The
Passion Season
Covalent
Series
Book
One
Libby
Doyle
Genre:
urban fantasy/paranormal romance
Publisher:
Fairhill Publishing LLC
Date
of Publication: March 20, 2016
ISBN:
978-0-9972985-0-5
ASIN:
B01CCE4U8E
Number
of pages: 303 in ePub
Word
Count: 117,259
Cover
Artist: Damonza
Book
Description:
In
loving him, she overcomes her pain, but to discover his true identity
would shred the reality she thought she knew.
He
is Barakiel. Warrior. Exile. Hopeless romantic. Barakiel is Covalent,
a race of ancient beings who use their great power to keep the
elemental forces of Creation and Destruction in Balance. The Covalent
Council exiled Barakiel to the Earthly Realm as the price of the
treachery of his father, Lucifer, who wages perpetual war against it.
Lucifer also relentlessly pursues his son. The Council thinks Lucifer
views his son’s power as a threat, but Barakiel knows his father
seeks to destroy even the memory of love.
She
is Alexandra “Zan” O'Gara. FBI Agent. Army veteran. Recovering
drunk. Zan’s troubled past left her with little interest in men,
but she had never encountered anyone like the stunning Rainer
Barakiel. Zan believes Rainer is a wealthy businessman with expertise
in edged weapons who can help her with a case. From the moment she
meets him she wants him more than she’s ever wanted anything, but
her intense attraction is as frightening as it is thrilling.
This
is their love story. As Zan’s deepening feelings for Rainer lead
her to confront her emotional damage, he struggles to meet the
demands of his home world so he will be free to love her, and to
reveal his true nature. Through the gruesome crime that first brought
Zan to his door, Barakiel learns that his presence in the Earthly
Realm has placed some of its most vulnerable citizens in danger.
Compelled to protect them, he undertakes a series of duties he may
not survive, even as Zan rescues him from centuries of a deadened
heart.
Book
Trailer https://youtu.be/HGeVs2XgQjo
The
Passion Season©
Book
I of the Covalent Series
Playlist
This
music was chosen by Libby Doyle as a soundtrack for the novel. Some
songs reflect the state of mind or aspirations of the characters.
Some pieces are performed by the characters as part of the story, and
others are meant to reflect the plot. Libby hopes you enjoy them.
Love Reign O’er Me –
The Who
Cannonball – The
Breeders
Burn – Nine Inch Nails
Sympathy for the Devil –
The Rolling Stones
Rosary Sonata n. 6, The
Agony in the Gethsemane Garden – Heinrich Biber -- played by Le
Bizzarrie Armoniche (Riccardo Minasi, violinist)
Indiscipline – King
Crimson (live, feat. Adrian Belew)
Brendan -- Fugazi
Top of the World –
Shonen Knife
Don’t Let Your Deal Go
Down – Lester Flat and Earl Scruggs
Caprice 24 – Paganini --
played by Hilary Hahn
Nasty – Janet Jackson
La Cumbia Campesina –
Luis Ornelas
There Goes My Gun – The
Pixies
Sex Machine – James
Brown
Perfect Day – Lou Reed
The Weirdness – The
Stooges
Salt Creek – The Tony
Rice Unit
Chaconne, Partita No. 2 –
Johann Sebastian Bach – played by Hilary Hahn
Dark Road – Sarah Jarosz
My Idea of Fun – The
Stooges
War Pigs – Black Sabbath
Angel of Death – Slayer
To Be Over – Yes
Love is Blindness – Jack
White
The World’s a Mess; It’s
in My Kiss – X
Excerpt:
Excerpt
from part one, Vernal Equinox, Chapter 1
The
front of the main building had a set of massive wooden double doors
and a smaller heavy wooden door to the side with the bell. She rang,
and when the door opened she forgot she was supposed to speak. He was
gigantic, at least six foot eight, with broad shoulders and a lithe,
athletic build. A few strands of his unruly, mid-length blond hair
fell over eyes that seemed to be several shades of blue at once. They
drew her in with more than their beauty, as if something primeval was
hidden in their depths, just barely restrained. He faintly smiled.
She knew her face was getting red.
What
the hell. Don’t be such a fool.
“Um,
hello, I’m Special Agent Alexandra O’Gara of the FBI.” She
stuck out her hand. “My office made an appointment.”
“Yes.
I’m Rainer Barakiel. A pleasure to meet you.” His voice was rich
and deep and he spoke with a slight accent. When he shook her hand,
she held it too long. She still felt flushed.
“I,
um, I appreciate you taking the time for this, Mr. Barakiel.”
“I’m
happy to help.”
