“He could only hope he’d get out of here in one piece.”
To come to terms with his recent divorce, Martin, an attorney in Berlin, plans a peaceful vacation – two weeks in a Swedish summer house seem to be the solution. It won’t be peaceful, however, and those two weeks will change his life forever. He takes a liking to Liv, a Swedish woman whom he meets in the neighborhood. Unfortunately, they don’t get to have their first date – Liv disappears under mysterious circumstances. Martin begins his search but soon realizes he can’t find Liv in a foreign country by himself. He hires two private investigators, and their discoveries make everything seem even stranger.
The complexities in this suspenseful criminal case lead to a hunt across Sweden. Martin comes close to finding answers, but his search lands him in very real danger, eventually leading to the first deaths. Soon he‘s wondering if he can get Liv and himself out of this situation alive.
The author grew up in the North of Germany, Schleswig-Holstein. Today, he lives together with his family in Stockholm, Sweden, where he works as management consultant.
Already for ages he has been a great fan of crime stories and therefore, had the desire to write his own crime story with the characters acting in Sweden. This crime-fiction is now available under the title “Vanished?”.
The crime novel starts at a slower pace – like Martin’s holidays, but the tension goes up more and more. It comes to a number of surprising turns giving new impulses to the story. Apart from that, the lovely country Sweden is described with the view of a foreigner.
When Celina Leviet escapes the brutal home invasion that kills her husband, she’s left with a bullet in her gut and vengeance in her heart. An alluring demon, Mekaisto, offers an irresistible deal—in exchange for her soul, he’ll let her live long enough to get her revenge, but she must hunt and kill the murderers herself.
After sealing the contract, Celina digs into her husband’s past for clues about his murder, and what she uncovers makes her question everything she thought she knew about him.
His company never existed.
His family history was a lie.
And he was involved with The Lumen, a shadowy religious order whose members know too much about demons. As the life she thought she knew crumbles around her, Mekaisto’s charms become harder to resist. Forced to face a horrible truth, Celina struggles against her late husband’s betrayal and the dark seduction of the devil she knows.
Short Excerpt
Her breath came faster, and he could smell what she wanted before she even knew what it was. “Please, Kai—I’m yours. I want more. I want everything you can give me.”
The wave of lust heating his body could have burned a city to the ground. “Well, now,” he whispered in her ear as he stood, lifting her up with him, “I need to oblige such begging with a reward.”
I’m passionate about writing, reading, photo manipulation artwork, animals, anime/manga, video games, the fandom world of TV shows and movies, and stuff like that. I’m a proud Ravenclaw: I’ve always been sorted into this house, but the recent Pottermore sorting placed me in Gryffindor―I don’t care since the Sorting Hat couldn’t consider my choice, so I identify with Ravenclaw, and that’s where I’ll remain!
I have two main hobbies: writing and creating book covers. I’m also a gamer (Diablo, Zelda, Final Fantasy), enjoy listening to music (and always singing along to Disney), have a passion for Japanese culture, and adore reading. I love anime/manga, Japanese Dramas and consider myself a proud fan of many different TV shows including Buffy, Supernatural, Doctor Who, Sherlock, Merlin, Game of Thrones, Outlander, etc.
I wrote my first story when I was 12 years old (and we’ll never talk about that story), but started writing three years later. Since then, I always write, and this particular novel is my 19th story. It’s always been a dream to be a published author, and I can happily say I’ve reached that goal―I plan on continuing writing and publishing for the rest of my days.
“I am a demon, Celina, and above all else, demons love the hunt.” He smirked when her eyes widened.
“So, you see having sex with someone as a hunt?”
He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. “By your expression, I would say you still do not quite understand.”
“It’s your twisted logic.”
Interesting…
“I take my time, stalk my prey first, count the number of breaths she takes, imagine her screams…”
She arched an eyebrow. “That’s not at all creepy.”
