Girl Stalks The Ruins Preview: Ch. 6 The Louvre

Chapter 6

The Louvre

Li Li had wanted to enter the museum through the shopping mall underneath the complex, no doubt hoping she’d be allowed to forego the art altogether, and be left to her own devices among all the boutiques, and teenagers. She’d even taken the trouble to ascertain the existence of a shop that sold discounted gallery passes, along with its collection of snow globes and post cards. But her scheme went awry when Andie announced a desire to see the Jardin des Tuileries, which meant getting off at the Tuileries metro stop and walking above the ground the rest of the way to the glass pyramid entrance.

“Why can’t I go this way?” she pleaded, once they’d finally descended the main escalator. The main atrium underneath the pyramid was brightly lit even on an overcast day, and she tugged on Emily’s arm as the others tried to decide which of the three smaller escalators to choose, each one leading to a different wing of the museum. “Perry can come with me, if you’re worried. I bet he doesn’t want to look at a bunch of stupid paintings all day either.”

“It’s not going to be all day,” Andie said. “Besides, we do things together in this family.”

Emily had been studying the floor plan of the museum this whole time, with one ear cocked to Li Li’s complaint. She glanced at Perry and smiled, and he returned one of those sad puppy expressions that meant, “Please don’t make me go shopping with a teenager,” or something to that effect.

“I doubt Perry really wants to go clothes shopping, sweetheart.”

“Fine. Then I can go on my own. I can find my way around.”

Emily glanced at the floor plan one more time. “How about you and Perry and I go to the Richelieu wing? That’s where they keep all the cool sculpture. I think Stone will prefer to explore the Denon wing, where all the really famous paintings are. Okay?”

Li Li grudgingly assented to this proposition, and Emily had guessed right. It wasn’t the museum she really objected to, but the prospect of having to go wherever Stone wanted, to see and do what he wanted. Emily turned to Stone, and ran her fingers through his shaggy hair, and pulled it away from his face. “Is that okay with you?” He nodded, his eyes a little watery.

Finally, she turned to Andie and Yuki. “We’ll meet here,” she said, pointing to a room marked in red on the plan. “It’s the main hall on the first level. Two hours?”

“Shall we keep Ethan and Jerry with us?” Andie asked, and Emily nodded.

“We’ll be okay on our own.” Emily knew this thought would thrill Li Li, and maybe she deserved some special treatment.

Cover Reveal for Book 8, GIRL STALKS THE RUINS

My cover artist, Torrie Cooney, has done it again. Here's the cover for Book 8, which should be available in August. This one is set in France, and follows Emily and Perry in a terrorism thriller.

I'm also preparing Book 9, due out in December. That one is set in Japan, and follows the intersecting stories of Ryonosuke Shinjo, and Okamoto Haru, characters you may remember from earlier books in the series.

I think this is going to be a very good year for Emily Kane, and her fans. Thanks for following along with me, and I hope you enjoy these installments as much as I'm enjoying writing them!

As always, I'd love to hear from you, and you can send me emails care of Emily.

Best wishes!

Emily Kane Adventures #8

I've had a slight change of plans. Instead of writing Shinjo's story, as announced earlier, in Girl Pays A Debt, I've decided to focus on a different story. My wife and I spent last summer in France and England, and we sketched out a couple of possible stories at that time, and she has been urging me to write one of those first. So, here goes!

A team of terrorists invades the Louvre, expecting little resistance from a flock of tourists. Little do they realize they've roused a sleeping dragon. She wasn't lying in wait for them, but when they seize someone she cares about to cover their escape, she'll pursue them across France to get her own back again. No one is what they appear to be in Girl Stalks The Ruins.

If all goes well,  I'll have Book 8 finished by the end of the summer, and then will turn to Girl Pays A Debt, which I hope to complete before Christmas. Wish me luck, everyone!

Book 8 Underway!

Work has begun on Book 8 of the Emily Kane Adventures. This one takes up Shinjo's story from Book 3 -- the Yakuza who agrees to help Emily in Seoul -- as well as the story of Haru Okamoto, who may be the last living member of the once powerful Heiji daimyo. The working title for this book is Girl Pays A Debt.

