Showing posts with label inspirational Romantic suspense. Show all posts
Showing posts with label inspirational Romantic suspense. Show all posts

Sunday, January 5, 2014

Giveaway and a Book Excerpt from The Nun and the Narc


Giveaway and a Book Excerpt from The Nun and the Narc





The Nun and the Narc is now available in print!

The Nun and the Narc, by Catherine Castle, is a fast-paced, out-of-the-box inspirational romantic suspense that has been garnering five-star ratings. Readers have called it a can’t-put-it-down, fun read that you won’t want to miss.

Captured by the local Mexican drug lord after she interrupts a drug deal, novice Sister Margaret Mary risks losing her life, her vocation, and her heart when she falls for undercover DEA agent Jed Bond who is imprisoned with her.  Nuns shouldn’t look, talk, act, or kiss like Sister Margaret Mary. Jed knows she’s off limits, but his heart can’t help wanting this woman who’s been promised to God.

 

Excerpt from The Nun and the Narc:

Jed’s head whipped around just as the car plowed through a market stand of live chickens. Poultry, wooden cages, and feathers scattered over the car. An angry hen dropped through the car’s open sunroof, squawking and flapping in front of Jed, beating his head with its wings.

Margaret reached over, grabbed the bird, and threw it back out the sunroof opening. But it was too late. The car glanced off an adobe wall into a second market stand and careened toward another building. Jed jammed on the brakes. The car spun three hundred and sixty degrees before screeching to a stop.

The impact threw Margaret sideways against the passenger window. She hit her head on the glass, the blow blinding her for a second. Jed’s body slammed into the steering wheel setting off the horn. The wail echoed in Margaret’s head as she struggled to remain conscious. Warmth trickled down the side of her head. Margaret managed to focus her eyes as the noise stopped. Two Jeds leaned toward her, in slow motion. She blinked to clear her vision.

“You all right?” he asked.

“I think so.” Something warm and sticky seeped down her face. She reached up and wiped her temple. “I’m bleeding,” she said as she stared at her fingers. The words sounded slurred. At the sight of the blood on her fingers, her stomach rolled. She swallowed to keep the bile down.

“Listen. It won’t take them long to get here. Let me do the talking.”

“You won’t have to worry about that. I feel really odd.” Margaret lowered her head between her knees. “I think I’m going to faint.”

“It might be a whole lot easier if you do.”

 
Want to read more? One autographed print copy of The Nun and the Narc will be awarded to a randomly drawn commenter (U.S. commenter only) from this post and the other two posts by Catherine Castle appearing on the 1/5/14 Pavilion Party. Email address must be provided in order to be eligible to enter the drawing. Thanks for stopping by today and good luck.


Buy links:

Print version:


 

Giveaway! The Nun and the Narc


Giveaway! The Nun and the Narc
 
 

Recently released in print format, inspirational romantic suspense novel The Nun and the Narc has garnered some fantastic reviews from bloggers and reviewers. Here’s what readers are saying about this debut book by Catherine Castle.

·         This book kept me on the edge of my seat until the end. Then I wished the story could be continued. A very good read.

·         The Nun and the Narc is a fast read that kept me starting "just one more" chapter when I should have been stopping for the night.

·         I lost no less than 8 hours of sleep reading this book (over 2 nights) - precious hours of sleep I will never get back - but it was worth it. I truly enjoyed this Christian fiction title, which has a plot unlike any I've read or could have imagined.

·         I would definitely recommend this novel by Catherine! It reminded me, just a little bit, of a MacGuyver story (one of my favorite television shows) not that it was gadget oriented, but in that it had that type of feeling. It was a fun read.

·         This book was adorable. Sister Margaret Mary O'Connor may be the coolest nun ever. She uses her wits, her faith, a frying pan, and even a fork (no, really) to outwit the bad guys, and the reader can't help but love every second of it.

·         Catherine Castle gives us an inspirational tale with a definite twist. She packs Maggie and Jed's story with as much romance, danger, intrigue, and conflict as a reader could want and polishes it off with characters you root for and won't soon forget. If you are looking for something a little different in the romance genre, look no farther than The Nun and the Narc. 

·         Romance, intrigue, danger, and inspiration all rolled into a neat package that made for an enjoyable read.

·         Set in drug-ridden sectors of Mexico, this is a story of what happens when life threatening circumstances force a woman of faith to do what is necessary even when the actions are beyond her religious beliefs. …the author's artful skill resolves the varying conflicts for a very satisfying ending.

·         The Nun and the Narc is a fast-paced adventure set against the backdrop of the narcotics trade in a poor country where the bad guys really do run everything. …Castle's writing is smooth and polished, and the plot, one familiar, still moves in surprising ways.

One autographed print copy of The Nun and the Narc will be awarded to a randomly drawn commenter (U.S. commenter only) from this post and the other two posts by Catherine Castle appearing on the 1/5/14 Pavilion Party. Email address must be provided in order to be eligible to enter the drawing. Thanks for stopping by today and good luck.

