Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Thursday's Special Is...Don't Ever Tell!

DON'T EVER TELL by Brandon Massey


"The talented Mr. Massey has the rare knack of grabbing the reader early and not letting go. In this relentlessly gripping novel the hold only gets tighter as the pages turn. Massey knows how to ratchet up the suspense. Tell everyone that DON'T EVER TELL is a crackling good thriller."—John Lutz, New York Times Bestselling Author

"Put the kids to bed, let the cat out, throw another log on the fire, you will not stop turning the pages of Brandon Massey's DON'T EVER TELL until you've gobbled every last morsel. A diabolical rocket sled of a book, this story is deceptively simple, carefully crafted out of lean, mean prose; but the pay-off is shattering--a tour de force of psychological suspense. Old grudges, dark secrets, and a ticking time bomb of a villain add up to an irresistible read. Highly recommended."—Jay Bonansinga, National Bestselling Author
Read the following excerpt, and answer the questions that follow for a chance to win a free copy of "Don't Ever Tell." Or, stop by and chat with Brandon!!!

Excerpt:

Tim Price was watching television behind the counter when Joshua entered the electronics shop. His mop of brown hair even more disheveled than usual—and that was saying a lot—Tim smoked a cigarette and sipped coffee from a Styrofoam cup. He scowled at Joshua’s entrance.

“Hey, man,” Joshua said.

“You back already?” Tim asked.

That day, Tim wore a long black tee shirt that read, in giant red and green text, “It’s a Black Thing—You Wouldn’t Understand.”

“Interesting shirt,” Joshua said.

“It’s a vintage shirt, dude. From like the 80s. Classic.”

Joshua heard a Public Enemy song playing on the stereo at low volume. His memory of the track’s title was fuzzy, but he thought it was “Fight the Power.”

“Is this Black Pride Day in Price Electronics?” Joshua asked.

“I appreciate all cultures, my brother,” Tim said and nodded sagely. He blew out a ring of smoke and grinned.

“Whatever. I need your help again.”

“With?”

Joshua placed the satchel on the counter and opened it. He withdrew the laptop and the cell phone.

“First, I need access to this computer. When I turn it on, I get stuck at the log on screen when it asks me for a password.”

Tim took a puff on his smoke, frowned.

“You don’t know your own password? Even when I’m at my most stoned, I remember my freakin’ passwords, dude.”

“This isn’t my computer. It’s my wife’s.”

“Then, duh? Why not ask her the password?”

He was not about to tell Tim what had happened. Although Tim was a friend, they had never shared details of their private lives with each other. Theirs was mostly a friendship that revolved around their work and hobbies.

“She’s not around for me to ask,” Joshua said.

“Your lady creeping around on you?”

“What?”

“Okay, it’s none of my business. But if you want some advice . . .”

“You ever been married, Tim?”

Tim blinked. “You crazy? Hell, no, that’s like, legalized bondage.”

“Exactly. So no, I don’t want any advice.”

“Suit yourself.” Tim shrugged, slid the laptop toward him and raised the lid. “What’re you looking for on here?”

“I need to look through some files. I’m not exactly sure which ones yet.”

“This is highly unethical, you know,” Tim said. “Invading your wife’s privacy and all. You one of those ultra-jealous, stalker husbands? Like that guy in that Julia Roberts movie, Sleeping with the Enemy or whatever?”

“It’s for a good reason, Tim, I promise.”

Squinting at Joshua, Tim tapped ashes into a tray that looked like a hollowed-out mouse pad.
“All right, look,” he said, “I can probably get in, but it’s not gonna help you much if she trashed all the files. She might’ve covered her tracks or whatever. I can recover deleted files, but that can get a little hairy.”

“Let’s deal with that later. I just want to get on the system and see what I find.”

Tim pointed at the cell phone with his cigarette. “What about that?”

“It has a password, too.”

“Damn, your wife is like, super private with her stuff. Who puts a password on a freakin’ cell phone?”

“She did.”

“What the heck is she hiding, man? Like, government secrets or something?”

***************************************************************************

Questions:

1) How many hours of television does Brandon watch each day?
2) Make up your own t-shirt slogan: stick within the categories of books, writers, vegetarians, Brandon, or small, furry animals
3) Ahhh…. Marital advice. The gift that keeps on giving. Share a piece of advice that has helped you or a loved one enjoy bliss (PG-rated please!)

37 comments:

Chris Eldin said...

Good Evening, Everyone!

I'm excited to have Brandon here with us for a roast! Let's give him a hearty welcome!
:-)

Phoenix Sullivan said...

How many hearts does it take before you can call something "hearty"? {>

Hi Brandon! Ooh, another thriller. Let the good times roll...

cindy said...

loved the excerpt! great dialogue and premise--i am intrigued! crap, i've forgotten the questions...hold on...

