Saturday Sampler: Profile of Evil by Alexa Grace

In Profile of Evil, Carly Stone is a brilliant FBI agent who's seen more than her share of evil. Leaving the agency, she becomes a consultant for Indiana County Sheriff Brody Chase, who needs her profiling skills to catch an online sex predator luring preteen girls to their death in his community.

A life hangs in the balance, and the two rush to stop the most terrifying killer of their careers — and time is running out.

Excerpt:

   There was either a monster living in his county, or using it as a body dump site.  Both options were unsettling, and people were getting nervous.  He was sick of being asked why the murders hadn't been solved, and how close he was to finding the killer.  The avid crime television viewers watched every week as crimes were solved and tied up with a ribbon at the end of the hour.  That it was taking two years to solve the girls' murders was unacceptable to them, and they weren't afraid to voice their opinions — to him, and to the County Commission President, Bradley Lucas, to whom Brody reported.  Bradley Lucas could be a horse's ass when he wanted to be, but to his credit during this investigation, he had remained supportive as long as Brody briefed him frequently.  Not that there was anything to report. 

     Though he hadn't voiced his theory out loud to anyone but his brother Cameron, Brody believed the two murders were related.  Although two murders did not fit the definition, he thought a serial killer was at work.  He hoped he was wrong.  Because if he was right, the knowledge of a serial murderer at work in Shawnee County would obliterate the tranquility and security most residents had known their entire lives.  Their county was still a place where people left their doors unlocked at night. 

     Crime had been at an all-time low since he became sheriff.  If he were correct and a serial killer had set up shop in his county, the sick bastard would live to regret it, because Sheriff Brody Chase would stop him if it was the last thing he ever did.

     The drive to Perrysville from his office in Morel usually took fifteen minutes, but Brody made it in ten.  Gray curls of smoke in the morning sky and the flashing lights signaled the crime scene ahead as Brody drew closer. Seeing parked vehicles belonging to the coroner, fire chief, crime scene techs, and Cameron's unmarked car, Brody pulled off the road and leapt from the vehicle.  One of his deputies guided him down a dirt lane with a corn field on one side and woods on the other.  He lifted his hand to cover his face as the pungent smoke from the burned car and charred bodies assailed his nose.

     Deputy Jim Ryder, lining the area with yellow crime scene tape, greeted him as he approached the immediate crime scene.  "Sheriff, the car is over there."

     Brody nodded and said, "Thanks.  Make sure only law enforcement gets past you."

     "Yes, sir," muttered Ryder, as he tied the yellow tape around a tree.

Following the deep tracks of the fire engine in the soft earth, Brody reached the scene where a red, late model Toyota Corolla was in the early stages of a fire that was being extinguished by a firefighter. Brody figured the fire truck must have gotten there in record time to arrive before him.  Because the department was largely volunteer, it sometimes took up to an hour or more just to get the fire truck manned before it could leave the station.

     With his hands clasped behind him, Brody scanned the perimeter.  A new red plastic gas can lay inside some brush, and a crime scene tech took photographs of it before she stored it in an evidence bag. The car's body was charred, but the numbers and letters on the Indiana license plate were visible.  He moved closer to the front of the car, where he saw a body hunched over the steering wheel in the driver's seat.  He headed toward the back where Cam, Fire Chief Wayne Lansky, and a couple of crime scene techs were huddled around the open car trunk, but Brody couldn't see inside. 

     As he approached them, his chief detective, Cameron, moved aside.  What Brody saw in the trunk made his stomach churn as bile rushed to his throat.  A small, burned body lay inside the trunk in a fetal position.  The acrid smell of burning flesh nearly overwhelmed him as he moved closer to examine the body, with Cam close behind him.

     Sweet Jesus, what kind of a monster could do this to a child who should be curled up and asleep in bed, not charred in the trunk of a car?

     "We got lucky, Brody," said Cameron.

     "I doubt the victims would agree with that."

     "I meant we're lucky the car didn't burn any more than it did.  We need all the evidence we can get."