God,
so lame. He must have to deal with swooning women all the time, but I
doubt he expected it from an FBI agent.
Turning
gracefully, he showed her through the door. Zan tried not to stare at
the way his jeans fit his hips, or the contours of his muscles
beneath his gray cashmere sweater. Gripped by a strong urge to run
her hands all over him, she was lucky his place was filled with
fascinating things to distract her. Antiques and art were arranged
tastefully in the open space, among brown leather couches and chairs
and colorful woven rugs. Pale sun from high skylights glinted off a
sunburst mosaic above the mantle of a huge concrete fireplace. Zan
tried to concentrate on her surroundings, at least until her pulse
slowed down.
“What
a fantastic place.”
“Thank
you.” He dipped his head toward her in an old-fashioned display of
manners that she found charming.
“This
whole property is great. What was it used for, before you lived
here?”
“This
land was part of the old Rohm and Haas Chemical plant you can still
see as you enter. The facility was shut down in 2010.”
“I
wish more people would reclaim these abandoned places by the river.
Most of it just goes to waste, and meanwhile they’re developing
Chester County farmland.”
“Yes.”
He looked at her intensely. “I felt good about redeveloping a
brownfield. I had to do a lot of remediation, but now it’s an
excellent place to live.”
“All
you need now is for the city to buy the front parcel and turn it into
a park.” Zan gave him her best sunny smile, with an openness she
knew made people trust her.
“That
would be ideal,” he replied, “but I’m not holding my breath.”
He returned her smile.
My
god, you’re beautiful. How are you that beautiful?
Why am I
here? The knives.
“Um,
in the interest of not taking up any more of your time than
necessary, these are the knives in question.” Zan held up the case.
“Daggers, I think. Did Professor Carson explain where we found
them?”
“Superficially,
yes.”
“Well,
someone conducted some kind of ritual in Independence National
Historical Park. We wouldn’t be that concerned with weird people
doing weird things at night, but we found a human spleen. We tested
the DNA and ran it through the database and discovered that the
spleen came from a body found this past winter by the Philadelphia
police. All its internal organs had been removed. The police called
us because they thought it might involve organ trafficking, but we
never found any evidence of it, so we weren’t much help. No one
ever filed a missing persons report on this man, and Philly PD was
never able to identify the corpse, let alone solve the crime.”
“Disturbing,”
he said.
“Very.
We thought if you could tell us something about the knives it might
give us some insight into what this whole thing was about, maybe
generate some sort of lead. They look old, and Professor Carson said
you are an expert in antique bladed weapons.”
“Yes.
I collect them. I’ve learned a lot over the years.”
“Let’s
take a look,” Zan said. He led her to a massive carved table to the
left near the kitchen area. She opened the case and laid the daggers
out on a cloth. After he leaned down to scrutinize them, he said they
were ceremonial daggers and asked if he could pick them up. Zan told
him that because they were evidence, he would need to wear latex
gloves. She handed him a pair. He tried to put one on for a minute,
then frowned at her.
“I’m
sorry. It’s too small.”
Zan
stared at his hands. They were huge, but not meaty. They looked like
they could crush a man’s skull, but also assemble a fine Swiss
watch.
Or
maybe gently touch me.
She
felt the heat rise to her face again. He raised an eyebrow.
“You
can use the glove like a handkerchief and just pick it up that way,”
she said, fixing her gaze on the floor.
Picking
up a dagger, he held it level with his eyes. When he had done the
same to all four and they were back in the case, he motioned Zan
closer and directed her to lean down. He showed her the intricate
motifs and the manner in which the blades were joined to the hilts.
He explained that from these features, he could determine that the
blades were ceremonial, made in France in the late 19th
century. She struggled to listen to what he was saying. That
impossible face was so close, and she could smell him. He smelled
like a pristine forest in the spring.
“What
kind of ritual was it?” he asked. “These daggers would have been
used for ceremonies, like the opening or closing of a formal meeting.
They are valuable as antiques but they are not real weapons.”
“We
haven’t really explored the evidence in terms of the ritual yet,
because we’ve been concentrating on the spleen.” Zan shook her
head. “That sounds odd, doesn’t it?”
“It’s
an odd situation.”
“If
I showed you some crime scene photos, do you think you would have any
insight?”
He
rubbed his chin. “I might be able to say whether the daggers were
related to the ritual.”
“That
could be helpful. May I bring them by?” Zan asked, failing to
disguise her pleasure at the idea.
“I’m
leaving town for a few days tomorrow. Can you come back this
evening?”
“Yes,
I think so.” She paused to consider for a moment. “I need to
remind you that you can’t discuss anything about this with anyone.
