Title- The Pendulum Files
Series- Black Swamp Mysteries # 5 (Can be read out of order)
By- P.M. Terrell
Genre- Romantic Suspense
Expected Publication Date- March 17th, 2014
Blurb-
Irishman and CIA operative Dylan Maguire joins psychic spy Vicki Boyd for another harrowing adventure, this time on the high seas. Merchant ships en route from China to the United States are being bombed, plunging America into critical shortages. It's Dylan's and Vicki's jobs to find out who is bombing them and why. Their mission takes them into Black Sites, covert activities and international politics. And while the romantic side of Dylan ramps up his relationship with Vicki, they find themselves in the crosshairs of a hired assassin, which not only places their lives in danger but also that of their unborn child.
Excerpt-
They lay entwined in each other's arms, Brenda's leg draped provocatively over Chris' thighs, her head resting on his chest. The radiator in Sam's office eagerly cranked out heat as the lamp cast a yellow glow on their skin, moist from their lovemaking.
Chris' eyes were closed as he lay on his back, one hand cupping a palm full of Brenda's hair while the other absent-mindedly ventured up and down her arm. Sleep was just a moment away; a deep, satisfying slumber that he knew would be too brief. But as he began to drift off, an insistent voice in the back of his mind reminded him that they were nude on Sam's couch in Sam's office; the door was open to the hallway; and their clothes still left a trail along the floor. He tried to ignore it, tried vainly to grab the few minutes of sleep he so desperately needed, but the voice grew until it forced him to open his eyes and stare in frustration at the mottled, aged ceiling.
He thought perhaps Brenda had slipped into a slumber more urgently needed than his own; her fingers lay still against his chest and her breathing was rhythmic. Her hair was still slightly damp and he breathed in the soft floral fragrance as he instinctively tightened his hold around her.
She murmured at his movement, shifting her face to peer up at him.
"Did I wake you?" he asked, his voice deep.
"No," she said lazily. "I couldn't sleep."
"We can't stay here, you know."
"No?" She rose slightly as she arched one brow. "Wouldn't it be fun to see the expression on Sam's face when he comes to work?"
"No," he said firmly. "And how's your leg?"
She grew serious. "It'll heal. Anyway, I have a plan."
"Why did I know you would?"
She rolled atop of him. "I'm sick and tired of this guy trying to kill me. We're turning the tables, Chris. We're going after him."
Character Bios-
Vicki Boyd had a normal, happy childhood until the day her parents died in an airplane accident-one she saw weeks before it happened. Overnight, she and her three siblings-a younger sister and two younger brothers-were orphaned and placed into foster care. And overnight, she received national attention for her premonitions.
Not just the media and fascinated public were watching. The CIA was watching as well; specifically Sam Mazoli, the supervisor of an office working with psychic spies. For the first time, he had an opportunity to take a child and mold her into a psychic operative. So when Vicki arrived home from school one day, she found a strange man waiting for her; a man who had adopted her but brought her to an imposing, secure facility resembling an institution. During her teen years, she didn't have school and girlfriends, proms and boyfriends, and her thoughts didn't range from getting the keys to the car to hanging out at the mall.
Her teens and early twenties were spent learning how to be the best psychic spy the CIA had ever employed. With just a simple latitude and longitude, she could travel in her mind to any location on Earth, providing information to operatives on nuclear facilities, threats to governments, blueprints of enemy weapons-or anything the CIA wanted but couldn't physically reach.
But when she is sent on a mission deep in the Amazon jungles and it results in the deaths of innocent children, she's had enough. She quits the CIA and is determined to start life over in a small town helping an elderly lady who advertised for summer help. It's her first chance on her own, but she isn't alone for long… Between Irishman Dylan Maguire and the CIA, who refuse to let her go, she's in for the ride of her life.
And if the series was made into a movie, I would love to see Amy Adams in the role of Vicki Boyd.
Dylan Maguire never had a normal childhood. Though his parents were from Ireland, he was born in New York. Unfortunately, he never met his father-he'd abandoned his pregnant wife and simply disappeared. Unable to provide for her son and herself in a strange country, his mother packed them up and brought Dylan back to Ireland when he was just three years old. In and out of bars and with dubious pastimes, his mother wasn't a mother to him at all.
Dylan was raised by his grandmother, a woman he called Mam. She was the only family he'd ever known-that and the home of his neighbor and best friend, Thomas Rowan.
Dylan has a mysterious past when he arrives on Laurel Maguire's doorstep the summer that Vicki also arrives to help Laurel with her freshwater angelfish business. He seems to be a jack-of-all-trades, from teaching Vicki the angelfish business to remodeling the old, rambling-and haunted-house, to cooking up traditional Irish meals and looking after Vicki.
He is a hopeless romantic who makes CD's with all his favorite romantic songs… To taking Vicki on an intimate boat ride down the natural and secluded Lumber River… To picnics in the park and romantic, candlelight dinners.
He is also capable of violence-of defending what is his and of killing when the need arises. He is an opportunist; a former kickboxing champion, a man known as "The Butcher" who channels his anger into his fists and feet.
If the Black Swamp Mysteries series was made into a movie, who would I want to play Dylan Maguire? Assuming he could play the role with an Irish accent, Eduardo Verastegui is a dead ringer.
Brenda Carnegie has a secret… many secrets, as it turns out.
Separated from her older sister Vicki Boyd when their parents were killed in an airplane accident, Brenda grew up in Robeson County, North Carolina. She is equally at home trudging through alligator-infested swamps as she is shooting a gun, tending a bullet wound, evading police-and committing computer crimes.
