Friday, July 31, 2020

INTERVIEW WITH M.C. SOLARIS (Calypso's Heart)

MC Solaris, welcome to Supernatural Central! Thanks for taking the time to come chat with us today. Grab a cup of coffee everyone, this is going to be a fun one!

SC: Tell me a little bit about your main character of this book.

MCS: Am I allowed to share about both Blake and Caly? :)

SC: Sure!

MCS: Caly is just an ordinary woman (or is she? ;) ) living in LA and working that 9 to 5 life. Being single, she is navigating through the… interesting LA dating scene while also avoiding landmines that come in the form of office drama. She’s a romance novel junkie, a fan of good music, and loves her pet cat/furbaby, Felix, to pieces. She’s definitely a morning person and loves her morning coffee. And like most humans, she had no idea the supernatural world of species existed. That is, until she practically crashes right into it and meets a certain wolf. ;)

Blake is a sexy as hell alpha wolf shifter… Wait, wait. Before you peg Blake as some typical, overly possessive, and overbearing alphahole, I’m here to halt that train in its tracks because he isn’t that at all. Sure, he’s an alpha but he also shows you a different side to what being an alpha wolf can mean. Especially as it relates to being the leader of Orion’s Order, a pack of highly skilled and lethally trained hunters. A pack that is also full to the brim with testosterone, brotherhood, and a good dose of playful antics—mainly, courtesy of the identical twin jaguar shifters who love to paw with their resident vampire. But that doesn’t mean said broody vampire with a glacial stare doesn’t give the twins a good dose of their own medicine in return. Anyway, Blake’s plate is full of hunting bad guys and keeping an eye on his unconventional pack of males but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have time to sniff out the female who has caught his attention in the most unusual way.

SC: We're all about the weird over on this blog. Do you believe in the paranormal and if so, do you have an experience you can share?

MCS: After reading this question, I can’t say what led me to Google-ing the definition of paranormal… But in case you’re now wondering, good old Merriam-Webster defines it as “not scientifically explainable.” So, yeah. That’s a big hell yes I believe in the paranormal! :)

SC: Don't get me started on scientifically explainable. Science has been known to get it wrong. But carry on...

MCS: I mean, I’m no physicist by far but isn’t there a whole branch of physics that is based on theories? (Theories being the key word here.) And here I go again looking to good old M&W to hit me with another definition. A theory is “a plausible or scientifically acceptable general principle or body of principles offered to explain phenomena.” On one hand, I can see how a theory is a scientific explanation (which contradicts the definition of paranormal). However, I am also wanting to highlight the whole “offered to explain phenomena” part. To me, this means that it’s a logical explanation that humans agree on for one reason or another. So, in a sense, we don’t really know but it just makes the most sense so we go with it.

If you’re still with me and I haven’t turned into Charlie Brown’s teacher lecturing about Wah-Wah-ing AND you want something that might put you in an existential crisis questioning the world as you know it, then allow me to share the Double-Slit Experiment in Quantum Physics with you by watching this video: https://youtu.be/Q1YqgPAtzho.

SC: My turn to call my secretary Ms. Google… continue…

MCS: No, I have no affiliation with this video. And okay, sure, the cartoon is a little cheesy but I think it’s a great explanation of this unexplainable quantum phenomena. Consequently, it’s also the exact video I watched some years ago which triggered a very real WTF moment only to then quickly cascade into my own existential crisis.

Don’t say I didn’t warn you! ;)

SC: You did.

MCS: (PS) Yes, I just re-watched the video again. And I swear it impacts me every single time I watch it.

SC: A watched pot never boils, lol. What titles are you working on now that you can tell us about?

MCS: Rhyker’s Key (Book 2 of Orion’s Order) is currently in editing and will be released as soon as that’s done — yay! And I’m almost done writing Book 3 of Orion’s Order.

SC: Good for you. And now that I've done my Quantum Theory homework for the day, let's take a look at your novel! Thanks again for talking with us today.

