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AWARDS & MEDIA APPEARANCES TO DATE:

REVIEWS AND ENDORSEMENTS - THE LOST POWER


"Avanti Centrae’s VanOps: The Lost Power opens a tantalizing new series that combines historical mystery and cutting-edge science into a masterwork of international intrigue—with the promise of more to follow. Written with a dynamic, cinematic style and full of action and suspense, here’s a book that defines page-turner. Don’t miss this riveting debut!”
--James Rollins, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Crucible

“Just a good ole’ fashioned rip-roaring adventure from start to finish.  Enjoy the ride.”
--Steve Berry, New York Times bestselling author

"VanOps: The Lost Power takes readers on a fast-paced roller coaster of a ride across the globe in a top-notch thriller with high-stakes and plenty of edge-of-seat action."  
--Robin Burcell, NYT bestselling author of The Last Good Place and (co-written with Clive Cussler) The Oracle.

“A high-stakes, daring adventure charged with suspense and mystery!”
--Ann Charles, USA TODAY Bestselling Author of the Deadwood Mystery Series

"This is one of the best action/thrillers I have ever read and I can’t wait for the next novel in the series."
--Midwest Book Review

"A page-turner that takes its protagonists from a medieval Spanish castle to a secret underground city in Israel -- and beyond." -- Chico Enterprise Record 

"This one's a nailbiter for sure!" -- Seattle Book Review 

"The mystery of finding the weapon, the responsibility on the young woman's shoulders, and the constant threat of being chased was a perfect combination that had me sitting on the edge of my seat and holding my breath."
Five/Five stars --Readers' Favorite

"Every family has it's secrets, only some are deadlier than others."
Five/Five stars -- Chanticleer Reviews


REVIEWS AND ENDORSEMENTS - SOLSTICE SHADOWS


"Rousing." ~ Kirkus Reviews

"Fans of complex and highly detailed espionage and action thrillers are certain to dive right into this mixture between Indiana Jones and Dan Brown." ~ Readers' Favorite - Five stars 

"A tantalizing new series that combines historical mystery and cutting-edge science into a masterwork of international intrigue." ~ #1 New York Times bestselling author James Rollins

"Avanti Centrae packs a thriller parachute with endless suspense and a rip-cord ending. SOLSTICE SHADOWS is meticulously researched, the history, science, and locales offering a rare 'you-are-there' authenticity. Brew a large pot of java, as you will read through the night. Brilliant." -- K.J. Howe, international bestselling author of SKYJACK

"Fast-paced action adventure with an ancient mystery at its heart -- fans of Dan Brown and Steve Berry will love the VanOps thrillers." ~ J.F. Penn, USA Today bestselling author of the ARKANE thrillers

"Avanti Centrae is a name to watch. Powerful, evocative, gripping storytelling with characters you immediately relate to, love, or loathe." ~ Ernest Dempsey, the USA Today bestselling author of the Sean Wyatt adventure series

"Fascinating research, non-stop action, exotic settings, and a sixth sense for human nature in the battle between good and evil. It's a must-read!" ~ Saralyn Richard, award-winning author of Murder in the One Percent and A Palette for Love and Murder

"With non-stop action and exciting global adventure to exotic cities, I couldn't put this modern-day Raiders of The Lost Ark down." ~ Tracey Phillips, author of Best Kept Secrets


REVIEWS AND ENDORSEMENTS - THE DOOMSDAY MEDALLION

"With a jaw-dropping, rewarding twist at the end, every mystery, crime, and thriller fan should read Doomsday Medallion." --San Francisco Book Review

“Masterful. A perfect blend of roller-coaster thrill ride and historical revelation.”
--David S. Brody, bestselling author of Cabal of the Westford Knight

"An action-packed, high-stakes journey through ancient European landmarks in search of a secret so powerful it can explain the past and predict the future." --Al Pessin, multi-award-winning author of the Task Force Epsilon thrillers

“An epic and bewitching mashup of historical suspense and political thriller. Perfect for fans of Steve Berry and James Rollins.” —BestThrillers.com
 
“Centrae is a master of the page-turner. It wouldn’t surprise me if Nostradamus himself predicted The Doomsday Medallion would be a bestseller.” —Rob Samborn, author of The Prisoner of Paradise
 
"One of the best thrillers of the year." —Rick Treon, author of Divided States, a 2021 Best Thriller Book Awards finalist
 
“Sizzles with suspense!” —Elena Taylor, award-winning, bestselling author of All We Buried

