Sunday, November 30, 2014

Book Spotlight for Little Boxes by Celia J Anderson (Review)

As a disabled person I'm drawn to books featuring characters that represent me and I'm happy to introduce you to this sweet book about discoveries and moving on.  Keep reading to get a taste of Little Boxes by Celia J Anderson, along with my impressions of it, then add it to your bookshelf....

Suddenly bereaved, Molly White realises that she has never really known her feisty husband Jake when random boxes begin to appear through the post, each one containing a tantalising clue to the secrets of Jake and Molly’s past. Someone who knows them both well, for reasons of their own, has planned a trail of discovery. The clues seem to be designed to change Molly’s life completely, leading her around Britain and then onwards to rural France and deepest Bavaria.
Meanwhile, waiting in the wings is Tom, a charismatic artist who runs a gallery in the same town. Strong, independent and wheelchair-bound from the age of fifteen, he leads a solitary life and has no idea how devastatingly attractive he is to women. When Tom meets curvy, beautiful and funny Molly, he knows that she is his dream woman, but she seems way out of his orbit until the boxes start to weave their spell and the two of them are thrown right out of their comfort zones.

EXCERPT:

Tom sat on the beach in the spring sunshine, eating cockles out of a tub and

gazing rather grimly at the incoming tide. If it came much closer he’d have to
abandon his painting for the day – it took a good twenty minutes to pack up and get
back to his car on the promenade.
As he licked his fingers and screwed up the seafood carton, there was a scrunch
of pebbles and a whoosh of air as a small boy thundered past, whooping at the top
of his voice. He was followed at speed by the most desirable woman that Tom could
ever remember seeing in this small seaside town. It was his Lady in Red; the one
who had been cropping up in his dreams far too often since he’d first seen her on the
beach. Her hair was an explosion of dark curls, and she wore tight orange jeans with
a wildly clashing crimson sweater that came almost to her knees. Tom took a deep
breath to say hello but he was too late.
‘Max... MAX... don’t go near the sea. I mean it!’ she bellowed, skidding straight
into Tom as she chased the boy across the pebbles. ‘Sorry, sorry… have I hurt you?
Is your painting wrecked? Oh – wow; it’s good, isn’t it? You can tell it’s meant to be
the pier. I’m really, really sorry…’
Tom picked himself up and put his painting chair the right way up again. ‘Hey, it’s
okay – you can fall over me any time,’ he said, grinning into her startlingly green
eyes.
She blinked and looked away, her lovely face matching the colour of her
sweater. Shielding her eyes with a hand, she scanned the beach for the boy.
‘Where’s he gone, the little toad? Ah, there he is, he’s making something out of a
heap of stones – at least he’s not paddling fully dressed like last time. Oh hell, you
don’t even know me and I’ve already wrecked your work. I’m Molly. I think I’ve seen
you here before, haven’t I? Let me fix your painting.’
She bent down to see if she could repair the damage and Tom held out a hand
to stop her trying to brush bits of stone off his picture. ‘No, honestly, it’s fine, I’ll sort it
out. I’m Tom, and I’ve seen you, too. You’re easy to remember.’
‘Am I? Why?’
‘Lots of reasons – you often seem to be in a hurry, you always wear something
red, you’ve got lots of kids, you’re gorgeous…’ Tom stopped in confusion.
‘Gorgeous? Me? Do you need your eyes testing or something?’ Molly blushed
again and looked at him properly for the first time. ‘I’m sorry, that was really rude,’
she said. ‘My mum’s always telling me I don’t know how to take a compliment.’
‘Don’t worry, maybe you just need a bit more practice.’ Tom bent to carry on
sorting his painting kit out. He couldn’t help noticing how her eyes rested on his
forearms as he finished tidying up and, clearly aware of his scrutiny, she reddened
even more.
‘You’re very strong, aren’t you?’ she blurted out.
Tom laughed. ‘I guess I have to be, don’t I? If you’ve seen me before, you’ll
know why.’
‘I don’t want you to think I’ve been staring at you, Tom. It’s just that you’re…
um… different to most of the men round here.’
‘Tell me about it.’ Tom slung his bag over one shoulder and heaved himself out
of his folding chair.
‘Can I help you at all?’ Molly asked, standing on tiptoes to get a better view of
the shoreline. ‘Oh look, here are the other two Musketeers. They can carry
something for you, if you like.’
‘I don’t need any help, thanks.’ Tom bit back the familiar feeling of irritation and
smiled up at a pair of girls, dressed entirely in black, who had stopped next to him.
The taller one had multiple piercings. Both girls were scowling.
‘Mum, what are you like?’ said the pierced one. ‘We saw you knock the paints all
over the place. You’re so clumsy. Have you seen what Max is doing now?’
Molly looked again. The small boy had been jumping off his pile of stones and
had landed awkwardly the last time. He began to wail. ‘Max! I told you last time not
to do that. Hang on, I’m coming,’ Molly shouted.
The girls sighed and rolled their eyes at Tom as they watched their mum slither
off over the stones to the sandy stretch by the sea, where Max was now hurling the
biggest rocks he could find into the waves. The pierced girl turned to the smaller one.
‘Bloody hell, why doesn’t she just leave him alone for a bit? The only place he
can go is into the sea.’
‘But he’s only little – he can’t swim.’
‘Exactly.’ The older girl smirked as they wandered off down the beach.
Tom sighed. Another opportunity lost; still no nearer to finding out more about his dream woman. Oh well, at least he knew her name now. On the other hand, it didn’t
take a genius to work out that she was already taken. The wedding ring gave it
away, even if the children didn’t.

FIND AT GOODREADS here.

BUY LINKS here.

MY IMPRESSIONS OF THIS BOOK:

Little Boxes is a special read as it addresses adult issues in a serious and thought-provoking way.  It leaves you weighing your future and questioning your past.  It's a story for adults and takes you on a roller coaster of emotions that keeps you immersed in the story from start to finish.

