Luna Kayne’s “Kill Code” is live, and we have a Five Fun Facts & an excerpt, a GIVEAWAY & more!!

Kill Code <— IT IS LIVE and we have a book-treat today!!! Luna Kayne is this week’s newsletter sponsor and we are celebrating her latest release big time with ALL sorts of cool tidbits like:

• Top 5 Fun Facts about Kill Code,
• Inspiration for Kill Code,
• Celebs as Characters,
• A Sneek Peek Behind the Book,
• Luna’s Favorite Books,
• Playlist for Kill Code,
• an expert of Kill Code,
• and she’s giving away FIVE copies of Kill Code ebooks – and it’s open to international!!

These are my favorite kinds of posts, ’cause not only do we get a sneak peek “behind the book” but we get to know the author, too!

But first… What’s it about? The synopsis:

HOW FAR WOULD YOU GO TO PROTECT THE ONES YOU LOVE?

THEN
Ten years ago, a covert government operation gone wrong separated Jack from Jessa, the girl he promised he would never leave.

NOW
Jack’s special forces team receives a tip, leading them to a remote farmhouse in search of a group of hackers led by the elusive Zane who work for the same person he holds responsible for Jessa’s death, ten years earlier.

Past and present collide as what was once lost is now standing in front of him and appears to be working for the very evil he is trying to end.

But is everything as it seems as secrets begin to unravel and pieces are put back in their proper places?

And will the last missing piece, the answer to all of their problems, be found in time?

Top 5 Fun Facts about Kill Code

1. The ending of the book came to me first so I had to work backwards creating a story line and characters that would support it before I could start at the beginning.
2. It was originally planned as a menage with both Jack and Logan as Jessa’s love interests but as I began to write it, they didn’t fit and a new idea for Logan set in.
3. The book was not going to be a trilogy in the beginning but as the story unfolded I realized this story was part of a larger one that would unfold in three parts.
4. It took me a month to write the darkest chapter. I cried. It depressed me and even then, I had to skip parts of it and come back to finish it on the first round of edits.
5. As with every book I’ve ever written, I came up with the title during the last chapter. I have a plethora of Story 1, Story 2, Story 3′s saved in my working drafts.

Inspiration for Kill Code

The idea for Kill Code first came to me when I was about 90% done writing my first novel, Controlling Interests. I think I get to the point where I am creatively ready to work on something else and it began to float in. It took a lot of concentration to set this story aside and wrap up my previous novel. I think this is the reason I enjoy writing this as a trilogy. Because I’m still focused on the same story and everything feeds into the next thing so it keeps me focused.

Celebs as Characters

This is the hardest question for me to answer because I don’t. I like to keep my mind open and I love hearing my reader’s ideas. I have a picture in my head when I write my stories but it is rare I attach a celebrity to a character.

A Sneak Peek Behind the Book

Hmmm, what to share. Originally, this book was going to be a stand alone but as I wrote it, I realized that Jessa and Jack’s part of the story was only a piece. The complete story will unravel and new characters are coming that I can’t wait for. Book one has the darkest parts of the trilogy. Book two will include some humour and more pieces to the puzzle and so far, I see book three involving characters across the previous books and will be more action-oriented.

Luna’s Favorite Books

1) Lamb – Christopher Moore
2) Oryx and Crake - Margaret Atwood
3) She’s Come Undone - Wally Lamb
4) One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest - Ken Kesey
5) The Phantom Tollbooth - Norton Juster
6) Dust to Dust: A Novel - Tami Hoag
7) Tara Road: A Novel - Maeve Binchy
8) The Clothes They Stood Up In - Alan Bennett
9) To Cut a Long Story Short - Jeffrey Archer
10) The Stupidest Angel (v2.0): A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror (Pine Cove Book 3) - Christopher Moore

Playlist for Kill Code

1) Adagio in D Minor (From “Sunshine”) – The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra
2) Shatter Me (feat Lzzy Hale) – Lindsey Sterling
3) When You’re Gone – The Cranberries
4) Sway – Bic Runga
5) You Don’t Own Me – Grace
6) Orleans – The Standstills
7) Wild Horses – The Sundays
8) Right Type of Mood – Herbie
9) Hello – Adele
10) Uummannaq Song – KT Tunstall

Ready for TWO excerpts of Kill Code?

Excerpt 1

“We know you’re in there. The place is surrounded and you aren’t leaving the property. Why don’t you ladies open the front door and we’ll have a little chat. Tell you how this is going to go.” He looks back to me and nods, cocky smile on his face. Logan loves taunting his targets so no one gets any funny ideas.

