Monday, August 24, 2015

Excerpt - The Victim by Eric Matheny



The Victim
By Eric Matheny 

 A tense, fast-paced, legal thriller/psychological suspense novel that centers around a young defense attorney whose horrifying misdeed from his college days comes back to haunt him. It was published by Zharmae in August 2015 and is available for sale on Amazon.

Synopsis:

Anton Mackey is a man with everything. At least, he seems to be on the surface. He has a rising career as a private attorney, a lovely wife, a beautiful daughter; he and his family live in an idyllic neighborhood that most people dream about. Sure, there are troubles that plague this family, the same as any other, but all in all things are looking up. Life is good, and the future is better. 

Except Anton has a past, too, and something has been looming, bearing down on him from that history, just waiting for the chance to strike. Soon, everything will change, and the life he’s struggled so hard to build will come crashing down around him. 

And the worst part of it all: Anton Mackey has no one to blame but himself.

Praise for The Victim:

“The Victim by Eric Matheny has a fast moving pace and a skillfully conceived plot with quite a few twists and turns… A page turner, this legal thriller has all the elements to hold reader interest from the first page to the last.” - Reviewed by ReadersFavorite.com


Excerpt:


Chapter 1

March 16, 2003

Payson, Arizona

He thought he was dead.

Steam hissed from the crumpled front end of the RV that had folded accordion-style against the guardrail. His face stung from the punch of the airbag. His lungs burned from that awful talcum powder that drifted through the cabin as the bag deflated. The chemical dust, suspended in the air, seemed to be frozen in time.

His nose was numb and swollen. He tasted blood trickling down the back of his throat like a cocaine drip. He peered through the cracked windshield, his eyes adjusting to the reddish glow of a desert sunrise. The crushed-in hood had jarred upward. The chassis was off balance. The whole vehicle wobbled as he shifted his weight in his seat.

Oh my God.

He cranked the door handle and heaved his shoulder into it to pop it off the jamb. He hopped down onto the highway. The winds were heavy and dry, rustling the sage and scrub oaks that dotted the rugged landscape along the Beeline Highway. A sliver of fiery light barely illuminated the peaks of the Mazatal Mountains, which rose and fell against the horizon. Giant saguaros stood like sentries.

The back half of a red two-door sedan lay beneath the shredded front tires of the RV. Flattened like an aluminum can. On impact the RV must have bucked forward, rolling up onto the rear bumper of the smaller car, coming to rest on its roof. The significant weight of the RV crushed the sedan into something you might see stacked in a junkyard.

The highway was quiet. Just the rush of hot wind crackling the delicate spines of the sagebrush. He got his bearings quickly, the initial shock of the crash having passed. A sobering experience. Literally. Half a handle of Jack Daniels coursing through his veins had been replaced by something stronger.

Panic.

He saw long hair, a young female’s. How he could tell her age by the back of her head, he would never know. Maybe by its length and sheen—bright, yellow-blond. Slick with blood. Her forehead propped on the steering wheel. The driver-side window blown out. The windshield was a shattered web.

The man beside her—or boy, he was arguably young—was out cold, his body positioned in the passenger’s seat in a gimpy, off-kilter fashion. The passenger side had been thrust into the guardrail, which molded itself to the frame of the car. His head lolled against the door. Blood leaked from his ear and ran down his neck.

“Are you okay?” he screamed, although he knew he would get no reply. His voice resonated throughout the valley. “Hello?”

He braced himself against the ruined front end of the RV. He felt a surge of bile and whiskey come up in the back of his throat. He heaved forward but held it in. He was lightheaded.

Oh God, please let this be a dream. Oh God, please...this can’t be happening, this can’t be happening. This isn’t happening. This isn’t happening...  











About the Author:

Eric Matheny was born in Los Angeles, California, where he lived until he went away to college at Arizona State University. At ASU he was president of Theta Chi Fraternity. He graduated with a degree in political science and moved to Miami, Florida, to attend law school at St. Thomas University. During his third year of law school, he interned for the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office, where he worked as a prosecutor upon graduation. In 2009, he went into private practice as a criminal defense attorney. He is a solo practitioner representing clients in Miami-Dade County, Florida, and Broward County, Florida. He has handled everything from DUI to murder.

In his free time, Eric enjoys writing crime fiction, drawing from his experience working in the legal system. He published his debut novel Home in 2004, which centers around a successful drug dealer catering to the rich in Orange County. His second novel Lockdown, published in 2005, follows a law student trying to prove that an inmate serving a life sentence in one of California’s toughest prisons might actually be innocent. Eric’s latest novel The Victim, is a tense, fast-paced, legal thriller/psychological suspense novel that centers around a young defense attorney whose horrifying misdeed from his college days comes back to haunt him. It was published by Zharmae in August 2015 and is available for sale on Amazon.

Eric lives outside of Fort Lauderdale with his wife and two young sons.



Readers can connect with him on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.

To learn more, go to http://www.ericmathenybooks.com/


Sunday, August 16, 2015

Blog Tour: Polarity in Motion by Brenda Vicars


Hello Everybody! Today is the first stop on the book tour for Polarity in Motion by Brenda Vicars. Check below for some more info about the book and author as well as a my review!

Polarity in Motion
By Brenda Vicars
Genre: YA
Published December 2, 2014 by Red Adept Publishing

4.5 stars - Fantastic!



Book Description


Fifteen-year-old Polarity Weeks just wants to live a normal life, but with a mother diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, that’s rarely easy. Her life gets exponentially more disastrous when her sixth-period history classmates start ogling a nude picture of her on the Internet. Polarity would never have struck such a shameless pose, but the photo is definitely of her, and she’s at a complete loss to explain its existence.


Child Protective Services yanks her from her home, suspecting her parents. The kids at school mock her, assuming she took it herself. And Ethan, the boy she was really starting to like, backpedals and joins the taunting chorus. Surrounded by disbelief and derision on all sides, Polarity desperately seeks the truth among her friends. Only then does she learn that everyone has dark secrets, and no one’s life is anywhere near normal.

Review:

I knew right from the start that I wasn't going to be able to put this book down. I was pulled in from the very beginning and had to know how things ended for Polarity.

Polarity was such a strong girl and I just really felt for her and her situation. She didn't give up when things got extremely difficult. The things that Polarity had to go through really had my heart breaking but I was glad to see that Polarity had people that supported and cared for her. It was really great to learn more about Polarity and watch her transform and grow.

There were a few other characters that were great to read about. They were supportive and caring and made things easier for Polarity. There were also a few characters that were horrible at times. But they were all real and added something to the story.

I found it incredibly interesting and informing to learn about the borderline personality disorder that Polarity's mom had. I think that Vicars made this such an interesting book that was really real. There was the mystery of who took the picture coupled with Polarity having to deal with her mom.

All in all, I thought this was a pretty great novel that had me unable to stop reading. I definitely recommend if you are looking for a contemporary/mystery type novel. You won't be disappointed!

Vanessa


Author Bio


The heartbeat of Brenda Vicars’ fiction emanates from the courage and resiliency of her students.  Her career in Texas public education includes teaching, serving as a principal, and directing student support services programs.  For three years she also taught college English to prison inmates, and outside of her job she mentors children of incarcerated parents.


She entered education because she felt called to teach, but she found that it was students who taught her the biggest lesson:  the playing field is not even for all kids. Through her work she became increasingly compelled to bring their unheard voices to the page.


Link:




Giveaway Info: The author is giving away 3 e-book copies of Polarity in Motion and one $20 Amazon gift card!