Molly is an immensely likable woman who's been with the same man for over twenty years.  While she can admit things have grown stale she's still loyal to the family they created.  Upon his unexpected death though she discovers things about her husband and herself that leave her forever changed, a woman strengthened by the truth.  Molly dealt with the slow unveiling of her husband's past in a believable way that left behind a wide range of emotions and me admiring her emotional fortitude.  She never wallowed from her loss for long as she had children left to raise and this too made her admirable and a story that was ultimately uplifting.

Tom was another character that stuck with me long after the story was done as he doesn't let his disability define him.  He's made a life for himself that he 's content with, but that doesn't stop him from wanting more once he sees Molly.  Tom's disability was portrayed in a realistic and self-deprecating way that showed Tom to be a strong-willed man.  His relationship with Molly progressed slowly as their friendship morphed into something deeper.  I enjoyed their sweet uncertainty at the start and how their ease grew with one another as they spent more time together and they ultimately became the epitome of friends to lovers.

This was a well-paced story that put readers through the emotional wringer.  It was emotionally powerful and engaging with its only flaw being the rather stilted dialogue between Molly and Tom early on.  It spoke of awkwardness but also pulled me out of the cozy web this story wove around me.  The secondary characters were all distinctive and as memorable as Molly and Tom.  Molly's children especially expressed real emotions and actions, and though they sometimes annoyed me, that too added to the story's realism.  All in all this was a satisfying and inspirational story about living in the here and now and leaving behind the past and I recommend it to those looking for an emotionally engaging read.

My rating for this is a B.

*I got this book from the author for review in exchange for my honest opinion.

AUTHOR INFO:

Celia J Anderson spends most of her spare time writing in as many different genres as possible, including children’s fiction. In her other life, she’s Assistant Headteacher at a small Catholic primary school in the Midlands and loves teaching literature (now comfortingly called English again but still the best subject in the world.)
She tried a variety of random jobs before discovering that the careers advisor at secondary school was right, including running crèches, child minding, teaching children to ride bikes (having omitted to mention she couldn’t do it herself) and a stint in mental health care. All these were ideal preparation for the classroom and provided huge amounts of copy for the books that were to come.
Celia enjoys cooking and eating in equal measures, and thinks life without wine would be a sad thing indeed. She is married, with two grown up daughters who have defected to the seaside. One day she plans to scoop up husband and cats and join them there.

Saturday, November 29, 2014

Book Spotlight for Love Repeated by Nancy Corrigan (Review & GIVEAWAY)


As a fan of steamy reads I'm excited by the book I'm bringing you today.  Nancy Corrigan is making a return visit today with her latest release, Love Repeated, the first book in her Sander's Valley series.  Keep reading to get a look at what's between the covers, along with my impressions of this erotic tale with a small town feel.  Make sure to fill out the form below for the chance to win a $10 GC too!

Young lovers, Kyle and Ronnie, had the world ahead of them at seventeen. Stubbornness, misunderstanding and a mother’s influence forced them to forge their own paths. A decade later, neither can find love.
Ronnie always thought it was easier to move on than deal with the pain and hurt of past mistakes. She made plenty of them, but so did Kyle and her parents. Kyle knows the moment he touches Ronnie that he still loves her. He won’t repeat the past and let her leave him a second time.
It takes a tragedy and a secret to reunite them, but their passion returns in a rush along with regret and guilt. To have love, they’ll have to overcome their issues—before her mother’s sin takes Ronnie away, once and for all.

EXCERPT:

“I want to kiss you, Ronnie.”
She swept the tip of her tongue out, moistening her mouth and tempting him to feast. “Are you asking permission, or—”
He leaned closer and caught her bottom lip between his teeth, stopping her words. Her shaky exhale washed over him, filling his lungs with the scent of cinnamon. The long-denied craving for her taste surged. She’d always chewed on cinnamon gum or mints. The taste used to drug him. Would it still? She’d been his favorite addiction a lifetime ago.
He grasped the back of her neck and licked the inside of her lip. Her flavor hit him, a punch in the gut he welcomed. It left him a little crazed and a lot horny. On a groan, he kissed her. She opened to him, stroking her tongue with his and feeding him her soft mewling noises, those little purrs of contentment she’d always offered him whenever they first came together. He soaked them up along with the rightness kissing her brought.
She complemented his thrusts and licks with ones of her own. They’d perfected the art of kissing years before they’d ever joined their bodies. It had been his favorite hobby. He’d never been able to get enough. He still couldn’t. Head angled, he delved deeper and sucked on her tongue, tearing moans from her throat.
She twisted her torso and linked her hands around his neck. Nails dug into his skin, she tugged him closer, kissed him harder, and tore his tenacious control to shreds. He rocked into her and let his hands roam over her soft, curvy body.
Primitive hungers beat at him. He wanted to strip her and lick every inch, memorizing her swells and valleys. Maybe spread her thighs and get drunk on her sweet sex. Or push her to her knees and pump into her mouth until he exploded. So many images rose, but it was the need to possess her that made his decision.
He tore his mouth from hers. She panted hard. So did he. The lust they’d shared returned, stronger than ever. He couldn’t wait a moment more.
He rubbed his forefinger over her lips, then slipped it between them. Her breath heated his skin. She closed her mouth over his finger. With a swirl of her tongue, she drew him deeper and held him there for a long moment before she sucked. Hard.
His dick jerked. Precum seeped from the tip. He yanked on his finger, but she bit just to the point of pain, stopping him. His breath escaped in a shudder. He dragged the digit out, her teeth scraping him, and cupped her face between his palms.
“I’m going bend you over your car, lift your skirt, and fuck you, Ronnie. If you have some guy that’s going to hunt me down for making you come all over my dick, tell me now.” He flashedher a wicked smile. “And I’ll make you writhe over my tongue instead.”

FIND AT GOODREADS here.

