Welcome to my stop on the book blast for The Ack Ack Girl by Chris Karlsen. This book blast was organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. On my stop, I have an excerpt from the book as well as the tour wide giveaway for a chance to win a $20 Amazon or Barnes & Noble gift card. Be sure to visit the other stops on the book blast for more content. Enjoy!
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Series: Love and War #1
Author: Chris Karlsen
Publisher: Books to Go Now
Publication Date: February 14th 2021
Print Length: 221 pages
Genre: Historical Romance
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It’s 1941 and the German war machine has defeated all of Europe except England. In an effort to force a surrender, the German Luftwaffe is bombing villages and cities the length of the country. As the battle rages, Britain is in desperate need to put more pilots in the air.
To free up more men a new unit is formed: The Ack Ack Girls. Teams of courageous young women will now fight in anti-aircraft stations. Excited to be part of the effort, Ava Armstrong has volunteered for one of the special teams. Her unit just happens to be located near an RAF airfield teaming with pilots. Sparks fly, and not just from artillery, when Ava crosses paths with the highly decorated and handsome Royal Airforce pilot, Chris Fairfield.
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EXCERPT:
When her mother turned around, the color had drained from her face and her eyes had a haunted look. “What is it, Mum?”
“They’re bombing Coventry. There’s a BBC reporter on site. He said dozens and dozens of planes are over the city.”
Ava sat on the sofa, listening to the live broadcast as the nightmare continued. Her stomach roiled. The mint-flavored tooth powder she’d used had tasted sweet and fresh, but now soured in her mouth.
“The cathedral is destroyed,” the reporter’s voice broke.
“Turn the sound up, Mum.”
“The sky is black with planes now. They’ve blotted out the moon.” The reporter broke into a coughing fit and then continued. “The city is aflame. It’s raining bombs. The terribleness of this night will never be forgotten. Coventry is no more.”
Eleven hours later
“Did you get any sleep?” her mother asked.
Ava shook her head. “The bombing only just stopped. They’re saying that most of the city is destroyed.”
Ava went upstairs to clean up and change clothes. When she came back down she told her mother, “I need to go. I have to see if Miss Finney is all right. I have to see if I still have a home there.”
Coventry-later that day
The train was standing room only. A blast of intense heat clobbered her as Ava stepped from the station. She found herself flashing back to the night of the blitz attack in London. Like London, hours after the last bombs fell flames still raged and painted the sky in orange and red here. Bright, hot embers filled the air, burning holes through the material of the umbrellas of those who carried them for protection.
She slowly and carefully made her way toward Miss Finney’s flat and the upstairs bedsit she let to Ava. She paused in front of the movie theatre around the corner from Miss Finney’s. The entire building had fallen but somehow the marquee remained undamaged. Perched on top of the rubble advertising, His Girl Friday. Ava had just seen the movie the previous week. She’d gone two nights in a row just to watch Cary Grant.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
I was raised in Chicago. My father, a history professor, and my mother, a voracious reader passed on a love of history and books along with a love of travel. My husband and I retired to the Pacific Northwest where we live with four crazy rescue dogs.
I am a retired police detective. After twenty-five years in law enforcement I decided to pursue my dream of writing. I’ve completed a historical-time travel romance series called Knights in Time. I currently write a historical suspense called The Bloodstone Series.
I am also working on a world war two series of novella romances.
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GIVEAWAY:
Chris Karlsen will be awarding a $20 Amazon or Barnes & Noble gift card to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter. Good luck!
(All the Ups and Downs is not responsible for this giveaway, its entries, or the prize. Goddess Fish Promotions assumes all responsibility.)
Thanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteLove the cover of this book! Best of luck with the tour and thank you very much.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Michelle. I have a great designer to gives me a lot of input on the concept. This cover won a "Best Cover" contest in April at Global Book Marketing Network.
DeleteChris
LOve war stories involving women~
ReplyDeleteI love good war stories too. I was drawn to this heroine when I was researching the air battles over England during WW2. The Ack Ack Girls were a brand new unit the War Office created to work as anti-aircraft teams and free up more pilots.
DeleteChris
How long was the writing process?
ReplyDeleteHi Deborah,
DeleteI am a terribly slow writer. The research was both fun and there was a lot for this story as well. It took me about 9 months to write the story and another 2 to go through copy editing and a final rewrite.
Chris
Sounds like an interesting story.
ReplyDeleteHi Kim,
DeleteThank you. I really enjoyed writing the book and this is a new series for me.
Chris
Sounds like a great book.
ReplyDeleteHi Peg,
DeleteThank you.
Chris
I want to thank All the Ups & Downs for this opportunity to feature my new book.
ReplyDeleteChris Karlsen
I love historical reads especially this time period. This sounds like a terrific story
ReplyDeleteThank you, Katie,
DeleteI love this time period too. I enjoyed listening to big band music while I wrote and I'm a fan of WW2 war movies. One of my fave all time movies is Casablanca.
Chris
I love the cover and think the book sounds good.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Sherry. The cover won an award in April for best cover. I have a great designer who allows me a ton of input on concept for my covers.
DeleteChris
Sounds great, I like the cover and excerpt.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Susan. I had the concept for the cover in mind and have a great designer who helps my ideas come to life. Chris
DeleteIt's nice to see your book blast.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Calvin. This is a period I had a good time writing a story for.
DeleteChris
Congrats on the book! It sounds amazing!
ReplyDeleteHi David,
DeleteI am a fan of good war movies and some of the best are from or about WW2 in my opinion. It was a show on History Channel about the Battle of Britain that inspired my story.
Chris
sounds so amazing!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Zelda
DeleteChris
This sounds like an interesting book and I also like the cover.
ReplyDeleteabfantom at yahoo dot com
Thank you, Ann. As I got close to the end of the book I had a concept for the cover in mind. My great designer helped bring my ideas to life.
DeleteChris
Nice book cover and the book sounds interesting.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Deb.
DeleteChris
This book looks just great, thank you.
ReplyDeleteWhat is the last book you read?
ReplyDeleteThe excerpt is interesting. Thank you for sharing it.
ReplyDeletesounds like a fun one
ReplyDeleteAt what age did you start writing?
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a very interesting book. I like to read about the WWII era.
ReplyDeleteNancy
allibrary (at) aol (dot) com
This sounds really good!
ReplyDeleteWhat author do you most like to read?
ReplyDeleteInteresting cover
ReplyDeleteSounds like an interesting read
ReplyDeleteMy daughter would enjoy this book
ReplyDelete