By D.S. AUFFENORDE
Exclusive to the Kensington City Examiner
Some days after my interview
with Electromancer, I put an urgent bulletin out over the wire calling for an interview
with Blue Arrow. It’s rumored that he’s half-man, half-cloud. I was curious not
only to find out what his relationship with Electromancer is, but also to
discover whether he, too, is another one of these Johnny-come-lately superheroes.
In light of the events that have transpired in Kensington City, Alexa
Manchester, heiress to the worldwide Manchester power holdings, has been under
scrutiny over power outages. Some speculate that Manchester has created the
outages to hike energy prices. Before the recent crisis, it was said that Blue
Arrow existed only in legends and fairytales. In the past days, however, the
authorities have been bombarded with anonymous tips reporting a blue-like cloud
that travels across the sky at incredible speeds. That’s right, an
azure-colored cloud in the shape of an elongated arrow! There have been no
reports of a bow. Nowadays, there seems to be no definition of what constitutes
a superhero’s anatomy. If Blue Arrow will show up for an interview, I intend to
discover the true nature of this sky-bound phenomenon, and it is hoped, more
about the electrifying beauty known as Electromancer. Now, as I write my
column, I jest not, I received the call! Out the door in a dash, I’m meeting Blue
Arrow in the flesh-and-vapor at the
abandoned Sugar Express Train Depot.
DA: [Apologies for the delay while I catch my
breath.] If you don’t mind my asking, are you man or cloud? I mean, what I seem
to be witnessing is a talking dark blue-like vapor, what others are calling a
cloud.
BA: It’s complicated. Perhaps it’s more easily
explained by just simply agreeing that I am both, but rest assured that I am
all man.
DA: I’m confused.
BA: Can’t help you there.
DA: Have you heard of a woman people are
calling Electromancer?
BA: Ah …Electromancer!
DA: So is that a yes?
BA: Ah, Electromancer!
DA: Now, Mr. Arrow—”
BA: Call me—”
DA: I can call you Blue? How sweet.
BA: I prefer Blue Arrow, when speaking to the
media. When I do speak to the media.
DS: Rather formal, aren’t you?
BA: I’m from Britannia, madam … when I’m not
from somewhere else.
DS: Now, Mr. Arrow, from the tone of your ahs, it seems as if you admire
Electromancer. Does that mean you disagree with critics who maintain she has a
maleficent nature, likes to shock men for the fun of it? That she’s crippling
power plants throughout the world because she can?
BA: If I weren’t half gentlecloud and half
gentlemen, I’d say hogwash! In fact,
I will say it—hogwash!
DA: Blue Arrow, it’s also rumored that you and
Electromancer have a thing for one another. A love connection. Soul mates. Love
birds. Hubba hubba. If you know what I mean.
[At this point, Blue Arrow begins to elongate
and rise into the air, the tip of his cloud not unlike the tip of an arrow.]
BA: I beg your pardon, madam. A gentleman doth
not kiss and tell, nor does a gentlecloud.
DA: Tell me what you know about Alexa
Manchester? She’s accused of sabotaging her own power plants.
BA: I haven’t had the pleasure of making Ms.
Manchester’s acquaintance. But I know her butler, Sigfred Sawyer. Capital
fellow. Capital. He would not work for a crook.
DA: So, what do you believe is happening? Why
the attack on The Big Apple? On The City of Angels? Crippling their power
supplies, starting fires?
BA: Ms. Manchester has money and power, which
she uses for the good of mankind, and when a person uses her money and power
for the good of mankind, someone else always wants it. Someone villainous.
DA: So, you believe that Electromancer is
turning the lights back on?
BA: Ah … Electromancer. [At this point, Blue
Arrow changed shape and looked much more like a man.]
DA: Well, hello, handsome. Do you mind if I
take a look at your arrow? Is it really blue?
BA: Don’t any of you reporters have any shame?
DA: No, I meant … [This reporter blushed.]
Well, I’m sorry, but your cloud is intoxicating.
BA: One of my superpowers but also the bane of
my existence.
DA: Are you saying that you use chemical
warfare to fight your enemies?
BA: Certainly not. I fight fairly and abide by
the Geneva Convention!
DA: How did you become Blue Arrow?
