The Hunter and The Bringer
New Young Adult (17+)
A collaboration of Paper Crane Books and “What If…” Publishing.”
Release Date: April 20th, 2018
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You can purchase this book at…:
Amazon (paperback and ebook, Kindle AUDIOBOOK format)
Barnes and Noble website (paperback)
Barnes and Noble website (nook ebook format)
Books-A-Million (BAM) (paperback)
I-Tune Books/Apple Books (ebook format)
iBooks app (ebook format)
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Official Blub:
A hunter will protect the masses from a dark world of monsters, but who will be the bringer of light?
Monsters thrive in our world in the shadows of mortal eyes, living to feed. To keep them away from the knowledge of the world, two groups have been formed: The Hunters, who kill all monsters to save mankind, and The Bringers, who see monsters as living creatures and capture them for study.
Val Hemmingway is the top-notch agent for The Hunters. Jeremy Darington is the cocky golden man of The Bringers. With two clashing personalities and differentiating views, the two always end up in an argument. But when a new monster threat appears that can lure humans away without being seen, they must put everything aside and work together. Along the way, the discover secrets and embark on a personal journey that can flip the worlds of their organizations.
Could a Hunter and a Bringer ever get along?
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Praise for “The Hunter and The Bringer:”
WHY HAVEN’T YOU READ THIS YET?! IT’S AMAZING!!!- If you haven’t had the chance to check out Morgan Comnick’s new book, then get a move on like the karate kid! I could not put this book down. If I wasn’t laughing at the banter between the main characters Valda Hemingway and Jeremy Darington, I was wanting to join the fight against the monstrums. It is an amazing thrill ride of adventure and laughs. I love the anime/tv/movie references and everything about this book. I truly cannot wait until book 2 comes out. Until then I’m going to reread this bad boy.- Submitted to A.S. on Amazon
*****
“You remember those good books I mentioned? Well aside from my own there’s also my friend Morgan Straughan Comnick and her totally awesome books, not to mention her website, which, yes, you can find out about her books on her site. Wanna check out Morgan’s website and books here’s the link for you!!!
Morgan is one of my close friends and she actually was an inspiration for my move to publish my first book! Shhh don’t tell her I said that. Haha! ^_^”- My friend Julie wrote this on her website.
*****
4 stars from Fantasy Books: “The whole story is from Val’s perspective –
You know all those silent thoughts you have that if were published in a speech bubble you would most likely be locked up?
Well there is no holding back here and to top it all off our little heroine is a bit excitable 🤣
Jeremy is our heroines direct counter part – where she suffers from squirrel syndrome (easily distracted) he comes across as very calm and in control at all times. His one downfall is he is a bit of a sexist pig but somehow that works in his favor – IDK how to explain it 🤷 It fits his character…”Reviewed in the United States
*****
Find more reviews for this and Morgan’s other books on the Review page here:
Back Cover:
Cool Links:
Check out the reveal blog post here WITH a sneak-peek at bonus content
Author Reading the First Few Pages of “The Hunter and The Bringer:”
Author Reading part of chapter 6 of “The Hunter and The Bringer:”
Exclusive Interview with audiobook narrators, Lexi Evans and Logan Anare
First Few Pages Preview:
Chapter #1:
I love the feel of metal after it’s sliced through the blood of the wicked on chilly nights.
Ribbons of rotting flesh danced down to the surface of the cliff, polluting the land with loud booms, the foul odor of decaying meat bringing down the thrill of my kill. Feathers spun dizzily before descending to the ground, the plumes confused on why they were free to wander the welcoming skies instead of being attached to a squawking master. I stepped over the chunks of inedible flesh and skin, avoiding the brushes of feathers with scary ease. I refused to let any of these disgusting reminders of this horrid being get near my body.
This monstrum.
I glared back at my kill, stabbing my distaste and loathing with my harden gaze, this disgusting creature made out of the flesh of recently departed humans. I was grateful that this beast had its eyes closed when he crashed from the heavens by my might to its death. I could not bear to see the lifeless eyes that belonged to passed innocents who should be slumbering eternally in peace in their graves. I walked forward, away from the battle scene, this adventure closed on a happier note for mankind.
