Happy Monday readers! We at Astaea Press hoped that you all had a fabulous Mother's Day yesterday. Today we are pleased to have J Gunna Grey author of Deal with the Devil Part 1is here talking about the characters in her book.
Wehrmacht Major Faust has a dangerous secret: he likes England. But it’s May 1940 and his Panzers are blasting the British Army off Dunkirk’s beach, so he keeps his mouth shut even though it hurts. When the Waffen SS try to murder their English prisoners of war, Faust helps the POWs escape. Now it’s treason, with his neck on the line.
Three months later, a friend gets him drunk, straps him into a parachute, and throws him out over Oxford during a bombing run. He’s quickly caught. Because he helped type the battle plan for the invasion of England, he cannot allow himself to be broken in interrogation. Two German armies depend on it. But every time he escapes, someone rapes and murders a woman and the English are looking for someone to hang. He’s damned if he stays, risking someone else’s life if he runs, and risking execution by the Gestapo if he makes it home.
Major Stoner, Oxford don turned British intelligence officer, sees three possibilities. Faust perhaps was joyriding in that bomber, as he claims. Or he’s on a reconnaissance mission for the German invasion. Or he’s a spy. Stoner must break Faust to learn the truth, no matter how it strains his old heart. He must save England, and his granddaughter.
Their battlefield is confined to a desktop. Only one of them can win. Someone must break. Someone must make a Deal with the Devil.
In Deal with the Devil, three characters are on a collision course. Two are fighting to break each other. The third waits to one side, unable to intervene and doomed to pick up the pieces. But that doesn’t make her the weakest of the three.
It’s August 1940 and the Battle of Britain is raging. Major Hans-Joachim Faust is a modern German Army officer, educated and intelligent, but not worldly. He can drive a tank, crush enemy resistance, ride a strange horse across country, recite English sixteenth-century poetry from memory--but his understanding of the human heart, including his own, is shaky. Even as his Panzers are blasting the British Expeditionary Force off Dunkirk’s beaches, Faust loves England almost as much as he loves Germany and still he considers the English his friends.
When he’s captured and interrogated, it’s a nightmare beyond any he could imagine. The gentle people he knew before the war are fighting for survival and they’re gentle no longer. Everything is used against him--his friends, his naiveté, his honor, even his dislike of cabbage. If only he could figure out who to believe, who to trust, perhaps he’d have a chance of surviving this disaster. But before he understand his English captors and interrogator, he must first understand himself.
Major Cedric Stoner of British Military Intelligence is an old-school reserve officer. An Oxford don for forty years, he tutored and lectured in English poetry at Magdalen College, alongside C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and the other Inklings. (Yes, they get a mention.) He also commanded a battalion in the First World War, was injured and captured by the Kaiser’s army, and understands in his bones how to manipulate, confuse, and break a prisoner of war.
But Stoner has spent his career building up students, not destroying them. It’s an awful conflict and it runs deep, putting a strain on his aging heart. If only he could put aside the habits of a lifetime of teaching, then perhaps the bitter taste from this dishonorable task wouldn’t seem so overwhelming. But two German armies are poised on the French beaches, waiting to invade England. Breaking Faust could make the difference between victory and crushing defeat.
His granddaughter, Jennifer Stoner, worries over the possible German invasion and grieves for her younger sister, the first victim of a brutal serial killer. There must be some way to stop the Germans, short of her beloved grandfather destroying himself trying to break that man Faust. And there must be some way to catch the animal who murdered Harriet, who kills again every time Faust escapes.
If she could get her hands on the murderer, she’d make him pay. All she needs is someone to hold him down and she’ll finish the job.
Part one of Deal with the Devil is available now. The endgame in part two is coming from Astraea Press in June.
Criminey! That does not sound like one of our usual sweets. In case anyone hasn't noticed Astraea is more than just romance and kissing. We have an eclectic mix of authors and the list just keeps growing. Check out J Gunnar's Deal with the Devil and stay tuned for Part 2.
What can a coupon queen possibly have in common with a Crown Prince? Everything.
Author: Lori Crawford
Genre: Contemporary Romance; Romantic Suspense
193 Pages (PDF)
Cover Artist: Elaina Lee
ISBN: 978-1-935852-23-9
What can a coupon queen possibly have in common with a Crown Prince? Everything.
