Spotlight: The Penance of Valentine Cash by Rebecca Rook

Publication date: January 16th 2024

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult

Synopsis:

Neil Gaiman’s American Gods meets Jennifer Mason-Black’s Devil and the Bluebird in this modern adaptation of the Greek legend The Twelve Labors of Hercules for young adult fantasy readers.

Valentine Cash is dead.

When she dies in an accidental collision she caused on the cusp of musical fame, Valentine is offered a deal: Complete a series of difficult tasks to get her life back. Fail, and she dies a final, everlasting death. Guided by Route 66 the Mother Road of America on her quest, she tackles one herculean task after another, giving up a piece of herself with each trial.

Valentine begins to understand that the fame she once sought won’t bring her happiness or belonging – and if she fulfills the penance, she must decide what’s more important: Her old life or restoring the lives of the strangers who died alongside her.

The young and the ancient, the tangible and the mythical, collide as Valentine learns the true meaning of redemption, connection, and the enduring power of the human spirit.

Excerpt

Valentine looked Bill over. She remembered the stories in the old ballads, the ones of dancing with the devil only to never come home. Bill didn’t seem like a devil, but he clearly wasn’t an angel, either. She certainly didn’t trust him. What did she know of cowboys, particularly a legend like Pecos Bill? What did he want? What could she give without too high a price? A memory, a faint song remnant tickled the back of her skull, then poured out of her mouth.

“Your lariat,” Valentine said. “The snake. Or the one you used to rope the moon. You still use it?”

Bill leaned back, his eyes watchful. “Funny that you ask. It’s worn down some. I’m hardly able to use it much these days.”

“I could take a look,” Valentine offered. “See if I can fix it.”

“You?” Bill scoffed. “What do you know about lariats? Despite your get-up, you’re not a cowhand or a rancher.”

Valentine leaned forward. Somehow, she knew she was on the right track. The same intuition that guided her in writing a great song nudged her further down this line of questioning. “It won’t cost you anything to let me look at it. If I fail to fix your lariat, we’ll leave you alone and find the Bloody Bones ourselves. But if I succeed, you will tell us where and when to find the killer. Or the Bloody Bones.” Valentine tried to be specific. She remembered the folk tales and legends she grew up on all had stories about bargains built on imprecise language or wordplay that ended badly for the mortals.

She couldn’t afford for this to end badly. She had to find the Bloody Bones.

It was the only way to get her life back.

Bill narrowed his eyes at Valentine for a long moment. Finally, he nodded.

“I accept your terms.”

Bill led them upstairs to a humble studio above the bar. Valentine was startled by the appearance of the simple abode; she had stayed in many, many places like this. She had assumed a legend would reside in a worthier home, someplace like the elegant casino where she had met Dale Wright, High John, and Paul Bunyan. Valentine didn’t say anything, though. She didn’t want to hurt Pecos Bill’s feelings. She already felt that she was on treacherous ground with him.

Bill left them standing in the doorway and walked over to the closet. He pulled down a saddlebag made of tanned, worn leather and reached in to pull out a lariat. Walking over to Valentine, he placed it in her hands.

“Here she is.” Valentine heard a faint note of pride, and worry. “The lariat I used to harness tornados, to pull Sue down from the moon after the Widow-Maker had tossed her.” Bill gave an affectionate smile.

“How is Sue these days, Bill?” Valentine heard Six ask from behind her.

The smile vanished. “Gone.”

Bill didn’t elaborate.

Valentine turned the lariat over in her hands. The rope was frayed from use, with threads slipped loose from the main coil. The material felt heavier, denser than the rope she had handled on her parents’ hobby farm. Silver and copper strands wove through the fabric, with a few faint gold threads, the only other hint of something supernatural about this workaday tool. Valentine bent closer to examine the silver and copper, and her own long, gold hair fell forward, resting against her hand where it held the rope.

She had an idea. “Six, do you have a knife?”

“A knife?” Six shifted his weight on his feet. One hand ruffled through his hair.

“Yes.”

“Uh, no.”

Bill reached into the saddlebag. “Will this do?”

Valentine looked up to see that Bill held a sheathed, single-sided blade the length of her forearm. “Yes.”

Setting the rope aside on a nearby chair, Valentine took the knife from Bill and pulled the blade from the sheath. She swept off her hat, the silver accents twinkling in the faint light of the studio. Valentine gathered her long hair into roughly two chunks, on either side of her face. Using the knife, she sawed off one handful of the golden length, then the other.