REVIEWS AND ENDORSEMENTS - CLEOPATRA'S VENDETTA

“Action, adventure, and suspense! A juicy thriller.” —Robert Dugoni, New York Times & International Bestselling Author of the Tracy Crosswhite Series

"A fascinating look at the 2000-year culture clash between male and female power systems." —Katherine Neville, New York Times, USA Today, and #1 Internationally Bestselling author

“Race-against-time, action-packed adventure. This is a thriller that will captivate its audience from the first page.” --Manhattan Book Review

"An adventure that will appeal to fans of Dan Brown. It's one of those rare birds: a thriller that will have you turning the pages and leave you thinking." —Debbi Mack, New York Times bestselling author of the Sam McRae and Erica Jensen mysteries

“If you like your modern global threats to have a dash of ancient mystery and mysticism, you’re going to find yourself with some sleepless nights while reading Cleopatra’s Vendetta.” —Kevin Tumlinson, bestselling and award-winning author of The Coelho Medallion

"Dangerous and intoxicating." —Audrey Wilson, screenwriter, producer, and award-winning author of Wrong Girl Gone

“A high-stakes race that will keep the pages turning late into the night.” --Sheila Lowe, author of the Claudia Rose Forensic Handwriting mystery novels

RETAILER LINKS

AUTHOR INFO:

Author Tagline:  International bestselling and multi-award­-winning author who blends intrigue, history, science, and mystery into nonstop action thrillers


Short Bio: 
 Avanti Centrae is honored to have won eleven literary awards, including a Chanticleer Genre grand prize for both The Lost Power and Solstice Shadows. The Doomsday Medallion won Best Political Thriller at the annual BestThrillers.com contest.
Her books have hit the Top 100 bestseller lists in the United States, Canadian, and Australian Amazon Kindle stores as well as the Barnes & Noble Nook store.
She’s appeared on ten radio shows, including NPR, and has been featured in dozens of podcasts and interviews. Mystery & Suspense Magazine, Authority Magazine and Thrive Global have published her articles and she was mentioned in Newsweek.
She finds inspiration from her father, who served as a US marine corporal in Okinawa gathering military intelligence and her mom, who loves history. Avanti graduated from Purdue University and has spent time in a spectrum of professions, from raft guide to Silicon Valley IT executive. When not traveling the world or hiking in the Sierra mountains, she’s writing her next thriller in Northern California, helped by her family and distracted by her German shepherds.



Long Bio:
Avanti Centrae is the author of the multi-award-winning and  international bestselling VanOps thriller series. As a modern Renaissance Woman, she’s had a life-long fascination with a variety of subjects, including psychology, mysticism, world history, science, religions, and mythology.

Her passion for writing began at the age of four when she wrote her first book. After devouring all the tales in the neighborhood book mobile, she didn’t find any books with a strong female lead, and vowed to write one someday.
But first, she explored Europe, New Zealand, Canada, and Central America. For several summers she worked as a raft guide, saving passengers from the rapids of the American River. One midnight, she and fellow raft guides dared a moonlit run. The river ran high, a boat flipped, and they nearly ended up in a rapid aptly named Satan’s Cesspool! To fund her addiction for other adventures, and fast BMW’s, she spent years as a Silicon Valley IT Executive. Now her attention is on writing award-winning thrillers.

Avanti resides in Northern California. Besides reading and writing, she enjoys her family, her German shepherd and little black dog, hiking, biking, and doing anything outdoors in the local Sierra Nevada mountain range. Her favorite smell is the scent of adventure, either in real life, or in the pages of a well-worn tome.

MEDIA IMAGES:

For Creative Commons license info, visit:  https://www.redtailpra.com/clientphotos.html

MULTI-AWARD-WINNING and #1 BESTSELLING VANOPS SERIES:

Book #1 (November 9th, 2019) - The Lost Power. An aikido black belt. A Russian sniper. And the ultimate race to find Alexander the Great's mysterious Egyptian weapon.

Book #2 - Solstice Shadows  (August 11th, 2020) - A computer-app designer. An encrypted relic. Can she decipher the dangerous code before extremists trigger a high-tech apocalypse?

Book #3 -The Doomsday Medallion (March 8th, 2022) - A covert operative’s first mission might be her last. Can Maddy Marshall and the VanOps team keep foreign agents from stealing powerful secrets hidden by the prophet Nostradamus?