For the Connie Savaransky fans among you, I've also begun sketching a book to follow her adventures, and it looks like the first one will also include Ip Mao Bao, the girl Connie and Danko met in Myanmar in Book 7, Girl Goes To Wudang. If all goes well, both books should be complete by the end of the summer -- take that promise for what it's worth.

I'll keep you updated on the progress, and if you're on my mailing list, I'll probably send out a few sample chapters in a few weeks. And look for a sample cover here soon!

GIRL GOES TO WUDANG is out now!

It took a lot longer than I expected -- I almost want to say it nearly killed me -- but the ebook is available at the following stores:

Amazon
iTunes
B&N
Kobo
Smashwords

I know I always say this, but I think it's best book yet in the series. With each new book, the challenges are greater, and I try to write something deeper, more complex, and more compelling than the previous book.

Now, my mind has already turned to the next project... actually two projects. The first is to write the story of Shinjo Ryonosuke, the yakuza Emily met in Seoul, in Book 3. This is a tale of revenge and violent confrontations, of a man on the run who needs the help of the strange girl who charmed him several years earlier. Emily will come to his assistance, finding him wounded in an alley in Osaka. To keep him safe will require spiriting him out of town. But the remaining members of his gang are in hot pursuit, and they'll track him to Nagoya, and the Atsuta shrine -- the very shrine that is now home to Emily's acquaintance, Tsukino, and his new charge, Okamoto Haru, the niece of his lost love, Gyoshin Heiji. Does it sound complicated enough? I can hardly wait to dig into the writing of it.

The second project is the first book focusing on our wandering assassin, and naive moralist, Connie Savaransky, and her new protegé, Ip Mao Bao, a young woman from the Wa homeland in Myanmar. Connie meets her (and so can you) in Book 7, and she has a role to play in the final crisis in that story. I've wanted to devote a book to Connie, maybe more than one, and now I think I've got some suitable story material for her.

Be patient, but know that I am working as hard as I can. In the meantime, enjoy Book 7, and I'll post as soon as there are more developments.

The cover for Book #7 is here

I'm working hard on finishing Book #7, and part of that is putting together a cool cover. And my cover artist, Torrie Cooney, has come up with a beauty.

In this one, Li Li Tang plays a bigger role than in the previous books. So Torrie thought we should have her on the cover, too, alongside Emily.

I know I said this about each previous book in the series, but I really feel that this is the best one yet. I've been doing lots of research into Daoism and the Daoist martial arts, especially Bagua Zhang. I've also put a ton of energy into thinking about character names, and have been studying up on Mandarin to get a better sense of the culture and scenery of Beijing, where much of the story is set.

It'll be finished soon, so look out for it on all the major online ebook retailers.

New Cover???

My cover artist and I have been working overtime on a cover for Book #7 of the Emily Kane Adventures. The working title is :

Girl Goes To Wudang

and the cover will sport a tagline roughly to this effect:

With Li Li in tow, Emily seeks something new at the home of Taoist martial arts,

... but surviving the trip may require more of her old skills.

But don't worry. I'm hard at work actually writing the book. This author stuff turns out to be a complex mechanism with a lot of moving parts. Also, sometimes, taking a moment to imagine the cover can help crystallize certain scenes for me.

I'll try to keep you posted on any developments along the way... and once my cover artist and I are satisfied, we may even give you a sneak peek at the finished product!

Girl Rides The Wind, Ch. 8, Sneak Preview

Chapter Eight

A Question of Wardrooms

The grind of life on a warship tended to bring its own inertial motivation, a daily round of meetings, exercises and tasks, occasionally interrupted by a “live” mission. Three times, Emily’s chopper had flown the teams out to islands at the southern end of the Philippine archipelago, and each time they’d come up empty, finding only the detritus of abandoned camps. All the while, the Amphibious Squadron steamed eastward, heading for the Marianas where another set of exercises had been scheduled. The Devil Dogs understood what it meant – “Operation Seabreeze” was as much about fostering cooperation as about catching actual terrorists. 

