We’re so pleased to have authors Avon Gale and Roan Parrish joining us today on the tour for their new collaboration, Thrall. We have an exclusive teaser from the book to share with you as well as a giveaway, so be sure to check out the Rafflecopter widget for the details.

Welcome, Avon and Roan!

About the Book

Title: Thrall
Authors: Avon Gale and Roan Parrish
Publisher: Philtre Press
Release Date: September 27th, 2018
Subgenre: Mystery
Order Here: Amazon || All Other Vendors
Blurb: Dating Sucks & Love Bites

Happy couple Mina Murray and Lucy Westenra have begun to garner national attention for their quirky New Orleans true-crime podcast, Shadowcast. When Lucy’s brother Harker disappears while researching the popular new dating app Thrall, they’re thrown into a real-life mystery. Aided by their social media expert, Arthur, and Harker’s professor, Van Helsing, they follow the trail, hoping to find Harker before it’s too late.

When their investigation crosses the path of a possible serial killer, the line between fantasy and reality begins to blur. And as they race against the app’s countdown clock, so does the line between friendship and love. What starts as a flirtatious rivalry between computer-savvy Arthur and techno-averse Van Helsing becomes much more, and Mina and Lucy’s relationship is tested in the fires of social media.

As they get down to the wire, the group discovers that nothing on their screens is as it seems—including their enemy.

A modern retelling of Bram Stoker’s Dracula.

The Excerpt

3:32 PM

A. Van Helsing
Am I flattering myself to think that your rather inappropriate comments about your friends are an attempt to get my attention?

Arthur Quincey
It would seem to me like I already have it, Professor

A. Van Helsing
Fair point. Now what are you going to do with it?

Arthur Quincey
…this is not how I expected this conversation to go. At all.

A. Van Helsing
Look, Arthur, you began this conversation. Much as I might like to believe that you simply enjoyed my company and wish to get to know me better, I rather doubt it.

Arthur Quincey
Actually, August, (is that really what people call you? I keep thinking of you as—well, Professor, because reasons—Van Helsing), that’s true. As in, I did enjoy your company and am enjoying it now, and I would like to get to know you better.

A. Van Helsing
Most of my colleagues call me Van Helsing, or sometimes just Van, but I don’t like it. My family called me August, yes. But my ex-partner and my best friend call me Gus.

Arthur Quincey
Your ex-partner…I’m guessing you mean as in boyfriend? Who is also your best friend? That’s impressive.

A. Van Helsing
Yes, my ex-partner is a man, and yes, he is now one of my best friends. But I meant my oldest friend, Jillian.

Arthur Quincey
I didn’t expect you to just—answer questions so honestly. Sorry, that makes me sound like a dick. I appreciate it, I do.

A. Van Helsing
I value honesty. Very much.

Arthur Quincey
I do too. But I’m so used to honesty being packaged and prettied up, all perfect angles and just the right filter.

Sorry, I’m—something about talking to you is making me say shit I don’t usually say.

A. Van Helsing
If it’s being filtered, it’s not really honesty. Honesty has room for…strategic presentation, I suppose, but I prefer it without too much manipulation. I’m interested in what you’re saying.

Arthur Quincey
“Strategic presentation.” I like that :)

Well, I’m glad. I should really be asking you about Harker, I know. Would you rather I did that and left the personal stuff and my bad attempts at flirting out of it? You can let me know, and don’t even worry about making the presentation of rejection strategic ;)

A. Van Helsing
I…no. If your flirting is sincere, then I welcome it. I can’t deny that I felt something between us this morning.

Arthur Quincey
I, uh, definitely felt something.

Ugh, sorry, that was a terrible joke—you should be impressed, I never get this nervous.

A. Van Helsing
I am also nervous. I…I suppose I don’t quite know what to say next. I’ve never attempted to flirt on a—what is this, chat?

Arthur Quincey
OMG, Gus. (I’m…look, that name reminds me of the musical Cats, which I loathe so can I call you Van?)
It’s kind of hot you just said you were nervous btw (and yeah, it’s chat)

A. Van Helsing
I got the feeling you were calling me Professor on purpose, no? Yes, I suppose I can suffer through Van, if you must.

Ah, well, I’m very gratified you think so.

Arthur Quincey
Yeah, because I like it. The professor thing is totally a turn-on. And I like the idea of making you like that name, Van. Just because no one else has.

A. Van Helsing
I must state for the record that I do *not* condone professors sleeping with their students. However, seeing you across the desk from me this morning…well…

As you’re not actually my student, I would never presume to instruct anyone on what turns them on.

Arthur Quincey
Trust me, Van, I was enjoying seeing myself across your desk, too. And maybe on top of it.

Nope, I’m not your student but I bet you could still teach me a thing or two

A. Van Helsing
Hmm, well, I can tell you that your tendency to default to attention-seeking bravado when you feel vulnerable is rather charming, now that I know what it is. And I am not…averse to testing the structural integrity of my office furniture, Arthur.

Arthur Quincey
I like how you use impossibly complex words to say things like “I’d like to fuck you over my desk and see if we can break it.”

And for the record? That wasn’t attention-seeking, it was the truth.

A. Van Helsing
Things can be two things at once, I propose. But I’m glad to know which side it was weighted on. And Arthur?

Arthur Quincey
Yes, Van?

A. Van Helsing
I’d like to fuck you over my desk. But I would prefer we didn’t break it. Maintenance is so tedious when channeled through a university bureaucracy.

About the Authors

Avon Gale was once the mayor on Foursquare of Jazzercise and Lollicup, which should tell you all you need to know about her as a person. She likes road trips, rock concerts, drinking Kentucky bourbon, JRPGs and yelling at hockey. She’s a displaced southerner living in a liberal midwestern college town, and she never gets tired of people and their stories — either real or the ones she makes up in her head.

Avon is represented by Courtney Miller-Callihan at Handspun Literary Agency. 

Connect with Avon: Twitter | Facebook | Newsletter | Instagram | Website

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Roan Parrish lives in Philadelphia, where she is gradually attempting to write love stories in every genre.

When not writing, she can usually be found cutting her friends’ hair, meandering through whatever city she’s in while listening to torch songs and melodic death metal, or cooking overly elaborate meals. She loves bonfires, winter beaches, minor chord harmonies, and self-tattooing. One time she may or may not have baked a six-layer chocolate cake and then thrown it out the window in a fit of pique.

Connect with Roan: Parrish or Perish FB Group | Twitter | Instagram | BookBub | Newsletter

The Giveaway

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