Naima Simone's Blog, page 2

The Grave - Part 4

Desperate, he escaped the room. He bolted through the back door and the cold, fresh air slapped him in the face. He sucked in a deep breath, thankful for air free of tears and pain, and dropped to the top step of the back porch. Tears burned his eyes. Fear surged up in his chest and he blinked furiously. If he started crying he was afraid he wouldn’t be able to stop. With a sigh, he scrubbed his palms over his face, pressing them to his gritty, burning eyes. It had been forty-eight hours since he’d last slept. But it had also been forty-eight hours since the nightmares had plagued him. Forty-eight hours since he’d jerked awake, a hoarse cry razing his throat.If only he hadn’t suggested they drive separate cars to the Christmas party. If only he’d driven in front of Maura instead of following her and Ian. If only, if only…so many damn “if only”s. Even now he could hear the squeal of rubber tires. The screech of metal colliding with metal. Maura’s whispered pleas to save Ian first…Ian’s terrible silence. The acrid scent of burning gasoline invaded the cold, crisp breeze, and Gabriel sucked in several breaths, his heart working double time to keep up. Gold dots appeared in his suddenly dim vision and black streaks encroached on his vision, threatening to drag him under …The gentle touch on his back was a length of rope he grasped and clung to with frantic hands. The length of thigh pressed to his drew him back over the ledge. The delicate, familiar vanilla and peppermint shoved back the dark. Leah rested her head against his shoulder and wrapped her arms around his back and waist. She didn’t speak; she didn’t ask him how he was doing or offer condolences for his loss. She just held him. Unlike Ana, Gabriel didn’t have the urge to shove her away. As always, the woman with the bewitching green eyes, quiet strength and gentleness slipped under his guard. Since she’d been a child Leah had commandeered a piece of his heart, and where his best friends couldn’t offer him the comfort of holding him, touching him, she could. The warmth of her arms and body melted the chill encasing him. How long they sat there, he didn’t know. When the tears came, he had no idea. He wasn’t aware of dragging Leah into his lap, clutching her to him, and sobbing out his grief into her neck. Through it all Leah bore him up so he didn’t plummet into the abyss of insanity that clawed at him.She was his…sanctuary.*** To read Part 3, click here.To read Part 2, click here. To read Part 1, click here.  Twenty years ago, Leah Bannon’s beloved Uncle Richard vanished without a trace. Leah, now a private investigator, begins to suspect it was murder. When she reopens the cold case, Gabriel Devlin—-the man she loves but can never have—-inexplicably stands in her way.
          Only four people know the truth about Richard’s mysterious disappearance—-Gabriel and three childhood friends...who have all sworn to take that secret to the grave. But a hidden enemy wants those shocking secrets brought to light...even if he has to kill to make it happen.
          After experiencing an unimaginable loss two years ago, Gabriel refuses to put himself through the pain of loving someone who could be gone in an instant. But as he thwarts Leah’s investigation at every turn—-both to keep his friends’ pact, and to keep her safe from danger—-the sexy PI makes it impossible for him to protect his secrets. Or his heart...Purchase here!  

The Grave - Part 3

Hours later Gabriel threaded through his in-laws’ living room packed with mourners and well-wishers. He moved like a wraith, insubstantial, barely grounded to the floor. He dimly heard the murmured condolences, hardly felt the consoling touches. A dense, invisible wall had erected around him five days ago. A wall that didn’t permit compassion or kindness. If he allowed even the tiniest bit of emotion to filter through, than the grief—the horrible, clawing grief—would rip pass his defenses and splinter his mind into so many shards he wouldn’t be able to assemble them together again. “Would that be so bad?”a dark, seductive voice whispered.How many times in the past week had he pleaded with God to take him too? Let him go into a sweet sleep and never wake from it? Then he would join Maura and Ian in eternity; they would be a family once more. But each morning he woke, alone and hurting so much he couldn’t comprehend how he continued to function. How a heart that didn’t exist could still pump blood to his organs, forcing him to live. And each morning, he hated God a little more. His very Catholic mother would gasp at that admission and perform the sign of the cross for her son’s blasphemy.But it was true. “Gabe.” The hoarse cry echoed the depths of pain buried beneath the layers and layers of ice in his chest. “She’s really gone. My baby is gone.” Janie O’Keefe, Maura’s mother, lumbered forward, her gait unsteady and reeling. Before he could guess her intention, she threw herself against his chest. She enfolded him in her arms and wept, her body shaking with jagged sobs. On reflex, Gabriel clutched her arms, prepared to wrench away. The shock of her touch and overwhelming display of emotion threatened the protective barrier around his own feelings. And perversely, a small part of him envied Janie her freedom to surrender to the pain. “Come on, Mrs. O’Keefe.” Chay appeared out of nowhere, his quiet murmur both gentle and firm. His friend wrapped an arm around her shuddering shoulders and loosened her desperate hold. With low, soothing words, Chay guided the sobbing woman toward the brightly lit kitchen. Gabriel remained frozen, aware of the pitying glances cast between him and Janie. It proved too damn much.***To read Part 2 click here.To read Part 1 click here.Part 4 of The Grave concluded on June 10th...