The delayed response from inside suddenly makes me apprehensive about the situation as I look around the yard for any signs of the manpower behind those front doors. There doesn’t seem to be many people here.

I take the break to step behind Logan to hide myself from the person who is going to answer. It’s a tactical maneuver to give our opponent a false sense of security. Once in place I shift to examine the house in front of me.

If you weren’t in our business, the front door wouldn’t draw too much attention, but I can tell this house is locked down like Fort Knox. The glass door on the front is reinforced and there is an intercom to the side of the door. Odd set up for a quaint farmhouse in the middle of nowhere.

Just as I am about to call in a head check, I hear the lock on the front door click and the door swings back, revealing a woman in her late twenties. Crouching further, I peak over Logan’s shoulder. The medium length of his hair hides my face and gives me an advantage.

She looks way more confident than we do at this moment which sets me off even more.

“Good morning, ma’am. This your place?” Logan drops his voice to a polite tone and waits for her answer.

She takes a half step back and I see a little more of her. Her dark blonde hair is pulled back into a ponytail and her frame is small next to the burliness of my team members. A familiarity hits me and I shift further behind Logan as I try to remember if I know her from somewhere, but nothing registers.

My adult life has been a long string of jobs, one after another, most of them undercover. With the amount of people I’ve crossed paths with, remembering her is going to be next to impossible and I hope that, until we have our hands on everyone inside, she can’t place me either.

“No, I’m just staying here for a few days. It belongs to a friend.” Her answer is careful and I can see her eyes from my spot and they are locked on Logan.

She’s lying.

She’s not looking around.

She’s not one bit curious about who is here with him.

The people inside already know.

I hear Logan exhale an annoyed breath in front of me. “What’s your name, sweetie?” he asks condescendingly.

She stands tall and defiantly crosses her arms over her chest. “Well, I can tell you it isn’t sweetie.” She bites out her last word.

I can’t help but roll my eyes.

I know her defiance is amusing Logan as he leans in to taunt her further. Punctuating each word and speaking as though English isn’t her first language he narrows his eyes on her. “Then why don’t you tell me what it is, so we don’t have any more… awkward first impressions…sweet tits.” He impatiently counters and her expression drops momentarily before twisting into a defiant sneer.

“It’s Dee,” she answers through gritted teeth and I roll my eyes again.

We’re already off to a great start.

 

Excerpt 2

Shit.

My skin instantly prickles at the sound of my property alarm going off on my phone. Someone is within our perimeter.

How did they find us so quickly?

This was supposed to be our vacation. I worked for months to set up a solid trail that would lead anyone trying to find us far away from here on a wild goose chase so we could have a few weeks of down time. Not the two days we’re at now.

Judging by the distance of the dust kicking up from the road, I’d say we only have a couple of minutes to get out of here and Dana is upstairs. Too far away for me to yell for her without being heard.

Looking out the window, I see movement out front, just past our cars. If it was remotely possible to make it to them, our backup supplies would hold us over for a few days while we disappear again.

That’s been our life for as long as I can remember. Jumping around, covering our tracks, and working under everyone’s radar.

I just wanted to give Dana a break. Time to hang out away from our work with Zane. A chance to watch movies and eat all the junk food I stocked the place with.

I even bought us a little boat to take out on the lake behind the property.

The boat. That’s it.

Maybe we can make it to the boat. It’s through the trees out back. Maybe they aren’t aware of it.

“What’s going on?” Dana’s voice snaps me out of planning our escape as she appears from upstairs.

“Ssshh,” I hush and she instantly freezes. “No time to explain. Perimeter is breached. We only have minutes before they’re here. I’ve alerted Zane.” I move to the side window and count three men crossing the field toward the back and sides of the house. “Dammit. I’m going to try to take one out. That might open up an escape.”

“Who are they?” Dana asks as she moves away from the windows, panic appearing to set in.

“Don’t know. But there’s no reason for anyone to be here. So it’s not good. Just see what they want. Maybe it’s local law enforcement, then you can ask them to leave the property. If it isn’t, you’ll need to get out of here. If you can get away, head straight out back and run through the trees. I have a boat on the lake. It was going to be a surprise. Just get in and go. Keys are in a holder beside the wheel.” I grab a metal statue of an elephant and weigh it in my hands. This’ll do.

“But what about you?” Her eyes are wide now. She’s never come this close to being captured before and I know she’s worried.

“You know if I can make it, I’ll be there before you. If I’m not, just go. You know what to do when you get in cell range.” She nods at my words and I turn to jog across the living room towards the steps. “Just stay cool. Buy some time. I’ll be right back.”