Shadow of the Moon
Shadow Series, #1
by Kwen D Griffeth
Date of
Publication: October 31st 2017
Cover
Artist: Stefanie Cassidy
Genre:
Fantasy/Murder/Romance
Tagline: A Fantasy about Love,
Murder, and Werewolves
BLURB
The grisly murder of a diplomat’s
son in Central Park draw NYPD Detective Gerald Meeker and FBI Special Agent
Andee Trakes into a twisted and confusing investigation. Within hours, the
evidence indicates the man was executed in the manner saved for werewolves.
Andee Trakes is assigned to liaison with a history professor, who is an expert
on folklore and legends.
Professor Alwyn Lloyd, handsome,
articulate and successful, not only agrees the method of death was indeed an
execution, he claims to be a werewolf. Andee is torn between the desire to date
the man and the suspicion to arrest him.
From the initial killing in the
park, a bloody spree is ignited that soon has Andee and Lloyd forced to work
together to protect themselves and family members.
Shadow of the Moon explores the
world of werewolves and paints a picture of what is good about them, as well as
bad. The story explains what is beautiful as well as ugly about the wolf.
The story is fast paced and full
of interesting characters and several twists and turns to keep both the fantasy
as well as the suspense and romance enthusiasts entertained.
Excerpt:
“I’m
Professor Lloyd’s assistant. Is he expecting you?” Her smile never wavered,
though the hand dropped to her side.
“No, as I
said, I’m with the FBI, and we don’t normally make appointments.”
Miranda,
with smile still in place, walked to the door leading to the professor’s office
as she said, “Let me check with him, but I’m sure he will be able to meet with
you. I keep his appointment calendar, so I know he’s not overly busy.”
“Hey, I
was here first, and I’ve waited thirty minutes.”
Trakes
turned back to the office and noticed a blonde had stood to announce her
displeasure. She tried to show her indignation with the agent, but her glare
fell short.
Trakes
smiled at the student and held out her FBI credentials for the blonde to see.
“I’m with
the FBI, sweetie. We get cuts.”
Behind
her, she heard Miranda say, “Sit down, Shelly, you know as well as I do the
professor won’t change your grade.”
Trakes
turned back to Miranda and waved the credentials one more time.
“These
are really the only announcement I need, but thank you. I’ll just pop in. Then
the professor and I will get acquainted.”
Before
Miranda could object, the agent turned and stepped through the door.
Her first
impression of the office was the desk. It was large, made of wood and appeared
antique. The floor was wood, with a large rug that covered most of it. Like the
outer office, this one was also wainscoted with dark wood paneling. Opposed to
the other space, this one was painted an off-white the rest of the way to the
10-foot ceiling. Again, keeping with the theme set by the outer office, this
one also had pictures and paintings on every wall. Bookcases, shelves and glass
cases flanked the desk, with two chairs centered in front of it. A two-person
sofa along the wall to the left and a coffee table finished the décor.
Professor Lloyd sat behind the desk.
He
studied papers with his head lowered, and her first glimpse of him took in the
breadth of his shoulders and his hair. It was thick and dark, almost black down
the center of the head, but shaded to grey by the time it reached the man’s
ears. It was combed back, but a natural part down the center caused it to fall
to each side. She wondered what it felt like, then forced herself to refocus.
As she
stepped through the door, Trakes announced, “Good afternoon, I’m…”
He looked
up from his papers.
The eyes
were a pale blue. Ice blue. The shade of blue used to sell breath mints, and
her intake of air seemed fresher as it travelled to her lungs. The eyes were
hard and unwelcoming. Andee wished she had waited to be announced. She stepped
into the room and tripped on the edge of the rug. She whispered a curse, caught
her balance, held her blush to a minimum and muttered an apology.
“I’m
sorry. I shouldn’t have…”
Those
eyes, still focused on her, softened enough to indicate his irritation at the
interruption had grown into a mild curiosity. As he studied her, he allowed an
eyebrow to raise and his head to cant to one side. She suddenly felt exposed,
and her blush from the ungainly entry deepened. Her heart paused, and then
quickened. Her stomach tickled, then settled into nervousness. Her underarms
damped and a question about deodorant flashed through her mind. She tried again
to introduce herself, but discovered she had forgotten her name.
“Professor,
I’m…a…I’m…”
Her words
came in a small squeak. It may have been the squeak a mouse makes when she sees
the hawk dive, but it was certainly the squeak of prey. She froze. The corners
of his mouth turned.
“Uncle
Alwyn, you stop this. Stop it, right now.”
The
commands came from Miranda, and the professor looked past Trakes to his niece,
who was standing in the doorway. As he broke eye contact, Andee gulped air. She
realized she’d forgotten to breathe.
“Uncle
Alwyn, I’m ashamed of you,” Miranda continued, and she took Andee’s arm and
assisted her to one of the chairs in front of the desk. Andee smiled her
gratitude as she felt dizzy. She looked up at the assistant, who smiled down at
her.
“Don’t
mind my uncle. He does that sometimes. It’s because he is an Alpha.”
“He’s a
what?”