Meanwhile, Emily frequented the “dirty shirt” wardroom, which catered to the aircrews. CJ and Zaki preferred to take their meals in the XO’s wardroom, but Emily didn’t care for the formality, and cafeteria-style service suited her mood better these days. 

“Are you hiding down here?” Perry asked, as he swung a leg over the chair opposite and nudged his tray against hers to make room. 

“Do I have to answer?”

“Aren’t you afraid the senior staff is gonna notice your absence?”

“Yeah, and I hear the ship’s company gets better food,” Emily replied without looking up. 

“The CO has been hinting that he wants another translator at meals.” He looked for any sort of reaction, even annoyance at his suggestion, and when none was forthcoming, he added: “And with you down here, Diao has everything his way with the conversation.”

“Hasn’t it occurred to you that he’s the reason I’m down here?”

“You’re not afraid of him, are you? That would be a first.” When she raised her eyes, he got a pretty good indication that he’d pushed her too far.

“Not of him,” she snarled, “…for everyone else.”

Research on the Latest Book, Girl Rides The Wind

Ever in quest of authenticity, I traveled recently to Sasebo, Japan in order to see up close one of the important locations for Book 6, Girl Rides The Wind. And thanks to the assistance of Terri Kaltenbacher, the Public Affairs Officer for CFA Sasebo, and David Freeman, in setting up a tour of the base and the LHD6, the Bonhomme Richard (BHR), we got to see how the Navy lives there.

And special thanks to the XO, CAPT McMullen for granting us permission to visit the ship, and to LT H.K. Mansell, AZC L.M. Carter, and LCPL Hector Colon for their patience and generosity in taking us all over the BHR, and answering all of my questions about life on an Wasp-class carrier.

My first takeaway from this visit: however big you think a carrier is, once you get on board, you soon realize it's much bigger. There are external elevators on either side of the ship to transport aircraft to and from the flight deck and the hangar deck. There are also interior ramps for transporting other really heavy things between decks, and for this purpose there are trucks that operate entirely within the ship.

And to all my anxious fans, I'm working hard to finish the book. My cover artist has produced a mock-up of the cover, and when we get a little closer to the release day, I'll reveal it, too. Until then, thank you all for your patience.

Girl Fights Back listed on Book Hippo

For UK readers: Girl Fights Back is now listed on Book Hippo. Keep up the great work, PR team!

Sneak preview of Ch. 5 of GIRL RIDES THE WIND, Bk 6 of The Emily Kane Adventures

Chapter Five

Shinai

“I challenge,” the voice said, and Emily stopped at the edge of the ring, turning to look over her shoulder. “My choice of weapon is shinai.”

“There is no need,” she said, rushing to the center of the ring to kneel at Kano’s feet.

“Do not insult me,” he growled. “You will accept my challenge… unless you think it is beneath you.”

“I would rather be your student, Sensei, than your opponent.”

A moment later, she stood on the side of the ring, as Ishikawa and Lt Otani helped her strap on protective equipment. Shinai are practice swords, made of bamboo strips bound together in a single shaft, lighter than a bokken, and with no edge. But in the heat of competition, an errant blow can still do some damage… and Kano did not look like he meant to tap her lightly.

“You should never have entered the ring,” Lt Otani said. “This could have been avoided if you had just let Sgt Tsukino have his victory.”

“Nonsense,” Ishikawa roared. “Moon behaved like a donkey. He deserved what he got, and she fought brilliantly.”

“What are they saying?” Durant asked from behind Lt Otani.

“Dice thinks I’m a fool, and so does Kiku-san.”

“No, Durantu-san,” Ishikawa said, in the best English he could muster. “I think Tenno-san is awe-inspiring. But she is probably in for a beating.”

“I’m sorry for getting you in to this pickle, LT,” Durant said, after Emily glowered at him.

“Pic-kel-u?” Ishikawa said, with one raised eyebrow as he tried to fit his mouth around the word.

