Final Enlightened Ignorance Snippet!
The Final Enlightened Ignorance Snippet is here!
With Enlightened Ignorance coming out in just a couple of days, this is your chance to get the final early look at the latest Opus X novel!
Snippet #5:
A couple of hours later, Erik and Jia emerged from the small restaurant they’d ducked into for a late lunch. It had been a pleasant-enough meal despite the lack of beignets, and fortunately, it was only a small distraction from the cause.
Despite the progress that morning, their investigation had already encountered a roadblock. During a call right after lunch, Rena’s manager, Leonard Carl, had made it clear that he had no time for an interview until the following day.
He also made it clear that Euterpe would not tolerate an interview with their star until the detectives had talked to him. Since he had agreed to talk to them the following morning, they couldn’t accuse him of stonewalling, but it was still annoying.
Jia kicked the hard surface of the parking platform as they emerged from the restaurant. “He’s all but screaming they need to coordinate their stories.”
“Maybe.” Erik shrugged. “Or they need to prep her because they think we’re going to bust in there and accuse her of murder. It’s no big deal. I doubt a one-day delay is enough for them to pull anything major, and we’ve got them flagged if they go anywhere. Even if they aren’t required to stay in town, we’ll know if they leave. It gives Emma more time to go deeper into the records. She still might find something.”
“You’d be surprised at what people leave in publicly accessible places,” Emma commented, excitement in her voice. She claimed she only helped Erik out of idle interest, but she seemed to enjoy taking down criminals as much as the detectives did.
Whether that represented an inherent bent toward justice or was a product of her time aiding the detectives remained unclear.
Jia nodded, satisfaction spreading across her face. “If they can’t run, I suppose it doesn’t matter, and just because there might have been a murder, it might not involve them.”
“But you suspect them?”
“The manager and Rena are the most likely suspects unless Malcolm or Emma can find a secret jealous lover we don’t know about.”
“Two to one, it’s a jealous lover,” he mused before turning to her. “That makes sense,” Erik admitted. “But remember your biggest fan, Sampson. We’ve focused on money and power, but not every crime is about that.”
“You think she had a stalker?” Jia’s face twitched into a mask of disgust. “I hadn’t considered that. It’s not impossible.”
“It might explain why she was growing paranoid. She might have been watched but just assumed it was someone at Euterpe rather than someone closer. Or it might have even been someone stalking Rena, and she got between them.” Eric wiped crumbs off his chest. “That might be why she got tense about work.”
“But why not report the stalker?” Jia asked.
“Maybe her bosses didn’t want the negative attention.” Erik shrugged. “There’s something a little sloppy about all this that might fit with that, but it’s just a theory.”
Jia waved a hand. “They’re all theories. We need concrete leads.” She gave a firm nod. “We’ll squeeze something from the manager and Rena tomorrow. Even if they aren’t involved, they might give us new leads.”
Erik and Jia wandered down a long row of parked flitters facing another row, heading toward the MX 60. Flitters lifted into the sky in the distance before zooming away from the parking platform to join the thick swarms of flying vehicles flowing around the commerce tower. Five men in long coats chatted quietly near a black luxury flitter in the opposite row. They glanced at Erik and Jia with frowns.
One of the men’s eyes widened. He leaned closer and whispered furtively to the others. They all took quick peeks at Erik and Jia.
“Wonder what that’s about,” Erik murmured. A stray thought led to his next suggestion. “Emma, can you run facial recognition on those guys?” He slowed his pace.
Jia matched him, still looking forward but keeping the men in the corner of her eye. “Friends of yours?”
“Not anyone I know, but I’ve got a lot of fans.” Erik grinned. “So does Lady Justice. Hey, maybe they saw the interview, and they’re interested in a date.”
Jia rolled her eyes. “Shut up, Obsidian Detective.” She poked him in the chest. “You’re not dating anyone either.”
“They’re not my type.” Erik’s smile grew.
“They are your type.” Emma transmitted directly to Erik and Jia’s ears. “At least one of them is a former associate of a criminal organization that was present in the Shadow Zone before the increase in police activity in the last year.”
“Wait.” Erik stopped, his hand slipping under his jacket and resting on his pistol. “Who are they? Gray Circle?”
“No, the gentleman in question seems to have worked for a syndicate that called itself the Southwestern Brotherhood. He’s not currently wanted. Instead, he’s on probation with the threat of transportation. The others don’t have criminal records, and it might raise questions if I try to use a broader database.”
“Don’t worry about it. Knowing one guy’s a piece of trash is enough.”
Jia grimaced. “They didn’t transport or imprison a gangster?”