She heard Six gasp in surprise. A deep rumble came from Church.

In less than a minute, she had an armful of golden hair.

Valentine handed the blade back to Bill, who took it without comment but with a keen gaze. She picked up the lariat and sorted through the coils until she found one end. She examined the braided coil, holding it at arm’s length and then up close. After a moment, she knew what she needed to do.

Valentine placed the lariat on the worn Formica table, on top of a clutter of magazines and old newspapers and dirty dishes. She then reached for her own shorn locks and began to braid thin strips of her hair, one after the other. Silence hung over the room as the legends watched her, and Valentine began to sing, under her breath, an old song about a maid seeking her heart’s desire, a bluegrass tune she had first played when learning the mandolin. She sang in a low voice and continued to braid the shorn gold until there remained no more strands.

Valentine picked up the lariat, and starting from one end, she wove the braided gold into the twisted rope. As she wrapped and tucked and twisted the golden strands into the fabric, the silver and copper strands flared and brightened, as if coming back to life. The gold threads glowed in response. Valentine worked her way down the length of the rope. She was relieved that she had just enough hair to repair the lariat. All the while, she sang the old tune. When she ran out of verses, she simply started the song anew.

Finally, the lariat was done.

Buy on Amazon

About the Author

Rebecca Rook designs tabletop games, manages a little free library dedicated to sequential art and comics, and lives in the Pacific Northwest with two wonderful dogs. She writes young adult fiction in the fantasy, thriller, and horror genres.

A 2021-2022 Hugo House Fellow in
Seattle, WA, she also attended the 2021 Tin House YA Fiction Workshop in
Portland, OR. Rebecca was selected as one of the 100 invited writers to participate in the Write Team Mentorship Program’s curated Pitch-a-Thon event before being chosen as a Mentee for the 2021 Program. Prior to this, she completed the wonderful Yearlong Workshop for Young Adult and Middle Grade Fiction at Hugo House.

Connect:

https://www.byrebeccarook.com/

https://www.tiktok.com/@byrebeccarook

https://www.instagram.com/byrebeccarook

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/45848659.Rebecca_Rook

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Spotlight: Fade Into Night by Becky Flade

Philly Heat Series Book 5

Genre: Romantic Suspense

A man dedicated to unmasking monsters.

The woman who gives faces to the lost.

Neither can see the evil hiding in plain sight.

FBI Special Agent Noah Danes' investigation into The Beltway Romeo brings him to Philadelphia and leads to a chance encounter with an old friend. Forensic facial reconstructionist Sadie Potter hasn't seen Noah since the sentencing of her mother's murderer four years earlier. Seeing one another in a new light, they both dare to hope for more.

But before they can explore their newfound feelings, Sadie's attacked by The Beltway Romeo.

Fueled with rage and fear, Noah swears to protect her at all costs. But his fellow profilers turn their focus on Noah, threatening to reveal his deepest secrets to the world. Scarred, depressed, and afraid of losing herself along with her art, Sadie lashes out at the people she loves most...until Romeo makes it clear he hasn't forgotten the victim who got away.

Excerpt

Dulcet tones from bow and string created grace as music soared to the vaulted ceiling and images of horror panned across the wall. Blood and rose petals littered the champagne-colored carpet. Candles reduced to hardened puddles on occasional tables, their frozen drips streaked toward the floor. Every detail designed to draw the viewer’s gaze to the dead woman spread eagle in the center of the room, her hands and feet staked with metal tent posts. Her eyelids removed and her torso carved, she’d been butchered and displayed in the most gruesome definition of the word. One image transitioned into another, a macabre carousel.

Close-ups of the damage to the body gave way to distance shots of the room, taken from separate angles. As detailed and distressing as it was, it couldn’t recreate the smell of death. Feces, urine, blood, and the sickly, sweet scent of roses mixed with the sandalwood from the scented candles and permeated the room. The faint odor of the initial officer's vomit wafted in from beyond the open door. He could show them, but they’d never know. The last photo, the room after the body was removed, filled the screen as the music faded to silence.

“Lights on.” Special Supervisory Agent Noah Danes catalogued the expressions of the thirty bureau cadets in the lecture hall. He punched back to the first photo. The full image of the room with the corpse showcased dead center. “This is how Reston police found the body of Caitlyn Jones. They were responding to a noise complaint. The music we just heard, Adagio in G Minor, composed by Tomaso Albinoni, played on the stereo system at full volume. We asked them to secure the residence, and advised them to touch nothing, not even the stereo, until we arrived to document the scene. You’re seeing it as I did. What do you see?”

