FMB Blog Tours Present - CHAIN REACTION

Title: Chain Reaction

Series: Phenom League, Book 1

Author: T. C. Archer

Genre: Romance

Publisher: Silver Publishing

Ebook

Words: 65,000

Book Description:

Former Chicago Detective Jordan Pierce put his life on hold in order to protect America's secret weapon against the Nazis, The Manhattan Project. But he can't protect himself as  his humanity is eaten away by a mysterious disease that destroys him, while at the same time makes him more powerful than any man he's ever known. Jordan finds out how much the disease has devoured his soul when he falls in love with the woman who might destroy America and tear apart his last shred of humanity.

Buy Links:

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My Review:

This story was a nice surprise for me. I don’t normally read suspenseful who done it and generally shy away from war time spy stories. I went out of my comfort zone on reading Chain Reaction and am so glad I did and give this story 5 stars! 

The author immersed me into Jordan Pierce’s world of intrigue and espionage while mixing in lots of twists and turns into the history during the WWII time period. I loved the paranormal aspect of the story. Jordan is on a mission of revenge after he is attacked in an alleyway and infected with a disease which gives him strange abilities.

Based in Chicago, Pierces is head of the night security for the Manhattan Project. While investigating murders of the scientist, he meets Dr. Gladys Nichols who he is instantly attracted to.

He doesn’t know if he can trust her, evidence leads to her being part of the spy network when he discovers her brother is being held hostage.

Jordan finds that he is not the only one with special abilities when he is introduced to the Phenom League. With supernatural abilities and extraordinary powers, the group of people have banned together to right the wrongs in the world.  

Chain Reaction was a great start to the series and I am excited to learn more about this Phenom League and see what happens with Dr. Nichols brother. 

Interview Questions:

Yay, I get two for one!

Please describe Chain Reaction in 25 words or less:

For love of country and a woman, Jordan Pierce must sacrifice his humanity.

What inspires you to your stories?

Shawn: Absolutely everything.

Evan: Life itself. Something will happen that will cause a story to blossom in my mind. Often it's an image or someone will say something.

Do you have a special place you write?

Shawn: I write anywhere I can. At home, I live at my desk.

Evan: My favorite place to write is sitting the Morris chair I built myself. The arms are wide and level allowing me to set up my research materials or laptop on them.

Do you have a playlist while writing, anything special you do while you write?

Shawn: No special playlist. I do love country music, though.

Evan: I turn on the TV to a show I'm not particularly interested in or a movie that fits with the theme or tone of the story I'm working on.

What do you do when you get writers block?

Shawn: Read or write something different

Evan: I start writing back story or internal monologue of my character. This stuff is almost never used, but it gets me writing again.

How long does it take you to write a story?

Depends on the length of the story. a book the length of Chain Reaction, with all the research, takes about a year.

How many books have you written? Are they part of a series?

We have written about a dozen books. Chain Reaction, however, is the first in our Phenom League series. More to come!

What other project are you working on?

We are currently working on the next two books in the Phenom League series: Desert Fox is about Arimus, a five thousand year old mummy who must protect his pharaoh’s resting place against Rommel during the battle of El Alamein. Only he doesn’t count on becoming a british soldier to fulfill his duty…or falling in love with a beautiful archaeologist.

The third book is yet untitled, and is about Harry Armstrong, a WWI pilot who died in battle, but never crossed over. He must discover if the Nazis in Chauny France have uncovered the underground railroad that smuggles allied soldiers to safety. but the discovery he makes on this assignment could change the war.

If your book(s) were made into a TV Series, what actors would you choose to play your characters?

ROFL. I'm thinking Jason Statham (from the Transporters movies) as Jordon Pierce.

What is your favorite paranormal movie?

Shawn: I’m a romantic. My favorite paranormal movie is ghost.

Evan: The Shining.

Who are your favorite authors?

Shawn: Stephen King, Anne Rice, Ray Bradbury

Evan: Arthur C. Clarke, Philip Roth.

Do you read the genre’s you write?

