Guest Post and Giveaway: Kill Game by Cordelia Kingsbridge

We’re so pleased to welcome author Cordelia Kingsbridge and the blog tour for her latest release from Riptide Publishing, Kill Game, and book one in the Seven of Spades series. Cordelia is talking real life story inspiration, and there’s also a giveaway, so be sure to check out the entry details below.

Welcome, Cordelia!

Five Ways the Seven of Spades Series is Inspired by My Real Life

1. Levi and Dominic’s ethnic backgrounds

My mother is half Italian American, half Ashkenazi Jew. When I was conceptualizing the SoS series, I knew I wanted one of the protagonists to be Jewish, in honor of my recently departed maternal grandmother. My next thought was, why not have the protagonists represent both sides of my mother’s family? After all, I already know that Italian and Jewish make for a winning combination!

It’s been an incredibly fun experience writing characters from backgrounds with which I also strongly identify. Most of Dominic and Levi’s interactions with their family members are inspired by my own family’s antics.

2. Levi and Martine’s hometowns

Before moving to Las Vegas, Levi grew up in north New Jersey, which is where my father’s family hails from. His partner and closest friend, Martine, is from Brooklyn – hometown of both my mother’s parents. My grandfather sounds like a Brooklyn Italian straight out of central casting, and my grandmother also had a very thick Brooklyn Jewish accent, so Martine’s strong Flatbush accent is in homage to them.

3. Dominic’s dog

Dominic’s personal protection dog Rebel, a German Shepherd-Rottweiler mix, is inspired by the first dog my family had when I was young. He was also named Rebel (though he was male while Dominic’s Rebel is female), and definitely part German Shepherd, though we don’t know what the rest of his breeding was. (My dad swears Norwegian Elkhound.) I was too young at the time to have real memories of him, but I know him through home movies and my parents’ stories, and he was a sweetheart!

4. Natasha’s profession

Like Levi’s friend Natasha, I have a master’s degree in social work. Unlike Natasha, I hated direct practice and left the field almost as quickly as I’d entered it. Natasha – who is a counselor in the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department’s Employee Assistance Program – gives me a realistic way to include a social worker’s perspective on certain issues in the series. It’s my sneaky way of getting my own opinions in there without compromising the authenticity of Levi and Dominic’s narrative voices!

5. Levi’s Krav Maga practice 

Levi and I both practice Krav Maga, the fighting system first developed for the Israel Defense Forces in the 1940s. Of course, Levi is a much higher-level practitioner than I am – eight levels higher, to be exact. All the fight scenes in the Seven of Spades series were choreographed with advice and input from my coaches, who are at Levi’s level. I think you can also see the fight sequences become more complex and creative from novel to novel throughout the series, as my own real-life skill and experience in Krav Maga improves.

About Kill Game

Homicide detective Levi Abrams is barely holding his life together. He’s reeling from the fallout of a fatal shooting, and his relationship with his boyfriend is crumbling. The last thing he’s prepared for is a serial killer stalking the streets of Las Vegas. Or how he keeps getting thrown into the path of annoyingly charming bounty hunter Dominic Russo.

Dominic likes his life free of complications. That means no tangling with cops—especially prickly, uptight detectives. But when he stumbles across one of the Seven of Spades’s horrifying crime scenes, he can’t let go, despite Levi’s warnings to stay away.

The Seven of Spades is ruthless and always two moves ahead. Worst of all, they’ve taken a dangerously personal interest in Levi and Dominic. Forced to trust each other, the two men race to discover the killer’s identity, revealing hidden truths along the way and sparking a bond neither man expected. But that may not be enough to protect them.

This killer likes to play games, and the deck is not stacked in Levi and Dominic’s favor.

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About the Seven of Spades Series

Las Vegas has never seen a serial killer like the Seven of Spades.

The self-styled vigilante is on a mission to cut down the wicked and treacherous, and Sin City has no shortage of targets for their bloody wrath. What happens in Vegas . . . ends with the Seven of Spades’s calling card on a grisly corpse.

Standing against the killer are Levi Abrams, a dedicated homicide detective locked in a constant struggle to restrain his own dark side, and bounty hunter Dominic Russo, a charming rogue with a heavy secret weighing on his shoulders.

The hunt for the Seven of Spades sends Levi and Dominic on a collision course, igniting a passionate relationship forged in conflict and sealed with blood. Together they’re stronger than the sum of their parts, but a wily, elusive serial killer isn’t the only threat that will strain their bond to the breaking point.

Ante up, because the Seven of Spades is all in. Are you?

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About the Author

Cordelia Kingsbridge has a master’s degree in social work from the University of Pittsburgh, but quickly discovered that direct practice in the field was not for her. Having written novels as a hobby throughout graduate school, she decided to turn her focus to writing as a full-time career. Now she explores her fascination with human behavior, motivation, and psychopathology through fiction. Her weaknesses include opposites-attract pairings and snarky banter.

Away from her desk, Cordelia is a fitness fanatic, and can be found strength training, cycling, and practicing Krav Maga. She lives in South Florida but spends most of her time indoors with the air conditioning on full blast!

Connect with Cordelia: Email || Tumblr || Twitter || Facebook

The Giveaway

To celebrate the release of Kill Game, one lucky winner will receive a $15 Riptide credit! Leave a comment with your contact info to enter the contest. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on October 28, 2017. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. Thanks for following the tour, and don’t forget to leave your contact info!