Friday, July 26, 2019

#Excerpt on Tour! THE ADVENTURES OF MAGGIE PARKER by @MarthaRCarr w/ @RockstarBkTours #GiftCard #Giveaway





I am stoked to be hosting a stop on the blog tour for THE ADVENTURES OF MAGGIE PARKER Series by Martha R. Carr! I have an excerpt to share with you today check it out and enter to win the giveaway below!

About The Books:



Title: THE GNOME'S MAGIC (The Adventures of Maggie Parker #2)
Author: Martha Carr
Pub. Date: June 6, 2019
Publisher: MRC Publishing
Formats: Paperback, eBook
Pages: 238
Find it: GoodreadsAmazon
READ FOR FREE ON KU!

Maggie Parker is learning to make magic and after a showdown with Simon Wesley, it’s clear she’s running out of time. But nothing is going as planned. 

Did she just turn a mouse into a corgi? Oops Magic is a lot more complicated than she realized.

Not only does Maggie have to find the compass, she has to rescue a friend of her late father who may hold the answersbefore the world realizes shes living on borrowed time. 

A Godwin Knight has teamed up with Maggie and Bernie, swearing to protect the Elemental on her journey, even as more humans wake up to their magic.

But Maggie needs to figure out who she can trust, including that tall drink of water, Jake. She needs a plan and fast.


Will she find the other four Elementals in time to put the machine back together? 


Title: THE ELEMENTAL’S MAGIC (The Adventures of Maggie Parker #3)
Author: Martha Carr
Pub. Date: July 22, 2019
Publisher: MRC Publishing
Formats: Paperback, eBook
Pages: 230
Find it: GoodreadsAmazon
READ FOR FREE ON KU!

Elemental Earth Magic. Intergalactic Consequences. Maggie Parker holds the compass and her magic can change everything - but time is running out. 

Can the Austin Detective find the other Elementals and fix the great machine to continue the quest? They’re only a few steps ahead of Simon Wesley and his dark magic.

Maggie’s still searching for answers. What happened to her missing childhood friend? Who’s been behind all the strange robberies? Why can’t Bernie change back from being a talking raccoon?

It doesn’t help that the Earth is trying to kill her and swallow her into its depths. 

Nothing like knowing your life, as well as the lives of everyone you love are at stake to kick you into overdrive to survive.

Can Maggie stay alive and complete the quest to bring the five Elementals together and decide of the fate of the ship, which happens to be Earth? 


Join Maggie and Bernie on their quest for the missing parts and uniting the Elementals to save Earth in The Elemental’s Magic.
About Book 1:


Title: THE MAGIC COMPASS (The Adventures of Maggie Parker #1)
Author: Martha Carr
Pub. Date: April 11, 2019
Publisher: Martha Carr
Formats: Paperback, eBook
Pages: 244
Find it: GoodreadsAmazon
READ FOR FREE ON KU!

Find the compass, save the world or save herself? 

For Austin robbery detective Maggie Parker, dating is harder than running down a felon, even if the guy is worth it just ask Jake. Now add in magic.

When she finds someone breaking into her garage, stealing a favorite wooden puzzle box everything changes. Did she just see a compass fly?

Can she learn how to use the magic of bubbles to chart a new course in time? The mechanics may hold the answer. 

Her new quest: Rescue the passengers on an ancient ship a big blue marble called Earth and save herself.

Recover the compass, find the other Elementals and help decide Earth’s fate. 


Simple? It’s a lot harder than it sounds. And there’s that fourth date 

Now on to the excerpt!
2
Maggie walked into the precinct carrying a large cup of coffee from her favorite convenience store, despite a thief shooting a bullet at her head the last time she was in there. Magic was the only thing that saved her, for now. Joey insisted on giving her the coffee gratis but she drew the line at free food. Maggie had paid for a tacquito and eaten it sitting in the El Camino at a red light. She could still feel it sitting in the pit of her stomach.

She took a good long swig from the coffee and made her way past the small break room, stepping in to grab an oatmeal raisin cookie. O'Malley's wife was baking again. She always baked too much when he had night shifts.

I just need a little routine, something familiar.

Taylor caught up to her, grabbing a small pile of cookies in his large hand, picking up his pace to walk alongside her. Maggie took another slow sip of coffee, turning briefly to the side to let another detective pass by.

"Morning partner," said Taylor. "I don't suppose you know anything about the ruckus on South Congress this morning?" He slid an entire cookie into his mouth, filling his cheeks, and still tried to get out another sentence, dribbling crumbs on his pressed shirt.

"I heard something about it on the scanner." Maggie kept walking, keeping her eyes straight ahead. It was a lot to explain.

Taylor nodded at Detective Moss as they passed his desk. "Hey Taylor, you made the spread on the game last night, well done."

"Even a squirrel sometimes finds a nut."

Moss let out a snort of laughter and went back to typing. "The paperwork never ends," he muttered.

Taylor smiled at his friend but as soon as he turned his back, he let the smile fade. "I spoke to the cop and he said something about a witness reporting bees attacking a man, a large snake and a blue light show that took up an entire acre." He counted the list off on his fingers. "Two days ago I'd have said the guy was having a flashback to a Twisted Sister concert and I might have even leaned in that direction today." He bit into another cookie, chomping down.

Maggie raised her eyebrows, watching him. "That's like your Xanax, isn't it? You have a pileup on there," she said, pointing to his shirt.

"Very funny. I come by this waistline honestly. Good solid Italian food at home mixed with whatever is in that vending machine."

