Double Jeopardy by Sundari Venkatraman

Name of the book :         Double Jeopardy

Name of the author:        Sundari Venkatraman

Name of the publisher:   Indiereads    

Format of the book :       ebook [91 pages]

Synopsis ….

Not at all what I expected. I had expected the story to be of two brothers in love with the same girl. But obviously Sundari Venkatraman was expecting that for she gave this story a complete twist. A bold twist.

So how do I brief it without giving much away. Hmmm……

She…..

She is Sanya. A spoilt brat with a childhood crush. She travels from London to Mumbai. She has so hoped for the love of her life, Arth, to pick her up from the airport but instead she got the infuriating twin, Ansh, waiting for her.

From there begins her battle of the heart. On one hand she knew she loved Arth, the one who would always keep her safe in their childhood days, who would protect her from the torments of his other twin.

But today she is caught between the love of her childhood and this passionate stranger that Ansh had become. Would she succumb to his charms or will she be able to find her heart’s desire.

He…..

Now if I write about the ‘HE’ I will be giving away the whole story. That won’t be fun for you will it? Though I am itching to type here, but it is for you to find out … Arth? Ansh? Arth? Ansh?..... J

What I liked...

The story, the setting- everything fit in neatly in a small package. Sanya’s character developed very well from a spoilt brat to a woman who found the purpose in her life. Both Arth and Ansh came out strongly as main characters. The passion in the story was palpable.

What I didn’t like...

The length of the story of course.  I wanted more. I wanted the story to expand in so many directions. So many plots could e taken further. I would definitely like to ask Sundari Venkatraman as to why she made this into  a short story novella. The plot was, though not something we have not seen before, was original and the ending….Guys you should really read to know this. And if you are finding me pushy regarding this book because the ending is something I am dying  shout out….. let me know what you think after reading this book.

Ratings...

I am rating this according to the ratings of a shortstory….

Reasoning...

Well when ever I want to read more…….

Author Bio....

Sundari Venkatraman.I was born in Kumbakonam and grew up in Chennai.I am living in Mumbai since I got married 29 years ago.

My Family:

My husband KS Venkatraman is a businessman. He is a franchisee of Kotak Securities.

My daughter Vinitha is an MBA who works for Mumbai Smiles, an NGO, as Head of Communications.

My son VigneshKumar is a lead guitarist/vocalist for metal bands Orion & Albatross. He is also a Brand Ambassador for ESP Guitars. He works as Assistant Brand Manager for Furtado & Sons.

How I became a writer:

Even as a kid, I absolutely loved the ‘lived happily ever after’ syndrome. I grew up reading all the fairy tales I could lay my hands on, Phantom comics, Mandrake comics and the like. It was always about goodtriumphing over evil and a happy end.

Soon, into my teens, I switched my attention from fairytales to Mills & Boon. While I loved reading both of these, I always wondered what would have happened if there were similar situations happening in India; to a local hero and heroine. My imagination took flight and I have always lived in a rosy cocoon of romance over the years.

Then came the writing – a true bolt out of the blue! I could never string two sentences together. While my spoken English had always been excellent – thanks to my Grandpa – I could not write to save my life. I was bad at writing essays in both school and college. Later, when it was time to teach my kids, I could manage everything from Science to Mathematics and History & Geography. When it came to writing compositions, my kids found me of no help at all.

All this changed suddenly one fine day in the year 2000. I had just quit my job at a school’s office and did not know what to do with mylife. I was saturated with reading books. That’s when I got home one evening after my walk and took some sheets of paper and began writing. It was like watching a movie that was running in my head – I am sure over the years that I had been imagining local heroes and heroines – and I just had to put it into words. It was as simple as that and my first novel, The Malhotra Bride, took shape.

Of course, it has taken me all of 13 years to get published. Being a Commerce graduate with no writing background, I ran from one publisher to another – in India as well as abroad – with no one interested in my novels. Yes, in the plural. I have written a number of full-fledged novels that never got to see the light of day.