“He was rather helpful in fingering some other people in the organization, according to police records, but it’s unclear whether they know that,” Emma explained.
Erik frowned. “I remember hearing about the Southwestern Brotherhood, but we didn’t take them down. That was all local EZ action.”
“Yes, but it was in the wake of what you two set in motion,” Emma explained.
Jia reached for her stun pistol. “Do you think they’re up to something in an Uptown parking lot? This isn’t the Zone. There’s a lot more surveillance.”
“Conspiracies begin with talk,” Erik replied. “And I don’t like them suddenly looking nervous.” He nodded toward the MX 60. It was only a few flitters ahead. “Let’s keep going.”
“Fine,” Jia muttered through gritted teeth, keeping the men in the corner of her vision.
Erik understood how she felt. He didn’t like leaving possible scumbags on the street, and he didn’t intend to. The detectives would be in a better position near his vehicle. If anything happened, at least it was armored.
They continued walking slowly toward the MX 60. They were almost at the flitter when one of the men called to them. “Hey, Blackwell.”
Erik turned, keeping his hand in his jacket. “Yeah? Need something?”
“It is you, isn’t it?” The man offered Erik and Jia a hungry smile. “The man who takes you out would be a legend.” His gaze slid to Jia, nodding. “Her, too.”
Erik chuckled. “Fair enough. Any man who takes me out deserves it. They would make a movie about him.”
“Glad you agree.” The man jerked up his hand, grasping the butt of a pistol as things seemed to slow down. Jia’s heartbeat punctuated each second.
She and Erik pulled their weapons first, Jia her stun pistol, Erik his slug-thrower.
The other suited men hadn’t had their hands on their weapons.
Erik popped his gun into position and squeezed the trigger, barely thinking, relying on muscle memory and practice to aim his weapon. The bullet roared from the gun and ripped into the chest of the would-be legend.
The gangster yelled in pain, eyes shut, falling forward.
Jia pulled her trigger. A white stun bolt flew from her gun and nailed the man to his left at the same time. His eyes rolled up as he pitched forward. She pivoted and fired at the next-closest man.
Beside her, Erik fired two shots into the remaining men. Both screamed, one falling forward, the other back.
None of the gangsters managed to get off a shot.
“HOLD!” Jia shouted.
Erik and Jia advanced to the pile of wounded and stunned men.
They kicked the men’s weapons away. Jia kept her stun pistol trained on them as Erik stowed his pistol and pulled binding ties out of a pocket.
“Great!” He smirked. “Just have enough. Lady’s smiling, or maybe she’s frowning, which is why I’m in this situation.” He knelt and began binding their hands. “See how lucky you guys are? If I was down a tie, I might have needed to ask Lady Justice over here to stun someone. She gets frisky with the trigger at times.”
“Keep it up,” Jia replied. “I’ll get frisky with it right now and accidentally on purpose commit a friendly-fire officer-on-officer issue.”
“Promises, promises.” Erik grinned.
“Uniformed officers are en route,” Emma reported. “I’m monitoring nearby drones to ensure there are no gun goblin reinforcements.”
The leader winced in pain and groaned. “You…shot me. You bastard.”
“You were trying to kill us.” Erik laughed. “Don’t try to kill people, and you won’t get shot. If you’re going to try to become a legend, you damned well better bring your best game. So, too bad. At least you’re not dead. By the way, you’re under arrest, idiot. All Article 7 rights apply. Do you need these explained to you?”
The man let out another long groan. “I thought I was lucky,” he whispered. “I was going to earn my way back in.”
Jia’s angry gaze roamed over the wounded men, then she scoffed. “The Lady can be unkind. You’re a damned moron. Now you’re not just getting transported, you’re going to prison.”
Flashing red and blue lights in the distance signaled an approaching patrol flitter.
“Sorry, but Neo SoCal’s getting cleaned up,” Erik announced. “Haven’t you heard? The sooner you learn that, the better. But it’s your lucky day after all.” He stood, then headed toward his MX 60. “Because I’m going to patch you up.” He had stuck his head in, so his voice was muffled. “We need you nice and healthy before you go to jail.” He stood back up, his voice clear again, the smile on his face adding an annoying tone to his voice. “Can’t have you bleeding out on the parking platform.”
Emma snickered. “You two do seem to have an amazing talent for attracting gun morons.”
“I thought you preferred gun goblins?” Jia asked.
“I’m going with the moment,” Emma replied.
“I was mostly worried they were going to shoot someone else’s flitter.” Erik walked back, shaking his head. “Then we’d have twice as many reports to fill out. But hey, at least we have something to do until Rena’s manager meets with us tomorrow.”
