EJ Wesley's Winter Thrills and Chills Blog Tour: Moonsong Excerpt

I'm hosting a stop on  E.J. Wesley's Winter Thrills and Chills Tour for his Moonsongs Series.  This tour is running January 6-17 and consists of reviews, interviews, top tens, guest posts and of course, giveaways!  Be sure to check out the tour page for the full list of stops.

~Book 1 - Blood Fugue~

“Some folks treated the past like an old friend. The memories warmed them with fondness for what was, andhope for what was to come. Not me. When I thought of long ago, my insides curdled, and I was left feeling sour and wasted.”Jenny Schmidt is a young woman with old heartaches. A small town Texas girl with big city attitude, she just doesn’t fit in. Not that she has ever tried. Life has pummeled her heart into one big, lonely callus. She has no siblings, both parents were dead by sixteen, and her last grandparent—and  caretaker—was in the ground before she turned twenty-one. She’s the  last living member of her immediate family. Or so she thinks…“We found my ‘grandfather’ sitting at his dining room table. An entire scorched pot of coffee dangled from his shaky hand. His skin was the ashen gray shade of thunderclouds, not the rich mocha from the photo I’d seen. There were dark blue circles under each swollen red eye. A halo of  white hair skirted his bald head, a crown of tangles and mats. Corpses had more life in them.”Suddenly, instead of burying it with the dead, Jenny is forced to confront the past. Armed only with an ancient family journal, her rifle, and an Apache tomahawk, she must save her grandfather’s life and embrace her dangerous heritage. Or be devoured by it.

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~Book 2 - Witch's Nocturne~

After receiving an ancient tribal journal from her grandfather, Jenny is sent on a mission of discovery in an attempt to unravel clues to her family's monster hunting past. The journey becomes more than academic when she is asked to confront a coven of dangerous witches who plan to cast an insidious spell on the plains of West Texas.

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 ~Book 3 - Dark Prelude~

Jenny Moonsong recently inherited the title of "monster hunter" and an ancient tribal journal/how-to manual passed down by her Apache ancestors. Unfortunately, a lot of on-the-job training is required to be a monster hunter, and unlike her computer repair business, this gig could literally kill her.

Dark Prelude finds the feisty protagonist, Jenny, searching for her best friend Marshal's missing father in the midst of a freak, West Texas winter storm. To survive the frigid night, she'll have to deal with a hated town rival, face a monstrous creature no Moonsong hunter has ever encountered before, and undo a mysterious curse. Can she keep everyone alive? If not, who will pay the ultimate price?

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~Book 4: Dragon's Game~

Jenny Moonsong recently inherited the title of "monster hunter" and an ancient tribal journal/how-to manual passed down by her Apache ancestors. She has already faced a werewolf, witches, and a troll. But nothing could prepare her for her latest confrontation...

Dragon's Game, Moonsongs Book 4, finds Jenny out of her rural West Texas element, searching for an evil witch in an urban Houston nightclub. After attempting to help a handsome and mysterious stranger out of a jam, she finds herself on the run from a ruthless gang who are even more dangerous than they initially appear.

Forced into a twisted game of life and death, Jenny must navigate the complexity of a budding relationship, and somehow survive a night filled with unexpected horror and paranormal mystery.

Dragon's Game is approximately 14,000 words or 45 pages of humor, horror and paranormal mystery. It is the fourth volume of the Moonsongs Books, an ongoing series of New Adult, urban fantasy novelettes by author E.J. Wesley.

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~Book 5- Vampire's Ball~

Jenny Moonsong recently inherited the title of "monster hunter" and an ancient tribal journal/how-to manual passed down by her Apache ancestors. Being a girl of action, she has found herself particularly capable when it comes to battling the werewolves, trolls, and other supernatural denizens lurking in the Texas night. Until now.

Vampire's Ball, Moonsongs book 5, finds Jenny and her best friend Marshal in their most harrowing adventure yet. Traveling by boat to an extravagant masquerade party located at a Galveston Island mansion, Jenny must parlay with an ancient vampire in order to secure the release of the dragon princes, Isis. The unexpected return of an old "friend" turns the evening into chaos, and leaves Jenny and company once again fighting for survival amidst a sea of supernatural foes.

Vampire's Ball is approximately 12,500 words of humor, horror and paranormal mystery. It is the fifth volume of the Moonsongs Books, an ongoing series of New Adult, urban fantasy novelettes by author E.J. Wesley.

Amazon  |   Barnes & Noble |  Goodreads

~Moonsongs Anthology~

The Moonsongs Anthology 1 collects the first three Moonsongs books--a series of New Adult paranormal-horror-action novelettes--in one exciting volume. Follow Jenny and her best friend Marshal on their dangerous quest to unlock the secrets of her past.
Moonsongs Anthology 1 collects the three previously published Moonsongs adventures: Blood Fugue (Book 1), Witch's Nocturne (Book 2), and Dark Prelude (Book 3).

 DARK PRELUDE, MOONSONGS BOOK 3  ~ E.J.WESLEY ~ EXCERPT 3:

Like flood water, people pressed into every corner of the home. We did our best to wade through the crowd, but no sooner would Marshal get by one well-wisher when another would catch him with a hug or back pat. Eventually, we found his mother and little sister in the kitchen surrounded by a phalanx of old churchwomen.

I caught the blue-haired harpy nearest me checking out the large red feather tattooed on my forearm, her mouth a thin line of disapproval.

Maybe I should have left my jacket on… Nah.

I smiled at her. “You should see the one on my boob.”