Finally, it was Rizwan Tufail and Naheed Hassan who wereinterested in my writing and contacted me about writing a romance novella for Indireads. As they say, the rest is history. 

And Double Jeopardy was born!

Author Interview....

What inspired you to write your first book?

I am a diehard romantic at heart. I used to love reading fairytales as a kid and thoroughly enjoyed the ‘lived happily ever after’ endings. Later on, as a teen, I turned my attention to Mills & Boon romances. I am not quite sure when the interest turned and I began to imagine Indian heroes and heroines. While I have a fertile imagination, I never could string two sentences together.

I was almost 40 when I penned my first novel – The Malhotra Bride. I had quit my job and was at home, playing housewife. I felt quite useless. Suddenly, one evening, inspiration struck. I returned from my walk and sat down to write. By night, I had completed 14 pages of ruled foolscap paper. Thoroughly excited, I finished the first script of the novel (35,000 + words) in 20 days.

Do you have a specific writing style?

I don’t know about that. You will have to read the novels that I have blogged and tell me. The novels are:

1.         The Malhotra Bride

2.         Meghna

3.         Sangita’sDilemma

4.         The Wedding Game

  

Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest?

I simply loved Amish Tripathi’s The Shiva Trilogy, especially the first two books. Ashwin Sanghi is another favourite. His novel, The Rozabal Line, is simply amazing. I am reading The Krishna Key by the same author, while I have also read Chanakya Chants.

I enjoyed reading some of the books on Indireads. ParulTyagi, MM George, Jazz Singh, Yamini Vijendran, Roopa Menon, Zeenat Mahal, Neelima Vinod, Sumeetha Manikandan and Sarita Varma are excellent writers. 

What are your current projects?

I am working on Simha International, a romance, ofcourse. This is appearing as a series on my blog Cupid Strike Series. I have also created a story idea that I have submitted to Indireads. I will let you know after it has been approved. 

I also blog voraciously on various subjects such film reviews, book reviews, restaurant reviews, recipes, spirituality and health. My blog is called Flaming Sun and the link: http://sundarivenkatraman.blogspot.in/

I also write short stories under different genre. I have 17 short stories on my blog called Shimmering Sun. The link: http://shimmeringsunshortstories.blogspot.in/

Do you recall how your interest in writing originated?

I can’t say the exact time. I am a voracious reader since I was about three years old. I have always been fascinated with words. I used to feel envious of authors who can write so beautifully. I think this fascination drove me to writing.

Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?

I am not at all disciplined. While my mind roves over the scenes and sequences of the novels, I keep postponing putting it down in writing – rather typing it out on my PC. This is a major hurdle. This is also the reason why I started blogging my novels as a series. This way, I have to deliver a fresh chapter each week and I have to stick to a schedule.

Do you ever experience writer's block?

I do experience it, although I would term it laziness, rather than writer’s block.

What books/authors have influenced your writing?

Jeffrey Archer is my favorite author. Then there is JK Rowling with her Harry Potter series. I used to like Ayn Rand and Sidney Sheldon. I have a number of favorites among romance authors such as Nora Roberts, Janet Dailey, Penny Jordan and Carole Mortimer.

Georgette Heyer, Julie Garwood and Judith McNaught are historical romance authors that I adore. I hope to write a historical romance soon.

I feel all these authors have an influence on my writing.

Do you have any advice for other writers?

I would not know that much about writing to give advice to other writers. Yes, to new writers I can say this: if you want to write, just keep writing, unfazed about being published or not. Blogging is a fantastic platform to practise on.

As a writer when you blog your stories, don't you feel that you are losing out on publishing your stories. That you would do more justice if you publish them, even as a self published ebook?