Calypso’s Heart
An Orion’s Order Novel
Book One
M.C. Solaris

Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: M.C. Solaris LLC
Date of Publication: Print Book 5/15/20
Date of Publication: eBook 7/20/20
ISBN: 978-1-952655-00-5 Paperback
ISBN: 978-1-952655-01-2 E-book
ISBN: 978-1-952655-02-9 Hardcover
Number of pages: 665
Word Count: 180,000
Cover Artist: Mayhem Cover Creations

Tagline: Sexy Shifters. Hot Vampires. Intriguing Immortals.

Book Description:

If you enjoy Psy-Changeling and Black Dagger Brotherhood, this new series is right up your alley!

Sexy shifters. Hot vampires. Intriguing immortals. Strong heroine. Sizzling romance. Page-turning plot full of emotion and excitement. Modern and fresh take on fated mates.

Caly

Do you dream of ridiculously hot men? Okay, maybe you do. (And yes, I'm well aware I should lay off the romance books before bed.) But do you actually ever meet those men you dream about in real life? I didn't think so. That's probably a good thing though because I have... And these men from my dreams have done nothing but pull the rug of reality out from under me... which was how I fell and ended up in a world that I thought only existed in romance books.

My name is Caly (AKA Callie) and I'm just an ordinary single woman living the LA dream... paycheck to paycheck. Except whose dream is it? I'm not really sure... but it's not my dream. Especially because I have really weird dreams... like really weird. Then again, everyone has weird dreams, right?

Blake

I am an alpha wolf shifter and leader of Orion's Order, a pack of... well, not wolves. We're an unconventional pack of highly skilled specian hunters that do one thing: hunt the evil in our world. And we were hired by SILE (Species Investigative Law Enforcement) to hunt a bloodthirsty criminal who is infamously untraceable. That was until an irresistible female brought an unexpected twist to our hunt and set things in motion... a motion that has left my pack and our world forever changed.

Welcome to The Order and a secret world of magic and mystery, where a pack of unlikely friends find love and fight against an ancient evil force.

Devour this addictive series at your own risk…

+ Happily Ever After

+ Steamy Paranormal Shifter Romance

+ Multiple POV

+ Mature Content

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CALYPSO’S HEART is an adult paranormal wolf shifter romance. If you like swoon-worthy males, heroines with feminine strength, an engaging plot, satisfying relationships, steamy love stories, happy ever afters, and getting sucked into a supernatural story, then you’ll want to immerse yourself in the world of species!

You’ll feel right at home if you’re a JR Ward, Nalini Singh, and Dannika Dark fan.

Amazon BN

"It has the elements you need - love, pain, heartache, action, revenge, some light comedy, etc. I thought the sex scenes were SPOT ON! Like damn those were great. I really felt immersed in it at times and I felt transported into the story." ★★★★★

“The descriptions and imagery are on point. It’s easy to picture the characters and scenes. I like the multiple POV shifts to better understand and immerse myself in the character’s mind. The sex scenes are steamy and kept me turning the pages." ★★★★★

“...if you are looking for a book that punches you in your face, right out the gate, with unrealistic action, tasteless sex scenes, and emotional turmoil, this won't be it. Go watch Shameless instead. But if you are looking for something that unfolds at a pace that gives you time to decipher the characters, setting, and complexities of the story that is to come, then this is for you...” ★★★★★

“...at one point in the book, a group of characters are all introduced in a short amount of time. While this might not be standard protocol for fictional stories, it's realistic. Trust that it was done with purposeful intent. Without giving away too much about the story, you get to learn about a pack of males in their environment, doing what males do...” ★★★★★

Excerpt 1: Attraction — Caly/Blake Underwear Scene

With her hand hovering over the door handle, her mind was flooded with thoughts of how she hadn’t really thought this through. She jumped ten feet up in the air when the door suddenly swung wide open.

Blake. Blake was standing there... in nothing but red boxer briefs. She swallowed at the unexpected male underwear model scene. Meanwhile, she was only adding to the scene by standing there in nothing but his white T-shirt which barely covered her butt. Nope. Not awkward at all.