Kai ignored her. “I am a creature of infinite time; the world creeps by, yet an intimate moment is so fleeting, it feels as though it is gone in less than a second.” He stopped, expecting an interruption again, but she stayed silent. “The pleasure is heightened by the danger, and in the throes of passion, I could lose my control and revert to the form least likely to be found pleasurable by my … partner?” He lost himself in the images in his mind, pinning down Celina’s body, taking her in a way she would never be able to recreate with a mere mortal man. “Hunting is simple. There is always one in the crowd that stands out—rarely is it the one searching for the one-night stand—no…” Kai locked his eyes with hers and goose bumps rose on her arms and legs. “No, the one unsure of what society wants her to be, the one who is desperate to be loved and appreciated. She is the one I seek.”
“So, social outcasts are your type?”
His eyes pierced her until he could see through her mind again, to all those curious little fantasies.
He smiled. “It’s about finesse, Celina. I listen to her, and as she speaks more confidently, I brush a hand over her skin”—his hand skimmed Celina’s neck as he brushed her back—“just enough so she shivers with anticipation of what my lips would feel like in the same spot.” He delved into Celina’s mind as his words worked against her disdain for him. “Then I caress her in a way she won’t notice, but her subconscious will let her lean into, let her mind take over and her body will beg for more.”
“She’d notice if…” She followed his gaze to his hand on her knee.
“Are you certain?” He’d worked his own body into a sensual frenzy as he’d drawn her into his web.
She stared at him, her cheeks flushing. “I—”
“Eventually, I suggest a night filled with pleasure.” He couldn’t contain his smile as he moved closer. “I keep touching her in small ways—maintaining physical contact at all times.” His hand inched up her side, until he tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. She sucked in a breath and he cupped her cheek.
He sat close to her and her scent calmed and excited him at the same time.
“Kai?” Her voice wavered.
“Sex is fleeting.” He took her chin and drew her close. “But intimacy is endless, a continuous moment of gentle touches”—his hand dropped back to her knee, and then made its way up her thigh until she let out a small gasp—“personal boundaries broken, and pleasures that go beyond sex.”
She sat as if frozen. “It’s still a one-night stand.”
“Mine last longer—and you reveal not only your body.” His hand moved to the middle of her chest. “When you are intimate with a demon, you reveal your soul. You make yourself vulnerable and open.”
“Considering you’ll have my soul sometime soon, I’m not giving you a free sample.” She drew away from him and stood. “I won’t be your prey tonight.”
Another surge of heat rushed through him, but he pushed it down with a long, deep breath. “You would set me loose on another human?”
She glared at him. “I wasn’t aware I had a choice about what you do outside of our deal. This would be on you, not me.”
“You think you control what I do within our deal?”
She rubbed her arms when he stood. “Not when you say it like that.”
“Celina…” He stopped in front of her and leaned into her personal space, drawing a lungful of a scent he would only ever associate with her.
He wrapped his arms around her, swallowing the shiver that shook her body. “What are you—?”
“Let’s play, Celina. I can assure you, you will not regret a night in my arms.”
I want you… Against all my instincts, I need you close.
Celina pushed him as hard as she could, and he withdrew as disappointment withered his gaze.
“Let me go, Mekaisto.”
You are trembling again, my dove… Is it because you are scared you will give in? How far can I push you until you bend?
“What if I say no?”
She glared at him, but Kai’s smile widened. He could feel, even smell, the pulsing between her legs begging him to take her.
“Isn’t it enough you’re getting my life and my soul? Now you need my body, too?” She pushed against him again, but he only held tighter, unable to let her go. “Why are you doing this? I just lost my husband, found out things that break my heart. I can’t sit and flirt with you.”
“I am offering you the chance to forget.”
“No!” Her hands clenched to fists as she shoved even harder against his chest. “No! You want to take everything I have left.”
He grabbed her wrists, pushed her back on the sofa, and pinned her down, his body hovering over her. “What is your life without your body?” He tilted his head and flicked his tongue across his lips. “You never asked what selling your life and soul meant specifically. Allow me to enlighten you now.” He moved until his face loomed only an inch or so from her face and her breath caught. He let go of her wrists, but his gaze pinned her to the spot.
“What?” Her voice ached just above a whisper.
“I own every inch of you … body and soul.”
Her face flushed and her lips trembled. “I never agreed to that!”
“You agreed to living. The details did not matter to you.”