“Just like tsukemono,” Lt Otani proposed.

Emily offered an alternative translation: “He means this is a difficult situation.” When Ishikawa still didn’t understand, she said, “I’m screwed.”

“Yes, yes,” Ishikawa said with a big grin. “Screwed.”

Sneak Preview of Ch. 4 of GIRL RIDES THE WIND, Bk 6 of The Emily Kane Adventures

Chapter Four

A Distinguished Personage

In the hot and humid season, merely standing in formation while a party of dignitaries made speeches could be torture. Emily managed to peek over at Oleschenko and Durant, both of whom had begun to sweat through their fatigues. A bit further along the line, she caught a glimpse of Ishikawa in similar straits, but Tsukino and Kano managed to put a brave face on the whole situation, even as the beads formed on their faces. She felt one hanging from her own nose.

“Man, this is interminable,” she muttered. “Why can’t a breeze find us on this infernal base? Is that too much to ask?”

Durant couldn’t suppress a snort at her words, and Oleschenko glowered at the two of them. “Shut it, you two,” he hissed.

Eventually, the proceedings on the shaded podium drew to a close, and several well-dressed people made their way across the front of the formation, accompanied by Colonel Kamakura, commander of the first Airborne Brigade, and Admiral Crichton, Commander of Fleet Activities at the naval base in Sasebo, and the officer in charge of the US contingent of the operation. The command to stand “at ease” made its way around and Emily’s platoon assumed a slightly more comfortable posture, feet apart and hands behind their backs.

“The tall one is Mr. Saito,” Oleschenko whispered. “He’s the Deputy Minister of Defense.”

“Who are the other two?” Durant asked.

“I imagine we’ll find out in a moment,” Emily said. She could just make out what they said to Kano’s unit. Praise for their service in the recent evacuations after the typhoon up north, and encouragement for the tournament to be held later that day.

Sneak Preview Ch. 3 of GIRL RIDES THE WIND, Book 6 of The Emily Kane Adventures

Chapter Three

Camp Narashino

“Gaijin kusai,” said Sergeant Hiroki Tsukino, who the rest of the platoon knew as Moon. With a sneer and a snort, he looked across the table for moral support.

Takeishi Kano, who occasionally let his sergeants call him Tak, glanced at Emily sitting a few seats away, hoping she hadn’t heard, since he knew she’d understand. The third time club-hopping with their American guests in the Roppongi neighborhood of Tokyo had taken a toll on him, too. But he had other concerns.

“Shut it, Sergeant,” he growled in Japanese.

“C’mon, Captain. How many more hakujin bars do we have to take these guys to?”

“At least it’s not a karaoke bar this time,” Sgt Daisuke Ishikawa offered.

“Tenno, what are they going on about?” Captain Oleschenko asked.

“And do they have to call her that?” Moon said, loud enough to be heard the length of the table. “I mean, what the hell is she playing at with a name like that anyway?”

“Sergeant Tsukino thinks we smell bad, sir,” Emily said.

“We smell bad?” Sgt Durant chuckled. “What the hell does he think he smells like?”

“It’s an old prejudice, from the second world war,” she said. “Japanese didn’t eat much meat in those days, and they thought the GI’s smelled strange, you know, like old butter.”

Kano glowered at his men as she spoke. As irritating as he found her presence, having to guard against offending her made it so much worse. She wasn’t responsible for his father’s death, but she damn well reminded him of the infernal code of honor that propelled him to his end. His father had sacrificed himself to protect her, and he’d done it at the behest of the Crown Princess, even though it required accepting a pretended disgrace in order to go undercover… and even now, three years later, the Imperial Household still refused to acknowledge his sacrifice, or to restore his good name.

“Moon, you eat enough meat to smell like a slaughterhouse,” Sgt Ishikawa roared.

“What do you know about it, Dice?” Sgt Tsukino replied.

“Only what my nose tells me.”

Sneak Preview: Ch. 1 of GIRL RIDES THE WIND, Bk #6 of the Emily Kane Adventures

Chapter One

How did it come to this?