The Grave - Part 2

Leah. His best friend. His mother had worked as housekeeper in her family’s home for years, and her father had been a father figure to him since his own had disappeared long before Gabe was born. Leah and James Bannon were as much family as the three men standing next to him. “Gabe.”He started, tore his gaze away from Leah and met blue eyes as familiar to him as his face. Ana Devlin, his mother, squeezed his hand, grief heavy on her face. “It’s over, Gabe,” she whispered. “Are you ready to go?”Panicked, he jerked his head back to the casket. Already employees of the funeral home were removing the flowers, and people headed across the cemetery to their waiting cars. No, his mind screamed. Terror and agony shredded him, and he wondered why his blood didn’t seep into the withered grass at his feet. Nothing should hurt this bad and not bleed. He must have released a bit of that animal-like howl because Chay shifted closer and grasped his shoulder in a hard grip, as if bracing him. Or prevent him from leaping in the earth with Maura and Ian.“You go ahead, Aunt Ana,” Malachim murmured. “We’ll stay with Gabe and bring him with us.”“If you’re sure,” his mother stammered. “I can wait, too.”“No,” Rafe assured her, his voice low, soothing. “We have him.”Gabriel couldn’t rip his eyes from the white, large box that a crane slowly lowered into the ground with an eerie creak reminiscent of a raven’s caw. He couldn’t leave, couldn’t force his feet to move from this place where his wife and son would find eternal rest. God help him, he couldn’t leave them behind. ***
To read Part 1 of The Grave, click here.

Part 3 of The Grave continued on July 8th...

The Grave - Part 1

When Gabriel Devlin's story begins in Secrets and Sins: Gabriel, two years have passed since the deaths of his wife and son. Below is prequel to his story...where it really begins...***The grave gaped wide like a dark maw in the earth, eager to swallow up the casket that perched above it. Bouquets of colorful flowers draped the closed lid, seeming incongruous with the priest’s solemn prayer and the overcast, grey sky, heavy with the promise of snow. Gabriel Devlin stared at the white casket, large enough for the wife and son that rested within its depths. Grief squeezed his heart in its icy grip. He shivered and wondered if he would ever be warm again. His gaze returned to the scarred earth and received his answer. No, he would never know the warmth of love again. His breath hitched and his throat burned with the tears he refused to shed. Though his mother flanked on one side of him and his best friends, Malachim Jerrod, Raphael Marcel, and Chayot Grey positioned themselves on the other like tall, silent sentinels, he was alone, separate from everyone and everything else but his grief. As if in the distant, the priest’s monotone offered up a prayer, commending Maura and Ian’s spirits into God’s keeping. Rage clawed at his chest. God had entrusted them into Gabriel’s hands, why had He chosen to take them from him? Had he don’t such a horrible job? He squeezed his eyes shut, guilt flaying the skin from his soul. When he reopened them, he stared off into the distance, needing to look at anything but the casket that contained his family’s remains. As his gaze skimmed the crowds, only a few met his eyes, most skittering away as if unable to stare into the face of sorrow. Hell, he knew what he looked like. A gaunt, empty-eyed caricature of the man he’d been. His gaze settled on a tall, slim figure. As he stared the woman lifted her dark head and eyes as green as the leaves on top of the casket met his. Unlike the others, she didn’t avoid his stare, but held it. Sympathy, sorrow, and love glistened, along with her tears. Leah. ***Part 2 of The Grave continues on Wednesday, July 3rd...  Twenty years ago, Leah Bannon’s beloved Uncle Richard vanished without a trace. Leah, now a private investigator, begins to suspect it was murder. When she reopens the cold case, Gabriel Devlin—-the man she loves but can never have—-inexplicably stands in her way.
          Only four people know the truth about Richard’s mysterious disappearance—-Gabriel and three childhood friends...who have all sworn to take that secret to the grave. But a hidden enemy wants those shocking secrets brought to light...even if he has to kill to make it happen.
          After experiencing an unimaginable loss two years ago, Gabriel refuses to put himself through the pain of loving someone who could be gone in an instant. But as he thwarts Leah’s investigation at every turn—-both to keep his friends’ pact, and to keep her safe from danger—-the sexy PI makes it impossible for him to protect his secrets. Or his heart...
  

