A Human Element Book Tour: excerpt and giveaway
by Donna Galanti
Genre: Paranormal
Format: Paperback, 310 pages; ebook
Publisher: Echelon Press Publishing (March 10, 2012)
Blurb: One by one, Laura Armstrong’s friends and adoptive family members are being murdered, and despite her unique healing powers, she can do nothing to stop it. The savage killer haunts her dreams, tormenting her with the promise that she is next. Determined to find the killer, she follows her visions to the site of a crashed meteorite–her hometown. There, she meets Ben Fieldstone, who seeks answers about his parents’ death the night the meteorite struck. In a race to stop a mad man, they unravel a frightening secret that binds them together. But the killer’s desire to destroy Laura face-to-face leads to a showdown that puts Laura and Ben’s emotional relationship and Laura’s pure spirit to the test. With the killer closing in, Laura discovers her destiny is linked to his and she has two choices–redeem him or kill him.
Reviewers are saying…
“A HUMAN ELEMENT is an elegant and haunting first novel. Unrelenting, devious but full of heart. Highly recommended.” –Jonathan Maberry, New York Times best-selling author of DEAD OF NIGHT
“A thrilling ride full of believable characters, a terrifying villain, an epic battle for survival, and a love worth killing for. A page-turner filled with fascinating twists and turns!” – Marie Lamba, author of WHAT I MEANT
Excerpt:
X-10 broke the man’s neck with one crack and left him in the car, slumped over the wheel. He then returned to the woods that would hide him. He believed he could be only fifty or so miles away from the girl. He could reach her within two days if he remained unfound under the cover of darkness.
As X-10 ran under the full moon, leaping over rocks and roots, darting around boulders he could see her in his mind. Laura. You are mine. Then he saw her with her man. Water coursed all around them. Her hair hung wet about her shoulders. X-10 closed off his mind’s eye to the scene. He didn’t want to see her naked. It made him feel strange. And in that strange feeling he couldn’t define, X-10 hated her even more.
Rage surged through him and his blood pulsed fast, throbbing under his white skin in blue rivers. He forced himself to run faster through the night. Why did she get to live a normal life? He would make sure her end was not normal. And she would wish she had never been born.
A lonesome dog bayed in the hills above X-10 as if approving his plan. Streaks of moonlight and shadows fell across his face like whip lashes over and over, creating a living painting from darkness and light. He would show Laura darkness like she never experienced, and pain. There would be so much pain. He howled back at the creature that rode alone through the woods like he did. Perhaps they would meet along their journeys.
He hoped so. He was getting hungry again.
Reviewers are saying…
“A HUMAN ELEMENT is an elegant and haunting first novel. Unrelenting, devious but full of heart. Highly recommended.” –Jonathan Maberry, New York Times best-selling author of DEAD OF NIGHT
“A thrilling ride full of believable characters, a terrifying villain, an epic battle for survival, and a love worth killing for. A page-turner filled with fascinating twists and turns!” – Marie Lamba, author of WHAT I MEANT
Excerpt:
X-10 broke the man’s neck with one crack and left him in the car, slumped over the wheel. He then returned to the woods that would hide him. He believed he could be only fifty or so miles away from the girl. He could reach her within two days if he remained unfound under the cover of darkness.
As X-10 ran under the full moon, leaping over rocks and roots, darting around boulders he could see her in his mind. Laura. You are mine. Then he saw her with her man. Water coursed all around them. Her hair hung wet about her shoulders. X-10 closed off his mind’s eye to the scene. He didn’t want to see her naked. It made him feel strange. And in that strange feeling he couldn’t define, X-10 hated her even more.
Rage surged through him and his blood pulsed fast, throbbing under his white skin in blue rivers. He forced himself to run faster through the night. Why did she get to live a normal life? He would make sure her end was not normal. And she would wish she had never been born.
A lonesome dog bayed in the hills above X-10 as if approving his plan. Streaks of moonlight and shadows fell across his face like whip lashes over and over, creating a living painting from darkness and light. He would show Laura darkness like she never experienced, and pain. There would be so much pain. He howled back at the creature that rode alone through the woods like he did. Perhaps they would meet along their journeys.
He hoped so. He was getting hungry again.
Connect with Donna here: Twitter | Facebook | Blog
Purchase A HUMAN ELEMENT here: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Giveaway:
Donna will be awarding a $50 Amazon GC to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour.
Follow the tour and comment to increase your chances of winning.
The tour dates can be found here.
Laurie, Caitlin & Meg,
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for having me on today and sharing A Human Element! So many readers comment on how creepy the cover is too and I agree. It's a good match for our villainous X-10 portrayed here in the excerpt. His prey, Laura, thinks everyone has something redeemable in them no matter how small...you'll need to read the book to see if he is! :) - Donna
Thank you for hosting Donna today.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds really intense, but quite intriguing!
ReplyDeletevvitajex(at)aol(dot)com
Vvitajex, thanks for stopping by! Yes, there are some intense scenes in this book but also some hopeful ones too..and love shines through. Good luck on the giveaway!
ReplyDeleteLooks interesting! I would love to read it.
ReplyDeletefelecia@twinoaksfl.org
You really know how to build the suspense. Love the description of X-10 being streaked by moonlight and shadows like whiplashes. And the final line of your excerpt--excellent. I'm sure this book will do really well. All the best.
ReplyDeleteDeborah, thanks for reading! X-10 was a super fun and very dark- but tormented-character to write. You do feel sorry for him a teeny bit :) Thanks for the well wishes and hope you enjoy the rest if you get a chance to read it!
DeleteThis book sounds MEGA good! Can't wait to begin!
ReplyDeletejustforswag(AT)yahoo(DOT)com
Chelsea, thanks for hopping along the tour. I hope the book grabs you from the beginning and doesn't let go. It's premise is that we all have something redeemable in us, no matter small - at least Laura, the MC thinks so. Will she be right? Read and see! :)
DeleteIt sounds like such an exciting debut! Congrats. The cover is unusual. How much input were you able to have with the choice of it? It sounds like authors have a wide range of involvement with their covers, with some having NO say in it to those who do the covers themselves.
ReplyDeletecatherinelee100 at gmail dot com
Hi Catherine, I do get many comments on the spooky cover. I actually gave my publisher an idea of what I wanted and she worked with her designer and it was totally like I envisioned! I was very happy. Many authors I know with Big 6 publishers dont have much say in it. Small press (like me) can have more input and of course self pubbed authors have a wide range of options. Thanks for stopping by!
DeleteThanks to Donna and everyone who stopped by to comment!
ReplyDeleteAn exciting excerpt thank you. I love the cover.
ReplyDeletemarypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com
Just popping in to say HI and sorry I missed visiting with you on party day! Hope you all had a good time!
ReplyDeletekareninnc at gmail dot com