With the inflatable safely stowed among the rocks, and under the storm-flotsam she’d collected to conceal them from any planes, or satellites, during the two days they were still out on the open ocean, Emily Kane hauled Sergeant Durant across the beach and into the cover of the trees.

“Damn, you’re heavy, Mick. What the hell have you been eating lately?”

He groaned back at her, semi-conscious, and only able to push off one leg. Blood oozed from his hip and shoulder, and a gash along one rib covered by an ill-fitting bandage, and he winced when she adjusted her grip. Once she’d found him a comfortable spot in some brush beneath a eucalyptus tree, she turned back toward the shore.

“I don’t like the look of those clouds,” she said over one shoulder, not expecting a response. “This may not be good enough shelter. I’m going back for the water and bandages, and then we can try to move again.”

It didn’t take long to gather what she needed, scowling at the horizon the whole time, and when the inflatable bobbed loose from its makeshift mooring, she hauled it higher up onto the rocks, trading concealment for security “A lot of trouble for a raft we may never need again,” she muttered.

“You should’ve left me back there,” he croaked as she came within earshot again. “I’m just slowing you down. We both know what they’re after.”

“Are you questioning my command judgment, Sergeant… again?”

It's finally Out! Girl Takes The Oath is available at the following retailers:

Amazon

B & N

Kobo

iTunes

Smashwords

Here's a link to the email I sent out to all the fans on my mailing list last week. You can find sign-up links to the mailing list at the back of each book, too, as well as right here.

Where to get the Emily Kane Adventures

 Wondering where you can get the Emily Kane Adventures? Here's some links to major retailers who carry them.

#1 Girl Fights Back 

Amazon

iTunes

B&N

Kobo

#2 Girl Punches Out

Amazon

iTunes

B&N

Kobo

#3 Girl Takes Up Her Sword

Amazon

iTunes

B&N

Kobo

#4 Girl Spins A Blade

Amazon

iTunes

B&N

Kobo

#5 Girl Takes The Oath, is available at the following outlets:

Amazon

iTunes

B&N

Kobo

The Emily Kane Adventures, Upcoming releases

The current schedule of releases for the Emily Kane Adventures is as follows:

Book 1: Girl Fights Back, available now.

Book 2: Girl Punches Out, available now.

Book 3: Girl Takes Up Her Sword, available now.

Book 4: Girl Spins a Blade. This short, originally entitled The High Road To The Mountain Gods, covers the summer after high school before Emily resolves to enter the US Naval Academy. It is typically free, or only $0.99, and is included as a free bonus in the paperback version of Book 3.

Book 5: Girl Takes The Oath, due out this summer, follows Emily as she navigates the treacherous waters of social life in the Naval Academy, and finds herself caught up in an international conspiracy targeting the Japanese imperial family.

Book 6: Girl Ships Out, due out next winter. Now a newly minted Marine officer, Emily arranges to be assigned to the Marine Corps Air Station in Futenma, Japan, so she can keep an eye on Princess Toshi from a discreet distance. While the central figures in the conspiracy against the imperial family have been neutralized, new threats emerge from elsewhere in southeast Asia, and Emily must call on new allies from her father's past.

Book 7: Girl Under Fire, follows Li Li and Stone, the children Emily Rescued from the North Korean  prison camp in Kamchatka in Book 2. They're teenagers now, and are starting to attract the unhealthy attention of some mysterious individuals. Stone knows something is very wrong, but he can't seem to get the family to understand--because they are too distracted by other bad news: Emily Kane is missing somewhere in Afghanistan!

Sign up to our mailing list to receive email updates about new releases and special offers. Don't worry, we won't spam you, in fact, we probably won't send out more than a handful of emails in a given year, and we absolutely won't share your information with anyone.

Update on Book of The Emily Kane Adventures

I'm working on Book 5 of the Emily Kane series right now. The working title is Girl Takes The Oath. In this installment, Emily has taken Perry and Theo's advice and enrolled in the US Naval Academy. In her third year, she becomes the target of a conspiracy involving an ultra-rightwing party in Japan and militant nationalists in China. She learns that Princess Toshi--who she met at the end of Book 3--is in danger, and the Crown Princess, Masako, sends one of her samurai retainers to watch Emily's back. 