Get your copy today at: 
Amazon: http://amzn.com/B00COA6MX8 

B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1115250863?ean=2940016437361 

Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/313599

Alexa Grace's journey started in March 2011 when the Sr. Director of Training & Development position she'd held for thirteen years was eliminated. A door closed but another one opened. She finally had the time to pursue her childhood dream of writing books. Her focus is now on writing riveting romantic suspense novels.
Alexa Grace is listed in top twenty of Amazon's Top 100 Most Popular Authors in the categories Romantic Suspense and Police Procedural.  She was named one of the top 100 Indie authors by Kindle Review.  A chapter is devoted to her in the book Interviews with Indie Authors by C. Ridgway and T. Ridgway. Her books Deadly Offerings, Deadly Deception, and Deadly Relations have consistently been listed in Amazon's Top 100 Bestselling Romantic Suspense and Police Procedural Books. Deadly Deception, Deadly Relations and Deadly Holiday are ranked #1 in the top 100 Top Rated Books in Police Procedural Books.

Deadly Holiday, published in November 2012, is her holiday-themed romantic suspense novella, featuring all her Deadly Trilogy characters.

Profile of Evil, the first book of the Profile Trilogy is available at major online retailers.
Alexa earned two degrees from Indiana State University and currently lives in Florida. She's a member of Romance Writers of America (national) as well as the Florida Chapter.

Her writing support team includes five Miniature Schnauzers, three of which are rescues. As a writer, she is fueled by Starbucks lattes, chocolate and emails from readers.

Contact Author Alexa Grace.

You can visit her at - http://www.alexa-grace.net/
Friend her on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/AuthorAlexaGrace
Tweet her - @AlexaGrace2

A Chat with Alicia Dean

I’m sitting out on my deck with good friend Alicia Dean. It’s a gorgeous Michigan morning, sunny and low 70s. I’ve got a cup of caramel cream coffee (love my Keurig) and Alicia has a cup of Dark Magic with just a touch of cream. So pull up a chair and join our conversation. Oh, would you like something to drink first?

Now that we’re settled, Alicia, what have you been up to?

What haven’t I been up to? I normally juggle multiple projects at a time. Lately, those multiple projects seem to have multiplied. I have some really exciting news…that I can’t share. J I was recently offered an opportunity with Amazon Publishing that I’m thrilled about. I should be able to share details later this Spring. I’ve been under pressing deadlines with them, and now that the deadlines have passed, I am trying to catch up on some editing. I am also working on a sequel to Liberty Awakened.

That’s great about the sequel. I can’t wait to hear more about your mysterious opportunity with Amazon. I love your books, by the way. The first one I read was Death Notice: The Northland Crime Chronicles, a great romantic suspense. Then I read Soul Seducer and Liberty Awakened (Isle of Fangs) with Grim Reapers and vampires respectively and found them very intriguing. What inspired you to write paranormal?

Thank you so much, Diane. I love your books as well, and I’m honored that you enjoy my writing. I normally write suspense, but I like to change things up, and paranormal is my second love. I find it fascinating to create entirely new worlds where there really are no rules other than the ones you, the writer, create. I am a huge fan of Vampire Diaries and True Blood, and watching those shows inspires me to try to create a supernatural world with really, really hot vampires and various other creatures. I’m afraid I could never invent characters as sexy as Damon and Klaus from Vampire Diaries or Eric from True Blood. But they definitely ‘inspire’ me. In many ways. ;)

Whew. I think the temperature went up. Those guys are hot!

You and several other authors are writing Tales of the Scrimshaw Doll. How did that come about?

I wanted to give my fellow chapter mates an opportunity to get their feet wet in the publishing industry and The Wild Rose Press is always looking to add short stories to their catalogue. I thought it would be fun to write some stories with my author friends that had a shared theme. We brainstormed ideas and came up with a cursed Scrimshaw doll. Each story features the doll, in either a small or big way, and they cover all genres from Historical to Suspense to Contemporary. It’s been loads of fun. We’ve had 9 or 10 accepted so far and still have others in the works.  

That’s fascinating. How generous of you to give your chapter mates this opportunity. Why do you think paranormal romances appeal to so many people?

