Today on the blog I have a book spotlight and extract for you of the latest book in the Amber Reed Mysteries series from Zanna Mackenzie, Forever Mine.
When celebrities need a crime solving quickly and discreetly they call in the experts – the CCIA, otherwise known as the Celebrity Crimes Investigation Agency…
Stalkers, shootings and sexy special agents.
All part of being famous, right?
Well, they are for Oscar-winning actress Amelia Kingston when she starts getting deeply disturbing and threatening notes left by a stalker – in her bedroom!
When her boyfriend Ty is shot she calls in the CCIA. The agency sends its newest recruit Amber and her sexy special agent partner Charlie undercover to Amelia’s luxury mountain chalet to track down the person terrorising her.
But circumstances force the agency to pull Charlie off the case, meaning Amber has a new crime fighting partner to try and catch the stalker with – and he’s trouble with a capital T! He throws Amber’s life into chaos, making her question herself and her abilities as well as her relationship with Charlie.
When events in Los Angeles involving Charlie are splashed across newspapers around the globe Amber’s world comes crashing down.
But before she can even attempt to sort herself out she has to team up with her rogue co-worker and solve this case. Can the two of them manage to pull together and stop the stalker before anyone else gets shot?
Check out this new cozy mystery series with oodles of fun, romance and smart, sassy special agents from the CCIA.
http://amzn.to/1KkeJ0w
Extract:
“Who’d want to be famous?”
Charlie and I are hovering in the airport’s baggage reclaim area, hoping our luggage has managed to find its way to France too.
“Before I got this job I thought being a star was all glamourous living, oodles of money in the bank and being worshipped by all your adoring fans.”
Reviewed by Tania Phillips
When celebrities need a crime solving quickly and discreetly they call in the specialists, the Celebrity Crimes Investigation Agency, otherwise known as the CCIA…
One desperate phone call is all it takes to turn Amber’s day from boring to completely crazy.
The call? Her old university boyfriend Ennis, now a heartthrob actor, begs for Amber’s help.
His brother Joel is dead and Ennis has to discover the truth about his death before the world’s media hear about it and batter his door down demanding answers.
The CCIA has already assigned its top agent, Charlie Huxton, to the case.
Amber’s mission? Ennis doesn't trust a stranger to keep quiet so he pleads with Amber to shadow and help Charlie throughout the investigation. Ennis was her first love and she still has a soft spot for him – how can she refuse?
Scarily out of her depth Amber knows she needs to somehow get Charlie on side with her involvement in the case – and fast.
Plunged into the world of crime Amber’s battling something darker and far more dangerous than she’d imagined – and it has nothing to do with the equally scary chemistry fizzing between her and Charlie.
Will Charlie agree to work with her to find out how and why Joel died?
Can she help uncover the truth before word gets out and an already distraught Ennis is hounded by story-hungry journalists?
Just as importantly, can she keep her sanity and manage to still be alive when the mystery is finally solved?
This afternoon I'm delighted to welcome Zanna Mackenzie to my blog for a bit of a chat.
Did you always know you wanted to be a writer?
I think I probably did yes. When I was about 8 or so I used to chop up magazines, cut out photos and articles and stick them on to paper to make a little book with them. At high school I wanted to be a journalist but realised I didn’t have the right personality for that job so went for my second career choice instead - working in travel. It didn’t take long though before I started writing travel articles and brochures – the writing bug was back!
How long did it take you to get your first book published?
That’s a tricky one to answer. The first book I wrote was probably completed about six or so years ago. Then I wrote 2 more books and all of the books went through professional manuscript appraisal schemes and I learnt lots from that experience but I never actually dared to send any of the books out to agents or publishers until last year. My husband nagged me to start sending the books out, so I decided to be brave and go for it. I sent one of the books to Astraea Press and another book to Crooked Cat Publishing. I thought I would receive standard rejection letters soon after. Instead, 2 months later I had been offered contracts from both of the publishers. I was stunned, still am in fact!
Stalkers, shootings and sexy special agents.
