Teaser Tuesday ~ Little Angels

What if saving little angels meant becoming the monster?

When Special Agent Nick McFarlane receives news his partner of eight years is in trouble he doesn’t hesitate. Throwing himself into a deep cover operation to expose and shut down The Micahs, a child trafficking ring, Nick enters unprepared for the reality that awaits. 

Special Agent Meredith Richards took the assignment fully aware of the consequences. Leaving her life behind, she wouldn’t be able to get out with her life until she shut the Micahs down for good.

When Meredith’s informant is murdered and her contact inside the organization starts to lose control, Meredith is forced to make choices she can’t take back. On the edge of sacrificing herself, her principles, and her life, she begins to wonder if she will survive the case or if she even wants too.  

Excerpt

The road was rough, and Nick hung onto the dash for fear of falling out of the jeep. After dispatching the entire force, five teams on the ground and two in the air, they'd lost the signal over half an hour earlier. Being in the middle of the dense jungle made the search almost impossible, but they were closer than they’d been just hours ago.

Nick felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and he lifted it to look, not recognizing the number. 

"McFarlane," he said into the phone and there was silence. "Hello?"

He could barely make out a voice and he looked to Jacobs to stop the car.

"Hello?"

Jacobs stopped the jeep and Nick waited.

"Meredith?" Nick said.

"Hello?" He heard a small voice say back at him.

"Hi, this is Nick, who is this?"

"Lily," she replied, her voice shaking. "Meredith..."

"Are you with Meredith, sweetheart?"

"She won't...she won't wake up..." she said, and Nick's heart stopped.

"Lily, do you know where you are?" Nick asked, looking to Jacobs, who dialed his own phone. 

"In the jungle," she replied between little sobs. "I'm scared...she's bleeding and I can't..."

"Lily, is there anything around? Do you see anything?"

"There is a jeep. I think it’s how the bad man got here," she said into the phone. Jacobs nodded and he started the jeep again. 

"Lily, listen to me, I need you to stay on the phone with me. I'm coming to get you," Nick said. 

"Please hurry...it's dark, and Meredith..."

"It's okay, Lily, we're coming," Nick replied, listening to the girl panic on the phone.

"She dying," Lily said, beginning to cry again. "Please, I don't want her to die..."

"Lily, it's going to be okay," Nick tried to reassure her—he also tried to reassure himself.

The car wasn't moving fast enough, and he felt like he was going to jump out of his skin. He was telling Lily to be brave, and he was terrified himself.

They had time. They had to have time. This wasn't the end. 

He could still get to her. 

He could still save her.

"I see lights, is that you?" Lily said to him on the phone and without thinking, he leapt from the car and ran forward, the lights of the car illuminating the path. After a moment, he saw the child seated on the ground, Meredith lying just behind her. Nick reached them in seconds and the child dove into his arms. Hugging her tightly against him, he looked to Meredith, his heart bursting.

"Please help her," she said, sobbing into his shirt.

"It's going to be okay," he said. Jacobs came and took the child from his arms.

Nick moved to Meredith, taking in her injuries. He touched her shoulder to look at her better, and felt the warm stickiness on his hand. Looking at it against the light, it was covered in blood.

"She's been shot," Nick said. He scooped her in his arms, moving back to the jeep as he saw more lights approaching. "You got this?"

"Yeah, go," Jacobs said. "I'll call Henry and have him pick you up. Keep your phone on!"

Nick put her in the passenger's seat, and tore off through the jungle. Every few seconds, he looked over to her pale face. "Come on, Henry," Nick pleaded aloud. His phone buzzed, and he picked up, talking to Henry, one of the helicopter pilots. Henry led him through the jungle to a clearing where he would be able to pick them up. Nick reached the clearing and jumped out of the car, walking around to the passenger's seat. Nick protected her from the slicing wind, hearing the helicopter's approach. He felt Meredith move beneath him.

"Nick," she said weakly, but her eyes were still heavy and they began to close again.

"Meredith...stay with me, Mere," he said taking her face in his hands. "Stay with me, we're getting you out of here."

She nodded and fell against him. Nick lifted her from the jeep. Her arm wrapped around his neck, pulling herself closer to him. He carried her on board, taking a seat with her in his lap. The door closed, muffling the noise.

She opened her eyes, looking up at him.

"Hey, beautiful," he said.

“I bet you say that to all the girls," she replied with a tired smile that lifted him.

