Excerpt/Promo/Giveaway – River Road by Suzanne Johnson

Welcome to my stop on the River Road book tour which has been brought to you by Bewitching Book Tours. Here you can read a summary of the book, my review and learn a little more about the author Suzanne Johnson. There is a tour wide giveaway as well, so make sure you enter!! Don't forget to visit the other blogs on this tour for more information about this book and the author.

Title: River Road
Author: Suzanne Johnson
Series: Sentinels of New Orleans #2
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Published: November 13th 2012

Book Description:

Hurricane Katrina is long gone, but the preternatural storm rages on in New Orleans. New species from the Beyond moved into Louisiana after the hurricane destroyed the borders between worlds, and it falls to wizard sentinel Drusilla Jaco and her partner, Alex Warin, to keep the preternaturals peaceful and the humans unaware. But a war is brewing between two clans of Cajun merpeople in Plaquemines Parish, and down in the swamp, DJ learns, there’s more stirring than angry mermen and the threat of a were-gator.

Wizards are dying, and something—or someone—from the Beyond is poisoning the waters of the mighty Mississippi, threatening the humans who live and work along the river. DJ and Alex must figure out what unearthly source is contaminating the water and who—or what—is killing the wizards. Is it a malcontented merman, the naughty nymph, or some other critter altogether? After all, DJ’s undead suitor, the pirate Jean Lafitte, knows his way around a body or two.

It’s anything but smooth sailing on the bayou as the Sentinels of New Orleans series continues.

Excerpt

The minute hand of the ornate grandfather clock crept like a gator stuck in swamp mud. I’d been watching it for half an hour, nursing a fizzy cocktail from my perch inside the Hotel Monteleone. The plaque on the enormous clock claimed it had been hand- carved of mahogany in 1909, about 130 years after the birth of the undead pirate waiting for me upstairs.
            They were both quite handsome, but the clock was a lot safer.
            The infamous Jean Lafitte had expected me at seven. He’d summoned me to his French Quarter hotel suite by courier like I was one of his early nineteenth-century wenches, and I hated to destroy his pirate-king delusions, but the historical undead don’t summon wizards. We summon them.
            I’d have blown him off if my boss on the Congress of Elders hadn’t ordered me to comply and my co-sentinel, Alex, hadn’t claimed a prior engagement.
            At seven thirty, I abandoned my drink, took a deep breath, and marched through the lobby toward the bank of elevators.
            On the long dead-man-walking stroll down the carpeted hallway, I imagined all the horrible requests Jean might make. He’d saved my life a few years ago, after Hurricane Katrina sent the city into freefall, and I hadn’t seen him since. I’d been desperate at the time. I might have promised him unfettered access to modern New Orleans in exchange for his assistance. I might have promised him a place to live. I might have promised him things I don’t even remember. In other words, I might be totally screwed.
            I reached the door of the Eudora Welty Suite and knocked, reflecting that Jean Lafitte probably had no idea who Eudora Welty was, and wouldn’t like her if he did. Ms. Welty had been a modern sort of woman who wouldn’t hop to attention when summoned by a scoundrel.
            He didn’t answer immediately. I’d made him wait, after all, and Jean lived in a tit- for- tat world. I paused a few breaths and knocked harder. Finally, he flung open the door, waving me inside to a suite plush with tapestries of peach and royal blue, thick carpet that swallowed the narrow heels of my pumps, and a plasma TV he couldn’t possibly know how to operate. What a waste.
            “You have many assets, Drusilla, but apparently a respect for time is not among them.” Deep, disapproving voice, French accent, broad shoulders encased in a red linen shirt, long dark hair pulled back into a tail, eyes such a cobalt blue they bordered on navy. And technically speaking, dead.
            He was as sexy as ever.
            “Sorry.” I slipped my hand in my skirt pocket, fingering the small pouch of magic-infused herbs I carried at all times. My mojo bag wouldn’t help with my own perverse attraction to the man, but it would keep my empathic abilities in check. If he still had a perverse attraction to me, I didn’t want to feel it.
            He eased his six-foot-two frame into a sturdy blue chair and slung one long leg over the arm as he gave me a thorough eyeraking, a ghost of a smile on his face.
            I perched on the edge of the adjacent sofa, easing back against a pair of plump throw pillows, and looked at him expectantly. I hoped what ever he wanted wouldn’t jeopardize my life, my job, or my meager bank account.
            “You are as lovely as ever, Jolie,” Jean said, trotting out his pet name for me that sounded deceptively intimate and brought back a lot of memories, most of them bad. “I will forgive your tardiness— perhaps you were late because you were selecting clothing that I would like.” His gaze lingered on my legs. “You chose beautifully.”
            I’d picked a conservative black skirt and simple white blouse with the aim of looking professional for a business meeting, part of my ongoing attempt to prove to the Elders I was a mature wizard worthy of a pay raise. But this was Jean Lafitte, so I should have worn coveralls. I’d forgotten what a letch he could be.
            “I have a date after our meeting,” I lied. He didn’t need to know said date involved a round carton with the words Blue Bell Ice Cream printed on front. “Why did you want to see me?”
            There, that hadn’t been so difficult—just a simple request. No drama. No threats. No double- entendre. Straight to business.
            “Does a man need a reason to see a beautiful woman? Especially one who is indebted to him, and who has made him many promises?” A slow smile spread across his face, drawing my eyes to his full lips and the ragged scar that trailed his jawline.
            I might be the empath in the room, but he knew very well that, in some undead kind of way, I thought he was hot.
            I felt my face warming to the shade of a trailer- trash bridesmaid’s dress, one whose color had a name like raging rouge. I’d had a similar reaction when I first met Jean in 2005, two days before a mean hurricane with a sissy name turned her malevolent eye toward the Gulf Coast. I blamed my whole predicament on Katrina, the bitch.
            Her winds had driven the waters of Lake Pontchartrain into the canals that crisscrossed the city, collapsing levees and filling the low, concave metro area like a gigantic soup bowl.
            But NBC Nightly News and Anderson Cooper had missed the biggest story of all: how, after the storm, a mob of old gods, historical undead, and other preternatural victims of the scientific age flooded New Orleans. As a wizard, I’d had a ringside seat. Now, three years later, the wizards had finally reached accords with the major preternatural ruling bodies, and the borders were down, as of two days ago. Jean hadn’t wasted any time.




