Terrorism thrillers from an indie author who knows the military side

The featured author on the Goodreads PFDR board this week is Rachel A Brune. Her work is mostly comprised of thrillers with a police, military and anti-terrorism focus, instead of paranormal, fantasy, dystopia or romance. But she has written some horror short stories.

This author is intriguing to me because she spent five years as a combat journalist for the US military, including two tours in Iraq. Having spent some time as a conflict reporter for newspapers in the Balkans and some of that on US military bases with their media people, I am intrigued to see how this experience translates into thrillers. From all appearances Brune's books are realistic, gritty and disturbing as thrillers should be. 

Her first thriller Soft Target (about an anti-terrorism specialist with PTSD from wars in Iraq and a rookie reporter dealing with a suspenseful attack on New York City) can be found HERE.

She also wrote a memoir of her journey from a corporate job to military work entitled Echoes and Premonitions.

Rachel A Brune is an author who writes from authentic experience and that usually makes all the difference. You can find out more about her and her other work HERE.

Montgomery Mahaffey - Goodreads PFDR featured author of the week

Montgomery Mahaffey is an independent fantasy writer chosen as the featured author this week on the Goodreads PFDR discussion board. Mahaffey's writing is described by reviewers as reflecting the style of oral folk tales while clearly being intended for adults. Her first book, published earlier this year, Ella Bandita and the Wanderer brings "to life the old art of storytelling in a fantasy that is both fable and fractured fairy tale."

The reviews on this book on Goodreads are particularly interesting and insightful. Read here.

Goodreads description of Ella Bandita and the Wanderer

They were fated to collide, Ella Bandita and the Wanderer. This complex fable about a predatory seductress and an adventurer frozen in grief explores the darkness of the human heart and the allure of erotic obsession over love. The story begins when an outcast young woman tries to kill herself. Yet a sorcerer intervenes with a last chance to change her destiny. But she must be his lover and give him her heart to transform into the immortal Ella Bandita. All his life, the Wanderer hears stories about Ella Bandita, the ruthless thief of hearts. But he never believes she lives and doesn't recognize her when they meet. Driven by lust, he follows Ella Bandita into a battle of wills that threatens to destroy him. The Wanderer wants nothing more than to avenge himself on a woman he loathes, the vagabond seductress who stole his heart.

Where to find this book?

Paperback from Amazon: 

Paperback from Barnes and Noble

Ebook in serial form on Smashwords

Ebook in serial form on Amazon

Links to more stores here

Introducing Goodreads featured indie authors - First up Jessica Page

It's a noisy world out there and big corporations hold too many cards as it is. I have decided that, if I'm going to be an independent author, I'm also going to take my stand with other independent authors, rather than see them as competition. The fact is that readers can and should read many books and the more readers that independent authors reach, the more likely such readers are to find the rest of us independent authors. 

And so, I'm going to post about an independent author featured on Goodreads each week. These will be generally in the fantasy, science fiction, romance, historical fiction and contemporary fiction genres. I hope this will help my readers to find other lesser-known, yet high-quality books. Given that most indie ebooks sell for less than $5, you will also get to read for considerably less than you would by buying the off the corporate-sponsored shelves. 

With no further adieu, this week's featured indie author is Jessica Page.

Jessica's adult paranormal romance novel The Agency was published in July. It features the clandestine world of the Supernatural Enforcement and Control Agency (SECA) where various paranormal beings work together to protect society (and apparently those weak humans) from their more ruthless cousins. The book has a four-star average. If you like vampires, werewolves and magi, this might be something to check out.

Here's where you can get a copy:

- Amazon US
http://www.amazon.com/Agency-Hunger-1...
- Amazon Canada
http://www.amazon.ca/Agency-Hunger-Bo...
- Amazon UK
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Agency-1-Hung...
- Smashwords
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view...
 

Goodreads description:

HARPER ANDREWS, is a mind reader who has no idea how or why she is the way she is. After being saved by Agent Reid Doyle from a vampire attack she is introduced to a secret world guarded and protected by the Supernatural Enforcement and Control Agency (SECA). A world where vampires, werewolves and mages are normal and humans are at the bottom of the food chain. Things are not perfect but she finds herself thriving and feeling at home for the first time in her life.

AGENT REID DOYLE, is a vampire who likes his solitude so the last thing he wanted when he saved Harper was to have to spend more time with her. The fact that he's attracted to her is inconvenient and he resents having to be responsible for someone else. Losing another loved one is out of the question and he intends to avoid it at all cost.

Both Harper and Reid can't seem to turn off their attraction for one another and love, sex and blood has a way of complicating things quickly in their world. They need to stay focused and find out who's responsible for the vampire caused human murders with additional internal and external threats working against them. Choices will be made to protect the things and people they love, choices that will change everything, including each other.(less)