Title: RAVEN’S EDGE
Author: J.B. Dane
Genre: Urban Fantasy PI mystery comedy
Book Blurb:
Name’s Bram Farrell. I’m a PI – well, used to be. Michigan doesn’t think I have the requisites for a license in this world. My experience is nearly all within the pages of a set of fantasy books written by Calista Amberson, who I thought died shortly after yanking me into the real world but hadn’t. Currently, I rank at the top of her Erase These Idiots list. The feeling is mutual.
As St. Patrick’s Day dawned, I thought the only dangerous thing on my social calendar was meeting Naomie Enright’s family. It wasn’t, though downing green dyed potato salad took courage. No, it was finding the Irish goddess Danu waiting for me at the Enright Pub’s bar. She wanted me to find an enchanted sword. Someone had nicked The Retaliator, a blade that could kill with just a scratch. Except this ancient Tuathan treasure would only go to the hand of a master swordsman.
Not many of them around in 21st century Detroit.
Except, Mack Enright, Naomie’s brother, has a friend who likes to buckle on some swash and dazzle crowds with sword play. And he's vanished, only the scents of ghoul and vampire lingering behind in his wrecked apartment. That’s never good.
And it's headed for even worse. I definitely need an edge to solve – survive – these cases!
Excerpt:
A gorgeous redhead in form hugging designer jeans and a glittery green top that had slipped off one creamy shoulder sidled up on my left.
“Dannay,” Enright greeted. “Nice to see you again. Your usual?”
“I love it that you remember what I like, Paddy,” she said, her voice dripping with the sound of Olde Eire. A fanciful man might picture rolling green hills, valleys, fairy mounds, winding rivers, swift streams, craggy cliffs, crashing waves, and pots of gold at the end of rainbows.
I happen to be very fanciful.
“How could I forget anything you might like, acushla,” he declared, turning to grab a bottle from the shelf behind him.
He’d barely slid a tumbler toward her before another customer hailed him from the opposite end of the bar. Pat excused himself and left us on our own.
“Dannay, huh?” I mused. “You think they’d know who Danu is?”
“One never knows, Raven,” the goddess murmured, sipping her own whiskey. “It has been centuries since the names of my people were well known.”
“At least as you’d want to be known,” I said. “I’m sure there are plenty of modern pagans or fantasy writers who know who and what the Tuatha Dé Danann are.”
She made a sound of disgust. “They think us the Fae when we are no such thing.”
“Maybe a few of you aren’t, but the magic users like yourself? Naw, you’re Fae. So why are you here?”
“Here as in Paddy’s bar or here as in your world?” she purred and sampled her drink again.
“It’s the same thing, Danu. You’re a long, long way from Tara and you’re in my town. Why?”
She turned around. Hooked her elbows on the bar as she posed, tumbler of whiskey balanced lightly in her hand. “Isn’t there but one reason why any from the other worlds seek you out, Raven? I need someone to recover a stolen item and you’re the perfect boyo for the job.”
I’ve gotten suckered into working for an old god in the past. They don’t like it when you try to turn them down and, though Danu is one of the old Irish goddesses, that doesn’t mean if she threw a snit fit in the Enright bar a bunch of Irish and Irish posers wouldn’t get hit by the fallout.
It was probably why she’d chosen the place to corner me. ’Cause that was exactly what she’d done.
“What did you lose?”
“Fiach dubh,” she chided in a husky voice. If you need a translation, she’d just called me Raven again, just in Gaelige. “Lose it, I dinna do. ’Twas stolen by a low rascal.”
“Sure you didn’t just misplace it?”
She made a sound of disgust. Gave me the royal glare. “‘Tis stolen,” she insisted flatly. “You, fiach dubh, will find it for me and punish the thief.”
I did not want this job. “I sorta lack a passport, and I only work Detroit, so you’ll have to find a different chump, goddess.”
She turned, leaned in closer. “The thief is here in Detroit.”
Damn. “You got an address?”
“If I had, there would not be a reason to use you,” she said.
“Then how do you know the thief is here?”
“Because that which was stolen is here. It sings to me.”
“But not loudly enough to supply an address?”
This time she doubled the heat in that royal glare. Her chin raised. “Ask what I will give you in exchange for the recovery. T’will be something without price, something you will wish me to grant.”
