The Seraphim's Song by Barbara Casey - Book Tour - Guest Post - Giveaway - Enter Daily!

Hey, lovelies!!  It gives me great pleasure today to host Barbara Casey and her new book, “The Seraphim’s Song,” here on FAB!!  For Barbara’s 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 $20 Amazon OR Barnes and Noble Gift Card!!  Also, come back daily to interact with Barbara and to increase your chances of winning!!

Thanks for stopping by!!  Wishing you all lots of good luck in this fabulous giveaway!!

The Seraphim’s Song

The F.I.G. Mysteries Series

Book Five

by Barbara Casey

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GENRE:  Fiction / Mystery

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BLURB:

Book 5 – The F.I.G. Mysteries

Many changes have taken place at Wood Rose Orphanage and Academy for Young Women while Carolina and Larry were on their honeymoon in Frascati, Italy, on the Granchelli farm. The newlyweds have been given a larger bungalow; Ms. Alcott, niece of the founder of Wood Rose, and Mrs. Ball, assistant to the headmaster, have moved into a bungalow together; and Jimmy Bob, caretaker and night watchman at Wood Rose has moved from his family home down the road a bit into a small bungalow on the orphanage property with his hound dog Tick, as well as his new cat and her litter of kittens. Most important, thanks to the persuasive powers of Ms. Alcott and Mrs. Ball, the F.I.G.s have been given a forever home at Wood Rose.

Summer is coming to an end and the F.I.G.s will soon return to the universities to complete their special projects. They are starting to feel anxious, and the coping mechanisms they have used their entire lives are starting to work overtime. Dara’s thoughts turn to an unknown language, possibly from another world; Mackenzie focuses on the relationship of math to music; and Jennifer keeps hearing the note of B flat minor and is drawing dark swirls on her canvas board.

Deadly forces and natural disasters are unleashed into the world when Milosh, the evil young man who placed a curse on Carolina when she searched for her mother, steals an ancient artifact—a “key”—from an archaeological site near Puli, China on the Yellow Sea where he is working. This artifact, when paired with a certain note—B flat minor known as the Seraphim’s song—opens a portal that enables man to communicate with the gods.

When the key gets lost in a storm, Carolina comes into possession of it through Jimmy Bob’s dog, Tick, and when she does, she hears Lyuba, her gypsy mother, tell her that time is running out. The F.I.G.s and Carolina must go to the forbidden cave on the Yellow Sea, the place where the early gypsies are believed to have settled before travelling into Europe. For it is there where the key must be returned before all is destroyed.

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EXCERPT THREE:

The category 5 hurricane named Luoli raged through the night and by morning there was still no indication of it letting up. Wind speeds were being recorded above 157 miles per hour, the highest strength indicated on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. No one slept in the safe area of the dormitory basement and tempers were starting to show in small ways.

Dr. Connoly, professor of physics and chemistry, got into a rather loud verbal exchange with the two new professors over the last package of peanut butter crackers that was left on the food and drink table. Clyde Benson, weary of Dr. Sullivan’s mindless ramblings of aliens, hurt her feelings when he crossly told her it was all a bunch of claptrap and to just shut up. Others simply withdrew, as though into a shell, wishing they were invisible, preferring to just be left alone.

Then, as quickly as it had appeared, it disappeared. All inside the safe room and outside became quiet and still. The wind stopped wailing, the rain stopped falling, thick clouds thinned and darkened skies cleared, and the leaves on the trees once again turned upward toward the heavens and the sun shining brightly in the sky. The fearful noise of the howling destructive winds and unrelenting downpour of rain was suddenly replaced by an eerie unbroken silence. Then, within moments, the silence was also replaced, and the happy sound of singing birds could be heard.

Everyone in the basement was eager to leave the safe area and see what damage had been left by the storm. And they wanted to return to what had been normal in their lives as quickly as possible—before Luoli.

Outside, they were amazed to find only some broken limbs scattered haphazardly around the wide grassy area of lawn. Other than that, there appeared to be no damage to any of the buildings or even the vehicles owned by the faculty and staff that had been parked by each of the bungalows.