“The second victim of the Beltway Romeo,” a voice sounded from the back.

Noah nodded. “That’s the name the press has given him, not law enforcement. The body of the first victim, Stephanie Jackson, was found in her Frederick, Maryland home. Because they have, annually, more than four times the violent crime of Reston, they were prepared to handle the scene there. Reston PD knew they were out of their depth and were familiar enough with the details of the Jackson murder to request immediate help to process the scene. Since then, the Behavioral Analysis Unit here at Quantico has acted as a judicial clearinghouse in this investigation. Who can explain what I mean, and extra points if you can tell me how we navigated the multi-jurisdictional morass?” Hands shot up. “Sciarrillo.”

“One way to elude law enforcement is to change jurisdictions.” Sciarrillo was a former military officer. What was euphemistically referred to as a door kicker but he was smart and had excellent instincts. The BAU would bore him, but he’d prove a formidable field agent. “Even in our digital age, communications between local law enforcement in different counties, and differing states, leave a lot to be desired. The Behavioral Analysis Unit both collects and disseminates information to various law enforcement agencies. It’s kind of brilliant. As soon as Romeo crossed state lines, the FBI claimed jurisdiction over all his crimes.”

“Good. Hicks?”

The young woman lowered her hand. She, like so many younger recruits, held a law degree. Extraordinarily intelligent, overachiever, destined for a career in government, politics, or maybe a judicial seat. She’d rise through the ranks in white collar crime. “Doesn’t Romeo present as too intelligent to make the mistake of earning the FBI’s attention?”

“Yes. However, let’s remember. By spreading his kills out, he makes them harder to link. It was a calculated risk.” Though true, he didn’t believe it himself. There was something more to this pattern. Speaking of. “There are eight victims to date. Each woman was single, successful, and upwardly mobile. They held powerful jobs in the capital and lived in communities accessible by the Beltway or the northeast corridor. As fresh evidence is discovered, we refine our conclusions and ViCAP is updated. For those of you who may not know, although by now you should, ViCAP stands for the Violent Criminal Apprehension Program. It enables local law enforcement agencies to collect, enter, and analyze their own violent crime information. It facilitates the identification of similar cases on a regional, state, and national basis. As in all things, it’s only as good as the information added to it.” He nodded and clicked on another photo. “What else do you see?”

“He tortures them. Removes their eyelids and forces them to watch what he’s doing to them until they die.”

Buy on Amazon

About the Author

When I was little, I thought everyone had stories in their head. When I found out only special people had stories to tell, I wanted to be one of the magical ones who shared their stories with the world. I wrote my first book in kindergarten with the help of my teacher, Mrs. Daniels. My mom – my biggest fan and most ardent supporter – has that little crayon-drawn book tucked into the pages of her family bible. It took almost thirty years to get from there to published but here I am, making my own dreams come true, one happily ever after at a time. 

Website * Facebook * Twitter * Instagram * Bookbub * Amazon * Goodreads

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Spotlight: The Quelling by C.L. Lauder

When you’re Stained, patches of skin glisten like liquid starlight, and sooner or later, his creatures find you.

When Kyjta accidentally brands herself with an alien fluid while plotting revenge, she knows her fate is sealed. As one of the Stained, her markings glisten star-bright, and the creatures sent by the Rhemans to scavenge for bodies will have no trouble finding her.

One night, while sheltering during a raid, Kyjta forms an unexpected pact with a Rheman rebel to protect a young girl, Calipsie, who’s fallen into her care. Days later, when Calipsie is taken, Kyjta abandons precaution to go after her. Facing impossible odds and allied by a Rheman she’s not sure she can trust, Kyjta must not only rescue Calipsie, but also face the Rheman overlord who’s taken a disturbing interest in her.

C. L. Lauder grew up in South Africa before immigrating to the United Kingdom, where she attended the University of London to complete an MA in Creative Writing. She now lives at the foot of a lush mountain in Hong Kong with her husband and two rapidly lengthening sons, who all enjoy their newfound proximity to nature, especially the sea.

Buy on Amazon

About the Author

C. L. Lauder grew up in South Africa, before immigrating to the United Kingdom, where she attended the University of London to complete an MA in Creative Writing. She now lives at the foot of a lush mountain in Hong Kong with her husband and two rapidly lengthening sons, who all enjoy their newfound proximity to nature and especially the sea. Connect with C. L. Lauder at cllauder.com or on Instagram @carla_lauder, Facebook @c.l.lauder, or X @carla_lauder.

