Title: MARKED RAVEN
Author: J.B. Dane
Genre: Urban fantasy, PI mystery comedy
Book Blurb:
Valentine’s Day. The most dangerous day of the year.
Most guys wouldn’t mind that it’s practically raining females, some expected, some surprises, one he could do without, and one he enjoys sharing donuts with while staring into her pretty emerald eyes five mornings a week – his new secretary, Naomie. She thinks he’s human.
He’s not. Yet. Still mostly fictional though he blends in better than some of the Otherworlders he knows. And the magic that dawdled in following him across from the page is leaking back into his play book. Which should be helpful considering someone has put a hit out on him.
Still, life on this side is relatively good.
Except that someone or something took out that contract for his removal from the planet. Among the contenders interested in bagging him is possibly one packing a mysterious alchemical weapon called Heart Burn because it incinerates the victim from the heart on out.
Except someone has found a way to neutralize his protection shields, which shouldn’t be possible.
Except, if he’s not careful, Naomie will realize he’s not who she thinks he is and that there is magic in the world. Dangerous magic.
There’s a lot on Bram’s plate. The question is, will he live through it this time?
Excerpt:
Naomie’s eyes fell on the bags. “I thought we were going out to eat.”
“You and I are,” I said. “Don’t know what the rest of these clowns are doing.”
“Clowns?” Dawes growled.
“Call ’em like I see ’em, pal. I thought you were just going to follow Nomes home.”
“Was. She spotted me.”
“Back to covert surveillance school for you, officer.”
He ignored the jibe. “What’s in the bags, Farrell?”
I handed him one of them. He searched it for… well, hell if I know.
“Frosted Flakes, Mountain Dew, precut carrot sticks, popcorn, and Hershey’s kisses?” he listed for everyone’s benefit.
“Replacing everything I raided for late night snacks. Except for the chocolate.” I grabbed the package, ripped it open, peeled back a red foil wrapper—the Valentine-themed packets had been 50% off—then tossed the treat to Beelz. He leapt into the air with the grace and twist of a rainbow trout trying to shake the hook from its mouth, snagged the candy, and had swallowed it before he hit the carpet again. Understanding the look he gave me, I unpeeled another and tossed it low and to the side. He fielded it nicely. “See? Entertainment feature for when there’s nothing to watch on cable.”
“You do know chocolate is bad for dogs,” Lex said.
“Tell him that,” I suggested. “So what are all you people doing here?”
“I live here,” Nomes said, her voice hovering on a giggle, if I’m not mistaken.
“Ms. Muldoon asked me to bring her by. I’m merely waiting in a warm place until my fare is ready to head out,” Burt declared.
“Uh huh.”
“I was not briefed on Mr. Zelinski’s position in the operation,” Dawes said.
I nearly asked who the heck Mr. Zelinski was, then realized it was probably Burt.
Dawes was still talking. “…so, as Ms. Enright’s security detail for the day, I questioned his purposes in trailing us into the parking lot.”
“He jerked Burt from the cab and patted him down.” Lex sounded affronted at the action.
I glanced at Naomie. Her eyes were dancing some uninhibited tropical fandango of delight at the memory. If I asked her, the odds of her saying, “It was awesome,” came in at even money.
“I didn’t mind,” Burt said. “He was doing his job.”
Dawes took the bag of groceries around the corner and deposited them onto the table. A table that, when I followed him with my other two bags, I saw was missing the Raven Central computer set-ups.
Dave noticed the start I gave. “Took ’em down and stored ’em in her trunk while we were waiting for you.”
I sighed, though whether it was over the way things kept getting out of my control or relief that I wouldn’t have to tote them down the stairs myself, I couldn’t say. “And you’re still here why?”
Nomes overheard me. It was, after all, a really small apartment. “I invited everyone to join us for dinner,” she called from the other side of the partition. Like less than ten feet away. “Is that okay, boss?”
I threw in the towel. “Whatever.”
“Great,” she perked. “I already called ahead for reservations. The Dearborn location, right?”
If it hadn’t been before, it was now.
I suggested the rest of them head for the restaurant while I fed Beelz and Nomes put the replacement comestibles away. Within two minutes, the apartment had grown back to normal size. Beelz had his nose in a bowl of barbecue chicken bits from the deli section.