Did you read the agreement?”
“Yes.
I understand that I’ve agreed to keep all this confidential.”
“Good.
I should be able to come back around 7:00.”
“I’ll
be here. In the meantime, if I may take some photos of these daggers,
I can send a few emails. My contacts may be able to discover their
provenance.”
“That
would be extremely helpful. Just don’t reveal that they were
involved in a crime.” He nodded and began to snap pictures of the
knives with his phone.
“I
have to say, Professor Carson was right,” Zan said. “I’m amazed
you were able to identify a time period and a use for those in just a
few minutes. I would love to have that kind of expertise. I know a
lot about guns because it comes with the job, but I love edged
weapons. They’re so elegant.”
“Yes.”
He looked at her intensely again. “Would you like to see my
collection?”
“It’s
here?”
“Of
course.”
“I’d
love to.”
Just
great, O’Gara. One handsome face and you toss your professionalism
right out the window.
They
moved to the left, behind the open kitchen, to an ultra-modern
staircase of black and silver and honey-toned wood leading to a
mezzanine lined with bookshelves. Zan enjoyed following him up the
stairs.
Look
at that ass. That ass is perfect.
They
walked along the mezzanine to a huge sunny room at the back. Zan
stood gaping when they entered. Save for several large windows, every
square foot of the stucco walls was hung with bladed weapons: axes,
pikes, halberds, and swords, mostly swords, in more styles and sizes
than Zan knew existed. Wood and glass cases filled with daggers and
other small blades sat at the far ends, with an island of leather
couches and chairs at the center, rimmed around a thick Persian rug
in velvety red.
“This
is the coolest room I have ever seen,” she said. He chuckled and
thanked her.
That
was adorable. God. Get ahold of yourself.
“So,
um, Mr. Barakiel, what kind of time span do these weapons represent?”
she asked.
“Please,
call me Rainer.” Zan flushed and looked up at him. He still had
that adorable look on his face, like a little boy showing someone his
secret clubhouse. Before she gave a thought to what she was doing,
she had asked him to call her Zan.
About
the Author:
Libby
Doyle is the pen name of an attorney and former journalist who took a
walk around the corporate world and didn’t like it. Considering
she’s written an extravagant yarn filled with sex and violence, she
thought a pen name would be prudent. She also thinks it’s kind of
fun.
Libby
grew up on the East Coast of the United States. She attended college
in the 1980s and became immersed in the underground music scene. She
met talented people and troubled people. She met people who taught
her what it means to be your own person. In the 1990s, she went back
to school to get a master's degree in journalism. Before beginning
work in her chosen field, an attack of wanderlust set her traveling.
For all that Libby loves books, she believes nothing compares to the
education of travel.
After
her wanderings, she returned to her career. For more than a decade,
Libby worked as a journalist, until her interests led her to law
school. She kept her full-time job while attending law school at
night, the most brutal experience she’s ever had. She cursed her
own stupidity countless times as her body and mind became sick with
exhaustion, but she’s glad she did it.
Libby
knows she’s a lucky woman. She’s had countless adventures,
memories that feed her imagination. She stood atop a hill in
Connemara in a cold wind, watching sunlight sparkle off the pristine
sea below. She crested a trail after a grueling hike to find the
glory of the Continental Divide spread before her. She was followed
by a howler monkey in a Mexican jungle, shared the midday meal with
Buddhist monks in Korea, and got pummeled by an opponent in a martial
arts test in Japan. She trekked for days among the Himalayas,
mountains so high and timeless they made her feel completely
insignificant.
She’s
married to a man who is funny and kind and patient enough to listen
to her chatter on about her characters. They're not even real, but
she feels like they're her friends. She’s confident they'll keep
you entertained. Through her fanciful tale, she hopes they speak to
you.
Tour giveaway 2 copies of the ebook 2 signed paperbacks $10 Gift Card from Amazon, iTunes or Barnes & Noble (winner’s choice) a Rafflecopter giveaway
Good afternoon! Happy Spring! Libby Doyle here. Many thank to 3 Partners in Shopping for hosting my release day festivities. It's the vernal equinox. The Passion Season has begun! Get some passion in your life. Read my book. 18+ please. This book contains foul language, explicit sex, violence and descriptions of sexual violence. As the first in a series, some storylines are left unresolved.
ReplyDeletePlease feel free to ask me questions in the comments, or through Goodreads. I'll be checking in. Libby
thank you for the giveaway!
ReplyDeleteMany apologies for the technical glitch. Updated URL for the book trailer - http://goo.gl/CzouH5
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