Sneak Peek: Prologue (The Sheriffs of Roberston County: Angel Maker)

Posted on 08/26/2013 by Wanda Paryla | 1 Comment

For any interested parties, here’s a sneak peek to the tentatively titled Angel Maker, the first book in The Sheriffs of Robertson County series. This prologue is done, but still needs a bit more editing.

A police procedural mystery/suspense drama (wish me luck!),The Sheriffs of Robertson County is a romantically titled, but crime-themed, series of books where the stories occur in sparsely populated, rural Robertson County, Texas; the county where I spent my childhood and the last place I’d expect major crimes to occur. Currently, there are two books in the works for this series. Hopefully, County Sheriff Dorian Storm and his associate, Detective Alan Keith, will arrive at squad room near you by early 2014 at the latest. 😉

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ANGEL MAKER (THE SHERIFFS OF ROBERTSON COUNTY)

PROLOGUE

August 1977 – Robertson County, Texas

Eleven-year old Dorian tired of staring at the condensation dripping down his half-filled glass of tea. It was iced tea until a few minutes ago when the ice totally succumbed to the Texas heat. He looked at his father who was engrossed in the local newspaper. Dorian rubbed his fingers around the glass, smearing the dripping water all over the glass. He wiped his hands on his pants and looked out over the backyard. The grass was burnt brown from the sun, dried up and crunchy. Bare patches lay strewn about and red clay and sand dotted the yard.

“What are you reading about, Dad?” Dorian sighed.

Maurice grunted. “Hmm, nothing that would interest you, son.”

“Can we get a swimming pool?”

“No, sir,” Maurice responded adamantly. “No pools.”

The pair fell silent again and Dorian’s attention flittered to his parents’ bedroom window; his feet gingerly followed his interest. He stood there for a moment just staring through the glass.

“Dad, why do they call that guy Angel Killer?” Dorian asked. “The Angel Killer,” he whispered as he watched his mother move about her bedroom.

Maurice put down the newspaper article he was reading on the stock market. First he looked up at the sky, then to a nearby tree where a squirrel was ascending the trunk with a pecan in its mouth. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply, meditating on an answer as birds chirped and dry leaves of nearby trees crackled.

“Dad?” Dorian asked again, not looking toward his father.

Maurice’s gaze landed on his son who still stood at the window looking in at his mother who sat at her dressing table fixing her hair. She spotted Dorian and smiled and waved at him then returned her gaze to her reflection.

Dorian was incredibly intelligent for a boy his age. School authorities tried to pass him on to higher grades to match his learning abilities. They tried to bump him from the second to the third grade, then again from the fifth to the sixth, but his mother wouldn’t have it either time. No matter how hard his father pushed for it. She said she didn’t want him to be an oddball; however, he already was.

“Well, son,” Maurice hesitated, searching for the right words. Dorian was just a kid, yes, but he was no fool. “I guess, because he nails angel wings to the backs of all those poor women he kills.”

“Why does he do that? Kill people and do that?”

“I don’t know. I can’t…” Maurice shook his head. “The man’s a devil, Dorian. Evil. Crazy maybe. I don’t know why he does what he does. Maybe he doesn’t know either.”

Dorian’s curiosity often tested his parents’ and teachers’ tolerance, got him in trouble with his friends and siblings, and often disgruntled the neighbors while he investigated all the neighborhood woes and looked for the lost kitties and doggies of pretty girls.

Dorian still gazed at his mother through the window.

“I wonder why he does it. I wonder if the police know why.”

“I doubt they know yet. We shouldn’t talk about this anymore. It gives the monster power.”

“Power?” Dorian said.

“I think it’s nearing lunch time. Let’s go in.”

“I’m not hungry.”

“I am. And your momma’s made egg salad. And guess what? She’s got us some potato chips, son. Isn’t that something? I knew she’d break down eventually and…” He stopped when Dorian’s eyes met his, squinting as he saw straight through his father’s facade.

“You’re glad we’re black, aren’t you?” Dorian probed.

“What? Why would you say that, boy?”

“Because, the Angel Killer only kills pretty white girls, not pretty black girls. I think Momma’s cousin, Harmony, would be his type otherwise. Maybe even Momma. Only that they’re black is what might be keepin’ them alive.”

“Dorian,” Maurice struggled to control his temper but his shock was something he could not conceal. “Don’t talk like that! Jesus.”

Dorian looked back in at his mother, studying her.