1) How many hours of television does Brandon watch each day?

i'll say zero. brandon is a very serious writer. either that or five. brandon uses television shows
for "reference" and "research" purposes. =)

2) Make up your own t-shirt slogan: stick within the categories of books, writers, vegetarians, Brandon, or small, furry animals

it's an asian thing?

chinese curl power!

applicable to ME, a writer. =)

3) Ahhh…. Marital advice. The gift that keeps on giving. Share a piece of advice that has helped you or a loved one enjoy bliss (PG-rated please!)

wt! what's pg rated? is that back shot only, no frontal? *scratches head*

would you rather be right or
would you rather be married?
you can't be both. haha!
(this to the groom of course!)

i heard something similar on mad men
recently. LOVE the show. you should watch it brandon.

and anyone else who is reading!!

Charles Gramlich said...

1) How many hours of television does Brandon watch each day?

Answer: Brandon doesn't watch TV. TV watches him.

2) Make up your own t-shirt slogan: stick within the categories of books, writers, vegetarians, Brandon, or small, furry animals

Answer: Just because a man's paranoid doesn't mean his wife isn't a super-assassin with plans to murder him.

3) Ahhh…. Marital advice. The gift that keeps on giving. Share a piece of advice that has helped you or a loved one enjoy bliss (PG-rated please!)

Answer: Say three nice things to your mate every day.

Chris Eldin said...

You guys are too funny!
Looking forward to more marital advice. Not for me. For my husband. ahahahahah!
:-)

laughingwolf said...

welcome, brandon... i won your book earlier, and enjoyed it fully

1. brandon's a writer, and writers have little time for tv... :O lol

2. bad grammar makes no cents...

3. marital advice: don't let the meatloaf...

Anonymous said...

Good morning, everyone! I'm excited to be here for my first roast.

Cindy, Charles, and Laughing Wolf: I think serious writers can watch serious shows. Which is why I'm such a huge fan of Hannah Montana and MTV's TRL. If you aren't watching those shows and want to call yourself a serious writer . . . do yourself a favor and tune in. :-)

My marital advice: learn when to shut up.

Tyhitia Green said...

Hey everyone! Hi Brandon! :-) I already have my copy of this great thriller. :-) But I'm just participating for fun. :-)

1.) Brandon watches TV, I just don't know how much. :-)

2.) T-shirt? "Thrill Me!" It's my favorite line from the movie NIGHT OF THE CREEPS. :-)

3.) Marital advice? Hmm, I don't have any until I get married in March. ;-)

Chris Eldin said...

Alrighty then, Demon Hunter. The page is blank.

How about it, folks? We have a real, live newlywed here. Let's all chip in....
hehehehe!
;-)

Anonymous said...

Congrats on the upcoming wedding, Demon Hunter! I trust you will not join the infamous ranks of the Bridezillas. :-)

Cindy: Ditto on Mad Men. I think it's the best drama on TV.

peggy said...

Congrats on getting married (snicker snicker)
Okay..
umm
1) How many hours of television does Brandon watch each day?
He's prewired, doesn't even have to turn it on anymore...buzzzzz.

2) Make up your own t-shirt slogan: stick within the categories of books, writers, vegetarians, Brandon, or small, furry animals
Hey, it was this Tshirt or a slab of liver..what would you do!

3) Ahhh…. Marital advice. The gift that keeps on giving. Share a piece of advice that has helped you or a loved one enjoy bliss (PG-rated please
Teach your husband one thing only.
"Yes Dear" solves all marital problems :)
Hey the book looks really cool by the way, need more!

Jackie B. said...

I would love to win this book so here are my answers:

1. Brandon watched 2.5 hours of TV a day. It gets his creative juices flowing.

2. My t-shirt would read : WWBD? (What would Brandon do?)

3. My marital advice is learn to say "I was wrong" and "I'm sorry."

Sarah Laurenson said...

Ooohhh! This looks good. Rushing off to a job interview and hope to be back later to answer the questions and maybe get a nosh or two.

Briane said...

Hours of TV per day:

I'll go with 2 hours of "actual watching" and about 5 hours of "TV in the background occasionally distracting from writing."

Slogan: How about "Right?" It's what my oldest is saying a lot, so it's both hip & annoying!

Marital advice: Do not, when you find out that your wife is more annoyed than you by your oldest's new saying, adopt it yourself and say it a couple times. Also, when she tells you that your habit of saying "Sure" instead of "yes" to a question is annoying, stop that, too. And make sure you listen when she tells you the other things you do that are annoying. But do NOT then point out those little things that SHE does that are annoying. Because they're not. Yours are. Hers are not.

Brian Jay Jones said...

(1) How many does he actually watch? Zero. But the tv is on alllll the time, betcha.

(2) LEGALIZE BONDAGE

(3) When you don't get the joke, laugh anyway.

peggy said...

hahaha..see, almost a Yes Dear :)

Anonymous said...

"Legalize Bondage" huh? That's pretty funny. :-)

Thanks to everyone who's jumped in so far!

Now back to more TV watching . . . LOL

Chris Eldin said...

AHAHAH!

