Saturday's Blurbs featuring books by Sherry Derr-Wille #MFRWauthor #mystery #romance #historical

MISTAKEN IDENTITY – CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE FROM CLASS ACT BOOKS BY SHERRY DERR-WILLE

Katelyn Devereaux needs a vacation. More than a vacation she needs to put Denver behind her, as well as the man who wants her as his wife, and the birth family who is insisting on finding her. A secluded cottage on a lake in Wisconsin sounds like the perfect spot to get away - or is it?

Seth Miller knows the reason he mistook Katelyn for Genean is his knowledge that his best friend’s wife is searching for the twin sister who was adopted by strangers at birth. Of course, he can’t change the facts that Genean and Katelyn are sisters, especially after he learns the company she wants to visit in Wisconsin is owned by Genean’s brother, Randy, and her husband, Brad.

HATTIE’S PREACHER – CHRISTIAN HISTORICAL ROMANCE FROM MELANGE BOOKS BY SHERRY DERR-WILLE

David Long gave up a promising law career when God called him to preach the word. Little did he know the red headed pianist at his church in Mortonville, Illinois would capture his heart.

Hattie Fairchild knew the only proper place for a proper maiden lady to play the piano was in church. Even though she didn’t believe, she found she could ignore the minister’s words by staying hidden away in the balcony and reading her novels during the sermons.

When David Long came to town not only did he move the piano from the balcony to the main floor of the sanctuary, he also decided to restore her faith in God. In the process she found herself falling for the man who looked more like a blacksmith than a preacher.

ROUND TREE – PARANORMAL ROMANCE FROM CLASS ACT BOOKS BY SHERRY DERR-WILLE

Anthropology professor, Jaicee Grant needs to trade academics for hands on research. When she arrives at Round Tree, she finds more than she bargained for. Not only does the flesh and blood archaeologist, Evan Clark, enamors her, but an ancient love, Sayo, has invaded her mind. They both want her to help them unearth the mysteries of the past, but one of them wants her as a woman as well.

Evan Clark is desperate for money for his dig. When Jaicee Grant makes a large donation, he is stunned. It isn’t until she arrives at Round Tree that he realizes she is a very desirable woman and one who could easily hold the key to unlock the secrets of the past. Once she does it could become the archaeological find of the new century.

WOMAN’S WORLD – FUTURISTIC EROTIC ROMANCE FROM WHISKEY CREEK PRESS TORRID BY SHARI DARE

On the planet Plazer, the remote kingdom of Telligan is run completely by women. With their own men castrated and turned into eunuchs, it is Regina’s job to search the galaxy for suitable breeders to perpetuate the female line.

Regina came to earth with two purposes. The first was to find a breeder for Princess Adrianne and the second to start a new life for herself. After one night with Mark, she knows she must return to Telligan and break this man to stud.

From the way the exotic beauty, Regina, checked out Mark’s package, he knew a night of great lovemaking was bound to follow. What he didn’t know was this conquest could take him on the sexual journey of his life.

MAN IN THE LAKE – MURDER MYSTERY FROM CLASS ACT BOOKS BY SHERRY DERR-WILLE

Jack Franks likes his position as Chief of Police in a small town until someone finds a man’s naked body floating in Storrs Lake. With a murder to investigate, he hardly knows where to start, but having to deal with the county sheriff’s office only complicates matters.

Rhonda Pohs, works for Chief Franks as an officer only because of her grief training. When he sends her to inform the wife of her husband’s untimely death, she must also inform the murder victim’s mistress as well.

Rhonda finds herself embroiled in one of the most baffling cases to ever hit the sleepy community. Suddenly, she becomes the lead detective and must put her own life in danger in order to find the murderers of the man everyone in town despised.

FAMILY SECRETS – A TRUE FAMILY EPIC FROM MELANGE BOOKS BY SHERRY DERR-WILLE

In the late 19^th century orphans became a ward of the county. When that happened to my grandmother, she was sold as a bond servant, setting the course of her life into motion. At the age of eighteen, the man who held her bond had taught her to read and write, be a good Christian woman, and the mysteries of housekeeping. Giving her a watch, a Bible, and ten dollars, she was on her own for the first time since she’d been bonded at the age of three and a half.