BA: That’s classified. [He re-formed into a
cloud again.]
DA: Has anyone ever told you just how
attractive you are, Blue Arrow?
BA: Madam, please. Where’s your journalistic
objectivity?
DA: You intoxicate me. Blue.
BA: This interview is over. [And with that, he
dissolved into the atmosphere.]
Thwarted
again, albeit by the handsomest cloud I’ve ever seen. Full disclosure requires
that I reveal that I wrote this article from memory, because I misplaced my
notes. I must’ve fallen under some mysterious intoxicating vapor-like spell,
which could only have been served up by … Blue
Arrow!
Follow
along as my investigatory column continues to provide more and more facts about
Electromancer and the citizens of her community. In the meantime, you can also
learn more about Electromancer and others in the romantic, thrilling, superhero
novel, Electromancer.
Electromancer
Daco
Genre: Romance, Fantasy,
Superhero, Paranormal, Thriller/Suspense
Publisher: Crimson Romance
Date of Publication: 2-1-16
ISBN 10: 1-4405-9687-5
ISBN 13: 978-1-4405-9687-2
eISBN 10: 1-4405-9688-3
eISBN 13: 978-1-4405-9688-9
ASIN: B01AOH7BFA
Number of pages: 234
Word Count: 70,000
Cover design by Fred Machuca,
Illustration by Ricky Ostendi
Book Description:
With a heart as pure as platinum and electricity at her fingertips!
She soars like a falcon and travels at the speed of light!
She’s … ELECTROMANCER!
When arch villain Momo threatens to destroy the world with The Big Zapper—a weapon of mass destruction the likes of which has never been seen before—it’s up to Alexa Manchester and her new electricity-harnessing superpowers to stop him.
With a little help from her sexy chauffeur, Sigfred Sawyer, and some exciting encounters with the mysterious and handsome Blue Arrow, soon Alexa’s love life is charged up, too. And to defeat the seemingly invincible Momo, it might just take the naturally super power of love to save the day.
Offering all the Kabam! Pow! Zap! of beloved comic book sagas with the beating heart of a love story, this over-the-top, genre-blending send-up is sure to delight superhero fans and romance readers alike.
Book Trailer: https://youtu.be/5GE2uOWM_3M
Excerpt from Chapter 1
(The making of a superhero)
Alexa started for the elevator, but Chin led her to
the stairs. They descended four levels and opened the two-foot steel door to
the generator room that housed The Magpie. No workers were present. Maybe
they’d all gotten out without injury.
“Wait here,” she told Chin.
“Ma’am, I—”
“You have a family, Charlie. I’m ordering you to
stay here.” She paused. “This is my responsibility.”
When he reluctantly nodded, she entered the
cavernous generator room. The normally ultra-bright lights inside the generator
room had dimmed. A long row of generators with turbines that usually hummed and
spun had gone silent. As she neared the control room, she heard only the echo
of her high-heeled shoes tapping against the concrete floor. Alexa hurried
along to The Magpie.
The generator was the size of a small house and
resembled a child’s toy top sitting on a gigantic snare drum. To her surprise,
the outer casing was glowing white hot.
The Magpie unexpectedly shook.
She listened for the sound of a spinning turbine.
When she heard nothing, she reached out a hand to feel for anything different—a
vibration, a change in temperature. The device was radiating heat.
Impossible—her father had always said that the energy would never escape the
insulated ceramic casing.
A second later, she was cast into the air as though
she were bait at the end of a fishing rod. But instead of crashing to the
floor, she remained suspended in midair above the top of the generator. Some
sort of magnetic force had gripped her in a vise. Her ears filled with a
high-pitched sound that was piercing but strangely pleasant. Her body went
numb, melted, and she fell into a paralytic state. Paradoxically, she felt
nothing and everything all at once. But there was no pain, only tranquility, as
if she were in the midst of an improbable, yet wonderful dream. She could no
longer see or hear or touch, because she no longer existed in human form.
Still, she had a complete awareness of what her body had been. She was indefinable
and yet remained conscious.
Suspended above the generator, she sensed something
urging her to let go. She resisted, finding herself in a battle of wills to the
death with The Magpie.
But machines didn’t have wills, so how could this
be?