One of the reasons is that I think most people are fascinated by magic. Paranormal romances are, at their core, stories about magic. Also, the fact that the heroes and heroines can be a little less than perfect, even a bit evil at times, and we feel justified in rooting for them because they can’t help their dirty deeds since they’re ‘monsters’ by nature. And readers love escaping to different worlds where anything is possible. Mainly, though, I think Paranormal romances appeal because there is something really sexy about the brooding, bad boy, animalistic, passionate heroes whether they’re werewolves, vampires, or grim reapers.

I’d like to pose the same question to our readers…what do you love about Paranormal Romance? And what is your favorite supernatural creature to read—or write about?

And are you fascinated by magic? Have you ever had any ‘supernatural’ experiences?

When I was a child I was obsessed with Bewitched and I used to go out in the back yard and search the skies for Witches and Warlocks and wiggle my nose to see if maybe I was a witch and just didn’t know it. In case anyone is wondering, I won’t keep you in suspense any longer…it didn’t work.

LOL But it’s always great to imagine. It’s been great chatting with you this morning. I know you have to get back to your project with— Uh, Alicia, come back. You forgot your purse. Wait one more minute. I know a shortcut back to Oklahoma. Just step over there. Okay, Scottie, beam her to Edmond.

Now that she’s gone we can talk about her. LOL In case this is your first meeting with Alicia Dean, here’s her bio.

Alicia Dean lives in Edmond, Oklahoma and is the mother of three grown children. Alicia loves creating spine-chilling stories that keep readers on the edge of their seats. She's a huge Elvis Presley fan, and loves MLB and the NFL. If you look closely, you'll see a reference to one or all three in pretty much everything she writes. If she could, she would divide all her time between writing, watching her favorite television shows-such as Dexter, Vampire Diaries, Justified, and True Blood-and reading her favorite authors...Stephen King, Dennis Lehane, Michael Connelly, Lee Child, and Lisa Gardner to name a few.

About Liberty Awakened (Isle of Fangs):

Evil lurks beneath the surface in the beauty of the tropics…

After graduation from her small, Oklahoma high school, Liberty Delacort is looking forward to a fun-filled summer before college. But when the people she trusts the most betray her, and a letter arrives claiming her deceased father is still alive, she jumps at the chance to travel to an exotic island to meet him.

But her excitement is short-lived. Her father is dying, and he doesn’t want her around. And, in spite of its outward tranquility, the island is filled with danger and ominous secrets. The secrets soon begin to unravel, and she discovers she is a descendant of Van Helsing, the vampire hunter.

The one up side is her budding romance with the sweet and sexy Ryan Kelly. But even that is threatened when—in spite of her fear of him—she finds herself attracted to an insolent, formidable vampire. Her plan to stay away from him fails when she learns he is the only one with the ability to train her to fulfill her destiny—to save humans from a faction of vicious vampires.

Will her inexperience lead to her death—and the death of others—or will she rise to the challenge and realize her full potential as a Hunter?

Liberty Awakened is available at Amazon: http://amzn.com/B00B3N6PMA

Launch Day - SWITCHED RESOLUTION

 

It's Finally Here!

 

Now Available at Amazon and Smashwords

Actions have consequences as Space Fleet Captain Marcus Viator and NASA reject Scott Cherella discover when they switched places. Does the reserved Marcus have what it takes to imitate his smart-aleck twin? Despite help from his love, Veronese, Scott’s already been outed by two of Marcus’ best friends.

When rebels steal the ship with part of the crew aboard, Scott has to rescue them and retrieve the Freedom. The stakes increase when he discovers the rebels are heading for Earth. They know he’s a fraud and they want Marcus. The safety of the Alliance of Planets depend on Scott and his allies—Veronese and Marcus’ friends.

Switched Resolution, which wraps up the Switched series, takes the reader from Earth—where Marcus adjusts to a pregnant Jessie—to the starship Freedom commandeered by rebels, to the chase ship with Scott and Veronese aboard.

Which member of the Freedom crew do you think will be a surprising help in rescuing the ship?

A lucky commenter will receive a Smashwords coupon for a free copy of SWITCHED RESOLUTION 

 

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