“Excellent job on this extermination as usual, Ms. Hemmingway.”
Kesler hopped up towards me once I was off the cliff’s edge and closer to the natural rock road. His light-brown hair and big eyes beamed with adoration, but his hands that held his memo pad and pen to record the incident shook like Arctic water was injected into his blood vessels. The poor kid was a brilliant data analyzer and recorder, but he frightened so easily that it concerned me to have him out in the field.
I patted his shoulder with tenderness, a swelling of motherly affection warming in my stomach. For a boy three years younger than I, he liked to do things old school, something I admired. My hand went to adjust his brown corduroy vest on autopilot, smoothing out the wrinkles and fixing a loose button. “Thank you Kesler. It meant a lot to have such an observant recorder with me on this out of the blue attack.”
As I finished my motions of pampering my colleague, a shadow popped up at an angle in front of me. My mouth smirked in secret for I knew the deep, raspy voice that would emerge from it, “It looks like your sword got a fair amount of blood on it, Ms. Hemmingway. Your form must have been off by a few degrees.”
I lifted my head up to face our weapon specialist and combat trainer, Galen, his slick jet black hair in a ponytail and his golden eyes blinking once in the night, a falcon honing in on its prey. His look made the long scar from eye to chin come to life, its story haunting, yet, wanting to remain a mystery to the outside world. I kept my expression passive for his sake, his remark showing his brutally picky and perfect nature.
“Well, then you won’t mind giving it a proper cleaning, eh sensei?” I held it out at arm’s length with a thrust that made his hands twitch. At the last second, I grabbed my katana with ease and coxed my head mischievously to the side. The fact I made this tough guy flinch more beautiful than the glowing pink cherry blossoms that flowered on the handle. “Just make sure you get my sakuras some extra love. I don’t want those lovely petals dull, now.”
He grabbed the sword with a forced grunt, inspecting every centimeter of its ancient glory before gallivanting away to his portable workshop that was in the back of the van. Color drained from Kesler’s face as he jerked his head back and forth between the widening space Galen had made between us. I ruffled his hair, the movement reminding me of leaves in fall swaying in the gentle breeze.
“Master Galen scares me. It amazes me how you can tease him at all!” His voice croaked in the middle, a frog nervous to jump off the safety of his lilypad.
“Psst! Yeah, I fight monstrums with the vile attempt to destroy mankind for a living. I think I can handle a grumpy weapons expert!” My hands landed on my hips, my breath blowing away a piece of loose hair that had got free from my silver moon hair clip in the fight. As if my motion beckoned them to appear, the chief’s van rolled up. The black paint gleamed in the moonlight, a spotlight showing that the boss had arrived in her usual late and does-not-give-a-damn style.
A gust of wind graced my face, cooling it with a tingling ‘thank you’ that I had purified the night air, the creature terrorizing this area now erased from this world. The tip of my blade, or any weapon we use in general, is dipped in a poison that is crafted in our laboratory. It not only slowly leaks into any monstrum system every time I cut their flesh, feathers, fins, whatever they are deciding to wear, but after they are dead, the toxin in their bodies ignites and burns their remains from the inside. This allots us a few moments to record data and collect samples for the laboratory (that is also part of Kesler’s job).
All that was left now was dustings of plucked feathers and some stains of blood that would soon melt into the rocks, discoloring them to what normal humans would assume to be from weathering. My eye caught sight of a large grey-white feather edged into a crack in the cliff. Attached to it was a chunk of meat the half the size of my palm. I needed to get rid of it. Something like that could raise suspicion. It was almost one in the morning and in a few hours, the early morning joggers would appear. Yeah, those running folks always seem to be the ones to find signs of the supernatural in horror movies. No reason to risk it.
Kesler always gives me a four ounce bottle of poison in case we have pieces of the monstrum that spread outside the main perimeter. I dropped three drops of the deep plum-hued liquid onto the feather and seal the lid with caution as I watched the feather twist and bind into itself, as if in its own silent agony, the final frame of the live-action suspense film rolling its credits. Satisfied with my job, I stood up and brushed the dirt and gravel flakes from my hands, the last ember engulfing its fuel with a dazzling blaze.