I am 'publishing' my books on my blog. Yes, I lose out on the royalty. There are two angles to publishing. One is being read by people across the globe and the other is money. For 13 years, I had neither. Atleastover the past 3-4 years, my work is read by a number of people. Even if I am published by the best brand, what is the guarantee that my books will be sold? Yes, it would be fantastic if I turned out to be a JK Rowling or an Amish Tripathi. So far there is no indication of that.  I just got fed up with waiting and 'published' my own work for free. I have noregrets. This way at least I write regularly and do get feedback occasionally. Then there are those page hits. Total nasha!

Places you can find her:

Goodreads| Website|Facebook

You can buy the book @ Indireads

Undeniably Yours by Becky Wade

Name of the book: Undeniably Yours

Name of the author: Becky Wade

Publisher: Bethany House Publishers (May 1, 2013)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0764209752

ISBN-13: 978-0764209758

A Disclaimer: This book was given to me by the Publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

From the Back Cover

When Meg Cole's father dies unexpectedly, she's forced to return home to Texas and to Whispering Creek Ranch to take up the reins of his empire. The last thing she has the patience or the sanity to deal with? Her father's Thoroughbred racehorse farm. She gives its manager, Bo Porter, six months to close the place down.

Bo knows he ought to resent the woman who's determined to take from him the only job he ever wanted. But instead of anger, Meg evokes within him a profound desire to protect. The more time he spends with her, themore he longs to overcome every obstacle that separates them and earn her love.

Just when Meg realizes she can no longer deny the depth of her feelings for Bo, their fragile bond is broken by a force from Meg's past. Can their relationship--and their belief that God can work through every circumstance--survive?

Meg....

Meg had a very rich father. With all the money and no time for her, Meg always felt that it was more of a bane rather than a boon. This feeling proved right when she got married to a no good philanderer, Stephen McIntyre. She was abused in this marriage both mentally and physically. Not only that, before leaving her, he had robbed her of two million dollars, a gift from her father.

This had demoralized her and she always wanted to prove to the world that there was nothing wrong with her. This meant impeccably dressed and poised at all times. This is how she appeared to Bo Porter when he first met her.

Bo....

A hard working Texan, with a love for horses. Now Meg was threatening to close down the Ranch. All he needed was six months to make the business profitable. But his involvement with Meg was putting the whole deal injeopardy much to the chagrin of his brother Jake and his co-workers. Could Bo prove them wrong?

The Story....

Meg is a poor little rich girl who was made the captain of the ship after her father's demise. She did not like it one bit and was advised by her advocates to slowly let go of the operations she did not like. In her radar, the horse farm her father owned was proving to be very expensive and time consuming . It was now managed by Bo Porter.

When he was asked to shut down the farm , he bluntly refused. Much to Megs chagrin, she felt the compulsion to agree to this. Later she felt glad that she had done this. There developed a beautiful friendship between them.

A friendship which gave her security, peace and at times of stress or old wounds revisited- it felt a gift from God. With Bo at her side felt like God's chosen one- till she did not discover that he was looking into her financial statements. Would Bo prove to be another Stephan?

What I liked....

Both Meg and Bo are beautiful characters - not only in their relations but with those touching their lives.

Some of the scenes were humorous ( especially when they both had to look after Amber's baby).

There is a lot to learn from this story. About relationships, giving back to society when you have more than enough and also coming out positively from an abusive relationship.

Being a Christian Romance, there was of course a good measure of biblical reference thrown in- all indicating the strength behind Meg’s coming  out of an abusive relationship, her heart’s desire to help those who have faced with familiar situation and so many such situations. Meg started out as a weak character but with each turning of the pages emerged as a strong woman. Well etched characters!

What I did not like…..

I found this story a tad too long and at times repetitive. But it is not boring. I just felt like skipping at times for the simple reason to know why Bo did what he did. Though all the ingredients are there to make this story very readable, Megs constant conflict  within herself was a bit overboard.

Rating...

Reasoning…

As mentioned above – a bit repetitive. If the conflict within Meg could be shortened a bit, this would have been a more enjoyable read. There are moments I had to put down the book and go to another book thinking I have had enough of this. But strangely I always came back to this book. I am glad I finished it - for the ending was well worth it.