"Not all of them, just the ones I can't live without," he replied, hugging her a little closer.

"I wish that were true," she said, and her eyes closed.

He checked her pulse and found it weak and thready. 

"Hurry!" He yelled to the pilot, and saw the man nod in return.

***

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Could There Be Demonic Activity Within My House?

Listed below are SOME signs that MAY lead you to believe Demonic Activity is infesting your home.  You may only have one or many depending on the stage the demonic activity resides. With any demon, there is only one purpose possession of your immortal soul. Sounds pretty hardcore, because it is. There are several stages of demonic growth within a dwelling or home -Infestation, Oppression & Possession.

The below are symptoms of the top two stages, Infestation and Oppression. 

Unexplainable foul odors like rancid meat, rotten eggs, or sulfur, that appear from nowhere, from an unknown source.

Knocking or banging on the walls and the source cannot be found - bangs will often come in 3's - as a mocking of the Trinity. The banging also starts after midnight and usually ceases promptly at dawn. 

How are your Animals Acting? -  Remember in both The Conjuring and The Amityville Horror, the dogs refused to come inside the house, and both eventually ended up dead? Hollywood did its research, pay very close to how animals in the home react - are they frightened and alarmed to something that you cannot see but hear? When animals are in the presence of a true demonic entity, they are fully aware of its presence.  Depending on the breed of the dog, there is a “flight or fight” instinct that will occur.  For example, a German Shepherd will begin to become quite aggressive, and the instincts of the animal will be to immediately go into the “fight” mode to protect the family.  Snarling, snapping, and excessive salivating could occur during the fight mode.  Even though the family may see nothing, the animal is clearly displaying an aggressive response at an entity that poses a direct threat to the animal or family.

A noted increase in shadow activity, making the witnessing more frequent and intense for someone spending a lot of time in the dwelling.

Clearly heard growling noises with an unverified source.

The feeling of heaviness, sadness, an unspecified weight when entering the house. People feeling sick to their stomach, headaches, migraines, aches, stabbing pains, general discomfort that cannot be alleviated.  

People who spend extended amounts of time in the house may also show signs of irritability, irrational anger, mood swings, helplessness, and depression. A person may get an overwhelming sense of dread and doom.

Large or heavy objects will move by themselves, they will be thrown, tossed or directed at people or animals in an attempt to cause fear and or harm.
Religious articles that reside within the house or brought into the home go missing, destroyed, or completely disappear without a trace.

Prayer in the home ‘stirs things up.' It may calm things, but then, in most cases, the activity will return with increased strength. This activity is directed at the person or group with the most faith. 

In my upcoming book, Finders, the team of ghost hunters are always on the lookout for demonic activity. The presences of a demon put their team, and the residents of the house, in immediate danger. If the Finders Team see signs of demonic activity, they call in a demonologist like Luke Melloy to investigate and assist in expelling the demon.
As a former priest and marine Luke Melloy is well equipped to fight and defend against the forces of evil.   
Be sure to check out Finders coming  Fall 2019!

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Saturday Seven ~ March 23rd 2019

Happy Saturday, what have you been up to this week? Here is a rundown of highlights for the week. I hope you find them useful in your life! My goal as a person and a writer are to always Pay-It-Forward so please let me know how I can help you. YES, YOU!
Enjoy your weekend & this post! Amazing things to come!
~Amy

·        What am I Reading? –  How To Get Rid Of The Thoughts That Are Clogging Your Brain - “I never thought about that.” So let me get this straight. You’re thinking all the time, and yet, you never think about how much time you spend thinking.

     

      Angel Eyes by William Brian Worthy - A pre-requisite to reading this book should be to first read “The Naked Society” by Vance Packard, which was published in 1964. The state of our society was in fact much worse than Vance Packard portrayed, and in every way, should be more appropriately described as “The Torn Society.” Even five years before the publication of Vance Packard’s book, a turn in the way that people in our society were treated deviated from a normal respect of human rights into the proliferation of a philosophy to make humans available for the exploitation of other humans, namely the so called “upper crust” of society. The tools for achieving this would be modern technology. Our society cannot have peace because it is in conflict with itself, torn by tyranny from within. It is our society, The American Society, The Torn Society. To come to grips with this, the people and leaders of this society need to see what they have become. Fortunately, the angels in heaven saw that the demise of the human race would transpire if The Torn Society would be allowed to run its course. So they sent something to correct that course – their eyes.