Jia chuckled. “That’s your take on random gangsters ambushing us?”
“We shot them first,” Erik argued. “I don’t think it counts as an ambush.” He knelt to rip open the shirt of the complaining man. “If anything, I think we ambushed them.”
“Nope. They ambushed us.” She sniffed. “They’re just terrible at it.”
Jia’s comment was punctuated by the moans of one of the morons she’d shot.
“Stop your whining.” Erik pushed aside the shirt to affix the first patch. “It’s unprofessional. Real killers don’t whine.”
________________________________
Hahaha, gun goblins got what they deserved!
Check out Enlightened Ignorance, on pre-order now, and will be live March 6th!
Get your pre-order here of Enlightened Ignorance at your favorite e-Retailers today:
Wild Wednesday March 4 2020
Wild Wednesday Deals For March 4, 2020
Each week we bring you a list of books from not only LMBPN authors, but also friends of ours, that are on sale! Here’s a fantastic opportunity to discover some new authors or some exciting books you may not have seen yet.
Did you know that the Dragon Awards have already opened up for nominations? They have a lot of categories, similar to your favorite award shows for music and movies, but this is all for books and games!
Our next book for your consideration is Hawthorn Academy, Year One. Did you find it exciting and fun? If so, feel free to nominate it, or any book, that qualifies for the category, but we would appreciate your consideration of Hawthorn Academy, Year One for YA Book of the Year!
http://application.dragoncon.net/dc_fan_awards_nominations.php
Most of these books are FREE in Kindle Unlimited and are also on sale today.
Please remember to double-check the price before you one-click.
Ghost Squadron Omnibus
A Healer’s Gift
(Free on most retailers, but not on Amazon)
Soldier
Don’t miss out on this other fantastic promotion! Just click the banner and go to the web page.
If you see this message after March 4th and want to be notified of future price promotions, please sign up for our email list at www.lmbpn.com/email
Enlightened Ignorance Snippet #4
Enlightened Ignorance Snippet #4
Are you ready for another big tease? LOL I’m telling you, I’ve already poked my pitchfork and shown my matches to the author. Have you? I’m getting soooo excited for the release of Enlightened Ignorance I can hardly stand it! But, these little sneak peeks are helping…I think?
Snippet #4
Jia took a seat on a blue couch next to the victim’s sister, Binh. “Miss Nguyen, we’re sorry for your loss, and we want to assure you that the department is taking your concerns seriously. At this moment, we’re exploring all possible explanations for your sister’s death.”
Binh sighed. Her cheeks were puffy and her eyes red. “Since it’s you two, I believe that. Thank you.”
Erik sat in a chair kitty-corner from the couch. The small piece of furniture could barely handle his large frame. It was like every piece of furniture in the apartment—twenty percent too small for him.
That wasn’t a shock, given Binh’s slight frame.
“Any information you provide might be helpful,” Jia continued. “We’ve read some of the statements you gave the uniformed officers, but we wanted to hear everything in your own words, just in case they missed something, or if you remembered anything else. The first forty-eight hours after an incident like this are often crucial in tracking down the truth.”
Binh nodded slowly. She looked at a holographic image projected from a frame on her wall. It was a short scene of her laughing with her sister.
“It was subtle at first,” she began. “The fear. I could tell something was worrying her. I asked her about it a few times. First, she tried to deny anything was going on and insisted she was just overworked, but later, she admitted she was scared and worried that she was being watched.”
“Why didn’t she contact the police?” Erik asked.
Binh shook her head and looked down. “I told her to do just that, but she said she didn’t have enough evidence, and she’d look like a crazy person. The last few weeks, she’d even gotten so worried that she would only talk about things in person and without our PNIUs. She said she was worried about them spying on her.”
Jia nodded slowly. That might explain why the victim didn’t have the PNIU on her, but it didn’t explain where it had gone or why the tracking beacon had failed. If Chau had been murdered, the killer might have panicked and disposed of the PNIU unnecessarily, fueling suspicion rather than dampening it.
That suggested a non-professional.
“Who was she worried about?” Jia asked. “You said she was worried about being watched. Who was watching her? Someone at Euterpe?” read more…
Week in Review February 24 – 28 2020
This week’s new releases from LMBPN
Did you see all of the books we launched this week? Check out the list here: Week in Review
Spell Street Swing:
Swords, Dragons, and Giant Crabs, Oh My! Can Cali’s magic defeat them all? Cali’s taken the top job in New Atlantis. Do you think her enemies will let her stay there? They’ve already got plans to take out her friends.