In the midst of the depression, my father found himself on his own at the age of twelve. His life was one of a little boy lost.

Last but not least, is the way in which my family impacted my life. This is our story and one that would not survive if I didn’t take the time to tell it.

Friday - Sherry Derr-Wille Talking About Heroes, Heroines and Villains #MFRWauthor

1. Do you write a single genre or do your fingers flow over the keys creating tales in many forms? I write romance, family epics, murder mysteries and erotica. In other words, I write what I want when I want.

Does your reading choices reflect your writing choices? Not really. I mostly enjoy reading historical romance, time travel and Native American. Although I write in all genres I also write many contemporary pieces.

Are there genres you wouldn’t attempt? Regency and Horror

2. Heroes, Heroines, Villains. Which are your favorite to write? I love to write them all. Heroines are sweet, heroes are handsome and well built, and villains are the most fun.

3. Heroes. How do you find them? They are all figments of my warped imagination, Do pictures, real life or plain imagination create the man you want every reader to love? They are all made up and products of my imagination. Do they come before the plot or after you have the idea for the story? The hero always comes first. My stories are all character driven. To be truthful, when I start the story I don't know where it will go or how it will end.

4. Heroines. How do you find them? Like my heroes they are figments of my imagination. Do pictures, real life or imagination create the woman you want the reader to root for? I usually have a picture in my mind of my heroines. Do they appear before the plot or after you have the idea for the story?  Like the heroes they come first and then they tell me what they want to do with the story.

5. Villains or villainesses or an antagonist, since they don’t always have to be the bad guy or girl. They can be a person opposed to the hero’s or heroine’s obtaining their goal. How do you choose one? How do you make them human? Just through the things they say and do.

6. What is your latest release? BLUE EAGLE FEATHER Who is the hero, heroine and or the villain? The hero is Jeffrey Cooper, the heroine Marie Turtle and for this one there really isn't a villain. This book came to me in a dream and I had to wait until I dreamed more of the plot.

 

7. What are you working on now? I just finished WHO KILLED BILLY ROLLER?  I'm also working on NEVER TOO LATE FOR LOVE and RETURN OF THE ANCIENTS.

8. How can people find you? Website of Author, Sherry Derr-Wille I am also on Facebook. I encourage readers to like my Sherry Derr-Wille author page.

				Website of Author, Sherry Derr-Wille Homepage About Sherry Outlaw Series Over The Hill Series Birdsinger Series Secrets Trilogy Double M Series Quade's Series Rhonda Poh's Mystery The Re...
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Thursday - My Heroes, Heroines and Villains - Pursuing Doctor West #MRWauthor #medical #romance

Pursuing Doctor West is a tongue in cheek medical romance. There is no villain, other than the hero and heroine.

Hero - Michael
       Though he wished for time to eat a hearty breakfast, on the way to the hospital, he stopped at a deli for an egg and cheese bagel and a huge coffee. Ten minutes later, he sat in the doctor’s parking lot and ate like a starving man

After stuffing the remains in the take-out bag, he slid from the sedan and brushed crumbs from his clothes. He scanned the lot. New car added to his list of wants. His fuel-economy sedan looked like a waif among the luxury sedans and sporty models. He strode toward the entrance.

“Michael, slow down.” The senior partner of the surgical practice waved.

Michael waited for Dr. Probst. “Good morning, sir. I didn’t expect to see you here so early.”

The gray-haired man smiled. “Always the first. Good to see you’ve the same habit. Three cases on the schedule. First one’s at nine.”

“Will I assist?”

“Eager to get your hands in?”

Michael grinned. “Sure am, sir.”

Dr. Probst chuckled. “How well I remember those days. Before we head to the OR, we’ll make rounds. I’ll show you the surgical unit.”

“Sounds good.” Though he had visited the hospital when he’d been recruited, he hadn’t been impressed with the unit.

“We’ve a new nurse manager. Young, efficient. Has performed miracles during her five months in charge. She’s cracked down on the staff. You’ll like her.”

Michael studied the older man. Was he being set up? Not going to happen. Casual affairs were his speed. He thought about the nurse manager he’d met when the guys in the practice had wined and dined him. She’d been old, steely-eyed, with a thin-lipped smile, making him think young doctors were to be trained like puppies. Young might mean any woman under sixty. If the new nurse manager was attractive and would be interested in a fling in the company of a man with a five year plan, he might give her a try.