Brian, you've managed to find a loophole. I guess I forgot to say 'keep the t-shirt slogans PG-rated'
:-)

These are all very funny!!!!

laughingwolf said...

brandon, i won your book through demon hunter... super fine tale :)

Anonymous said...

Laughingwolf: Thanks for the great feedback on DON'T EVER TELL!

Another nugget of marital advice: have separate bathrooms. Really. :-)

laughingwolf said...

welcome...

oh yes, great advice... need even more bathrooms once the kids are teens, at which point parents become afterthoughts! :O lol

looking forward to the book due in december, where you are a contributor [yup, have your site linked ;) ]

Chris Eldin said...

Hi everybody, I just received a couple of emails that Blogger was down, but hopefully it's back up again!!
Thanks for your patience!
:-)

Anonymous said...

Separate bathrooms are different than separate potties, if husband is in a hurry..theres always a bush!
solves all our problems right away!

Word said...

Hi Brandon!

Wow - sounds like another great read out here on Book Roast!

Loved the excerpt and wow - talk about high praise! Congrats!

I'd love to play along so here goes:

How many hours of television does Brandon watch each day?

1. Depends if it's Football Sunday or not. I'm going with 3 hours on a normal day and 25 hours on Sundays during football season.

2. "Authors conjugate better"


3) Just hand the remote over and watch tv in another room

Phoenix Sullivan said...

Hi Brandon! LW mentioned your anthology, The Ancestors, upcoming in Dec. Anything you can share about it? About your story? Other authors? Did you edit it? And don't forget any insider tidbits!! We love a little dirt to go with our roasts!! ;o)

Sarah Laurenson said...

Yeah. Blogger's back. *crossing fingers that it really is up and running*

1) How many hours of television does Brandon watch each day?

Does the DVR count? You get more shows with no commercials whenever you're ready to watch. Only way to do it these days and still have time to write. So let's see, um, six favorite shows that average to an hour of regular time each, minus 40% of commercial time and that leaves just over 3 1/2 hours a week. Average that out and you get about 30 minutes every day. Then add in a news show for the heck of it. 1 hour a day.

2) Make up your own t-shirt slogan: stick within the categories of books, writers, vegetarians, Brandon, or small, furry animals

Veggie Dawg

3) Ahhh…. Marital advice. The gift that keeps on giving. Share a piece of advice that has helped you or a loved one enjoy bliss (PG-rated please!)

Lots of good advice here. Most successful marriages have more than 10 positive messages to every 1 negative one. My wife and I leave each other notes in the bathroom mirror after it fogs from the shower. You can read the note when the mirror fogs again. Clean spouse and nice love note. What's better than that?

My 2 cents for the day. Happy Roasting, Brandon!

Sarah Laurenson said...

BTW, that's how I proposed to her - writing the question in the mirror. I had to shower to read her answer.

cindy said...

aww, that's a bummer blogger has been down. i'm here to say MOO! and brandon, if you like MM, then you can write well AND have good taste.

of course, i watch reality tele like i'm the original disheveled desperate housewife...but.

i also recommend to you KIMORA life in the fab lane. !!! love her!!

Ms.Callie said...

I was havin withdrawals there for a while. sure glad it's back up. What a great book this looks like too!

Anonymous said...

Phoenix--my December book, THE ANCESTORS, is a collection of three novellas, and includes pieces by myself, L.A. Banks (author of the Vampire Huntress series and dozens of other books), and Tananarive Due (MY SOUL TO KEEP, BLOOD COLONY, many other fine novels). Each story was written around the theme of . . . you guessed it, ancestral history. And how it can "haunt" the present. :-)

Unlike my work on the DARK DREAMS series, I didn't edit this particular book. Just wrote my story. Mine is called "The Patriarch," and concerns a young man who travels to rural Mississippi to research his family history . . . and discovers it goes back a LOT farther than he ever imagined.

Chris Eldin said...

Sarah, I'm jealous.
;-)
I really believe in what you said. I try to practice it in my relationship with my children as well. Always try to look for the positve. I know I joke about them a lot, but I"m quite proud of them (like all parents, eh!), but giving praise that's meaningful has a great impact on any kind of relationship.

Wow. I'm on a soapbox today....
:-)

Chris Eldin said...

I want to thank everyone for stopping by and playing along, and also I want to thank the behind-the-scenes folks who came by to read Brandon's most awesome excerpt!!
:-)

Brandon, it was great of you to spend some time with us today!!! Thank you! And whenever you're ready, you can announce the winner of the contest....

:-)

Anonymous said...

And the lucky winner of a signed copy of DON'T EVER TELL is . . . Cindy!

Thanks to everyone for dropping in today, and thanks to the Book Roast gang for pulling all this together and hosting me. I had a great time!

Anonymous said...

congrats Cindy! Thanks Brandon for the fun day and good luck with your writing too :)

laughingwolf said...

grats cindy... and thank you brandon :)

cindy said...

i won i won! thank you so much, brandon! =D weeeeeee! i will email you...if you email is somewhere i find. =)

laughingwolf said...

cindy, click on his name....