Excerpt of The Fortuna Coin by Karen Ann Hopkins

I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the THE FORTUNA COIN by Karen Ann Hopkins Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!

About the Book:

Title: THE FORTUNA COIN

Author: Karen Ann Hopkins

Pub. Date: October 12, 2021

Publisher: Karen Ann Hopkins

Formats: Paperback, audiobook, eBook

Pages: 305

Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle, TBD

Read for FREE With A Kindle Unlimited Membership!

"A must read. Not the typical book you would expect from Karen Ann Hopkins if you've read any of her Amish series' but she absolutely nailed this one!! This book jumps right in on page one and makes you not want to put it down even for a second all the way to the end and I loved that! Would absolutely read it again and definitely recommend it to anyone who loves a good romance thriller with some Sci-fi elements in there too." Cassandra, Book Sirens Reviewer

Wendy Catalano, a newly remarried mother of four, finds herself, her husband and her children, murder victims of her ex-husband. A family heirloom takes her back in time to the beginning of her relationship with her eventual killer where she's given the magical opportunity to change the future and stop her family's tragic ending. But she isn't aware that she's reliving a tortured life. With only glimpses of the future, Wendy struggles to survive present day, unaware that a bloody and unforgiving destiny awaits her.

The Fortuna Coin is a haunting psychological thriller about second chances...but will the truth really set Wendy free? 

Excerpt from The Fortuna Coin by Karen Ann Hopkins

Tears blurred my vision, but I was still aware of the bright sunshine glaring onto my face. The rest of my body was heavy and felt numb. When we thudded down the steps, I didn’t feel it. When he opened the door to his pickup truck and shoved me inside with pounding fists to my back and kicks to my legs, I didn’t feel it.
            The engine roared to life and it swung around with squealing tires. Josh hit the brakes and surged forward with a jolt that slammed me into the dashboard.
            I shrieked, “What are you doing?”
            His steady voice quieted, sounding far away. “Don’t worry, Wendy. It will all be over soon. Then we’ll be together—the girls, you… and me. Finally together, forever.”
            Josh Taylor had always been a little crazy. He was also an evil man. I wish I’d known the truth earlier. Josh had a charming personality when needed, and he’d kept his true self hidden from everyone except me for most of his life. I’d thought I’d rescued my daughters and myself from Josh a long time ago, but I’d only delayed the inevitable. Poor, poor Ben, and even this Lisa woman who I’d never met, had been caught up in what I’d always known was coming.
            But there was no satisfaction of being right all along. I just wanted Josh to kill me, to get it over with it as quickly as possible. He could save me from the horror of living in a world without my girls and Ben. He could end my pain right now.
            The truck sped up. I managed to work my limbs enough to scoot myself up in the seat and bring my hands to my face. Digging into my eyes, I wiped the wetness away to see we were heading for the cliff.
            The guard-rail rose and Josh hit the gas pedal harder.
The sound of twisting metal was gone with the wind. The rail didn’t even slow us down.
            Sun glared off the windshield and before I closed my eyes, I caught a glimpse of the river and the boulders below.
            The hammering of my heart reduced to steady drumming as the truck tilted forward, becoming airborne.
            When impact finally came, there was a deafening snapping sound, followed by an explosion of ripping metal as the truck struck the ground, rolled, and then skidded over rocky ground.
            I slammed into the ceiling first, then hit the floorboard. When the great noise stopped, there was a rush of water. I blinked, tasting blood in my mouth. I was still alive. Hanging upside down, but still alive.
            Some kind of primal survival instinct brought me to life. I flailed my arms, terrified of the rising water.
I don’t want to drown. Why didn’t the crash kill me?
I couldn’t move. The passenger door was wedged into my back and side. Sharp pain invaded my senses. I attempted to wiggle my legs, but they wouldn’t respond. Blood dripped from my nose and mouth. My mind grew thick and heavy.
            Josh’s broken body had gone through the windshield. I watched as he bobbed once, then went under. I didn’t want my last coherent thoughts to be filled with hate toward the man who had killed my entire family.
No, he isn’t worth it. He never has been.
            The river water rose quickly. In a matter of seconds, it lapped the base of my neck. It was so very cold.
In an hour, maybe two, someone would notice the guard rail down and curiosity would drive them to look over the edge. This part of the river wasn’t quite deep enough to fully submerge the truck. Someone would see part of it sticking out of the water and call the authorities. They’d find my drowned body, and then they’d discover the girls and Ben. Or maybe it would be the other way around?
It didn’t matter anymore.
            Poor Mom. This will destroy her.
            As my eyes fluttered closed, I felt Harper’s slender arms encircling me in a brief hug.
Then Ben’s lips caressed mine.
Taking a deep breath, the cold water washed away the fear in my heart. I’m ready to join them.
            Suddenly, a stabbing dig to my wrist popped my eyes back open and I struggled to free my arm.
            When my hand cut through the water, the eroded face on the Fortuna coin stared back at me.
            A rush of water went over my head. I held my breath as I fought against the bent metal that pinned me inside the truck.
            The flash of light caught my attention and I stopped moving. The coin glowed a soft golden hue beneath the grainy water.
            My last glimpse of the face showed that it had been restored to its original state. The bearded man had chiseled features and wore a crown.
            How very odd…
            Then the darkness swept in and carried me away.