First and foremost in Carolina’s mind was to help Jimmy Bob look for Tick. “The girls and I will drive around the area to see if we can find him,” she told Jimmy Bob. “You might want to take a good look around your family home. He might have gone there since it is a place he knows.” Before she and the F.I.G.s could get into her car, however, they were surprised to see a police patrol car slowly approaching with blue lights flashing.

The patrolman was Hank Pollock, a long-time friend of Jimmy Bob’s who occasionally visited Wood Rose and had helped out at various fund-raising events for the orphanage throughout the years. Walking in front of the patrol car carrying in his mouth what appeared to be a very large muddy bone was Tick. Slowly and deliberately, unscathed and completely ignoring the vehicle with its flashing blue lights behind him, Wood Rose’s guard dog didn’t stop until he got to Carolina. Then, somewhat ceremoniously, he dropped the dirt-covered object at her feet.

Jimmy Bob was beside himself with joy as he tearfully knelt down hugging his much-loved canine who had somehow managed to survive the strongest, most terrifying hurricane in recorded history.

“I saw him up on the road headed this way and tried to get him in the vehicle, but he didn’t want to ride I guess,” Hank said. “I think he was afraid I was going to try to take that bone he had in his mouth away from him.” He watched the dog for a moment. “Looks like he wants you to have it,” he said glancing at Carolina.

Jennifer gasped as the pain in her chest returned. Then the musical notes of a tone poem that only she could hear rapidly filled the blank measures, treble and bass clef, she saw in her mind. Just beneath the musical notes, loud and insistent, refusing to be ignored, was the relentless, continuous undertone of the key B flat minor. The “aum.”

Dara looked up into the sky and envisioned words, symbols, and pictures of unknown origin, from another universe—another galaxy, yet she felt she knew their meaning. She understood.

And flashes of mathematical formula involving units, intervals, and spacing of the solar system penetrated Mackenzie’s mind as she removed her calculator from her belt and began entering mathematical equations representing what she saw.

Carolina squeezed her eyes shut; the tone of B flat minor was almost deafening. Then, because the vibration of the earth was so strong, the four young women knelt to the ground holding each other to keep from falling.

Jimmy Bob and Hank steadied themselves. “Must be having an earthquake,” Hank said looking around. No sooner than he said the words, it then stopped.

As Tick continued to watch Carolina, she suddenly heard her mother’s voice—soft, but clear and urgent. It is the key, daughter. You must protect it and return it to the cave.

The F.I.G.s couldn’t hear Lyuba—only Carolina could hear her—but they knew. Carolina had been given the key, she must keep it safe, and she must return it to where it belonged.

They also knew, because they were females of intellectual genius, that Carolina was in danger, and they didn’t know what to do to stop it. They didn’t know how to help her. And this more than anything terrified them.

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GUEST POST:

The Gypsy’s Curse

Dara Roux, abandoned when she was 7 years old by her mother.  Exceptionally gifted in foreign languages. Orphan.

Mackenzie Yarborough, no record of her parents or where she was born. Exceptionally gifted in math and problem-solving. Orphan.

Jennifer Torres, both parents killed in an automobile accident when she was 16. Exceptionally gifted in music and art.  Orphan.

Known as the F.I.G.s (Females of Intellectual Genius), these three high-spirited 17 year olds with intelligent quotients in the genius range, wind up at Wood Rose Orphanage and Academy for Young Women where newly-hired Carolina Lovel is given the responsibility of teaching and mentoring them, and, as instructed by Headmaster Thurgood Harcourt, “keep them on a short leash.”  In order to remove her young charges from the gimlet eye of the Headmaster, Carolina takes the F.I.G.s to a small village in Italy. It is there where she hopes to find information about her own background; for Carolina, like the F.I.G.s, is an orphan. With the help of the F.I.G.s, Carolina learns that her parents were gypsies, and that her mother, Lyuba, still living, is a choovihni—a wisewoman, an exalted and envied position among gypsy women. She also learns that something evil has entered her life, and that evil goes by the name of Milosh.

Filled with anger, hatred, and jealousy, Milosh was banned from his tribe by Carolina’s mother when he placed a curse on Carolina. Carolina survives the curse, but now, several months later, Milosh once again surfaces. Working at an archaeological site in China where Carolina and the F.I.G.s have gone, he is more determined than ever to curse Carolina in order to punish her mother for having him banned from his tribe and disowned by his family.

