A Look At Chris Karlsen & 'Silk' @authorckarlsen @GoddessFish #historical #thriller

Today we have author Chris Karlsen visiting. Welcome!

What would you like to tell readers about yourself?

* I was born and raised in Chicago. My father was a history professor and my mother was, and is, a voracious reader. I grew up with a love of history and books.
* My parents also love traveling, a passion they passed onto me. I wanted to see the places I read about, see the land and monuments from the time periods that fascinated me. I’ve had the good fortune to travel extensively throughout Europe, the Near East, and North Africa.
* I am a retired police detective. I spent twenty-five years in law enforcement with two different agencies. My desire to write came in my early teens. After I retired, I decided to pursue that dream. I write two different series. My paranormal romance series is called, Knights in Time. My romantic thriller series is, Dangerous Waters.
* I currently live in the Pacific Northwest with my husband, four rescue dogs and a rescue horse.

What are you going to tell us about today?
* My historical thriller story, Silk.

A look into the story

~ Blurb ~ * What would you do to stay young: Lie, Manipulate...kill?
* London-Fall, 1888
* The city is in a panic as Jack the Ripper continues his murderous spree. While the Whitechapel police struggle to find him, Detective Inspector Rudyard Bloodstone and his partner are working feverishly to find their own serial killer. The British Museum's beautiful gardens have become a killing ground for young women strangled as they stroll through.
* Their investigation has them brushing up against Viscount Everhard, a powerful member of the House of Lords, and a friend to Queen Victoria. When the circumstantial evidence points to him as a suspect, Rudyard must deal with the political blowback, and knows if they are going to go after the viscount, they'd better be right and have proof.
* As the body count grows and the public clamor for the detectives to do more, inter-department rivalries complicate the already difficult case.
* Silk on the skin—luxurious, luscious...lethal. ~ Excerpt ~ * He wrapped an end in each hand and pulled. His fingers crept up the silk and he tugged a bit harder still. The material pressed deeper into the flesh of her neck. Bright pink dotted her cheeks and radiated down to her jaw. The veins in her temples popped out and pulsed in time to her heartbeat. She moaned, pushed her hips upward and writhed against him. Her soft pubic hair tickled his testicles. Isabeau’s unsubtle way of letting him know she wanted him inside her. He obliged.
* Her hands encircled his wrists. She tugged hard outward, harder than usual. A choked sigh escaped her. He paid no attention. This was standard. Isabeau always insisted he maintain pressure until she signaled for him to release his hold. In the past, when she reached the edge of consciousness, she’d beat along his upper arms. This time she thrashed her head back and forth, something he hadn’t seen before. Her eyes bulged in an unattractive way and she clawed at him. Her nails gouged the skin on his hands, drawing blood.
* She hurt him and he wanted to slap her. He almost let go of one end of the scarf to do that. Instead, he pulled tighter. Isabeau tried to insert her fingers into the spot where the material crossed over. Her mouth opened and shut, soundless and fishlike. She swatted at the mattress wildly. Red-faced to the point of being near purple, she bucked beneath him.
* She fired his blood with her lack of inhibition. Never had she responded with such intensity. Raw power surged through him, primitive, animalistic. He pumped hard. Ready to climax, William clenched his fists, twisting the scarf one last turn. Odd, feathery touches tapped his biceps, feminine and subtle grazes, and then she went limp. Spent, he released his hold and collapsed on top of her, his heart pounding while he caught his breath.
* Isabeau didn’t move and her head stayed turned to the side. She hadn’t cried out the way she normally did when sated. Perhaps she was disappointed with his effort. He gave the thought a mental shrug. At the end of the day, it really didn’t matter. He’d arrange for her departure first thing in the morning.
* William rolled over and slung a sweaty arm over his eyes. He tried to decide which was worse, telling her tonight the affair was over or waiting until morning. The idea of doing it after such a rambunctious sexual endeavor seemed bad form, but he wanted to get it over with. He turned onto his side, prepared for histrionics, caterwauling, great tears and verbal abuse.
* “Isabeau, look at me. I’ve come to a decision and it will likely distress you.” Nothing. She didn’t stir. “Isabeau?”
* He shook her by the arm. Still no response. William let go and her arm dropped listless to the mattress. He raised her arm again and let go. Again, it fell listless. He straddled her and patted her cheeks. Nothing. Her head twisted without resistance first right then left depending on the direction of his pat. He slapped her harder. Nothing. Vacant eyes stared fixed on the ceiling. He bent an ear to her chest. Nothing. William leapt from the bed, snatched a silver mirror from the dressing table, and held it under her nose. Nothing.
* “Bitch.” William hurled the mirror against the wall. “Bitch, whore,” he raged and paced along the side of the bed. “I will not allow you to make my life a nightmare. This was your doing. I told you to leave me alone.”

Buy Silk here...
Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Find Chris Karlsen here...
Goodreads | Twitter | Facebook | Website | Amazon Author Page | BN Author Page Thank you for joining us here today, Chris Karlsen! It was a pleasure getting to know you and your story.

ANNOUNCEMENT! Chris will be awarding a $20 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour! So be sure to leave your name and email with your comment and enter via the Rafflecopter below. Also, visit the other tour stops (find them here: goddessfishpromotions-blurb-blitz) for a greater chance of winning!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

'Byzantine Gold' by Chris Karlsen ( @GoddessFish #FF )

Today I'd like to welcome, Chris Karlsen. She's here to share information on her book Byzantine Gold.

A bit about Chris...