Spotlight: The Immortal Rose Wyndham: The Beginning by B. Roman

The Moon Singer Book 4

Genre: Historical Romantic Fantasy Adventure

From 18th Century France to 20th Century San Francisco, the Promise of the Rose Crystal both empowered and mystified Grace Moreau and her daughter Rose Wyndham.

They fought for women’s rights, suffered prejudice and conspiracy theorists, and blazed their way through a male-dominated world to define their own roles in society. Through it all they poignantly resisted romantic desire, for if they fell in love the power of the Rose Crystal would be impotent and they - and their lovers - would die.

A romantic adventure spanning 250 years, B. Roman's 'The Immortal Rose Wyndham' is a story where the power of music, and the belief in a purpose greater than oneself, provide the mystery and magic that creates miracles.

**The Immortal Rose Wyndham: The Beginning can be read as a standalone and/or prequel to the rest of the books in the series.

Excerpt

The Alien

Grace’s body tensed up and she snapped to full alert, withdrawing her hand cautiously. “Come with you? To America? That is a dream I do not share, Percy. I have my life here, my business.”

“A life that is lonely from what I can see. Max Gaither mostly runs your business these days. You can open a new boutique in America.”

“Catering to Indian tribes and Spanish settlers? They do not share my fashion sense or style.”

Percy laughed lightly at her sarcasm. “And who better to enlighten them than Mademoiselle Gabrielle? Besides, the settlers there are more sophisticated than you might think.”

Grace drew herself up to full height and apologized to Percy for her hasty departure. “I am flattered at your proposal, but I must decline.”

Percy stood and tried to keep her from leaving. “Please Grace,” he beseeched and firmly grasped her arms. “Please don’t leave. Or go with me someplace private so we can talk.”

Grace maneuvered away from his grip, slightly frightened but mostly flustered. She strode quickly from the shop and hurried to her apartment. This state of confusion and agitation was new to her.

She had always been in control of her emotions, even when near Marcel. Despite her thoughts and musings, she had managed to maintain an equilibrium that the Rose Crystal gave her. Percy conveyed an element of menace that unnerved her and sent up cautionary flags.

Struggling to retain her inner calm, Grace played one of her favorite Mozart Sonatas, and repeated Marcel’s name quietly as her personal mantra of strength. Soon, the palpations in her heart quieted, her hands no longer shook, and she lost herself in a musical out-of-body experience that led to a desperately-needed dream-filled slumber.

Drifting off, Grace imagined what life would be like sharing a bed with Marcel, his bright blue eyes gazing upon her with adoration. His smooth hand with delicate fingers would find its way to the ribbon holding her bed gown closed, untie it in a gentle revealing of virgin flesh that had never known a sensual touch. He would be expert, despite his youth, in awakening and arousing every pleasure point of her being, bringing her to a state of completion she did not know was possible...

But something was wrong, shockingly wrong. The smell of the man near her was not Marcel, the man of her dreams. The touch on her body was not gentle or smooth but rough and desperate. She was tempted to scream but her mouth was held closed by a another mouth muffling her cries. It was dark, she could not see who or what was assaulting her. The hands became groping, grasping. Her knees were pushed apart, her bed gown pulled up. Something was thrust painfully between her legs, and the paroxysms of an Alien being reaching the pinnacle of passion allowed her to cry out, thrash around and throw it off, whatever it was.

Grace shivered and quivered, and pulled every layer of cover around her like a shroud. There was no sound coming from her. The Alien, however, was sobbing in the darkened room and pleading over and over, “Forgive me, Gabrielle. Forgive me! I’m so sorry.” It was a familiar voice trying to register in her brain which was foggy with terror.

Then she knew. Percy. Percy did this. Percy raped me.

***

Grace’s figure changed. Her stomach swelled. Her heart sank. The child she carried from Percy’s assault should have been Marcel’s. Every evening she played the first movement of Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata over and over, losing herself in its poignant sorrow. The melancholic mood swept over her and filled her with a desperate ache, an enduring anguish. The betrayal of the Rose Crystal that was supposed to give her a life of beauty and happiness was a lie. How could she ever believe in it again? In anything or anyone?