Marshal glanced at me, his eyebrows arched. I couldn’t tell if he was questioning whether I’d gotten another tattoo—I hadn’t—or my lack of tact, so I decided I’d better leave it at that. “I’ll be in the living room if you need me.”

He nodded, and I exited. I was greeted by the unfortunate sight of Bill Swartz.

I rubbed my face and groaned. This day was more frustrating than playing games with a shitty Internet connection—except I couldn’t turn this off and go to bed.

Bill said, “Me and some of the boys are going back out tonight. I’ll find whatever it is and have its head mounted on my wall. We’ll have his ass cooking on my grill by goddamned breakfast.”

He was dressed in his finest mossy oak camouflaged overalls. He had on one of those stupid hats with the long, wooly ears on them. He looked like a Hunting Goofy action figure—minus the height, of course. A group of similarly dressed men had gathered around him near the fireplace and nodded in agreement.

I shook my head and laughed. Dogs and ticks, bees and flowers, cavemen and open flames—nature’s perfect pairings.

Bill hoisted a black metal flask to his lips and swigged. His eyes narrowed when he spotted me leaning up against the wall next to the television. “What’s so funny? You finally buy a mirror?”

A couple of his buddies chuckled. I glanced at a vase sitting on a nearby table and smiled. The imagined sound of glass shattering around his fat head was a sweet symphony for sure, but that wouldn’t have been fair to the vase.

I pretended to check for dirt under my fingernails. “Just picturing you eating ass for breakfast. Hope you brush better than you used to.”

“Back in Iraq, I would’ve busted your ass for that smart mouth. But now, I’m a man of the law, so I’ll just tell you to watch it.” I wasn’t watching him at all, but his tone was prickly enough to tell me he was bristling.

When I did finally look up, I hoped my grin was as cold and dead as it felt on my face. “Every Mayberry needs a Barney, I suppose.”

I could picture the vein on his forehead throbbing underneath his hat and could almost see his nostrils flaring from across the room. His stooges were murmuring, but the rest of the place had gone silent. Everyone watched us. I was pretty sure Bill realized it as well, or he might’ve lowered his head and charged right then.

He bared his teeth at me. “We’ll see how smart you are when I bring his daddy back here by morning.”

“And a new bearskin rug,” one of his cronies added and high-fived the others.

I prepared to unleash another retort, but a chilling thought stopped me. These guys were well on their way to being drunk. If there was another monster on the loose, they’d be slaughtered. Not to mention, half of them would probably die from hypothermia or break their damned fool necks when they fell out of their deer stands. A part of me wanted to let the morons go, but a bigger part of me realized I wouldn’t be able to sleep with that hanging over my head.

I stepped away from the wall. “Maybe you all should hold off until the sun comes up. It’s sleeting pretty hard out there.”

Bill sneered. “You ladies can stay warm and cozy in your beds for as long as you like. The men will be out saving people’s asses, like always. Come on, boys.” 

He twisted the cap onto the flask and zipped up his coveralls.

I ducked my head back into the kitchen. 

“Marshal, can I talk to you for a second?”

He was in the middle of conversation with Blue Hair Number Six but paused long enough to say, “Sure.”

After excusing himself, we moved to the half-bathroom down the hall and locked the door.

“What’s up?”

“Bill,” I said.

“What did the ape say now?”

I shook my head. “It’s not what he said. It’s what he and his idiot friends are going to do.”

Marshal put his hand to his head and massaged his temples. “Jesus, he’s not going back out there, is he?”

“Afraid so. They’re loaded to boot.”

Fatigue and grief had turned Marshal’s typically vibrant, clear-eyed stare into a dull, red-tinged expression. “I’ll get my coat.”

I fully realized the potential of what I was walking into. If things went south, Marshal’s dad, me, or both of us might not come out of it alive. I didn’t necessarily want Marshal to see any of those outcomes firsthand.

I put my hand on his shoulder. “I got this. Take care of your family.”

His eyes scanned my face. I knew he was searching for some hint of weakness to betray my tough talk, so I cut him off before he could ask if I was sure. “I’m a Moonsong. This is what we do, remember? My tomahawk is in the truck. I’ll be careful.”

Thinking that should just about cover Marshal’s worry checklist, I turned to leave.

 “Jenny,” his voice cracked.

I couldn’t tolerate seeing more of his tears—more emotion wasn’t going to help me survive the rest of the night—so I didn’t turn around. “Yeah?”

“Bring Dad back to us… Please.”

“I will.” I hated myself for the promise before the words had even left my mouth.

Available in print & eBook via Amazon  | Goodreads

~About the Author~

Growing up in small-town Oklahoma, there were limits on the amount and types of entertainment at my disposal. Perhaps that’s why I set my imagination free.
After collecting degrees in psychology and counseling, life brought me to Missouri, Texas, and Northern California—where I  currently read, write, and live. I fill my spare time playing video games, watching movies, planning for the zombie apocalypse, reading graphic novels, and playing with my dogs.

My passion for New Adult literature led me to producing the weekly New Adult Lit Chat on Twitter, and contributing to the NA Alley Blog. I’m also the author of the Moonsongs Books, a series of New Adult, speculative-rural fantasy novelettes.

~Links~

WEBSITE | BLOG | NA ALLEY (contributor) | TWITTER |  NEW ADULT LIT CHAT
(founder/producer) |  FACEBOOK | GOOGLE+ |  LINKEDIN |  GOODREADS

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This tour was organized and put together by CBB Book Promotions.