They rode the elevator from the basement to the second floor. When he saw the nurse at the counter with a phone in her left hand and her right poised over a keyboard, he halted and fought the urge to run.

“No.” He groaned. “Impossible.”

“Something wrong?” Dr. Probst asked.

Michael cleared his throat. Don’t be an ass. “I never expected to see…” Help! His inner voice shouted the final word of his nightmare.

“Zelda, come and meet the new addition to our group.”

Michael sucked in a breath. The bane of his youthful existence left the computer and sauntered toward them.

His throat constricted. His gut churned. “You work here?” Duh. Could his foot fit any tighter in his mouth? Why else was she dressed in a white uniform? And the lab coat spelled administration. He took a second look. The uniform fit her slender body to perfection.

Dr. Probst beamed. “Guess you know each other. Zelda is our miracle nurse manager.”

Figured she’d find a way to plague him. He didn’t like the ideas swarming like gnats in his thoughts. He batted them away. Sure, Zelda was attractive and probably efficient, but she was a cyclone centered on destructing Michael West MD. Like visions seen by a drowning man, incidents flooded him. She had swamped his high school romance with Allie, and sent depth charges into his summer fling with Bette.

Every time Zelda entered his space strange events occurred. He tripped over invisible cracks in the sidewalk, dropped drinks and plates of food. In her presence, he was an accident primed to happen.

His gaze focused on her. Boy had she changed. Short curly brown hair, bright blue eyes, slender figure with tantalizing curves. An urge to taste her kissable lips made him take a step toward her.

Whoa. This is Zelda. Not a chance. He enjoyed living. His hands fisted and he tore his attention from her to his partner’s briefing on the recovering patients and the ones awaiting surgery.

Zelda added comments, reported changes in conditions and mentioned existing or pending problems. 

Michael realized she ignored him more effectively than he did her. Still, he knew plans for destructing his life stirred like a rising volcano in her head. They always had.

“Mrs. Greene’s going home today,” Dr. Probst said. “She’s to come to the office in a week for staple removal.” He turned to Michael. “Write a prescription for a pain med and antibiotics, same as she’s taking here. All the info is on her chart.”

Michael went to the computer and entered his password. He pulled up Mrs. Greene’s chart. He checked her meds and copied them to an electronic prescription. Once done, he sent the script to her listed pharmacy. He finished the instruction sheet and closed the chart.

Dr. Probst laughed. “Took you less than five minutes. One of the reasons we took you on. You can teach these old dogs some tricks.”

Zelda laughed. “Aren’t computers great? No more huge stacks of paper to worry about.”

No more paper airplanes. Where had that thought come from? Then he remembered, Zelda’s many missives sailing over the fence from her yard to his. He hid a smile as an idea of how to head her off and keep their interactions on a strictly professional level came to him.

Heroine - Zelda

Zelda Carter wanted to pinch herself, but she knew Michael’s arrival wasn’t a dream. She’d heard rumors, but hospital’s grapevine bred stories as fast as mold multiplied in a dungeon. She sat at the desk and stared at nothing. Co-workers bustled past. The loudspeaker crackled. The phone rang. She sighed. He had returned home to practice surgery. She would see him every day.

Maybe this time he would open his eyes to the possibilities. Perhaps the strange and awful occurrences wouldn’t happen. Could she find a crack in his stone heart and prove she was the right woman for him?

Never had.

You’re wrong.

This time she would find a lure he couldn’t resist. She sucked in a breath and swore the citrus scent of him overpowered the sharper hospital odors.

“Ms. Carter, lab on line one,” the unit clerk said.

Zelda grabbed the receiver and jotted some values she’d wanted checked. She turned to the clerk. 

“Karen, if anyone wants me I’ll be in my office.”

“I’ll let them know, boss lady. You need to call Nan.”

“Will do.” Zelda strode down the hall. She needed to let the staff recruiter know there would soon be an opening for a nurse on the unit.”

She shut the door, reached for the phone and punched her friend’s extension. After Nan answered, Zelda mentioned the opening. “Need someone with dynamite qualifications. I’ll email you the specifics.” A gasp burst free when she saw the paper airplane perched on the edge of her desk.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes.” Her heart hammered. What did he want? Visions of Michael filled her thoughts. She drifted into a dream. His green eyes glittered with interest. He asked for a date.