VANOPS SERIES - VITAL STATISTICS:

Book #1  - The Lost Power. Black Opal Books, November 2019. At 308 pages, it's an award-winning international thriller. It released as a #1 bestseller in two Barnes and Noble Nook categories.
Hardcover ISBN:  9781644371961
Paperback ISBN:  9781644371596
 eBook, Audio - also available

Book #2  - Solstice Shadows - Thunder Creek Press, August 11th, 2020. 350 pages and a #1 Amazon and Barnes and Noble bestseller. B&N Top 11, too!
Hardcover  ISBN: 978-1-7349662-5-1
Paperback ISBN: 978-1-7349662-2-0 
eBook, Audio - also available

Book #3 - The Doomsday Medallion - Thunder Creek Press, March 8th, 2022, 330 pages
Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-7349662-9-9
Paperback ISBN:  978-1-7349662-8-2
eBook, Audio - also available

TARGET MARKET: Thriller readers of all ages

Short Description - The Lost Power

Spain 1057: During a thunderous battle, the first King of Spain wrestles Alexander the Great’s priceless Egyptian weapon from invaders, but finds it holds a terrifying and mysterious power.
A thousand years later, on a hushed Napa morning, gunshots break the morning’s silence. Aikido black belt Maddy Marshall, and her twin brother Will, an engineer, quickly run toward the sound and find a bullet has struck home. With a dying breath, the twins are sent on a quest to recover Alexander’s ancient weapon.
Joined by a VanOps covert agent, the rifle’s sights are now set on them. No place is safe, a wrong move means death, and even a simple phone call is off limits if they are to survive.
From a medieval Spanish castle, they follow a timeworn trail, first to a secret warren under the streets of Jerusalem. But if the Russian sniper finds the weapon first, world peace will be forever shattered.
Can Maddy learn to wield the power of the dangerous weapon in time to stop the Russian scheme?
Readers who love The DaVinci Code, James Rollins’ Sigma Force Series, or Steve Berry’s Cotton Malone, will stay up late to turn the pages of this award-winning thriller.

Long Description - The Lost Power

On a hushed, fog-shrouded Napa morning, gunshots and the sound of breaking glass shatter the morning’s silence. Aikido black belt Maddy Marshall, the red-haired foster boy from her dojo, and her estranged twin brother Will, quickly run toward the sound, where they discover a sniper’s bullet has killed someone they love. An app designer by trade and unaccustomed to violence, Maddy pounds her fists on the floor and cries in dismay.
Before the pool of blood on the living room floor is dry, the twins determine that their only clear path is to follow a series of arcane clues, concealed by a royal ancestor. Marine Theodore "Bear" Thorenson, who has long had unrequited feelings for Maddy, joins the twins to keep them out of harm’s way.
They soon learn the trail leads to a mysterious weapon so powerful that Alexander the Great used it to conquer the known world. Powerful in the past . . . dangerous in the present, for if the killer solves the mystery before the twins do, the weapon will be used to cripple the United States' electronic early warning defense systems--the country’s eyes and ears will go completely dark--allowing the Russians to swoop in and prey on the vulnerable nation.
As they follow the signs, Maddy is disheartened when she finds out Bear is harboring a shadow alliance with a covert agency called VanOps. Worse, AJ is kidnapped and no ransom note is forthcoming.
Mere steps ahead of the deadly competition and trapped in escalating danger, the quest leads the twins on a tense, pulse-pounding adventure that races from a California winery to a medieval Spanish castle, from a lost warren under the streets of Jerusalem to a mountaintop monastery, and ultimately, into the heart of their family’s darkest secrets.
Readers who love Dan Brown, James Rollins, Clive Cussler, or Steve Berry will devour the pages of this award-winning novel.

CHARACTERS IN THE VANOPS SERIES:

Maddy Marshall: Computer app-designer Maddy Marshall is an intelligent, independent truth-seeker with special martial arts abilities.  Suddenly, she's thrust into a dangerous world where her non-violent martial arts skills aren't enough to save herself or her country. To survive a series of arcane tribulations, she must look deep into the past, and her emerald eyes become dark with anger when the lives of those she loves are on the line. Can she see the truth and access her power in time to save Bear, Will and AJ?

Will Argones: Tall, dark-haired Will Argones, Maddy's twin brother, is a skeptic who has made his living as a successful test engineer. Always on the lookout for danger, he can't keep his hands still - his fingers drum on his long legs or twirl his ever-ready-for-trouble flashlight. When his father and wife are murdered, he's forced out of his comfort zone and into a deadly, international game of cat and mouse. Seeking justice for the deaths of those he loved, will his worst fears come true?

