Please welcome author Russell to Full Moon Dreaming. He's here to tell us about his book, Derrick, the second book in his Gavin Nolan trilogy. Russell will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN GC to one randomly drawn commenter via Rafflecopter. The more you comment, the better your chances of winning. To find the other stops on Russell's tour, go
here. Don't forget to look for the Rafflecopter at the end of this post, as well as my review of
Derrick.
Derrick
by Russell
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GENRE: Horror, Suspense,
Thriller, Mystery, LGBT
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:
In
Hyde Park, a movie theater erupts in flames on a bitterly cold November
evening.
It seems like a job
for the fire department, but under Captain Creighton’s direct orders, Detective
Gavin Nolan and his partner, Derrick Williamson, must investigate. Arriving on
the chaotic scene, they find multiple fatalities —but one of the victims is
most peculiar…
Gavin soon discovers
that this fire wasn’t the first of its kind. The arsonist has set ablaze other
buildings around Chicago, and more female victims left in the same gruesome
state have been discovered.
Gavin and Derrick
determine that the arsonist is not an arsonist at all—but a sinister serial
killer with an agenda.
Juggling the
unexpected events in his personal life, Gavin digs into the locations of the
explosions. At the same time, Derrick probes into the victims’ lives, searching
for any possible connection.
However, when the
next explosion occurs, the killer leaves behind a significant object, and
Derrick becomes noticeably reserved. Gavin soon uncovers an enigmatic link, one
that points to Derrick’s military past. A time that his partner had wished to
forget. Yet, to catch the vicious maniac, Derrick must tell Gavin everything.
In a suspenseful,
gripping ride to the end, it is up to Gavin to rescue his partner from the
clutches of a killer. But will he make
it in time?
WARNING: This book
contains graphic scenes, explicit language, and violent sexual situations.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXCERPT:
“Look at that.” Derrick pointed over to the front rows.
At the fifth and fourth rows in the dead center, several
more CSI members were photographing two burnt corpses. The explosion blew back
the bodies into a crumpled position on the chairs.
Hopefully they had a quick death. Gavin stayed silent.
Moving on, they reached the exit door near the front of the
theater. Another warning from Delanie informed them of the rubble and potential
structural damage in the next section. Briefly looking back, Gavin heard the
crackling of radios, like eerie ghostly crickets fluttering in the distance. In
the opposite direction, three firemen were still containing some smoldering
chairs.
“Shit,” Derrick muttered, tapping Gavin’s shoulder. He
nodded up.
The once ornate ceiling now had entire sections missing.
Squinting slightly, Gavin could see the dark night sky.
Once they passed the doorway, a series of portable lights
cascaded over the area. Gavin was unable to decipher the debris, the contents
of which were haphazardly pushed away from the clear epicenter near the
opposite end of the room. Up above, about a third of the ceiling had
disintegrated, leaving a huge hole. The cold wind invaded the space,
dissipating the soot scent slightly. More CSI team members shifted diligently,
gathering debris in clear evidence bags and marking each spot with photographs
and red markers. Near the apparent epicenter of the blast, several firemen were
discussing the area, pointing at spots.
“Have to get back to my captain,” the young fireman said.
“Need anything else, just let me know.”
“Thanks,” Gavin replied.
“Where the fuck do we begin?” Derrick grumbled.
“You can begin by bringing back that hottie,” Susan said
behind them.
Gavin turned to find the doctor kneeling near a shriveled,
burnt corpse. Her scalpel gingerly poked and prodded the body’s seared skull.
“Isn’t he too young for you?” Derrick returned with a snarky
grin.
Gavin stated, “I didn’t see your van.”
“Came through the back.” She looked up at him and then at
Derrick. She added, “As long he’s eighteen-plus, no laws broken, baby.”
Shaking his head, Derrick snickered. One of the CSI team, an
annoyed-looking woman whose gray hair probably came directly from her stressful
job, shot him a glance.
Standing up and ripping off her plastic gloves, Susan said,
“No offense, love you guys, but what the hell are you doing here?”
“Creighton’s orders,” Derrick answered first. His midnight
eyes darted over the scene.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Russell has
been writing for the majority of his life. Slipping into alternative universes
allows him to enjoy the process of creativity from the novel’s conception to
its final draft. Currently, he lives in South Texas with his wife, two kids and
several cats.
DERRICK is a
2018 Winner in the New Apple Literary Awards, receiving Official Selection in
Psychological Suspense.
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/Russell.The.Author
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/Russell_Writer
https://www.amazon.com/Derrick-Second-Installment-Gavin-Biography-ebook/dp/B07KXG3KH4
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Full Moon Dreaming Interview
I must share some exciting news with all of you!
My new book, DERRICK,
just won in 2018 New Apple Literary Awards Contest as Official Selection in
Psychological Suspense. I am completely surprised, flattered and humbled by the
honor!
Also to add,
GAVIN (Part 1 of The Gavin Nolan Trilogy) won 2017 New Apple Literary
Summer E-book Awards as Official Selection in Horror.
What's
the hardest part of combining genres in one book?
I
have to discuss the Gavin Nolan Trilogy as a whole, and my unique writing
process. When I began writing, I truly
did not know what to expect as the story begins to take hold. As I pen a new
story, a beginning usually appears in my head and I start writing. In essence,
I write without character descriptions, no outlines nor any research. I just
let my fingers (and quite active imagination) command the ship. Because of
this, the story builds momentum, meaning that I do not necessarily know what
happens at the end until midway through. So if I’m surprised, my reader will
feel that rush as well.
