Tuesday, February 5, 2013

{Blitz + Giveaway} Byzantine Gold by Chris Karlsen

Hey! this is a blitz for The sequel to Golden Chariot, which I reviewed in December for the blog tour HERE. I will be reveiwing Byzantine Gold (this book) on the 25th of February for the review tour. (: I have high hopes for it since the first one was a keeper! Also, you guys, this author is a doll, so feel free to comment! (: 
Chris Karlsen
Chris is a retired police detective. She spent twenty-five years in the law enforcement with two different agencies.
The daughter of a history professor and a voracious reader, she grew up with a love for history and books.
She has traveled extensively throughout Europe, the Near East, and Northern Africa satisfying her passion for seeing the places she read about.
A Chicago native, Chris has lived in Paris, Los Angeles, and now resides with her husband, and five rescue dogs in the Pacific Northwest.
@Website | @Pinterest                                                                                                     

EXCERPT

Atakan didn’t answer as he sped out of camp, spraying dirt and stones behind them.

“What’s going on? Why are you in such a hurry?”

He stared straight ahead, silent. 

“Atakan?”

Tight-jawed, he continued down the side road that paralleled the beach, ramming the stick shift into place as he went through the gears and ignoring her questions. She’d never seen him this tense, not with her at least. A bad feeling crept over her. She had a sick sense his mood involved her plan to leave. 

They’d gone a kilometer from the camp when he came to a stop. He hopped out, slammed the driver’s door shut and came to her side. 

Opening her door, he said, “Get out.”

She did. 

“Atakan,” Charlotte started to ask the same questions again, but he was already turned and walking toward the sea. 

She followed. He finally stopped near the water’s edge with his back to the surf and faced her. She stopped a couple of yards away. 

“When were you going to tell me?”

She knew exactly what he was asking about. Who told him? It wasn’t Nick. He’d honor the twenty-four hour rule. 

“Who told you?”

“That’s not an answer.” He stood still as a statue, arms crossed, feet apart. 

She hesitated, trying to choose her words so he’d understand and not be hurt. She gazed out at the incoming tide. The blue-green waves, effervescent with bubbles, rushed toward shore in rapid succession. White foam droplets filled the air as they crested, framing him like a new, angry version of Poseidon. 

“Answer me.”

“Today.”

“You weren’t going to tell me until today, although you’ve been planning to leave me for awhile.”

“Not awhile.”

“Long enough to send job inquiries to several museums.”

So that was how he knew. One of the museums contacted MIAR and they must’ve sent the questionnaire to Refik and he told Atakan. She hadn’t considered the possibility. She’d thought any contact from the museums would be handled by MIAR’s headquarters. 

“I’m so sorry you had to find out this way. I intended to tell you if it looked like I’d definitely leave. If none of the museums showed interest, then you never had to know what I’d done.”

“And you believe that is acceptable?”

It killed her to see the look of disgust on his face with the question. “Yes...” she said low. 

“Why?”

“Because I’m bad luck for you—everyone can see it, even your--, it’s obvious. There’s something about me, and God knows, I don’t know what, but I’m like a magnet for Tischenko.”

She never cried and she wouldn’t cry now, but she was close. “I can’t bear to see you hurt again, or worse. There are people that bad luck follows, even Iskender thinks so.”

Atakan inhaled deeply and let out a slow breath. Uncrossing his arms, he closed the short distance to where she stood.

“It’s not forever,” she offered, “I’ll return.”

He shook his head. “If you go, you cannot return. You’re either in my life or out of my life. There’s no in between.”


BYZANTINE GOLD
by Chris Karlsen

A sunken warship from the Byzantine Era carrying an unusual cargo of gold has been found off the coast of Northern Cyprus. News of the valuable cache has attracted the attention of a terrorist cell. They plan to attack the recovery team’s campsite and steal the artifacts. On the Black Market, the sale of the relics will buy them additional weapons. 

Charlotte Dashiell, an American archaeologist, and her lover, Atakan Vadim, a Turkish government agent, are scheduled to be part of the recovery team that brings up the artifacts. While en route to Cyprus, they find themselves caught in the crosshairs of Maksym Tischenko, a Ukrainian contract killer bent on revenge. Charlotte, Atakan and Tischenko share a grim history. As a result, Tischenko is a man who will stop at nothing to achieve his goal—seeing them both dead.

