Enjoy & Comment!
Blurb: When Terrence Langston ran Langston Green, the plant nursery sailed along like a well-run ship. But when his daughter Elisa takes over after his sudden death, she feels more like the Captain of the Titanic. First the business is struck by vandalism, then an earthquake, then arson. And now a hunky insurance investigator believes that Elisa's behind all the destruction? Does she have to get killed to prove her innocence?
Excerpt:
When the first ripple of earth surged toward her, Elisa
Langston stood up and stared, not trusting her eyes. The field around her was
quiet; all she heard was the rasp of rubbing branches overhead. Even after the
wave had lifted her and set her back down, then rolled on toward wherever it
was going, she didn't quite believe it. Was she hallucinating?
But then a second wave, this one more malevolent, roared
through the ground, driving her to her knees. Ridge after ridge of earth rolled
through her field like breakers surging toward the beach. Car alarms sounded in
distant parking lots. Increasing in speed and size, undulations of soil rose
and fell around her, tearing landscape fabric, noisily tossing her neat rows of
potted plants into mangled piles. Overhead, branches cracked and popped as the
taller trees around her shimmied and swayed like crazed hula dancers, showering
her with red and gold leaves.
A streak of black-and-white fur flashed past.
“Simon!” she shouted, but the panicked cat was gone. She
didn’t blame him. If she had four legs, she'd be running, too.
This was the biggest earthquake she'd ever experienced. And
the weirdest. It felt as if the planet had suddenly returned to its ocean
origins, and the whole world was liquid again. A large wave swelled up beneath
her, toppling her backwards, and she was nearly buried by a sudden deluge of rainbow-colored
foliage. A tremendous ripping sound came from the north, followed by a
thundering crash that reverberated through the ground and rattled her teeth.
The old homestead! Elisa dug her fingernails into the dirt, trying desperately
to regain her feet and turn toward the noise. Snapping sounds erupted all
around her. A sweet gum crash-landed a few feet away, its impact jolting every
bone in her body. She flailed wildly, struggling to find purchase in the
roiling soil. A rush of cold air blasted her face, and then she felt a crushing
blow to her legs and chest. After a brief close-up of speckled bark, her world
went black.
Author Biography:
Pamela Beason lives in the Pam is a recipient of the Daphne du Maurier Award. She is currently working on a new mystery series that will debut with ENDANGERED from Berkley Prime Crime in December of 2011.
Website: www.pamelabeason.com
Twitter: @PamBeason
3 comments:
Love the excerpt! Thanks for participating!!
Great excerpt!
I was in a rolling earthquake just like the one in my book--it was very weird to have the earth act like the ocean; I had to sit on the ground and pray that the trees didn't fall on me. Thanks for commenting!
Post a Comment