BUY LINKS:  LOOSE-ID  |  AMAZON (US)  |  ARe  |  AMAZON (UK)  |  AMAZON (CA)


MY IMPRESSIONS OF THIS BOOK:

In this novella that's the start of a new series we get a tale of lost dreams and rekindled romance between two people kept apart by their own stubbornness and cowardice.  When fate intervenes ten years later will they be able to put past hurts behind them or will a secret come between them just when their HEA is within reach?


Kyle and Ronnie came from very different social circles but spent many torrid summers steaming up the countryside.  Kyle knew she was his future but her doubts and her mother's pressure had her running away in the night and left him forever wondering what-if.  When she returns battered and bruised he comes to her rescue and fights for their future once again.  His plan for claiming her revolves around lots of erotic encounters while getting her to admit her true feelings.  Through everything Kyle remains strong in his beliefs of his love for her and is willing to give up everything to be with her.  He's sweet and very forgiving despite all the hurt she caused.  He's unquestionably supportive and protective and gave her the time to realize what was truly important to her.  He definitely was the best part of the story!


Ronnie came from a family of wealth but lies between her parents set her on a self-destructive path that kept her from a HEA with Kyle.  Her mother led her to believe things that were untrue and tarnished her happiness with Kyle through doubts.  It's led to ten years of loneliness with no one to truly care about her.  It also ruined her relationship with her father and took away her belief in fairytale love and HEAs.  Her mother also carried a big secret that's now put Ronnie's life in jeopardy.  Luckily she has Kyle's strength to lean on, if only she can put her stubbornness aside.  Ronnie never let her wealth taint her interactions with the much poorer Kyle and their sweet friendship quickly turned steamy.  She never listened to her heart though and let her mother sway her in many ways.  I was disappointed that she never stood up for what she really wanted, instead she let assumptions rule her.  I never really warmed up to her as she felt cold with emotions that never ran too deep.


This was a quick read with lots of erotic encounters that took away a bit from the story's emotional depth.  Ms. Corrigan did a good job though laying the groundwork for their early interactions to make their rekindled relationship believable.  The ending was a bit rushed with Ronnie's familial secret easy to discern as well as the villain's identity.  Kyle is the true highlight of this story as he's everything a girl wants.....sweet, sexy, supportive, honorable, loyal, and close to his family.  The brief interactions with his brother Wyn were playful and have me very excited to see more of this fun and flirty younger brother.  Ms. Corrigan has crafted a solid start to the Sander's Valley series, and the sexy brothers who live there, and I'm greatly anticipating the next installment.


My rating for this is a B-


*I got this book from the author for review in exchange for my honest opinion.

AUTHOR INFO:

A true romantic at heart, Nancy Corrigan is convinced there’s a knight in shining armor for every woman (or man), but you won’t find damsels in distress in her stories. She adores pairing alpha heroes with woman strong enough to match them and bring them to their knees. She also enjoys flipping the traditional roles in romances because her motto is—love and people should never be forced to conform to anyone’s norm.
She holds a degree in chemistry and has worked in research but now focuses on ensuring quality. She considers it the perfect outlet for her as she’s the first to admit she has some OCD tendencies. It carries over into her writing life too. While engrossed in a novel, she has a habit of forgetting to eat and sleep. Fortunately, she’s married to her own knight in shining armor who understands her oddities and loves her anyway. They reside in Pennsylvania with their three children, dog, snake and guinea pigs. Her other interests include tattoos, animals, classic cars and all things spooky and sexy.


**********GIVEAWAY**********

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Friday, November 28, 2014

Book Tour for Vampire in Paradise by Sandra Hill (GIVEAWAY)


With everyone either hungover from turkey or from shopping, I'm bringing you a bit of comfort in the form of some angelic inspiration.  Today I'm giving you a glimpse of Vampire in Paradise by Sandra Hill, the fifth book in her Deadly Angels series.  Keep reading to get a tantalizing taste of this book and then make sure to fill out the form below for the chance to win 5 print copies of this release for US/CAN readers and 5 e-copies for everyone else.

It’s been centuries since the Norseman Sigurd Sigurdsson was turned into a Vangel-a Viking Vampire Angel-as punishment for his sin of envy, but he’s still getting the hang of having fangs that get in the way when seducing women. Slaying demon vampires known as Lucipires and using his healing gifts as a cancer research doctor, Sigurd is sent to Florida’s Grand Keys Island as a resident physician where he encounters the most sinfully beautiful woman.
The only hope Marisa Lopez has of curing her five-year-old daughter of is a pricey experimental procedure. When she meets the good-looking doctor, Marisa is speechless. Then Sigurd tells her he believes he can help her daughter. Could this too-hot-to resist Viking doctor be an angel of some sort sent to bring a miracle for her daughter? Or is he just a vampire bent on breaking Marisa’s heart?

EXCERPT:

PROLOGUE
The Norselands, A.D. 850…
Only the strongest survived in that harsh land…
Sigurd Sigurdsson sat near the high table of King Haakon’s yule feast sipping at the fine ale from his own jewel-encrusted, silver horn. (Many of those “above the salt,” held gold vessels, he noted.) Tuns of ale and rare Frisian wine flowed. (His mead tasted rather weak, but mayhap that was his imagination.)
Favored guests at the royal feast (He was mildly favored.) had their choice amongst spit-roasted wild boar, venison and mushroom stew, game birds stuffed with chestnuts, a swordfish the size of a small longboat, eels swimming in spiced cream sauce, and all the vegetable side dishes one could imagine, including the hated neeps. (Hated by Sigurd, leastways. He had a particular antipathy to turnips due to some youthling insanity to determine which lackwit could eat the most of the root vegetables without vomiting, or falling over dead as a stump. He lost.) Honey oak cakes and dried fruit trifles finished off the meal for those not filled to overflowing. (Peaches, on the other hand, were fruit of the gods, in Sigurd’s opinion.) Entertainment was provided by a quartet of lute players who could scarce be heard over the animated conversation and laughter. (Which was just as well; they harmonized like a herd of screech owls. Again, in Sigurd’s opinion.) Good cheer abounded. (Except for…)
In the midst of the loud, joyous celebration, Sigurd’s demeanor was quiet and sad.
But that was nothing new. Sigurd had been known as a dark, brooding Viking for many of his twenty and seven years. Darker and more brooding as the years marched on. And he wasn’t even drukkinn.
Some said the reason for Sigurd’s discontent was the conflict betwixt two warring sides of his nature. A fierce warrior in battle and, at the same time, a noted physician with innate healing skills inherited from and homed by his grandmother afore her passing to the Other World when he’d been a boyling. 
Sigurd knew better. He had a secret sickness of the soul, and its name was Envy. Never truly happy, never satisfied, he always wanted what he didn’t have, whether it be a chest of gold, the latest, fastest longship, a prosperous estate, the finest sword. A woman. And he did whatever necessary to attain that new best thing. Whatever.
‘Twas like a gigantic worm he’d found years past in the bowels of a dying man. Egolf the Farrier had been a giant of a burly man in his prime, but at his death when he was only thirty he’d been little more than a skeleton with no fat and scant flesh to cover his bones. The malady had no doubt started years before innocently enough with a tiny worm in an apple or some spoiled meat, but over the years, attached to his innards like a ravenous babe, the slimy creature devoured the food Egolf ate, and Egolf had a huge appetite, in essence starving the man to death.
“Sig, my friend!” A giant hand clapped him on the shoulder and his close friend and hersir Bertim sat down on the bench beside him. Beneath his massive red beard, the Irish Viking’s face was florid with drink. “You are sitting upright,” Bertim accused him. “Is that still your first horn of ale that you nurse like a babe at teat?
“What an image!” Sigurd shook his head with amusement. “I must needs stay sober. The queen may yet produce a new son for Haakon this night.”
“Her timing is inconvenient, but then a yule child brings good luck.” Bertim raised his bushy eyebrows as a sudden thought struck him. “Dost act as midwife now?”
“When it is the king’s whelp, I do.”
Bertim laughed heartily.
“In truth, Elfrida has been laboring for a day and night so far with no result. The delivery promises to be difficult.”
Bertim nodded. ‘Twas the way of nature. “What has the king promised you for your assistance?”
“Naught much,” Sigurd replied with a shrug. “Friendship. Lot of good that friendship does me, though. Dost notice I am not sitting at the high table?”
“And yet that arse licker Svein One-Ear sits near the king,” Bertim commiserated.
I should be up there. Ah, well. Mayhap if I do the king this one new favor... He shrugged. The seating was a small slight, actually.
A serving maid interrupted them, leaning over the table to replenish their beverages. The way her breasts brushed against each of their shoulders gave clear signal that she would be a willing bed partner to either or both of them. Bertim was too far gone in the drink and too fearful of the wrath of his new Norse wife, and Sigurd lacked interest in services offered so easily. The maid shrugged and made her way to the next hopefully-willing male.
Picking up on their conversation, Bertim said, “The friendship of a king is naught to minimize. It can be priceless.”
Sigurd had reason to recall Bertim’s ale-wise words later that night, rather in the wee hours of the morning, when Queen Elfrida, despite Sigurd’s best efforts, delivered a deformed, puny babe, a girl, and Sigurd was asked by the king, in the name of friendship, to take the infant away and cut off its whispery breath.
It was not an unusual request. In this harsh land, only the strongest survived, and the practice of infanticide was ofttimes an act of kindness. Or so the beleaguered parents believed.
But Sigurd did not fulfill the king’s wishes. Leastways, not right away. Visions of another night and another life and death decision plagued Sigurd as he carried the swaddled babe in his arms, its cries little more than the mewls of a weakling kitten.
Despite his full-length, hooded fur cloak, the wind and cold air combined to chill him to the bone. He tucked the babe closer to his chest and imagined he felt her heart beat steady and true. Approaching the cliff that hung over the angry sea, where he would drop the child after pinching its tiny nose, Sigurd kept murmuring, “’Tis for the best, ‘tis for the best.” His eyes misted over, but that was probably due to the snow flakes that began to flutter heavily in front of him.
He would do as the king asked. Of course he would. But betimes it was not such a gift having royal friends.
Just then, he heard a loud voice bellow, “SIGURD! Halt! At once!”
He turned to see the strangest thing. Despite the blistering cold, a dark-haired man wearing naught but a long, white, rope-belted gown in the Arab style approached with hands extended.
Without words, Sigurd knew that the man wanted the child. To his surprise, Sigurd handed over the bundle that carried his body heat to the stranger.
“Take her, Caleb,” the man said to yet another man in a white robe who appeared at his side.
“Yes, Michael.” Caleb bowed as if the first man were a king or some important personage.
More kings! That is all I need!
The Michael person passed the no-longer crying infant to Caleb, who enfolded the babe in what appeared to be wings, but was probably a white fur cloak, and walked off, disappearing into the now heavy snowfall.