He inhaled and immediately said, “Caly, what’s wrong?” His voice was low, morning gravel.

“I… I had a nightmare,” she admitted on a shy whisper.

Both Blake and his wolf liked that she ran to him when she was scared. He would protect her from anything and anyone. But he didn’t like that she was scared to begin with.

Still half asleep and on autopilot, he picked her up and held her close to his chest.

“You’re safe, Caly,” he reassured her and felt her body relax as she curled in closer. It wasn’t until he was a few steps into his current mission that it hit him. Walking Caly to his room in nothing but his boxers while all she wore was his T-shirt, which he most definitely approved of, was so not a part of the gentlemale plan. Fuck it. She needed him. Quietly shutting the door behind him, he made his way to his bed and gently laid her down.

Now what, genius? he thought, as his sleepy state faded away a bit more. He was just standing over her in nothing but his boxer briefs. Yeah, real gentlemale of you.

“Blake?”

“Yeah, Caly?”

Christ. He wanted to punch himself. Maybe that would knock some sense into him instead of standing there basically naked.

“Will you… Will you stay? Please?”

Okay... So, he wasn’t expecting that. But then again, she did come to him for comfort. He wanted to say, Caly, I will never leave you. But that probably wasn’t the brightest idea at the moment, considering the boxer brief situation.

“Of course," he said as his eyes automatically flicked toward the couch. Before he could command his feet to move, she peeled back the covers next to her and looked at him in question.

Gentlemale. Remember your gentlemale plan, he thought, sliding into the bed next to her and keeping a respectable distance.

That was when he noticed the light coming from the bathroom. Remembering what Caly said about it being complete darkness where she was held, he wanted to go round two with the punches. He was so used to being able to see in the dark that it didn’t register how dark his room was at night. He inwardly cursed. He should’ve thought of that. He decided he was going to rectify the situation and get her a night light. Actually, make that plural: night lights. Yeah, he was going to light up his room like it was a Christmas tree.

What are you doing? Caly thought. You’re now in bed next to him practically naked. Again, notice how he is keeping his distance? Congratulations. You’ve just breached the clinger scale and are now off the charts.

Laying on their backs, with eyes glued to the ceiling, they both stayed silent for several minutes.

“Blake?”

“Yeah, Caly?”

“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to make you uncomfortable. I…”

Just come out and say it, McClinger Queen.

“I just feel safe with you.” She paused. “I had a nightmare about…” Suddenly, she had a lump in her throat. She swallowed.

About the Author:

M.C. Solaris’s life took an unexpected turn during the super blood moon eclipse on January 20, 2019. She woke up and began writing bios for her imaginary friends that she met that day. As soon as the pen hit the paper (or fingertips to the iPhone), she couldn’t stop. It was kind of like one of those fire hydrants, spewing copious amounts of water all over the place. The characters and their stories just flowed out of her. She is honored to be the scribe, getting to share her friends’ stories. You can read all about her gifted friends in the Orion’s Order series (Book 1 is Calypso’s Heart).

On a personal note, M.C. Solaris is actually the pseudonym of Marina Schroeder, women’s health enthusiast and lover of all things paranormal romance (PNR) and happily ever after (HEA). When she is not curled up on the sofa with her partner’s oversized hoodie, a PNR novel, peppermint tea, and one of her three cats, you will find her either at the ocean with her toes in the sand or in a forest hugging a tree. Well truthfully? There is one more place you might find her: trolling the aisles of Whole Foods for a satisfying combination of salty and sweet while hiding in her partner’s hoodie… like any proper PNR-writing introvert.

Want to get the latest scoop, sneak peeks, and short shares all about her imaginary friends? Go to www.mcsolaris.com and sign up for the newsletter.

Welcome to The Order!