“Jesus doesn’t have anything to do with it. Look at her, Dad. How pretty. On the short side. Momma can’t weigh no more than a hundred-and-twenty-pounds. Big smile. And her eyes are wide and round and…well, never mind,” Dorian shrugged. “She’s a bit too old I guess. Thankfully. But Harmony, she’s just like those white girls, except she’s…”

“Dorian!” Maurice leaned forward in his chair. “Stop that! What have your mother and I told you about taking interest in those things?” He bolted up out of his seat. The iron chair grating across the cement patio startled Dorian and he shuttered. “Don’t ever talk like that again. Do you want to curse us?”

“Those women weren’t cursed, Dad.” Dorian said. “They were murdered. They’re victims.”

“Victims? Stop it, Dorian.” Maurice strode into the house, huffing like a freight train. “Alice? Alice! We have got to do something about Dorian.”

Dorian took one last look through the window but his mother had left her place in front of her mirror. The room was empty. He walked to the iron patio table and looked at the front of the newspaper.

“Alice, really. Dorian has got to keep his nose out of the adults’ business,” Maurice demanded. “And we shouldn’t let him read newspapers and magazines any longer. No more Time and no more newspapers.”

“Oh, Maurice,” Alice said. “He’s just a curious boy. And too smart for his own good.”

“What? Y’all are driving me crazy. He’s out there with his curiosity all over the monster that killed those women, Alice,” Maurice shook his head, waving his hands, hunting for his thoughts. “Oh, shit it doesn’t matter. I’m just afraid of what these interests are saying about him, baby.”

“They say he’s a child with a conscience, Maurice.”

“A conscience? Are you sure? Because his curiosity about crime disturbs me a little.”

Dorian read the article aloud to himself, just loud enough to drown out the voices of his parents who did not seem to care that he might be within earshot. His father, always judgmental; his mother, always pleading and defending him.

“Waco Woman Found Slain. Last night near sundown, twenty-eight year old Mrs. Dana Caldwell of Waco was found by farmer, Gill Cooper, lying in his hay field in Robertson County. Mrs. Caldwell had been missing for three days and surfaced on Sunday. Like the six previous victims who were murdered before her in a similar fashion, Mrs. Caldwell had been stripped of her clothing and redressed in what looked to be an angel costume. Pale makeup had been applied to her face which offered a porcelain doll-like appearance, and her cheeks and lips were colored baby-doll pink. Her cheeks were sprinkled lightly with glitter as was her chest. Her assailant…” Dorian choked back his distaste, “Her assailant nailed angel wings to her back at both scapulas. As with other similar cases, the victim’s hands were folded together and held a rosary.

Authorities believe the victim was already dead before the attacker redressed and spiked the wings to her back. The Robertson County Medical Examiner said the cause of death is not apparent at this time and is unsure of any sexual assault; however, it is common knowledge that the other women found in the exact same fashion were not sexually assaulted, and it was ruled their deaths were due to asphyxiation. Some of the women were killed by strangulation and others by suffocation.

Dana Caldwell was a Graduate student at Baylor University and just celebrated her three-year anniversary in May with her husband, Carl, who she leaves behind along with her twelve-year old daughter from a previous relationship.

There are a few differences between Dana Caldwell and the previous victims, however. Caldwell was on the tall side, and blue-eyed. Based on previous reports, the other victims were all brown-eyed and shorter than Dana. And according to her husband, she was about thirteen weeks pregnant. The pregnancy has not yet been verified by the medical examiner.”

Dorian looked to the black and white photo of Dana Caldwell then dropped the paper to the table. He wondered how this type of crime found its way into his city-less county.

His mother, Alice, called to him. “Dorian, lunch!”

“The Angel Killer. Why do you get glory while everyone you touch suffers?” Dorian snorted and squinted in judgment. “You don’t kill angels, you make them. Angel Maker.”

Click here to read Chapter One next!… https://wandasparyla.com/2013/09/12/sneak-peek-chapter-one-the-sheriffs-of-robertson-county-angel-maker/

Book Review – This Love

Posted on 08/06/2013 by Wanda Paryla | 1 Comment

Hi All! Just me, here with another book review.

FYI: I purchased this book, and this review was not requested by the author. Regardless, as always, this review is in depth.

THIS LOVE

By Nazarea Andrews

My Amazon rating: 3 of 5 stars for this tale of forbidden love.

As a reminder, my reviews are my views on a book and its characters. I try to avoid spoilers and will forewarn of them. I do not synopsis a book like many reviewers do, which to me is superfluous.

I’ll start at the cover…Fine and lovely work by Melissa Stevens, The Illustrated Author.

There was mention in another review(s) that Avery calling her father “Daddy” is immature. Personally, I realized that this story takes place in the South. I am from Texas. I have 45 year-old, highly educated, female friends still calling their fathers, Daddy. To clarify, it’s often a southern thing. I do understand that maybe the author could have recognized she was writing for a national, if not an international, audience and should have avoided that term. But where’s the originality in that? Where’s the reality of culture?

