Up 'Til Dawn Book Blog: Book Blitz: The Island Deception by Dan Koboldt

Title: The Island Deception
Author: Dan Koboldt
Genre/Age: Epic Fantasy/Adult
Series: Gateways to Alissia Series (Book Two)
Publisher: Harper Voyager Impulse
Links: Goodreads
Synopsis: What happens in Las Vegas stays in Las Vegas. But what happens after you step through a portal to another world, well…

For stage magician Quinn Bradley, he thought his time in Alissia was over. He’d done his job for the mysterious company CASE Global Enterprises, and now his name is finally on the marquee of one of the biggest Vegas casinos. And yet, for all the accolades, he definitely feels something is missing. He can create the most amazing illusions on Earth, but he’s also tasted true power. Real magic.

He misses it.

Luckily—or not—CASE Global is not done with him, and they want him to go back. The first time, he was tasked with finding a missing researcher. Now, though, he has another task:

Help take Richard Holt down.

It’s impossible to be in Vegas and not be a gambler. And while Quinn might not like his odds—a wyvern nearly ate him the last time he was in Alissia—if he plays his cards right, he might be able to aid his friends.

He also might learn to use real magic himself.

"Here he is, everyone. Quinn Thomas!"

Quinn strode out into the spotlights as the emcee said his stage name. Command presence was everything in this business, so he had to own it. Big grin and wave for the audience. Enthusiastic handshake for the emcee. Deep, calming breath while he took measure of the crowd…

Sweet Jesus, that's a lot of people.

The inside of the theatre loomed as large as a sports arena. Stained glass windows lined the walls; brightly colored murals plastered the lofty ceilings. Even the marks were high quality. No one in the first few rows appeared visibly inebriated, which was a pleasant change. The money showed in a hundred other ways: the tailored suits and cocktail dresses. The champagne glasses. The glitter of gold and silver jewelry. This was the cream of the Vegas crop, and all here to see him.

This is my shot. He'd worked his ass off to get here. Fought tooth and nail against impossible odds—literally fought, in the past few months, at least. If he screwed up now, all of that was for nothing. And hell, part of him wondered if it was all for nothing.

The lights hit him.

No…this is totally worth it.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he said. The sound system carried his voice to the highest balconies, but didn't echo. Didn't even vibrate. "I've been away for six months, getting ready for the trick you're about to see tonight." That was a half-truth.

Dan Koboldt is a genetics researcher and fantasy/science fiction author from the Midwest. He works for the Institute for Genomic Medicine at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, where he and his colleagues use next-generation DNA sequencing technologies to uncover the genetic basis of pediatric diseases. He has co-authored more than 70 publications in Nature, Science, The New England Journal of Medicine, and other scientific journals.

Dan is also an avid hunter and outdoorsman. Every fall, he disappears into the woods to pursue whitetail deer and turkey with bow and arrow. He lives with his wife and three children in Ohio, where the deer take their revenge by eating all of the plants in his backyard.

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