“Zelda, are you there.” Nan’s shout shredded the daydream.

“Just spaced out for a moment.”

“What’s he like?”

“Who?”

“The new surgeon. The house is buzzing with rumors and more. Thought I’d come to the one who has surely met him.”

Zelda laughed. “I have first dibs. Don’t you remember him?”

“If I knew his name I might.”

“Think four years ahead of us in school. Think red gold hair, though now it’s a dark auburn. Think broad shoulders, football, basketball, and baseball. Think handsome as sin.”

Nan chuckled. “Michael West.”

“Yes.”

“Good luck.”

“Thanks.” Zelda hung up. She smoothed the paper airplane. He remembered the hundreds of notes she’d sailed over the back fence.

Must mean something.

Sure it does. Maybe.

The voice of doubt sounded again. She stared at the words he’d written and started the process of deciphering the scrawl. How could he? She’d loved him for years. Granted he’d ignored her years ago.

Professional. An order. As if she was anything but a professional here. A glance at the signature and she burst into uncontrollable laughter. Your former neighbor.

Tears rolled down her face and she gasped to catch a breath. She couldn’t wait to see his face when he learned she lived in the same building. Heavens, their bedrooms were separated by a very thin wall.

She folded her arms. Michael West, you’re in for a surprise. She brought the note to her nose and inhaled the citrus scent permeating the paper, or maybe her imagination. She tucked the note in her pocket. This belonged in her box of Michael mementos. Had he saved the notes and other items she’d given him over the years? Hope grew like bacteria in a Petrie dish. The missive proved his interest. So did the way he’d watched her this morning. His stares had ignited her body.

Michael, watch out. She would find a way to capture more than his sideways glances. She knew something he was too blind to see. She was his perfect mate.

Wednesday's Writer's Tip - The Final Four Ways to Show Characterization #MFRWauthor #amwriting

Exposition - This is the most direct way of showing characterization and is used when there's no other way. Two people could be talking about a third character and letting the reader see things from the views of other people,

Description - We all do this. Write a paragraph using the character's physical aspedts, how he looks, his hair, her body, her features. One problem here is allowing the description to go on so long the reader sees more than he can process at the time.

Narration - Simply telling to reveal how a character may act or plan to act.

Action - Showing the character in the middle of doing something. This can be a physical action scene or one where he perhaps eat. He sat with his head bent and pushed food into his mouth like he was starved. Or She ran as though being chased by a monster. Pale hair flowing behind her and a scream on her lips.

There are a multitude of ways to show characterization and by using more than one the story will be fresh and the reader will form a complete picture of the characters in your story.

Tuesday's Inspiration - More Thoughts on Word By Word

Ann Lamot has an interesting few paragraphs about answering the question I believe is "How do you write?" I've been asked this question and I'm not as funny as she is so if you have a chance read Birt by Bird.

She starts out by saying you sit down at approximately the same time every day." We all know how impossible this is. I've trained myself to write just about everywhere. If not on the paper I can write in my head. This isn't so cool when you're driving or when walking. There are crazy drivers out there and cracks in the sidewalks waiting to ambush you. I don't always write on the computer. Sometimes it's pen and paper.

There's also those people around you who don't understand you're working. They call on the phone or just drop in. Tune them out. An occasional uhum or a yes will let them believe you're listening. There's also the voice in your head that says this is a bunch of nonsense or sometimes in stronger words. I try to tell these voices, It's all right, I'll revise it later.

So I close with this try to set a schedule of time or number of words and just keep writing day after day and suddenly there's a story or a book.

Meandering On Monday with Janet Lane Walters #MFRWauthor #poetry #writing

Meander 1 - Thinking Outside the Box - As writers this is something we're often told to think outside the box when designing our stories. I've found crossword puzzles do this for me. Suddenly you need a word to fill in a block and the definition throws you. Then you kind of slip sideways in your thinking and the word is there. Other times you've filled in some of the letters and all of a sudden you realize what the definition means. I always think, why didn't I see that? We can do this in other parts of our life. And it's fun to think of solutions for ourselves or our characters that aren't expected in the path you've been following.

