Beautiful Evil Winter
by Kelly K. Lavender
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GENRE: Suspense
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BLURB:
After
the USSR collapses, a time reminiscent of the unforgiving gun-slinging days of
the frontier west, mild-mannered Ethan and fiery Sophia board a plane bound for
Russia. They hope to prevail with their homespun plan to secure their son's
safe passage to America. What can go wrong? Maybe, an innocent ill fated
encounter with the Mafia or maybe, being marked as a target for mob revenge.
Perhaps, having to rely on a first-time adoption coordinator to complete the
process and shelter them from harm. Honestly, what won't go wrong?
Inspired by a true story, Beautiful Evil Winter triumphs as epic historical fiction about the human capacity for hope, the traumas that shape our lives and the hardships we'll endure for love.
Inspired by a true story, Beautiful Evil Winter triumphs as epic historical fiction about the human capacity for hope, the traumas that shape our lives and the hardships we'll endure for love.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXCERPT
I push the door open and inhale a shallow breath. The smell
of pump soap greets me. All clear. I can breathe.
Ting, Ting. The strained voice of the stressed-out flight
attendant echoes through the tiny bathroom cabin.
“Within the next twenty minutes, The Captain will be turning
on the fasten seat belt sign. Until then, you can use your electronic devices.
We apologize for the inconvenience”
Turning from the sink to the opposite side to grab paper
towels, all 5’2” 115 pounds of me twists like a corkscrew to move around. A
quick swipe of the towels, a glance at my nostrils, a push of the level, and
I’m free to escape into the main cabin.
As I near my seat, I notice that “Mr. Too Brightly” is
sitting next to Ethan.
Damn! I have to sit next to him! Looks like comatose Ethan
has just re-positioned himself to face the aisle way. Why doesn’t this plane
offer two across seating instead of three?
My steps slow, but I don’t want to wake Ethan up to swap
seats since he’s so tired.
As I stand next to our row of seats, Mr. Brightly realizes
with a dazzling repugnant smile that I’ll be seated next to him.
“Don’t tell me you’re with that guy,” he says, gesturing at
Ethan. “He’s out cold.” Between the screaming baby and me trying to wedge past
him, he hasn’t moved an inch.” He smirks, his smile now a beacon of light.
I grit my teeth and carefully squeeze by Ethan’s knees
grabbing the headrest of the seat in front of me for support. Glancing back
over my shoulder, I see him looking at Ethan.
I focus on the seat space next to him, zeroing-in on the
instructions on the pocket pouch for my seat. Someone scribbled in red pen,
HELL A MILE HIGH.
As I wiggle into my seat and grope for my seatbelt, he
watches my every move.
“Lucky me!” he says as he cranes his neck over my armrest to
glance down my V-neck shirt.
“The flight attendant let me change seats. Person next to me
was sick. She coughed all over me,” he says, waving his hand in front of his
face as if shooing flies.
A puff of whiskey more noxious than cigarette smoke wafts my
way. My nose wrinkles in disgust.
“Now, honey, tell me all about you,” he says patting my
white knuckles which grip the armrest.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Kelly’s
fascination with fiction began in middle school when she entered a book-reading
contest and won. As an ardent fan of the resonating narrative and the
cliffhanger, she decided to dedicate herself to becoming a skilled writer. When
college professors spotlighted her writing in the classroom, it anchored her
interest in becoming a novelist.
After
earning a business degree, she continued to pursue her education at UCLA, via
the UCLA Writers' Extension Program, where her work earned praise from an
Award-Winning Author. A rickety project trip to Russia, to adopt a baby boy,
provided the inspiration for her debut novel, Beautiful Evil Winter.
Awards:
READERS’
FAVORITE INTERNATIONAL BOOK AWARDS
Beautiful
Evil Winter a 2014 Triple Genre Finalist:
Fiction-Suspense, Fiction-Thriller-General and Romance Sizzle!
Readers’ Favorite receives entries from small presses, celebrities and New
York Times Best-Selling Authors. Beautiful Evil Winter earned more
accolades with READERS FAVORITE INTERNATIONAL BOOK AWARDS by securing a place
in the Winners' Circle for the mega category—Fiction Suspense.
THE ERIC
HOFFER AWARDS honored Beautiful Evil Winter
by selecting it for the Winners' Circle-Commercial Fiction! The Hoffer
Award honors "...writing of significant merit..."
The
NATIONAL INDIE EXCELLENCE AWARDS chose Beautiful
Evil Winter as a New Fiction Finalist!
DAN
POYNTER'S GLOBAL EBOOK AWARDS placed Beautiful
Evil Winter in the Winners' Circle for Fiction-Suspense
Plenty, my second novel, also earned distinction as
a DAN POYNTER'S 2016 GLOBAL EBOOK AWARD BRONZE MEDALIST-FICTION SUSPENSE.
Award-Winning
Novels:
Beautiful
Evil Winter
Plenty
Organizations:
Writers’
League of Texas
UCLA
Writers’ Extension Program
Amazon
buy link:
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GIVEAWAY
Kelly
K. Lavender will be awarding $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly
drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
DON'T FORGET TO FOLLOW THE TOUR AND COMMENT
ON EACH STOP TO EARN MORE ENTRIES TO WIN!
January 30: Long and Short Reviews
February 6: Straight From the Library
February 13: Notes From a Romantic's Heart
February 20: Locks, Hooks and Books
February 20: Bookaholic
My Review
Beautiful Evil Winter is a pretty good suspense filled novel set in Russia. Sophie and Ethan go on quite of an adventure that they did not expect. I thought those two were a great pair. There were a few twists and turns I did not see coming. There are a few things that will cause a reader to think about the situations.
I give this book 4 1/2 stars and would like to read more by this author in the future.
I received this book from the publisher. This review is 100 percent my own honest opinion.
I give this book 4 1/2 stars and would like to read more by this author in the future.
I received this book from the publisher. This review is 100 percent my own honest opinion.
Thanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed getting to know your book; congrats on the tour and I hope it is a fun one for you :)
ReplyDeleteThank you for hosting! Thanks for reading and reviewing my novel.
ReplyDeleteI have enjoyed the tour. The book sounds great.
ReplyDeleteI've really enjoyed following the tour for Beautiful Evil Winter and I'm looking forward to reading it, especially after reading all of the awesome reviews along the way. Thanks for sharing :)
ReplyDeleteShared on G+ to help spread the word, have a great day! 🦋
ReplyDeleteWell, it's the last day of your tour and I must say I've enjoyed meeting you and getting to know you and your book. Hope to see you on tour again soon.
ReplyDelete