You can get the book @

Amazon| Goodreads| Barnes&Noble|Kobo

About the author….

Curtsey: goodreads

During her childhood in California, Becky frequently produced homemade plays starring her sisters, friends, and cousins. These plays almost always featured a heroine, a prince, and a love story with a happy ending. She's been a fan of all things romantic ever since.

Becky and her husband lived overseas in the Caribbean and Australia before settling in Dallas, Texas. It was during her years abroad that Becky's passion for reading turned into a passion for writing. She published three historical romances with Avon Books, then put her career on hold for several years to care for her three kids, then recently returned to writing sheerly for the love of it. She felt led to move to the genre of contemporary Christian romance and couldn’t be more thrilled with it.

These days Becky can be found failing but trying to keep up with her housework, sweating at the gym, carting her kids around town, playing tennis, hunched over her computer, eating chocolate, or collapsed on the sofa watching TV with her husband.

A Hometown Boy By Janice Kay Johnson

BackCover......

Prosecutor David Owen has fond memories of growing up in small-town Washington State. But he outgrew that place—and his family—long ago and hasn't felt the need to return. Until the day a tragedy shakes the town and calls him back to a community desperate for hope and healing. In the emotional fallout, he never expects to find Acadia Henderson again.For one teenage summer they hovered on the edge of a sweet attraction before she moved away. Now as adults, that same attraction is there… only, hotter and way more intense. This seems like the wrong time to find a connection. But it could be the perfect time to move on…with each other

Name of the Book: A Hometown Boy
Written By: Janice Kay Johnson
Publisher: Harlequin
ISBN-10: 9780373718252
ISBN-13: 978-0373718252
ASIN: 037371825X


Disclaimer: : I have received this book from Vanessa Brooke in exchange of my honest review.

A Sneak Peek....