Meander 2 - A poem. I remember writing this for a friend and we chuckled over the emaning.

                                                      Coffee Grounds
In the morning I always wanted hot coffee.
You never did.
For twenty years alone I drank
And filled my cup with fresh perked brew.
You stayed in bed until I called.
Your aftershave blotted the fragrance
Of my coffee beans.
Our marriage simmered on the stove.
A tiny flame of twenty years.
The oils and essences losing strength.
Turning bitter in the pot.
Until today ---
I emptied the grounds.

Meander 3 - Working hard on Wizards and hopefully will finish before the end of the year. Am doing the draft where I'm filling in all those things I hate to write when I'm rushing through the rough draft. The pages of each chapter have scribbled directions in the margins. When I finish this re-write hopefully most of the chapters will be filled to perfection or to revision where I don't have to write entire chapters again. I know of at least one that will need written again since while going over it I had to reconfigure matters. The chapter is a bit rough but once I get to the end of the draft I'll know what to do.

Sunday - My Book - Lines of Fire #MFRWauthor #Fantasy #action #romance

                                                             

1. 

Lines of Fire (The Guild House - Defenders Hall) , http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/lines-of-fire-janet-lane-walters/1115409755?ean=2940046529913, 

https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-linesoffire-1214666-153.html,  https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/lines-of-fire-1,
 https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/318977





Lines of Fire

To honor a promise made to his dying father, Alric trains as a Defender. For some reason the Swordmaster wishes him gone and his first two bondings end in failure. A failed third one will see Alric banished. His meeting with the older daughter of the Swordmaster reveals a double heart bond, but she has been promised to Petan, the Swordmaster’s favorite. A duel is fought and though Alric can read Petan’s lines of fire, the other dueler cheats and nearly kills Alric. Petan is banished but he knows secret ways into Defenders Hall. Kalia, his now bondmate’s lines are tarnished. Not only do Alric and Kalia need to find Petan, they must learn how to cleanse her lines.

Reviews

Good story

By C. C. P. on January 20, 2013

Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase

This was a good story. I liked the characters and the world created. The "lines of fire" was an interesting concept. I especially liked this idea and how it was revealed and used within the story. However, this book could have been so much more. I would have liked the characters to be fleshed out more and with greater emotion. It needed more explanation of the background details. Sentences were choppy and hard to follow at times. Characters had little physical descriptions and that drove me crazy as I always work to create a picture of them and the world they live in as I read. Truly, this is a good story and a good read. I do recommend you read it.

Here's a hero you can fall in love with

By Debbi Cracovia on July 19, 2014

Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase

Everything you would expect from a Paranormal romance.

Comment Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Saturday's Blurbs feature Books by Frank Talaber

Raven's Lament

(This book involves the true story of the cutting down of the Golden Spruce Tree on Haida Gwaii)

"The first time I saw you, was the second time I loved you," wrote Brook Grant in his diary. One problem, the reporter investigates the cutting down of the Golden Spruce only to find out that the legend is true. The ancient native prince trapped inside has been released and so has Raven. Yes, apparently, The Raven.

            So when a native God steals away your heart and soul, how do you get her back?

Well, you hire a shaman who is more whacked than a hockey player's slap shot and nuttier than a squirrel's winter stash.

            "Yeah, this is going to work, I'll get my lady back and we'll live happily ever after," Brook added to his diary after banging his head several times.

Shaman's Lure

 (This involves some of Pauline Johnson's stories from the early 1900's book, Legends of Vancouver)

Vancouver's mayor is found brutally slain in Stanley Park beside the memorial to Pauline Johnson. His family is missing and no clues to the disappearance. Carol's first big case as a police detective. In the middle of the night a shaman show's up, spouting that the clues are there, you just have to open your eyes and your viewpoint and you can see them. Unfortunately he also vanishes. Carol has to now to prove he exists, along with finding the family before the city erupts in gang violence. Why you ask?

Just so happens that there's a bar in Stanley Park where if you get drunk enough, spirits take over your body and use it for whatever they want until you sober up. One is a Hell's Angel back for revenge, and another is a native witchy succubus, desperate to come back to life.

Carol is beginning to think wrestling alligators and skydiving with your hands tied behind your back is suddenly a nice cushy career instead.