I waited until Nomes had stashed the Mountain Dew in the fridge to make my move. When she shut the door, I was right behind her. She turned to face me in surprise. Hands flat against the freezer door on either side of her head, I leaned into her.
“Nomes,” I said softly. “This was supposed to be a date. Just you and me.” The fact that I’d only decided to term it so since the others had left surprised even me.
“But, bo—”
Before she could call me boss again, I corrected her. “Bram,” I murmured and kissed her.
***
Yeah, I know what you’re thinking. What the s**t, Farrell! Same phrase ran through my mind and I shut it the hell up.
She was kissing me back and, well, the world could just you-know-what as far as I was concerned. Then sanity returned. Not to me, but to Nomes.
“Boss.” The word feathered across my lips.
“Nomes,” I answered, doing a bit more sampling.
“This isn’t us.”
“Feels a lot like us,” I countered.
“You’re just riding the wave,” she counter countered.
“Wave?”
“Adrenaline.”
Yep, definitely. The adrenaline tank was registering at FULL.
“I’m not the girl you dressed up to distract those boys with last night.”
“Sugar, you aren’t dressed like that now,” I reminded her.
“But you’re still picturing me dressed that way.”
Didn’t have to. My imagination had made enough hops on this checkerboard since then that you could “king” me.
Her hands rested on my chest, but she wasn’t pushing me away.
“We need to return to the way we treated each other before.”
“We can do that and then add to it.”
Like an entire wing.
“Do you really think that’s wise?”
It sounded damn brilliant to me.
She frowned. “Did giving you a key make you think…”
“The key had nothing to do with this.”
And there went the teeth, worrying that corner of her lip again. “But maybe it does.”
“On a subatomic level?”
“On a professional level, boss.”
I sighed in resignation. “Bram. Will you ever be able call me by my name? You did in October.”
“Boss is safer,” she said. “Particularly now.”
I rested my brow against hers. “You are…”
She waited.
“…infuriatingly right,” I agreed reluctantly. “But there’s one thing I want you to think about in the coming days.”
“What?” she asked.
“This,” I said and kissed her again. For quite a long while.
Buy Links (including Goodreads and BookBub):
BookBub https://www.bookbub.com/books/marked-raven-raven-tales-book-two-the-raven-tales-2-by-j-b-dane
What’s your favorite part about being a romance author?
My favorite part about being a romance author (which I used to be to a larger extent than today when mystery attempts to shove it aside)? Without a doubt it’s that I get to have vicarious affairs with every single one of my heroes.
In fact, I like hanging out with “my guys” far more that I probably did with the two ex-husbands and the tally of men before, between, and after them, since they all served as research for what I wrote when unpublished into being published. While it may not appear that Bram Farrell of The Raven Tales series is a romantic sort, I simply wrote his attraction to Naomie to pick up more pace in each book in the series. Whether they get a HEA is still two novels away from readers finding out!
Here’s my tip to add romance to your love life:
Considering in real life I’ve collected romantic disasters, I’m not sure I’d take any advice from me on this topic if I were you. However, the men I pen to star in romantic situations do a much better job of sweeping me off my feet, So, should your sweetie usually shop at the hardware mega store or specialty kitchen place for the gifts he hands you, be sure to buy yourself something you want and thank him in a manner that might make him remember what not to buy for the next birthday, anniversary, or Valentine’s Day. In other words, led the poor deluded fool to the lingerie department!
Giveaway –
One lucky reader will win a $75 Amazon gift card
Open internationally.
Runs February 1 – 29, 2024
Drawing will be held on March 1, 2024.
Author Biography:
J.B. DANE is a pseudonym of a multi-published, multi-genre novelist who goes by many names. Not because she is in Witness Protection. Really not in Witness Protection. Really. She may start hiding from citizens of Detroit since her Raven Tales urban fantasy comedic mysteries have populated their fair city with neighbors who might be supernatural, paranormal or legendary beasts…or not so beasts…but probably ARE beasts. They could be hungry, too. She has also tampered with the lore of the Claus family, you know the one at the North Pole, and hopes this does not land her on the Naughty List, even if Nick Claus has landed on it frequently himself. She might be found at www.4TaleTellers.com, but leave a message to be picked up by a disguised courier and delivered to a secret location.
Social Media Links:
Website: www.4TaleTellers.com
Facebook.com/JBDaneWriter or @JBDaneWriter on Twitter