Today I am so pleased to welcome E.M. Hamill to Joyfully Jay. E.M. has come to talk to us about her latest release, Third Front. She has also brought along a great giveaway. Please join me in giving her a big welcome!

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Exclusive Excerpt

Agent Saetang and I climbed into an electric cart and sped through claustrophobic tunnels running parallel to the high-speed tracks until we reached the service area outside Port Armstrong. We emerged into a cavern frosted by harsh LED work lights. Equipment used to repair and clean the cars crowded the cement floor, and an electromagnetic crane hovered above the group of eight armed officers in full tactical gear.

Everyone bristled with tension. Alarmed passengers peered at the waiting squad through the tempered glass of the train’s windows.

If the entity was on board, it knew we were coming.

Saetang gestured to me and instructed the tactical officers, “This is Dalí Tamareia with Remoliad law enforcement. They are taking point in this operation. I want two of you in each car with the exits covered. Tamareia and I will enter the first car and work our way down. If we find the alien, the civilians need to be moved off the train and out of harm’s way. Consider it armed and dangerous. This thing can jump into other bodies, so keep your distance. One man was critically injured. Tamareia will attempt to convince it to come quietly.”

“What if it doesn’t want to cooperate?” a gruff voice demanded beneath one of the tactical visors.

“There is a possibility it may simply be frightened,” I answered. “If there’s no response to negotiation, we seal off the cavern until we can contain the life form. It can’t be allowed to escape into the general population, or we may never find it.” I glanced around the anonymous circle of visors. “My partner and I have never seen anything like this. It has a small mass—” I made a circle with my thumbs and forefingers in demonstration—”and it uses a mechanical construct as a means of conveyance and as a restraint. Do not shoot unless there is an immediate threat.”

Saetang signaled the officers and they moved to breach the first car, identifying themselves as they went in. “Homeland Security! Remain seated. Do not remove your harness and keep your hands visible.” The warning echoed in each car as teams proceeded down the aisle. Saetang and I followed them in, her weapon drawn and pointed at the floor, but I left my hands open and empty.

A bludgeoning onslaught of fear and indignance, all very human, slammed into my empathic nets. Moving slowly down the middle, I met the gaze of each passenger in turn, looking for telltale dark, burning eyes like we had glimpsed on the security footage.

The cars were jammed with travelers, cases and bags crowding the overhead storage. Saetang’s boiling energy distracted me, and I wished for Sumner’s cool, detached null at my back instead of her adrenaline riot.

Without exception, every passenger we encountered was anxious, irritated at being delayed, and free of alien possession.

“What do you think?” Saetang asked me, her eyes on the increasingly restless passengers.

“It isn’t here.

“And we haven’t heard from Rama.” A muttered curse escaped her. “Did we miss something? Is it just walking around the terminal biding its time?”

Neither scenario was attractive, but we didn’t have long to consider the alternative. One of the men outside hailed her.

“Agent Saetang, you have an incoming message from Rama on the hard line. He says it’s urgent.”

“It was on the other train,” I said. A cold frisson of dread went through me as we exited the rail car and hurried to the communications node where her gear’s umbilical was patched into the data cable.

“What’s your status?” she inquired.

“We made contact.” Rama’s voice was tight with stress.

“Is Sumner negotiating with the alien?”

“No, the thing fucking took him.”

My pulse stuttered to a painful, jolting stop and lurched back into rhythm as I shoved past Saetang and demanded, “What happened?”

“The alien was hiding behind luggage in the overhead compartment and jumped on him,” Rama reported. “The passengers went crazy. Everybody screamed and started running into the next car. We couldn’t reach him in time, but I don’t know what else we could have done. It’s inside him.”


Blurb

third front coverDalí Tamareia has the terrorist Skadi in their sights – but bringing her in may cost them everything.

Dalí’s role as an undercover operative is compromised, putting a target on their back and threatening the close-knit team aboard Thunder Child. A new lead on Miriam Skadi’s activities forces them back to Luna, where they must confront everything they tried to run from…including their changed relationship with Rion Sumner, who insists on backing up Dalí for this investigation.

But Dalí is not the only one searching for Skadi. An alien presence hunts the terrorist as well, taking over Sumner’s body to ensure Dalí’s cooperation. With their team on the other side of the solar system Dalí must depend on this questionable ally to complete the mission, which takes a deadly turn when an old nemesis resurfaces.

If there is any chance for a future with Sumner and their chosen family, Dalí must exorcise the demons haunting them, or they will burn in the heart of a star.

Warnings: graphic violence, grief, sexually explicit scenes

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Bio

Elisabeth “E.M.” Hamill is a nurse by day, unabashed geek, chocoholic, sci fi and fantasy novelist by nights, weekends, and wherever she can steal quality time with her laptop.

She lives with her family in the wilds of eastern suburban Kansas, where they fend off flying monkey attacks and prep for the zombie apocalypse.


Giveaway

E.M. is giving away a $10 Amazon gift card with this tour:

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