TITLE: Confessions of a Punk Rocker
SERIES: LIVING DEAD WORLD #0.5
BY: NESSIE STRANGE
GENRE: PARANORMAL/URBAN FANTASY
PUBLISHER: ETOPIA PRESS
PUBLICATION DATE: SEPT 25,
2015
PAGES: 268
ISBN: 978-1-944138-05-9
BLURB:
The dead should stay dead...
Jack Norris has just lost his best friend—who also happened to be his
band's drummer—to a drunk driving accident. As he struggles to deal with the
band's uncertain future and his own personal demons, those issues soon become
unimportant. His dead friend has come back. And he's not showing any signs of
going away. Questioning his own sanity, Jack finds his life spiraling out of
control. But when a new acquaintance not only hooks him up with a drummer, but
promises to help get rid of his ghostly stalker, Jack's life does a one-eighty.
Drew MacLellan, the new drummer, is more than just a new set of
sticks—he's the brother of the insanely hot Jen MacLellan, who's definitely not
Jack's biggest fan. Jen is nothing like the women Jack's dated in the past, but
the more he gets to know her, the deeper he falls. The only problem is she's
got a boyfriend. Caught between his growing attraction and the desire to do the
right thing, Jack does everything he can to keep his distance. But the more he
sees of her, the more he realizes he can't. He's determined to win Jen's heart,
if only he can figure out how to help his dead friend rest in
peace...permanently.
Author Bio
Nessie is
a Massachusetts native and mother of two who has dabbled in everything from
abstract painting to freelance sports reporting. She also loves a good story,
whether it's reading or writing one. The first two novels in her Living Dead
World series--Living Dead Girl and Reaper Madness--were published in 2014
SOCIAL MEDIA/WEBSITES:
OTHER BOOKS IN SERIES:
LIVING DEAD GIRL (BOOK #1,
LIVING DEAD WORLD SERIES)
Jen MacLellan has hit a dead end...
Jen knows tattooed, blue-haired Jack Norris is trouble the minute he opens his front door. And being a mortician in the avante garde East Side of Providence, Jen has seen a lot. Jack has recruited Jen's teenage brother Drew to play drums for his less-than-respectable punk band, and Jen has no choice but to follow their gigs to keep her little brother out of trouble. But when Drew goes missing, she finds herself in the awkward position of asking for Jack's help. Shocked that he agrees, Jen decides she may have misjudged him. Worse, she might even like him.
But when Jen is brutally attacked, she awakens in the hospital where a Sid Vicious look-alike greets her with the news: she's dead, and he's the reaper assigned to take her away. Yeah, not so much. Refusing to leave, Jen's spirit watches helplessly as her loved ones suffer, powerless to ease her family's grief or prevent the police from accusing Jack of her murder. Desperate to help them, Jen convinces the reaper to bring her back. But reanimating corpses isn't as easy as it looks, and neither is finding a killer before it's too late...
Jen knows tattooed, blue-haired Jack Norris is trouble the minute he opens his front door. And being a mortician in the avante garde East Side of Providence, Jen has seen a lot. Jack has recruited Jen's teenage brother Drew to play drums for his less-than-respectable punk band, and Jen has no choice but to follow their gigs to keep her little brother out of trouble. But when Drew goes missing, she finds herself in the awkward position of asking for Jack's help. Shocked that he agrees, Jen decides she may have misjudged him. Worse, she might even like him.
But when Jen is brutally attacked, she awakens in the hospital where a Sid Vicious look-alike greets her with the news: she's dead, and he's the reaper assigned to take her away. Yeah, not so much. Refusing to leave, Jen's spirit watches helplessly as her loved ones suffer, powerless to ease her family's grief or prevent the police from accusing Jack of her murder. Desperate to help them, Jen convinces the reaper to bring her back. But reanimating corpses isn't as easy as it looks, and neither is finding a killer before it's too late...
REAPER MADNESS (BOOK #2,
LIVING DEAD WORLD SERIES)
This isn’t the afterlife she expected...
Jen MacLellan can’t get the hang of being a reaper. She’s been separated from Jack, the man she loves, and is stuck with an annoying telepathic link to her ill-tempered mentor, Sam. Now Death is breathing down her neck, promising to remove that annoying link if she gives him what he wants. But when reapers begin to disappear back on earth, leaving behind walking, talking dead people, Jen and Sam are thrust into a dangerous mission to recapture the souls, and a passionate physical relationship that complicates everything.
Jack Norris has no memory prior to waking up on the half-demon Nulcifer’s couch six months earlier. As he begins to investigate his past, he discovers a string of past lives tied together by a beautiful, mysterious brunette. Who is she? And why does finding her seem like a life or death proposition?
