About
RJ Blain suffers from a Moleskine journal obsession, a pen fixation, and a terrible tendency to pun without warning.
When she isn’t playing pretend, she likes to think she’s a cartographer and a sumi-e painter. In reality, she herds cats and a husband, and obeys the commands of Tsu Dhi, the great warrior fish.
In her spare time, she daydreams about being a spy. Should that fail, her contingency plan involves tying her best of enemies to spinning wheels and quoting James Bond villains until she’s satisfied.
Description
<p><strong>KURDISH SCAVENGERS UNCOVER A CACHE OF NERVE GAS IN IRAQ AND OFFER THEM TO KURDISH FIGHTERS IN TURKEY. THE SPECIAL OPERATIONS BEDLAM ALPHA TEAM MUST SECURE THE WEAPONS BEFORE THEY CAN BE USED.</strong></p><p>"<strong>You must swear by Allah never to say a word of what I'm going to tell you. </strong><strong>This is the most important secret. Ever!"</strong></p><p><em>In their daily struggle for survival, Iraqi Kurdish scavengers uncover a cache of chemical weapons. They offer the weapons to fellow Kurdish rebels in Turkey and Syria to assist in their quest to free an imprisoned leader and create a unified homeland. After receiving a tip from an unlikely source, the newly formed Special Operations Bedlam team is called to arms! </em></p><p><em>Travel with Craig Cameron and his international team on their covert operation as they weave their way through war-torn regions seeking to locate and recover the weapons before they can be used to cause irreparable harm and instigate a world crisis. </em></p><p><em>The odds are stacked against them. Can they manage to keep their operation hidden and prevent further clashes before it's too late?</em></p><p>"The Kurdish Connection--a compelling read. A story of friendship, danger and intrigue."--<em>Ann Everett, Amazon Best Selling Author.</em></p><p>..". Randall's authentic voice adds a powerful push to keep a reader turning the pages." --<em>Janet Taylor-Perry, author of The</em><em> Raiford</em><em> Chronicles, The Legend of</em><em> Draconis</em><em> Saga, and April Chastain Intrigues.</em></p><p>"Topical - Engaging - Intriguing - Powerful ... A real page turner."--<em>Rikon Gaites</em><em>, author of Mummy's Little Soldier and Darius</em><em> Odenkirk</em><em>.</em></p><p>..". Randall Krzak brings his wealth of experience living in this troubled part of the world and his military knowledge to bear in this exciting story..."--<em>John L.</em><em> DeBoer</em><em>, author of When the Reaper Comes.</em></p><p>..". a journey full of history, suspense, intrigue, and action...a MUST READ for all!"--<em>Les Stahl, Retired</em> NSA Executive.</p><p>..". Readers need to fasten their seatbelts for a fast-paced tale made believable by a writer who knows what he's writing about."--<em>Preston</em><em> Holtry</em><em>, author of the Morgan</em><em> Westphal</em><em> mystery series and the</em><em> Arrius</em><em> trilogy (forthcoming).</em></p><p>"A behind the scenes story, ripped from today's headlines deepening the reader's understanding of an ancient strife ... filled with the sights and smells of the market place and secret meetings, the reader is admitted to the secret heart, the desperate longings of those that must fight and win, or see continued subjugation by their masters..."<em>--Oliver F. Chase, author of Camelot Games, </em>Levant Mirage, Blind Marsh, and Marsh Island.</p>
Reviews
<p>Bronze Winner of 2017 Readers' Favorite Book Awards (Urban Fantasy.)</p>
<ul style="margin:1.12em 0px 1.12em 20px;padding-right:0px;padding-left:0px;font-family:verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><li style="margin:0px 0px 0px 20px;">Playing with Fire reads a bit as though R. J. Blain took whatever mythical and magical ideas she had on hand, added in the kitchen sink, and tossed the whole lot at her word processor program.<br /><br />
I don't mean that in a bad way. Because what she ended up with is a fun, silly, ribald romp of a story that serves as an excellent palette cleanser in between courses of more serious reading.<br /><br />
And again, I don't mean that in a bad way either.<br /><br />
Sometimes the best thing to read is a book that takes nothing seriously, least of all itself.<br /><br />
There's a lot going on, some of it absurd, some of it sexy, some of it high drama (tempered with more absurdities and steaminess), none of it really graphic. There are action scenes. There are gorgons and angels, incubi and succubi, old Egyptian gods and glass coffins that serve as containment cells for viral contaminations. There's pixie dust that creates a high, and a purple unicorn that breathes fire. There's...<br /><br />
Well, you get the idea.<br /><br />
Of course this only works if the author has the skills to pull it all off. Happily, Blain is up to the task, making sense out of all the disparate elements and providing a highly entertaining journey that brings the puzzle of madcap contradictions together by the time we get to the end. If you're prudish and don't like to laugh, avoid Playing with Fire. Otherwise, you'll have a ball. <i>- Charles de Lint, Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Sept/Oct 2017.</i><br />
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<li style="margin:0px 0px 0px 20px;">Playing with Fire is an eccentric, charming, and humorous oddity, a rare gem, and definitely unique. RJ Blain brings a refreshing whimsy to well-known mythology. <i>- </i><i>Liz Konkel for Readers' Favorite</i></li>
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<ul style="margin:1.12em 0px 1.12em 20px;padding-right:0px;padding-left:0px;font-family:verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><li style="margin:0px 0px 0px 20px;">With an abundance of humor, barely suppressed sexual tension, plenty of paranormal rules, regulations and fireworks, and a cast of characters including the lowest of evil creatures to faeries, centaurs and even the Divine, Playing with Fire pulls out all the stops for a great read that keeps you turning pages to see just how Bailey can manage the next disaster and if her dreams regarding Chief Quinn will come true. <i>- </i><i>Melinda Hills for Readers' Favorite</i></li>
</ul><ul style="margin:1.12em 0px 1.12em 20px;padding-right:0px;padding-left:0px;font-family:verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><li style="margin:0px 0px 0px 20px;">The story is a heady combination of magic, excitement, fun, adventure, and romance, and the author weaves these elements effortless through the plot, making the book a compelling read. - <i>Mamta Madhavan for Readers' Favorite</i></li>
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