A memory of days past came to Alexa. She thought of
the many times she’d followed her father along the tributaries of the
Kensington. Gentle waves lapped against the smooth silt lining of the placid
river. Often, she’d remove her shoes to let the sandy mud squish between her
toes. Barefoot, she would walk along the shallows and collect unopened shells
that she’d gather from just below the surface, hoping to find a freshwater
pearl. Now, she flashed on how she’d never found that perfect pearl, which was
an odd thought to have at this final moment. So, this was how her life would
end.
She was no longer afraid. Morphing into a plasmatic
state, she was pulled through The Magpie’s casing, as though she were subatomic
particles able to penetrate anything. The deeper inside she traveled, the more
at peace she felt. Once inside the inner core of the turbine, her life force
was instantly absorbed into a pure-white spinning ball, which sparkled with
beams of silver light. She’d finally found her pearl, and if this was heaven,
she was home.
She was at peace.
“Electromancer,” a man whispered.
“What did you say?”
“You must leave here at once.”
“Father?”
About the Author:
Daco is an award-winning author of the espionage-thriller series featuring CIA operative Jordan Jakes. Her debut novel, The Libra Affair, was a 2013 #1 best seller. Of The Libra Affair, Publishers Weekly said, “The keenly sharp intelligent female characters soar in this edge-of-your-seat adventure...”
Her short story The Pisces Affair was a 2015 Global Ebook Awards double gold medalist (Best Thriller Fiction and Best Science Fiction), a 2015 Shelf Unbound Notable 100, a 2015 Royal Palm Literary Award winner, and a Publishers Weekly “PW Pick”.” In its review of The Pisces Affair, Publishers Weekly wrote, “Jakes is a lively and witty narrator with the wits and skills of James Bond, and readers will savor her fresh perspective on being a woman in the male-dominated spy world.”
Her story The Virgo Affair is part of Killer Nashville Noir: Cold-Blooded (Diversion Press, October 2015), an anthology, including numerous best-selling authors.
Electromancer (F+W Media, Inc./Crimson Romance, February 2016), is her first superhero novel, featuring Electromancer and Blue Arrow.
Upcoming works include The Scorpio Affair, a Jordan Jakes novel, and The Ophiuchus Affair, another Jordan Jakes short story.
Daco holds a B.A. and M.A.S. from The University of Alabama in Huntsville and a J.D. from the Cumberland School of Law. She is a member of the International Thriller Writers, Mystery Writers of America, Romance Writers of America, Authors Guild, Alabama Writers Forum, Florida Writers, and Alabama State Bar.
Website: http://www.authordaco.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AuthorDaco
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Daco.Author/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daco-s-auffenorde-64619039
Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/bRC3Fj
Follow along for more chances to win the Echo
and for more Superhero interviews
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Zenny's Awesome Book Reviews
March 18
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Musings and Ramblings
March 22 Spotlight
3 Partners in Shopping, Nana, Mommy, and Sissy, Too!
March 23 Spotlight
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March 24 Guest blog
The Creatively Green Write at Home Mom
March 25 Interview
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Lisa’s World of Books
March 30 Guest Blog
Roxanne’s Realm
www.roxannerhoads.com
March 30 Live Radio Interview
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April 4 Review
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3 comments:
Hi Wenona!
Thank you for having Electromancer and Blue Arrow on your show today! I'm excited to be here, and hope your followers will ask lots of fun questions. Fire away if you have any yourself, and I can't wait to hear your thoughts about the book. It was a lot of fun to write.
When my publisher first asked me to write a superhero story, I wasn't sure where it'd go. But after thinking about it for awhile, I just knew I had to write something reminiscent of the classic comics like Batman and Superman. It had to be light, funny, and a fast as lightning read (pun intended) ;)
Happy Reading!
All the best,
Daco
Lol...I loved the interview with "Blue Arrow" - super clever! Thanks for the character interview, the snippet from the first chapter and for the giveaway - the more I find out about this book, the more I want to read it!
Thanks, Maria!
I can't wait for you to read the book! I'm totally super excited (pun intended) ;) that you want to read it. Please post your thoughts on Amazon when you get a chance. I love to hear from readers. And I'm so glad you enjoyed the interview, too.
Good luck with the drawing and happy reading.
All the best!
Daco
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