The Nun and the Narc

Blurb:
Where novice Sister Margaret Mary goes, trouble follows. When she barges into a drug deal the local Mexican drug lord captures her. To escape she must depend on undercover DEA agent Jed Bond. Jed’s attitude toward her is exasperating, but when she finds herself inexplicable attracted to him he becomes more dangerous than the men who have captured them, because he is making her doubt her decision to take her final vows. Escape back to the nunnery is imperative, but life at the convent, if she can still take her final vows, will never be the same.

Nuns shouldn’t look, talk, act, or kiss like Sister Margaret Mary O’Connor—at least that’s what Jed Bond thinks. She hampers his escape plans with her compulsiveness and compassion and in the process makes Jed question his own beliefs. After years of walling up his emotions in an attempt to become the best agent possible, Sister Margaret is crumbling Jed’s defenses and opening his heart. To lure her away from the church would be unforgivable—to lose her unbearable.

Buy links:

Print version:


 

Giveaway and blog post: Show Don’t Tell … And Do It With Bugs


Giveaway and blog post: Show Don’t Tell … And Do It With Bugs

By Catherine Castle



Have you ever eaten a bug?

I’ve never eaten a bug, intentionally that is, but my heroine, in The Nun and the Narc, Sister Margaret Mary has. Sure, the odd gnat has flown in my mouth while gardening, and nearly gagged me to death, but I’m not counting that. Nor am I counting the fair number of insects that crawl in our mouths while we sleep, according to one source I’ve read. That’s why I cover my mouth with the sheet at night, although on the nights I’ve awakened gagging I have wondered what tiny creature I might have swallowed. So, I have to say, “More power to anyone brave enough to chomp down on the insects that other countries consider delicacies.”

So why, you ask, did I make Sister Margaret Mary eat bugs?

Because I wanted to show and not tell. Showing and not telling puts the reader in the action. When they are invested in your story it becomes harder for readers to put your book down.

            I could have said, “Sister Margaret Mary had an adventurous spirit. She likes to (fill in the blank).” Instead I decided to show her doing something adventurous and outside the norm.

 So, when I discovered chapulines (deep fried, chile powder coated grasshoppers) are delicacy of the Oacaxa Mexico area where the story is set, I decided to have her munch down a skewer of the crispy critters.

Chapulines are eaten fried in tacos, or fried and dipped in chile powder and threaded on skewers. Put enough chile powder on anything to disguise the taste and deep fry it, (who doesn’t like greasy spicy food, I thought) and it might be palatable.  Described as crunchy, high in protein and very low in fat, they seemed like the perfect snack for an adventurous heroine who is health conscious and taking care of the Lord’s temple (her body). So, when she’d skipped breakfast and found herself getting hungry at the village marketplace, Sister Margaret chowed down on a skewer of deep fried, chile powder-coated grasshoppers.

Here are a few other delicacies I could have had the sister chow down on.

·         Tecole—red segmented maguey worms, the larvae of the Hypopta agavis moth. They made me too squeamish to even consider letting poor Sister Margaret chomp on them, even though they are usually toasted or fried and served in a taco. She wouldn’t be seeing the bugs as she dined, but my stomach rebelled at the mere thought. Adventurous only goes so far, even vicariously for me.

·         Escamole—sometimes called “insect caviar”. Escamoles are ant larvae harvested from the roots of the agave tequila or mezcal plant in Mexico. I didn’t think the good sister could keep these down either. I know I couldn’t.

·         Huitlacoche, or corn fungus—which was described as having an earthy, mushroomy flavor. Not a bad option, I thought, because I love mushrooms. Then I saw a picture of the corn smut. It was off the table, too.

What about you, or your characters? Are they adventurous enough to eat bugs?

Want to read more about Sister Margaret Mary’s adventures? One autographed print copy of The Nun and the Narc will be awarded to a randomly drawn commenter (U.S. commenter only) from this post and the other two posts by Catherine Castle appearing on the 1/5/14 Pavilion Party. Email address must be provided in order to be eligible to enter the drawing. Thanks for stopping by today and good luck.

The Nun and the Narc

Blurb:

Where novice Sister Margaret Mary goes, trouble follows. When she barges into a drug deal the local Mexican drug lord captures her. To escape she must depend on undercover DEA agent Jed Bond. Jed’s attitude toward her is exasperating, but when she finds herself inexplicable attracted to him he becomes more dangerous than the men who have captured them, because he is making her doubt her decision to take her final vows. Escape back to the nunnery is imperative, but life at the convent, if she can still take her final vows, will never be the same.

Nuns shouldn’t look, talk, act, or kiss like Sister Margaret Mary O’Connor—at least that’s what Jed Bond thinks. She hampers his escape plans with her compulsiveness and compassion and in the process makes Jed question his own beliefs. After years of walling up his emotions in an attempt to become the best agent possible, Sister Margaret is crumbling Jed’s defenses and opening his heart. To lure her away from the church would be unforgivable—to lose her unbearable.

Buy links:


Print version:


 
Connect with Catherine Castle at:
Catherine’s website: http://catherinecastle1.wordpress.com
Catherine’s blog: http://catherinecastle1.wordpress.com/blog/
Catherine’s Amazon author page: http://www.amazon.com/author/catherinecastle
Catherine’s Goodreads page: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7085414.Catherine_Castle
Twitter: @AuthorCCastle
Facebook: http://facebook.com/catherinecastleauthor