The Proteus Cure-Official May 1st Release Date

  IT’S HERE! MAY 1ST IS THE FORMAL RELEASE DATE SO BUY YOUR COPY TODAY! CLICK ANYWHERE IN THIS HEADING TO BE ONE OF THE FIRST TO GRAB THE KINDLE OR PRINT VERSION.

The Proteus Cure is a chilling medical thriller I co-wrote with NY Times bestselling author F. Paul Wilson. The formal release date is May 1st, but if you subscribe to this blog or just happen to come across this post, congratulations! You can buy this before everyone else! Here’s a bit about the book, which we’ve kept super secret until now.

“Paul Wilson and Tracy Carbone have penned a winner. The suspense is razor sharp and the characters masterfully drawn. Paul Wilson is at the top of the game, and Tracy Carbone is a welcome addition to the genre. You’ll love The Proteus Cure.” – Michael Palmer, NY Times best selling author of Political Suicide

In medical ethics, the line between right and wrong is often blurred. Who is to decide what is for the good of humanity?

Changing the world. One person at a time…

That is the mission statement of Tethys Hospital, run by Dr. Bill Gilchrist and his deformed sister, Abra. VG723, their revolutionary stem-cell-based therapy, appears to be capable of doing just that for the cancer patients who come to Tethys. VG723 is often their last hope. But if they match the protocol, they’re virtually guaranteed a cure.

Dr. Sheila Takamura, a young, dedicated oncologist, is proud to be involved in the clinical trials. Once the FDA approves it for widespread use, VG723 will revolutionize cancer therapy. That is why she’s alarmed when former patients return with bizarre syndromes. Yes, they’re cancer free, but they’re experiencing dramatic changes in their hair and skin and general appearance. When she investigates a possible link to the protocol, those patients start dying. As the body count grows, Sheila finds her own life in danger. She comes to suspect there might be a literal meaning behind the Tethys motto – but can she learn the truth in time to save herself and millions of others?

“Wilson is one of the masters of the medical thriller.” – Larry King

Please visit Tracy’s website for details about her other works and upcoming signings.

Restitution, a few reviews

 

My thriller novel, Restitution,  has been out since November and I’m happy to report that the feedback is great! It’s my first published thriller and is setting the pace for my upcoming novels. Though I generally write horror short stories, my novels tend toward supernatural suspense or at the very least-dark psychological. I thought it would be fun to list out my reviews all in one places so you can see what you’ve been missing. Just $2.99 on Kindle, $11.99 in print, and free with Kindle Prime.

HERE’S A LINK TO THE BOOK. HAPPY READING!!!!

Book Description: Destiny intervenes for Tucker Millis, a delusional writer who needs a purpose in life and a plot for his new novel. When he discovers his new phone number once belonged to a man on the verge of turning himself in for a twenty-five year old murder, it’s a dream come true. Tucker uses the messages and calls intended for the murderer to manipulate lives and to craft his story. But he’s propelled back to reality when he can no longer escape the full horror and dire consequences of the world he’s created.

Below are the reviews I’ve received for the novel. To date, I’ve received ten 5 star reviews on Amazon and some great other reviews that haven’t been posted there yet.

• “A clever thriller whose characters will keep your heart racing till the end. A dark and tremendously fun read.”- Heather Graham-author of The Unholy
• “Restitution is a tension-filled ride…a fast-paced twister of a mystery that will fill readers with dark glee and leave them breathless.”- Kristi Petersen Schoonover, author of Bad Apple and Skeletons in the Swimmin’ Hole: Tales from Haunted Disney World
• “Restitution is Tracy Carbone’s devilish answer to the question: How do writers get their ideas? Twists and turns and pitch perfect characterization abound in this page-turner of a novel. A superb dark mystery! Restitution will keep you guessing all the way until the final reveal.” – David North-Martino
• “I really enjoyed Restitution. Tracy Carbone did a wonderful job in creating a suspenseful, eerie story, with interesting characters. I not only recommend it, but will be purchasing more of her work.”- Julie Milo-Macge

• “I’ve read some of Tracy L Carbone’s short fiction and was immediately impressed with the subject and the characters in them. The stories grabbed you from page one and continued strong until the end, which is the problem with many writers that start with a promising beginning only to fall flat halfway through, where you eventually lose interest. This is not the case with Carbone, who cuts to the bone with solid characters and dialogue that moves the story quickly. With Restitution, Carbone uses the same technique and gifted story telling that leaves the reader guessing until the shocking end. Restitution will leave you satisfied, yet hungry for more from Carbone.” Highly recommended.-Tammy Jo LaCroix
• “And I loved that. As an avid reader, too often, I can predict where the storyline is headed next. Tracy Carbone kept surprising me and I had to finish this book ASAP. Not knowing and waiting to find out was too much suspense for me. I can’t wait to read her next book; the preview at the end of this book sounds like another winner!”-Amazon review