This Book is not for the faint-hearted. This book deals with several mature and serious issues. Will the "Torn Society" make the appropriate changes to become a better society? These are some of the many questions this book seeks to answer.

·        What am I Listening to? –  Totally Awesome 80’s! ~ is a local radio station you can also catch it on ALEXA and I LOVE it. They are having an 80’s Prom on April 27^th I am totally excited about going. If you are in the Tulsa Area you should totally check it out. If you are not in the Tulsa area but love the 80’s you should also definitely check it out as well for crimped hair, jelly bracelets and Aqua-Net galore!

     

·        What Quote am I pondering? –  Lady I love and admire ~ “For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others; for beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness; and for poise, walk with the knowledge that you are never alone.” ~ Audrey Hepburn

·        What am I Researching? –  Believe it or not, Juicing! Yeah, like Jack LaLanne juicing. A friend of mine started juicing about a year ago and it has helped with his anxiety and depression. I am looking into it. Planning on picking up all of the ingredients and he is going to make me a jug of juice to try! I will keep you posted on how it turns out. Highly recommend the documentary ~ Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead

·        Yummy Meal of the week –  Mexican Lasagna ~ A friend of mine made this for me for dinner and it was soooo yummy! Here is the recipe.

·         What did I Learn? –   Funny enough I have learned that watching Marvel movies out of order is VERY confusing. With the new movie coming out (see the trailer here) we have decided to watch the Marvel movies from the beginning – in order – so we will be ready for Avengers – End Game!

·         What am I Watching? –  This week was a throwback for me, and a discovery for my new beau. I introduced him to Sherlock. I have personally watched the entire series probably four times so far, and I love it every time I watch it.

Have any thoughts on my week’s activity or want to make a recommendation? Drop me a line, or a tweet. One lucky commenter will win a free Romine book of their choice! Never want to miss a blog post or a Saturday Seven? Join my mailing list and I will be happy to send it straight to your inbox!

P.S. ~ I am on tour promoting my series Trust Me, (Serenity Lost, Veiled Deception and Jaded Promises)all month so make sure you stop by and say hello. Not only because you are AWESOME but because you could win a $50 Amazon. Check out my Twitter or Facebook for locations.

See the full schedule of tour locations.

** Added bonus, all of the Trust Me Series Books are on sale at the Extasy site for $1.99!!

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Friday Food Love! ~ Crockpot Chicken & Dumplings

Comfort food is my weakness, I totally admit it. The Carbs are just so yummy and warm and WOW ~ So easy the meal is evil....

Ingredients

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 cans of cream of chicken soup
1 can of chicken broth
1 small onion, chopped
2 tablespoons of butter

1 can of biscuit dough

Preparation

In your crockpot, add all the ingredients except the biscuit dough. Make sure the chicken breasts are covered with the liquid. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Once finished, shred the chicken with a fork or potato masher. Turn the heat up to high and add pinches of biscuit dough to the crockpot. Stir, cover, and let cook on high for an additional 45 minutes. Serve!

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Awesome Excerpt Thursday! ~ Mistela (Men in Love and War) by LJ Collins

Blurb ~

Beyond the magical beauty lies danger and fear, but one cute and determined human is not about to let brawn beat brains and stand in the way of his love, illusion and survival, no matter how barbaric things get.

When the cruise ship Luke Ganes is working on sinks off the coast of South America, he thinks he has met his watery grave. Regaining consciousness, he finds himself in a different world that defies the laws of both nature and gravity. With the help of his saviour, Girufu, he slowly comes to terms with his new environment and learns to love his new home, Mistela. When he hears about the evil Taronas and their quest to slay the Pescamans, he develops a plan to save his newfound friends from their brutal attacks. As time passes, Girufu proves to Luke he is the lover Luke has always been looking for. But when Girufu pushes Luke to the limits of his sexuality he panics and begins a desperate journey, seeking a way back to Earth. His arch-rival Janus convinces him he can help. Only love and a cunning plan can save him from certain death.

Excerpt ~

Luke had died and gone to Heaven. A silver-white planet hung in the mocha-violet sky like Earth’s moon—but this had to be Heaven’s sun, because the blistering light made him squint. Its heat was strong like a man’s touch. Bubbly champagne waves crept up the shore, and a thousand glistening fairies danced their way back to the calming sea where silver angels floated effortlessly on the surface. Luke had to examine the tall arching palm trees that adorned the shoreline more closely. Their leaves! They pointed up, as if the world had been turned upside down. Was that Heaven? Was it a world of opposites, where there was a moon for the sun, champagne for the salty ocean water and leaves that ran from the sand? He closed his eyes to a spinning darkness and it frightened him—as if he’d slipped into a bad dream.

