Author Spotlight ~*~ Danielle-Claude Ngontang Mba

Title – Bird Of Prey - Sémya Slotin Mystery #1
Series – Sémya Slotin Mystery
Author – Danielle-Claude Ngontang Mba
Genre – Mystery Romance
Publication Date – November 25th 2013
Publisher – Ever After Edition
Cover Artist – Danielle-Claude Ngontang Mba

Book Blurb/Synopsis –
This was supposed to be an easy case…

Sémya Slotin had spent the last three years living in London with her best friend Polliannah Koch staying away from solving cases. After Hawaii, she was taking a break from puzzles, cases and mysteries that could potentially get her killed. Instead, she had been doing her second and third favorite things, drinking and selling expensive vintage wines and having earthshattering sex with the mysterious, sexy, beautiful but ever so secretive Josh Heinz. Life in London was good….until her funds ran out. Too much wine drinking, not enough wine selling! When fashion designer and adoptive mother, Annika Slotin, summoned her back to Paris to hire her for what Sémya considered being the easiest case of her amateur sleuth career, all she could think of and seeing was money signs and a well-deserved Cuban holiday once it was solved. What Sémya didn’t see was her stumbling on the fresh corpse of supermodel Johanna Cartier. She didn’t think that male model turned fashion designer Julian Marais-Caldwin, who also happened to be Sémya’s ex, would be suspected of brutally murdering her. Johanna was his girlfriend, his muse and he loved her. Sémya didn’t see the dead bodies piling up or the conspiracy theories.

Sémya was a little rusty. But then again, it was supposed to be an easy case and she was going to solve it. One vintage wine at a time… Sémya Slotin was officially back in business!

Goodreads Link – http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18224451-bird-of-prey

Sémya Slotin Mystery Sountrack Vol.1 :

Excerpt ~*~
(ARC version, subject to change after final edits)
Chapter 14

Camera left…camera right…camera left…camera right… Sémya had been staring at her board for the past three hours. Maybe she should take a break and go work at the store today. Or maybe she should give up all together and book their Cuban holiday. London was so cold right now they should just go soak up some sun.

She shifted her attention to her phone. She was still waiting on Gary Finch’s aliases from Ser-gey. She had been reading Emma’s emails over and over again. Nothing about another flat popped out. What she found instead was the number of the moving company she was going to use for her move but–

“Wait a minute!” She finished her glass of 2005 Wolf Blass Black Label Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon. “Where is that file?”

Emma had a file called expenses on her laptop. Maybe just maybe, some of these expenses were taxi fares to this mysterious place. Johanna couldn’t always be two steps ahead of them. The woman had been dead for more than two weeks! She should also check Oyster card records for tube stations or buses. Expenses…she would need to speak to Eileen and Julian. But first let’s see what she could find on her own.

Emma’s passwords were always the same or just a variation. The name Peter was always coming up. Then again Sémya had access to her email account she could always reset it if she couldn’t find it.

“p-e-t-e-r-t-f-l-1,” she mumbled and typed. The access had been granted. Yeah! Emma lived in the small flat near Hammersmith station. She printed out her journey history of the last three months. Hammersmith to Oxford Circus kept showing up which made sense. It was her regular journey to work. East Putney Station was also showing every three weeks and not on the week-end which could mean that it was an errand she was running for Johanna. Sémya highlighted it. The last trip was…the day she died. “What’s in Putney Emma?”

She checked if there were any other suspicious travels. A bus route came up a few times. She was either going to Chiswick or to Chalk Farm.

“So…which one is it?” Josh whispered in her ear and made her shriek. “Sorry, I thought you heard me,” he said sliding on the sofa next to her, only wearing a towel. He picked up the bottle of wine off the floor. “Already?”

“It’s two o’clock in the afternoon…in Paris,” she told him. She had one glass with her sand-wich. “Is that the kind of shit I have to expect now that you’re my boyfriend?”

“Nagging you about your drinking? That’s not new,” he shrugged. He smoothed his damped hair back. He smelled like aftershave and peppermint. Josh seductively nibbled her shoulder, “Good afternoon,” he groaned and took her in his arms.

“We promised Polli, no more hanky panky on her sofa.” She gently pushed him away. “Go put some pants on!”

He reluctantly got up and entered her bedroom, “Where is she anyway?” He came back out with a tank top and flannel pants on.

“With the mysterious John, she didn’t come home last night so I’m guessing he is back,” Sémya told him. As soon as this case was resolved she would have a serious conversation with Polliannah about John Smith. She might even create a small board…

“So what do we have here?” Josh said with a coffee in his hand. He looked at her board and whistled. “And I thought your board in Honolulu was crazy!”

“Oh…did you now?” she giggled. “There are two murders on that board.” She got up and added the information from Emma journey’s history.

“Do I have a board?” he asked her.