“Will you kill the child?” Sigurd asked, realizing for the first time that he might not have been able to do it himself. Not this time.
“Viking, will you never learn?” Michael asked.
He said “Viking” as if it were a bad word. Sigurd was too stunned by this tableau to be affronted. 
“Who are you? What are you?” Sigurd asked as he noticed the massive white wings spreading out behind the man.
“Michael. An archangel.”
Sigurd had heard of angels before and seen images on wall paintings in a Byzantium church. “Did you say arse angel?”
“You know I did not. Thou art a fool.”
No sense of humor at all. Sigurd assumed that an archangel was a special angel. “Am I dead?”
“Not yet.
” That did not sound promising. “But soon?”
“Sooner than thou could imagine,” he said without the least bit of sympathy.
Can I fight him? Somehow, Sigurd did not think that was possible.
“You are a grave sinner, Sigurd.”
He knows my name. “That I freely admit.”
“And yet you do not repent. And yet you would have taken another life tonight.”
“Another?” Sigurd inquired, although he knew for a certainty what Michael referred to, and it was not some enemy he had covered with sword dew in righteous battle. But how could the man…rather angel… possibly know what had been Sigurd’s closely held secret all these years. No one else knew.
“There are no secrets, Viking,” Michael informed him.
Holy Thor! Now he is reading my mind!
Before Sigurd could reply, the snow betwixt them swirled, then cleared to reveal a picture of himself as a boyling of ten years or so bent over his little ailing brother Aslak, a five-year-old of immense beauty, even for a male child. Pale white hair, perfect features, a bubbling, happy personality. Everyone loved Aslak, and Aslak loved everyone in return. 
Sigurd had hated his little brother, despite the fact that Aslak followed him about like an adoring puppy. Aslak was everything that Sigurd was not. Sigurd’s dull brown hair only turned blond when he got older and the tresses had been sun-bleached on sea voyages. His facial features had been marred by the pimples of a youthling. He had an unpleasant, betimes surly, disposition. In other words, unlikable, or so Sigurd had thought.
Being the youngest of the Sigurdsson boys, before Aslak, and the only one still home, Sigurd had been more aware of his little brother’s overwhelming popularity. In truth, in later years, when others referred to the seven Sigurdsson brothers, they failed to recall that at one time there had been eight.
Sigurd blinked and peered again into the swirling snow picture of that fateful night. His little brother’s wheezing lungs laboring for life through the long pre-dawn hours. His mother Lady Elsa had begged Sigurd to help because, even at ten years of age, he had healing hands. Sigurd had pretended to help, but in truth he had not employed the steam tenting or special herb teas that might have cured his dying brother. Aslak had died, of course, and Sigurd knew it was his fault.
Looking up to see Michael staring at him, Sigurd said, “I was jealous.”
Michael shook his head. “Nay, jealousy is a less than admirable trait. Your sin was envy.”
“Envy. Jealousy. Same thing.”
“Lackwit!” Michael declared, his wings bristling wide like a riled goose. “Jealousy is a foolish emotion, but envy destroys the peace of the soul. When was the last time you were at peace, Viking?” 
Sigurd thought for a long moment. “Never, that I recall.”
“Envy stirs hatred in a person, causing one to wish evil on another. That was certainly the case with your brother Aslak. And with so many others you have maligned or injured over the years.”
Sigurd hung his head. ‘Twas true. 
“Envy causes a person to engage in immoderate quests for wealth or power or relationships that betimes defy loyalty and justice.”
Sigurd nodded. The archangel was painting a clear picture of him and his sorry life. 
“The worst thing is that you were given a treasured talent. The gift of healing. Much like the Apostle Luke. But you have disdained it. Abused it. And failed to nourish it for a greater good.”
“An apostle?” Sigurd was not a Christian, but he was familiar with tales from their Bible. “You would have me be as pure as an apostle? I am a Viking.”
“Idiots! I am forced to work with idiots.” Michael rolled his eyes. “Nay, no one expects purity from such as you. Enough! For your grave sins, and those of your six brothers…in fact, all the Vikings as a whole…the Lord is sorely disappointed. You must be punished. In the future, centuries from now, there will be no Viking nation, as such. Thus sayeth the Lord,” Michael pronounced. “And as for you Sigurdsson miscreants…your time on earth is measured.”
“By death?” 
Michael nodded. “Thou art already dead inside, Sigurd. Now your body will be, as well.”
So be it. It was a fate all men must face, though he had not expected it to come so soon. “You mention my brothers. They will die, too?” 
“They will. If they have not already passed.”
Seven brothers dying in the same year? This was the fodder of sagas. Skalds would be speaking of them forever more. “Will I be going to Valhalla, or the Christian heaven, or that other place?” He shivered inwardly at the thought of that latter, fiery fate.
“None of those. You are being given a second chance.”
“To live?” This was good news.
Michael shook his head. “To die and come back to serve your Heavenly Father in a new role.”
“As an angel?” Sigurd asked with incredulity.
“Hardly,” Michael scoffed. “Well, actually, you would be a vangel. A Viking vampire angel put back on earth to fight Satan’s demon vampires, Lucipires. For seven hundred years, your penance would be to redeem your sins by serving in God’s army under my mentorship.”
Sigurd could tell that Michael wasn’t very happy with that mentorship role, but he could not dwell on that. It was the amazing ideas the archangel was putting forth.
“Do you agree?” Michael asked.
Huh? What choice did he have? The fires of hell, or centuries of living as some kind of soldier. “I agree, but what exactly is a vampire?”
He soon found out. With a raised hand, Michael pointed a finger at Sigurd and unimaginable pain wracked his body, including his mouth where the jaw bones seemed to crack and realign themselves, emerging with fangs, like a wolf. He fell to his knees as his shoulder blades also seem to explode as if struck with a broadsword. 
“Fangs? Was that necessary?” he gasped, glancing upward at the celestial being whose arms were folded across his chest, staring down at him.
“You’ll need them for sucking blood.”
“From what?”
“What do you think? From a peach? Idiot! Fom people…or demons.”
“What? Eeew!” He expects me to drink blood? From living persons? Or demons? I do not know about this bargain.
“Thou can still change thy mind, Viking,” Michael said.
Reading my mind again! Damn! “And go to hell?”
“Thou sayest it.”
