Athena's Secrets
by Donna Del Oro
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GENRE: romantic suspense w/ESP elements
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BLURB:
What if you could read minds with just a
touch? Would you be able to trust anyone?
Athena Butler, the twenty-year-old
descendant of an ancient bloodline of psychics, yearns to lead a normal life.
She wants a career, a boyfriend, independence. Her clairvoyant gift, however,
has taught her that people can be false and dangerous. Although warned to keep
her powers a secret, she's recruited by law enforcement to help search for a
serial killer and uncover a terrorist cell.
She bonds with an intriguing, handsome man,
Kas Skoros, who knows her secret and accepts it. Of the same bloodline, his
mother is precognitive and predicts that they are meant to be together…some
day. Kas, military veteran and Search and Rescue deputy, is skeptical and
cynical-- life is too uncertain--but can't resist exploring his passion for
Athena. Yet there are obstacles beyond their control.
Can Kas overcome these obstacles? Can
Athena stay alive long enough to fulfill her dream?
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EXCERPT:
“So I hear. We—my father, Alex and
I--protect my mother from people who’d try to exploit her. Is there anyone
protecting you and your mother?”
More than a little surprised, Athena
halted. “Not really. Father pretends we’re normal and I supposed Chris does,
too. Mum and I—we keep our clairvoyance a secret from everyone. Everyone except
the police, that is.”
They’d come to a fork in the path. Ahead of
them, through a thicket of oaks and pines, Athena could see the lake glimmering
in the sunlight. Kas took the path to the right. “Follow me.” He headed for the
boathouse that she could now see about fifty yards away. “We’ll have to wear
wet suits. The air’s warm, but the water’s snow melt.”
“I live in D.C. so I can handle it. I can
read minds, but can’t do weather forecasting. Go figure.”
Kas harrumphed. “I hear you work part-time
at a coffeehouse. Seems like you could make more money doing psychic readings.
But then, you’d have to expose yourself and your secret.”
“Yes, that won’t do. I guess it’s safer
this way.”
“I know, my mother feels the same way.
There’s a history of the bloodline having problems when people find out the
truth. There’s always a group in society that doesn’t understand, people who
take advantage or exploit them, or use them as scapegoats. I guess that means
there’s been some witch-hunting in the past, burning at the stake, that kind of
thing. The Romans would kidnap soothsayers and hold them as slaves. I’ve heard
only the Temple seers in Greece were off-limits. Even so, the Temple
priestesses had Guardians assigned to them day and night.”
She looked at him. He wasn’t joking. The
protective side of him was rearing up. “I’ve heard that, too. I thought it was
just nonsense, Mum trying to scare me into keeping it secret.”
“Can’t be any harm nowadays.” He glanced
back and grinned. “Now, if your secret came out, you’d get celebrity status and
your own reality TV show.”
She couldn’t help but laugh. “Not
interested.”
“Well, whenever you want to read me, go
ahead. No skin off my nose. I’m sure that what you see will either turn you off
or bore you to death.”
“Then I guess you’re different from all the
other men I’ve known,” she tossed back. “Even my father doesn’t like it. Men
like their secrets.”
“All the other men?”
“Figuratively speaking,” she said wryly.
He frowned and ran his gaze over her.
“Chris filled me in about you. You’re nineteen. An art student. Single. He says
you had a hard time when you were younger. With your clairvoyance, I mean.
Trusting people, making friends. Sorry for my blunt speaking, but this is who I
am.”
“It’s okay. When it first came on, yes, I
had some hard times. Now I manage it. I keep it under control.” She shrugged
and added, “I’ll be twenty, December first.” Now she wondered what else Chris
had told him. Probably how she couldn’t get a boyfriend if her life depended on
it. That she was a virgin desperate for love. God, no wonder Kas was put off.
“Don’t believe everything my brother tells
you about me,” was all she could think of to say.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Donna is a member of Capitol Crimes, the
Sacramento chapter of Sisters in Crime in addition to the Valleyrose chapter of
the RWA. She has judged RITA entries and does developmental editing on the
side. Two of her novels, Operation Familia and Born To Sing, have won national
and international awards.
Follow clairvoyant artist Athena Butler in
the next book in The Delphi Bloodline series: ATHENA’S QUEST.
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Donna Del Oro will be awarding a print copy of Operation
Familia or Born to Sing, to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the
tour, and a print copy of Operation Familia or Born to Sing to a randomly drawn
host.
Thanks for hosting!
RispondiEliminaThis sounds really interesting would love to know more.
RispondiEliminaI DON'T WRITE IN ITALIAN but stop by my website, www.donnadeloro.com and learn more. Thanks!
EliminaBeautiful cover! It sounds like a great book. I like reading about psychic powers.
RispondiElimina