Bear Thorenson: Broad-shouldered Theodore Thorenson, a bristly-haired marine, has always wanted to carry the world's troubles on his back by being a covert operative. He jumps at the chance to join VanOps, an ultra-black organization with the duty to stop extreme threats. Caught between his mission and his simmering desire for Maddy, will his shadow alliance force him to betray her trust?

AJ: Freckle-faced AJ, a foster boy at Maddy's dojo‎ with satellite dishes for ears, is kidnapped by the Russian sniper who tore apart the fabric of Maddy's and Will's lives. Feigning sleep, AJ overhears a plot to destroy America's early warning defense system. Can he stay alive long enough to transmit a warning to Maddy?

Ivan Klimov: Russian sniper Ivan, is one of his country’s most accurate. Graced and cursed with congenital analgesia, he’s insensitive to pain. As a blood ritual, he marks his kills on his arms and legs to remind himself to be cautious. Careful. His patience makes him extremely dangerous. Will he hit the bull’s eye?

CONTACT INFORMATION

EMAIL AVANTI

INTERVIEW TOPIC IDEAS

• What was your inspiration for a female lead? I visited the bookmobile a lot as a child and remember thinking there weren’t a lot of female lead characters in the stacks of stories that I’d bring home. My stories feature a team of protagonists in their early thirties, with agent Bear Thorenson, a VanOps covert agent, and Will, Maddy’s twin brother and a knife-wielding engineer, both getting plenty of “screen time”. But Maddy Marshall is the star of the VanOps series. My inspiration for her, an intelligent, independent truth-seeker with special martial arts abilities, was an amalgam of qualities from strong women that I’ve known personally and professionally. I thought it would be interesting to write about a non-violent aikido practitioner and app designer as she gets pulled into a vicious covert world where nothing is as it seems.
• You were a white-water river raft guide? Were any scenes in the book based on your experience doing that? Yes, in my twenties, when I needed a break from working as a desk jockey, I spent a few summers guiding tours on the American River between Sacramento and Lake Tahoe. Ask me about the midnight moonlight run we took one hot summer night and almost didn’t survive! There’s a scene in The Lost Power where one of our heroes ends up in a rushing river, headed downstream toward an immense waterfall.
• What were some of the different cultural experiences you witnessed while traveling and how did you incorporate them into the book? Much of my time traveling thus far has been to western European countries, but my favorite experiences were in eastern European countries or Central America, places that are culturally quite different than the States. Upon our arrival in Yugoslavia in the late eighties, we were met by black-robed women who begged us to rent their master bedrooms. Their inflation was so steep we had to exchange money daily and much of the food listed on restaurant menus wasn’t available. In the streets, they roasted goats on spits. I want my readers to have an immersive experience while not getting bogged down with too much description. That’s tricky, and the way I approach it is by focusing on the differentiating details, such as in The Lost Power when we’re in Bagan, Myanmar, and the locals chew betel nut leaf. It stains their lips and teeth dark red. That’s a visual detail that many readers haven’t seen before.
• How did you choose which global locations to add to the story? The locations had to be visually stunning, interesting historically, and serve the plot. For instance, Vilnius, Lithuania. I didn’t intend to set part of the book there, but when I began to research locations, I realized it was perfect. One of the clues that Maddy, Will, and agent Thorenson obtain is: “Find the Center of the Pagan Empire.” Red-tiled Vilnius, with its history as one of the last European areas to be Christianized, became an integral part of their adventure.
• What influence does your background as an IT executive have on your writing? As an executive, to run a high-functioning team, I had to learn a lot about people. What motivates them. What scares them. Additionally, after twenty years in the IT industry, I gained an advanced level of expertise about technology, where it’s going, and it’s potential risks. Every book’s characters are more rich, and true to life, based on what I’ve learned about psychology. Additionally, some books will have a focus on nefarious tech capabilities, such as book two in the VanOps series, currently titled The Moses Map.
• How many countries have you been to - what was your craziest adventure?
  
• How was it like travelling without technology?
• How you ever travelled solo? What was it like?
• Did you ever study aikido?
• If you didn’t visit some of the places in the book how did you research them?
• How long did it take you to research and map out your book?
• What books are on your virtual nightstand now?
• What authors have influenced you the most?
• How do you get your book ideas?
• What do you hope readers will take away from your book?

NEWS PEGS

Follow your dreams, no matter your age
Meditations on the art of writing violence

SAMPLE CHAPTERS

DOWNLOAD THE FIRST SIX CHAPTERS OF THE LOST POWER