Welcome Traci Douglass with her new book
Seal of Awakening
To see the review of this book,
please click here.
Seal Of
Awakening
Seven Seals
Series
Book Three
Traci
Douglass
Genre:
Paranormal Romance/Urban Fantasy
Publisher:
SpinTale Publishing
Date of
Publication: October 28th, 2013
ISBN:
978-0-9897829-0-6
Number of
pages: 261
Word Count:
70,000
Cover Artist:
Kim Killion
Book
Trailer: http://youtu.be/vTn0_15T2iY
Book
Description:
Socially
awkward geneticist Quinn Strickland has willingly forgone the pleasures in life
to reach her career objectives. Alone and approaching thirty, she uses her
independence to mitigate any risk of a broken heart. Her strategy works until
the day a handsome stranger bursts into her lab and her orderly plans shoot
straight to Hades. He claims to be her personal divine protector, a powerful,
ancient warrior sent to defend a prophetic time bomb existing within her own
genetic code.
The Scion’s
alpha-geek Wyck is offered the opportunity of his immortal lifetime as head of
his own covert operation. He arrives at a Colorado lab expecting starched white
coats and sterile surroundings—not a redheaded spitfire in charge of both his
project and his libido. His skills have carried him from the battlefields of
ancient England to the pits of Hell and he has no plans to be felled by one
woman, regardless of her shag-worthy charms. Divine duty requires him to
protect the apocalyptic Seal encrypted within Quinn’s DNA, but his heart has
other ideas. When his personal feelings interfere with his age-old vendetta,
he’s forced to decide between desire and retribution.
Short
Excerpt:
For the band
of adopted heavenly brothers known collectively as the Scion, covert ops
generally fell into two categories, crashing bore or glorious adventure. And
after more than nine hundred years of divine missions, Wyck could tell the
difference before the first volley fired.
He
double-checked to make sure his ID badge was prominently displayed. Divinity had finally given him a second
chance as mission leader and he intended to make sure this operation fell
squarely into the epically awesome range despite his less than glamorous
surroundings. This time, he vowed, there’d be no messy diversions to waylay his
goals, no damsel in questionable distress to shred his heart to smithereens.
Nope. This time he was fully prepared and would see his mission through to a
successful end.
Wyck trudged
up the sidewalk toward the imposing glass and steel Eugenicorp Labs building,
craning his neck to see the top of the six-story structure. He was so engrossed
in his perusal he nearly squashed a bedraggled squirrel limping across the
pavement in front of him. Wyck glanced down and spotted a half-cracked acorn
near the toe of his boot. Poor bugger must’ve dropped it in his hasty retreat.
His first
inclination was to reach down and retrieve it, maybe place the nut near the
roots of the giant tree where the squirrel now hid. But now wasn’t the time to get sidetracked.
As his commander, Xander, had already warned him, such kindness had only added
to his past failures.
He kicked
the nut, watching as it hurtled through the open grassy area surrounding the
complex, then strode through the automatic doors and into the cavernous lobby.
Empty. Sterile. Utilitarian, covered in gleaming metal and glass. The décor -
neutral grays and bland beiges - screamed restraint.
Okay, he
amended. Maybe epic and awesome were pushing the envelope for this mission.
Best to start with solidly successful. He blinked several times in the early
morning sunshine and spotted the pinched, schoolmarm expression of a receptionist
across the expanse.
Brilliant.
In his
experience, mulish females appeared to be the rule in academia. Just one more
reason he steered clear of the smart ones and stuck to his technology.
Emotional evisceration was another, but he refused to dwell on that now.
Gadgets and science had always been his safe refuge. They trustworthy.
He proceeded
across the pristine white-tile floor and when the receptionist steadfastly
ignored him, Wyck coughed and summoned his most charming smile. “Hi, I’m Orson
Parrot, the new bloke.”
The woman
glanced up from her computer screen and ran a disdainful eye over him, her
glare burning a hole through his extended hand.
Her scowl increased as she snatched a clipboard from the desk’s
immaculate surface and skimmed a bony digit down the list. She tapped her finger twice beside one line
and stared back at him, her demeanor cold enough to freeze hydrogen, then
pointed toward a pair of glass doors across the lobby. “Through there.”
He leaned
forward to thank her only to be confronted by a strip of red fabric. Dangling
from the receptionist’s hand, it swung in crazy, lopsided circles to tap him
squarely on the chest. “You’ll need this,” she said, her tone a perfect match
for the Queen’s after a distasteful tabloid scandal.