When Sam falls victim to fate during a routine visit to earth, Jen’s devastated. Desperate to get him back, she runs smack into the man she never thought she’d see again—Jack. She tries to keep her distance, but there’s no time to be awkward if they want to save Sam. When sinister plots are revealed, and betrayals threaten everything, she’s forced to make some tough choices—and learns that life is just as difficult when you’re dead.
Jen MacLellan can’t get the hang of being a reaper. She’s been separated from Jack, the man she loves, and is stuck with an annoying telepathic link to her ill-tempered mentor, Sam. Now Death is breathing down her neck, promising to remove that annoying link if she gives him what he wants. But when reapers begin to disappear back on earth, leaving behind walking, talking dead people, Jen and Sam are thrust into a dangerous mission to recapture the souls, and a passionate physical relationship that complicates everything.
Jack Norris has no memory prior to waking up on the half-demon Nulcifer’s couch six months earlier. As he begins to investigate his past, he discovers a string of past lives tied together by a beautiful, mysterious brunette. Who is she? And why does finding her seem like a life or death proposition?
When Sam falls victim to fate during a routine visit to earth, Jen’s devastated. Desperate to get him back, she runs smack into the man she never thought she’d see again—Jack. She tries to keep her distance, but there’s no time to be awkward if they want to save Sam. When sinister plots are revealed, and betrayals threaten everything, she’s forced to make some tough choices—and learns that life is just as difficult when you’re dead.
VALENTINE’S HEAT I (SHORT STORY/LIVING DEAD WORLD SERIES)
“Lost Soul, Lost Love” by Nessie Strange
The Living Dead World Series
It’s Jen MacLellan’s first trip back to earth as a new reaper, and Mardi Gras is in full swing. When she happens upon Chip, a partier stuck in a perpetual 1983, Jen decides to help him
The Living Dead World Series
It’s Jen MacLellan’s first trip back to earth as a new reaper, and Mardi Gras is in full swing. When she happens upon Chip, a partier stuck in a perpetual 1983, Jen decides to help him
Book Excerpt
She follows me into the house, and
I sing along to the Ramones, really ham it up to try and lighten the mood. I
gesture toward the couch, and she sits. It’s kind of a stiff, awkward-looking
pose, and I’m not sure if that’s because of me or because she’s upset.
“So, princess. You’ve sunk to a
whole new level coming to me for help, haven’t you?” I mean it as a joke, to
cut myself down, but she clearly doesn’t find it funny because her eyes fill
with tears again.
“Shit.” I exhale a slow breath. I’m
a little too good at saying the wrong thing where she’s concerned. I hate this
feeling, whatever it is, because I’m on edge. No, I’m self-conscious. On a
level I never dreamed possible. Funny how I can stand up on stage and feel like
a king, but one girl has me second-guessing myself with a single expression. Of
course, it doesn’t help that I’m in front of her wearing only a towel. “Look,
I’m gonna go get dressed. Just sit tight, OK? I’ll see if I can figure
something out.”
She nods, her face still flushed,
but the tears are drying again. And as sick and twisted and inappropriately
timed as it seems, my first thought looking at her is that this whole
disheveled look she’s sporting is sexy as hell. OK, I need to leave the room,
now. I realize as I shut the bedroom door behind me that my heart is pounding.
I close my eyes and take a deep breath. Don’t be fucking stupid, Jack. That
girl wants nothing to do with you. Not to mention, this is not the time to
be having thoughts like that. Yet, the image that flashes into my brain is
Voodoo Chick, and that matter-of-fact way she says I know you dig her,
there’s no point in denying it. Do I? Yeah, she’s attractive, but I see
attractive women all the time. But they don’t make me feel like a moron when
I’m around them, not like this girl. What kind of a fucking joke is this
situation?
I take my time getting dressed.
Mostly it’s to compose myself. No need to treat her any different than any of
my other friends. There’s no point in letting myself stress over a girl I can’t
have. Wait…is that what it is? Do I want her because I can’t have her? I frown
at my reflection in the mirror. No, that’s never been my style. Why waste the
effort? That’s always been my philosophy. Which means, I really am into
her. Fuck.
What a stupid, inconvenient time
for self-realization. I head back downstairs, stuffing that newfound
realization into a little compartment somewhere deep inside me. Well, it
doesn’t matter anyway, does it? She’s got a boyfriend. She doesn’t even like
me. And there it is. Truth, but it stings. That little compartment won’t stay
shut now. The lid keeps popping open, and what’s inside taunts me.
No comments:
Post a Comment