Brenda is an opportunist, especially when it comes to hacking into websites and secure databases, participating in shell companies and cybercrime, and amassing a fortune that must, for her own preservation, be held in off-shore accounts and out of the reach of the United States government. She's quick, she's street savvy, and she's often sexually charged.
She also doesn't trust anyone. She prefers the dark side, living life on the edge, moving through her life alone and capable of changing her plans on a moment's notice. She has a very high tolerance for pain which holds her in good stead on many a gritty occasion.
She made her first appearance in Exit 22 when her partner-in-crime is murdered by a hired assassin-and the hitman comes after her. But her real secrets begin to spill in Secrets of a Dangerous Woman-secrets that reach to the highest levels of government and beyond, and which could very well get her killed.
And if the Black Swamp Mysteries series was made into a movie, who would play Brenda Carnegie? My pick would be Lindsay Lohan, who could play this bad girl very well.
Christopher Sandige is an anti-hero, a guy who is more at ease behind a desk constructing political strategies for his Congressman boss than he is running for his life through alligator-infested swamps with Brenda Carnegie.
He told himself he didn't want a woman, a marriage, a typical family life in the suburbs. His hours were long and often began with coffee at his desk and ended with pizza delivery to the office. All that changed when he met Brenda.
The woman awakened in him desires he didn't think he had-a longing to be with her, a need for romance, a desire for intimacy, an urge to protect her-even when he knew she was quite capable of protecting herself. He'd never really had eyes for anybody other than Brenda and though he knows she is dangerous, he can't seem to tear himself away from her.
When push comes to shove, it turns out he is quite capable of handling a gun, of fighting off an attacker in hand-to-hand combat, of working in a team that often finds itself at the wrong end of a barrel… and of crossing the line without a look back.
If the Black Swamp Mysteries series was made into a movie, who would I want to play him? My pick would be Tom Weston-Jones.
There was never any doubt in my mind who would play Sam Mazoli, the head of the psychic spy program for the CIA, Vicki's boss-and also the man who adopted her-as well as Dylan Maguire's boss.
I always pictured Robert De Niro when I thought of Sam. Sam is brusque, no-nonsense, the kind of boss that you don't joke around with and you don't even attempt to take liberties. He is experienced, jaded, a cynic and a skeptic. He also has an eye for talent, whether it's taking a 12-year-old girl with psychic abilities and turning her into a spy-or recognizing the opportunistic, chameleon-like qualities of an Irishman who can pretend to be someone else.
There is much to Sam just below the surface but carefully hidden lest people discover his true nature. He can make life-or-death decisions, interrogate suspects, turn a blind eye to torture, and appear bored even during the most sensitive and gut-wrenching missions. But he can also rescue a cat down-on-her-luck, care for angelfish and their babies, recognize an illegal immigrant's dilemma and give her a job, and help care for a dog who needs a friend.
Sam first appears in Vicki's Key and continues through the rest of the series, sometimes making life difficult for everyone involved, sometimes lending a hand when it's least expected… and always arriving with a new CIA mission in hand.
Dream Cast-
There's Vicki Boyd, the CIA psychic spy who is the "good girl", the one who always tries to stay inside the lines. When I think of Vicki, I always picture Amy Adams.
Vicki's sister, Brenda Carnegie, is just the opposite: a computer genius but a bad girl, one who prefers to tread on the dark side, the one who loves danger and who can be sexually charged. I know Lindsay Lohan would do an awesome job.
The charming, handsome Irishman Dylan Maguire is more difficult to cast. Black hair, hazel eyes, muscular, romantic, kind and caring but a CIA operative who can kill when necessary-Dylan's character is intentionally complex. Kevin Ryan, an Irish actor from Dublin, would be awesome.
Christopher Sandige is an anti-hero; a political strategist more accustomed to a desk than murder; tall, wiry, brown hair and expression-filled eyes. A romantic, hopelessly in love with Brenda even though he knows trouble is always half a step behind her. And yet, when the situation warrants it, he can shoot to kill, fight with the best of them… and keep Brenda under control. Tom Weston-Jones would be my pick.
Sam Mazoli is the CIA supervisor who manages Vicki and Dylan. Multi-faceted, he is gruff, he is no-nonsense, he's the kind of boss that can have employees quaking. He can also be unintentionally funny and uncharacteristically surprising: the crotchety man who murmurs sweet nothings to his very feminine Persian cat, the brusque supervisor who frets over sick angelfish. There's never been any doubt in my mind who should play him: Robert De Niro.
About the Author-
p.m.terrell is the internationally acclaimed, award-winning author of more than 18 books, including Vicki's Key, a 2012 International Book Awards and 2012 USA Best Book Awards finalist and River Passage, winner of the 2010 Best Drama Award. A full-time writer since 2002, p.m. previously founded and operated two computer companies with a specialty in computer crime and computer intelligence. Her clients included the CIA, United States Secret Service and the Department of Defense as well as local law enforcement agencies. Her expertise in computers and intelligence often finds its way into her books. She is also the co-founder of The Book 'Em Foundation and founder and chair of The Book 'Em North Carolina Writers Conference and Book Fair, which raises money to increase literacy rates. As a hobby, she raises freshwater angelfish - the same thing her characters do as their front for the CIA. For more information about p.m.terrell, visit www.pmterrell.com and for more information on the upcoming Writers Conference, visit www.bookemnc.org.
Giveaway-
Author is giving away a Beautiful Celtic Butterfly Necklace, open internationally. One for readers & one exclusively for hosts- the host with the most interaction on their tour post, (comments, etc) will win!
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