Blog Tour | The White Devil of Dublin

Welcome to my tour stop! Today I have an excerpt and top ten post for you all. Hope you find it helpful!

Title: The White Devil of Dublin

Author: P. M.Terrell

Series: Ryan O’Clery Mysteries Book #2

Genres: Romantic Suspense

Publication Date: September 15th, 2014

Publisher: Drake Valley Press

Purchase: Kindle | Amazon | iBooks | Smashwords

Synopsis: 
When Detective Ryan O’Clery receives a call from a noted historian claiming to have uncovered information about his Irish ancestors, he is certain she is mistaken. But when he arrives for their meeting, he finds the historian murdered and her computer stolen. His investigation will lead him to 12th Century Ireland, to a time of the Viking invasion and conquest, to an albino known as The White Devil of Dublin, and to a shocking secret his family kept hidden for more than eight hundred years. He will also come face-to-face with a present-day albino serial killer, intent on finishing the job he started.


Excerpt

The men retreated into a stable, leaving only Baldr and the woman. She continued at the same pace, never turning to look behind her. She never did, he realized.
She was nearly past the stable doors when two of the men appeared. They worked like jackals, one moving swiftly to one side to grab her above both elbows, while the other covered her mouth with one hand while the other hand clutched her hair, pulling her into the stables. The door swung shut behind them, her cries muffled.
Baldr crossed the road in great strides. He did not think; he did not reason. Four or twenty made no difference to him. He operated on an instinct born of fighting.
He threw open the door to the stables, simultaneously drawing his sword. The clang of the metal as it left its sheath was unmistakable, and even in their drunken melee, the men froze at the sound.
In the fraction of an instant, he took in the scene before him: she lay unceremoniously atop a heap of hay, her cloak askew, her skirts pulled above her knees. One man straddled her, his hands hidden from Baldr but their location leaving very little doubt as to his intention. Another held her wrists above her head. A trickle of blood swept down her cheek. Her cries stopped as she laid eyes on him, despite her dangerous predicament.
“Leave her be,” Baldr ordered. His words were even and measured but in the ensuing silence, they sounded like thunder.
From their widened eyes, he knew he filled the stable door with his formidable shoulders and wide stance. The wind caught his hair, causing it to billow about him. A lantern hung not far from him and he knew his eyes had caught the light, causing them to appear like two almond-shaped beacons, glowing white and steady. He did not blink and he did not move.
The men did not turn to their own swords. One whispered “Hvitr Bard” under his breath in the same tone he might have used if the devil himself stood before him. Three backed away.
Though her wrists were now unencumbered, the woman remained perfectly still. She did not look at him in fear or revulsion as others did. She simply watched.
The man atop of her came to his feet.
Baldr stepped further into the stables, allowing a path for the men to escape. Nervously, they shifted toward the open door, glancing back as he moved closer to the man whose pant front dipped below his hips.
The English fought with a sword in one hand, sparring, dipping and clashing. Not the Ostmen; Baldr held his sword with both hands as was their custom. With one fell swoop, he split the man open from his chest to his lower abdomen. It happened so quickly that the man simply stared at him, his eyes wide. Then he fell to his knees before crumpling forward in the hay.
Baldr whipped around to face the others but they were stumbling over one another to get through the door first.
He waited until they had retreated before turning to the woman.
“Are ye injured?” he asked, offering her a hand.
She placed her hand in his without hesitation, allowing him to pull her gently to her feet. His palm dwarfed hers and she rose with barely the weight of a feather. She shook her head. “Thank ye.”
Her voice was silky; though slightly unsteady, she did not border on hysteria the way he imagined other women might—the way other women had with him on other days, other times, other locales.
He realized her cloak was ripped, as was her bodice. One breast lay exposed to him, and without taking his eyes off hers, he pulled her cloak about her for modesty. She seemed to come to her senses then, grasping her clothing in her hands and pulling it closer to her neck to cover her cleavage.
“Ye are not afeared,” he said.
“Nay. I do not fear ye.”
The simple statement rendered him speechless. He realized he still held his sword and he wiped the blade across the fallen man’s clothing, first on one side and then on the other. He sheathed it before looking at her again.
“What do they call ye?” he asked.
“Maeve.”
“Maeve,” he repeated. Then, “I am—”
“I know who y’ are,” she interjected. “Ye are the one they call Hvitr Bard, The White Devil.”