• “A great book that kept me on the edge of my seat for the entire time. I could not put it down once I began reading it. I am looking forward to many more great books from this wonderful author!!!” Eddie Lindsey
• “This mystery novel was a great quick read, which is perfect when your lifestyle doesn’t allow a lot of time to unwind. I loved that the story kept moving and the characters were realistic. Well done, Ms. Carbone!”-Diana Lansleen, Actress
• -“I found this book grabbed me right from the beginning. Creepy and frightening in a way that everyone can relate to and is extremely well written. The imagery Ms. Carbone uses is quite effective in guiding the reader through madness and terror. An excellent read and I am now a big fan of Ms. Carbone’s story telling abilities. Will be checking out her other novels.” Karen Dent, Author
• “Lots of twists and turns in this neat thriller. The people are vividly drawn and credible, and you’ll find yourself liking the delusional Mr Millis all while you watch in horror at the…well, read it yourself to find out!!!” Pulp Fan-Amazon review
• “Tucker Millis gets dumped by his girlfriend and she tells him to get a life. So he does. When he gets a new cell phone and starts getting someone else’s messages, he eagerly dives into a mystery that involves several people’s lives. A mystery that he is sure only he can unravel (and turn into that book he always wanted to write). Oh yeah, and Tucker is kind of a psychopath. RESTITUTION is one of those riveting page-turners that will have you eagerly moving forward to see what the lead character is going to do next. As it approaches the end, it goes to some dark places, but you’ll be amazed how entertaining it is getting there. Tracy L. Carbone has created a truly memorable character.”
• – – L. L. Soares, author of Life Rage and Rock ‘n’ Roll

In case you missed it up above:

HERE’S A LINK TO THE BOOK. HAPPY READING!!!!

Restitution-Where Did the Ideas Come From?

Restitution is now available on Kindle after months of working and editing to get it together. CLICK HERE to get your copy in advance of the formal release at AnthoCon.

It’s an intense thriller about a sociopathic author who has the good fortune to be assigned a cell phone number which used to belong to a murderer. Tucker is thrilled and uses this idea for a topic for his novel.  He proceeds to contact all the people who are leaving messages for that murderer to help his plot line along. But the people aren’t just characters, they’re humans with complicated circumstances he never could have  imagined.

So that is the setting for my novel but where on earth did I get the idea? My non-writer friends are horrified, wondering where such darkness comes from. My writer things see this as a day in the life, nothing out of the ordinary. It is just fiction after all.

The genesis for this plot is loosely based on real events. Very loosely. A couple of years ago we all got new Blackberries at work. When I set up my voicemail I received several messages clearly meant for the previous owner of the number. One that struck me most was from his daughter. She said something about, thanks for the birthday money, how have you been, sorry I haven’t seen you in a while…He also got texts from some folks asking to meet him at the bar, or at local music events.

At the time I was two days from starting the annual NANOWRIMO competition, where you are challenged to write 50,000 words in a month. I needed an idea badly. I was pounding my head against the wall, trying to come up with something. Anything. My phone rang. “Is Derek there?” His name isn’t really Derek of course. I said no, this wasn’t his phone  number (which I am still doing two years later though the calls have died down). And just like that, I had my plot.

What if a sociopathic writer looking for a story idea contacted all the people who kept calling? What if he pieced together information from all the calls and acted as a puppeteer to align their lives with his characters? And what if he was delusional and hadn’t taken his meds in a long time? I couldn’t get the words down fast enough.

But who was the main character? What would he be like? Well, I stole him. About 10 years ago I wrote a horrible thriller novel that I am grateful never sold or saw the light of day. I made all the mistakes new writers do. Not just in punctuation and word flow and overly adverbing it but, well, trust me, it was stupid. But I loved the character of Tucker Millis. I liked his look, his personality, his quirks. Since he wasn’t working (he was only a fictional character after all waiting for his story to be told) I yanked him out and offered him this story instead. This happened much the way you’d call an actor whose pilot never aired and ask him if he was up for a similar role in a much better story.

He accepted (of course he did. I made him up). The combination of Tucker (who way back when I spent a lot of time creating) and this storyline makes for a fun, grisly and tight little suspense novel.

I hope you give it a shot. I’ll be signing hard copies at AnthoCon in mid November and will set up book signings in the New England area throughout the winter. Please check my APPEARANCES page for details.

Restitution-It’s Almost Here

Proofs have been reviewed for Restitution. The pdf looks great. The wraparound cover looks great. It’s come out so much better than I thought it would. This is Shadowridge Press’ first book and the editor had to learn a lot of new skills to get this off the ground in time for AnthoCon in November 2012. It’s been a lot of late nights for both of us (in our respective states). He used his old Photo Shop skills and also had to learn InDesign. I argued that uploading to Word would be just as good and not to stress out. But now that I see the final product, it really looks professional. Well worth his stress.

I’m not sure we’d get the same quality from a Microsoft Word upload. I had to do some extra editing at the end to insert the Prologue and first chapter of Hope House, a mainstream thriller coming out in the summer. I haven’t read this one in a while so there were tabs and adverbs and other items I know not to use anymore. I also reached out to get some new quotes and blurbs, sent the new version of Restitution out, and propositioned someone about doing an audiobook.

But now it’s nearly done. I cannot wait to promote this when it’s actually for sale, which will be REALLY SOON. Once we approve the printed ARC we’re good to go.

In the meantime, I finally made a QR code to link to my website. Next week I’ll get one for the book. It’s been a busy productive week which also included finishing my Financial Analysis class and completing week 5 of 6 of my Project Literary class (to teach English via tutoring students one on one). Next week I will get the information about my student. It’s a relief to have my Accounting class done,Literacy Class almost complete and for this book to be turned in.

I’m going to take a much-needed break until November 1st when I will be starting the NANOWRIMO program: 30 days and nights of writing to crank out 50,000 words in 30 days.

Stay tuned for news about the book.

CLICK HERE FOR MY AMAZON PAGE

-Thanks,

Tracy