Website: https://www.mcsolaris.com/

Newsletter: https://mcsolaris.com/contact

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mcsolarisauthor/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mcsolarisauthorofficial/

GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20295545.M_C_Solaris

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Wednesday, July 29, 2020

INTERVIEW WITH SKY PURINGTON (Scoundrel's Vengeance)

Hey, well this is a treat! We've got author Sky Purington back in the house for another little visit. Welcome back, Sky!

SC: Tell me a little bit about your main character of this book.

SP: Laird Keenan MacLauchlin has just returned home from war to a depleted, illness-ravaged clan he’s determined to rebuild no matter what it takes. As this book and series evolves, it dives deeper into the emotional toll years of battling took on my heroes (namely what is now called PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) and how it affects them coming together with their heroines.

SC: PTSD is certainly a very real thing. Paranormal things… maybe/maybe not. Do you believe in the paranormal and if so, do you have an experience you can share?

SP: Actually, I do. I’ve had several experiences over the years, but what happened when I first moved into my current home in Virginia stands out above the rest. For the first few months we lived here, something mimicked our voices. Though unnerving, it stopped after a while. I was later told it was just trying to make us feel comfortable. In truth, this has turned out to be the most ‘comfortable’ house paranormal-wise I’ve lived in so far.

SC: I have heard tales of mimics. That was probably pretty creepy. Changing the subject, what titles are you working on now that you can tell us about?

SP: I just finished Scoundrel’s Fortune (Highlander’s Pact, Book 2), a steamy historical romance. Now I’m beginning A Scot’s Redemption, not only the last book in my MacLomain Series: End of an Era saga but the last tale in my entire 25+ book long MacLomain series. Think stories full of sexy-as-sin Highland wizards and hot-as-heck dragon-shifter Scots. ;-)

SC: Thanks for coming back today, we hope to see you again soon. Right now, wej'll take a look at today's book:

Scoundrel’s Vengeance
Highlander’s Pact
Book One
Sky Purington

Genre: Historical Romance
Publisher: Dragonblade Publishing
Date of Publication: July 23, 2020
ASIN: B08B6G2PXZ
Number of pages: 175
Word Count: 48K

Tagline: A scandalous second-chance romance rife with passion, intrigue, and a life-altering secret.

Book Description:

Despondent from years of war, Keenan returns home to find his clan has been reduced not only in numbers from plague, but the family coffers are nearly depleted. Dedicated to restoring his clan pride, Keenan strikes a bargain with his brothers, they will each marry, but not for love, only for the generous dowries their future wives will bring.

Fionna has suffered the consequences of endless wars and plague, leaving her the unlikely laird of Clan Taylor. When her past love summons her to his keep under the threat of killing her clansmen he captured trying to steal horses, she has no choice but to meet him.

There she discovers a man much changed, heartless and bitter. Especially when he demands that Fionna help him get engaged to her best friend!

Unable to deny him, Fionna plays along, waiting for the right moment to strike, save her clansmen, and celebrate teaching Keenan the hardest lesson of his life.

But not everything is what it seems, and Keenan and Fionna discover that distance and time cannot change what their hearts truly want—each other.