How could she still love someone who was the source of most of her misery and grief? Someone who had ruined her life? Joyce Owen sat behind closed drapes in her living room, the TV flickering but unwatched although Days of Our Lives was on. She had scarcely left the house in two weeks, had become so accustomed to keeping the blinds closed she never noticed anymore how dim the room was. Her world had narrowed gradually as she cut off contact with that hateful Marvella Hatcher first, then the Daleys, Kirk and Marie Merfeld, Alice Simmons, once her dearest friend, the Jurgens…until no one was left. Once she'd enjoyed gardening and talking over the fence with the neighbors to each side, grocery shopping here in town, going to the library, catching up on gossip. It had been years since she'd stepped foot in the Food Emporium here in Tucannon; she drove all the way to Walla Walla now to buy her necessities, just so she didn't have to pretend not to hear the whispers when townsfolk set eyes on her. All because of Robbie, who couldn't help himself—oh, she knew he couldn't—but he had made her life hard. There was no denying that. Two weeks ago, she'd had to tell him this was no longer his home, not if he wouldn't take his medicine. He was her oldest, thirty-four years old and no more capable of taking care of himself than a five-year-old. But she had finally become so frightened of him she couldn't live with it anymore. Since he'd stormed out, she had understood that this wasn't any better. Joyce felt as if a tornado was approaching. The sky was sickly yellow, the stillness absolute, and by the prickling of her skin she knew, knew, that something terrible was coming. She was just waiting to find out what that something terrible was. She slept only in uneasy bursts, every creak of the old house jerking her to wakefulness. Come morning, she did her housekeeping chores out of long habit, hurrying when she had to step outside to water her poor pitiful roses in the backyard or haul the garbage can out to the curb. Then she sat, pretending to watch TV. And all she could think about was what he was doing right now. What he was thinking. How scared he was. She knew Robbie hadn't left town, the way she'd half hoped he would. She didn't answer the phone, but she did listen to messages. Several neighbors had called to complain that they'd caught him sleeping in their garage or under their lilac bushes beneath the front windows. Sounding mad as hell, Wayne Tindall said, "I looked at him down the barrels of my shotgun and told him if he steps foot on my property again I'd let him have it." Of course, Wayne hadn't liked the boys even when they were just normal high-spirited kids. He'd called the police when David hit a baseball through his plate-glass window. As if he hadn't known perfectly well that Pete and Joyce would pay for the replacement and then make David work it off in chores. Joyce just plain didn't like Wayne Tindall. She tried to feel sorry for his wife, Betty, living with a man who lacked even a grain of compassion. Crack. The crack of a gunshot came from so close her entire body spasmed. Joyce dropped to the floor with her heart racing. Oh, God, oh, God, she thought. It had come. Whatever the terrible thing was. Somebody was screaming, a keen of terror. Crack. The second shot, cutting that scream off, was just as loud, just as near, rattling the window glass. It sounded as if it had been fired right outside her living room. Or next door, she realized with a shudder. At the Tindalls'. But she'd heard shotguns fired before, and they didn't sound like this, clean and sharp. Panic squeezed her chest. Whimpering, she crawled a few feet and then lurched to her feet and ran toward the back of the house. She hardly ever went into Pete's den, only to vacuum and dust every week or so. She hadn't emptied out any of his things since he dropped dead of a heart attack near two years ago. She just…closed the door. She had too much grief already on her mind. Now she flung the door open and stared in horror at his gun safe, standing open and empty. The key. Robbie had found the key. Pete's hunting rifles were missing, both of them, and Joyce knew without looking that the handgun he kept in the drawer at the bottom of the safe would be gone, too. Lord have mercy on them all. What had Robbie done? Right that moment, she didn't even care that he might be coming for her. No, she hoped he would. This was all her fault. Her legs sagged, and she sank down onto the floor right there, in the doorway where she couldn't look away from the awful sight of those missing guns. Tears streaming down her face, she waited for him. Reeve Hadfield lay on his back on his wooden creeper under the car, Kanye West's "Heard 'em Say" blasting through his earbuds. He wiped sweat from his forehead, not caring that he'd probably smeared grease on his face, then adjusted his light and started to lift the wrench. A glimpse of his watch surprised him. Crap! Walt said he'd probably stop by before one, and it was after that now. He'd have seen that Reeve was under the car, wouldn't he? Walt Stenten owned the Shell station out by the highway. Reeve had pumped gas through high school and after he graduated had gone to work for him full-time. It wasn't like they were friends, exactly; Walt was probably Reeve's parents' age, maybe forty-five or fifty or something like that. He was this short guy built like a box, who kept his hair in a buzz cut and had crinkles beside his eyes from squinting. They hardly talked at all, and when they did it was mostly stuff like, "Start with the oil change, then let's take a look at the brakes on the Hargers' Voyager." Reeve had been working on his own car, a '55 Chevy Bel Air. Not a convertible; that would have been even cooler. This was a sedan, but it was in awesome shape considering. Getting parts was the hard thing. Walt had been helping him with that. Reeve reached down to his waist and turned off his iPod, so he'd hear when Walt did come. The garage door stood open to give him better light to work by, so Reeve knew he wouldn't go to the front door or anything. Talk about timing: he heard footsteps coming up the driveway. Grinning, Reeve laid down the light and his wrench, then gave a push with his heels to send the creeper shooting out from under the side of the Bel Air. He spun on the wheels and, still on his back, zipped out to the front of the garage, the bumper rearing above him. Since his eyes had adjusted to the dim light under the car, the brilliant sunlight blinded him for a moment. All he could see was a dark silhouette against the white-hot background. "Walt?" he said, hearing his own uncertainty. He blinked a couple of times, thinking it was weird that Walt hadn't said anything or moved. One more blink, and he could see again. Only…it wasn't Walt standing there. It was that freak Rob Owen. And—shit!—he had a rifle slung over his back, a pistol jammed in his waistband, and he was holding another rifle loose in his arms. His hair was matted and dirty. Was that blood spattering his face and the front of his T-shirt? He stared at Reeve, his face expressionless except for his dark eyes, which burned. He was crazy, everyone knew that. But this…this was horror-movie crazy. Reeve heard himself start to say, "What the…?" when the barrel of that rifle lifted and took aim at his head or maybe his chest. Owen sighted down it, and, as if time had slowed down, Reeve actually saw a finger tightening on the trigger. I'm dead, he thought incredulously. And then, God, a body flew out of nowhere just as the first deafening boom sounded. Slam! Somebody came down on top of him, pushing the creeper backward. Boom! Another shot. It was deadweight on him. Completely panicked, Reeve shoved the body off him and propelled himself under the car with a scramble of heels and hands. Walt. God, that was Walt, he realized in horror. Walt, with blood spilling from his mouth, and his eyes. Reeve came out the back of the Bel Air and leaped off the creeper, crouching behind the bulk of the car, straining for any sound at all. Nothing. Damn it. Nothing. He measured with his eyes the distance to the door going into the house, and knew he had to try for it. His heart was trying to slam its way out of his chest, and he wasn't sure he could hear over the thunder in his ears. Now! Still crouching, he threw himself forward, up the two steps, turned the knob, yanked the door open and all but fell through, into the kitchen. He didn't hear a gunshot, didn't see anything. Hand shaking, he pushed the stupid-ass little button lock that wouldn't keep out anyone, then ran for the phone. It took him three tries to dial 911. The operator had already answered, her voice faraway and tinny, when Reeve heard another gunshot. Not right out in front; maybe a couple of houses away. "Somebody's shot," he babbled. "God! I think he's dead. My address." "I have your address, sir. Do you see the gunman?" "No!" he screamed. "I don't know where he went! Just…hurry. Tell them to hurry." Then he dropped the phone and ran for the bathroom. He'd pissed his pants. He couldn't let anyone see. No one. Somehow he got himself cleaned up, grabbed jeans from his bedroom and raced for the door to the garage again, still hopping to get the jeans on and buttoned. Somewhere, sirens had started. Not one, but several. God. He wanted to go out and see if Walt was alive, but he was too freaking scared to do it. Walt might be bleeding to death, after sacrificing himself to save Reeve, and he didn't have the guts to go back out into the garage. He'd never learned first aid anyway. Oh, sure. Good excuse. The sirens screamed right outside.....

