Sunday, February 3, 2013

Romantic Thriller Byzantine Gold with swag bag

I hope everyone is having a good morning. I'll be posting excerpts and info on my latest release, Byzantine Gold. The romantic thriller moves from Paris to Istanbul to Cyprus. It is book two in my Dangerous Waters series. All the favorite characters from Golden Chariot have returned.

Byzantine Gold was given a 5-star review and designated "Top Pick" by Night Owl Reviews.

I look forward to talking with everyone. I am giving away a swag bag with 1 ecopy of Golden Chariot, a tote with the book covers, a Turkish charm keychain and a small box of soap petals shaped like a rose.
Smiles,
Chris Karlsen


Back cover blurb for Byzantine Gold

 

A sunken warship from the Byzantine Era carrying an unusual cargo of gold has been found off the coast of Northern Cyprus. News of the valuable cache has attracted the attention of a terrorist cell. They plan to attack the recovery team’s campsite and steal the artifacts. On the Black Market, the sale of the relics will buy them additional weapons.

 Charlotte Dashiell, an American archaeologist, and her lover, Atakan Vadim, a Turkish government agent, are scheduled to be part of the recovery team that brings up the artifacts. While en route to Cyprus, they find themselves caught in the crosshairs of Maksym Tischenko, a Ukrainian contract killer bent on revenge. Charlotte, Atakan and Tischenko share a grim history. As a result, Tischenko is a man who will stop at nothing to achieve his goal—seeing them both dead.

 


Excerpt #1

 

Charlotte answered on the fourth ring. Caller I.D. showed “restricted.”

“Hello.”

“They are called, Angelique tulips. You admired them in the hospital garden in Paris.”

Charlotte froze, holding her breath as she listened to the nightmare voice, remembering how his Eastern European accent rounded certain sounds and how he stressed the last syllables in his words. Called became cawl-d.

Tischenko.

“Everything in time,” he said and hung up.

Charlotte dropped the phone on the table. She turned to Atakan.

The shock must’ve shown on her face. “What is wrong?”

“That was Tischenko,” she said, finding her voice. “The flowers are from him. He was watching me in Paris when I was at the hospital. He—”

Atakan didn’t wait for her to finish. He rushed into the living room, grabbed his gun from the bookshelf, and ran out of the apartment.

Charlotte followed as he flew down the four flights of stairs to the street.

“Stop.” Catching up to him on the sidewalk, she hooked his elbow with her hand. Fearful an armed Tischenko hid nearby, she positioned herself in front of Atakan, thinking to shield him. “We can’t stand here. He could be anywhere taking aim at you right now.”

“Go back inside.”

“Not without you.” She tugged on his shirt, pulling him toward their building. “Atakan please, let’s leave. Call the Director.”

Atakan shoved her behind him. Silent, his eyes searched the dark doorways of neighboring apartment buildings and parked cars.

“Atakan please.”

“Get inside.”

She stepped in front of him again. “We stay here together or we leave together.”

An eternity of seconds passed. Neither moved or blinked.

They both jumped and turned at the bellow from the horn of a passing truck. Thankfully, the driver was waving to another coming the opposite direction. He never saw the man in the sling pointing a gun at him.

“Please,” she repeated.

Atakan nodded. He stopped at the building’s entry door and took a last look, surveying the street. “He moves us around like pawns in a private game.”

 

 

7 comments:

Natalie-Nicole Bates said...

Sounds absolutely fabulous! Can't wait to read it!!

Chris Karlsen said...

Hi Natalie-Nicole,
Thank you for stopping by and for the kind words.
Chris

Catherine Lee said...

Hi Chris. I feel like I'm stalking you! LOL. What might a "turkish charm" look like?
catherinelee100 at gmail dot com

Catherine Lee said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Chris Karlsen said...

Hi Catherine Lee,

A Turkish charm is called a nazar. It is protection against the "evil eye." They are common talisman found in Turkey and Greece. It is round or oblong, dark blue surround, with a white ring, then a light blue ring and a black
'eyeball' in the center. They're very popular in Turkey and seen everywhere. I have one in a niche above my desk and next to a small, enamel dragon statue.
Thank you for visiting with me again. I enjoy our talks.
Chris

Debby said...

Sounds very exciting. I have always been fascinated with Istanbul. Hope to get to read it.
debby236 at gmail dot com

Chris Karlsen said...

Hi Debbie,
Thank you for visiting with me again. It's nice to talk to you. Golden Chariot also travels between Istanbul and Bodrum, Turkey.
If you visit my Pinterest page you can see my book boards for Byzantine Gold and Golden Chariot along with my books from another series. With the book boards, I got to use my "dream cast."
Chris