Amazon US Amazon Universal Link

Highlander's Pact

Book 1 - Scoundrel’s Vengeance

Book 2 - Scoundrel's Fortune

Book 3 - Scoundrel's Redemption

Excerpt #1

She wrung out the cloth and turned back, doing her best not to show any reaction to his body. He was far more muscular than before, the hard ridges of his abdomen obvious. Having clearly swung many a sword, his biceps and forceps were larger, too. She cleared her throat and kept her mind to the task instead of focusing on his exceptional physique.
Rather, she eyed the various new scars riddling his upper body. There were so many. Too many. Which told her just how rough things had really been. The endless battles he had fought. The wounds he had suffered. Something she could not help alluding to as she began washing the slash he had received protecting Dougal.
“The battling seems never-ending, aye?” she said softly. “It has taken its toll.”
She had been relieved to hear he’d arrived home safely from France, then felt renewed dread when he went off to fight alongside King David II. It was too much for any one man. She could only imagine the horrors he’d seen. The men he had watched die.
“It hasnae been easy,” he confessed, saying more than she anticipated. But then the look on his face, as she stood close, was telling. He appeared lost as he gazed at her. As though her proximity somehow allowed him to speak freely. To confide.
“Nay.” She understood that he was not just talking about the battling but the illness that had swept through Scotland. Maybe even based on the sentiment she swore flashed in his too-tender gaze, the long years between seeing one another. “Many of my men fought, as well.” She met his gaze, overly aware of the heat coming off his strong body. “Verra few fought alongside both the French and King David, though.” While tempted to touch his cheek to soothe him, she held back. “’Tis a lot, Keenan…for any man.”
“’Twas what needed to be done,” he said softly, his gaze lingering on her.
For a moment, she thought he was going to reach out and touch her hair like he used to. Or brush his knuckles along her jaw. She nearly closed her eyes, remembering the sensation well.
Instead, she spoke unintended words. “Why did ye do it?”
“Because Da expected it of me…and because my country needed me.”
“Nay, not that,” she murmured, pouring a dab of whisky over his wound. She really should leave this be, but her curiosity had only been growing. With it, a sense of frustration she couldn’t quite place. “Why was my chamber at yer castle unchanged?” Her gaze returned to his face. “After all these years?”
“I dinnae know,” he said a little too quickly. “Ma left it that way.”
“Did she, God rest her soul,” she replied, not questioning but stating, because she knew he lied. She could see it in his eyes. “Why did ye not change it when ye returned then?”
“There was no reason to.” He shrugged, fibbing away. “Honestly, I didnae give it much thought until I knew ye were coming.”
“Ye mean until I was summoned.” She sighed and wrapped his shoulder with fresh cloth. “Dinnae mistake such for a civil invitation. One that came after so many years.” Her gaze lingered on his face again. She tried to keep emotion from her voice. “After nearly twelve years.”
His pupils flared, and emotion churned in his gaze, simmering just beneath the surface. He didn’t let them get the better of him any more than she did hers, though. Rather, instead of responding, he redirected the conversation.
“Tell me, Fionna.” He stood, no doubt on purpose. His sheer size a means to prove he was not vulnerable. “Tell me why Clan Cameron just attacked us.” His gaze narrowed. “And why, if I am not mistaken, they thought to take wee Dougal?”
“’Twas not Dougal they were after, but me.” She stood up a little straighter, not letting him intimidate answers out of her. “Their chieftain thought to take me as his wife, and I refused him.” She shrugged. “Now he thinks ‘tis his right to take me with or without my approval.”
“Is he not near yer late da’s age?” He frowned. “And those clansmen were after Dougal. I dinnae doubt that.”
“Their chieftain is younger than Da but still considerably older than I am.” She flinched at the idea of his meaty paws anywhere near her. “And if they thought to take Dougal, ‘twas merely to get me in the end.” She was careful to keep an even expression. “The Camerons know well enough that I take the welfare of my clan’s bairns verra seriously.”
“So, Laird Cameron thought to take Dougal as a bargaining chip?”
“Aye.” She nodded and started back toward the others only for him to grab her forearm in passing.
“That is all the more reason ye shouldnae let yer bairns do yer horse thieving,” he rumbled. “Because one of these days, the Camerons will catch one of them, and ye’ll find yerself wedded and bedded in no time.”
“I would attack before I agreed to that,” she assured.
“I dinnae know,” he mused. “Ye didnae attack me.”
“Ye’re not trying to wed me,” she reminded. Or bed me. At least not anymore.
“I amnae,” he agreed, surprising her with how tender he could be one moment, then callous the next. “But then, ye dinnae have something I need.”

“Nay.” She cursed the words—the taunt—the moment it rolled off her tongue. “Or so, ye think.”

About the Author:

Sky Purington is the bestselling author of over fifty novels and novellas. A New Englander born and bred who recently moved to Virginia, Purington married her hero, has an amazing son who inspires her daily and two ultra-lovable husky shepherd mixes. Passionate for variety, Sky's vivid imagination spans several romance genres, including historical, time travel, paranormal, and fantasy. Expect steamy stories teeming with protective alpha heroes and strong-minded heroines.