“And what might that be?”
“My protection for your Naomie. I believe you already have such promises from many realms, but the warding of an earth-bound goddess will further strengthen what you have already given her.”
Shit. She knew just how to play me. Nomes’ safety from any and everything on or off the planet was of paramount importance. There were too many nasties that might use her against me if they guessed how I felt about her.
I might have groaned, conceding the payoff was worthy of my time and attention. “Okay. What went on walkabout from your coffers?”
Danu smiled. Well, why not. She’d gotten her way with me, hadn’t she? Sliding her barely touched drink along the bar my way, she took my drinking hand between hers like she was making a Raven sandwich. My palm tingled, meaning she’d magically bound me to the deal. “‘Tis one of the Tuatha’s great talismans,” she said.
Damn.
There are four. A rock, a cauldron, a sword, and a slingshot.
“Which talisman?” I demanded. Well, maybe I snarled it. I was not a blithe bivouacer.
Danu released my hand with a final pat. “The one belonging to Nuadha.”
Oh, shit! “The friggin’ sword! The one that will kill you with a papercut?” Yes, I know, no paper would be involved, but this blade is vicious!
She nodded regally. “I recommend that you be very careful in the handling of it, Raven. I wouldn’t want to be responsible for your demise.”
Nice of her to care. “How do I find you once I’ve got it?” Let’s face it, I had to find the frickin’ thing. The only way everyone would be safe from the sword was if it was buried deep in the Halls of Tara. Wherever they are.
“I’ll find you, fiach dubh,” she said. “All you need to do is wrap this hand around the hilt.” She indicated my drinking hand. “I will come to you to retrieve it.”
“You’ll know just like that, huh?”
“I’ll know because of this,” she said, and turned my hand over.
You know in that pirate movie where Johnny Depp’s hand gets this black spot in the palm? Well, I had a smear of green in the same place. “You have got to be kid—”
But she was gone. Just her nearly full drink resting on the bar top showed she’d even been there.
Buy Links (including Goodreads and BookBub):
Amazon link: mybook.to/RAVEDGE
What’s your favorite activity to shake off the winter doldrums?
I’m not sure I get the winter doldrums exactly. There is no better excuse than bad weather outside to stay inside snuggled under a blanket either in an armchair or stretched out on the sofa with a good book to read to make winter more of a treat. As long as there’s a handy drink (and oddly I prefer cold ones to hot ones, even in the winter) and a supply of chocolate, chips, and popcorn, I’m all set to dive deep into adventure with characters who are far more adventurous than I am.
Why is your featured book a cure for the winter blues?
Considering RAVEN’S EDGE kicks off on St. Patrick’s Day and involves the theft of a Tuathan talisman, it’s perfect reading material for March! It’s also the story that I had a good reason to let Bram, the hero, engage in a few sword fights. I’ve never handled a sword personally but love any movie that features blades meeting. Actually, with Bram needing to wield a rapier, I had a good reason to watch all my favorite movie sword engagements. Some more than once! And for a change of pace, there’s a jousting event as well! Not exactly what one might think they’ll find in an urban fantasy mystery comedy, but definitely well suited to what I tend to throw at Bram to handle. It should come as no surprise that he’s a dandy hand with a sword. While he still lived in fictionland, he served as D’Artagnan’s practice partner.
Giveaway –
One lucky reader will win a $35 Amazon gift card
Open internationally.
Runs March 1 – 31, 2024
Drawing will be held on April 1, 2024.
Author Biography:
J.B. Dane is the author of the urban fantasy PI mystery comedy series, The Raven Tales, which includes novels published by Burns and Lea Books, and a series of Indie published novellas that are prequels and also "between the books" adventures of her main character, Bram Farrell. The latest novel in the series is RAVEN CROSSES THE LINE, which followed RAVEN’S EDGE’s example by collecting 5* reviews. She also writes shorter fantasy fiction, many tales of which have appeared in anthologies, particularly her Nick Claus, North Pole Security stories.
Social Media Links:
Website: www.4TaleTellers.com/jb-dane-books
Twitter: @JBDaneWriter
FB: On Facebook JBDane Mystery and Fantasy http://bit.ly/2GJtejL