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Wednesday, November 9, 2016

What You Don't Know by Elka Ray - Book Tour - Guest Post - Giveaway - Enter Daily!


Hello lovelies! It gives me great pleasure today to host Elka Ray and her new book, “What You Don’t Know”!  For other stops on her Goddess Fish Promotions Book Tour, please click on the banner above.

Be sure to make it to the end of this post to enter to win a $10 Amazon or Barnes & Noble Gift Card.  Also, come back daily to interact with Elka and to increase your chances of winning! 

Thanks for stopping by!  Wishing you lots of luck in this exciting giveaway!


What You Don't Know
by Elka Ray

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GENRE:  Suspense/Crime/Short Stories

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BLURB:

An American lawyer dreams of killing his trophy wife in Thailand. A Vietnamese soldier goes mad in a haunted forest. A bereaved mother's trip to Cambodia ends in tragedy - or does it?

Take a spine-tingling journey from the jungles of Sumatra through Bangkok's seedy bars to the seemingly sedate streets of Singapore. Your traveling companions are a slew of dark emotions - fear, grief, jealousy, greed, lust and revenge. And your destination?

With flashes of black humor and hard-to-forget characters, these ten stories shine light into the dark corners of Southeast Asia.

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EXCERPT ONE:

“Kyle?” I yell. I’m sure my son is gone, sucked down to the bottom.
         
Blinking against the blood, I see him lying face down on the deck. He’s got himself wedged against the boat’s sides like a rock climber. I call again and he twists his head. I must look pretty bad, because he gasps. “D—dad?”
         
The boat is still rocking, but not enough to tip. Water sloshes back and forth. Kyle pushes himself onto his hands and knees. We both look around. Beneath the streaks of rain, the sea is dead calm. No swell. No big whitecaps. Nothing.
         
“Shit. What happened?” says my son. His face appears bleached. “What was that?”
         
I’ve been boating in these waters for going on two decades but can’t explain what hit us. If it was the wake from a big cargo ship there’d have been more waves. That wave came from nowhere. Was it a whale? I shake my head. “I…I don’t know,” I say.
         
The engine has stalled. My hands are shaking so hard I have trouble restarting it. It roars to life once, twice, only to cut out.

"Daaaad! You're flooding it," says Kyle, his voice a hysterical whine. "It won't start! It won't start! You've flooded it!"

I grit my teeth. "Fine, you try."

If he hears, he doesn't respond but just hugs his knees. "My god. My god. She's here. She's here." He says it over and over again.

"Shut up!" I yell, and my son stops. He presses his palms to his cheeks. I force myself to count to ten before trying the motor again, terrified that Kyle's right: If the motor is flooded, we're stuck out here.

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GUEST POST:

Why Do People Like Scary Stories?

While many readers want a happy ending, very few would keep reading a story devoid of conflict or dread. It’s uncertainty - Will she end up with the right guy or not? What will happen to that old dog? - that keeps us turning the pages.

Fiction expands our understanding of what it means to be human, transporting us to new places, times and realities. A good book takes us out of ourself and allows us to feel another’s hopes and fears. Reading’s a safe way to experience extreme emotions - love, danger, anger, loss. I think we hope dark stories will somehow inoculate us against real darkness. Maybe by reading about scary scenarios we can learn to avoid them - or at least cope with them.

But there’s more to it. Why do we visit haunted houses? People actually want to be scared.

Pop out at a little kid and yell, “Boo!” He or she will probably scream, then laugh. Even tiny children enjoy a little fright. It’s weird. Do we crave the subsequent relief?  That moment when a jolt of terror - a bomb! - turns into a private embarrassed shrug: Oh, it was only a car backfiring.

Ghost stories. Murder mysteries. Romantic suspense. True crime. All of these genres are huge. I don’t know why we enjoy being spooked but it seems to be a uniquely human trait that’s tied to our need to imagine.

I’m fascinated by people’s motivations, especially when they seem irrational. Dark stories allow me to explore what drives people. I think we read and write stories - scary and otherwise - to try to make sense of our inexplicable world.

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AUTHOR BIO:


At the age of eleven, Elka Ray co-founded the Double Trouble Detective Agency. She’s been on the lookout for mysteries ever since. Elka’s latest book, “What You Don’t Know: Tales of Obsession, Mystery & Murder in Southeast Asia”, takes readers on a darkly suspenseful tour of the Far East. Her first novel, a fast-paced romantic adventure titled “Hanoi Jane”, was published by Marshall Cavendish in English and DT Books in Vietnamese. Elka’s next novel, the thriller “Saigon Dark”, will come out with Crimewave Press in November 2016. Elka is also the author and illustrator of a popular series of bilingual kids’ picture books about Vietnam.
Elka divides her time between Hoi An in Central Vietnam and Canada’s scenic Vancouver Island. When she’s not writing, drawing or reading she’s in - or near -the ocean.
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CONNECT WITH ELKA:

Email:
elka.k.ray@gmail.com

Website:

Facebook Author Page:

Twitter:

Goodreads:

Agent: Elka is represented by Amy Tipton at Signature Literary Agency:

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AMAZON BUY LINK:



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GIVEAWAY INFO:

Elka Ray will be awarding a $10 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.