“There! It looks like another job well done. Just have to put my stuff up in the lab at headquarters and then make sure Kesler has all the accounts right in his notes for the file. You rock Val!” I cackled lightly at my punny remark, my hands on my hips once more as thoughts of a relaxing bubble bath and an episode of my latest anime filled my mind with joy and heart with glee…
“As lazy as ever I see, my little robin.”
And the sweet visions I had just had erupted into raging hurricane waves and gory samurai death scenes when his vile voice entered my ears. I spun around, my teeth biting my bottom lip so I could have some physical pain to hold me back from smacking this asshole into next Tuesday, classic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle style (and I could use Michelego’s techniques if I had my nunchucks with me).
There, in front of me, in all his annoying glory, was a man that I wish I had the legal right to knock down like the monstrum I slay: Jeremey Darington.
I refused to acknowledge his comment, afraid my voice would crack with anger and break the windows of the organization vehicles around us. I stared every inch of him down, from his stupid polished dress shoes, his crisp, modern black suit pants and light blue dress shirt, rolled up to his elbows like all those supermodels. His Ray-ban sunglasses were attached to his collar like neckwear, winking in the headlights of the two white vans that I had just noticed pulled up next to my company’s (I know, go me). His seaglass-toned eyes crinkled in amusement although his lips showered me with heated smugness in the form of a sweet, but devilish smile. The wind combed through his brown and gold spikes that should not work for a man his age, but the color was meshed so well that it was like they were just joined in holy matrimony.
He seemed delighted in my visual assessment of him, giving me a nod. Then, he added playfulness to his smirk as he tried to, discreetly, but wanting to get caught, run his eyes down my body. My purple flared long sleeved peasant top and beige knee-length skirt with light brown leggings most likely had rips and were covered in monstrum grime that I bet looked oh so mouth-watering I am sure. I willed myself not to blush at this jerk wad, my lips numbing from how hard I was chomping down on them. They would need some extreme T.L.C. from Dr. Yellow Cake Batter chapstick stat, once this loser was gone from my sight.
“Why…why do you always call me that?” Sure Val, that is the best question to ask a total creep that you aren’t supposed to ever interact with when he has brought a platoon with him. A+.
He flicked a tip of a thick spike of his hair with a flare that made me feel lower than dirt, “Because you will never be Batman, my dear.”
Must. Resist. The. Urge. To. Pounce.
The sound of my boss’s five-inch heels on the rocky pathway snapped me out of my primal bloodlust like a master leashing her dog. I sighed, the adrenaline rushing out of my body. My mind became clearer, seeing this saving grace as an opportunity to actually prove that I am productive, a pillar that helps my company stand, “What are you doing here, Darington?”
He took his Ray-barns off of his shirt collar and began to absentmindedly hinging and unhinging the temples of them like putty in his hand. “Same as you. Here about the monstrum attack.”
I grumbled, my hands clutching into fists. “You know that this isn’t your company’s area of skill and, as you can see like the overly pointy nose on your face, the monstrum isn’t here. Once again, I do the dirty work and you guys want to take all the credit. Ain’t gonna happen, slime bucket! Now, why don’t you get the hell…”
“That’s enough, Valda.”
I stumbled at hearing my legal first name, my shoulders embarrassingly hunched over on command from the instructions of my boss. Chief Beryl Edric, the powerful woman in charge of our whole secret government unit, emerged next to us like a phantom in the night, in her usual fresh and standard black blazer, perfectly ironed white shirt, and black pencil skirt. Her slanted eyes branded into mine under her jet colored glasses. Her high, slicked back ponytail was so flawless, not a hair out of place as it swung to the motion of her calm breathing. She was beautiful and as scary as all get out, but she ran an organization that murdered vicious monstrums for a living and her mother, like her mother before her, was the councilwoman for her Native American tribe. Her family oozes with successful women.
She fit her job description very well.
Darington swiveled to meet me in front of the chief, a goofy, fake charming grin crawling up his face. He bowed to her, our queen of intimidation, “It is glorious to see you, Lady Edric.” The sparkle in his eyes when he lifted his torso looked like it came right out of a manga. Gag me!