Purington loves to hear from readers and can be contacted at Sky@SkyPurington.com. Interested in keeping up with Sky’s latest news and releases? Either visit Sky’s website, www.SkyPurington.com, join her quarterly newsletter (https://bit.ly/2Mw0yyO), or sign up for personalized text message alerts. Text ‘skypurington’ (no quotes, one word, all lowercase) to 74121 or visit Sky’s sign-up page (https://mobile-text-alerts.com/subscribe/skypurington). Texts will ONLY be sent when there is a new book release. Readers can easily opt out at any time.

Website: www.skypurington.com

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INTEVIEW WITH SKYLER PATTERSON (Echo of Eternity)

Echo of Eternity

The Zulu Chronicles

Book One

Skyler Patterson

Genre: Paranormal Romance/Epic Fantasy/Time Travel

Date of Publication: January 2020

ISBN: 9781687892270

ASIN: B07NBTGVG1

Number of pages: 349

Word Count: 77,000 words

Book Description:

Trina Loveless is a young, beautiful female Lawyer living in New York City. She has it all. She is wealthy. She has the glamorous clothes. The flyest exotic supercars! She has jewelry and the multi-million dollar Penthouse. She and her girlfriends are living their best lives in Manhattan. She is a savvy Lawyer, yet Trina has no luck with men!

Trina is searching for that one, perfect love in all of the right places. All she finds is playboys and creeps! She continues to be cheated on, and disrespected by men. Trina is biracial. She is half African American and half Irish. Her father hails from Africa, her mother is from Ireland. Trina has never met her father’s family. Trina goes to Africa to locate her relatives on her fathers’ side of the family there. Trina undergoes a life-changing journey of cultural awareness and self-discovery. She meets her relatives that are of a legendary tribe of African Zulu warriors. She begins a pilgrimage and an epic journey across the continent of Africa, to reach her ancestral tribal clan. Trina while searching the tribal history of her ancestors finds herself somehow 200 years into her past in ancient Africa .

Trina finds herself in the middle of the rise of the legendary African King Shaka Zulu! She finds herself in the middle of tribal warfare and slavery! Trina falls hard for a handsome young African Prince named Adawande. But the Zulu’s think she is a spy! Also the tribal monk/sorcerers called The Shama Majite might want her dead!

How would Trina get back to 2019! And could she leave the love of her life, that she could not find in the 21st century?

Bear witness to an epic, time- traveling, romantic adventure like no other! Filled with love, lust, skullduggery, sorcery, and the paranormal. A romantic tale for the Ages!

Amazon

Excerpt from Chapter 1 TRINA LOVELESS

I was a loser at love until I won. But first my heart was broken in my dreams. My young, red heart broken in a dream. A nightmare of bliss. It was strange. But was my dream a nightmare or a bliss? It was both. How could this be? Let me tell you. First there was the strangeness that happened before the nightmares. It all began with that clock that I bought to place in my kitchen upon the wall. Now I didn’t need a clock. I mean they are practically obsolete as everyone uses cell phones nowadays to check the time. But I having recently moved into my incredible Penthouse decided that I should have a nice clock in my kitchen. I placed it right above my kitchen table to gaze up at in the mornings, while I sipped upon my coffee.

Everything was fine at first. It “tic-tocked”. Then one morning I awoke and the clock was on the floor. So I just placed it back up on its nail and all was well right? Wrong. When I returned from the office that night guess what? That clock was back on the floor! Again! What the hell!

What did I do? I hung it more securely with a bigger nail. And the next morning it was on the floor again! That’s when I took that friggen clock and tossed it in the garbage! I tossed it down the garbage chute in the hallway! I heard it slip and slide into its glorious disappearance! I went to bed that night and slept well. When I awoke in the morning to get my eggs and bacon what did I see?