Secrets and Sins: Gabriel Blog Tour and "Boston Strong" Swag Pack Giveaway!

The Secrets and Sins: Gabriel Blog Tour has officially started! The tour runs from June 24th through July 24th with various stops and blogs about secrets...sins...songs about stalkers... Hee-hee!

Up for grabs at the end of the tour is an Amazon Gift Card and Gabriel's "Boston Strong" swag pack, which includes a Boston Strong tee and matching tote bag! Just enter through the Rafflecopter below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Here are the dates and places of where I'll be for the next month! Come visit me at these sites through the tour. I'd love to see you there!
Naima

Flowers, George Washington and My Trusty Kindle!

Stop #3 on my When-I-Go-To-Boston-I-Must-See-This Tour!
The Boston Public Garden. While my husband abandons me to go and visit Fenway Park after I've dragged him to Sondra Celli's dress shop, The Freedom Trail and Charles Street for shopping, I would stop by one of Boston's famous parks, located right in the heart of downtown Boston. It's like an oasis of vibrant, colorful flowers and trees with a lake, beautiful bridge and swan boats.

And the statues. Sigh. Did I mention the statues? The towering bronze figure of George Washington on his horse, the stately image of Massachusetts congressman, Charles Sumner, and the adorable bronze figures of a mother duck and her ducklings all in a row from the children's story, Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey. Just to name a few.

 Oh yes. While the hubby basked in baseball heaven, I'd pick a bench, pull out a book--or a Kindle--then sit and enjoy one of Boston's beautiful landmarks--it's own slice of heaven.

So there's Stop #3! Remember, the GIVEAWAY for the Amazon Gift Card and Advanced Readers Copy of Secrets and Sins: Gabriel is still going strong until Sunday, the 23rd! You can enter through the Rafflecopter below!
 a Rafflecopter giveawayhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Swan_Boat,_Boston_Public_Garden,_Boston,_Massachusetts.JPG

Gypsy Wedding Dresses &Freee-duum! (As Cried by William Wallace)

So Stop #1 on my trip to Boston:

Sondra Celli's dress shop. One of my guilty pleasures is TLC's My Big Fact American Gypsy Wedding. I'm just telling all my secrets! Hee-hee! Well one of the reasons I tune in is to see what over-the-top, outrageous creation dressmaker, Sondra Celli, will create for the American traveller community. She is amazing! And walking through her Boston-based store and work space would be such fun! I'd love to see where the magic happens!

  Stop #2: The famous Freedom Trail! I love history. When my husband and I go on vacation, it's almost always to cities rich in history--Savannah, Charleston, St. Augustine... Okay, I pick the cities but, anyway, he enjoys himself. I mean, that's what he tells me... Anyhoo, the Freedom Trail is a must-visit place for me. Walking in the footsteps of America's freedom fighters, seeing where this country's independence was hard fought for would be an incredible memory. Faneuil Hall, the Bunker Hill Monument, the site of the Boston Massacre, Paul Revere's home, the grave marker for Crispus Attucks. It would be like strolling through time.   So those are two of my When-I-go-I-must-see stops in Boston!   Remember, the GIVEAWAY for the Amazon Gift Card and Advanced Readers Copy of Secrets and Sins: Gabriel is still going strong until Friday, the 21st! You can enter through the Rafflecopter below! a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway! "Boston Strong"...and New Kids on the Block!

 
Throughout my lifetime—which has been admittedly short because I’m only, like, 25-ish—I’ve had obsessions. Some have waned over the years, but others have persevered. Twinkies. Michael Jackson. Corey Feldman. Coffee. Ireland. Vin Diesel.