Like smelling salts, gardenia mixed with magnolia filled his nose and his eyes shot wide open again. Nothing had changed. He was still in an upside down world. The waterfall behind him confirmed it. Upon closer inspection he noticed it was travelling upward. As he squinted to focus more closely, he saw a lake floating above the waterfall, seemingly weightless, like a cloud suspended in thin air. Had he been drugged? No. No, he hadn’t. He’d died and gone to Heaven, surely?

He rubbed the sleep from his eyes, reached out to his right and stumbled across a wooden rail. He took a double take. A wooden rail. With wide alert eyes he quickly scanned his surroundings. He found a rectangular wooden hut that was held together with string. A bowed wooden floor greeted his feet and a roof fabricated from palm tree leaves shielded him from the sun.

The greying rail creaked as Luke pulled himself to his feet. Sun-bleached honey-coloured straw chafed the bottom of his feet and toes. Where the hell was he?

Luke clung to his head as if he’d been hit hard with a hammer. Of course—the cruise ship. He’d been on a cruise ship that had sunk. Every hair on Luke’s body stood on end. He could be anywhere.

Life drained from his body. His legs trembled and buckled, causing him to stumble forward. He grabbed hold of the twisted, cracking rail with both hands. Once he regained his balance he breathed in sharply, pushed himself up using what little strength his arms could offer, and turned around.

The rest of the hut resembled a sitting room. In the centre, a rough chunk of mahogany tree trunk twenty inches high served as a coffee table. Surrounding it were four lengths of tree trunk, three feet wide and five feet tall, that had L’s carved into them to provide oversized bucket seats. In the far left hand corner, he could see a counter that was supported by wonky tree branches held together with string.

Luke breathed out sharply and covered his mouth with his hands. All he wanted was the answer to one question. Where was he? The answer he had in his head almost brought tears to his eyes. Based on the landscape and colours, it didn’t look or feel like Earth.

When he heard someone or something moving behind him, Luke jolted forward so violently he fell to his knees.

“Hey, little man, there’s no need to be so nervous. I only wanted to welcome you to Mistela.”

When he turned around and saw what was walking toward him, Luke tried to scramble to his feet, but his under nourished and lethargic body would not let him. The best he could do was shuffle his way to the far end of the room on his hands and knees as fast as his cumbersome body would take him.

He grabbed out with both hands to find something solid, something that would offer him some support, but loose straw just crumpled in his hands. Wild eyed, his gaze darted to his right. He acknowledged a dense forest deprived of light that led to who knew what. Beyond that was a never-ending sea that would surely be his next watery grave.

An eight foot tall hulking giant, wearing what looked like a bronzed wet suit, stomped toward him. The wooden floor groaned beneath him with every footstep.

Luke’s arms and legs lashed out involuntarily trying to find an escape route. But when the Herculean creature stood directly above him, he froze. Desperately, he quickly surveyed his predator. Bulking shoulders that supported a thick bulldog neck craned forward, bringing the narrow almond face, aquiline nose and small elongated nostrils closer into view. Luke let out a sigh of relief. At least it had human-like features. Perhaps it had the mentality and attitude of a human, too.

He breathed in sharply when he saw the flat, pinned backed ears, wavy lips and flaps of folded skin on his neck. Its green eyes and oval yellow pupils mesmerised Luke. He felt like a deer caught in headlights, unable to move despite knowing it was about to be annihilated.

Luke was consumed with helplessness. Even if his drained body was capable of running, he would not have known where to run. He was in a strange place that he did not know. More worrying was the fact he’d no idea what else might be out there. If the creature towering above him was eight feet tall, what other giant monsters or beasts were out there waiting for him?

He had to accept that since he was only five feet eleven inches tall, this being would be able to catch him within a matter of seconds and crush him into pulp if it wanted to.

~

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Learn more about LJ Collins HERE.

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Saturday Seven! ~ March 16th 2019

Happy Saturday, what have you been up to this week? Here is a rundown of highlights for the week. I hope you find them useful in your life! My goal as a person and a writer are to always Pay-It-Forward so please let me know how I can help you. YES, YOU!
Enjoy your weekend & this post! Amazing things to come!
~Amy

·        What am I Reading? –  Buy a cat, stay up late, don't drink: top 10 writers’ tips on writing by By Travis Elborough ~ I love reading about other writers, their thoughts, habits, and advice. Great article.

