Of
Fear and Faith
Death
and Destiny Trilogy
Book
1
N.D.
Jones
Genre:
Paranormal Romance
Publisher:
Siren-BookStrand Publishing
Date
of Publication: July 22, 2014
ISBN:
1632583747
ASIN:
B00MTW85Q8
Number
of pages: 288
Word
Count: 101,566 words
Cover
Artist: Harris Channing
Book
Description:
Before
trust and love can take hold, grow solid roots, and blossom into a
reality larger than self, fear must be conquered and faith embraced.
Yet fear of an ancient prophecy, of burning magical power, and a
broken heart, Sanura Williams, psychology professor, is unprepared
when Special Agent Assefa Berber enters her life, hunting a
preternatural serial killer. Assefa's intelligent, chocolate eyes and
intoxicating aura signature stirs her fire spirit but frightens the
woman.
In
a world where all is not as it seems, Sanura and Assefa must battle
the gods' first creations - vile predators who threaten the safety of
humans. Each confrontation, each bloody clash, will bring Sanura and
Assefa closer to fulfilling the prophecy of being the Fire Witch and
Cat of Legend - the ones who will save humanity from the Water Witch
of Legend. Death, godly magic, and physical attraction draw Sanura
and Assefa to each other, but fear and faith will determine their
destiny.
Book
Trailer: https://youtu.be/g_QvkLjHEIo
Excerpt:
Sanura
rushed off the elevator and down a bright corridor with pink, blue,
and yellow balloons decorating the walls of the children’s wing,
bordering a mural of happy children in a park, the sun above
affirming their special place in the world. An illusion, she thought,
a beautiful illusion of how life should be for children. The truth,
however, rested behind the closed hospital doors, where reality had
long since claimed their innocence.
Her
heels clicked with each long stride she took, her pace hurried,
purposeful. Mike only sought her counsel on cases of a unique nature,
counsel that was off the record. And she was late. She hated being
late, and Mike would worry. Mike constantly worried. He’d probably
already called her mother or Cynthia alerting them to her MIA status.
Sanura
made a right onto another colorful corridor. At the end of the
glistening hallway sat Mike, cell phone in hand and an
all-too-familiar scowl gracing his aging features. As if sensing her
presence, he looked up from his phone, and their eyes met. His face
softened, reminding Sanura of the soft heart encased within the
detective’s tortoise shell of a body.
“I’m
sorry I’m late. The beltway was a beast.” She bent to give Mike a
heartfelt hug, her long arms circling his taut shoulders.
“It’s
all right. I was just beginning to worry about you, but you showed up
before I had a chance to call Cynthia.”
“You
always worry about me, and I’ll tell you the same thing I told Dad
and I tell Mom, I can—”
“Take
care of myself,” he finished. “I know, but that won’t stop me
from worrying, so you might as well accept it.”
She
kissed Mike on the cheek and sat beside him in one of the wooden
chairs lining the hallway, conveniently serving as a family waiting
area.
“So,
tell me about this case of yours, the girl, and what you need me to
do.” Sanura leaned back in the chair and crossed her legs, seeking
a comfort she knew wouldn’t last once Mike began.
Sanura
listened to the detailed, unabridged facts of the case, having
already read reports of the slayings in the Baltimore Sun. The
gruesome murders headlined every local news program from the early
morning news to the eleven o’clock evening news.
She
nodded, listening intently to details about Elizabeth Ferrell’s
horrific night. While Sanura enjoyed using her training to help Mike,
she hated when the case involved children, which didn’t make any
sense since she was a child psychologist. Perhaps that was it, she
reasoned, as Mike regaled her with one morbid piece of evidence
followed by an even more depressing fact. Perhaps it took a person
who detested even the thought of an injured child to be such a strong
advocate for their rights and protection. Sanura wanted to help those
lost souls. No, she needed to help them, free them from their pain,
their misery.
So
she sat and listened and fought the urge to cover her mouth and
squirm in her chair when Mike described the crime scene photos his
temporary partner had shown him earlier in the day. And just when she
was about to tell him she didn’t need to know the coroner’s
findings, a wave of energy slammed into her, shredding her
concentration, dissolving all thoughts of the child and the case. The
energy rode Sanura hard, forcing her eyes to close, mouth slightly
parting, aura open and alert, searching for the source.
Deep
breaths, Sanura. Deep, calming breaths.
With
embarrassed concentration, she slowly opened her eyes. And a smiling
stranger stood before her, a chilled bottle of water in his right
hand.
Their
eyes met, and another blast of energy assaulted her senses. She
didn’t close her eyes this time and refused to look away. No,
Sanura simply absorbed the magical energy, opening her senses and
pulling the scent to her. It swirled about her, strong but gentle.
And while it should have felt strange, as if her body had been
invaded by a foreign substance, it simply felt—right.
The
man’s eyes widened, almost as much as his nostrils when he inhaled
deeply. Still he only stared, gaze unwavering, eyes sparkling with
unasked questions. Yeah, she had questions of her own, like, had he
experienced the odd sensation too? Sanura didn’t know. But she had
felt it, as strongly as she now felt the heat of his gaze roaming her
body, slow and sensual, ratcheting up the indescribable energy
between them tenfold. Damn.
Mike
stood and placed himself between Sanura and the fine stranger with
the most tantalizing aura she had ever sensed. Mike faced the man,
his head craned up to meet the taller man’s eyes, a snarl seeping
through his lips when he said, “We talked about this, remember what
I said.”
Frowning,
the stranger gave Mike a hard you’re-not-worth-my-time look before
gazing over Mike’s shoulder and at her. His smile returned and
settled firmly on her still-seated form. Angling from behind her
godfather, the stranger extended his right hand.
“Hi,
I’m Special Agent Assefa Berber. I assume you’re Dr. Williams,
the child psychologist and professor.”
Sanura
stood and returned the smile. She took the offered hand and shook,
trying—futilely—to ignore his unique masculine scent. The scent
went straight to all the right places, subtly finding her genetic
code and adding his. Impossible. “Yes, it’s nice to meet you,
Special Agent Berber. Mike’s told me so much about you.” But not
everything. Not nearly.
About
the Author:
N.
D. Jones lives in Maryland with her husband and two children. Having
earned a M.A. in Political Science, she is a dedicated educator. She
taught high school social studies for nine years. Currently, she is a
professional development specialist with a local Maryland school
system, working on increasing student achievement through teacher and
administrator efficacy. N.D. is also a continuing education student
who is pursuing her doctorate in education in Community College
Leadership.
A
desire to see more novels with positive, sexy, and three-dimensional
African American characters as soul mates, friends, and lovers,
inspired the author to take on the challenge of penning such romantic
reads. She is the author of two paranormal romance series: Winged
Warriors and Death and Destiny. N.D. likes to read historical and
paranormal romance novels, as well as comics and manga.
Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/NDJones
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/NDJones11
Pinterest:
http://pinterest.com/ndjones001
Tour giveaway:
3 Novels with Soul Gift Boxes
The gift boxes will each include an autographed copy of “Of Fear and Faith,” an Amazon gift certificate for an ebook copy of “Heat, Hunt, Hope,” a Dropbox gift certificate for a MP3 download of the audiobook version of “Fire, Fury, Faith,” and two swag items.
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Thank you very much for hosting my tour today. I appreciate you spotlighting "Of Fear and Faith" on this wonderful site. I'm a new Twitter follower.
ReplyDeleteSincerely,
N.D. Jones