For the series, I was inspired by other
authors who create dark, gritty thrillers, which borderline on horror genre. Similar to Harris’s The Silence of the Lamb and Flynn’s Gone Girl, my series heightens the
intensity of the scenes, and puts the characters in perilous conditions.
Echoing the likes of Clive Barker, Peter Straub and even John Connolly, I
create some visceral, graphic content which some of my readers found rather
disgusting still they could not help but to keep reading. Finally, I truly love
interwoven plots. Perhaps, my inspiration comes from daytime soap opera that my
mother used to watch in the 80s. As you will see in the Gavin Nolan Trilogy, my
books are not for the light reader. I create multi-layered plots involving my
man character and trickle into the secondary characters. On the surface, my
series could be easily described as homicide detective novel. However, as you
read my books, so much more occurs.
Needless
to say, I wrote GAVIN (Part 1) with a
clear intention as a stand-alone piece. However, Gavin Nolan, the protagonist,
became a formidable, strong character with a several skeletons in his closet.
Being stated, the secondary characters also had strong personalities which
develop and push the story forward. Despite the climatic, intense ending, I
realized that Gavin’s partner on the force, Derrick Williamson, had much more
to say. When I completed the first draft, and began editing GAVIN, I quickly began to write DERRICK (PART 2). In a way, the story
starts six months after the events of GAVIN,
and the reader discover Gavin in a different point in his life. Yet, the strong
friendship between Gavin and Derrick is tested by the hands of deadly madman’s
agenda--something connected to Derrick’s military past. As a side note, DERRICK subtly alludes to the final
book, QUINN (Part 3). Currently, I’m
editing it and hopefully have it out by Spring 2020. In fact I have a preview of QUINN at the very end of DERRICK.
Finally,
GAVIN and DERRICK is for a mature
audience and not for anyone under 18. I have graphic depicted violence,
explore and develop strong sexual situations and include rather explicative
language. If you are not dissuaded from my disclaimer, then you will absolutely
love my books!
Thanks
for having me today! Please follow me on Twitter and Instagram @Russell_Writer.
Also, check out my website: www.RusselltheAuthor.com.
Read
to Escape!
Russell
Derrick
(Gavin Nolan Biography Book 2)
Author:
Russell
Publisher: CreateSpace
American
release date: November 27, 2018
Format/Genre/Length: eBook/GLBT/Mystery/493 pages
Overall Personal Rating: ★★★
Someone in the Chicago area is
killing women in a horrific manner. In an attempt to obfuscate what has been
done, the bodies become part of an arson scene, probably to throw the police
off the track. Detective Gavin Nolan has only recently come to terms with his
sexuality, and isn’t open with his friends, family, and co-workers yet. On the
other hand, his partner, Chad, has introduced him to friends and family, who
have accepted Gavin with open arms. While on a date with Chad, Gavin receives a
call from his partner, Derrick, to come to the Opus Theater, where a fire has
occurred. When Gavin protests that they don’t do fires, Derrick snorts and
tells him these are their boss, Quinn Creighton’s, orders, so they have no
choice. Arriving on the scene, they try to figure out why they are there.
Looking around among the victims of the fire they come across the body of a
woman. Something seems different about this one. The medical examiner thinks there is residual
evidence of rope on the wrists, which has bonded with her flesh. And she
appears to be nude.
The detectives don’t realize it,
but this is just the tip of the iceberg. Working this case will involve digging
into the past, as well as taking a good hard look at who they are, and how they
got where they are now.
Derrick is the second book in a trilogy, which I didn’t realize
when I agreed to review it. I was able to read this book despite that, although
there were probably nuances I would have understood better had I read the first
book. If you’re interested in reading this, I would suggest starting from the
beginning, with Gavin.
This book is very long and
complex, especially for a mystery. There are a lot of different characters,
some of whom I suspect were introduced in the first book, especially Gavin’s
superior, Quinn Creighton, with whom he has some kind of past history. I am
guessing we meet Chad in the first book, and that their relationship was more
front and center, while in this book, it’s relegated more to the sidelines.
Gavin’s relationship with his partner, Derrick, is more central. The two end up on the murder case at the
theater, and are working with a female detective named Evelyn, who is actually
under another jurisdiction but whose presence has been requested. Apparently
her partner hasn’t bothered to train her very well, and her superior is a dick.
The author, who uses the single
name Russell, is not without talent, and he creates memorable characters. The
plot is interesting, even if the resolution is somewhat simplistic. What the
book suffers from is a lack of good editing, however, including everything from
simple word errors to stilted dialogue, which detracts from the enjoyment of
the book. These are not major problems, and they could have been easily handled
in the editing phase, but they weren’t. This book was obviously self-published,
which doesn’t automatically mean it’s bad, but self-published authors are often
notorious for either not having editing or having poor editing.
Another problem, at least for me,
was when the story changed from being Gavin’s story, completely told in third
person narrative, to his partner Derrick’s story, which is done in a first
person POV, and goes on for some chapters. And pretty well sets up the ending,
including the
who-done-it. The only question is how will
this play out and who will survive?
It’s an enjoyable story, and if
things like the ones I mentioned don’t bother you, then go for it. There is
another book left in the series, but I’m afraid it will probably suffer from
the same poor editing. I don’t think I’ll be reviewing that one.
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