Huntress Cadet:
Vampire Hunts, Lost Power, and Betrayal. Huntress Quinn Faust and her friends search for a master vampire in hiding. Her new clan deals with the aftermath of their battle with John Handon and his minions. All the while, Quinn fights for control over her abilities following the destruction of her magical amulet.
Warmage: Unexpected:
Girl meets dragon. Girl works to befriend dragon. A large, red, dangerous dragon. Raven Alby will have to train her new ride and save the dragon’s life or die trying. Mix in starting at Fowler Academy as a first year, becoming a stronger mage and oh… people disappearing.
Once Upon a Midnight Drow:
I’m not Goth to hide my Drow heritage, I’m Goth because I’m not a quitter. My name is Cheyenne Summerlin, remember that name. Somebody should…
See what you missed and enjoy the thrilling stories woven masterfully by our authors at LMBPN today! Week In Review
Fan’s Pricing Saturday February 29 2020
Are you ready for Leap Day deals? Then check out this cool list of books at a discount!
Note: We request the price changes from Amazon on Friday afternoons. Unfortunately, they don’t change all of the prices at one time. Please double-check the price before clicking “Buy”.)
All of these new releases are 99c for one day only!
However, they are also available in Kindle Unlimited!
Grab them today before the prices go up!
Warmage: Unexpected
Spell Street Swing
Huntress Cadet
Lost Camelot
Alison Brownstone Omnibus #1
Did you know that Enlightened Ignorance is almost here??? Have you been reading or listening to the OpusX series? Book 4 launches in 2 weeks! And to celebrate, we are sharing some snippets! Don’t miss out on this first one, you can see it here: Enlightened Ignorance Snippet #1
If you see this message after February 29th and want to be notified of future price promotions, please sign up for our email list at www.lmbpn.com/email
Enlightened Ignorance Snippet #3
Enlightened Ignorance Snippet #3
YES! It’s that time again, Snippet Time! Are you ready for the next exciting sneak peek at Enlightened Ignorance?
Snippet #3
May 4, 2229, Neo Southern California Metroplex, Police Enforcement Zone 122 Station, Office of Captain Alexander Ragnar
Erik yawned as he stepped into Captain Ragnar’s office, Jia right behind him.
They had been going over some old reports when the captain summoned them. Maybe another reporter needed to ask about his underwear color. He almost grinned at Jia. The way she’d reacted had made it worthwhile.
I should have said something crazy, he thought. That would have been fun.
He’d have to take the next opportunity that presented itself. Unless he was about to receive a gift. “What’s up, Captain?”
“Something you’ll find interesting.” Captain Ragnar tapped his PNIU. Erik’s and Jia’s both chimed. “New case.” He scratched at his beard. “Unless you want to spend the rest of the week going over those old reports?” read more…
Wild Wednesday February 26 2020
It’s Wild Wednesday on February 26, 2020!
Each week we bring you a list of books from not only LMBPN authors, but also friends of ours, that are on sale! Here’s a fantastic opportunity to discover some new authors or some exciting books you may not have seen yet.
Did you know that the Dragon Awards have already opened up for nominations? They have a lot of categories, similar to your favorite award shows for music and movies, but this is all for books and games! Have you read Obsidian Detective yet? Do you think it’s great enough for a Dragon Award Nomination? If so, here’s the link. Feel free to nominate any book that qualifies for the category, but we would appreciate your consideration of Obsidian Detective for Scifi Book of the Year!
http://application.dragoncon.net/dc_fan_awards_nominations.php
Most of these books are FREE in Kindle Unlimited and are also on sale today.
Please remember to double-check the price before you one-click.
Alison Brownstone Omnibus #1
Gemini Twins
Magi Odyssey
Don’t miss out on this other fantastic promotion! Just click the banner and go to the web page.
Here’s an extra special sneak peek for you!
Just click the banner and go to the snippet.
Enlightened Ignorance Snippet #2
Enlightened Ignorance Snippet #2
It’s getting closer and closer to the release of Enlightened Ignorance! I can’t wait!
I bet you’ll agree with me after you read today’s snippet! But don’t worry, there’s another one coming later this week. If you want to make sure you get one of the first copies to go out, preorder OpusX 4 now!
Snippet #2
Jia crept out from behind the dark-masked terrorist.
He stood near the entrance to the top passenger deck. Erik trailed right behind her. It didn’t matter if the terrorist was nothing more than flimflam, a mix of nanites and light; her heart still pounded in her chest.
Train like it was reality, and it’d pay off at the right time.