      The Day Dostoyevsky Discovered the Meaning of Life in a Dream by Maria Popova ~ Read it, think about it, discuss it.

      Tribe of Mentors - What would this look like if it were easy? is such a lovely and deceptively leveraged question. It’s easy to convince yourself that things need to be hard, that if you’re not redlining, you’re not trying hard enough. This leads us to look for paths of most resistance, creating unnecessary hardship in the process.~ Tim Ferris

·        What am I Listening to? –  My new favorite song is by Francis and the Machine called – Moderation. I keep listening to it, just love it.

      The 10X Rule  - The only difference between success and failure by Grant Cardone ~ While most people operate with only three degrees of action-no action, retreat, or normal action-if you're after big goals, you don't want to settle for the ordinary. To reach the next level, you must understand the coveted 4th degree of action. This 4th degree, also known as the 10 X Rule, is that level of action that guarantees companies and individuals realize their goals and dreams.

     

·        What Quote am I pondering? –  “Lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part”. – unknown.  It is so true and must be remembered. This is one of those quotes you hang on your desk for YOU and everyone to see.” People have this belief that the world revolves around them so when they are in a crisis everyone else should be as well. Not true and not cool. Right?

·        What am I Researching? –  This week the research was all about what scares us as a human being. What makes a movie, book, poem, etc terrifying? What do you think is the answer? Everyone is different of course, fear is highly subjective however the # thing that links all humans is the fear of isolation. Makes sense. “Well if I were You-Know-Who, I'd want you to feel cut off from everyone else; because if it's just you alone, you're not as much of a threat.” ~ Luna Lovegood from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

·        Yummy Meal of the week – I discovered Stouffer’s Seasoning Wraps. Funny, I have a link to a video on my site about them and there are all of these comments about how it is the stupidest product ever. I disagree. I love them and thus my write up this week on Friday Food Love!

·         What did I Learn? –  This week I learned focus is key to any endeavor. When you are distracted doing too many other things you are not giving 100% to your goal. Doing 10 things at 10% focus is not as effective as doing 1 thing at 100%.

·         What am I Watching? –  This week I was only able to enjoy one show, Blindspot. I have loved this show from the beginning and I try to enjoy it while folding the seemingly endless amounts of laundry my family seem to generate. 😊

Have any thoughts on my week’s activity or want to make a recommendation? Drop me a line, or a tweet. One lucky commenter will win a free Romine book of their choice! Never want to miss a blog post or a Saturday Seven? Join my mailing list and I will be happy to send it straight to your inbox!

P.S. ~ I am on tour promoting my series Trust Me, (Serenity Lost, Veiled Deception and Jaded Promises)all month so make sure you stop by and say hello. Not only because you are AWESOME but because you could win a $50 Amazon. Check out my Twitter or Facebook for locations.

See the full schedule of tour locations.

** Added bonus, all of the Trust Me Series Books are on sale at the Extasy site for $1.99!!

Come Find Me!

Don't have a Kindle, no problem. I've got you covered! Read eBooks on your phone, tablet and computer no Kindle Needed!

Friday Food Love - Stouffer's Seasoning Wraps!

As we all know I am not a chef, or even a good cook. I do my best with the limited knowledge and money available and I make it work pretty good. Chicken is cheap and versatile, and my kids are sick of it. Yes, they are done. 

I have been granted a small reprieve when I discovered the Stouffer’s Seasoning Wraps. They are cheap, easy and Amy-Proof (aka idiot proof).

Defrost your Chicken (or use fresh)
Pound it flat-ish (see how chef -like I am in my terminology)
Put the chicken within the seasoning wrap
Put it in a pan (non-stick or reg I have used both)
Cook each side for 5-6 minutes (depends on your stove)
Take out of the wrapper. 
Put on a plate with something healthy like broccoli, garden salad, French fries, potato chips, fried pickles…. (just wanted to see if you were paying attention)

Viola! Dinner!

You can find Stouffer’s Seasoning Wraps in the gravy / mix aisle.


I am NOT being paid to post this, I seriously do love them, and they run about $1.99 for a package of 4 wraps.

There are two flavors - Italian Herb & Garlic Lemon

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