After being accused of attempting to rob a bank that was actually trying to rob them – legally – a coupon queen goes on the run with a Crown Prince who’d been living in the U.S. anonymously for the past year. Armed with only her coupon binder, the two flee the area in an effort to meet up with his royal head of security for protection. But first, they must elude the two very determined bank guards who will let nothing stop them from retrieving the damning video of the bank incident from the couple.
EXCERPT
Joan fiddled with the zipper on her camera case and huddled in the cozy booth at the restaurant she’d noticed the guy frequented. She could see why once her eyes adjusted to the darkened interior enough to admire the nautical themes running throughout the place. She just hoped that the lifesaver hanging above her booth wasn’t some kind of sign. With any luck, he’d show up soon so she could get his e-mail address and send him the footage she’d shot and be done with the whole thing.
She peeked inside her canvas bag at the plastic baggie which still contained far too much cash. Joan was pretty sure she wouldn’t be able to go back and make a final payment now. Maybe she could redeposit it in her new bank and do an Internet transfer instead. She knew it was taking a chance and she’d incur some serious late fees, but it would be worth it to be finished with this whole business.
She considered the footage of the incident and took a sip of the iced Earl Grey she’d ordered. The same thing had happened to her almost verbatim. For the first time in two years, she began to wonder if the bank hadn’t been more complicit in her financial woes than they’d let on. When the thought surfaced, anger bubbled up in her chest. She thought about all the hoops she’d jumped through, all the little pleasures she’d denied herself, the life she’d missed out on because of this bank.
Being pretty naïve back then when it came to financial matters outside of coupons, she’d taken them at their word that she’d been at fault for not letting the deposit sit for a day or two before going on the fateful shopping trip that had overdrawn the account by two thousand eight hundred sixty-nine dollars and eighty-five cents. Now, she was almost positive they’d held the deposit on purpose to cause her to overdraw the account so they could start charging all those ridiculous fees. Two thousand eight hundred sixty four dollars’ worth of fees to be exact.
“There you are. You are one hard woman to find.”
Joan looked up, startled from her reverie. The shock increased when she saw the man with his blue eyes staring down at her. What was the matter with her? After all, she’d been sitting here for quite a while now hoping he’d show.
“May I?”
He gestured toward the bench seat opposite her and waited for permission to sit. Feeling like a classless idiot, she managed a nod. He slid into the booth and smiled at her. Just when she thought things couldn’t get any worse. The man should be forced to carry a permit for that smile. She imagined it could be absolutely deadly for any female he used it on. And right now, he was using it on her.
“I do believe I owe you my life,” the man stated, never taking his eyes off her face.
The over-the-top line snapped her out of her awe. She wrinkled her nose. “A bit too dramatic, don’t you think?”
The smile left his lips, but stayed in his eyes. And she’d thought that weapon of his was lethal before. He wasn’t an amateur at using it, either.
“Perhaps,” he agreed, but she got the feeling he was just telling her what she wanted to hear. Unless he was a complete drama queen, he seemed to believe something else was behind his treatment from earlier. She didn’t know where it came from, but she had the undeniable urge to reassure him.
“I could be wrong, but I don’t think you’re the first customer who’s been cheated out of money by that bank.”
He frowned at her. “What do you mean?”
Joan dropped her gaze to study the dark polished wood of the table between them. Did she dare tell him about her stupidity? That would make a great impression on the sexiest man she’d ever seen in her life. Who was she kidding? Great looking guys didn’t go out with frumpy chicks like her. Stupid or not. “I haven’t figured everything out, you know, with all the running away and stuff, but I’ve had the same conversation with them almost word for word.”
He leaned back in the booth with a frown marring his prominent brow. “What did you do? Did they resolve it?”
Joan snorted a humorless laugh before she could stop herself. “It was resolved alright. I was there to make the final eight hundred dollar payment on the loan I had to take out to resolve the situation.”
“I see.” He sat forward again and laced his long fingers together on the table. “How often were these payments?”
Becoming more and more uncomfortable with the line of questioning, Joan thought about refusing to answer while rolling her glass between her palms. Considering what he was about to go through, she figured it was only fair to warn him. “Every month for the last two years.”
He gave a low whistle. “How much were you overdrawn?”
Joan bristled at the question. That part was none of his business. She was already embarrassed at the hole she’d dug herself. She didn’t need to lay out the gory details for a complete stranger. The man must be a mind reader. He reached out and covered both her hands with his. The heat from his hands contrasted with the iciness of the glass and claimed her full attention.
“I don’t mean to pry. I’m just trying to get a handle on their game.”
