Title:
Guarding Angel
Series:
Fallen Redemption #1
Genre:
Adult Fantasy
Release
Date: May 19, 2014
Links:
Guardian angel Enael can’t seem to keep her human Wards in check. They’re the ones who choose their paths before reincarnating—she’s just there to help make sure they stay on track. But it’s not as easy as it might look.
When she meets and falls in love with charismatic Kaspen, a fellow Guardian, Enael’s feelings about Heaven, Hell, demons, and the life she’s known are turned upside down. Worse, angel-turned-demon Yasva, Kaspen’s former love, still holds him in her clutches. Even as Yasva works toward obtaining complete control of Earth, she taunts and haunts Kaspen’s and Enael’s lives.
Now Enael is forced to face her past (which is centuries long and bursting with secrets), her present (which is terribly unfulfilling and full of questions), and her future (which becomes more uncertain as time passes). Armed with a newfound love and fear of losing it all, she must figure out how to save the world—-and the angel she loves. Which side will win? Who will Kaspen choose? Will Heaven and Earth continue to exist, or will everything go to Hell?
Yasva tipped her head back. “No
more. I revoke my place in Heaven.”
Her amethyst eyes went wide and the
air shimmered around her. I cringed but couldn’t look away. She screamed as she
clamped her hands to her ears. Her wings quivered. No… They flared above her and burst apart in a spray of royal
purple. The droplets hung in the air before they contracted into nothingness.
I backed away but bumped into a
bush. It’s happening again.
Shrieking, Yasva pressed her hands
to her eyes and doubled over. Deep purple blood soaked the back of her robe
where her wings had been. She wrenched her hands down and stared at me. I
willed myself to move but couldn’t. Her eyes were pits, stark black and
seething. She regarded me with a hatred I had seen but once before.
My stomach lurched in fear. Beside
me, Kaspen gripped his hair, eyes wide. I’d nearly forgotten he was there.
Yasva thrust out a hand as though to
steady herself. “This isn’t…” She wobbled, reaching for Kaspen, who backed
away. “… the end…” She coughed and staggered. “… of me! I will have my
revenge!” She went to a knee before fading and disappearing into Hell.
Where all angels who renounce their
connections to the Source go.
Where they live as demons.
The stench of sulfur washed over me,
and I quashed the urge to gag
10 Things I’m Glad I’ve Done
Since The Bucket List
came out, I’ve seen lots of “here’s my before-I-die list” blog entries. I like
that idea, I really do, but at the moment, I’m drowning in to-do lists. I have
my work list, which never seems to end, and my personal list, which is so long
that I’ve split it into categories. Now, instead of two, I have about six or
seven—I don’t even want to count.
But what about all the things I’ve done with my life? Like
the daily to-do list, once something happens, I tend to discount it once it’s
crossed off. But today, I’d like to pause a moment and be grateful for all the
things in the world that I’ve experienced.
Here are ten of them:
1.
Gotten LASIK surgery
My big regret is doing it so young (age nineteen) because my
eyes had a tad more adjustment to do and I don’t have the perfect vision I had
when I first had the surgery done. But going from thick gas permeable contacts
to being without vision correction has been freeing in a way only those who
have glasses or contacts could understand. Thirteen years later, I still wake
up in the morning and gaze across the room in wonder that I’m able to clearly
see the details of the shirts hanging in my closer.
2.
Journaled my way through college
For four solid years, I was committed to journaling, both as
a way of discovering who I was as a person and as a way to develop my skill as
a writer. Some nights I would sit in front of my computer and spend hours
chronicling the events of the past day or two. And now I have a record of that
tumultuous, exciting time in my life, one that I may or may not ever go back
and read. But having it written down is precious to me. I’m so glad that I did
it.
3.
Started pursuing my writing dream at a
relatively young age
After I finished college, I pursued the sensible course of
action—a stable job with a nice pension and good benefits. I shelved my writing
and didn’t look back. Yet I wasn’t fulfilled. And I kept wondering—what was
missing?
A couple years ago, I realized that for a long time, I would
think to myself, “I’ll write when I have time. Maybe when I retire. Maybe after
the next promotion. The next project. The next time I have a long break.” Yet
it never happened—until a friend helped me wake up and realize that writing was what I wanted to do. Never
mind the career that didn’t capture my heart. So what if writing doesn’t pay
the bills? That’s not why I do it.