While Twinkies, Mike and Corey have all fallen by the proverbial wayside—like in a deep, dark ditch never to be resurrected again!—my love affairs with coffee, Ireland and Vin (sigh) have survived the tests of time. Let’s face it. Coffee is God’s way of saying, “I love you!” every morning…and afternoon…and evening. Ireland is “God’s Country”, and Vin…Well, Vin is God’s Gift to womankind. Voice, muscles, bald head. *Squiggy knuckle bite*
But there’s been another obsession that started waaay back in the day. Hold up. Wait. How old am I again? Oh that’s right 24. So, y’know, it started a few years ago.
My love for the city of Boston.
Are you from Boston, you ask. Have you ever lived there, you wonder. Do you have family there, you inquire. No, unh-unh, and not even a play cousin. So how did my passion for this great city begin? Umm...cue hemming and hawing... New Kids on the Block.  Fine! New Kids on the Block! There! I said it! I'll Be Loving You Forever. Please Don't Go Girl. Donnie Wahlburg--whom I still love, and if he showed up on my doorstep today, I'd tie him to my bed and show him I have The Right Stuff! Get it? Get it? The song The Right Stuff? *roll eyes* Yeah, you don't want to admit you get it, but you do! Anyhoo, I was a total NKOTB fanatic! I had the big buttons, t-shirts, bought the Teen Beat and Big Bop magazines to collect their pictures, dolls... Ayiight! Yes! I had a doll! Sheesh. I thank you not to judge.   But as I was saying, since I was in lu-uv with Donnie, I also fell in complete adulation with his hometown. I mean, it was where we'd move when we married. I'd spend hours writing love stories about us meeting (he was him and I was the lead guitarist in a rock band) and how he took one looong, hooded, sensual (yes, even at 12 I knew how a man in lust gazed at a woman!) look at me and couldn't do without me in his life. And of course my mad guitar skills just wowed the hell outta him! We'd date, fight, make-up, marry and move to Boston. So along with doctoring phoney birth certificates for our three children, I also researched the city of Boston, it's diverse neighborhoods and proud people. And though my obsession with the New Kids waned--a little--my love for Boston grew and lasted through the years. Many of us first learned about Boston in grade school with the Boston Tea Party and the Battle of Bunker Hill during the Revolutionary War. It's one of the oldest cities in the United States, and is so rich with history. From Beacon Hill to South End, to Dorchester to Jamaica Plain, the people are as diverse as the neighborhoods. I can imagine travelling from one end of the massive city to the other would be like sampling a smorgasbord of cultures. Italy, Ireland, Vietnam, Asia, India, South America... The city is saturated with colleges and universities, theatres, museums, and let's not forget sports. Although I would like to forget. I mean Troy Polamalu doesn't play for any of their sports teams... But as someone who is unwillingly entangled in the Auburn-Alabama feud just because of geography, I can appreciate the fierce pride Bostonians have in their sports teams. Don't understand it, but appreciate it... But like I said, Troy doesn't play, sooo....    When the bombing at the Boston Marathon occurred on April 15, 2013, I was home, watching television and caught the first of the news footage only two hours after it happened. I was shocked and so saddened. First, because of the evil and complete disregard for human life that would allow someone to commit such a heinous act of terrorism. Second, because of the devastation, grief and loss that so many families would face in the aftermath. But as we all saw in the hours and days afterward, the people of this city rallied and demonstrated why they are "Boston Strong". The courage, tirelessness and strength displayed by Boston's people from law enforcement to every day citizens was not just phenomenal, but inspiring. My new release, Secrets and Sins: Gabriel, from Entangled Publishing's Entangled Suspense line is set in Boston. And while I love the city, after this horrifying event followed up by the power of the human spirit, I'm so proud of the setting for Gabriel, as well as the three other books in the series. There isn't a better, more beautiful, stronger city for a story of good triumphing over evil, hope, healing and love.  
Next week, I hope you join me on my blog tour for the release of Secrets and Sins: Gabriel where you can win Gabriel's Boston Strong Swag Pack and an Amazon Gift Card!  For this week--June 17th through the 21st--I'm offering a $15 Amazon Gift Card and an ARC of Gabriel! Join me here through the week as I add the places I would love to visit in Boston! I think you might be surprised! Think history, gypsies, wedding gowns and shopping!   Twenty years ago, Leah Bannon’s beloved Uncle Richard vanished without a trace. Leah, now a private investigator, begins to suspect it was murder. When she reopens the cold case, Gabriel Devlin—-the man she loves but can never have—-inexplicably stands in her way.

Only four people know the truth about Richard’s mysterious disappearance—-Gabriel and three childhood friends...who have all sworn to take that secret to the grave. But a hidden enemy wants those shocking secrets brought to light...even if he has to kill to make it happen.

After experiencing an unimaginable loss two years ago, Gabriel refuses to put himself through the pain of loving someone who could be gone in an instant. But as he thwarts Leah’s investigation at every turn—-both to keep his friends’ pact, and to keep her safe from danger—-the sexy PI makes it impossible for him to protect his secrets. Or his heart... There are several ways to enter my Goodreads contest through the Rafflecopter below..but don't cheat yourself, my publicist is gaw-geous, has a whip and isn't afraid to use it! LOL! She's a stickler for the rules and won't even let me peek until the contest is over! :D I'd love to hear your comments on Boston, New Kids on the Block, or how much you are soooo looking forward to Gabriel!

