A.E. Jones's Blog, page 45

The Fledgling Release Day!

Hello and welcome to release day for the Fledgling! Can you believe that when we started this self-pub journey in January we would be here already, releasing book TWO of the Mind Sweeper Series? So what am I doing today? Well, I am actually going to work. Yes, you read that correctly. I am heading to my day job. But I am celebrating my release with enthusiasm! If you remember for my last release, I wore a tiara and carried a wand around (check out my Mind Sweeper Release Day blog if you don’t believe me).

Today, the tiara is back out and will be worn as I drive to work. As evidence, I have attached a picture of said tiara, said author, and said car. See…I am not making this up! I did decide to leave the wand at home however, since holding it while driving is hazardous to my health and those around me! And of course attempting to work at my computer while holding the wand would be problematic as well.

But even if I did decide to wear my tiara all day long, I don’t think anyone at work would mind. I don’t know if that says more about the acceptance of my co-workers or the fact that they expect a little ‘crazy’ out of me :)

Maybe a little of both, right?

So join me in celebrating my release. Hold up a glass of virtual champagne and toast with me. Another dream has come true for me today. Tiara or no tiara, that makes me feel like a princess…and a rock star… and a very happy and lucky person who has the support of friends, family and you, my followers!

Enjoy today, I know I will!

And if for some reason, you haven’t seen what my series is all about, click HERE to find out more about Mind Sweeper and The Fledgling.

 

The Last Fledgling Teaser is Finally Here!

One more day and The Fledgling, Book 2 in my Mind Sweeper Series, will release. Yahoo! To end the teaser countdown, I am finishing off with a BANG!  Might be my favorite of the five, but it is hard to decide since I love them all!

To order The Fledgling, click HERE.

If you haven’t had a chance to order Mind Sweeper yet, click HERE.

You can also visit my Books page to get more info as well!

Two More Days – Two More Teasers!

Here’s a new one for you in preparation of The Fledgling release. Let’s see how Talia is holding up…

Tee Hee, Down to Three… Teasers & Days!

Three more days until The Fledgling release and it’s time for a teaser from Jean Luc’s perspective. We heard from Talia yesterday, so it is only fair, right? Hope this one gives you a warm fuzzy…

 

Teaser Countdown – 4 More Days

Here we go…the next teaser for The Fledgling. Let’s here what Talia is thinking, shall we? Remember, release date is Monday, October 13th, but you can preorder now ;) Just visit HERE

Teaser Time! 5 Days and Counting…

As promised, here is the first teaser for you about the first meeting between Jean Luc and Talia ! Hee, hee…

Guest Blog: What Influenced Me to Write Paranormal

Before I post my first countdown teaser, I want to let you know about a guest blog I am on today. I am visiting Zombie Girl Shambling where I talk about What influenced me to write paranormal. The site specializes in horror fiction, and since I think of paranormal as a cousin of horror, I am dropping by for a visit!

If you have time to stop by for a quick read, then check it out HERE

Also, I have a Goodreads giveaway going on for The Fledgling as well, so hop over on over to Goodreads and sign up HERE

 

Ask and You Shall Receive…Teasers are Coming!

You read it right, in celebration of The Fledgling release on Monday, I will have a five day teaser countdown starting tomorrow! It was funny how many people have been asking me where the teasers for the new book are…well, ask loudly enough and you shall receive.

In the meantime, I have started a new Pinterest board for The Fledgling as well. Take a quick gander at it. There are some fun, 80’s flashback things on the board. And of course, the teasers will be showing up there soon as well!

Check out The Fledgling board HERE

 

 

The Fledgling Book Release – One Week and Counting!

I got my print proof for The Fledgling today! Can you believe that in one week my next book in the Mind Sweeper series, will be released? Wow. The days are flying and I had just a small amount of time to savor the release of book one! Hah!

But remember, my followers, I want to release books so that hopefully my readers will finish my first book and go searching right away for the next one. Good philosophy, right? And as you know, I have been working diligently to make that happen. While all the hoopla was going on in preparation for book one, behind the scenes I was also working on the next two that will be released this year.

