Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Cassie Scot Mystery Series

Sorry, but there's no Beyond the Book today.  Enjoy this post, and we'll be back next week.


Cassie Scot Mystery Series

by Christine Amsden

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

BLURB:

 
Book One

Cassie Scot: Paranormal Detective

 

Cassie Scot is the ungifted daughter of powerful sorcerers, born between worlds but belonging to neither. At 21, all she wants is to find a place for herself, but earning a living as a private investigator in the shadow of her family’s reputation isn’t easy. When she is pulled into a paranormal investigation, and tempted by a powerful and handsome sorcerer, she will have to decide where she truly belongs.
 
EXCERPT BOOK 1



My parents think the longer the name, the more powerful the sorcerer, so they named me Cassandra Morgan Ursula Margaret Scot. You can call me Cassie.


I've been called a lot of things in my life: normal, ordinary, and even a disappointment. After the Harry Potter books came out, a couple of people called me a squib. Since I haven't read them, I have to assume it's a compliment.


Personally, I prefer normal, which is why the sign on my office door reads: Cassie Scot, Normal Detective.


You have to understand that around here, when your last name is Scot, people are easily confused. Not only are my parents powerful practitioners, but I have six talented brothers and sisters. Plus, my family hasn't always been known for its subtlety. When weird stuff happens around here, the people who are willing to believe in magic are prone to suspect the Scots.


The day I opened for business I got a call from an old woman who swore her cat was possessed by the devil. She also swore she'd read my web site, which clearly stated the types of work I did and did not do. Exorcisms were on the No list, and while I hadn't specified pet exorcisms, I would have thought it was implicit.

 



Book Two

Secrets and Lies

 

Cassie Scot, still stinging from her parents’ betrayal, wants out of the magical world. But it isn’t letting her go. Her family is falling apart and despite everything, it looks like she may be the only one who can save them.

To complicate matters, Cassie owes Evan her life, making it difficult for her to deny him anything he really wants. And he wants her. Sparks fly when they team up to find two girls missing from summer camp, but long-buried secrets may ruin their hopes for happiness.
 

EXCERPT BOOK 2


The door opened with a jingle, and something in the air told me my day had just gone from bad to worse.

 

“Edward,” Victor said, as if greeting an old friend.

 

I faced my former father for the first time since he had announced his intention to disown me. He looked just as he always had, with straight dark hair, brown eyes, a long, angular face, and a wide, curving mouth – curving downward into a frown, that is.

 

If Victor was the last person I had expected to see in the diner that morning, then my former father was the last person I wanted to see. Even now, with Victor explaining my part in his unusual scheme for revenge, I didn't want my former father nearby. I didn't want his help. I only hoped Nicolas and Juliana hadn't broken their promise and told him about the life debt, or I would never hear the end of it.

 

The air crackled with visible tension. Sparks of shimmering red fire danced around my father's head. Behind the counter, Mrs. Meyers twisted her hands together anxiously, as if afraid her diner might burn down. Her fears were not unjustified.

 

I stepped boldly between them, facing my father. “What are you doing here?”

 

“We need to talk,” he said.

 

“I have nothing to say to you. You disowned me, remember?”

 

The color seemed to drain from his face as he stared past me, at his oldest enemy.

 

Victor raised his water glass in a mock toast. “I've known for some time. If it makes you feel any worse, so does everyone else in town who hasn't been asleep for a week. Or at least, they guess.”

 

“I don't care what you think you know. Stay away from my daughter.” With that, he grabbed my arm with a hand hot enough to leave a reddened imprint on my skin, and dragged me through the kitchen to the employee room at the back. Only then did he release my injured forearm.
 
 
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
 
Award-winning author Christine Amsden has written stories since she was eight, always with a touch of the strange or unusual. She became a “serious” writer in 2003, after attending a boot camp with Orson Scott Card. She finished Touch of Fate shortly afterward, then penned The Immortality Virus, which won two awards. Expect many more titles by this up-and-coming author.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Google+ https://plus.google.com/u/0/117845642477854934607/posts
 
Readers, Christine is giving away a $50 gift certificate to either Amazon or B&N so be sure to follow her tour. You can enter the contest at http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/28e43430 
 

 

4 comments:

  1. Thank you so much for hosting and sharing these exceprts with your readers.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Love the excerpts.

    Kit3247(at)aol(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sounds like a great series!!
    Thanks for the excerpts and the chance to win!
    natasha_donohoo_8 at hotmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks so much!

    vitajex(At)aol(dot)com

    ReplyDelete