The Thoughts of the Reviewer...

I have not yet put up this section in any of my reviews. But this book compelled me to do so. I took a long time to read this book. Literally. I read it twice before starting my review. I was in a dilemma. How do I rate this book? The topic is raw, current and something which under no circumstance can I sympathize with. Forget sympathizing, I can't begin to understand. Something which shook United States of America to the very core. Something which made us question where humanity is landing? When I came across this book, I felt repelled at first and I could not put it down at the same time. For a light Harlequin Romance, this book was nerve cracking. 

Of course it's a romantic tale but the coming of the protagonists is the result of a schizophrenic's action. So, I decided not to review this book as I generally do by introducing the HE and the SHE and talk about their Love Story. Here the love story is overshadowed by a more powerful story.

The Story....

David and Acadia are neighbors who had gone their separate ways only to come back to their hometown Tucannon due to a tragedy. But they did not belong to the same side of the tragedy. David's brother Robbie was a schizophrenic who needed to be curtailed but due to the System the parents could not do so. They had to pay a heavy price for it.  My fingers are itching to type what had actually happened since I know many of you would love to discuss the pros and cons of the incident. But it will be taken as a spoiler and I cannot do that to the author. 

The author, Janice Kay Johnson, on her part has beautifully depicted the characters surrounding Robbie. The love story between David and Acadia is simple and honest, without much drama except their emotional conflicts. But I must say here that Acadia is one character I would love to have as my daughter in law but not my daughter. [ Sorry Janice] But such openness and forgiveness are a divine qualities that I am yet to see in a person. A person who has such a big heart is very rare. 