Sigurd thought about negotiating with the angel, but knew instinctively that it would do no good. He nodded. “It will be as you say.”
Moments later, when the pain subsided somewhat, the angel raised him up and studied him with icy contempt, or was it pity? “Go! And do better this time, vangel.”
On those words, Sigurd fell backwards and over the cliff. Falling, falling, falling toward the black, roiling sea. He discovered in that instant that there was one thing a vangel didn’t have. Wings.
*****
CHAPTER ONE
Florida, 2014
Sometimes life throws you a life line, sometimes a lead sinker…
No one watching Marisa Lopez emerge from the medical center in downtown Miami would have guessed that she’d just been delivered a death blow. Not for herself, but for her five-year-old daughter Isobel.
Marisa had become a master at hiding her emotions. When she’d found out she was pregnant midway through her junior year at Florida State and her scumbag boyfriend Chip Dougherty skipped campus faster than his two hundred dollar running shoes could carry him. When her hopes for a career in physical therapy went down the tubes. When she’d found out two years ago that her sweet baby girl had an inoperable brain tumor. When the blasted tumor kept growing, and Izzie got sicker and sicker. When Marisa had lost her third job in a row because of missing so many days for Izzie’s appointments. And now…well, she refused to break down now either, not where others could see. 
And there were people watching. Looking like a young Sophia Loren, not to mention being five-ten in her three-inch heels, she often got double takes, and the occasional wolf whistle. And she knew how to work it, especially when tips were involved at The Palms Health Spa where she was now employed as a certified massage therapist, as well as the Salsa bar where she worked nights at a second job. Was she burning the candle at both ends? Hell, yes. She wished she could do more.
Slinging her knock-off Coach bag over one shoulder, she donned a pair of oversized, fake Dior sunglasses. Her scoop-necked, white silk blouse was tucked into a black pencil skirt, belted at her small waist with a counterfeit, red Gucci belt. Walking briskly on pleather Jimmy Choos, she made her way down the street to her car parked on a side street…a ten-year-old Ford Focus. Not quite the vehicle to go with her seemingly expensive attire, a carefully manufactured image. Little did folks know that hidden in her parents’ garage was a fortune in counterfeit and knock-off items, from Rolex watches to Victoria’s Secret lingerie, thanks to her jailbird brother Steve. A fortune that could not be tapped because someone besides her brother would end up in jail. Probably me, considering the bad luck cloud that seems to be hanging over my head. 
It wasn’t against the law to wear the stuff, just so long as she didn’t sell it. To her shame, she’d been tempted on more than one occasion this past year to do just that. Desperation trumps morality. So far, she hadn’t succumbed, though all her friends knew where to come when they needed something “special.”
Her parents had no idea what was in the green-lidded bins that had been taped shut with duct tape. They probably thought it was Steve’s clothes and other worldly goods. Hah!
Once inside her car, with the air conditioner on full blast, Marisa put her forehead on the steering wheel and wept. Soul searing sobs and gasps for breath as she cried out her misery. Marisa knew that she had to get it all out before she went home where she would have to pretend optimism before Izzie, who was way too perceptive for her age. Marisa’s parents, on the other hand, would need to know the prognosis. They would be crushed, as she was.
A short time later, by mid afternoon, with her emotions under control and her makeup retouched, Marisa walked up the sidewalk to her parents’ house. She noticed that the Lopez Plumbing van wasn’t in the driveway; so, her father must still be at work. Good. Marisa didn’t need the double whammy of both parents’ reaction to the latest news. One at a time would be easier.
Marisa had moved into her parents’ house, actually the apartment over the infamous garage, after Izzie’s initial diagnosis two years ago…to save money and take advantage of her parents’ generous offer to baby sit while Marisa worked. Her older brother Steve, who had been the apartment’s prior occupant, was already in jail by that time, serving a two to six for armed robbery. The idiot had carried an old boy scout knife in his pocket when he’d stolen the cash register receipts at the Seven Eleven. Ironically, he’d never been nabbed for selling counterfeit goods…his side job, so to speak.
Unfortunately, this wasn’t Steve’s first stint in the slammer, although it was his first felony. She hoped he learned something this time, but she was doubtful.
Marisa used her key to enter the thankfully air-conditioned house. Immediately, her mood lightened somewhat in the home’s cozy atmosphere. Overstuffed sofa and chair. Her dad’s worn leather recliner that bore the imprint of his behind from long years of use. And the smell…ah! The air was permeated with the scent of spicy browned beef and tomatoes and fresh baked bread. It was Monday; so, it must be Vaca Vieja, or shredded beef, her father’s favorite, which would be served over rice with a fresh salad. No bagged salads here. No store bought bread. 
Izzie was asleep on the couch where she’d been watching cartoons on the television that had been turned to a low volume. The pretty, soft, pink and lavender afghan her grandmother had knitted covered her from shoulders to bare feet, but even so, her thin frame was apparent. There were dark smudges beneath her eyes. Even so, she was cute as a button with her ski-jump nose and rosebud mouth, thanks to her father. But then, she’d inherited a Latin complexion, dark dancing eyes, and a frame that promised to be tall from Marisa, who was no slouch in the good looks department, if she did say so herself. No doubt about it, Izzie was destined to be a beauty when she grew up. If she ever did.
Marisa put her bag on the coffee table and leaned down to kiss the black curls that capped her little girl’s head. She and her daughter shared the same coal black hair, but Marisa’s was thick and straight as a pin. At one time, Izzie had sported a wild mass of dark corkscrew curls, all of which had been lost in her first bout of radiation. A wasted effort, the radiation had turned out. To everyone’s surprise, especially Izzie, the shorter hairdo suited her better.
With a deep sigh, Marisa entered the kitchen.
