Just Call Me Ninja Blog Tour!
Title: Just Call Me Ninja
Author: Clare Haltom
Publish Date: April 27th 2014
Summary: A guide to lies, high school, and saving the world...
Sophomore Callista Trent is used to being the anonymous new girl. But when her mother's nomadic job finally keeps her family in one place long enough to force Callista to settle in, she wants none of it. She doesn't expect it to last, anyway--it never does. She also doesn't expect to stumble across a group of shinobi, modern-day ninjas who also happen to be high school students. Or for them to claim destiny sent her to join them. Or for the hot, harmonica-playing loner from her chemistry class to claim to be one of the instructors.
For once, she starts to think that maybe she could belong somewhere. But she quickly learns her new friends aren't running some casual karate school. And when Callista's assigned to a dangerous mission they say only she can complete, she begins to suspect it wasn't destiny that brought her to the shinobi at all but a carefully laid plan. Oh, and the worst part? The boy she thought she could trust may have known the truth all along.
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Author Bio and Links: Clare Haltom lives in sunny southern California. She can usually be found jumping over waves at the beach, eating Pringles salt-side down, and trying to avoid ninja assassins.
*EXCERPT TIME*
It was close enough to an answer that she started walking. “All those samurai haunting you?” She waggled her fingers in a spooky manner.
He looked at her, unimpressed. “The samurai ceased to exist in the eighteen hundreds. Ninjas did not. They went into hiding. They kept their actions more covert—”
He suddenly pushed her though the open door of a FedEx store. His hand rested on her shoulder, stilling her. She was certain he could feel her heart ricocheting around her ribs.
Then he exhaled slowly and released her.
He strolled back out onto the street. “After World War II, the ninjas began to expand their influence around the world. We make enemies doing what we do. And they can be dangerous.”
“What do you do?”
Nick responded with his own question. “What if you could help people?” He led her around two parked cars and across the street.
“I already help people.”
Crap. She had totally forgotten about Princess. She’d have to go back and find the cat later.
“How? Walking dogs and picking cigarette butts off the riverbank?” He opened the door to a sandwich shop, sailed straight through, and out a side door. “I’m talking about real stuff.
Tracking criminals the cops can’t catch. Finding missing people. Gathering information to stop wars. Helping people who have nowhere else to turn.”
He really did think he was a superhero. “You know, I keep meaning to free Tibet.”
“We should compare plans some time.” His voice was so dead-pan she couldn’t tell if he was serious.
She whipped her head around to see his face. But he was turned slightly away from her, watching the street.
“Do you actually get anyone to join with that spiel?” she asked.
“No. Not until I mention that we get paid rather large amounts for running missions.”
Money? Okay, that might have caught her interest slightly. Her mom didn’t believe in things like retirement. Or college funds. “Like how much?”
“A couple missions would pay for college.”
She had to remind herself that she wasn’t going to be in Connersville for more than a few months. Even if this nonsense was true—which it couldn’t possibly be—she wouldn’t be here long enough to become a trained operative. But she was still curious. “Who pays you?”
“Our clients. The people that hire the shinobi.”
“Someone pays a herd of killer teenagers to do their bidding?”
Nick started at that. “What? No. Most ninjas are adults. They’re in charge of our training. There just didn’t happen to be any there when you showed up.”
“An interesting coincidence.”
Nick shrugged. “What do you want me to say? It’s the truth, but apparently you’ve decided to be dubious.”
“Wouldn’t you be?”
He looked tired. “Never really got that chance.” He darted into an alley. The space was narrow and only about fifty feet long.
“Um, dead end,” she felt obligated to point out.
“Um, weapons cache.” He disappeared behind a dumpster.
No way.
With a sigh and much silent cursing of her gullibility, she followed.
