Tuesday, June 23, 2015

In the Halls of the Mountain Troll by Tanith Davenport





All About Astri

I like to try and make my heroines memorable, and Astri Ingebrigtsen was no exception. I can safely say I've never written a heroine quite like her before. A Norwegian animal handler turned trollhunter, she's not a woman you'd expect to meet in a bar. Or anywhere, in fact.

And any man who's expecting a girl who needs to be rescued from danger is likely to get one hell of a shock. Astri is, beyond all doubt, a physical person. Her day-to-day job involves tree-climbing, rock-climbing and weapons-handling. She can fire any gun or bow you show her, climb any wall, shin up a drainpipe. This is a girl who takes no shit from anyone.

Of course, there's more to her than her job. She speaks fluent English - just as well, since most English people don't speak Norwegian. She loves horror movies, rock music and ice hockey. And she likes nothing better than to kick back of an evening with a beer. Well, if you'd spent all day tracking a troll, you'd want a beer too.

But men?

Nah.

Astri has no time for men. Not that she's lacking in attention. Unfortunately the usual men who chase her are brutes like her teammate Micke, who has had a crush on her for ages - unrequited, of course. After suffering Micke's pushy aggression for months, Astri has no interest whatsoever in men.

Until new teammate and hot researcher Kai comes along...

In the Halls of the Mountain Troll
Tanith Davenport

Genre: Erotic romance

Publisher: Totally Bound
Date of Publication:  29 May 2015

ISBN: 9781784305741

Number of pages: 62
Word Count: 15188

Cover Artist: Posh Gosh

Book Description:

Astri Ingebrigtsen has no time for romance. A member of an elite team of trollhunters, tasked with controlling and concealing the troll population, her days are too full to focus on anything else, so filled with nightmarish brutality that her nights have become dreamless. So when hot researcher Kai joins the crew to help them in their latest job, hunting a mountain troll, Astri ignores the chemistry between them—something her jealous teammate Micke fails to do.

Astri knew Micke was a jerk, but even she never expected him to send Kai up into the mountains alone to face the troll, unaware that she was asleep in the trailer. Now, trapped in the mountains with a destroyed car, she and Kai need to work together to confront the creature, and their bond grows—but even if they get out alive, can Astri trust Kai with her heart?
Excerpt: 

Rain spattered the windows of the café, mist making the sunlight bleak. At a table by the wall a man was sitting with a breakfast tray, a small stack of paper on the seat beside him, oblivious to the sideways glances given by the other customers. His messy beard, tousled brown hair and heavy duffel coat gave him the appearance of a slightly cleaned-up vagrant.
“This place is too expensive.” Astri Ingebrigtsen dropped her food on the table and sat down across from him, throwing her dark hair back out of her face. “At this price these eggs should be gold-plated.”
“Get Micke to pay.” Otto grunted, looking down as he dug through his paperwork. “He wanted to stop here.”
“I did. He moaned.”
Otto rolled his eyes just as Micke appeared beside him, breakfast in hand. Without a word Micke picked up the papers then dumped them unceremoniously on Otto’s tray before sitting down with his own.
“Paying for Lise’s too?” Astri asked casually.
“Get lost,” Micke snapped.
As Lise joined them with her own food, Astri turned her attention to her breakfast, smiling to herself. Micke was so easy to wind up.
But God, it had been a miserable week. She cast a rueful glance out of the window to where their trailers sat in the car park, each attached to a Jeep. They were a necessity when they were on a job that required travel, but try as they might, it was impossible to keep them properly warm inside, even with the help of space heaters and extra blankets.
And this had been a long job. Traveling every day, out hunting every damned night. She was beginning to think it would never be over.
Otto was spreading a map out on the windowsill, eating his svele one-handed as he ran a finger along the road markings. The shrill ring of a mobile phone cut through the air and he cursed, dropping his fork and burrowing his hand into his coat pocket.
“Otto here.” He paused. “Not yet. We left Trondheim this morning.”
Astri exchanged glances with Lise. This sounded important.
“We should get there around two. We’ve booked ahead. Tell him to wait in our cabin.” Otto hung up the phone and eyed Astri and Lise, who looked back at him innocently.
“That was Gunther. Our new addition will be meeting us in Orkanger.”
“What did you say his name was?” Lise asked through a mouthful of bread.
“Kai. Kai Amundsen.” Otto glared at Micke, who had let out a dismissive snort. “Enough, Micke.”
“We don’t need more people.” Micke twisted in his seat to face Otto, his mouth twisted in disgust. “Too many of us attracts attention. And we don’t need a greenhorn holding us back.”
“We’ve been over this. We need his research to capture it.” Otto held up a hand to forestall any further response. “This is not negotiable. Eat.”
“He’s right, Micke,” Lise cut in. “We’ve been chasing it for weeks. This could mean we finally catch it.”
Micke slammed his fist on the table, making the cutlery jump. “I do not need some college student to tell me how to do my job. When he’s never in his life caught a tr—”
“Micke!”
About to snap back at Astri, Micke caught her eye and shut his mouth. Astri hastily scanned the room to see if anyone had overheard.

It didn’t seem like it. A few heads had turned at his outburst, but apparently nobody had picked up on that last dangerous word.

About the Author:

Tanith Davenport began writing erotica at the age of 27 by way of the Romantic Novelists' Association New Writers' Scheme. Her debut novel "The Hand He Dealt" was released by Total-e-Bound in June 2011 and was shortlisted for the Joan Hessayon Award for 2012.

Tanith has had short stories published by Naughty Nights Press and House of Erotica. She loves to travel and dreams of one day taking a driving tour of the United States, preferably in a classic 1950s pink Cadillac Eldorado.

Tanith's idea of heaven is an Indian head massage with a Mojito at her side.





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