Hey, lovelies!! It gives me great pleasure today to host Ryan Lawrence and his new book, “Vindictive Too,” here on FAB!! For other stops on his 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 $10 Amazon OR Barnes and Noble Gift Card!! Also, come back daily to interact with Ryan and to increase your chances of winning!!
Thanks for stopping by!! Wishing you all lots of good luck in this fabulous giveaway!!
Vindictive Too
by Ryan Lawrence
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GENRE: Thriller / LGBT
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BOOK BLURB:
The best revenge never includes forgiveness. To truly punish the guilty, something worse must be done to them.
A chain of vengeful events is set in motion when a man's brutally murdered body is found in an alley behind a seedy bar. Inspector Declan James is put on the victim's case, only to discover his intimate connection to the slain man. After a not-by-chance meeting with the mysterious Véronique, a woman on a mission to right a terrible wrong, Declan finds himself mired in an intricate web of corruption, lies, and coverups.
Marie and Jacques Bergé, the owners of the internationally renowned Château Bergé, act publically as the pinnacle of society and wealth, but behind closed doors, their lives are in turmoil. From Marie's erratic behaviour and bizarre disappearances to Jacques's not-so-secret love for another woman, Fairporte's "it" couple teeters on the edge of destruction.
In the shadows, a bearded man, powerful and dark of heart, secretly orchestrates his machiavellian manoeuvres from a place of sadism and despair.
From the bustling core to the rustic outskirts of Fairporte, ON, secrets, suffering, and rage are found everywhere. As the cruel desire pain, the wronged seek retribution, and the fragile break, will anyone get their revenge before death or madness claim them?
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EXCERPT ONE:
The alley was off Vanier Avenue in a less-than-savoury section of Fairporte continuously ignored by developers, including the Bergé family and Cartell Worldwide. Plans for gentrification had yet to be proposed by city officials. Declan was familiar with the area, having frequented several of its local watering holes.
This part of the city was home to many of Fairporte’s undesirables and unwanted. The seedy bars, the strip clubs, and most non-white collar criminals thrived here.
Declan was looking for anything he might have missed. He had a feeling, a hunch that something small but pivotal during the initial lookover had remained unnoticed. He had to find that obscure piece of evidence. Declan made it his mission, his responsibility.
He recalled the male victim’s clothes were nothing but tatters of fabric: slashed, ripped, and bloody. They held no discernible shape or style to offer aid in identifying the poor bugger. Even the tags and labels had been removed.
Severely beaten, the body had been robbed of all identification and personal belongings. All digits had had their pads burnt off. Declan thought that was excessive, but it could suggest a professional hit. Worst of all, the victim had been shot in the face and skull several times.
His detective prowess exhausted, Declan considered the body currently unidentifiable. He had faith that Forensics would eventually discover its identity.
It? Declan quickly corrected himself. Him! While a lack of respect for a victim’s corpse had infected many of his colleagues, Declan refused to give in to that dehumanization. He fought to stay compassionate, and sometimes he failed, but he refused to stop trying.
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GUEST POST:
Describe Your Book Covers and How They Came About
Thankfully, I was fully involved in the creation of my novels' covers, and yes, I had a plan from the get-go. The concept and design for Vindictive and Vindictive Too, to suggest a theme of revenge through starkness and specific, impactful imagery, was a relatively straightforward process. Both books have the same basic colour scheme of light to dark gray, virtually black. With each novel, I've chosen a weapon that plays a defining role in specific characters' storylines, placing it prominently on its respective cover. Each lethal object features strategically placed vibrant colouring to help it stand out amid the gray tones' chilling bleakness.
A deadly karambit is featured on the front cover of Vindictive. The weapon is black with highlights, and exquisite detail was put into the blade and handle. A deep, dark red blood residue stains the sharp metal. In contrast, the handle of the vintage straight razor with a folding edge featured on Vindictive Too's cover is orange-red, adhering to the authenticity of the 50s shaver that inspired it; its wood grain detail is aesthetically striking. This time, however, the blood accent is a more brilliant hue. With Vindictive Too's weapon, I wanted to differentiate its look from the first novel by having the blood drip down the blade's metal and appear viscous yet fluid. The blood ends its trickling journey by forming the dot on the last "i" in the title word, creating a more stylized look for this book's cover.
Shadowplay was also vital, especially when utilizing grey tones as my main colour scheme. The shadowing I insisted on for both novels, with each blade, had to be visually compelling to draw the reader in. While the karambit's shadow is more profound than the vintage shaver's, the appropriate shading was used to illustrate each unique weapon's thickness and shape, giving both notable visual dimensions.
Finally, the part I'm most proud of is the imagery that lines the bottom of each cover. The illustrations represent the three central backdrops in my Vindictive Series: the Château Bergé, the Cartell Worldwide Tower, within the downtown core of the fictional city of Fairporte, Ontario, and the Morrison Farmstead. Vindictive's front cover features the Château Bergé directly in the centre, while the back cover situates the Cityscape and the Cartell Worldwide Tower. As we move to the second novel, Vindictive Too, all the images from the first book have been placed on the back while the Morrison Farmstead takes centre stage on the front. For both books, lush vegetation and forest connect the locations, creating a seamless panorama. All these images are done in dark grey with highlights when necessary to add dimension and depth, like windows, doors, rooftops, and such.
In all, and including each novel's unique but connected revenge-themed quote on their individual back cover, I feel I've created an engaging "literary handshake," much more than suggesting the notion of "bookends."
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AUTHOR BIO:
Ryan Lawrence was born and raised in Guelph, ON, and he is a graduate of the University of Guelph in English Literature. Ryan lives in London, ON, with his husband, Todd, their cat Dora, and his massive comic book collection that once fell on Todd. He's okay.
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CONNECT WITH RYAN:
Website:
https://www.ryanlawrenceauthor.ca
Email:
ryanlawrenceauthor@gmail.com
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/RyanLawrenceAuthor
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/RyanLAuthor
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/ryanlawrenceauthor
Goodreads Author Page:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/22020369.Ryan_Lawrence
Goodreads Book Page:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/67041324-vindictive-too
Amazon Author Page:
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BOOK BUY LINKS:
Amazon US Kindle eBook:
Amazon US Paperback:
Amazon US Hardcover:
Amazon CA Kindle eBook:
https://www.amazon.ca/Vindictive-Too-Ryan-Lawrence-ebook/dp/B0BPYGP6W1
Amazon CA Paperback:
https://www.amazon.ca/Vindictive-Too-Ryan-Lawrence/dp/0228886252
Amazon CA Hardcover:
https://www.amazon.ca/Vindictive-Too-Ryan-Lawrence/dp/0228886260
Apple Books eBook:
https://books.apple.com/us/book/vindictive-too/id6445148212
Barnes and Noble NOOK eBook:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/vindictive-too-ryan-lawrence/1142848357?ean=2940165985409
Barnes and Noble Paperback:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/vindictive-too-ryan-lawrence/1142848357?ean=9780228886259
Barnes and Noble Hardcover:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/vindictive-too-ryan-lawrence/1142848357?ean=9780228886266
Kobo US eBook:
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/vindictive-too
Kobo CA eBook:
https://www.kobo.com/ca/en/ebook/vindictive-too
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GIVEAWAY INFO:
Ryan will be awarding
a $10 Amazon OR Barnes and Noble Gift Card (Winner’s Choice!!!) to a randomly
drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.
**This post contains affiliate links and if clicked and a purchase is 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 fabulous community outreach projects and 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.
Thanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a great read.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a good book.
ReplyDeleteThe book sounds very intriguing. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteWhat's something you think your characters would say about you?
ReplyDelete