About the Author

Suzanne Johnson writes urban fantasy and paranormal romance from Auburn, Alabama, after a career in educational publishing that has spanned five states and six universities.  She grew up halfway between the Bear Bryant Museum and Elvis' birthplace and lived in New Orleans for fifteen years, so she has a highly refined sense of the absurd and an ingrained love of SEC football and fried gator on a stick.


Giveaway

Check out the tour wide giveaway!! Lots of fun prizes....
1--Choice of Kindle Paperwhite or Nook Simple Touch (or $100 gift card for Amazon, B&N, or Book Depository)
5--$10 gift cards for Amazon, B&N or Book Depository

Click on the banner to view the rest of the Tour Schedule

45 comments:

  1. This one is already on my TBR list! Great excerpt, I really like the world building-premise of the book and the interaction :)

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  2. I love this part " “I have a date after our meeting,” I lied. He didn’t need to know said date involved a round carton with the words Blue Bell Ice Cream printed on front. “Why did you want to see me?”
    There, that hadn’t been so difficult—just a simple request. No drama. No threats. No double- entendre. Straight to business."


    I'm sure Jean would find some sexy subtext to that:))


    Awesome excerpt!


    ccfioriole at gmail dot com

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  3. ^^ i love this book and Jean is one of my favourite characther, i can't wait to see the short story from his point of view that we learned about during this tour so promising

    isabelle(dot)frisch(at)gmail(dot)com

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  4. Also looking forward to Jean's short story. The Sentinels of New Orleans is just getting better and better. If you haven't read it yet, get going. You will enjoy.

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  5. I've been to the Hotel Monteleone...I wonder how many other place references in the book I'll recognize? That's neat.

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  6. I've been enjoying the book our

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  7. Thanks for following the tour, Sandy!

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  8. I use a lot of real places, so you might recognize quite a few!

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  9. Hoping to finish up the short story over the holidays--Jean takes on the undead Andrew Jackson!

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  10. Thanks, Miki--hope to have the story out early next year!

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  11. LOL, Christina. Jean would definitely be able to find some sexy subtext...and I think he does :-)

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  12. Thanks, Carment--I hope you enjoy the book!

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  13. I love this series and I'm reading River Road right now...it's great. can't put it down.

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  14. I haven't seen this series before but it sounds great ~ will be adding it!

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  15. Thank you for your generous heart with all the giveaways that you do!!! I am looking forward to reading The Sentinels of New Orleans series!
    Happy reading and writing*
    Teresa
    morris1963tess@yahoo.com

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  16. The world building is second to none in this series. It truly is one of my favorite things about the novels. :) Very fun tour too!

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  17. Yay, Rachel! Glad you're enjoying it!

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  18. Hope you have a chance to check it out, Ali :-)

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  19. Thanks for following the tour--I'm having fun with it, too!

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  20. It's on my TBR list too!! I just need to find more time!! Thanx for stopping by!!

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  21. The world building is great. I like how Suzanne puts so much New Orleans flavour into the story. And DJ's sass is a lot of fun.

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  22. It is a good excerpt!! I really want to know more too! Thank you for the visit!

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  23. I'm glad you are enjoying the tour and the series! Good luck in the giveaway!!

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  24. I know! I know!! I want to read it, this series is definitely on my TBR list!!

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  25. That is so cool that you've been there. Long way for me to go... being an Aussie and all!

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  26. That is fantastic!! Thank you for visiting me too!

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  27. That's fabulous!! I think I need to bump this series up my list!!

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  28. I'm with you, definitely sounds great. Thanx for coming by!

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  29. Thanx for stopping in and entering the giveaway! I hope you have fun reading it too!

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  30. It is a fun tour, I'm so happy to host it! It is a very popular series, and I am looking forward to reading it!

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  31. Thank you for all your great comments too Suzanne. It is fantastic to see you are very passionate about your book and followers!

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  32. I really need to read this series!! Thank you so much for visiting.

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  33. I enjoyed the excerpt.


    bn100candg(at)hotmail(dot)com

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  34. Awesome excerpt. I can't wait to read this!

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  35. Me too! It's a good one, left me wanting more!!

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  36. It does sound awesome doesnt it?? Thank you for stopping by and goodluck!!

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  37. This sounds exciting! XD

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  38. Doesn't it?? It has been a popular tour too, so it must be fab!!

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  39. thanks for the excerpt, Naomi! The cover is really pretty!

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  40. You're welcome Sandra!! Thank you for stopping by!!

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  41. That excerpt just makes me want to read more.

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  42. Tell me about it!!! I want to know more too. Thank you for visiting!!

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  43. I am totally in love with this cover! Thanks so much for stopping by my blog, Oh, Chrys!

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  44. It is a great cover!! I love it too!!

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