“I was dying! You told me I didn’t have much time left, so it—”
His smile widened. “Even if you had all the time in the world, it would not have made a difference. Humans never read the fine print.”
Veronica Chandler has worked hard
to become a private investigator. At the age of eight she got a baton
for Christmas—just like Mummy’s. At 12, she started working at
her father’s restaurant so she’d have the money for the
investigator’s course. At 16, she became an intern with the Calgary
Police Service. And now, at 18, she’s the youngest licensed PI in
Alberta.
As her ex-boyfriend can attest,
she has the skills. As a psychotic killer discovers, she has the
will. Now she’s ready to take on the world: To find the lost and
expose the faithless.
None of which prepare her for a
house that can’t decide whether it’s empty, one or two perverse
dwarfs with a bizarre hold over their victims, a kinky pony show, and
a secret global organization. Every clue leads to more questions.
Four lives depend on Veronica finding the answers.
And then there’s that pesky
losing-your-soul thing.
Alyssa Blakeway is so submissive
it’s a miracle she left her house, let alone asked Veronica to find
out if her abusive husband is also cheating on her.
When Veronica finds out who
Collin Blakeway is actually going to see, things go from bad to worse
to deadly. They also challenge Veronica’s most deeply held beliefs
as she discovers that demons and magic are real.
It’s no longer a matter of
saving a marriage. Now she has to save the lives of Alyssa, her
sister Kali, an unknown woman, and herself. All while avoiding being
killed by her sister for acting stupidly.
If an arborist, a coven of
Witches, the Vatican, the Freemasons, a Native Elder, and an old
bicycle can’t save them, who can?
Being shot at and landing in
protective custody certainly cramps a PI’s style, so when a group
of collectors want Veronica to track down an historical artifact in
England, she jumps at the chance. They’ll even handle recovery, so
all she has to do is find the item. It’s a piece of cake.
There are a few details that were
left out. Everybody is after this thing. Veronica has to dodge
bullets meant for another PI, get chased all over Europe by Finnish
terrorists, tries not to violate every national park in the world,
and has to put up with an English investigator who insists on
accompanying her.
Of course, the artifact turns out
to be more dangerous than she was led to believe. Veronica has to
trust somebody who tried to remove her head, decide the fate of the
world, and survive an angry volcano. At least she’s getting paid
for it. If she can collect.
Veronica has just gotten home
after solving a minor case in Mexico involving kidnapping, betrayal,
bank fraud, and a Colombian drug cartel when an old acquaintance show
up to hire her. Somebody has been committing impossible murders all
over the world, and Veronica is the only person qualified to stop the
killer before the body count soars.
The problems start with her
client. Can she trust a demon prince not to send her back to therapy
or worse for another year? What, if any, is his hidden agenda? Is
anything at all as it seems?
Veronica thought she had a handle
on magic and demons, but as soon as she starts investigating it’s
obvious that all the rules have changed. She’s playing in the big
leagues now, and she’s going to have to move heaven and hell to
keep humanity alive. Starting with herself.
Now, if she can only survive
dinner with her family, a blind date, a small immigration problem,
and working with the federal cabinet, it’s possible that all will
be well.
Or at least as well as it can be
when you have to deal with insane immortals and a talking cat.
G.W. Renshaw lives in Calgary, Alberta with his lovely wife and Romulus
the cat. He likes to write stories that range from the unusual to the
bizarre.
He has picked up a variety of skills over the years: gunner in the
Canadian Forces, practitioner of Iwama-style Aikido, Krav Maga, and
Chito Ryu Karate, computer programmer, Linux druid, Search and Rescue
manager, caving, rock climbing, and archery. He learned man tracking
from Terry Grant (the original ManTracker on
TV). He also learned a variety of medieval skills while in the
Society for Creative Anachronisms.
G.W. writes when he isn’t maintaining the web site for When Words Collide,
being beaten senseless by his young padawan, or working at Mount
Royal University, the University of Calgary Faculty of Veterinary
Medicine, or the Cumming School of Medicine.
He claims to have a firm grip on reality, but seems unaware that it is
slowly turning purple. He will happily watch just about any film with
monsters in it.
Casey's Corner 