Hi
lovelies! It gives me great pleasure
today to host Joan Hall Hovey and her new book, “And Then He Was Gone”! For other stops on her Goddess Fish
Promotions Book Tour, please click on the banner above or any of the images in
this post.
Be
sure to make it to the end of this post to enter to win a $25 Amazon or Barnes
and Noble Gift Card!! Also, come back
daily to interact with Joan and to increase your chances of winning!
Thanks
for stopping by! Wishing you lots of
luck in this fabulous giveaway!
And Then He Was Gone
by Joan Hall Hovey
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GENRE: Suspense, Thriller
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BLURB:
And Then He Was Gone
WHERE IS ADAM?
Julie
Raynes’ husband is missing. Devastated and confused, she refuses to believe
that he would leave her voluntarily, though her best friend thinks differently.
However, her Aunt Alice, a psychic, tells her Adam has been murdered, and when
she reveals how she knows this, any hope that Adam is still alive, dissipates.
The
police also believe that Adam Raynes was murdered. And Julie is their prime
suspect. Her life in ruins, Julie vows to hunt down whoever is responsible for
Adam’s murder and make them pay for their crime.
In
the meantime, David Gray, a young man who was pulled from a lake by a fisherman
when he was 9 years old, wakens from a coma after nearly two decades. Unknown
to Julie, Adam and David share a dark connection, a darkness that threatens to
devour them both.
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EXCERPT ONE:
Chapter One
The
tall, dark-haired boy in the grey tee-shirt and blue jeans walked with a soft
step along the worn path, placing his sneakered feet carefully over twigs and
fallen branches that could easily snap and give him away. The sun’s rays
pierced the tall trees like a floodlight into a cathedral, but he felt affinity
with neither church nor God. He was a stalker, a cat tracking its prey with
practiced stealth. He could hear the lake now, sloshing softly against the
bank, could smell its slight chemical scent in the air. A few yards further
along the path, it came into full view, calm and blue. Spotting his bike lying
on a grassy patch of ground, the sun's glint reflecting off the chrome, he
paused in his step, quieted his loud breathing lest he be heard. Standing
there, feeling the soft ground beneath his feet, the cold fury swelled inside
him and his hands clenched into fists at his sides.
Beside
the bike, his little brother sat contentedly on the lake bank. He was wearing a
navy blue and white striped tee shirt, denim shorts. He’d thrown a line into
the water and the tiny red bobber floated on its surface, waiting for its own
prey. Not a care in the world, the bigger boy thought, glaring at his brother's
back with his cold, angry eyes. Well, he would have a care. He damn well would.
Sensing
a presence behind him, and already knowing who it was, David slowly turned his
head, his stomach dropping into some netherworld at the sight of Rath's grim
face. He tried to keep the fear from his own face, but he knew it betrayed him.
It always did.
“Hey.”
He attempted a smile at his older brother, but the fear had travelled to his
throat, and his muscles wouldn’t let him. His brother saw the fear and David
could see that it pleased him.
“I
thought you were staying with Grandpa and Grandma for the weekend,” he croaked,
his voice breaking on the word Grandma, turning thin and high, as if his voice
were changing right there in that moment.
“Seems
you were wrong, eh, shithead! Who told you you could take my freakin’ bike,
eh?” He gave a kick to the small of his younger brother's back. He's not my
real brother anyway, he thought, just the stinking half-brother he hated from
the second he saw him swaddled in his mother's arms, that stupid baby face
peeking from the blue blanket.
“He’s such a good baby,” his mother used to
tell her friends. “Hardly ever cries.” He had fixed that quick enough, with a
pinch to the arm or leg or by bending a baby finger. She caught him once, and
that was the end of that. He could still feel the sting of her slap across his
face. All because of this little prick.
David
was getting to his feet warily, rubbing at the small of his back, a plea in his
big blue eyes. “No ... no one. I’m sorry. I was going to bring it back, Rath. I
just wanted to …”
“You
think I care what you wanted, you little freak. You stole my bike.”
“No,
I didn't, honest. I ‑I just borrowed it. I was
just going to...”
The
lake continued to lap at the shore, unconcerned, indifferent to the business of
humans. High up in a tall pine, a crow cawed and a swollen bee hovered and
buzzed nearby. Otherwise, all was silent.
The
darkness spread across the older boy's brain like a black cloud crossing the
moon's surface. Without warning, his hands shot out, giving David a hard shove,
sending him backwards, arms flailing, eyes wide, into the water. He landed on
his back with a loud splash, but he was already scrambling to his feet. Rath
pushed him back down again, and, dropping to his knees, held him there. He
grasped those small shoulders in his hands and pressed down, until the face
that still held its babyness, was wavery and distorted under the water. A sense
of power flowed through Rath as he glared into those eyes so big and blue and
filled with panic. Even as bubbles rose and broke on the surface, Rath felt
nothing but pure rage that fed his need for revenge for all that had been taken
from him. When the terror gradually washed from David’s eyes, and at last he
lay still, moving only when the water nudged him, like so much flotsam, Rath
stood up. The dark fury at last drained off, an eerie calmness remained in its
wake. Like the lancing of an abscess, though the core remained. Gasping for
breath from the exertion, he wiped his hands on his jeans. The front of his tee
shirt was wet, but no big deal; it would dry on the way home. Leaving his
little brother behind, bobbing in the water, not unlike the bobber farther out
on the lake, he drove the bike home and wheeled it back into the garage. Then
he went inside the house, a smile on his handsome face. “Hey, ma.”