In books similar to this that I’ve read before, it’s always the woman who’s whining about the man not showing her love or saying I love you, or not wanting to stick it out, and how he doesn’t want to give up everything for her. Some reviewers must like this old redundant theme. For me, in this book, it was the other way around. It’s Avery who unselfishly didn’t want to see Atticus give up his life for her though the whole idea of losing him hurt her deeply. And she was afraid to mess up her own life too. Doesn’t that show consideration and ambition? I don’t see it as being weak or selfish, but being strong and level headed. I don’t know if this was the author’s intention or if the characters just wrote it that way, but it’s refreshing.

Atticus’ willingness to give up his life, move on to another job just to give this relationship a try is something we see very little of in reality or in books. I would call it uplifting; gallant, even. He’s not a shallow ass-chaser where Avery’s concerned. And unfortunately, we still see a lot of male chauvinistic behaviors in romance or erotic novels. Come on…Overdone. I like it better the Nazarea Andrews way.

The age difference between the two characters didn’t matter to me. I mean, this book is about a relationship that is taboo. In actuality, this is how it would be between a professor and a student who’s a senior in college. That’s where the illicit relationship comes in. Don’t we still believe that art imitates life? What I would’ve liked to have seen, however, was more near misses during the relationship. In truth, I would’ve enjoyed seeing them – a time or two – trying to hide from Atticus’ colleagues in a restaurant or her classmates at the mall in effort not to be caught. There are no cliff hangers, no hold-your breath-moments as far as action and intrigue. This story had the potential to be longer.

The characters seem to be developed enough for this first book in the series, but they could be more rounded. I think Atticus is definitely a hottie, but out of the appearing characters, Dane was my choice for most appealing. I’m always looking for a deviant underdog. By that I mean, I’m looking for someone to prove to me they are better a person than I first thought them to be. It’s early on in this series, but I’m looking to Dane for that role.

My hopes for future UB books: I wish the author will develop Avery’s character more if she is still to play a big role. Who is she, really? I can see the author’s not afraid to be original, so she should be more daring as well. This Love needed more tension – but not of the sexual kind, and a couple of “Oh, no. Run!” moments.

There are some details I did not like about the book and they are my personal reasons for not giving it 4 stars and have nothing to do with the story in general. While I absolutely love a First Person narrative, I did not like the “present tense” the book is written in. This is my opinion and has no bearing on the author or her work, but I think it caused a few of the lines of prose to be delivered awkwardly. I feel it limited the book as far as delivery and description. My brain had a hard time wrapping itself around the present tense narrative. That being said, I still must give kudos to the author for writing in this format. It is different.

Next, usually when we open to a chapter and there’s a heading such as “Chicago” or “April 2010”, we know that the following passage is about that subject. So when I opened to chapter one of This Love and read “Avery”, I assumed the passage was about Avery. I did not right off realize it was a cue to her speaking…or that the title meant that the passage was written from her point of view. So it took me a bit to realize that Avery was the one talking. In fact, it took me to the middle of next section titled “Atticus” for me to realize what was going on.

Also, while I have no problem with sex in a book, this one was a bit overboard. I’d like to see Atticus and Avery doing more than sex and drinking coffee. While sex can sell a book, it cannot sell a relationship to an audience. The ending was a bit hurried. As I said earlier, I feel this book could have been longer. I’d love to see this author really let loose. I’d like to see more obstacles and tension. Maybe Nik should’ve set Atticus’ car on fire for revenge.

I enjoy young adult and new adult books, but usually go for action, fantasy, mystery, or paranormal so the romance side of those genres is new to me. Overall This Love is a good summer read, especially for young adults. Although there seems to be no plot (but a lot of books do not have one) its succession seems to be finely planned out, and This Love is well written. I did run across a few over looked editing issues but nothing that takes away from the story. This series has great potential.

I am also interested in the Scout character and was pleasantly surprised to read the Epilogue to find that the next book, Beautiful Broken, is about Dane and Scout. I’ll be reading that one as I’m sure Dane won’t disappoint me. *wink* I’m sure it’s a 4-star read!

Book Review – Kydona: From Ashes

Posted on 08/04/2013 by Wanda Paryla | Leave a comment

(4 of 5 stars on Amazon)

Hello Friends,

Here is another review for a really great book. If you like action, battle scenes and war stories with an underlying bit of romance and erotica, read on. As always, I try to refrain from using spoilers.