Shuttered Seduction (being released this fall)

All Roy wanted to do was seduce Julia-Rae and convince her to sell him her company.  Julia-Rae wanted to shut him out of her heart like every other man that ever got close. Only what do you do when you fall in madly in love with the enemy and the enemy with you. Will the dark secrets they hold tear them apart or drive them deeper in love?

What's  A Lady Got To Do?

                                    Seduction when performed at the hands of a master is an art, when done by another woman is sublimely erotic. Leanne had never been with a woman before walking into Samantha's Lingerie store, would being seduced by her change her life forever? Especially after a client suggests her trying something extra in order to sell her house. One of those, only in Hollywood stories.

And just to sum everything up about me. Read my latest endorsement from a fellow writer.

"After being stranded twenty kilometers

from the nearest road at the tip of

Rose Spit, Haida Gwaii, and having to

push Frank's spanking new SUV a few 

kilometers along the beach before the

tide came in and we ran out of booze,

my first reaction on being asked to

write a back cover blurb was,

“over my dead body." Some people

will do anything to get an endorsement.”

            Susan Musgrave

Friday - Frank Talaber is Talking about Heroes, Heroines and Villains #MFRWauthor #writing

#1. I write in many genres, everything from urban fantasy, science fiction, romance, paranormal romance, erotica, literary. I've got currently on the go, three sci fi novels, one erotica, three romance, one is contemporary about a lady police officer and a male undercover cop. A paranormal romance, in the genre of werewolves, which I know has been done to death, but this is more about finding a being stranded on a planet and falling in love with it. Also a romance with a twist, the lady dies and leaves her loving husband a diary of an affair she's been having since she was a teenager. With another woman. I've also got a time travel novel on the go that involves a scene with the Titanic. What I love to do, and if you read my novels you'll see, is weave several plot threads together. Some of my books also cross genres, I really hate being pigeon toed into a specific slot, again it's about weaving plot and dragging the reader in and making them believe.

#2. Usually the good guys, male or female. Their struggles, determination and perseverance. Like in real life, we all struggle to either get by or deal with what life throws us and usually by nature I'm a very positive minded person. I will and can succeed is my motto, only how and how do I make it a win/win situation. 

#3. Often I let the situation attract the hero. An event happens and into I pull a person, whether in a picture, usually, or a face I've seen in a movie, or a role played by someone. Sometimes making the reader like this person is the hard part, especially if the hero has issues or some not so desirable qualities.

#4. With heroines, I've usually a face of someone in my head before the story moves forward. However saying that often I just plunk a situation down on paper and pull someone I've seen or have a picture of out of head. Then I spend some time, same with the hero, asking questions of them and usually fill out a page or so of background material. Like what was their childhood like, great loves, career, dislikes, fears etc. That helps a lot for getting inside their head as the novel progresses. Sometimes this also brings up problems, because the character will deal with something in a unexpected way due to the person they are. So if the question that is often asked is "is that character like a real person to me?". I think truthfully most writers and myself will say "Yes." Maybe that's why a lot of writers are more introverted, they've all these people talking to them. Who knows, as I once was told, there is a thin line between crazy and genius. A think a lot of writers, if they are dedicated to the art form, have to walk that edge, hopefully without, as good old Darth once said, "Luke, come join the darkside." LOL.  

#5. The bad dudes. I think even the baddest out there has to have some good inside of them, and like I said earlier vice versa for the good guys. My question is what made them the way they are? Some evil people are truly evil, only from their perspective they think they're are doing good works. Again it's walking that thin line between wanting be good and just plain bananas.  Most villains are selfish people to the extreme, and some yes are not really evil, they are just the person standing in the way of the good person meeting their goals. Sometimes the baddy is actually nicer than the good guy, those are fun to portray.

#6. My newest release, coming out in a couple of months is, Shuttered Seduction. A romance between a successful, although lonely, career woman, Julia-Rae McNaughton. And Roy Sutter, a hero with a dark past who is out to save his company and seduce the heroine. Only one slight problem. He's falling for her.  So in this book the hero and the villain are the same person. She doesn't want to fall in love, he doesn't want to lose his company. I'm not saying any more.