You guessed it. There it was up there on the wall again! What in the hell?! Was I becoming delusional? Maybe it was my hard partying. I will admit me and my girlfriends we partied hard. But what of it? Maybe it was the alcohol. But no! I mean I did see that damn clock on the ground after I placed it securely on that nail! I saw it again as it slid down that garbage chute.

I gazed up at that thing. I sighed and I could hear it “tic-tocking”. Suddenly that clock it stopped! I froze in horror as I saw the hands slowly reversing! That did it! “What in the hell is happening here”! yelled I! My hands are on my head! I snatched the clock off of the wall and tossed it to the ground! The clear plastic cover shatters! It is slow-motion shattering like a hundred, broken dreams! I stomp upon it! Pieces are everywhere upon the kitchen floor! I swept them up and tossed the broken clock into the trash.

I awoke the next morning and well guess what? I look up and there it is! Again! In perfect, working condition tic tocking! I give up! Was it the alcohol that I might be drinking too much of? Is it the drugs I sometimes partake of on the weekends with my girlfriends? Was it the marijuana and those assortment of pills?! No! I know I am not crazy! Not yet anyway! I was going to tell my girlfriend about this, but kept it to myself so that she would not think me full- blown “coo-coo loco”!

So when I sat there in the kitchen eating supper with my best friend Gabrielle Goodlyn . I said not a word about that damned- haunted clock! And I was free of any other “Paranormal Happenings” until that clock fell down and landed on the kitchen table! “Boom”! “What the hell Trina”?! exclaimed my girlfriend Gabrielle. And worse! It was the way that clock fell! It glided off the wall sideways and fell on the table! It didn’t fall down straight as gravity had promised! “Boom”! It knocked over our wine glasses! The red wine spilled upon the floor! “What the hell?!! Girlfriend your Penthouse is haunted! Get a priest! But damn! I wouldn’t leave the floor to ceiling glass windows and swimming pool for no friggin ghost!” said she. And then there was the thing about those nightmares! Oh yes! I every few days would wake up in the night in a cold sweat.

And what a bizarre dream. I am lying on my back upon the ground outdoors somewhere! I am on some type of battlefield! What?! Why?! I stare upwards and I can see vultures circling above me! I am wearing some sandals, tiger loincloths and I am clutching a spear. Really?! Loincloth?! A spear?! Why! What the hell?! I slowly raise myself up and I see nothing but smoke! As I look around I see dark - skinned people in front of me and behind me! Thousands! I hear animals! I hear drums! Loud drums! Tigers are roaring! And then I am in slow-motion spinning, twirling a long spear hand to hand in the air! I gaze in front of me and I can see 3 females in long red, hooded robes! Side by side they are standing! Their backs are to me. Their hoods are drawn over their heads! Their hands are moving in some, slow-motion -graceful -synchronization! Their long robes of red are snapping in the winds. Suddenly their hands explode into a sizzling electricity! Then their hands are bursting into flames and black smoke is whooshing off of them! It was as if they were casting some incendiary spell of sorcery! Suddenly I run ahead of them! I lunge forward! I am slow-motion throwing my long spear into smoky darkness!

Suddenly a man’s dark body falls towards me from the smoke! He falls on his side with my spear right through him! I pull it out and I spit on his corpse! I yank an elephant mask off of his face! His face is in that wide-opened stare of death! What?! Why did I do that?! What in the hell kind of dream is this anyway?! And then I hear it! Shrieking elephants stampeding towards me! Elephants?!

Why?! What in the hell?! Beneath my feet, the ground is shaking! I can hear some female voice chanting/singing in African speech! But who is singing?! Drums! I can still hear them now! Loud! They are everywhere! Who is playing them! The ground it rumbles more beneath my feet! I lose my balance! I fall down! Suddenly I see a tall, dark, muscular, shirtless, man in loincloth approaching me! He emerges from the smoking darkness! He is bald of head. He is calling out my name! He is reaching down to me! He picks me up! He is kissing me! His tongue is in my mouth! Mist and black smoke block his face from my view! We slowly collapse down to the ground! His strong arms wrap round me! Holy Shit! He is still kissing me!