“No!” she shouted back without turning around. I made a board for everyone…so yes Josh Heinz you do have a board…

“You didn’t answer my question,” he said tilting his head toward the board. “Which is it?”

“I’m not sure.” She pointed at the map. “Emma lived in Hammersmith, it’s a four lines station but still the only time she took the bus was for the same trip.”

“I haven’t taken the bus in London in years but the way I see it I would only use it if it would take me as much time or less time than the tube,” he said and yawned.

“Good point… for commoners like me, we use the bus for twenty minutes or less trip.” She circled the twenty minutes travel zone around Emma’s flat.

“Okay…” she mumbled walking back. “So…I’m thinking that she was going east.”

“Do you have her bank statements?” he asked.

“Yes, and before you say anything…it may not be very legal–”

“There’s a charge on the seventeenth for Bramwell Eatery, isn’t that in Notting Hill?” he asked her.

“Yes...let me check the journey history.” She jumped up, “Yes, she used that route on that day!” She sat back next to him and grabbed her laptop. “I need to check the expense file…I cop-ied her hard drive,” she explained.

“Yeah…that’s not illegal at all,” he joked.

“She wasn’t dead then…at least we didn’t know she was!” She opened the March spread-sheet. “Can you check the March statement for the same expense?”

He wrestled through all her papers. “Got it! And I even had the Oyster journey.”

“The twenty-second?” she asked, looking at the expense for Dinners.

“Yeah, it could just be Emma’s favourite restaurant,” he said.

“No baby, it’s not.” She got up and went back to her board. “Charges are too high for it to be hers, it’s for Johanna.” She put her hand on the Emma side of the board, “Emma was a hard core vegetarian. She would have never gone to this place for herself.” She pointed at the map, “The bus records indicate less than thirty minutes between both trips…they don’t deliver,” she said with a wicked smile on.

“She called her assistant to pick up and deliver her food order.” He looked disgusted.

“Bigger picture, baby…her second flat is in Notting Hill and walking distance from Bramwell Eatery,” she shrieked. Where was a chilled glass of wine to celebrate when you needed one? “I need to do the same thing with East Putney?” she said and joyfully straddled Josh.

“Did you just call me baby?” he asked, caressing her flat stomach. He kissed her neck and brought her face closer. “Now I deserve a reward…”

“I tell you what, if you help me crack that case, I’ll take you to Cuba with Polli,” she mum-bled. He was weakening her defences and she needed to stay focused. “Better yet, you’ll take us. You seem to have strange deep pockets,” she giggled.

He got up still holding her by her thighs. “Deal!”

“Heinz, put me down. I have calls to make,” she moaned. They were heading to her bedroom. “I’m very busy…big case.”

“I have a big case for you right here,” he grunted and laid her on the bed.

“Seriously? I have to tell Ally about Notting Hill. She could contact the restaurant and maybe trace the number used to place the order…It could be Gary Finch’s,” she said trying to justify herself.

Josh was just nodding back; he was very busy removing her knickers. “Do what you’ve got to do and I’ll do the same,” he whispered so close against her ear it made her whole body shivered and moaned. “Baby…”

“You devil man, you,” Sémya moaned back.


AUTHOR BIO:
I was born in Quebec City, Canada from Gabonese parents but grew up in Paris and Libreville the Gabonese capital until the age of 18. Are you yawning yet? I am...

French is my first language and my next novel Bird Of Prey will be released in both languages...wish me luck!

I moved back to Canada in 1999 after high school in Libreville to study Cinematography and Digital movie production in Laval University in Quebec then The International Academy of Design and Technology in Toronto. After graduating in 2003, I decided to sell my soul to the corporate world and worked in the Benefit Outsourcing Industry for seven in Toronto before reconnecting with her first passion writing.

I finally went back to school to study creative writing at Georges Brown College in 2010 and 2011. I started to write The Coulda Woulda Shoulda Series as an assignment and finished Book One in late 2011 before moving to London.

And the rest as they say is history... Almost two years later, I'm in London and wrote three novels. One has already been released This Could Have Been Our Song! A coulda woulda shoulda ballad... (Book one) the other two will be released by March 2014.

STALKER LINKS HERE:
Amazon Author Page – http://amzn.com/e/B00BZQHM72
Website – http://danielle-claude.wix.com/author-blogger
Blog – http://danielle-claude.blogspot.co.uk/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pages/DC-Ngontang-Mba-Author/447318948656105
Twitter – https://twitter.com/weissdaughter
Goodreads – http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6920424.Danielle_Claude_Ngontang_Mba

~*~ Giveaway ~*~

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Blast ~*~ The Vigilante by Jacqui Morrison

Blurb ~*~

It isn’t safe for men who work in the porn business in the city of Toronto.

When porn producer Sal Turbit is found dead in his apartment, no one seems to care. No one, that is, except Detective Lynette Wilton. Lynette has been a homicide detective for only three months, and has yet to earn her stripes.

