
Title: Company Assassin
Author: Claudia Blood
Genre: Fantasy
Synopsis: It’s Duff Roman’s eighteenth birthday, but no one is lighting candles.
Turning eighteen in the orphanage on Kalecca means starvation for those who aren’t hired into a Family. Outside the Family compounds lies the jungle. And in the jungle lies death. And Relics—the only real currency on Planet Kalecca.
The orphans are Duff’s family, and he’s sacrificed everything to keep the orphanage running, even his chance to move on. Now, at eighteen, he has no choice but to leave. Without him to bring in extra money, the orphans will starve under the Company’s control. Duff’s only chance to save them is to find a spot on an independent crew and hopefully find a Relic to sell.
A seemingly chance encounter with Z, leader of the most feared independent crew, offers Duff his opportunity to score a Relic. And offers Z a chance to relieve the guilt he feels over his past.
But a company assassin has plans to lay waste to Duff’s future, and the orphanage as well.
Read an Excerpt
From Chapter 5
The upstairs creaked and moaned in the wind. It didn’t seem right. He listened intently, but heard nothing that sounded like there was anything up there. The demons must be hiding. If he and Zachariah made any noise going up, that would alert the demons. He hoped the silence didn’t mean that the demons had killed everyone and left already. Fear dried his mouth, making him wish that he’d checked the basement before coming up here. He knew and had obeyed the rule that the door shouldn’t be reopened until the place was clear. He’d just trust they were all safe in there, waiting like they’d been taught.
Zachariah took out his sword.
Duff waved his arms to catch Zachariah’s gaze. Then Duff pointed to the side and held up two fingers to indicate the second step creaked. Zachariah nodded and stepped close to the wall, stepping over the second step. Duff followed behind. At the top of the stairs, Zachariah quietly opened the door.
The bright light spilled down the stairs. The light was too bright for his gloom adjusted eyes and blinded him.
Once his sight adjusted, the room looked normal but that sense that something was very wrong reared its head. The sense crawled up his back leaving shivery foot prints. There should be some evidence of the demons other than their smell that coated the inside of the room like mud, but from here all he could see were the carefully made beds. Could the demons have left already?
Author Interview!
Can you describe your dream home?
A log cabin in the woods. It would be a bonus if it was near one one of the hiking trails scattered across the US.
If we were to come to your house for a meal, what would you give us to eat?
So, I would probably order out. We would be desperately cleaning to make the house presentable, there would be no time to cook.
Tell us about the absolute BEST fan letter you have received.
This book drew me in immediately! It is the total immersion into the world and story that earned 5 stars from me. I could not put it down and read it in one afternoon! (I may have put off making dinner because I just HAD to finish it)
Say your publisher has offered to fly you anywhere in the world to do research on an upcoming book, where would you most likely want to go?
Space travel might be too expensive for my publisher.
Who designed the book cover for the book you are touring?
Kelly Lambert Greer did the cover art for all three books. She has been a photographer for almost twenty years, and ventured into cover design and virtual assistant services in 2018. Here’s her contact info : https://www.kelphotography.net/design-services.html
I love her and can’t recommend her enough.
About the Author
Claudia Blood’s early introduction to Dungeons and Dragons, combined with her training as a scientist and a side trip into the world of IT set her up to become an award-winning author of Science Fiction and Fantasy.
For her latest release, visit her at http://www.ClaudiaBlood.com
LINKS:
facebook.com/AuthorClaudiaBlood
http://bit.ly/ClaudiasAdventurersFB
twitter.com/AuthorClauBlood
instagram.com/authorclaudiablood
Short Story give away for newsletter sign up
https://dl.bookfunnel.com/knyz61msub
BUY links for Trilogy
https://books2read.com/CompanyAssassin
https://books2read.com/HorizonFound
https://books2read.com/TimeRift
GIVEAWAY
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Thanks for hosting!
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Thank you for hosting!! 🙂
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This sounds like a very good book.
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Hi Sherry1969, Thank you for the comment and compliment. The book was fun to write. Hopefully that energy translates well into the story. 🙂
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Was there any scene more difficult to write than others?
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Hi Kim, Thank you for your question.
In the first book there was a scene at the three quarter mark that wouldn’t come together for me. I must have written that scene ten times before I had the ‘ha ah’ moment which brought it all together. I can’t give more without spoilers. 🙂
Openings are also generally hard for me. I tend to write the working opening and then have to re-do it numerous times. In this book, the first scene I wrote ended up going in the second book. Lol
Thanks for stopping by!
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Thank you for answering my question.
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My pleasure. 🙂 Any others?
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Sounds like a good book.
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Hi Rita, Thank you for the comment. Hopefully you will enjoy the book. 🙂
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