* Chris is a retired police detective. She spent twenty-five years in the law enforcement with two different agencies.
* The daughter of a history professor and a voracious reader, she grew up with a love for history and books.
* She has traveled extensively throughout Europe, the Near East, and Northern Africa satisfying her passion for seeing the places she read about.
* A Chicago native, Chris has lived in Paris, Los Angeles, and now resides with her husband, and five rescue dogs in the Pacific Northwest.

~ Blurb ~ * 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 ~ * Atakan didn’t answer as he sped out of camp, spraying dirt and stones behind them.
* “What’s going on? Why are you in such a hurry?”
* He stared straight ahead, silent.
* “Atakan?”
* Tight-jawed, he continued down the side road that paralleled the beach, ramming the stick shift into place as he went through the gears and ignoring her questions. She’d never seen him this tense, not with her at least. A bad feeling crept over her. She had a sick sense his mood involved her plan to leave.
* They’d gone a kilometer from the camp when he came to a stop. He hopped out, slammed the driver’s door shut and came to her side.
* Opening her door, he said, “Get out.”
* She did.
* “Atakan,” Charlotte started to ask the same questions again, but he was already turned and walking toward the sea.
* She followed. He finally stopped near the water’s edge with his back to the surf and faced her. She stopped a couple of yards away.
* “When were you going to tell me?”
* She knew exactly what he was asking about. Who told him? It wasn’t Nick. He’d honor the twenty-four hour rule.
* “Who told you?”
* “That’s not an answer.” He stood still as a statue, arms crossed, feet apart.
* She hesitated, trying to choose her words so he’d understand and not be hurt. She gazed out at the incoming tide. The blue-green waves, effervescent with bubbles, rushed toward shore in rapid succession. White foam droplets filled the air as they crested, framing him like a new, angry version of Poseidon.
* “Answer me.”
* “Today.”
* “You weren’t going to tell me until today, although you’ve been planning to leave me for awhile.”
* “Not awhile.”
* “Long enough to send job inquiries to several museums.”
* So that was how he knew. One of the museums contacted MIAR and they must’ve sent the questionnaire to Refik and he told Atakan. She hadn’t considered the possibility. She’d thought any contact from the museums would be handled by MIAR’s headquarters.
* “I’m so sorry you had to find out this way. I intended to tell you if it looked like I’d definitely leave. If none of the museums showed interest, then you never had to know what I’d done.”
* “And you believe that is acceptable?”
* It killed her to see the look of disgust on his face with the question. “Yes...” she said low.
* “Why?”
* “Because I’m bad luck for you—everyone can see it, even your--, it’s obvious. There’s something about me, and God knows, I don’t know what, but I’m like a magnet for Tischenko.”
* She never cried and she wouldn’t cry now, but she was close. “I can’t bear to see you hurt again, or worse. There are people that bad luck follows, even Iskender thinks so.”
* Atakan inhaled deeply and let out a slow breath. Uncrossing his arms, he closed the short distance to where she stood.
* “It’s not forever,” she offered, “I’ll return.”
* He shook his head. “If you go, you cannot return. You’re either in my life or out of my life. There’s no in between.”

~ Where to find Chris Karlsen... ~
Website
Pinterest
Video for Byzantine Gold

~ Where to buy Chris Karlsen's books... ~
Amazon
Barnes & Noble

Giveaway! Chris will award one randomly drawn commenter at every stop an ebook copy of Golden Chariot, and one randomly drawn commenter will be awarded a $50 Amazon gift card during the tour. So be sure to leave your name and email on this blog and other blogs on the tour so you can be contacted if you win! Click here: for tour stops. Remember ~ the more you comment the better your chances of winning!

A #MM ~ Heroes Live Forever by Chris Karlsen ( @GoddessFish )

Today I'd like to welcome, Chris Karlsen. She's here to share information on her book Heroes Live Forever.

A bit about Chris...
* I was born and raised in Chicago. My father was a history professor and my mother was, and is, a voracious reader. I grew up with a love of history and books.
* My parents also love traveling, a passion they passed onto me. I wanted to see the places I read about, see the land and monuments from the time periods that fascinated me. I’ve had the good fortune to travel extensively throughout Europe, the Near East, and North Africa.
* I am a retired police detective. I spent twenty-five years in law enforcement with two different agencies. My desire to write came in my early teens. After I retired, I decided to pursue that dream.
* I currently live in the Pacific Northwest with my husband, four rescue dogs and a rescue horse.

~ Blurb ~
* Elinor Hawthorne has inherited a house haunted by the ghosts of two medieval knights, Basil Manneville and Guy Guiscard. Basil is the man of her dreams, her knight in shining armor. She falls in love with him and he with her. Basil soon realizes she needs to live a normal life, a happy life with a mortal.
* A lifetime later fate intervenes. Basil, still in love with Elinor, is told her spirit lives on in a young woman and he is given another chance at life to find her.

~ Excerpt ~
* He turned her around and untied the laces of her dress. His fingers lingered at each sliver of exposed skin the open laces left. The gown fell away from her shoulders and rough palms eased the sleeves down, freeing the arms. He inched the dress over hips, unwrapping her like a gift, the silk pillowing at her feet like a bronze cloud.

~ Where to find Chris... ~
Website
Facebook
Pinterest

~ Where to buy her books... ~
Amazon
Barnes & Noble

Giveaway! Chris will be giving away a digital copy of her thriller, "Golden Chariot" to one randomly drawn commenter at every stop, and a $50 Amazon gift card to another randomly drawn commenter during the tour. So be sure to leave your name and email so you can be contacted if you win!