#7. The main book I'm working on is called, "Thudnerbird's Wake," the third in a series about a whacked out Shaman named Charlie and his assistant, Carol a detective.  He blackmails himself into becoming a Elder of a prison, only to uncover something far bigger than even he realized. I'd say he's bitten off more than he can chew, except Charlie has been known to eat some pretty weird plants.

#8. 

http://twosoulmates.wix.com/frankt-author-blog

 http://about.me/ftalaber

http://amazon.com/author/franktalaber

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Frank-Talaber/805296946204873

http://www.bookswelove.net/authors/talaber-frank/

https://museituppublishing.com/bookstore/index.php/museitup/fantasy/urban-fantasy/shamans-lure-detail

Thursday - My Heroes, Heroines and Villains - Gemstones #MFRWauthor #regency #historical

The Hero :

Greene, the elderly butler, stood in the hall. "My lady, the Earl has arrived. He’s supping in the library."

"Thank you."

"Do you wish me to wait and go down with you?"

She shook her head. With too few servants remaining at the manor house, the stoop-shouldered man did more than his share of work. "There’s no need. Go to your bed."

After he left, she lit a taper and picked up the letter. Before leaving the room, she read the words again. This time, she held her tears inside. If Drew saw she’d been weeping, he would find a way to blame himself. A habit she believed stemmed from the way his father had heaped the coals of his own failures on Drew’s head.

Holding the candlestick high, she descended the broad and curving staircase. The study door was closed. She tapped lightly.

Drew stood behind a battered desk and held his hands toward the flames in the fireplace. Light from candles on the mantelpiece made his hair appear as black as lacquered ware from the Orient. His gray jacket molded the muscles grown firm from his labor on the estates these past two years.

She crossed the room. He turned. His eyes, the color of fine Persian turquoise, showed concern. "Aunt Aldora, are you all right?"

The unofficial title he’d bestowed on her years ago brought a rush of warmth and love. She placed the candle on the desk. "I never meant to give you fright, but I received a letter --"

"Demanding payment of yet another debt we have no way to prove is false." His hands tightened on her shoulders. "Damn him for leaving you in such a state."

Aldora stepped away. "The letter concerns another matter."

"And that is?"

"Sorrow and hope."

He slumped on a chair behind the battered desk he’d brought from the estate manager’s office. For years until it had been sold, a magnificent oak piece had graced the room. "Whatever do you mean?"

She opened the letter. "This is from Duncan Gordon of India. He rescued Alice and married her. Drew, I have three granddaughters." Joy radiated from her eyes and filled her voice.

"How do you know this isn’t a trick to foist some merchant’s chits on you so they can be presented to the ton? News of your daughter’s flight were wide-spread."

She shook her head. "He mentions things only Alice knew. And he sent me this." She held a locket. "I gave it to her on her twelfth birthday. She always wore it."

"And now this merchant sends his daughters so you can bear the expense of them. How, when we can barely feed and clothe ourselves?" He scowled.

"Why are you so cynical? My son-in-law wants his daughters away from India. He suggests you marry the eldest girl and become guardian of the younger ones. They stand to have substantial fortunes."

Drew walked to the window that looked into the rear courtyard of the H-shaped house. He pulled aside the musty draperies and stared at the night sky. What else could he be but cynical? He had land he couldn’t sell, houses he couldn’t repair, and people dependent on him he couldn’t help.

Had Duncan Gordon married Aldora’s daughter? How could he be sure the girls were what they said?

"Perhaps he recently learned Alice is the daughter of an earl and wishes to use your position to see her daughters marry well."

"I don’t believe that’s the reason. With the dowries mentioned in the letters, the girls can marry for love."

"Love is a dream." The words emerged clipped and cold. He’d never understood how such a vague emotion could turn a man or a woman into a fool. He remembered the many times he’d heard his mother cry about her love for his father. Then her love for another man had caused her to abandon her family.

The Villain

Calcutta, September 1810

"Never!" Nicola held back her tears. She glared at the dark-haired man who stood on the other side of the table her father had used as a desk. Fergus Crawford always made her think of a snake. His dark and hooded eyes gleamed with the hypnotic power of a cobra. She swallowed the lump fear had formed in her throat. "My sisters and I will stay here. This house is ours."