Shawn: Yes!

Evan: Yes. It’s absolutely necessary to know what works and what doesn't from a technical point of view.

  

What are your next 5 books on your too be read pile?

Shawn: Warrior by Zoe Archer, Soulless by Gail Carriger, Talgorian Prophecy by Melissa Alvarez, Moons’ Kiss by Kimberly Comeau (I’m rereading this book!) and Heir by Grace Burrowes.

Evan: Dead Giveaway by Brenda Novak, Star Carrier by Ian Douglas, IQ84 by Haruki Murakami. Steampunk'd anthology, Once Bitten by Stephen Leather.

If you could date one of your characters, who would it be? Why?

Shawn: Well, in our Phenom League series, Jordan Pierce of Chain Reaction would be a very cool guy to date. A cop who suddenly finds himself with superhuman powers has got to be a spectacular date!

Evan: I always try to write my heroines as the kind of women I would date. I would definitely like to date Ethel Standish from Chain Reaction. First of all, she's British and a long-standing member of the Phenom League. She's strong, independent, and a brilliant chemist (ignoring her body that a man could die for).

What has one of your fans said that has made your day?

“I can’t wait to read the next book in the series!”

Do you have any advice for aspiring authors?

Write, read, write, write more, then write some more.

Anything else you would like to add?

Thanks so much for having us!

Quickies:

Vampire or Werewolf

Shawn: I can never decide!

Evan: Vampires.

Beach or Mountains

Shawn: OMG, I can’t choose either of these either. I’ve lived in both places, and love them both.

Evan: Beach. I love to bask in the sun and play volleyball.

Coffee or Tea

Shawn: Coffee, with tea as a close second. (I’m not easy to get along with, am I?)

Evan: Coffee. I drink it all day (decaf after 9 a.m.)

Wake early or sleep in

Shawn: ROFL. Want to sleep in, but always get up early.

Evan: Wake early. I'm a morning person and I love to get up early and get some writing done before anyone else gets up.

Excerpt:

A moment later, I halted in front of the closed door where Dr Nichols waited. The name painted on the glass read: Dr Enrico Roma, the alias of the great scientist and Nobel Prize laureate Enrico Fermi. The alias didn't fool anybody but the ignorant. Light shone through the milky glass window. I blew out a breath. The last thing I wanted to do was interrogate a hysterical woman.

I opened the door and stopped dead at the sight of a shapely blonde leaning against Fermi's mahogany desk. I stared as realization sunk in that the Veronica Lake look-alike standing there was the same egghead pictured in her personnel file. The glasses she'd worn were absent and, despite the red-rimmed eyes and drawn expression, the single overhead light warmed the creamy complexion that had looked bland and colorless in the photo.

Thick blond hair slid across her face in a broad wave and flowed down slim shoulders. Suddenly, I understood the reasoning behind the functional bun in the picture. Despite the legs that mesmerized a man all the way down to the high heel straps, the tweed skirt and blazer she wore emphatically stated the bombshell figure was off limits. But the moment a man laid eyes on her luxurious hair all bets were off. My breath caught with bloodlust as I drew in her scent from across the room.

Gray-blue eyes stared from behind the drape of blond hair. Her gaze flicked to my waistband and I realized she'd glimpsed the colt holstered beneath my suit jacket.

"You wear your gun like a gangster," she said.

I startled. Her voice, low and sultry, held a shaky note, but I knew the remark was payment for my staring.

"This incident requires I carry a weapon." My drill sergeant used to berate any reference to the word gun. "Your gun is between your legs, son. Your pistol or rifle is called a weapon."

She continued to stare and guilt stabbed at me. She'd discovered a colleague who'd been brutally murdered, and I stood in the doorway gawking at her. I swallowed, feeling like a school kid.

"Dr Nichols, I'm Agent Pierce, head of nightshift security." Her fingers tightened around a lace handkerchief gripped in her right palm. I didn't want to step closer, but had to. Her pheromones were making my blood, or what was left of it, crave an infusion from her veins. "What happened?"