I cannot see anyone’s face! I cannot see his face! Damn! We are on the ground! We are kissing! It feels so good! He moves slowly between my legs! He cups my face with his two hands! But wait! Those elephants are still bearing down on us! They are about to crush us and stampede us when suddenly! Suddenly! Suddenly I wake up! Damn it! But what does it all mean?! The clock?! The battlefield?! I am afraid yet enthralled at the same damned time! Who was that man?! Who were those 3 women?! I am breathing heavily. I gaze around my darkened bedroom. I just knew that I needed to buy some friggen sleeping pills because I loved the part of my dream that had HIM in it! I told Gabby about my nightmares. Do you know what she told me? she said:

“Girl, you know what it means is that you are gonna quit your cushy job as a lawyer and get a minimum wage job at the Bronx Zoo!! Tee Hee Hee—“

“---Oh you got jokes huh”. I respond.

Who am I? My name is Trina Loveless. I am a wealthy, young, bi-racial, African American female lawyer living in Manhattan. I love New York City. Oh my life! My plight: Can I learn to love less the material things. Things like Vanity, Jewelry and Money. Can I instead learn to love more about my own true- self? Can I learn more about what makes me, me? Can I learn more about my culture and how my past has made me who I am today? Can I refrain from making unwise decisions? Can I stand up for myself and others without doubting myself? And most important of all: Can I find a true love? Does true love even exist? Yes, I live in New York City. The city that never sleeps. I should know. Me and my girlfriends we party so hard that we don’t sleep! Yes that’s always me stumbling into work on Mondays. I ask myself how did I get so trashed?! Oh, yeah it was the “Comedy Nite’ on Wednesdays. “Happy Hour/Buffet” Thursdays. That House music club on Fridays. That Hip –Hop club Saturday, and that meringue club in the “Boogie -Down Bronx’ on Sunday! You know the place where the guys rub you so close you swear you just had sex! And where you could have sex in the bathroom if you got lucky! The music is pounding! The lights flashing! My world is slow-motion now. We are the partying people dancing in the flickering, neon darkness. Us with our hands in the skies! Us dancing! Touching! Kissing men! My world speeds back up. Us exchanging Facebook and Instagram with the fly ones and telling the creeps: “Fuckouttahere!” Us in the bathroom smoking the Mary- Jane-Juanna and popping the Xanax pills.

And that’s how I stumble into Monday. But what of it. I sometimes go to church on Sundays and pray away all the sin. My Irish mom she says:’ Stay in Queens! The suburbs! Trina why live in Manhattan? In her Irish Gaelic. You wanna try and be like “Sex and the -Urban folk—‘

“---Hell no! Mom, I just wanna have sex IN the city! Tee hee hee”!

“My daughter has a potty mouth”! says she. “Tell it to the judge mom! I do”! That’s me on Monday at the Law firm of Clarke, Williams and Levitz. That’s me in my office checking my caseload. I fight the law cases. The cheating husbands. The reality show stars caught in Bloomies shoplifting. The murder trials... The rape cases. The “Black Lives Matter” cases and the very sad soap opera that is my love life. Or my lack of a love life…

I would tell you that I am just like any other girl. I struggled like everybody else. I chased boys and boys chased me. And I guess you could say that I was daddy’s little girl. My dad he doted on me. Mom said he protected me and made sure that he was always there to fight our battles. Until my father needed to fight his own battles. My dad was a soldier. He fought in the Desert Storm war of the 90’s. He fought battle after battle there. And then one day my father lost his battle... That day was June 8, 1995. He died from his injuries from the war. I was born earlier that year. And that was when I began to realize that I would need to fight my own battles. My mother accepted the folded flag that draped over daddy’s coffin. The soldiers trumpet echoed in the air. And somewhere along the line, I began to help others fight their battles. I became a lawyer. I was a loser at love until I won…