Perhaps you didn’t see the cover reveal for the latest book in indie author Bruce Blake’s awesome Icarus Fell series a bit over a week ago. But that’s okay, cause now you can go get your copy of the book!
SECRETS OF THE HANGED MAN is now available! It is the third novel in the acclaimed Icarus Fell dark urban fantasy series by Bruce Blake. And even better, for a limited time, get the new book for only 99 cents by signing up for Bruce’s newsletter…follow this link, register, and receive your Smashwords coupon!
Of course, if you want to help Bruce stay a successful and full-time indie author and want to pay full price, here are those links:
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/
Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-
Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/
Icarus Fell thought the afterlife couldn’t get any worse…until Hell came looking for him.
When you are the orphaned child of a disgraced nun, and you’re saddled with a ridiculous name like Icarus Fell, you don’t expect things can go drastically downhill.
Until death comes along and an archangel recruits you for a job you screw up so badly you nearly lose your son to a demonic priest and a fallen angel.
And then, burdened by the lives lost because of your foul ups, you travel to Hell, a detour that costs you more dearly then you could ever have imagined.
No, things couldn’t get much worse in the afterlife…unless Satan sends his lap dog to bring back the one thing he thinks belongs to him
You.
Why couldn’t death be easy?
A bit about Bruce:
Bruce Blake lives on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. When pressing issues like shovelling snow and building igloos don’t take up his spare time, Bruce can be found taking the dog sled to the nearest coffee shop to work on his novels.
Actually, Victoria, B.C. is only a couple hours north of Seattle, Wash., where more rain is seen than snow. Since snow isn’t really a pressing issue, Bruce spends more time trying to remember to leave the “u” out of words like “colour” and “neighbour” then he does shovelling. The father of two, Bruce is also the trophy husband of a burlesque diva.
Bruce’s first short story, “Another Man’s Shoes” was published in the Winter 2008 edition of Cemetery Moon, another short, “Yardwork”, was made into a podcast in Oct., 2011 by Pseudopod and his first Icarus Fell novel, On Unfaithful Wings, in Dec., 2011. The second Icarus Fell novel, All Who Wander Are Lost, was released in July, 2012, and the Khirro’s Journey epic fantasy trilogy followed between Oct., 2012 and Jan., 2013. His next project, another epic fantasy series titled The Small Gods, should begin seeing the light of day by Sept., 2013.
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/BruceBlakeWrites
Twitter: @bruceablake
In case you don’t believe me that this is a really fantastic book, Bruce provided an excerpt from Chapter 7. I’m warning you though, every time I start to read one of his stories, I usually put it down several hours later…
Excerpt
“What’s happening?” the woman’s spirit said.
She appeared better than her dead self on the couch—thinner, more fashionable, hair parted in the middle and brushed back from her face—but with a sadness to her mien. I took a breath, giving myself a second to decide the best way to break it to her—a part of my job that continued to bring me discomfort.
“You’re dead,” Dido blurted out in the same tone she might use while playing a game of tag and touching the woman, proclaiming her ‘it’.
I let out an annoyed breath and stopped myself from giving the young girl heck for her lack of tact. She shouldn’t be here, so how could I expect her to know how to act? I’d find time to explain it to her later, after I chased the frightened soul as she ran away from her ultimate fate the way my first harvest did when I made the same mistake.
The muscles in my thighs tensed, waiting for her to make a run for it. She didn’t.
The spirit contemplated her corpse, probably wishing she’d chosen different attire to be found dead in, or regretful she hadn’t wiped the unattractive glob of jam off her cheek. Possibly considering Cheerios might have made a better breakfast choice, too. After fifteen seconds, she looked back at me, wide-eyed and fearful.
“It’s okay,” I pulled the scroll out of my coat pocket for a quick memory jog, “Meg Medlin-Williams. Everything will be okay.”
She shook her head. “He did this.”
Remember the line on my forehead that shows up whenever I’m puzzled? It made a return appearance. I raised an eyebrow in an attempt to disguise it, but she’d turned away, staring off into space. My lips parted, getting ready to ask who she meant, when Dido decided she wanted to be involved.
“No one did this to you,” she said. “It’s your time.”
Apparently, she didn’t quite understand when I told her to stay out of the way, so I shot her a look I figured should make it obvious I meant her to be quiet and leave this to the professional, but she took a step toward the woman anyway. I slipped between them, blocking her out.
“I’m going to get you where you need to go,” I told her, crossing to her to put my arm around her shoulders. Comforting and preventing her from fleeing. “Everything will be fine.”
“He killed me,” she said, her voice shaking. “He killed them all.”
“No, Meg. The little girl is right.” I winked at Dido and she glared back at me; I took mental note for the future, filing away her dislike of being called a little girl. “No one did this. Your time has come, is all. It happens to everyone.”
Well, most of us.
I led her past her corpse and to the open front door. She hesitated crossing the threshold, so I gave her a gentle push to keep her going. I didn’t worry the escort angel might tire of waiting and leave because they literally had nothing else to do, but I didn’t want to spend my entire day here, either.
“Will I be safe from him now?”
“Who, Meg?” Dido asked, forgetting my threatening expression. “Who did this to you?”
She looked at the girl, then at me. Fear might as well have been the color of her eyes.
“My son,” she said, voice trembling. “He’s the devil.”