Top Ten Fav Books

1. Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer - The true story of a fateful quest to the summit of Mount Everest, which left eight people dead and changed the lives of untold others. The book delves into the personalities, challenges and ambitions of those who climb the world’s highest peak.

2. The Mummy by Anne Rice - I never dreamed I’d fall in love with an Egyptian mummy, but Anne Rice tells the story so beautifully and convincingly that you can’t help but fall for Ramses the Great. Picture Russell Crowe in his role of Master and Commander, and you’ll get a sense for what Ramses is like.

3. Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell - Though I haven’t read this book in years, it was transformative to me in so many ways. The movie doesn’t do the battle scenes justice. It is both tragic and inspiring to see how so many lives throughout the South were permanently changed and the future was altered.

4. Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier - A bookseller once told me this was the most frightening book she’d ever read. The terror sneaks up on you in this psychological thriller, and I’ll never be able to get the English moors out of my mind. It inspired the settings for several of my own books.

5. & 6. Linda Goodman’s Sun Signs and Linda Goodman’s Love Signs - Both of these books provide endless inspiration for the characters in my books. By discovering how people of different astrological signs react to various situations, and then how two signs are destined to be either lovers or enemies, they’ve helped shape many of my antagonists and protagonists. You’ll never read that any of my characters are of a particular sign, but all the clues are there.

7. Lessons from a Lifetime of Writing by David Morrell - The first time I read this book was shortly after my first suspense/thriller was published, and it changed the way I look at and experience the journey of a published author. It inspired me to keep going even after the going got tough.

8. Erin Quinn’s Haunting series (Haunting Beauty, Haunting Embrace, Haunting Warrior and Haunting Desire) - Quinn reminded me why I longed to be a writer; her words can take you to places you never imagined, making you feel the mists of Ireland, the love of soul mates, and the power of time.

9. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote - This was the book that convinced me to write suspense. I would have loved to be a journalist or write true crime but I discovered with my two historical books just how much painstaking research and fact-checking is involved. The work that Capote and Harper Lee did to cover the crime and its aftermath is nothing short of genius, ushering in a new type of true story told like a work of fiction.

10. The Perfect Storm by Sebastian Junger - Taking ordinary people and placing them in extraordinary circumstances is something that has always fascinated me. Junger tells the true story of men of the sea, the challenges they face and the work they do, in a way that makes you feel as if you’re there. When one of the worst storms in maritime history strikes and each person is fighting for survival, it becomes a story that you can’t put down--and won’t forget.


Author Bio

P. M. Terrell is the award-winning, internationally acclaimed author of more than 20 books. The first book in the Ryan O’Clery Mysteries Series, The Tempest Murders, was a 2013 USA Best Book Awards Finalist and a 2014 International Book Awards Nominee. Vicki’s Key was both a 2012 USA Best Book Awards and 2012 International Book Awards Finalist. And River Passage was the winner of the 2010 Best Drama Award. The Pendulum Files is a 2014 Best Cover Design Nominee.

Prior to writing full-time, p.m.terrell founded and operated two computer companies in the Washington, DC area. Her specialties are computer crime and computer intelligence, and her clients included the CIA, Secret Service and Department of Defense. Computer technology plays a major role in many of her suspense/thrillers. She is the co-founder of The Book ‘Em Foundation and the founder of the annual Book ‘Em North Carolina Writers Conference and Book Fair. She is also the Vice President of the Robeson County Arts Council and is on the Board of Directors for the Friends of the Robeson County Public Library.



Giveaway

 Viking meets Celtic in a beautiful Endless Love key chain
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