Her mother was standing at the counter washing lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers and radishes that she must have just picked from the small garden in the back yard. She wore her standard daytime “uniform.” A blouse tucked into stretchy waist slacks, and curlers on her head. Soon she would shower and change to a dress and medium pumps, her black hair all fluffed out, lipstick and a little makeup applied, to greet Daddy when he got home. It was a ritual she had followed every single day since her marriage thirty-two years ago. Just as she maintained her trim, attractive figure at fifty-nine. To please Daddy, as much as herself.
As for her father…even with the little paunch he’d put on a few years back and a receding hairline, when he walked into the house wearing his plumbing coveralls, Marisa’s mother had been known to sigh and murmur, “Men in uniform!” 
Marisa’s mother must have sensed her presence because she turned abruptly. At first glance, she gasped and put a hand to her heart. No hiding anything from a mother.
“Oh, Marisa, honey!” her mother said. Making the sign of the cross, she sat down at the kitchen table and motioned for Marisa to sit, too.
First-generation Cuban-Americans, they’d named their first-born child Estefan Lopez. He became known as Steve. Marisa Angelica, who came five years later…a “miracle baby” for the couple who’d been told there would be no more children…was named after Grandma Lopez “back home,” and Aunt Angelica who was a nun serving some special order in the Philippines.
“Tell me,” her mother insisted.
“Doctor Stern says the tumor has grown, only slightly, in the past two months, but her brain and other tissue are increasing like any normal growing child and pressing against…” Tears welled in her eyes, despite her best efforts, and she took several of the tissues her mother handed her. “Oh, Mom! He says, without that experimental surgery, she only has a year to live. And even with the surgery, it might not work.” 
Izzie’s only hope, and it was a slim one at best, was some new procedure being tried in Switzerland. Because it was experimental and in a foreign country, insurance would not cover the expense. Marisa had managed to raise an amazing hundred thousand dollars through various charitable endeavors, but she still needed another seventy thousand dollars. That seventy thou might just as well be a hundred million, considering Marisa’s empty bank account, as well as her parents, who’d second-mortgaged their house when Steve got into so much trouble.
She and her mother both bawled then. What else could they do? Well, her mother had ideas, of course.
Her mother stood and poured them both cups of her special brewed coffee from an old metal coffee pot on the stove. No fancy pancy (her mother’s words) Keurig or other modern devices for the old-fashioned lady. They both put one packet of diet sugar and a dollop of milk in their cups before taking the first sip.
“First off, we will pray,” her mother declared. “And we will ask Angelica to pray for Izzie, too.”
“Mom! With the hurricane that hit the Philippines last year, Aunt Angelica has way too much on her prayer schedule.”
“Tsk-tsk!” Her mother said. “A nun always has time for more prayers. And I will ask my Rosary, Altar Society ladies to start a novena. A miracle, that is what we need.”
Marisa rolled her eyes before she could catch herself.
Her mother wagged a forefinger at her. “Nothing is impossible with prayer.”
It couldn’t hurt, Marisa supposed, although she was beginning to lose faith, despite being raised in a strict Catholic household. Hah! Look how much good that moral upbringing had done Steve.
That wasn’t fair, she immediately chastised herself. Steve brought on his problems, and was not the issue today. Izzie was. Besides, who was she to talk. Having a baby without marriage. “Okay, Mom, we’ll pray,” she conceded. If I still can.
She let the peaceful ambiance of the kitchen fill her then. To Cubans, the kitchen was the heart of the home, and this little portion of the fifty-year-old ranch style house was indeed that. The oak kitchen cabinets were original to the house, but the way her mother cleaned, they gleamed with a golden patina, like new. Curtains with embroidered roses framed the double-window over the sink. In the middle of the room was an old aluminum table that could seat six, in the center of which was a single red rose in a slim crystal vase, the sentimental weekly gift from her father to her mother. The red leather on the chair seats had been reupholstered twice now by her father’s hands in his tool room in the basement. A Tiffany-style fruited lamp hung over the table. 
A shuffling sound alerted them to Izzie coming toward the kitchen. Trailing the afghan in one hand and her favorite stuffed animal, a ratty, floppy eared rabbit named Lucky in the other, she didn’t notice at first that her mother was home.
Marisa stood. “Well, if it isn’t Sleeping Beauty?”
“Mommy!” Dropping the afghan and Lucky, she raced into Marisa’s open arms. Marisa twirled Izzie around in her arms until they were both dizzy. She dropped down to the chair again, with Izzie on her lap, both of them laughing. “Dizzy Izzie!” her daughter squealed, like she always did.
“For you, Isobella.” Her mother placed before Izzie a plastic Barbie plate of chocolate-sprinkled sugar cookies and a matching teacup of chocolate milk. Her mother would have already crushed some of the hated pills into the milk.
“I’m not hungry, Nana,” Izzie whined, burying her face against Marisa’s chest.
“You have to eat something, honey. At least drink the milk,” Marisa coaxed.
After a good half hour of bribing, teasing, singing, and game playing, she and her mother got Izzie to eat two of the cookies and drink all of the milk.
“What did the doctor say?” Izzie asked suddenly.
Uh-oh! Izzie knew that Marisa had gone to the medical center to discuss her latest test results. “Doctor Stern said you are growing like a weed. No, he said you are growing faster than Jack and the Beanstalk’s magic beans.” At least that was true. She was growing, despite her loss of weight.
Izzie giggled. “I’m a big girl now.”
“Yes, you are, sweetie,” Marisa said, hugging her little girl warmly. 
Somehow, someway, I am going to get the money for Izzie, Marisa vowed silently. It might take one of my mother’s miracles, but I am not going to let my precious little girl die. But how? That is the question. 
The answer came to her that evening when she was at La Cucaracha, the Salsa bar where she worked a second job as a waitress and occasional bartender. Well, a possible answer. 
“A porno convention?” she exclaimed, at first disbelieving that her best friend Inga Johanssen would make such a suggestion.
“More than that. The first ever International Conference on Freedom of Expression,” Inga told her.
“Bull!” Marisa opined.