**This post contains affiliate links and if clicked and a purchase made I may receive a small commission to help support this blog.  This does not cost you anything, it just helps pay for all those awesome giveaways on here.**

This contest is sponsored by a third party. Fabulous and Brunette is a registered host of Goddess Fish Promotions.  Prizes are given away by the sponsors and not Fabulous and Brunette. The featured author and Goddess Fish Promotions are solely responsible for the giveaway prize.


40 comments:

  1. Thanks so much for the excerpt and giveaway as well.

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  2. congrats on the tour and thanks for the chance to win :)

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  3. I enjoyed the excerpt and the guest post, sounds like a great read!

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  4. Thanks for the giveaway; I like the excerpt. :)

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  5. Thank you all & greetings from rainy & steamy Bangkok!

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  6. What is your favorite part of the book?

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  7. I am back to thank you once again for the opportunity to win this giveaway. Have a great day!

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  8. Happy Friday!!!! Hope it's a great one and have a fun weekend. Thank you for the giveaway

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  9. Good Morning! Have a terrific Saturday and thank you for the giveaway

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  10. Hoping you have a relaxing and fun Sunday! Thanks for the chance at winning this giveaway

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  11. Really great post - I enjoyed reading it. Thanks for sharing :)

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  12. Happy Monday! Hope it's a good start of the week for you and thank you for the giveaway.

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  13. Hope your day was a little more relaxing than mine. I appreciate all you do, thank you!

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  14. About to leave for work soon but here to thank you again for the chance to win.

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  15. Hello! Having a coffee and visiting some of my favorite blogs. Thanks for all you do and the giveaways as well.

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  16. Happy Friday!! Hoping it's a good one for you and thank you for the giveaway.

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  17. Hello! I am back again. Hope you don't get tired of hearing from me. Thanks for the giveaway and enjoy your Saturday.

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  18. Happy Sunday! Enjoy your day and thanks for this opportunity at winning.

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  19. I'm back to thank you once again for the hard work you put into these giveaways you offer us,

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  20. Hey!! Just me back again saying hello and thanking you for the giveaway.

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  21. Hello! Before I bake some pies for the kids for our Thanksgiving dinner, I wanted to drop by and say thank you once again for the giveaway. Anyone celebrating Thanksgiving tomorrow. Happy Thanksgiving!

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  22. To everyone in The USA, Happy Thanksgiving! Thank you once again for this giveaway

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    Replies
    1. Happy Thanksgiving James! Thanks for stopping by! Hope you had a fabulous holiday! :)

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  23. My days are all messed up now but Happy Friday! Thanks so much for working so hard to bring us amazing giveaways.

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  24. Hope your Saturday is a fun one. I usually work but am off today so watching some football. Thanks again for the chance at work

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  25. Wishing you an awesome Blessed Sunday. Thank you so much for the opportunity at winning.

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  26. My brother is at work so I am here helping him out and want to thank you for giving him and others the chance to win.

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  27. It's me again! Hope this day is going well for you. I want to thank you again for the chance at winning and let you know I appreciate it.

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  28. Hello! Back again today and thanking you one more time for the chance at winning.

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  29. Hello and happy Friday! Hope your weekend is great and thank you for the giveaway.

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  30. Hope you're having fun this Saturday. Thanks for all you do bringing us such great giveaways. You're awesome!

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  31. Hello to all you beautiful people on this awesome Sunday. I am back giving thanks to you for the giveaway. Hope your Sunday is fantastic!

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  32. Back to it being Monday already? Hope your weekend was a fun one. Thanks for hosting this great giveaway.

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  33. How this little messages find you doing great. I am back saying thank you again. Please don't get tired of seeing me.

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  34. Happy Hump Day! Have a great one and thank you once again.

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  35. Good afternoon to all you beautiful people. Hope your day is going great. Thanks again for the giveaway.

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  36. We made it, finally Friday even though I will work for most of it. I will ask my sister to help me out on here. Thanks again for this opportunity to win and have a great day!

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  37. Finally I am back to see y'all. Thanks again for all you do and the chance at winning amazing giveaways.

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  38. I sure have been messing up this week with my visits to you. Sorry about that! I am back tonight to say thanks again for the chance at winning and have a great Friday evening.

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  39. How's your Saturday going? Hoping it's a good one for you and thanks for the giveaway.

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