He might turn at any second, and Erik and Jia would lose their chance at surprise. There was no way they could triumph in the scenario without maintaining surprise. She glanced around, her eyes back to watching the terrorist in no more than the time it would take to blink twice. Clearing out bad guys was easy, but not every confrontation was so straightforward.
Is this what normal people do on their days off? she thought.
As the terrorist grunted and turned, she slammed the butt of her rifle into the back of his head. He collapsed to the ground, his eyes rolling up.
“Nice,” Erik whispered. “I was wondering if you would do that, or if I’d need to tell you.”
“If we start shooting, they’ll know we’re here. We need to save that for the last moment.” She shrugged and gave Erik a playful grin. “And you knocked out the last one. It’s my turn.”
He gave her a nod after checking the downed man. read more…
BTF051: “Alexa, What Is Coming From LMBPN This Week?”
[powerpress]
In today’s episode of Behind The Fiction: The Book Lover’s Podcast, we give you all the details on what is coming your way this week from LMBPN!
Here’s all the info for books coming out this week: Swords, dragons and giant crabs? Just what are Cali and Fyre getting into in Spell Street Swing? Cali’s taken on the top job in New Atlantis while searching for the pieces of the sword she needs to reach her captured brother. Can Cali keep New Orleans from exploding like a powder keg or will chaos reign both there and in New Atlantis? Continue the adventure today!
Quinn Faust and her crew return this week in Huntress Cadet. They’re searching for a master vampire in hiding. Not an easy task while Quinn fights for control of her abilities after the destruction of her magic amulet. Can they stop an even more sinister plot than the last? Don’t miss out the exciting continuation of the Hunter Clan Saga.
A new series launches this week with WarMage: Unexpected, which is available for pre-order and releases Wednesday. Raven Alby will have to train her new dragon that she just befriended and save the dragon’s life or die trying. Shouldn’t be too difficult right? Wrong. The young mage is starting at Fowler Academy where people are disappearing. Hope Raven has what it takes to become a WarMage. Be sure to check out the link to the snippet below!
And another new series launches at the end of the week with Once Upon a Midnight Drow, part of the Goth Drow series. This is a bigger than normal book, containing three books in one, so be prepared for a lot of reading. You’ll get to meet Cheyenne Summerlin, who dresses as a Goth to hide her drow heritage. She’s going after bad guys, whether or not a black ops government group want her to. Join her on her adventures.
This episode is available as a podcast available through your favorite podcast app and through LMBPN’s YouTube channel. If you’d like to subscribe through your favorite podcast apps you can search on Behind The Fiction.
Links:
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The Final Warmage Snippet!
Warmage: Unexpected Snippet #3
It’s here! The final snippet before this super exciting dragon rider book launches on Feb 26th! If you pre-order it now, it will show up in your eReader as soon as it’s available! Some even get it the night before the actual release date, but no promises that will be you. The dragon’s a bit temperamental, so we can’t say when he’ll appear for sure. LOL
Either way, enjoy the last preview!
Chapter 3
Raven was up early the next day, excited to get to her chores and head back to school. The sun was just rising over the horizon casting a soft light across the ranch when she headed out to feed the goats.
She didn’t see the crossbow in time before the tip of the arrow pierced her shoulder and lodged itself into the bone.
“Rrrrrgh!” She gritted her teeth, clenching her stomach to trap the scream that wanted to escape. She slowly exhaled through her nose and glanced at the small ranch house behind her. Nothing stirring inside – yet.
She looked down at the arrow sticking out. No time to get this out now. Raven lifted her eyes and saw the skinny, gangly short elf snatching up one of the dwarf goats into its bony arms The elf’s little bald head glistened in the rising sunlight.
Her right arm pressed to her side, Raven pushed off the ground with her left arm and up to her feet. She lifted the board with her left hand, leaning it against her shoulder. When he wakes up, the first thing he’ll say is, “Why didn’t you grab the sword?”
She charged after the elf again, who set the goat down long enough to fire another arrow, quickly gathering the bleating animal back up again. The arrow streaked toward Raven’s head. She hoisted the board in front of her, putting it between her face and the arrow, which embedded itself into the wood.
Without breaking her stride, she dropped the board and lunged after the elf, wrapping her arms around his shoulder and tackling him to the ground. He was much older than the teenager, but his spindly legs couldn’t outrun her.
He dropped the goat, who bleated upon impact. Raven grabbed the animal by the scruff of its neck and pulled it back, hoping to create enough distance between the kid and its pursuer. She barely had let go of the little goat when the elf drove both feet into her jaw, snapping her head back. She fell in a heap, dazed. read more…