This latest blog is a review for Kydona: From Ashes, by T.K. Krug III. This is the sequel to Kydona which I reviewed in May, 2013. In case you haven’t read the first book, Kydona, you can read that review as well if you’d like to. You can find it on my blog here: https://wandasparyla.com/2013/05/15/book-review-kydona-7/

I think it’s important for you to read my review of Kydona because in Kydona: From Ashes you’ll get more of the same, but this time with more plot and more places to visit. Some things I liked most about the first book besides that it was written by an author who knew his subject, was how a few characters showed me there was more to them than meets the eye, and how the story closed was awesome too. The door just slammed shut. I know some won’t like that type of ending, but if there’s going to be a sequel, it’s fine and dandy by me. It was a nice little cliff hanger for this, the second story.

I can say little more than I already have in my earlier review of Kydona about the author’s incredible ability to bring one into war with him…or his characters…and force you to see and feel everything and everyone. This book is less about the development of some old character and more about development of a human being in the midst of the greatest despair to date in his history. It’s about how people under life-altering, horrifying distress can do one of two things, give up and give in, or reach for each other in support instead of lying down their sword to an enemy whether that enemy be foe or oneself. This is a book about a path to destiny. In this book we see the main character, Marcus, grow tremendously, even if unwilling at times, unfurling himself slowly like a military banner. And, this is exactly as it might have been for a man like him, in his situation, 1,000 years ago…or even today.

Marcus’ ability to go from drinking and binging like a teenager in the first book to overcoming his feelings toward unspeakable crimes against humanity, as well as his need to commit them for the common good, and live to the bitter end to make peace with himself, is heroic. In Kydona, he was tossed headlong into a war, to the frontlines, carelessly as a punishment and/or to be rid of him, yet in Kydona: From Ashes we champion him on as he prevails little by little overcoming his foes.

And, of course, there is no shortness of scheming. There are still methodical wenches and politicians, and military men…we just don’t realize what’s truly going on off scene until closer to the end. And well, there’s lies. The place that these lies put Marcus in regarding his father is maddening and sad.

This second book has quite a few twists and turns in it and despite Marcus being let down at nearly every turn, it is his men…who were first his comrades, then became his very own army… that showed him the respect and loyalty that carried him through. It was for their honor, and not his own, that he trudged onward through to the end of the book.

In Kydona, the two countries, Elessia and Kydona, are forced into a battle because their leaders refused to realize the one thing that would bring peace. Then in the end of Kydona: From Ashes, the story comes full circle (maybe seemingly accidental, if you don’t believe in fate) and peace is, for the moment, derived from the very thing first denied. Can’t tell…I don’t want to spoil.

Again, as in the first book, there is a character that proved that he was not just hogwash. For me, in Kydona it was Vernon. In Kydona: From Ashes, it is Roslene. I thought the whole time she was out only for Number One, and while even in the end it seemed so, I realize that maybe she schemed for love to actually raise someone above her. Devious, yes; shallow, no. But you all may find the characters that surprise you to be different from my picks.

We don’t see a huge difference in some of the lesser characters, but the growth of Marcus as a person is overwhelming enough in and of itself, and while we still catch glimpses of Vernon’s love of mischief, wine and women, as this story progresses, it becomes more of a joke. After all, even in our own lives, as we grow and learn out of pain, do we not wish for the good ol’ days? And really, would we truly go back if we could? Vernon continues to be a pertinent piece of this saga, even though he disappears for awhile, while Marcus makes his mark in Kydona and deals his hand with its tzarista, then Vernon reappears just as loyal as ever in the end.

I am still stumped as to the underlying theme of immortality that wades around in the last quarter or so of this book. I am wondering, will that go somewhere?

There are a couple of small things that kept me from giving Kydona: From Ashes five stars. Of course, these are just my opinion. I think the author should have given an introduction to the characters and a little back story for those who didn’t realize Kydona: From Ashes is a sequel. And it would also be a good refresher for those who might read Kydona but take several months to pick up the next book. This information could be given in a prologue or even in bits and pieces in the first couple chapters of the book with Marcus reminding us who these people are. The next thing along that same line is that perhaps on the back cover, or in the description, it should be revealed that this is a sequel so folks know to grab the first book.

In passing, this book could use a bit more editing but the oversights did not distract me from the story, but I’d urge the author or a proof reader to have another go at sprucing it up.

Overall, the story is engaging, the feeling of camaraderie stays with you as you read. If you want to know how people make it through war…maybe this is it. My assessment of the first book, Kydona, stands true for From Ashes as well (don’t forget to read my Kydona review!). Once again Krug’s work reads as well-researched historical fiction from the start. Nothing about what goes on in this book seems forged or overblown to me.

Feel free to check out an interview I did with T.K. Krug III here: https://wandasparyla.com/2013/05/15/t-k-krug-iii-an-author-interview/

Happy Reading!