Summon Up The Blood (Paperback)

A little boy murdered in the most tragic of circumstances, and avenging angels intent on revenge. Obsessed, unscrupulous art collectors and the international antiquities thieves who service their desires. The Olympic Games and an elite group of corrupt Chinese agents double-crossing each other. An organised crime family on the path to redemption. What could they all possibly have in common? Livia Galvin - grieving mother, Olympic shooting champion, art gallery owner, and now, an unwitting participant in a conspiracy with a billionaire oligarch. Attacked by would-be assassins on her way to Beijing airport, Livia finally arrives home to find her family in chaos after the unexplained death of her godmother. It's only the beginning of a quest in which Livia will need all of her considerable strength of purpose and character to accept her unexpected new role when the most startling and life-changing surprise of all is revealed. With new revelations and threats at every turn, Livia Galvin and her most faithful supporters must truly 'imitate the actions of the tiger, and summon up the blood' in this novel of intrigue and passion that stretches from Bogota to Boston, and from Beijing to London, with its ultimate source in sub-tropical River City on the 27th parallel: the sunniest place in the world for some of the shadiest people you'll ever meet.

Jay Verney is an Australian author who has published novels, essays, short stories, poetry, memoir, magazine and newspaper columns, book and film reviews, and comics. Jay's first novel, "A Mortality Tale," was shortlisted for the Australian/Vogel and Miles Franklin Literary Awards. Jay has a PhD (in genre and crime fiction), and a Master's degree (memoir) in Creative Writing from Queensland University. In 2009, she received a Dean's Award for Outstanding Research Higher Degree Thesis for her PhD, of which "Summon Up The Blood," Jay's fourth novel (available in paperback and as an ebook) is the direct result. Unsurprisingly, her cats, both ectoplasmic and here, remain unimpressed. Jay's second novel, "Percussion," is now available in both ebook and paperback, as is her third novel, "Spawned Secrets." Visit virtual Jay at her websites for free entertainment. Here they are: Transient Total Focus is her personal blog at www.jayverney.net where, one blink at a time, you'll find minty fresh stuff and nonsense and even some useful things. Veranda Life at www.verandalife.com is a poetry blog featuring 999 Verandakus in the form of 17-syllable haikus with pictures. At Veranda Life, you can breathe, relax, and drink black tea often. Lovely. Zen Kettle is also a poetry blog at www.zenkettle.wordpress.com which features Zenkus: teeny, tiny haikus about life, the universe, and everything. No images, but it makes tea and is also lovely. Last Cat On Mars lives at www.lastcatonmars.wordpress.com - and let's face it, would you want to be the first? Dr On Mars welcomes you to a comical world of fun and laughs. It's laughly, and especially lovely, yes. If you'd like to ask Jay any questions about her writing or blogs, or obtain her views on loveliness and other important subjects, or offer her oodles of money for no particular reason other than that you're a wonderfully generous zillionaire who appreciates Martian cats, for instance, and wants to make movies out of all her novels, please contact her at this email address: jay(at)jayverney.net Thank you for reading, grasshopper.