Book two is a novella about Jean Luc, Kyle’s noble and seemingly unflappable vampire teammate. The novella gives you a sneak peek at his past. Not too far back…but a fun time period nonetheless. It takes place in the 1980’s and if you think Misha is a character in book one, wait until you see what he is doing in this book!  I hope you have been enjoying my stories so far.

And before you ask…when I got home today, I ripped open the delivery box like it was a Christmas present and there my BEAUTIFUL book was! Hee, hee…the thrill of holding it doesn’t grow old!

 

 

 

 

 

Cover Reveal: The Fledgling

Here is my newest cover reveal! Check out The Fledgling, book two in the Mind Sweeper Series which will be released on October 13th! But you can preorder now if you would like ;)

The Fledgling is a novella about Jean Luc. After you have perused the new cover, make sure to read the blurb and excerpt below.

And tell me what you think!!

Preorder:          Amazon          iBooks

 

 

The Fledgling – A Novella

Book Two in the Mind Sweeper Series. This book is a novella at approximately 20,000 words.

A Mind Sweeper novella that peeks into Jean Luc Delacroix’s past. He has lived for centuries as a vampire, but the 1980’s may be his biggest challenge yet. How does a nearly four-hundred-year-old vampire survive a decade of shoulder pads, big hair, and music videos? Simple. Concentrate on his job.

Jean Luc and his demon partner, Misha, work for the Bureau of Supernatural Relations. Their task: keep humans from finding out about the supernatural. Not a simple thing to do when dead bodies keep turning up with their throats ripped out. So the team’s first priority is to stop a supernatural serial killer from striking again. The only problem is the beautiful bounty hunter who keeps interfering with the investigation.

Talia Walker is a bounty hunter who also happens to be a newly turned vampire. She deliberately avoids other supernaturals and knows nothing of what being a vampire truly means. Her job: find a murderer and bring him to justice. The problem is she has never dealt with a supernatural bounty before…or an overbearing, ridiculously sexy vampire.

When Jean Luc and Talia butt heads over the investigation, only Misha can see that their animosity has more to do with attraction than anger. And unless Jean Luc and Talia can set aside their troubled pasts and learn to trust each other, they may never have an opportunity to explore their true feelings. Especially when they come face to face with the killer.

 

Excerpt:

 

Chapter 1

Sometime in the mid 1980’s…

The smell of blood no longer excited him. Whether that was a good thing was debatable. However, in this particular instance, it worked to his advantage. The stale, tinny odor engulfing the room had already sent several men out the door to lose their most recent meal.

“Jean Luc?”

Mon Dieu. He turned toward the voice and stifled a groan. Three hundred and seventy-five-year-old vampires did not groan in the face of overzealous human females. And one such female sashayed toward him.

Well, sashayed was perhaps an overstatement, since she wore paper slippers over her shoes and studiously tried to avoid the human detritus littering the floor. The extraordinarily large shoulder pads in her suit made her look like a small child playing dress-up in her father’s clothes.

“It is you! Hi, how have you been?”

“Good evening, Muriel.”

She smiled, and her eyes assessed him quickly, the way a shifter would peruse a fresh piece of meat. “You still look the same. I’m trying to remember the last time I saw you…”

Was she really flirting with him? Here? Jean Luc took a calming breath. “We met over the previous dead body.”

Muriel giggled. “Of course. Well…I guess I should get to work then.” She snapped on her rubber gloves and squatted down next to the corpse.

And within a matter of seconds, the flirtatious woman disappeared, replaced by a focused, professional medical examiner who barked orders. “Harper, did you get pictures on both sides of the body?”

When no one responded, Muriel’s head jerked up in irritation. “Harper!”

“Is he the redheaded technician with the camera?”

“Yes.”

Jean Luc nodded toward the door, and the muted sounds of retching. “He is a bit indisposed.”

Muriel sighed. “He’s new. I hope he sticks around longer than the last tech. They all think this job is going to be like the TV show, Quincy.” She stood and scanned the room, homing in on an older officer. “Simmons, would you go get the camera from Harper and make sure all angles are captured?”