Joan relaxed. Well as much as she could with his gentle touch warming her to levels she didn’t quite understand. “One hundred eighty-six dollars and twenty-four cents.”
Because their hands were linked, she felt him tense before she noted the tight lines that framed his mouth. “Eight hundred for twenty-four months?” His brows shot up. “So you paid them over nineteen thousand dollars when you owed under two hundred at the beginning.”
Joan shook her head. “Nineteen…? No. I doubled up on payments to get rid of the debt faster.” She wanted to grin from ear to ear at his nod and look of approval. Somehow, she managed to keep her expression neutral. “It was a little under seventeen thousand to pay them off.”
The tight lines around his mouth returned. “Almost a fifty percent interest rate. How do they manage to get away with that? Maybe ten or fifteen percent of what you owe, but not fifty.”
“Now that I think about it, I’m not positive I owed the two thousand to begin with. It’s a ludicrous amount of money and it would take me ages to spend so much. At the risk of sounding like a conspiracy theorist, I think they held my deposit on purpose.”
She watched his lips quirk like something had just amused him, but she couldn’t for the life of her imagine what. Before he could share what he was thinking, the waitress interrupted. The woman was all smiles and with a trim figure that Joan could only imagine for herself. And that was if she were having a good day. She wasn’t sure today qualified.
The woman placed a glass of what appeared to be cranberry juice in front of the man and refilled Joan’s glass. She smiled at their linked hands on the table and winked at him. “It’s about time you brought in a dining companion. I was beginning to worry about you.”
Joan felt her face flush and tried to pull out of his grip. To her astonishment, he held on tight. “Well, Molly, I most humbly apologize for any sleepless nights I may have caused you.”
The woman snorted. “I didn’t say all that, Tom.”
Joan didn’t know why, but it surprised her to hear him laugh at the waitress’ reaction. He didn’t appear to be annoyed at all.
“Are ya’ll ready to order?” She swept a lock of black hair from her forehead with her left hand. That was when Joan got a glimpse of the diamond ring on her finger. Hmm. Maybe Tom’s lethal smile didn’t work on all women. The moment she recalled the name Molly had called him, Joan realized they’d never even introduced themselves. Yet, here they were holding hands like a couple of lovebirds.
Joan noticed with a start they were both looking at her. Molly had her pen poised over a pad ready for her order. Tom watched her with an expectant look in his eyes. They must think she planned to stay for dinner. While she’d been waiting for him, she checked out the prices to factor into her budget next month. This month, however, she didn’t have a spare dime because she’d allocated every penny to the final payment and now she was also on the verge of some serious late fees from the stupid loan she’d taken. No, she was going to get Tom’s e-mail and get herself home.
“I think we need another moment or two, Molly. Thanks.” The waitress nodded and headed off to check on other customers while Tom turned his attention back to Joan.
She needed to conclude their business and be on her way. So she said, “I’m Joan.”
Tom frowned at the non sequitur so she continued, “Molly used your name and I realized we never introduced ourselves so I’m…”
“…Joan,” he finished for her. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Joan. I do hope you’re not thinking of running out and leaving me here to dine alone. Molly will never let me live it down.”
“In all honesty, I was just hoping to run into you to give you the video I shot and then be on my way. If you give me your e-mail address I’ll send it to you tonight.” She pulled out of his grasp and gestured with the camera case. “I think you have a pretty good claim to file against the bank. This footage will help.”
“How did you know to find me here?” he asked. His eyes took on an intensity she had yet to see from him in their brief acquaintance.
“It’s like this. I’ve kinda seen you around. Here, in fact. So I took a chance…” She trailed off with a shrug.
“That’s it? What if I didn’t show?”
“I’d have seen you sooner or later. I would’ve asked for your e-mail then.”
Tom stared at her for a long moment. At last, his serious expression gave way to that lethal smile of his. She must have passed whatever test he’d given her. She made no excuses, she knew she’d gone through one with a certainty she rarely felt.
“You’ve gone through so much trouble for me. The least I can do is treat you to dinner.”
She shook her head. “You need to conserve your funds. I have a feeling this little incident is going to get worse long before it gets better. You’ll need something to get you through.”
He tilted his head while he studied her. Without taking his eyes off her, he signaled Molly. “I have other accounts.” Molly arrived with a pen at the ready. “We’ll start with the Bruschetta and Caesar salad. For the main course, we’d like a sampling of the jerk chicken, wild salmon enchiladas and turkey meatloaf to share. We’ll top it off with the apple crisp and vanilla ice cream.”