Don't forget! It would be a sin not to join me for the offical Gabriel Blog Tour starting June 24th! Mah birthday! Yaay me! *Jazz hands and kick* I'll be giving away a Boston Strong T-shirt, Secets and Sins: Gabriel swag pack and an Amazon gift card!
    a Rafflecopter giveaway

Headed to God's Country! Ooh! And My New Cover!

Ireland, here I come!

Yes! I'm going back to Ireland! God's Country! Eire!

Sigh.

I love Ireland. The history. The beauty of the land. The people. I first travelled there in 2007, and have been so eager to return ever since.


St. Patrick's BridgeWhy Ireland? I've had a grand passion for this country for years, and the blame can be placed squarely on Nora Roberts' shoulders. I fell in love with God's Country from her Born In series. How she described the beautiful land and people, the myths and history... She made me believe I could find my own Rogan or Murphy in this land of tragic lyrics, haunting music and never-say-die warriors. Well, I ended up finding my hero in Alabama, but still...


St. Finbarre's CathedralI leave for Cork City this July, and one of the things I'm looking forward to is carrying my notebook around and jotting down notes about pubs, landmarks, people and stories. I want to capture my impressions of the historical structures to the sounds and accents on Winthrop Street. Because when I return home, all of it will be applied to a new book set in my favorite country! A brooding Irishman with dark hair and blue eyes. A sexy brogue. Green, patchwork fields and rolling hills. A large bed and roaring fire as rain falls and mists outside. Yeah... I have no idea what the plot or character arc will be but it will have my sexy hero with an accent and a big bed!

But before I bow out to go dream about my trip and new hero, guess who has a new cover and release? ME! That's right! The second book in the Dark Judgment series, Bitten by Ecstasy, is coming out on June 21 2013!


Blurb:
A brutal attack left Bastien Sarris for dead. But a chance encounter with a mysterious female drags him back from the brink of death—and transforms the hippogryph healer into a monster he doesn’t recognize. Now a terrible hunger consumes him—one that is becoming impossible to satisfy. Desperate for a cure, he hunts the cruxim who cursed him to a hellish existence. But the petite warrior ignites a fierce desire that overwhelms the sweet call of blood.

For three hundred years, Sinéad lived and hunted as a cruxim—a winged vampire hunter. But one sacrificial act stripped her of immortality, leaving her human, vulnerable and unprepared for the reappearance of Bastien in her life. The hippogryph shifter is harder and colder than she remembers…and he triggers an onslaught of need that’s as powerful as it is unfamiliar. She craves his kiss, his touch. Yet even as she surrenders to this newfound passion, she faces a crucial decision—betray the man she’s come to love and regain her immortality—or save Bastien and condemn herself to a human life and death.

A Wonderful Birthday Gift!

I can FINALLY reveal the cover for my upcoming romantic suspence release from Entangled Publishing's Entangled Suspense line! You have no idea how I've been dy-ing to show it!

Secrets and Sins: Gabriel is the first book in a four-book series from Entangled Suspense, and I have to admit...I am in love with this book. It's a "first" for me in a couple of ways. It's my first book that isn't erotic. It's sensual, definitely, but less, uh, explicit than my previous books.
But the emotion, the tragic hero and strong, independent heroine and secondary characters I fell in love with maek up for the naughty words I had to dial back on. :D


Also, it's my first true, bona-fide romantic suspense. I've had books with suspense elements, but Gabriel has a strong suspense plot running alongside the beautiful, romance. I'm so excited about its release! And did I mention the release date is on my birthday? Yes! June 24th! What an awesome birthday gift! *hint! hint! nudge! nudge!*

Blurb
Twenty years ago, Leah Bannon’s beloved Uncle Richard vanished without a trace. Leah, now a private investigator, begins to suspect it was murder. When she reopens the cold case, Gabriel Devlin—-the man she loves but can never have—-inexplicably stands in her way.

Only four people know the truth about Richard’s mysterious disappearance—-Gabriel and three childhood friends...who have all sworn to take that secret to the grave. But a hidden enemy wants those shocking secrets brought to light...even if he has to kill to make it happen.

After experiencing an unimaginable loss two years ago, Gabriel refuses to put himself through the pain of loving someone who could be gone in an instant. But as he thwarts Leah’s investigation at every turn—-both to keep his friends’ pact, and to keep her safe from danger—-the sexy PI makes it impossible for him to protect his secrets. Or his heart...
 
Secrets and Sins: Gabriel is available for pre-order at Amazon and Barnes and Noble!