When Simmons returned, Muriel stepped out of his way and motioned for Jean Luc to follow her into the garage.

Peeling off her gloves, she blew out a hard breath. “I thought I had seen it all before, but this? His throat was ripped out. If I didn’t know better, I’d say he was attacked by a bear or a wolf.”

“Indeed.”

“Except we’re in a split-level in the Indianapolis suburbs.”

Jean Luc shrugged. “There is that.”

“Come on, Jean Luc, the department didn’t just hire you for your pretty face. Give me something to work with.”

The department had not actually hired him at all, but the misconception helped him with his real job. The police commissioner contacted the Bureau of Supernatural Relations whenever something “irregular” occurred, so Jean Luc could help cover it up. But there would be no concealing this type of death. The killer might as well have posted it on a billboard. And claw marks did not narrow the field of potential supernatural killers. They could mean vampire, demon, or shifter.

He paused for a moment, debating how much to say. Unfortunately, he had seen this type of kill before. “The viciousness of these murders is increasing. He either knew the victim or is beginning to enjoy the savagery of the act.”

Muriel nodded. “I see no evidence of hesitation this time.”

He opened his mouth to respond, but something light as a gossamer thread brushed his consciousness, and he looked out the open garage door, casing the yard. Several uniformed police officers stood outside, but none were paying attention to his discussion with Muriel.

A supernatural was nearby.

“Jean Luc?”

He turned back to the Medical Examiner. “What do we know about the victim, Muriel?”

“Not too much yet. But they should have found out something by now. Charlie!”

After a few seconds, a heavyset man in a worn corduroy suit lumbered into the garage. “You bellowed, Muriel?”

She chuckled. “You’re the only one who isn’t scared of me. Why is that?”

“Unlike some of these cavemen, I think you actually know what you’re doing, even if you don’t have a penis.”

Muriel grinned. “You always say the nicest things. What have you got for us on the vic?”

Charlie pulled out a small notebook and flipped it open. “Guy’s name is Peter Peters.”

Muriel rolled her eyes. “Cut the crap, Charlie.”

His mouth quirked up a bit. “Honest, I’m not making it up. His parents need to be smacked upside the head a couple times. According to the neighbors, he’s been living here for two years. He was, and I quote ‘quiet and kept to himself.’ Why am I not surprised?”

“Do we know if he had any recent altercations?” Jean Luc asked.

“Nada. I’ve radioed into the station, and they’re checking the files, but nothing came up so far. No domestics. The neighbors don’t remember seeing any steady girlfriends, either.”

“Did he have a steady job?”

Charlie turned the page of his notebook. “That’s where it gets interesting. He was an accountant for Manny Edwards.”

Muriel frowned slightly. “You don’t think it’s legit?”

“Oh, he probably did work with numbers, but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t on the up-and-up. We’ve never been able to catch him, but I’d bet my shield Manny’s restaurant is a front for a bookie joint.”

Manny was also a shifter who dealt with many of the supernaturals in the city, but they did not need to know that.

“We’ve tried to place several cops under cover in his operation, but no one has ever lasted for long.”

Which was no surprise. Shifters were incredibly skillful at sniffing out emotions—walking supernatural versions of a lie-detector. They would see right through a cop’s cover. “Will you be interviewing Manny?”

Charlie smiled. “Oh, yeah. He’s top on my list.”

Once Charlie had finished with his interrogation, Jean Luc would visit himself to find out the truth. After all, Charlie had no inkling of what to ask.

###

Jean Luc watched a very irritated police detective peel away from Manny’s establishment. He would wait a few more minutes before approaching the restaurant.

He rested his head against the car seat and closed his eyes. He was tired, as much as a vampire could be tired, and he longed for a moment of quiet. However, instead of silence, he was being serenaded by his partner, who, if he was not mistaken, was whistling the theme song from one of the multitude of television shows he regularly devoured, memorized, and then trotted out to fill every quiet moment.