Molly gave them a big grin. “You got it.”
Joan stared at him with one raised eyebrow. “You’re not at all worried about your bank problem are you?”
“Not at all. It’ll get worked out. To my benefit, in fact.”
Joan chewed on the straw in her tea. “I so hope those aren’t famous last words.”
For more info on Lori click her name at the top and to buy Royal Opposites click the title above. Welcome Welcome Lori...
Well it's the end of the rode on this little short Astraea Press' authors put together for all our pleasure. Since it all started with three words we thought it would be only fitting to end it with three words. To go back and read it from the beginning hit part 1 and well you can figure out the rest. Also Kay Springsteen and Kim Bowman did Part four as well as this last installment. We thank all the AP authors who contributed to this endeavor.
Have you ever watched a cat play with a mouse? The beast will circle its poor little prey, reach a paw out and tap the mouse on the head then pull back. It’ll circle again. Tap. Circle. Tap. Again and again and again.
I am the cat. My story is my prey.
Sounds so sinister and macabre, doesn’t it?
I don’t eat my prey when I’m done playing with it, (although the dog has eaten a few printed copies…) but the intensity that I approach my writing with is the same as that predatory cat’s.
Putting a scene in their head onto paper is one of the hardest things a writer can do. It’s one I put off as long as possible, too. I circle and circle around scenes, working over every angle in my head. Sometimes I tap the keyboard and put a few words or paragraphs or pages on the screen.
I don’t know how to say definitively where my ideas come from—it varies for each story or even each scene.
Beginning writers often spend a great majority of time searching for ideas, rather than putting the ideas they do have into words. It’s a form of procrastination borne from fear—if they don’t write it, then no one will read it and think it is bad. So they don’t write it. They offer the excuses of ‘I can’t find the right ideas!’ or ‘This has already been done!’ or ‘I have too many ideas and don’t know which one to use!’
But I can say one thing that may help a beginning writer overcome this hurdle—you will not ever be able to put the idea in your head into words well enough to say exactly what you want to express when the idea first hit you. Ideas are abstract, words on paper are much more concrete.
To get the scene written in a manner you’ll be pleased with you’re going to have to do some work.
First, forget the big picture. Work small. You can start with the general idea. Olivia’s Journey started with one line.
I knew my uncle would kill him if he saw him, so I hid him down in the barn on Jessup Mill’s farm…
I don’t fully know where this line came from—I was mostly asleep when it popped into my head. I sat up, wrote it down on a scrap sheet of paper, then went back to sleep with a head-full of questions such as ‘Who said this? Why would the uncle kill him? Where was Jessup Mill’s farm? Why was the barn empty?” All of these questions came from that quick little stream of consciousness idea that appeared virtually out of nowhere.
But these questions were enough to trigger other ideas which led to more lines which led to more questions. Which led to more and more of all of these things.
As I answered these questions, I just kept going. Kept writing. Beginning writers often fall into the trap of feeling each scene or chapter needs to be perfect before the next scene can be written. They spend so much time on editing and revising and wanting to ensure they get the scene just like that first original idea that they forget that there is more to a novel than those early scenes. They revise and revise and eventually lose interest in the work. Until they get to the point that they abandon the story.
So they never finish anything.
Many people say they want to write novels, but only a very small percentage actually manage to reach the last page. Most of these writers do so by not letting themselves edit until they do reach that point.
This is incredibly hard, but it works for many writers. Including me. It took me a while to realize this, but since I have, my writing productivity has changed drastically. I actually finish stories. And just like that cat after the mouse has met its inevitable demise, I am filled with an incredible sense of satisfaction once I reach that last page.
And then the real fun begins…revision.
Wow great post BG! I love the ending then the fun begin's revision. Hate revision and edits so much! Anyway BG is the author of on of our new releases Olivia's Journey. You can see more about it down below.
Author: B.G. Lashbrooks
Genre: Historical, Romance, Young Adult
190 Pages (PDF)
Cover Artist: Elaina Lee
ISBN: 978-1-936852-24-6
It’s the Spring of 1865 and Mr. Lincoln runs the country...probably better than Olivia’s hard-fisted uncle runs his farm in Southern Indiana. Olivia would give anything to escape his abuse, but as long as he provides a shelter for her and her two younger sisters, she has no choice. But she soon has to make a daring decision when she finds a Confederate soldier bleeding alongside the riverthat borders heruncle’s farm. Soon Olivia and the soldier are running for their lives through Yankee country, with only Olivia’s twelve year old sister for company. But thenthe War is declared over and the President dead, what will that mean for the Confederate man who’d done so much to help Olivia? What will that mean for her?