And so, even though I was past thirty when I really got
serious about writing, I did get serious. I’m realizing my dream, one book, one
chapter, one sentence, one word at a time. And I’m grateful that I started,
even if sometimes I want to beat myself up for starting so late.
4.
Been laid off from my job of five years
This one isn’t as odd as it seems. At 27 years old, I was
laid off from my job at a large bank. Due to a variety of circumstances, I
spent the next nine months struggling to find work. Yet I count this as one of
the most important things that happened to me in my life.
First, it taught me that I could overcome just about
anything. By the end, I was running up credit card debt, having blown through
all the savings I’d carefully squirreled away, never thinking that the day
would come when I’d need it. Yet I came out the other side stronger.
And secondly, it taught me that corporations do not care
about me. And I learned it at a very young age. Since starting my career ten
years ago, I’ve seen all different demographics of people fired or laid
off—retirement age, middle age, with young children at home, just starting
their careers. And because I’ve been through it, it no longer shocks me. I’m
still appalled and saddened and angered, but I understand that none of those
emotions do me any good. I’m as loyal to my job now as I know it is to me—which
is to say, we have an understanding.
5.
Been in a cutting edge guild in World of
Warcraft
Yes, I have to mention this. I’m a video gamer. In fact,
it’s how I met my husband, in an online world. We played WOW for several years
before really getting into raiding, which required quite a time and energy.
Although I may never again be able to sustain the level of commitment to a
computer screen that it requires, being really,
really good at something and admired by “the masses” on our server was
exciting while it lasted.
6.
Fallen in love
I believe in soul mates, but I also believe that not
everyone is destined to find theirs. That my husband and I met on an online
game, another one of my loves, is both fitting and ridiculous! I’m grateful
that I found him and had the courage to have a relationship with him.
7.
Moved to a city …
As a result of falling in love and another bunch of
extenuating circumstances (I seem to have a lot of those in my life), my husband
and I ended up moving to Toronto. Some days, as I trundle off the train and get
swept away by the rush hour crowd, I recall that I am a small town girl living
in the big city. I think of the excitement of going to Chicago or New York City
for the first time, the flutters in my chest at the hustle and bustle, and I
think, Boy, you sure were an idiot.
I hate the city. The people. The smells. The busy streets.
But I’m glad I got to live here so that I knew what I was
missing out on: not much.
Sorry, city folk.
8.
… In another country
My husband is Canadian. Although Canada isn’t quite as
foreign of a country as, say, North Korea, it still has its differences from
the Midwest. Everyone is friendlier (except in the aforementioned Toronto
commute). Everyone is more accepting. Everyone is more laid back and less
concerned with everyone else’s business. Whether it’s the country, the tapestry
of different religions and beliefs, or the Greater Toronto Area itself, I don’t
know. But I do know I like the culture here, and I’m glad I have been able to
experience it.
9.
Went to Africa
This is actually the one thing that sparked the idea for
this list. I loved going to Africa, and I would love to go back someday with my
husband and future children. But even if I never do, the beauty, majesty,
simplicity, and ruggedness of that continent will forever stay with me. It’s
something that I think should be on every person’s bucket list. It was the only
place that changed me by simply being.
10.
Had a baby
Technically, I haven’t had a baby yet. But sometime on or
around September 3, I will become a mother.
I have a confession: I’m not a baby person. I babysat for
the money, not for the love of children. And at four months pregnant, upon
holding my friend’s newborn in my arms, I thought perhaps the “ugh, what am I
supposed to do with this thing?” feeling would be washed away by the pregnancy
hormones. It was not.
But, as they always used to tell me, when it’s your baby,
it’s different. Let me just make this clear, though: I don’t like pregnancy,
the constant need to pee, the ravenous hunger that strikes with no regard to
the clock, the aches and pains and weird stuff that you don’t even want to know
about. But when I feel my baby roll inside me or kick a painfully sensitive
spot (good golly, I wish he/she would stop doing that), some sort of oxytocin-fueled
starry-eyed-ness goes off inside me. And I’m glad. This will be an amazing
ride, I just know it. And they’re right. When it’s my baby, it’s different.
What about you? Are
there one, two, three things you’re happy, gratified, excited, or glad to have
experienced?
Samantha grew up in a small town in Iowa but now lives in the suburbs of Toronto with her Canadian husband and expatriate cat. In her spare time, she reads, writes, and thinks about reading and writing—along with playing the occasional video game or eight.
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