Andee
felt as if she was clearing a fog.
“He’s an
Alpha, and sometimes he takes advantage.”
“An
Alpha? Is that a fraternity?”
Buy Link: Amazon
Book Trailer: https://youtu.be/PP-dqHq4toM
Author
Info
Author
Info
Winner of Readers' Favorite
Silver Award for Historical Fiction/Western, Kwen knew he wanted to be a writer
when he was fourteen years old. He felt the urge when he finished Earnest
Hemingway’s masterpiece “For Whom The Bell Tolls.” The story touched him in a
way no other book ever had. It transported a kid born and raised on a farm and
ranch in Idaho to the mountains of Spain. It took him back in time forty years
to witness the Spanish Civil War. Kwen knew he wanted to share that wonder with
other people.
John Lennon said, “Life is what
happens while you make other plans.” While Kwen lived a full and varied life,
his dream of writing remained in the back of his mind.
Finally, in 2012, he wrote a
novella named Dear Emma. He self-published through Amazon and asked people to
read it. “The best way to see if I can write is to let people check it out,” he
said. Like it, they did. Currently, Dear Emma enjoys a 4.8 out of 5 stars
rating on Amazon.
Often asked what genre he writes,
Kwen replies he writes stories about people and uses the genre that best fits
the story. “I think of the genre, or setting as another character that
interacts to help tell the story,” he says.
His most often received and
constant comment is how real his characters seem. Upon the completion of his
historical fiction trilogy Sam and Laura books, a reader telephoned Kwen and
directed him to write more stories about the couple. When asked why the reader
was so adamant about more stories, he replied he “wasn’t ready to tell Sam and
Laura good bye yet.”
Kwen considers that comment one
of his highest compliments.
Kwen’s books are getting some
attention from the literary community. The Law of Moses, the Silver Award
winner from Readers' Favorite, and The Tenth Nail both received the Gold Award
from Literary Titan Book Review. In addition, The Law of Moses was awarded five
5 Star Reviews from the reviewers of Readers' Favorite.
Kwen’s books are available in
several formats; e-Book, paperback, and audio. He invites you to check his
writings out. Who knows? He might become your next favorite author.
The Book Junkie Reads . . . Interview
with Kwen D Griffeth . . .
How
would you describe you style of writing to someone that has never read your
work?
I am a
character driven writer. By that, I mean
I let the characters tell the story, and I just note their actions, thoughts
and feelings. Most of the reviews of my
work, both professional and not comment on how they like or in some cases
dislike a character. My characters are
real people in that none are perfectly good nor bad. I finished a trilogy and a reader phoned me
to tell me to write another book. I told
him the story was over and that couldn’t be done. He replied, “I’m not ready to tell them good
bye yet.”
What
mindset or routine do you feel the need to set when preparing to write (in
general whether you are working on a project or just free writing)?
I enjoy
quiet in my mind. When I’m writing or
preparing to write, I stop watching the news and stop watching all
television. I enjoy the feeling of
actually talking to my characters and sharing in their experiences. I turn my cell on silent and turn it over on
my desk so any texts don’t intrude. I
check it when I take lunch or at the end of the day. The only ones allowed to interrupt me while
I’m working are my dogs.
Do you
take your character prep to heart? Do you nurture the growth of each character
all the way through to the page? Do you people watch to help with development?
Or do you build upon your character during story creation?
All of
the above. I have a skeleton of a
character in my mind when I’m developing the story. I don’t mean “bones” but just the most basic
idea. From there, I will sit and watch
in malls or coffee shops. I’ll watch
people in department stores. I’ll do
searches for images on the internet in the work to fill in the complete character. Each character will have a backstory all to
present to the reader as complete of person as I can.
Have
you found yourself bonding with any particular character? If so which one(s)?
Of
course. Many of the characters become
imaginary friends, and in some cases not so imaginary. In Shadow of the Moon, I grew to like Miranda
a lot. Miranda is a smart and sexy
redhead with a touch of rebel in her.
She drives fast and has a cat tattoo just to tease her Aunt who hates
felines. While she is carefree and a
little reckless, before her story is done, she is called upon to face long odds
and display substantial courage.
Do you
have a character that you have been working on that you can't wait to put to
paper?
Yes,
she is a character from my historical fiction series. She is the sister of the protagonist and
through her the civilian side of the Civil War will be told.
Have
you ever felt that there was something inside of you that you couldn't control?
If so what? If no what spurs you to reach for the unexperienced?
I can’t
say I couldn’t control it, but I didn’t want to control it. Even as I approach senior age, there is a
need in me to feel the adrenaline rush I have craved. That need was filled by sports and rodeo as a
boy and young man. It was also filled
being a cop and a soldier. Now, I have
to look a little harder to find it. I
have taken up kayaking and this summer I will climb Mt. Rainier in Washington. One of my daughter’s has challenged me to run
in a half marathon to help get in shape for the climb.
Writing
also provides a similar thrill. It takes
months of effort to write a book and when it is done, the author throws it to
the wind in hopes the audience of readers will not only accept it, but also
like it. It is not the same fear as repelling,
but it’s close.
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