His
mother was sitting at the kitchen table, sipping tea and reading one of her
romance novels. He glimpsed the woman on the cover dressed in an old-fashioned
gold-coloured gown. She folded down an upper corner of her page to save her
place and smiled up at him. “You said you were going to grandma’s and
grandpa’s.”
“I
changed my mind.” He planted a kiss on her cheek. “It’s kinda boring over
there. Besides, I would have missed my mom too much.”
She
laughed. “You silly. You’re such a charmer.”
She
had heard the squeak and rattle of the bike as her older son wheeled it into
the garage. At first, she had thought it was David coming home. She was sure
she'd seen him driving down the road this morning with his fishing gear tied on
the bike. But she must be mistaken about that, she told herself. And promptly
buried the memory.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
FREE FIRST CHAPTERS:
**Read
the first chapters FREE of several of Joan’s books on her website here**
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR BIO:
Writing
gives me a sense of achievement and satisfaction that nothing else does.
(Except having my babies.) And that's not a bad analogy, if not an original
one. Holding your published book in your hands, (especially that first one),
running your fingers over its smooth cover, tracing your name there - is heady
stuff! These days of course, knowing my readers are downloading my books onto
their Kindles and ipads and Kobos, and so on is just as great. For me, a dream
come true, even though it's been awhile since I wrote my first book.
I am
drawn to explore the dark side of humanity, and my intention is to give the
reader a roller coaster ride that will resonate long after the last word is
read. I know that I am truly blessed to be permitted to work every day at what
I most love and need to do. I think you appreciate it even more when you've had
to go to those awful 9 to 5 jobs you hated, because the bills have to be paid.
And I've had my share of them over the years -- hulling strawberries, waiting
tables, grading eggs... (top that one). A couple of those jobs have left scars.
I've been stalked by a psychotic customer when I was selling 'CAA'. (Canada's
version of 'AAA'.) I've been chased around the desk by a so-called pillar of
society while working as a secretary. But while I wouldn't want to repeat it, I
wouldn't take back a single moment of any of it. All is 'grist' for the
writer's mill.
The
next best thing is hearing from my readers. You have been so generous in your
comments, so kind to take the time in your own busy lives to write to me.
Telling me that my novels kept you up all night, or that you couldn't put the
book down is music to my ears, and keep me going in the dark times that come to
all writers, while I find my way about in the unknown, unlit territory of that
next book.
***
In
addition to her critically award-winning suspense novels including And Then he
was Gone and The Deepest Dark, Joan Hall Hovey's articles and short stories
have appeared in such diverse publications as The Toronto Star, Atlantic
Advocate, Seek, Home Life Magazine, Mystery Scene, The New Brunswick Reader,
Fredericton Gleaner, New Freeman and Kings County Record. Her short story Dark
Reunion was selected for the anthology investigating Women, Published by Simon
& Pierre.
Ms.
Hovey has held workshops and given talks at various schools and libraries in
her area, including New Brunswick Community College, and taught a course in
creative writing at the University of New Brunswick. For a number of years, she
has been a tutor with Winghill School, a distance education school in Ottawa
for aspiring writers.She is a member of the Writer's Federation of New
Brunswick, past regional Vice-President of Crime Writers of Canada and
International Thriller Writers.
Her
books are available at most online book stores, including Amazon, B&N,
Kobo, and more. Check out her website at
http://wwwjoanhallhovey.com.
She
lives in Saint John, NB, in an uptown building over 100 years old, with her cat
Bella. Aside from writing (and reading of course) She enjoys playing piano and
spending time with her grandson. She is
presently at work on her latest suspense novel.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
LIST OF JOAN’S NOVELS:
Joan’s
novels include:
And
Then he was Gone
The
Deepest Dark
The
Abduction of Mary Rose
Tragic
Spawn
Night
Corridor
Chill
Waters
Nowhere
to Hide
Listen
to the Shadows
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CONNECT WITH JOAN:
Joan’s gorgeous kitty,
Bella
Website:
Blog:
Facebook:
Twitter:
YouTube:
BWL Publishing Author Page:
Goodreads Author Page:
Goodreads Book Page:
Amazon Author Page:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BOOK BUY LINKS:
Amazon Kindle:
Amazon Paperback:
Barnes and Noble #1:
Barnes and Noble #2:
Kobo:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GIVEAWAY INFO:
Joan will be awarding a $25 Amazon or B/N 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.
Joan ~ Welcome back! It is so great to have you here again! Congrats on your new book and good luck on the book tour! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a good book.
ReplyDeleteI'm looking forward to checking this one out!
ReplyDeleteSounds great
ReplyDeleteWhat a great cover.
ReplyDelete