They were in a back room of the restaurant, talking a break. They wore the one-shouldered, knee-length, black Salsa dresses with ragged hems, La Cucharacha’s uniform for women (the men wore slim black pants and white shirts). They were both roughly five foot eight, but otherwise completely different. Where Marisa was dark and olive skinned, Inga was blond and Nordic. Where Marisa’s figure was what might be called voluptuous, Inga’s was slim and boylike, except for the boobs she bought last year. The garments they wore were not meant to be revealing but to accommodate the restaurant’s grueling heat due to the energetic dancing. They needed a break occasionally just to cool off.
Inga waved a newspaper article at her and read aloud , “All the movers and shakers in the Freedom of Expression industry will be there. Multi-billion dollar investors, movie producers, Internet gurus, actors and actresses, store owners, franchisees—”
“Franchisees of what?” Marisa interrupted. “Smut?” 
Inga made a tsking sound and continued, “—sex toy manufacturers, instructors on DIY home videos—”
“What’s DIY?” Marisa interrupted again.
“Do It Yourself.” 
“Oh, good Lord!” 
“Martin Vanderfelt—”
“A made-up name if I ever heard one.” 
“Please, Marisa, give me a chance.” 
Marisa made a motion of zipping her lips.
“Martin Vanderfelt, the conference organizer, told the Daily Buzz reporter, “Our aim is to remove the sleaze factor from pornography and gain recognition as a legitimate professional enterprise serving the public. Freedom of Expresson. FOE.”
Marisa rolled her eyes but said nothing.
“This is the best part. It’s being held for one week on a tropical island off the Florida Keys. Grand Keys, a plush special events convention center, offers all the amenities of a four-star hotel, including indoor and outdoor pools, snorkeling and boating services, beauty salons and health spas, numerous restaurants with world class cuisines, nightclubs, tennis courts—”
“I’d like to see some of those over-endowed porno queens bouncing around on a tennis court,” Marisa had to interject.
Inga smiled.
“I thought they always held the pornography thing every year in Las Vegas.”
“The Expo is held there, but that’s more for public show. They have booths and stuff and even an awards show like the Oscars. This is more for industry insiders.”
“Inside, all right,” she said with lame humor.
“So cynical! Becky Bliss will be there. You know who she is, don’t you?" 
Even Marisa knew Becky Bliss. She was the porno princess famous for being able to twerk while on top, having sex. “Are you suggesting we might learn how to do that?” 
“It wouldn’t hurt. Maybe it would enhance your non-existent sex life.” 
“Not like that!” 
“Okay. Besides, Lance Rocket will be there, too.”
Marisa had no idea who Lance Rocket was, but she could guess.
“Anyhow, this conference isn’t for your everyday Joe, the porn aficionado. It costs five thousand dollars to attend. The only access to the island is by water. You can’t drive there, of course. They expect to see lots of yachts and seaplanes.”
Marisa was vaguely aware of the private islands comprising the Florida Keys. An unbelievable seventeen hundred islands, some inhabited, others little more than mangrove and limestone masses. The islands lie along the Florida Straits dividing the Atlantic Ocean from the Gulf of Mexico.
“Okay, I give up. Why would you or I even consider something like this? Oh, my God! You’re not suggesting I make porno films to raise money for Izzie, are you?”
“Of course not. Look. This article says they’re looking to hire employees for up to two weeks at above scale wages, all expenses paid, including transportation. Everything from waiters and waitresses to beauticians to diving instructors…even a doctor and nurse. Waiters and waitresses can expect to earn at least ten thousand dollars, and that doesn’t include tips, which could add another twenty K or more. Upper scale professions, much more." 
“Why would a hotel have to hire so many employees for just one event? Wouldn’t they have a staff in place.” 
“The company that owns the island went bankrupt last year, and the property is in foreclosure. In the meantime, until it is sold, the bank rents it out at an exorbitant amount. You know how abandoned properties deteriorate or get vandalized. Plus, the bank probably hopes one of the wealthy dudes or dudettes who attend this thing might fall in love with the place.”
“You know an awful lot about Grand Keys Island.”
Inga shrugged. “I checked it out on the Internet. Hey, here’s an idea. You could even work as a massage therapist. Betcha lots of these porno stars need to work out the kinks. The big ones would leave hundred dollar tips.” She grinned impishly at Marisa.
Marisa couldn’t be offended at Inga’s teasing her about the popular misconception of professional masseurs and masseuses. “Kinks…that about says it all. Pfff! Can you imagine what they would expect of a massage therapist at one of these events?” She lowered her voice to a deep baritone and added, ‘My shoulders are really tight, honey, and while you’re at it, check out down yonder.’" 
Inga laughed. “I’m just saying. If you worked as many hours there, let’s say double shifting between waitressing and therapy, you might very well earn close to thirty thousand dollars. In less than two weeks! When opportunity comes down the street, honey, jump on the bus.”
“You say opportunity, I say bad idea. Honestly, Inga, I can’t see us doing something like this.”
“Why not? We don’t have to like all the people that come to the Salsa bar, but we still serve them food and drinks.”
“I don’t know,” Marisa said.
“There’s something else to consider.”
“If you’re going to suggest that I might find a sugar daddy to pay for Izzie’s operation, forget about it.” But don’t think that idea hasn’t occurred to me.
“No, but there will be lots of Internet types there. Maybe you could find someone with the technical ability to set up a website for Izzie to raise funds.”
“I already tried that, but every company I contacted said it has been overdone. There’s no profit for them.”
“Maybe you’ve made the wrong contacts. Maybe if you met someone one on one…I don’t know, Marisa, isn’t it worth a try?” Inga was serious now.
“I’ll think about it,” Marisa said, to her own surprise.
“Applications and interviews for employment are being held at the Purple Palm Hotel in Key West next Friday,” Inga pointed out. “Don’t think too long.”
“Don’t push.”
They heard the Salsa band break out in a lively instrumental with a rich Latin American beat. A prelude to the beginning of another set of dance music.
As they headed back to work, Inga said, “I’ll drive.”

FIND AT GOODREADS here.

BUY LINKS:  Amazon  |  BN  |  Avon Romance

THE MEN OF THE DEADLY ANGELS.....






AUTHOR INFO:

Sandra Hill is a graduate of Penn State and worked for more than 10 years as a features writer and education editor for publications in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
Writing about serious issues taught her the merits of seeking the lighter side of even the darkest stories.
She is the wife of a stockbroker and the mother of four sons.


**********GIVEAWAY**********

a Rafflecopter giveaway