It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare, it is because we do not dare that they are difficult. - Seneca

Thursday, February 3, 2011

AND Introducing ... GARGOYLES by Alan Nayes ...*Contest*

In the tradition of Robin Cook and Richard Preston, Alan Nayes has written an absorbing, terrifying novel about what happens when human beings have the ability to save their own lives – but only by changing the face of humanity. — Brilliant pre-med student Amoreena Daniels needs money. Desperately. Her mother is dying of cancer and her medical insurance has run out...

When a seemingly perfect women's clinic offers Amoreena a generous payment for service as a surrogate mother, Amoreena thinks her prayers have been answered. But then -- much too early -- her baby begins to move.

The strange dreams, another surrogate's mysterious death, and a drug-addicted former medical intern confirm Amoreena's worst suspicions: there is something terribly wrong with her pregnancy.

Amoreena embarks on a dangerous journey to uncover the truth behind the endless battery of genetic tests, sonograms, and frightened patients, only to discover that she has unwittingly become a pawn in a high-stakes game of biomedical experimentation.


~PROLOGUE FROM GARGOYLES ....

Somewhere near Itzimte Ruins, Guatemala, rainy season


She turned her first trick four months shy of her thirteenth birthday. Patricio had been a small man, only a boy really, being just two years older than she. His father had been a teniente in the security police that patrolled Mexico City, and he’d paid sixty pesos for Gabriella’s services.

Gabriella wasn’t her real name then, but it was the name she’d used while plying her trade, and it was how she was currently registered at Las Canas.

Now, three years later, the teenage girl with the truculent almond eyes sat huddled under a gnarled tree limb, seeking refuge from the tropical shower. Her skin glistened moistly from sweat and precipitation, and she could smell her own fear above the pungent odor of the earth.

Gabriella stroked one hand across her gravid abdomen, then quickly climbed from the security and cover of the lush vegetation to resume her flight along the muddy carretera that would eventually lead her to San Andres. Nightfall was fast approaching. She pressed onward, prodding herself another half kilometer, though her feet and thighs cried out for rest. Surrounded by miles of unfettered jungle that comprised the Guatemalan lowland rain forests, she longed for a shortcut. There was none. And carved out of this most intimidating habitat in all Central America was Las Canas.

Wump. Wump. Wump. Wump. Los helicopteros. The choppers.

“Mi bebe!” My baby. Gabriella dashed back under the gloomy cover of the rain-forest canopy. She would rather risk an encounter with el tigre or even Desmodus rotundus, the loathsome bloodsucking vampire bat.

Wump. Wump. Wump. Anything but not the choppers. She could never return to Las Canas.

Never.

Gabriella clutched desperately at her stomach. It heaved with each laborious breath. She couldn’t maintain this frenetic pace; it was impossible. She forced herself to think through the tears, through the pain. She might still stand a chance if she could thwart their initial assault.

Wump. Wump. Wump. Wump.

“Que merida,”Gabriella cried out.

Her hands protected her eyes as she stumbled farther through the thick underbrush. Thorns ripped at her skin, and vines threatened to ensnare her ankles as if they possessed wills of their own.

She tripped, stumbling forward. Terror gripped her like a giant anaconda. Her breaths catapulted from her convulsing chest in short gasps.

Oh Dios, por favor, she prayed. Please God. If she could just make it to the Itzimte Ruins before dark.

High above her head, the canopy of epiphytes, vines, and towering ferns gyrated into a living tempest. The powerful downdraft from the Sikorsky’s blades created a whirlpool of flying debris.

Gabriella threw herself on the forest floor, cowering under the onslaught of tangled vegetation.

Wump. Wump. Wump. Wump.

“No!” she cried. “No!”

With nothing to cling to but remnants of past dreams, Gabriella began to pray. She prayed for herself. She prayed for Las Canas. But mostly she prayed for the bebes.

The men from the plantacion de azucar were coming.

~REVIEWS

"Gargoyles is a heart-stopping page turner that kept me on the edge of my seat. Alan Nayes combines his expertise and slick writing to brilliantly bring to life the all-too-real possibilities of genetic engineering in the wrong hands. Gargoyles is a frighteningly good read!"-April Christofferson, author of Buffalo Medicine"

A splendid debut. A timely tale, steadily accelerating suspense . . . and a warning."--Charles Wilson, USA Today best-selling author of Deep Sleep and Extinct on Gargoyles

"The idea behind this story is first rate. Dr. Nayes shows the dark side of genetic engineering run amok, in a nightmarish biotech scenario. . . . Gargoyles is an audacious beginning for a bold new writer of medical thrillers."--David M. Shobin, New York Times bestselling author of The Provider

"Slickly suspenseful . . . The mix of breezy science and lab-smock sadism makes for breathless page-turning."--Kirkus Reviews on Gargoyles"

[A] gripping, thought-provoking tale of mounting distrust, betrayal, brutality, and greed."--Booklist on Gargoyles


*CONTEST*
Alan will give away a print copy of his novel GARGOYLES to one lucky commenter!! One winner will be picked at random once the SPOTLIGHT is over. Please leave your E-mail address so that we can contact you, should you win!

Contact Alan on the web- http://www.facebook.com/pages/Alan-Nayes/12586042413992839928

9 comments:

Brandy B aka Brandlwyne said...

Oh I am sooo intreged!!! I love anything with pregnancy or babies and the thought of her being pregnant with "lord knows what" sounds eirily amazing... I love those movies where the young unsuspecting girls gets pregnant by a medical mutant or even a monster. I am putting this at the top of my book list!!!

-Brandy
brandyzbooks@yahoo.com
www.brandyzbooks.blogspot.com

Teresa K. said...

Wow,

The excerpt had me sitting on the edge. I hope she surely makes it to the ruins. I felt my heart thumping while reading this.
This is a so must read book to find out what happens next.
Thank you for the excerpt and congratulations on this book.

Teresa
tcwgrlup41 at yahoo dot com

Ike Rose... said...

It was certainly an excerpt that draws one in.

I want more!

Ike Rose

oldtimer25@gmail.com
http://www.ikerose.com

Diane Pollock said...

Very unique concept! Thanks for the excerpt!

Diane Pollock said...

Very unique concept! Thanks for the excerpt!

Diane Pollock said...

Ah, forgot to leave my email and I would love to win...

blacksnake@mchsi.com

elaine said...

Looks like a wondeful read, definately added to my list of books to keep my eyes out for, thanks for the excerpt.
Elaine
emb4s@hotmail.com

Chicks of Characterization said...

I want to THANK Alan Nayes for being with us all week!

Barbary Point and Gargoyles sound like fascinating reads!

I wish you all the best in your future endevours!!!

Andrea~

Hechicera7 said...

I love the cover!!!!

hechicera_terra@hotmail.com

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