For me relating to Acadia is very difficult but Joyce yes. I could understand the conflict of a mother. She sounded a person with all human faults and that is fine. But to say that I have to forgive and live happily ever after, being a  victim of a crime of such a big magnitude, doesn't work for me. 

Another character Reeve puzzled me. What the heck was he doing there? If he wanted to say that he is one character whose life changed after the incident, then why was he coming in bits and pieces and how was he related to David and Acadia. They even did not have a scene together. [Or did I miss anything after two reads? ]

If something made me really angry in this book was the sting of sympathy I felt for Robbie. I don't want to feel sympathy for such characters. I hate them. Period. I don't want to know what happened to them, I don't want to know what they were good at. And I don't want to sell anything they have done for any cause- especially after the incident has taken place. I am sorry but such beings should not be depicted as humans after the incident.

Rating...

Reasoning....

The three stars are the for the author who has depicted the characters so beautifully. It is a beautiful novel with lots of issues being handled. But for me as a reader the backdrop of the story became predominant and it took me away from the love story.[ since this is a book of the romance genre] I hated Robbie and I hated the fact that I felt something akin to sympathy for him. I really would love to know what  the other readers feel about this novel.

About the Author....

Janice Kay Johnson is the author of sixty books for children and adults. Her first four published romance novels were co-authored with her mother, also a writer who has since published mysteries and children's books on her own. These were "sweet" romance novels, the author hastens to add; she isn't sure they'd have felt comfortable co-authoring passionate love scenes!

Janice graduated from Whitman College with a B.A. in history and then received a master's degree in library science from the University of Washington. She was a branch librarian for a public library system until she began selling her own writing.

She has written six novels for young adults and one picture book for the read-aloud crowd. Rosamund was the outgrowth of all those hours spent reading to her own daughters, and her passion for growing old roses. Two more of her favorite books were historical novels she wrote for Tor/Forge. The research was pure indulgence for someone who set out intending to be a historian!

Janice is divorced and has raised her two daughters in a small, rural town north of Seattle, Washington. She's an active volunteer and board member for Purrfect Pals, a no-kill cat shelter, and foster kittens often enliven a household that already includes a few more cats than she wants to admit to!

Janice loves writing books about both love and family — about the way generations connect and the power our earliest experiences have on us throughout life. Her Superromance novels are frequent finalists for Romance Writers of America RITA® awards.

You can buy the book here:

Amazon

“A Soul For Vengeance” (The Soulbearer Trilogy) By Crista McHugh

Synopsis:

Book 3 of the Soulbearer Trilogy

Nothing stirs up Chaos like Vengeance.

When Prince Kell returns to Ranello, he finds his homeland in ashes. The invaders from Thallus destroyed everything he held dear, leaving him heir to a throne he can’t claim. The thirst for vengeance consumes him and drives him right into the arms of the most unlikely of rebel leaders.

Zara has fought for months to keep the hopes of the Ranellian people alive. Finding Kell is just the thing their dying rebellion needs. But as she tries to soothe Kell’s bitterness and turn him into the leader he’s meant to be, she finds herself desiring the one man she believes she’ll never have. A man whose heart was broken by a yellow-haired witch named Arden Soulbearer.

Meet the Author....

Growing up in small town Alabama, I relied on story-telling as a natural way for me to pass the time and.I currently live in the Audi-filled suburbs of Seattle with my husband and daughter, maintaining my alter ego of mild-mannered physician by day while I continue to pursue writing on nights and weekends.

keep my two younger sisters entertained

I am an active member of the Romance Writers of America (including the FF&P ,Greater Seattle Chapter, ESPAN, Passionate Ink, and the Seattle EastsideChapters),  Absolute Write, and Romance Divas.Just for laughs, here are some of the jobs I’ve had in the past to pay the bills: barista, bartender, sommelier, stagehand, actress, morgue attendant, and autopsy assistant.

And I’m also a recovering LARPer. (I blame it on my crazy college days)

You can meet her at:

Website| Goodreads| Facebook| Twitter

Buy the book at:

Barnes and Noble | Amazon | Kobo