 About Karen:

Karen Ann Hopkins resides in northern Kentucky with her family on a farm that boasts a menagerie of horses, goats, peacocks, chickens, ducks, rabbits, dogs, and cats. Karen’s main job is home schooling the kids, but she finds time to give riding lessons, coach a youth equestrian drill team, and of course, write.  She was inspired to create her first book, Temptation, by the Amish community she lived in. The experiential knowledge she gained through her interactions with her neighbors drove the story of the star-crossed lovers, Rose and Noah. Their story continues in Belonging, where their families and cultures threaten to tear them apart, and with Forever and Deception, where we find out once and for all if love is enough for them.

Lamb to the Slaughter, the first book in Serenity’s Plain Secrets, is Karen’s newest Amish endeavor, opening up the darker, grittier and more secretive lives of Amish society. It’s a story about the intertwining lives of three unlikely people in an Indiana Amish Community and the devastating results when a rebellious teenage girl is found shot to death in a corn field during the harvest. Serenity Adams is the newly elected young sheriff in the rural town of Blood Rock, and besides dealing with the threatening behavior of her predecessor, she now has a dead Amish girl on her plate.  At first glance, the case seems obvious. The poor girl was probably accidently shot during hunting season, but when the elders of the Amish community, and even the girl’s parents, react with uncaring subdued behavior, Serenity becomes suspicious. As she delves deeper into the secretive community that she grew up beside, she discovers a gruesome crime from the past that may very well be related to the Amish girl’s shooting. Serenity enlists the help of the handsome bad-boy building contractor, Daniel Bachman. He left the Amish when he was nineteen and has his own dark reasons to help the spunky sheriff solve the crime that the family and friends who shunned him are trying desperately to cover up.  Serenity’s persistence leads her to a stunning discovery that not only threatens to destroy her blossoming romance with Daniel, but may even take her life in the end.

Karen’s YA paranormal/urban fantasy series, the Wings of War, is an epic story about Ember, whose normal life ends abruptly when her parents are killed and she discovers she’s a descendent of angels. Still coping with her strange powers, Ember finds herself — and her heart — in the middle of a centuries-old war in this “compulsively readable” novel (Kirkus Reviews).

Karen grew up about a mile from Lake Ontario in Upstate New York.  She was bitten by the horse bug at the age of five, and after diligently taking riding lessons for several years, was rewarded with her first horse at the age of eleven.  The feisty horse’s name was Lady, a Quarter Horse-Thoroughbred cross, who became Karen’s steadfast companion.  Through the years, the constant force in her life was horses.  Eventually, she found her place as a riding instructor herself.  Before accepting her fate in the barnyard, she worked a short stint as a paralegal, traveled abroad, and guided tourists on horseback riding tours in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee.

Karen is currently working on her bestselling Amish mystery series, Serenity's Plain Secrets, along with the YA paranormal/fantasy series, the Wings of War. Karen is also excited to announce there will be more books in the Temptation series.

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Giveaway Details:

1 winner will win a $75 Amazon GC, International.

5 winners will win a finished copy of THE FORTUNA COIN, US Only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

10/11/2021	Writer of Wrongs	Excerpt
10/12/2021	BookHounds	Excerpt
10/13/2021	@curlygrannylovestoread	Review
10/14/2021	Wonder Struck	Review
10/15/2021	Rajiv's Reviews	Review

Week Two:

10/18/2021	@more.books.yes.please	Review
10/19/2021	The Phantom Paragrapher	Review
10/20/2021	cindysloveofbooks	Review
10/21/2021	YA Books Central	Review
10/22/2021	@bookisheclectic	Review