“Misha, may I have a moment of peace, s’il vous plait?”

The whistling stopped.

Jean Luc took several deep breaths. Why did he continue doing this work? Another dead body. Another case of a supernatural risking exposure to humans. Another lie he must fabricate to conceal the truth. A century of the same issues, of moving back and forth across the country, unable to build a sense of permanence. Misha and he had only been living in Indianapolis for a couple of months. Nicholas had reassigned them to Indiana a week before the killings started. Which was a very significant coincidence, and Jean Luc didn’t believe in coincidence. But until they found the killer, he would table the list of questions he had for his boss.

“What is wrong, my friend?” Misha asked, his deep Russian accent rumbling in the close quarters of the car.

“Nothing. We should go see Manny now.”

Misha shook his head slightly. “You may be older than I am, vampire, but it does not mean you’re a good liar.”

Jean Luc turned to issue a retort, but instead quirked a brow at his teammate. He had not paid attention to the demon’s outfit earlier. He was wearing a white suit with a turquoise t-shirt and shoes with no socks. Did he dare ask him why he was dressed this way? No, ignorance was truly bliss when it came to Misha’s peculiarities. And he was glaring at him as only a stubborn Russian could.

Jean Luc blew out a breath in defeat. “These murders worry me. I have not seen this kind of blatant disregard for exposure of our kind in centuries.” Not since The Wars, and that was not a subject Jean Luc wished to discuss.

“Do you have a theory yet?”

“No. And I have arrived at the crime scenes too long after the killer left to sense any residual energy that might reveal what type of supernatural we are pursuing.” He reached for the door handle. “Shall we go in?”

They climbed out of the car and were greeted at the restaurant door by Manny’s version of a host. He loomed as tall as Misha—who stood six feet six inches—and his neck was as big around as Jean Luc’s waist.

“Welcome to Manuelo’s.”

Jean Luc glanced around the restaurant. “We would like to speak with Manny.”

The behemoth crossed his arms over his broad chest. “Sorry, he’s not available right now.”

A door behind the host’s counter opened, and a short, portly man appeared. “It’s okay, Jacob, I’ll take it from here.” He gestured them to a corner booth.

Once they were seated, he smiled and said, “I’m Manny, and you must be the new team Nicholas assigned to the city.”

“How did you know?” asked Misha.

He shrugged. “Vampires and demons don’t normally mix, so I put two and two together.”

“Then you also know we are here to discuss Peter’s murder,” Jean Luc said.

Manny frowned. “I can’t believe Peter’s dead. The cops wouldn’t tell me what happened.”

“Peter was killed by a supernatural.”

“Damn.”

“What can you tell us?” Misha interjected.

“Same things I told the cops. I don’t know who would want to kill him. He was a good employee and got along with everyone.”

Jean Luc tuned into the flow of Manny’s blood, listening to his heartbeat, which remained slow and steady. “What about one of your clients who might hold a grudge?”

Manny’s eyes narrowed for a moment, as if he was trying to decide how much to say. “Peter didn’t deal directly with my customers. He worked in the back room and balanced the books.”

“Did he know about supernaturals? That you are a shifter?”

“Nope. We’re careful here. Our human employees don’t have a clue.”

###

Jean Luc opened the restaurant door. Dusk cast a light orange hue over the street as the sun sank beneath the skyline.

Misha walked around him toward the car. “Well, that was a bust. It reminds me of a recent episode of Magnum, PI. Magnum questioned this guy who had stolen…”

The tingling started again, traveling lightly up Jean Luc’s spine, and Misha’s voice faded away. He would swear he sensed a fledgling, but it was not possible. Vampires were required to register with them when entering their jurisdiction. And there were no new vampires under the age of fifty currently living in the city.

He looked across the street, studying the area illuminated by the neon sign advertising the Gentleman’s Club. But unlike the refined gentleman’s clubs Jean Luc had frequented centuries ago, the name now represented something seedy, sordid.

He surveyed the immediate area. No one stood outside the club, and the windows were covered with thick curtains. The street appeared to be empty.

But someone was watching.