Wyck caught
the twirling lanyard, with its attached security keycard, and placed it around
his neck. He couldn’t resist giving the
woman a wink and a grin on his way out, and was delighted when she stiffened
like rawhide. A fellow had to have some fun.
He headed
toward the double doors across the atrium, his mind ticking with details. This
rare shot at redemption, plus the added potential for delivering a digital
smackdown to his longtime enemies, the Nephilim, had him jumping at the chance
to infiltrate the Eugenicorp’s computer system. Getting back in the field again
would prove more enjoyable than his usual long hours of tedious research for
his brother’s quests. Not to mention turning down an assignment from Divinity
wasn’t really an option. She’d given the Scion many blessings, but freewill
over their assignments wasn’t one of them.
If his
hunches were correct, his new logic bomb would blow the fucking cork right off
the half-breeds’ schemes for a new world order. By utilizing their legitimate
business arm in the human realm, Tolbert International, the Nephilim had been
quietly amassing huge quantities of money for centuries, branching out into
everything from pharmaceuticals to produce. The Internet had been buzzing for
months with rumors of an eminent Tolbert takeover of a genetics research
facility and Divinity had sent him to Eugenicorp to make sure those takeover
plans didn’t include the Seal currently hosted by one head scientist or the
top-secret project she commandeered.
He used his
new keycard to enter a glass-lined walkway and caught sight of his reflection.
Christ Almighty. He’d done a wicked job of turning his normal hipster persona
into Orson Parrott
—Super Brain Extraordinaire.
Attired in a
scholarly turtleneck and khakis, he couldn’t have been further from his normal
choice of t-shirt and jeans. Between his helmet hair and the tatty, empty
briefcase he carried, there was little sign of the tousled charmer who’d
enticed a cute barista to bed during his last reconnaissance mission here a few
months earlier.
Goodbye
quick tumbles. Hello brainy celibate.
Wyck passed
from the atrium into another adjoining lobby and glanced at the office number
scribbled across his palm in blue ballpoint ink. 5324. He pushed the button for
the next arriving elevator, whistling while he waited.
Sure, he’d
performed a teensy bit of cyber-fraud by uploading his own credentials and
employee demographics into the Eugenicorp HR files and he’d picked out a nice
cushy office with a window, close to his target and close to the vending
machines. Perfect.
Speaking of
his target, the buttoned-down woman wasn’t one he looked forward to meeting.
From everything he’d read about the third Seal’s unwitting host, she was
smarter than sin and as enticing as a good bout of bubonic plague. No thank
you.
A determined
clack of heels echoed against the tile behind him and he swiveled toward the
noise, just in time to see a flash of bright red hair barge through the
gathering crowd and into the elevator. People stepped back, some headed for the
stairs, as if the woman now occupying the compartment might spontaneously
combust at any moment.
About the Author:
Traci is the
author of paranormal romance/urban fantasy and contemporary romances featuring
a sly, urban edge, including her current Seven Seals series. Her stories
feature sizzling alpha-male heroes full of dark humor, quick wits and major
attitudes; smart, independent heroines who always give as good as they get; and
scrumptiously evil villains who are—more often than not—bent on world
destruction. She enjoys weaving ancient curses and mythology, modern science
and old religion, and great dialogue together to build red-hot, sizzling
chemistry between her main characters.
She is an
active member of Romance Writers of America (RWA), Indiana Romance Writers of
America (IRWA) and Fantasy, Futuristic & Paranormal Writers (FF&P) and
is pursing a Masters of Fine Arts degree in Writing Popular Fiction through
Seton Hill University. Her stories have made the final rounds in several RWA
chapter contests, including the 2012 Duel on the Delta, the 2012 Molly Awards,
and the 2012 Catherine Awards. An earlier draft of the first book in the Seven
Seals Series, Seal of Destiny, won the paranormal category of the 2012 Marlene
Awards sponsored by the Washington Romance Writers.
Other
current projects include upcoming books in the Seven Seals series, a new
contemporary novella series due out in early 2014, and a new futuristic
suspense series with hints of the paranormal and plenty of romance.
Website and
blog: http://www.tracidouglass.net
FB Author
Page: http://www.facebook.com/TraciDouglassAuthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Traci_Douglass
Amazon
Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/author/tracidouglass
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1 comment:
Happy Sales on your tour!
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