  I’ll keep it here for future reference for everyone. Read Chapter One now.

Laura

Excerpt

Island of Glass excerpt

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island of glassThere are 40 days between today and December 6 — release day for Island of Glass, book three of Guardians Trilogy. Isn’t it amazing to think that a year ago we didn’t know Sasha, Bran, Annika, Sawyer, Riley and Doyle?  And now we can’t wait to see them again?

I think you’ll all be delighted by the way the trilogy concludes.  And I think I need to re-read it just for fun again.

To tide you over the last weeks before release, click here for an excerpt from Island of Glass.

Enjoy~
Laura

Excerpt

45 days and counting…

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Apprentice in Death cover

I know the Apprentice in Death excerpt included in the last Nora’s News only whetted the thirst, but it didn’t quench it.  (Let’s be really honest though: for many readers the entire book doesn’t quench the thirst.  <g>) So I thought you’d like a little bit more on this hot Friday in July.

If you need a refresher, the prologue is here.

And without any further comment, here is Chapter 1.

Apprentice in Death will be released on September 6.

You’re welcome.

Laura