Murder is murder no matter who the victim is—and Lynette is out to catch a killer.

Could the killer be Wanda Chambers, a mentally ill woman who hates the “scumbags” who prey on the vulnerable? Wanda’s beloved sister, Cathy, was one such woman. Cathy became a porn actress and then took her own life when her sleazy manager/boyfriend, Gil Lee, wouldn’t let her go.

Lynette’s sergeant doesn’t think it’s possible. Wanda has a debilitating illness. But Lynette believes that Wanda’s hatred and harsh childhood make her a prime suspect, and she proves it by catching Wanda in the act of attempting to shoot Lee.

Renowned defense lawyer Maxine Swayman takes on Wanda’s case; Maxine has a different view of the accused. She wants to help Wanda get the help that she needs, and it’s not going to happen in a prison cell.

As the trial proceeds, will Maxine prevail and save Wanda, or will Lynette be able to tie Wanda to Turbit’s murder as well?

"Morrison knows how to create suspense! She brings readers on a roller-coaster ride that leaves you breathless from start to finish!" —Trey Anthony, star and producer “Da Kink in Da Hair”

Excerpt ~*~

Chapter 1
“Hey,” Sal said, “come on in. You’re right on time. Good to meet ya.” He left the visitor in the living room of his shabby apartment in a grungy, low-rent building, and slipped into the kitchen. The metallic pop of a beer bottle opening echoed in the other room. Then another.

Six empty beer bottles, a heaping ashtray, and assorted marijuana paraphernalia were already strewn across his table. The grandfather clock struck four times. Sal stumbled back into the room. “I got you a beer.”

Glassy-eyed, Sal said, “I’ve got lots of great products for you to move today.” He showed the visitor the cover of a DVD. “This one is new. It’ll sell out. She’s a real sweet thing. Told me she was eighteen ’n had the ID to prove it. Likely just some little tramp from nowhere-ville. Came to the big, bad city for excitement––”

The metal felt cool as the visitor pulled out a gun.

“What the hell?” Sal screamed, just before the bullet penetrated his skull.

He fell onto the sofa, blood oozing out the back of his head. His face was contorted, almost angry looking. Certainly surprised.

The spent cartridge from the handgun ricocheted against a metal garbage can––reminiscent of the pop of a beer cap––and then landed on the carpet.

The murderer studied the victim’s splayed body, feeling a sense of elation and satisfaction. Out came a Swiss Army knife, and the killer wordlessly hacked off a section of Sal’s hair, stuffed it into a small plastic bag, and then threw it into a knapsack. The killer then picked up the half-spilled beer that Sal had been handing over when the shot was fired. Perfect. Grinning, the murderer chugged the beer, retrieved the spent cartridge, and smugly looked at Sal Turbit’s still body, now surrounded by pooling blood.

Still wearing leather gloves, the murderer put the beer bottle and hot metal bullet charge into a knapsack and fled, smiling, into the dense night.

AUTHOR Bio and Links ~*~

I am Jacqui Morrison. I started writing poems and short stories as a child. I also enjoyed public speaking in elementary school and at University. In High School, a great teacher, Lenore Hawley, inspired me and in 1995 I pursued my life-long passion for writing.

My career is a complicated web and includes: owning an ice cream parlour and fine food shop, teaching life-skills management to adults, teaching computer applications, social service work and marketing.

From 1994 to 2003, I assisted survivors of domestic violence in both criminal and family court as a support worker. I’ve always had a strong interest in law and justice.

I love to write and I am happiest writing or encouraging others to fulfill their writing dreams. I facilitate writing seminars for Canadore College and various agencies.

I live in northern Ontario, Canada with my daughter Alison, my husband Wayne, and a three-legged dog named Willow. Our daughter has convinced us to adopt four cats so Felix, Sasha, Nikke and Angel round out our family. Angel, at four-months-of-age was abandoned by its owner and we rescued her in -15 degree weather.

Alison has a future in politics, animal rescue work or sales … because I’m not really a cat person and she’s persuaded me to adopt four.

My parents are the late Drs John and Irene Morrison. Mom was a family physician and a competitive swimmer. My father worked for the Provincial Parole Board. Dad enjoyed to write fictional stories in his spare time. He was my mentor, my editor and my hero. I have one sister named Trish. She is a competitive swimming coach. Trish resides in southern Ontario with her husband, four children, two dogs and a cat.

In our spare time we like to cruise Georgian Bay on our boat or spend quality family time.

Her Website: http://jacquimorrison.ca/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jacqui.morrison


Jacqui will be awarding Loose Tea and Chipnuts to two randomly drawn commenters during this tour and the Virtual Reviews Tour combined.

Follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here:

http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2013/06/virtual-super-book-blast-vigilante-by.html