Emily is in her third year, and of course the usual baddies within the Academy (think Tom Brown's School Days) have decided they don't like her. They think they can torment her, but are caught in the jaws of much nastier folks than themselves. She offers advice and instruction to the Academy karate team, but the fact that she refuses to compete in tournaments with them raises a few hackles, but what else can she do, having encountered the nasty side of fighting too often to treat it as a game.

I'll be previewing the cover soon.

Look for Book 5: Girl Takes The Oath this summer in bookstores online and everywhere. 

End of the Road--An Anthology of Shorts Stories

It's out at last, the book you've been waiting for, the End of the Road, a great new anthology of short stories by some of the finest writing talents of the day!

And best of all, it's FREE!

You can pick up yours at Smashwords right now. Just follow this link to download a free copy, compatible with any e-reader on the market today.

The collection crosses all genres, and includes big stars, like Russell Blake, Saxon Andrew, Brandon Hale, Traci Tyne Hilton and, Michael Meyer, just to name a few. There are thrillers, romances, paranormal tales, zombies, you name it.

Here's the table of contents, so you can see who's stories are included.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: The Kiss at the End of the Road, by Brandon Hale

Chapter 2: A Touch of Cold, by Robert Thomas

Chapter 3: Clay, by Russell Blake

Chapter 4: Waiting In Line, by James Rozoff

Chapter 5: Traveling Companions, by Anna J. McIntyre

Chapter 6: Nowheresville, by Donna B. McNicol

Chapter 7: One More Mile, by Dale Roberts

Chapter 8: The Zombie Pestilence, by Randall Morris

Chapter 9: The Last Hours of Brandon Kratz, by James Rozoff

Chapter 10: The Savior, by Alison Blake

Chapter 11: Death of the Senator, by Stephen Arseneault

Chapter 12: The Long Road Home, by Jeanette Raleigh

Chapter 13: Joint Venture, by L. S. Burton

Chapter 14: Sherdan’s Road, by Jess Mountifield

Chapter 15: Living Ink, by Shirley Bourget

Chapter 16: Anywhere, by C.A. Newsome

Chapter 17: Natural Selection, by J R C Salter

Chapter 18: Because I Love You, by Michael Meyer

Chapter 19: Holmgang, by E.B. Boggs

Chapter 20: Young Chef’s Regret, by David A. Cuban

Chapter 21: The Sinkhole, by Scott Langrel

Chapter 22: Sans Cinderella, by Traci Tyne Hilton

Chapter 23: Hilda’s Song, by John Daulton

Chapter 24: Sinners in Church, by Kathleen Steed

Chapter 25: Once We Were Children, by Chris Ward

Chapter 26: Despair, by Doug Hayes

Chapter 27: The High Road to the Mountain Gods, by Jacques Antoine

Chapter 28: The Frozen Truth, by Shirley Bourget

Chapter 29: The End of the Road, by Saxon Andrew

Chapter 30: Stalked, by Sherrie Giddens

Chapter 31: Home Now, by Suzie O’Connell

Chapter 32: The Velociraptor at the End of the Road, by Vel R.

Chapter 33: Downfall #1, by Thomas Jenner and Angeline Perkins

Taking Back The Earth--New Post-Apocalyptic Thriller by Julia Cruz

We've just seen the beta version of Julia Cruz's new novel, Taking Back The Earth, and it looks amazing. She expects to finish the final edit this summer. She's quite a perfectionist.

Here's a mock up of a possible cover. She'd love any feedback you may have to offer. It may give you a clue about what to expect when you get your copy.

"We lost the Earth because they were fiercer than us. To defeat them, we had to remake ourselves, to become even fiercer, and infinitely more cruel. Now that we've won, we have to decide whether to continue as we are, or to remake ourselves again. But as what?"

Look for it at booksellers everywhere in August.