Cover Reveal: Embers & Ash by T.M. Goeglein

I reviewed COLD FURY and said, "The big summer blockbusters are already out, so here's a blockbuster in book form.  T. M. Goeglein's YA debut is a fast-paced thrillride and I look forward to reading more of Sara Jane's adventures."

Then I reviewed FLICKER & BURN.  I said, "FLICKER & BURN contains just as much action as the first book and delivers the answers to several questions about Sarah Jane's family and just what is up with those ice-cream guys. . . . Like COLD FURY, FLICKER & BURN ends with a hook.  It's not a cruel cliffhanger, as so many YA authors seem partial to these days, but there are more mysteries for Sarah Jane to solve.  I'm eager to see the answers, especially since Goeglein doles them out at a nice pace."

Now, the third book has a title, tentative release date, and a cover.  I think you're gonna like it!  So here it is, after the jump. Cover reveal - EMBERS & ASH by Ted Goeglein, the final installment in the COLD FURY trilogy from Penguin Books, coming in August 2014! (Book II, FLICKER & BURN, is out now!)

Review and Book Trailer: Flicker & Burn

Book Two of the Cold Fury series
By T.M. Goeglein
Available now from Putnam (Penguin Random House)
Review copy
Read my review of Cold Fury

In FLICKER & BURN, the sequel to COLD FURY, things get even weirder for Sarah Jane Rispoli.  First, her family was kidnapped.  Then she turned out to have a special power in her gaze, to paralyze people with their fears.  Oh yeah, and she comes from a mob family and has to keep up appearances.  As FLICKER & BURN begins, she's being pursued by ice-cream men.  White skinned, red eyed ice-cream men.  And sometimes she gets sloppy.

FLICKER & BURN contains just as much action as the first book and delivers the answers to several questions about Sarah Jane's family and just what is up with those ice-cream guys.  There's not much on the cover to indicate that FLICKER & BURN is anything but a straightforward thriller, and the revelations within make it clear that the stranger elements are more science fiction than paranormal.  It's the kind of science fiction that might as well be magic, but it's not magic within the universe of the story.  But I think it's wise to market this series as thrillers, since there is far more emphasis on Sarah Jane's search for her family and work for the mob than on the science fiction elements.

Official Flicker & Burn Book Trailer from T.M. Goeglein. Subscribe to the Cold Fury channel on Vimeo.

The setting continues to be a strong point.  FLICKER & BURN's Chicago is a place where the buildings are full of secrets, connected by blood and greed and desperation.  Sarah Jane is also a strength.  She's resilient and inventive, but her determination to rescue her family does have consequences.  She lets people get hurt, or hurts them herself, to further her goals.  She doesn't want to be a killer, like so many of her ancestors, but at the same time it's becoming easier and easier for her to bend her morality.

I think FLICKER & BURN added a few too many new characters.  One in particular had a lot of potential, but their arc went by so quickly it didn't have the full emotional impact.  I liked the returning characters, like Doug, who is the greatest friend ever but deeply unhappy, and Tyler, the smooth young head of a different mob family.  But the new characters felt like they came and went quickly instead of becoming a true part of the story.

Like COLD FURY, FLICKER & BURN ends with a hook.  It's not a cruel cliffhanger, as so many YA authors seem partial to these days, but there are more mysteries for Sarah Jane to solve.  I'm eager to see the answers, especially since Goeglein doles them out at a nice pace.

Cover Reveal and Contest: Flicker & Burn

Today I have super special, two-for-one cover reveal: FLICKER & BURN, the second installment in the Cold Fury trilogy, plus the newly redesigned cover of COLD FURY by T.M. Goeglein!

You might recall that I reviewed COLD FURY in July and said:

COLD FURY is full of things I love.  There's a smart girl who kicks butt and does the hard thing rather than the easy thing.  There are mobsters, assassins, and shadowy possibly-government agents.  It's a long chase scene with a touch of mystery and a hint of the paranormal . . . T. M. Goeglein's YA debut is a fast-paced thrill ride and I look forward to reading more of Sara Jane's adventures.

COLD FURY will be released in paperback June 2013 . . . and FLICKER & BURN comes roaring onto the scene in August 2013!

First, here's the new COLD FURY cover:

And here's the FLICKER & BURN cover:

Pretty cool, aren't they?  Very moody, with just enough color to catch your attention.  What's FLICKER & BURN about, you might ask?  Well, here's the blurb:

The thrill ride that began in Cold Fury kicks into high gear in Flicker & Burn, as the threats to Sara Jane Rispoli come at her from all directions. She continues the desperate search for her missing family, but this time she’s on the run from creepy beings with red, pulsing eyes and ghostly white skin chasing her through the streets of Chicago in black ice cream trucks – they can only be described as Ice Cream Creatures. They're skeletal and ferocious, hell-bent on catching or killing her, but also a weird link to her family, a clue to where they might be and who has them.

While Sara Jane battles these new pursuers, she learns painful lessons about the phenomenon that possesses her, cold fury. At the same time, she’s uncovering buried secrets about the misdeeds of her family – old murders and blood vendettas – that might be connected to the disappearance of her mom, dad, and brother. The mysteries, violence, and constant state of chasing or being chased could be the undoing of her relationship with handsome Max Kissberg. Despite the love growing between them, Sara Jane can’t tell him the truth about her life, and fears for his safety.

Not only do the Ice Cream Creatures display the grisly amputated finger of her mom to prove their viciousness, and not only does Lucky, the Outfit Boss of Bosses, whistle in Sara Jane for a sit-down with deadly consequences, but her gorgeous cousin, Heather Richards, enters the scene, as well. All that matters to Sara Jane is saving her family and keeping everyone she loves alive and safe. But the forces she encounters, both external and the ones crackling inside of her, fight her every step of the way.

Now’s your chance … win an ARC of FLICKER & BURN as soon as it’s available!  Standard restrictions apply - US only, no PO boxes, must be older than 13 to enter.

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Review: Cold Fury

First in a trilogy
By T. M. Goeglein
Available now from Putnam (Penguin)
Review copy

When I began COLD FURY, I thought it was a standalone.  So I'll go ahead and warn you: It's not, and COLD FURY will leave you wanting more.

Sara Jane Rispoli just turned sixteen.  It's been a rough couple of months.  First her grandparents died, and then her father and her uncle stopped speaking to each other.  Then the day she turns sixteen, Sara Jane comes  home to an empty house, her brother's dog lying injured on the floor on a note that warns her to beware.

COLD FURY is full of things I love.  There's a smart girl who kicks butt and does the hard thing rather than the easy thing.  There are mobsters, assassins, and shadowy possibly-government agents.  It's a long chase scene with a touch of mystery and a hint of the paranormal.  (Just a hint.  I would classify COLD FURY as contemporary, but some people have abilities that verge on the mystical.)

If you couldn't tell, COLD FURY is a plot-driven rather than a character driven novel.  Sara Jane has enough depth that you care about whether she survives and saves her family, but that's about it.  Her family, friends, and love interests are likewise pretty thin.  However, the novel doesn't need more than that.  There's too much going on for intense examinations of self.  (One character that does get developed, quite nicely, is the city of Chicago.)

The big summer blockbusters are already out, so here's a blockbuster in book form.  T. M. Goeglein's YA debut is a fast-paced thrillride and I look forward to reading more of Sara Jane's adventures.