Maggie got to her seat and pulled it out, sliding into it and drinking down the last of her coffee. She kept her head down and started typing, opening a folder on the screen and filling out a form. But Taylor wasn't going to let it go and leaned over, taking a look around to make sure no one was close enough to overhear, picking up where he had left off.

"But I had to stifle a few good swears when I heard the rest of the report. The 
witness said there was a short guy in an orange sweater wrestling with a young woman, standing under a man with white hair. I'm gonna guess you, your new friend, Bernie, and our coroner Simon. Am I right so far?"

Maggie slowly looked up at Taylor. "You got me. We got caught playing out in the open and I'm pretty sure Wesley is our former coroner at this point. I don't see him coming back from this one."

"This isn't funny, Parker. It's amazing that no one has a video of it."

She finally looked up and saw Taylor's pursed lips. He only did that when he was up against a problem he couldn't solve. He always saw that as a temporary situation and would come back at it, twice as determined. She let out the breath she had been holding and decided to trust her partner with the truth. "The Huldus took care of that. Bernie's people. Before you say it, yes, they missed one. Magic isn't perfect. We were there because we tracked Simon to that pavilion, and he has something of mine that I have to get back."

"Tracked him..." He shook his head. "I have a thousand questions, but I'll start with the one about the tall guy from the medieval festival. Was that the gnome in a taller version of himself?"

"I'm pretty sure if Bernie could make himself taller, he'd just stay that way. Just call it a hunch. That was a Godwin Knight who has appointed himself my personal bodyguard. What? No laugh at even the idea?"

Taylor finished off the last of the cookies, still chewing too fast to really taste one. "I know you can take care of yourself, Parker, at least under normal circumstances. What I don't like is the lack of normal." He looked down and saw the fading welts on her hands and narrowed his eyes. "Are you okay?"

Maggie's face softened and she turned in her chair to face him. "I'm okay, really, well at least for now." She held up her hands and watched Taylor's eyes tracking the red marks along the back. "I know that was a lame sentence, but I'm catching on to all of this at about the same rate as you are. My hands are okay, I'm okay."

"For now..."

"That's the general state of things. What I could really use is a somewhat normal day of regular human mayhem, thievery and general disregard for others."

Taylor's phone buzzed and he looked down, reading the text. "Then your day is getting better. I'm going to assume you'll let me help you when the time is right."

"Thank you for trusting me."

"That's how this works. Come on, we have a robbery over on Brodie. A nice normal smash and grab."

"Unless someone turns into a bird..."

Taylor's eyes widened as he grabbed his coat off the back of his chair. "Is that even possible?"


"At this point, I wouldn't bet against it."






About Martha:
Hello, I’m a bestselling author from Austin, Texas. I live there with the good dog, Lois Lane and spend most of my time dreaming of Elves, Witches, Wizards and other magical worlds. I was a nerdy kid from the jump, performing magic at my little brother’s birthday party, saving up for DC comic books, inventing elaborate 3D board games or making treasure hunts with a lot of clues that led all over the house. Jeff was a very tolerant little brother who went along with my schemes. In those days, we were known as M&J.

But from the day I walked into the Philadelphia library and found out there was a place that would let me borrow books to read, bring them back and get more, I was hooked on telling a good story. My love affair with books has been a theme throughout my entire life but my first taste of getting a review was when I was nine years old.

My Dad dropped off the three youngest of us at the movies and drove off without checking the movie listing. It was 1960’s style parenting Turns out it was a Vincent Price triple horror feature in black and white. Scary stuff in the day. Lots of blood and poisonous vines and a little murder. My brother and sister insisted on leaving but I knew this was the only movie I was going to get to see and I wasn’t budging. I stayed all by myself.

The next week when we were asked to write a Halloween story in school, I wrote my first thriller and filled it with all my newfound knowledge, with a twist. My father was called in to explain and like he did whenever he had to visit a principal for one of his kids (even if it was his fault), my father the minister wore his collar. Bottom line I saw the power of words and weaving a good tale and just kept going. I mean, I scared the teacher with a good horror story Vincent Price style. The wheels started turning.

Fast forward through writing for the Washington Post, having a nationally syndicated column on politics, a few books and FINALLY, I got back to that inner nerdy kid and started writing about Elves and Wizards and magic again in the bestselling series, THE LEIRA CHRONICLES. A little thriller, a lot of magic, some loyal friends, a swearing troll and a detective named Leira Berens who never gives up and always believes in the possibilities. All adds up to a really good time and feels like I finally came home. A lot more adventures to follow





Giveaway Details:
1 winner will receive a $25 Amazon gift card, US Only.





Tour Schedule:
Week One:
7/8/2019- BookHounds- Excerpt
7/9/2019- Sometimes Leelynn Reads- Review
7/10/2019- Books a Plenty Book Reviews- Review
7/11/2019- The Tired Buyer- Excerpt
7/12/2019- A Dream Within A Dream- Excerpt 

Week Two:
7/15/2019- Triquetra Reviews- Excerpt
7/16/2019- Lisa-Queen of Random- Spotlight
7/17/2019- Smada's Book Smack- Spotlight
7/18/2019- AURELIA LEO- Excerpt
7/19/2019- Ramblings of a Book Nerd- Spotlight

Week Three:
7/22/2019- Jaime's World- Excerpt
7/23/2019- @jypsylynn- Spotlight
7/24/2019- A Gingerly Review- Review
7/25/2019- Two Chicks on Books- Excerpt
7/26/2019- Colorimetry- Excerpt