His lips curled into a sneer. "Calcutta is no place for three lassies ta live with na male protection. Your pa and me were partners and cousins. He’s sure ta name my guardian."

Nicola drew a deep breath. He didn’t know about the arrangements her papa had made for them. "We will not leave our home."

"Then I will come here. ‘Tis a finer house than mine." His smile chilled her. "Time has come for me ta take a wife. Your canny eye for gemstones had made a fortune for your pa and me. I ain’t about to lose your skills."

Nicola swallowed a rush of bitter fluid. She needed time. If the escort didn’t arrive soon, she would have to take her sisters and flee.

He leaned across the table. "I think you’ll do nicely. You’ve a fortnight to make ready for the wedding. I’ll be away. Your pa lost something of great value. You sure there was na goodly sized sapphire in the last lot you sorted?"

She shook her head. She refused to tell him about the pouch her father had given her and the gems she hadn’t examined yet. "You saw all the gems there were."

"Search again. I want that sapphire." He clamped his hat on his head. "Twa weeks, lassie."

The Heroine:

She hadn’t told her sisters that their father had arranged a marriage for her. She thought of her parents and the closeness they had shared. She wanted to find the same kind of live, but how could she with a stranger?

"Papa," she cried. "Why did you leave us?"

"Young Seeker."

Nicola whirled. "Namtase, Yogi Yakshi. I didn’t expect you today."

"There is much I must tell you before you leave this land." He put a hand on her arm to still her cries of protest. "You must listen."

She bowed her head. "I will hear."

"There is a gem, the Third Eye of Siva. The one who has the gem as a gift will receive all he deserves."

She frowned. Papa had mentioned Siva and the Third Eye. Cousin Fergus had demanded a large sapphire. Were they the same?

"I don’t understand."

"This is not the time for understanding. It is the time of flight from danger."

"Why did Papa leave us?"

The elderly man took her hand. "My child, each of us remains on this plain for an allotted time. Your father has completed his cycle and now embraces a new existence."

"How can you be sure?"

He smiled. "This is the way of things."

Nicola knew he would say no more on the matter. She leaned against the railing.

"In the distant past, wise men cast horoscopes for those born in the future. I have seen yours. You have tasks to perform. In a far land, you will meet one who needs your loving spirit to release him from the bonds he has tied around his heart and soul."

What did he mean? The yogi’s teachings were often oblique and filled with mystical meanings. "I don’t want to leave my home."

"To stay is to court danger." Dark eyes filled with wisdom captured her gaze. "Once you look into the Third Eye of Siva, all will be clear."

She swallowed. "I don’t understand."

"You must leave this land and fulfill your destiny. Forget not my teachings and choose your path to maksha carefully. The way of liberation from the cycles is difficult, yet each time you make the journey brings you closer to perfection."

Sadness wove a dark pattern in her thoughts. "I will return. I can’t live forever in a strange land."

"Love will bind you to the place of your people. The path to kama is strewn with boulders, but in the end, you will find all the love you seek. My blessing goes with you."

Nicola bowed to him. "May your days be filled with enlightenment."

"And yours with learning. We have met before and our lives will be joined again."

"I pray you are right."

"Miss Nicola," Sarad called. "A man has come."

Nicola watched the yogi until he reached the garden gate. She wanted to call him back and ask him to change the words he’d said and to give her hope of a return. After he vanished into the mist, she followed Sarad into the house.

A slender, foppish man with graying hair paced from one side of the parlor to the other. At Nicola’s entrance, he paused. "Miss Gordon."

"Who are you?"

"Isaac Timmons, at your service. Mr. Grey sent me to escort you and your sisters to London."

Relief flooded Nicola. "When do we leave?"

"The ship sails in a week. I trust you will be ready."

She nodded. They would be safely away before Cousin Fergus returned to Calcutta. "We’ll be ready. We’ve already begun to pack."

"Very good." he smiled. "By the time we reach London, the Earl of Denmere will have signed the marriage contracts."

She wished to forget that part of her father’s plans. She turned away. Why must she wed a stranger?

After Mr. Timmons was settled in the guest room, Nicola went to her bedroom. She lifted the pouch of gems her father had pushed into her hand the night he died. In England, her sisters would be safe. She tucked the pouch in her trunk. The gemstones would provide a means for her return.