Monday, May 10, 2010

The Tavernier Stones

Stephen Parrish is a talented writer/blogger/man-about-town (well, two out of three, I’m sure of). He’s also a fellow Midnight Ink author and cyberpal of mine, who has just released his debut novel, THE TAVERNIER STONES.

Tavernier StonesWhen the well-preserved body of 17th century mapmaker Johannes Cellarius floats to the surface of a bog in northern Germany, and a 57 carat ruby rolls out of his fist, treasure hunters from around the globe race to find the Lost Tavernier Stones of popular European folklore.

According to legend, Jean-Baptiste Tavernier was robbed of a priceless hoard while returning from his final voyage to the Orient in 1689. The hoard reputedly includes some of the world's most notorious missing jewels. Among them the 280 carat Great Mogul Diamond and the 242 carat Great Table Diamond, the largest diamonds ever unearthed whose whereabouts are unknown.

John Graf is an Amish-born cartographer who has never ventured out of Pennsylvania, let alone embarked on an international treasure hunt. David Freeman is a gemologist who has done his share of prospecting, but little of it within the boundaries of the law. Between them they have all the expertise necessary to solve the mystery. They also have enough differences to derail even the best of partnerships. And ahead are more obstacles: fortune seekers equally qualified and every bit as determined.

The race spans two continents. The finish line is in Idar-Oberstein, the gemstone capital of Germany. There, in chambers beneath an old church, where unspeakable events took place in centuries past, winners and losers alike find answers to age-old questions about the Lost Tavernier Stones.

Stephen Parrish Stephen is a very creative guy. So, not surprisingly, he’s come up with a very creative book promotion. He’s holding an “armchair treasure hunt.” The really cool part? The treasure is an honest-to-goodness one-carat diamond. That’s right, a rock. Bling, bling. (Diamonds seem to be quite popular in mystery fiction this season!).

For details on how to participate, and how YOU can find this amazing treasure, go here. Make sure to buckle the seatbelt on your armchair, because I’m sure you’re in for a wild ride!

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This is me, admiring a copy of THE TAVERNIER STONES (which later became MY copy of THE TAVERNIER STONES).


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5 comments:

Elizabeth Spann Craig said...

Sounds like a great book! Thanks for the tip, Alan. And congratulations to Stephen!

Mason Canyon said...

What a great promotional event for an interesting book. Thanks for sharing.

Mason
Thoughts in Progress

Anonymous said...

Alan - Thanks for sharing this book with us! What a wonderful idea for a promo, too! And a nice tie-in theme with your own Diamonds for the Dead. OK, now about that bling ; )...

Alan Orloff said...

I think I'm getting diamonds on the brain. But in a good way!

Jane Kennedy Sutton said...

This sounds like another interesting book - I simply must learn to read faster and add more hours to the day for nothing but reading! Also sounds like an interesting promo idea, so now I’m off to check that out.