Exit 22
Black Swamp Mysteries Book #1
By- P.M. Terrell
Political strategist Christopher Sandige is driving along Interstate 95 in North Carolina when he is involved in a one-car accident. Stranded for the weekend, he meets a beautiful but mysterious woman and is immediately pulled into a double homicide. Now he’s on the run from law enforcement—and a hired assassin. As he falls deeper for Brenda Carnegie, he begins to wonder if she is the killer.
As he pieces everything together and comes closer to the truth—time runs out.
And now an excerpt from 'Exit 22' -
He placed his hands on the dock ladder, the frigid steel biting his hands with an unexpected
ferocity. Quickly, he began to scale the ladder as Brenda knelt down beside him.She had just started to hold her hand out to assist him when a great blue heron cried out, it’s trumpeting voice aggressive and hoarse as it floated on the wind just above their heads. Chris watched Brenda as she pulled back and tilted her head to admire the huge bird, the wind catching her hair.
He heard the sound of the shot in almost the same instant as he felt it whiz between them in
the exact location where she’d knelt only a moment ago.
“Jesus!” he cried out, releasing his grip on the ladder and plunging into the water.
In a flurry of activity, Brenda threw herself back into the boat with a sudden fury, crossing the
open stern as another shot rang out and echoed across the lake. Chris bounced out of the water
almost the second his body struck it, flinging himself onto the deck in a fluid movement borne
of a rapid surge of adrenaline. He half-crawled, half-propelled himself toward the rope that tied
the boat to the dock as Brenda frantically tried to start the engine. As it sputtered and stalled and
another bullet barely missed his bobbing and weaving body, he frenetically loosened the rope,
his fingers feeling fat and uncoordinated and the rope stiff and unyielding.
His eyes darted toward the house as he threw the now-loosened rope into the boat and raced
toward the bow, where it bobbled in the water with one remaining rope tethering it to the
dock. The man from the hotel was walking calmly from the back door, his arm raised, his eyes
measured as he crossed the small yard toward them. He was too far away for him to strike his
target, but Chris knew it would be only seconds before he was close enough for his aim to be
sure. Maniacally, he worked at the rope as the engine coughed, its slow groan in contrast with his rapidly beating heart.
As the last inch of rope was freed, he threw himself into the bow as another bullet whizzed
past him and the engine sprung to life.
“Jesus!” he screamed again. “He’s trying to kill me!”
Then he was throwing himself toward the steering wheel, pushing Brenda away as he thrust
the boat into reverse. The boat’s sudden movement knocked his breath from him, but his hands
continued to grip the wheel with stubborn ferocity. Brenda pulled herself from the floor and
raised her gun over the windshield. As he turned the boat from shore, he vaguely sensed her
moving through the vessel, returning the man’s fire as they sped away toward open water.
And author, p.m. terrell was kind enough to share her Top Ten Favorite Authors with us!
I’ve found that I don’t have favorite authors anymore but I have favorite books, because many authors are writing in multiple genres. Some appeal to me while others don’t.
1. I love Erin Quinn’s Haunting series. I love the time travel element, the Irish men, and the backdrop of Ireland during various eras.
2. I also love Terri Brisbin’s books involving time travel and Scotland: Queen’s Man, A Matter of Time, Once Forbidden and A Love Through Time.
3. Jeanette Baker had me enthralled with Irish Lady. I loved the history interwoven with the story, from the time of Henry VIII and the break from the Catholic church to more recent events chronicling the troubles between Northern Ireland and England.
4. I just finished Debbie Peterson’s book, Spirit of the Revolution, in which a young woman moves into an old home to find it haunted with the spirits of men who fought for America in the Revolutionary War. As the love unfolds between her and one of the men, I was riveted - not knowing how they could ever become truly together.
5. Dream On by Renita Pizzitola took me into another world of dreams and their meanings, and how dreams could be influenced by outsiders. It was wonderful.
6. I love The Mummy by Anne Rice. It was the only book she’d written about an Egyptian mummy and I found myself in love with Ramses the Great. (Think Russell Crowe in Master and Commander, and you know the type of mummy she created!)
7. I just finished reading Sandy Blair’s The Laird, another time travel book set in Scotland. I loved it so much that I’m now reading the sequel, The Rogue.
8. And I am looking forward to reading Cynthia’s Owens books about five Irish men who come to America, and how their lives intertwine. Deceptive Hearts is the first in that series, though I have also downloaded The Claddagh Series and I’m looking forward to those as well. The men who come to America (including a detective) and who live in New York during the Civil War era reminds me of the BBC America series Copper, of which I am a huge fan.
9. I love true adventure books, also, and one of my favorites is Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer, about the ill-fated quest of a group of men and women to reach Mount Everest and the sudden storm that took many of their lives - and changed others forever.
10. My all-time favorite book while growing up was Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell. As my life has become much busier, I don’t know when I’ll ever get the chance to read it again, but the characters of Scarlett, Rhett, Melanie and others will forever remain with me.
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. Blog- www.pmterrell.blogspot.com/
www.publishersmarketplace.com/members/pmterrell/
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