Milosh was born with a dark chakra; nothing will ever change him. The evil that surrounds him is in direct opposition to the good and positive forces – although usually mischievous – of Carolina and the F.I.G.s. Determined to hurt Lyuba by cursing Carolina, he won’t stop until he has succeeded.

Thank you for inviting me to visit with you. I wish you and your bloggers all my best.

~ Barbara

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AUTHOR BIO:

Originally from Carrollton, Illinois, author/agent/publisher Barbara Casey attended the University of North Carolina, N.C. State University, and N.C. Wesleyan College where she received a BA degree, summa cum laude, with a double major in English and history.  In 1978 she left her position as Director of Public Relations and Vice President of Development at North Carolina Wesleyan College to write full time and develop her own manuscript evaluation and editorial service.  In 1995 she established the Barbara Casey Agency and since that time has represented authors from the United States, Great Britain, Canada, and Japan. In 2014, she became a partner with Strategic Media Books, an independent nonfiction publisher of true crime, where she oversees acquisitions, day-to-day operations, and book production.

Barbara has written over a dozen award-winning books of fiction and nonfiction for both young adults and adults. The awards include the National Association of University Women Literary Award, the Sir Walter Raleigh Literary Award, the Independent Publisher Book Award, the Dana Award for Outstanding Novel, the IP Best Book for Regional Fiction, among others. Several of her books have been optioned for major films and television.

Her award-winning articles, short stories, and poetry for adults have appeared in both national and international publications including the North Carolina Christian Advocate Magazine, The New East Magazine, the Raleigh (N.C.) News and Observer, the Rocky Mount (N.C.) Sunday Telegram, Dog Fancy, ByLine, The Christian Record, Skirt! Magazine, and True Story.  A thirty-minute television special which Barbara wrote and coordinated was broadcast on WRAL, Channel 5, in Raleigh, North Carolina.  She also received special recognition for her editorial work on the English translations of Albanian children’s stories. Her award-winning science fiction short stories for adults are featured in The Cosmic Unicorn and CrossTime science fiction anthologies.  Barbara’s essays and other works appear in The Chrysalis Reader, the international literary journal of the Swedenborg Foundation, 221 One-Minute Monologues from Literature (Smith and Kraus Publishers), and A Cup of Comfort (Adams Media Corporation).

Barbara is a former director of BookFest of the Palm Beaches, Florida, where she served as guest author and panelist.  She has served as judge for the Pathfinder Literary Awards in Palm Beach and Martin Counties, Florida, and was the Florida Regional Advisor for the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators from 1991 through 2003.  In 2018 Barbara received the prestigious Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award and Top Professional Award for her extensive experience and notable accomplishments in the field of publishing and other areas. She makes her home on the top of a mountain in northwest Georgia with three cats who adopted her, Homer – a Southern coon cat, Reese – a black cat, and Earl Gray – a gray cat and Reese’s best friend.

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CONNECT WITH BARBARA:

Website:

http://www.barbaracaseyauthor.com

Website:

http://www.barbaracaseyagency.com

Email:

barcafer@aol.com

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/barbara.casey.370

BookBub Author Page:

https://www.bookbub.com/authors/barbara-casey-c75c3ba0-bbc2-4fbb-aa2b-90da9ad49679

Goodreads Author Page:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/697572.Barbara_Casey

Amazon Author Page:

https://amzn.to/2FpHYBW

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AMAZON BOOK BUY LINKS:

Amazon US Kindle eBook:

https://amzn.to/3LT9Xee

Amazon US Paperback:

https://amzn.to/382A2ct

Amazon US Hardcover:

https://amzn.to/3M77IEB

Amazon CA Kindle eBook:

https://www.amazon.ca/Seraphims-Song-F-I-G-Mysteries-Book-ebook/dp/B09PKP257X

Amazon CA Paperback:

https://www.amazon.ca/Seraphims-F-I-G-Mysteries-Barbara-Casey/dp/1942314841

Amazon CA Hardcover:

https://www.amazon.ca/Seraphims-F-I-G-Mysteries-Barbara-Casey/dp/1942314914

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GIVEAWAY INFO:

Barbara will be awarding a $20 Amazon OR Barnes and Noble Gift Card (Winner’s Choice!!!) to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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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.