We are super excited to release Olivia's Journey and her author B G Lashbrooks. Check it out...
Blurb
Author: B.G. Lashbrooks
Genre: Historical, Romance, Young Adult
190 Pages (PDF)
Cover Artist: Elaina Lee
ISBN: 978-1-936852-24-6
It’s the Spring of 1865 and Mr. Lincoln runs the country...probably better than Olivia’s hard-fisted uncle runs his farm in Southern Indiana. Olivia would give anything to escape his abuse, but as long as he provides a shelter for her and her two younger sisters, she has no choice. But she soon has to make a daring decision when she finds a Confederate soldier bleeding alongside the riverthat borders heruncle’s farm. Soon Olivia and the soldier are running for their lives through Yankee country, with only Olivia’s twelve year old sister for company. But thenthe War is declared over and the President dead, what will that mean for the Confederate man who’d done so much to help Olivia? What will that mean for her?
Elaine Cantrell is hanging with us over at the blog today and she's brought Matt McCallum a former Green Bay Packer who is in her book A New Dream. Check out the book then check out Matt
Blurb
After an auto accident destroys his pro-football career, Matt McCallum struggles to find a new dream for his life, but nothing engages him the way football did. After a stint in rehab, he takes a job managing a grocery store where he meets Violet Emerson.
Violet works in the bakery department, but her dreams carry her far beyond the doors of Chef’s Pantry. As soon as she can save the money, she plans to open a catering business. And she thinks the new manager’s broad shoulders and blue eyes are simply divine.
Thrown together at work, Matt and Violet find a common dream for their lives, but a loose end from Matt’s past returns to jeopardize their future. Will love be enough to save their new dream before it turns into a nightmare?
Interview
Good evening. Welcome to Saturday Night Roundup where you’ll be the first to know what’s worth knowing in the sports world. My name is Henry Ross, and this is my co-host Chris Alexander. Chris, we have a sad story to report tonight.
We sure do, Henry, and I can’t think of anything I’ve hated more to announce.
Before we get to our feature story, I’d like to replay an interview we did just a few weeks ago with Matt McCallum, a kicker for the Green Bay Packers.
He turns in his chair and watches the interview on a monitor behind him.
Welcome to Saturday Night Roundup. Chris, who’s our guest for this evening’s interview?
Henry, we got lucky. Matt McCallum is in the studio to do an interview for us.
They stand up and shake hands as Matt enters the set.
Henry: Matt thanks for taking time to talk to us. Did you always dream of playing pro-football?
Matt: Yeah, I did. From the time I was a kid, all I thought about was football.
Chris: In other interviews you’ve commented on how much your father supported you.
Matt: He did. Dad saw every football game I ever played.
Chris: Did you pick the Packers, or did they pick you?
Matt: They picked me. I was their first round draft pick, and I’m sure glad of it. Coach McCarthy is great to play for.
Henry: Do you ever take off that Super Bowl ring? If any sports fan in the country doesn’t know, Matt kicked the winning field goal in the Super Bowl to win the game for the Packers.
Matt: (grins) No, I haven’t taken it off yet.
Chris: (points to a picture on a monitor) This picture was taken as the team left the field after their Super Bowl victory. That’s a mighty pretty girl you’re hugging.
Matt: (laughs) Yeah, that’s Stacey. We got engaged a few weeks ago.
Henry: Congratulations. She is a beautiful woman.
Matt: Thank you.
The monitor goes blank and both Henry and Chris shake their heads.
Henry: Football fans, last night Matt and his fiancée were in a car crash. Stacey is fine, but Matt was hurt pretty bad. His right leg was amputated right above his knee according to coach Mike McCarthy. In a statement released this morning, McCarthy said, “We’re going to miss Matt. He was a great athlete with a wonderful future in front of him. Along with the team, I wish him the best.”
Chris: I’m sure Matt would appreciate all of your thoughts and prayers. Cards can be sent to the Packers who’ll forward them to Matt.
That's some pretty crazy things that happened to Matt! Boy Elaine sounds slightly sadistic. LOL She's not really. She's a great writer. Thanks for coming Matt and Elaine.
