The League of Skull & bones
Join author M.J.
Fletcher on her Virtual Book Tour for The League of Skull
& Bones, presented by Reading
Addiction Blog Tours, December 9 – January 17, 2014. Please leave a comment or question for M.J.
to let him know you stopped by. You can follow the rest of the tour here.
The League of Skull & BonesBy M.J. FletcherThe Grimm Chronicles, Book 1Publisher: M. J. FletcherRelease Date: October 12, 2013Genre: Paranormal/SteampunkLength: 272 PagesASIN: B00FVW7JPQAdd to GoodreadsAbout this book:Jess Grimm has the ability to travel to any dimension in the multiverse. There’s only one problem… it’s killing her.Jess is in a race against time to find a device that can slow the progression of the power inside her, but she isn’t alone. Others want her power, and they don’t care how they get it, or if she is dead or alive when they do.The only person willing to help her is the mysterious Ronan Sparrow a member of the League of Skull & Bones, one of the very groups that want her power. But what does Ronan want in return? Can Jess trust him or will she find herself alone with enemies on all sides?
Excerpt:
Prologue
I wasn’t alone in the dark.
Snarls and growls surrounded me, running my blood
cold. I moved my head from side to side, scrunching my eyes, trying desperately
to catch sight of the beasts before they reached me. My crimson swords weighed
so heavily in my hands that I felt as if I’d been fighting for what seemed like
eternity.
Claws and fangs suddenly slashed out from the
darkness and I did my best to defend myself, though in my heart I knew it was a
losing battle. The beasts were overpowering me and soon I wouldn’t be able to
stop them. No one was coming to save me. I was alone.
Talons slashed across my back and warm blood
trickled down as pain shot across my spine. I stumbled and the beasts—I was
sure—tasted victory. They moved in at me in waves. I spun my blades trying to
battle the never-ending tide, trying to survive.
It was hopeless. For every monster I took down,
another two took its place. I wanted to live, I wanted to fight, but the
agonizing pain of my flesh being torn and sliced was too great to bear. I
couldn’t go on. The jaws of one of the beasts clamped on my wrist, and I lost
my grip on one of my swords. It fell from my hand and clattered to the ground
and with it went my last vestige of hope.
Blood drained from my body and my vision faded.
I would soon black out, and then the beasts would feast on me. A scream
bubbled in my throat and my mouth fell open, but no sounds came out. I closed
my eyes, not wanting to see my own death and hoped that darkness would take me
before the beasts did.
I bolted out of bed, my mouth still open in a
silent scream, and my sheets tangled around me soaked with sweat. I stood at
the foot of my bed, my breathing coming in ragged gasps.
The nightmares came almost every night. I couldn’t
escape them no matter how hard I tried. I yanked at the sheets, dragging them
off me and tossing them back onto the bed.
I’d worn only an old t-shirt to bed, though now I
wished I had worn more. I didn’t want to see my scars, didn’t want to be
reminded yet again, but I couldn’t stop my fingers from tracing over the ugly
scars that marked my arms and upper torso.
I walked from the top floor of my loft, down the
stainless steel steps to the kitchen area. I yanked open the fridge and grabbed
the container of milk and took a gulp. I placed it back in the fridge and
slammed the door closed. I slipped down onto the couch that faced the large
windows dotting the walls of my loft and sighed at the breathtaking view of
Paris. It always calmed me.
My fingers mindlessly drifted over the scars on my
arms. They were a reminder of the very real night I had been trapped in a
nearly unwinnable fight. Monsters had surrounded me and had almost killed me.
If it hadn’t been for my friends, I would have died.
But I hadn’t died, or had I? I was far from the
girl I had once been. Once I was the prettiest girl in school, and the girl who
had hit every club and had had a blast when she had moved to Paris. But after
the vicious attack everything had changed, most of all me.
My fingers suddenly stopped, settling on the edges
of identical tattoos on both my forearms. I glanced down at the image of a
Skeleton Key. My scars refused to cross paths with the tattoos, as if they knew
that they dared not go near them.
I slid my finger over the tattoo, and felt a buzz
of power run through me. These unwanted tattoos were another reminder of
something else entirely. But unlike my scar, I had chosen these.
The monsters may not have gotten me, but these
tattoos were a different matter. They marked me for death.
I pulled my knees up into my chest and took a deep
breath. Maybe I would wait here until dawn. Then I wouldn’t have to worry about
any more nightmares or death that constantly stalked me.
I sat alone in the dark looking out on the City of
Lights, awaiting the dawn and praying that I could keep death at bay and that I
wouldn’t hear the sound of monsters.
MJ Fletcher was born
in New Jersey and now lives by the beach with his beautiful wife and daughter.
He has been writing since he first stapled pages together as a child and called
them a book. He finally realized his ambitions when his comic book series Adam Zero, The Last Man
of Earth was published by Ronin Studios. His other comic book work includes
Digital Webbing Presents and The Hero Initiative. His first novel The Doorknob
Society released in 2012 was nominated for a Cybil award in the young adult
category. He has continued writing the Doorknob Society Saga his rollicking
steampunk adventure series as well as working on numerous other writing projects.
Website: www.mjfletcher.net
Facebook:
/doorknobsociety
Twitter:
fletch125
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