**Pandemonium by Susanna Strom**
Good Morning,
Everyone! So thrilled to see you all today! I am thrilled to be able to share a
new-to-me author with you all today. I love discovering authors and this is a
fantastic way to get a glimpse into compatibility between a reader and author.
So let’s go for it! Please allow me to introduce to the blog Susanna Strom and
her latest release, PANDEMONIUM … Plus, a GIVEAWAY!
**SUSANNA STROM**
**BIO**
With
the publication of Pandemonium, Susanna Strom is branching out into
an entirely new variety of romance. Susanna loves to read--and
write--stories full of complex characters who find love, hope and
connection while navigating through a challenging new world.
Pandemonium is her first foray in apocalyptic/dystopian romance, but
it definitely won't be her last.
To
find out more about Ms. Strom, please visit:
**PANDEMONIUM**
Publication
date:
August 18th, 2020
Series:
World Fallen #1
Genres:
Adult, Romance, Suspense, Post-Apocalyptic
**BLURB**
The intersection of danger and desire
Kenzie
Dunwitty is laser focused on finishing college and landing a job that will give
her the security she craves. With a deadline looming, she disconnects to finish
a paper. When she emerges, the world is sliding into chaos. Overnight, a simple
flu virus has morphed into a lethal, worldwide pandemic. Kenzie seeks refuge at
her prepper cousin’s compound and finds herself face to face with a deadly sexy
stranger.
Ripper
Solis, ex-Army Ranger and current enforcer for an outlaw motorcycle club,
protects the people he considers his own. He’s not a nice guy. Not a man that a
woman turns to for support and comfort. Not the bad boy hero in the romance
novels Kenzie’s escaped into for years. Or is he?
As
law and order break down, and the ever-present threat of the virus hangs over
their heads, Ripper’s strength and resourcefulness offer an irresistible
allure. Sexy and commanding, he’s everything she ever wanted. Their chemistry
is combustible.
Will love save the day, or will the perilous
new world obliterate their future?
Pandemonium
is the first novel in the exciting new World Fallen series. Maelstrom, book two
of the World Fallen series, coming October 27.
**EXCERPT**
Chapter
One
Kenzie
I
slicked my wet hair back from my face and grabbed the towel that I’d slung over
the shower curtain rod. A shadow fell across the plastic curtain. I glanced
down at the three-inch gap between the bottom of the waterproof fabric and the
floor. Bare feet—the toenails painted a bright apple green—shambled past the
shower stall.
Jeez.
At 3 a.m. on a Sunday morning, I’d figured I was alone in the big, communal
bathroom. Whoever walked by was ignoring the unspoken rules of dorm life, not
to mention common sense. You didn’t sneak up on somebody in the middle of the
night. You called out “Coming through” or “Hi” so you wouldn’t startle them or
look like a creeper. And nobody in their right mind walked across a public
bathroom with bare feet. Hadn’t they heard of foot fungus?
Muttering
to myself, I wrapped the towel around my body.
The
overhead lights flicked off and plunged the room into semidarkness. Only a
narrow shaft of light from the hallway pierced the gloom. Stumbling backward on
the slippery tiles, I almost fell out of my flip-flops. I groped for the walls,
my heart thumping in my chest.
“Hey!
Turn the lights back on.”
Most
people would have apologized and flipped the switch. Not my mystery intruder.
She shuffled down the hall, leaving me alone in the dark.
“Thanks,
asshole.” She was probably the same type of joker who swiped my towel midshower
during my first week in the dorm. Swathed in the flimsy shower curtain, I’d
done my own version of the walk of shame back to my room.
That
was bad. This was worse.
Squeezing
my eyelids shut, I leaned back against the wall and sucked in a calming breath.
Okay. If I waited a minute or two for my eyes to adjust, I should be able to
navigate my way to the door, then out into the well-lit hallway. No need to
freak out; I’d crossed this bathroom at least a thousand times. I counted backward
from sixty, opened my lids, and swept aside the shower curtain.
Eyes on the prize.
The
hallway light beckoned. I kept my gaze laser-focused on it, ignoring the
shadows that hovered in my peripheral vision as I stumbled toward the open
door. I stuck my head into the hall and looked in both directions.
Green-toenail girl was nowhere in sight.
I
marched down the long corridor, past a dozen dark, silent rooms. Lights
flickered from the TV lounge. I paused in the doorway. One of those 1950s alien
invasion movies that Uncle Mel and I used to watch played on the big screen.
Smiling at the memory, I stepped into the room and scanned the sofas and chairs
for signs of life. The place appeared empty.
Just
last week the perky resident assistant had sent out a memo reminding people to
turn off the big TV when they were done watching it, part of the university’s
green initiatives. I sighed. If Janie found the TV on when she made her rounds
in the morning, she’d probably issue another flurry of memos. Picking up the remote
from a table, I clicked off the television and turned to head back to my room.
Somebody
groaned, and I jumped backward. Who was that? My gaze darted around the room,
finally landing on a figure sprawled across a sofa. Guess I should have looked
more closely instead of dismissing the lump as a pile of pillows.
“Hi,”
I called out.
Another
groan.
With
halting steps, I approached the sofa. Long, curly red hair spilled across a
cushion and partially obscured her face. It had to be Rachel what’s-her-name from
down the hall. One night last month, I found her at 2 a.m.—key in hand and
reeking of tequila—passed out in the hallway outside her door.
“Hey,
Rachel. You need help getting to your room?”
She
mumbled her response, the words lost behind the tangle of hair.
“You
okay?” I leaned over and brushed the hair back from her pale face. Her eyes
fluttered open, and she squinted up at me. Her lips parted and she burped,
spewing out a rancid cloud of rumtainted vapor.
“Shit!”
I staggered backward, lifting a corner of the towel to hold over my nose.
Rachel’s
chest hitched and she retched.
“No,
you don’t.” I rolled her on her side, jammed a pillow behind her back, then
pulled a small wastebasket close to the sofa, positioning it next to her head.
I
was willing to play good Samaritan to keep the girl from choking if she puked,
but if she was dead drunk, there was no way I could carry her back to her room.
She’d have to sleep it off in the TV lounge.
“You
want some water?” I offered.
“Huh-uh.”
She shook her head, then raised a hand to her temple, groaning again. I bet the
rum was giving her one hell of a headache.
“You
sure? How about an aspirin?”
“Wanna
sleep,” she slurred.
My
conscience clear, I kept watch over her for another few minutes, until her dry
heaves subsided, and she drifted off to sleep.
First
the green-toenail girl and now Rachel; I don’t usually see this much excitement
in the middle of the night.
Must
be a full moon.
Buy Links
**GIVEAWAY**
Blitz-wide Giveaway (INT)
$20 Amazon Gift Card
Thanks so much for joining us today!
HAPPY READING!!!
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