Her gaze dropped to the hankie and she began working the fabric with both hands. "I was working late and needed Leon to come to the lab. I couldn't get the Geiger counter to calibrate. I knocked. When no one answered, I opened the door and…" Her eyes swung up to meet mine. "So much blood." Her gaze remained locked with my eyes as if demanding a response.

"I'm sorry," I offered. "I thought you were assigned to dayshift."

She swiped at the corners of her eyes with the handkerchief. "I switched shifts yesterday so Leon and I could calibrate the new equipment."

I nodded. The scientists worked a twelve hours on, twelve off schedule seven days a week. We were in a race against Nazi scientists while men died in Europe, North Africa, and the Pacific. "Did you notice anything unusual tonight?" I asked.

"Nothing."

"Hear anything strange on the way to Dr Heinrick's office, pass anyone in the hall?"

She shook her head. "Maybe he's still here." Something in the way she stared at—through—me,

searching for answers and fearing what she might find, threatened to tip me off balance. "The murderer is gone," I replied in a level voice.

"How do you know?"

"A hunch," I said, and meant it.

"Why kill Heinrick?" she said. "Why not Compton or Fermi? But Heinrick…" Her voice trailed off.

"Are you saying Heinrick didn't know anything worth killing for?"

"I suppose we all know something worth killing for. Each scientist on this project is top in his or her field. But the project will go on without Heinrick. If we lost Oppenheimer, or Fermi, the project would be delayed, if not brought to a standstill."

"Did you enter Heinrick's office?" "No, I took one look and ran."

The response, given without hesitation, or guile, made me wonder if this woman ran from anything.

"This was the first office I came to," she said.

Her story made sense, and my instincts said she was telling the truth. I had learned to trust my sixth sense, especially the last eight months. This ability was another one of those things I couldn't explain, like being conscious of the way her pheromones where working on me double-time.

"Are you staying in the dorm?" I asked. She nodded.

"I'll have someone escort you there."

Desire to go with her shot to the surface with the heat of a volcano. I pictured white skin, full breasts, and blond hair between perfect thighs. I forced my breathing to remain even, and the swelling in my shorts abated. I'd never experienced such sudden, intense lust. If I escorted her back to her room I would drink her blood—and God only knew what I would do to her afterward. My pulse jumped with the thought of her warm blood flowing past my tongue down my throat… and her tight walls closing around me as I entered her.

"I have to complete my measurements before the day shift," she said. I jarred from the erotic thought. "There's not enough equipment to go around," she added.

I nodded. "Of course."

Clipped footsteps sounded almost noiselessly on the linoleum floor of the hallway and I recognized McHenry's walk two seconds before Dr Nichols's eyes shifted over my shoulder.

"Pierce."

I glanced back to see him standing in the open doorway.

"The general wants to talk to you."

A measure of sanity reasserted itself. I had to get away from her, now. "Could you escort Dr Nichols back to the lab?"

His expression lightened. "No problem." He stepped aside and motioned toward the door with an open hand. "Dr Nichols."

His expression lightened. "No problem." He stepped aside and motioned toward the door with an open hand. "Dr Nichols."

She cast me a farewell glance and headed toward the door. I tried tearing my eyes from the gentle sway of hips as she walked past, but couldn't, and felt the heat swell to the surface again. I had to find one of the small rodents whose blood I drank to keep my thirst for human blood at bay, or go back to Heinrick and hope the congealed blood in his decaying body would make me forget the craving. Rising desire twisted my insides and I feared even Heinrick's dead blood wouldn't work against the warm, pulsing blood of Dr Nichols.

About the Author(s):

T. C. Archer is comprised of award winning authors Evan Trevane and Shawn M. Casey. They live in the Northeast.

Evan puts his Ph.D. to good use by writing about alternate realities, and Shawn channels the mythology and philosophy she studied during her wasted youth into writing about exotic places and times.

Evan and Shawn write romantic sci-fi, paranormal romance and romantic suspense.

Find the Author(s):

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