Mourning Marcel’s death, mourning the death of her purity, her spirit, she pounded the keys with her fists. Music sheets flew into the air and across the room. Grace grabbed the piano’s music desk and dislodged it from its hinges. Using the flat board as a hammer she slammed it down onto the keys, pummeled hammers and strings until they came apart. Her hands were bloodied and, when she comprehended what she had done, she was horrified that she had destroyed the one thing that made her life bearable.

Buy on Amazon | Bookshop.org

About the Author

B. Roman - in her own words:

Since childhood, I've been torn between two worlds: writing and singing. It's difficult to serve "two masters," as they say, but I was compelled to do so. When I was not singing, I was writing; when I was not writing, I was singing. I've learned, for me, that one creative expression nurtures the other. Much of my writing has a musical theme somewhere in the plot, or is the plot. Whether it's in my non-fiction writing about the power of music itself, in children’s picture books and in writing music and lyrics for songs. 

It is natural, therefore, that my adventure series (The Moon Singer) has its roots in musical theories and metaphors, entwined with the magic and mystery of metaphysical concepts and matters of ethics, faith, compassion, love, and heroism. Music provokes universal emotions and memories, and giving my characters a musical talent and/or identity enriches them and the reader experience.

*B. Roman’s books include the 5-book Moon Singer Series, two suspense thrillers (Whatever Became of Sin?; A Man’s Face), and (as Barbara Roman) three children’s books: Hubert in Heaven, Alicia & The Light Bulb People in Star Factory 13, and The Prince Who Was A Piccolo. 

Facebook * X * Bookbub * Amazon * Goodreads * AllAuthor

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Spotlight: The Powell Expeditions by Tim Piper

When seventeen-year-old Jubilee Walker loses his mother in 1867, he has no idea that during the next two years he will be riding a wagon train across the plains, befriending a Pawnee scout, climbing mountains, and riding the raging rapids of the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon.

When Jubil initially asks to join a scientific expedition led by Major John Wesley Powell, a family friend, Powell refuses, but Jubil's persistence and resourcefulness eventually win him a place on Powell's crew. Jubil's plans for a life of adventure are complicated, however, by his deepening feelings for his best friend, Nelly Boswell, who is reluctant to spend her life with a man who insists on such a dangerous lifestyle.

How will Jubil navigate the hardships and lawlessness of the American West? And will he be forced to choose between a life of adventure and the girl he loves?

Jubil's story draws on the real-life adventures of naturalist, college professor, and one-armed Civil War veteran Major John Wesley Powell during his Colorado River Exploring Expeditions. Powell became the first explorer to summit Longs Peak in the Colorado Rockies and navigate the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon, fixing his place in history as one of America's great explorers.

Buy on Amazon | Bookshop.org

About the Author

Tim Piper is retired from a long career in Information Technology and has been a lifelong hobbyist musician. In his earlier days he was an avid hiker and backcountry camper, but his adventures these days are less strenuous and more comfortable. He lives in Bloomington, Illinois, with his cat, Maggie, who is no help with his writing, but is a stellar companion. He began his education at Illinois State University as an English major, but life circumstances put him on a more pragmatic path, and he graduated with a BS in Business Admin, a degree he finds appropriately named. You can stay in touch with him at www.timpiper-author.com

Spotlight: The Silence in Her Eyes by Armando Lucas Correa

In the vein of Paula Hawkins and Ruth Ware, a bold and suspenseful psychological thriller about a young woman with a rare neurological condition who is convinced her neighbor is going to be murdered.

Leah has been living with akinetopsia, or motion blindness, since she was a child. For the last twenty years, she hasn’t been able to see movement. As she walks around her upper Manhattan neighborhood with her white stick tapping in front, most people assume she’s blind. But the truth is Leah sees a good deal, and with her acute senses of smell and hearing, very little escapes her notice.

She has a quiet, orderly life, with little human contact beyond her longtime housekeeper, her doctor, and her elderly neighbor. That all changes when Alice moves into the apartment next door and Leah can immediately smell the anxiety wafting off her. Worse, Leah can’t help but hear Alice and a late-night visitor engage in a violent fight. Worried, she befriends her neighbor and discovers that Alice is in the middle of a messy divorce from an abusive husband.

Then one night, Leah wakes up to someone in her apartment. She blacks out and in the morning is left wondering if she dreamt the episode. And yet the scent of the intruder follows her everywhere. And when she hears Alice through the wall pleading for her help, Leah makes a decision that will test her courage, her strength, and ultimately her sanity.

Buy on Amazon | Audible | Bookshop.org