Book Trailer!


Giveaway
Chris will award one randomly drawn commenter at every stop an ebook copy of Golden Chariot, and one randomly drawn commenter will be awarded a $50 Amazon gift card during the tour. You can follow the tour -->HERE<-- or click on the banner at the top of the page. Thanks for stopping in. Also, I am part of the review tour for this book and will be reviewing it at the end of the month

25 comments:

  1. Sounds wonderful, where do you get your inspiration for new characternames?

    lennascloud at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Lena,
      I don't agonize over name choices. I have a writer friend who frets about her picks. For the American characters, I chose names I like. For the English, Turkish, Ukranian etc. I research names for those nationalities and pick what sounds to me like a name that fits their personality. Atakan for instance, is a Turkish name that means 'having the blood of his ancestors.' I thought with his father being a career military man, Atakan had a loving but relatively regimented childhood. Atakan has a great deal of family pride so I thought that name suited him. I chose Maksym for Tischenko's first name because I thought it sounded tough.
      Chris

      Delete
  2. I read "Golden Chariot" and enjoyed it. Glad to see there's another book!

    mnark111 at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi M.,
      I'm glad you liked Golden Chariot. I liked Charlotte and Atakan and knew writing Golden Chariot that I would bring them back for another book.
      Chris K

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  3. Great premise! I liked Golden Chariot and hadn't know there is a sequel.

    Jibriel.O(at)web(dot)de

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. HI Jibriel,
      Thank you. I'm so happy to hear from readers of Golden Chariot. Beside Charlotte and Atakan, several other characters return in Byzantine Gold.
      Chris K.

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  4. Chris the cover is just stunning. Did you have much input?


    marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Mary,
      I did have a lot of input. This is the first time I worked with this designer. She really listened to what I envisioned and she did a nice job converying that and the essence of the story.
      Chris K.

      Delete
  5. Tiffany and Ryan...I don't think I've been to your blog before. How cute! I'll definitely be poking around.
    catherinelee100 at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Catherine Lee,

      It is a nice blog spot. I love all the colors.
      Chris K.

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    2. d'aww. *blushes* You guys... I cannot wait to read the book. I have a review stop for the... 25th of February. I loved the first one. (:

      Delete
  6. Great excerpt!What was the best advice you were given about writing books?

    galaschick78(AT)gmail(DOT)com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. HI Gala,
      Glad you liked the excerpt. Advice--hmm. I've received some great advice over the years in different writing courses. If I have to pick one thing it's: Don't open with a lot of backstory or setup. Weave the history of the characters through the story.
      Chris K

      Delete
  7. Love the excerpt! Did you chose the cover yourself?

    moonsurfer123(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Anas,
      Thank you. I asked the designer to look at my trailer for Byzantine Gold and Golden Chariot and also to check out my book boards on my Pinterest Page to get an idea of what I liked for the stories and characters. She had stock diver images and I sent her some pix of Istanbul from my personal photo album. She found a better one and we went from there.
      Chris K

      Delete
  8. I loved Golden Chariot, thank you for gifting it to me!

    shadowrunner1987ATgmailDOTcom

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Ami,
      You're welcome. Check out my pinterest page book boards and you can see my "dream" cast for the novels: http://pinterest.com/chriskarlsen/
      Chris

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    2. The pinterest link isn't working!... D: I was so gonna check it out. lol

      Delete
  9. Good Morning,
    I want to thank Tiffany and Ryan for hosting me today and showcasing Byzantine Gold. I look forward to talking to everyone.
    Chris Karlsen

    ReplyDelete
  10. I love the aspect of archeolgy in a novel, it just makes it so much more intriguing with that historical aspect. Thanks for sharing this story with us

    fencingromein at hotmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Shannon,

      I love history and knew I wanted Charlotte to be an archaologist. I made her a nautical archaeologist because it seemed a little different from the usual.
      Chris K

      Delete
  11. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  12. This book sounds great. I like the description it's mysterious and very intriguing. Thanks for sharing the excerpt too!

    uilani25(at)hotmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  13. Have been enjoying your tour and reading your excerpts.

    strive4bst(At) yahoo(Dot) com

    ReplyDelete

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