Belle Ami stopped by to share intimate details about her life and her latest books. Take it away!
Thank you, Nancy, for hosting me today on Where Happy
Ever After Takes the Road Less Traveled. I’m delighted to share with your
readers my series Tip of the Spear. Escape
and Vengeance, my fifth and sixth
published novels, which abound with thrills, political intrigue, and romance.
I quote The Romance Reviews 5-Star review of Escape “This story is suspenseful, it's smart, it's sexy, it's a
page-turner that you will be loathed to put down.”
The 5-Star review for Vengeance from The Romance Reviews continues the praise. “VENGEANCE is an intriguing second book
in the series, especially for me. Intriguing because there aren't a lot of
books that follow a couple after their HEA, and rarer for me, because I don't
think I've ever read one. In this, VENGEANCE was a pleasant surprise, because
the intrigue plot was compelling in that I couldn't put the book down, and the
romance was satisfying. This book makes you believe in true love.”
I’m currently working on the third book which is
titled Ransom where my hero and
uber-Mossad spy, Cyrus Hassani, will once again fight the forces of evil with
his wife Layla by his side.
Book Blurb from Vengeance
Vengeance
is a sexy thriller teeming with romantic suspense. A well-researched tale,
scary in its possibility, packed with excitement, it will leave you breathlessly
turning pages. Layla Wallace Hassani is living her dream, curating a major art
exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art. She has it all, a fabulous career, the
perfect marriage and the perfect child. She’s madly in love with her husband
Cyrus Hassani, a Mossad agent, and lives in Tel Aviv with their four-year-old
daughter Cerise. Her life takes a disastrous turn when she’s kidnapped by
Iranian terrorists during the bombing of a restaurant in Manhattan. Chained to
a bed at a remote location, Layla is a pawn in a deadly game. She’s the bait to
lure Cyrus to his death.
Driven
by vengeance and a love that knows no bounds, Cyrus will do anything to rescue
his wife and stop the terrorist’s plot to blow up a nuclear facility. Teaming
up with the FBI he’s the only man capable of stopping a bombing that would
result in the deaths of millions of people. Filled with vengeance, stopping the
terrorists is his goal, but saving Layla is his mission.
Layla
knows her Superman, Cyrus, is coming to save her. She also knows, unbeknownst
to him, that by doing so it will mean the death of their child. Caught in a
mousetrap, she struggles to find a way out of her deadly situation and to fend
off the sexual advances of the kidnapper terrorist who’s fallen for her.
Layla
must make a choice, save her child or sacrifice herself and her marriage. The
clock is ticking.
Excerpt: Chapter 3 from Vengeance
Tel Aviv, Israel
September 12th
5 a.m.
New York time 10 p.m. September 11th
Cyrus’ cell phone
rang, waking him from a dream of making love to his wife. He glanced at the
clock—five a.m. Not good.
His throat was glued
shut. He squeezed out, “Yes?”
“Cyrus, I’m sorry to
call with such devastating news.”
It was Rafi, the
director of Mossad’s Americas’ desk. A chill crept up Cyrus’ spine.
“I just got a call
from New York. There’s been an attack.” Rafi’s voice came tense and
strained…the act of speech seemed to produce immeasurable pain.
Cyrus’ heart pounded
as if a regiment of infantry stampeded on his chest. His voice barely above a
whisper. “What happened?”
“A bomb exploded in
a restaurant…near the Museum of Modern Art. Probably a hundred or more people
have been killed. Avi Zaken was there. We assume he’s dead.”
“Oh, my God, they
got the consul general. Layla’s going to be devastated. She’s very fond of
Avi.”
“About Layla.”
Rafi’s voice softened. “Her name is on his calendar. His dinner appointment.
I’m so sorry, Cyrus.”
Cyrus’ blood froze,
and his heart refused to beat. It took every ounce of his strength to hold it
together. He held the phone in a death grip. “How do we know she was in the
restaurant? Have you checked with her security detail? Maybe there’s been a
mistake.”
“Layla released them
earlier in the day—”
“Why would she?” He
closed his eyes. “Shit. Shit. Shit, that sounds like Layla.” He fought to
steady his voice. “Anything else?”
“The FBI’s tracking
down museum security to see who saw her leave. I can’t tell you for certain if
she was in the restaurant, but in all likelihood, she was there. God…” Rafi’s
voice cracked. “This is such a fucking disaster. I hate to be the bearer of
such news.”
“This can’t be
right?”
“Cyrus, it’s all
over the news. The FBI’s calling it terrorism. We’ve already requested
inclusion in the case. The prime minister’s up in arms. He’s adamant this
attack will not go unanswered. He’s called for an emergency meeting at the
Office, but given the circumstances…if you feel you can’t—”
Cyrus interrupted
him. He struggled to control the scream climbing up his throat. I need to
keep it together. “No, I’ll be there as soon as I can. What about Aleck,
Layla’s father, has anyone notified him? I can’t—I mean—I don’t think I could
handle talking to him right now.”
“Dodi’s calling
him.”
The prime minister.
Good. “I’m on my way.” He hung up and stared at his cell phone, feeling
the walls close in around him. Layla. Dead. Layla. Dead. Layla. Dead. The
words burned into his brain like a firestorm leaving nothing but ashes. Impossible.
No warning. No premonition. Nothing but emptiness. Shouldn’t I have felt
something?
“Noooo!” He roared
with grief. He howled, keening like a wild beast. Everything of beauty in the
world dead or dying.
Layla. Dead. And
it was his fault. He should have kept her from going. I’m the target. It’s
me they want. Oh, dear God, what have I done? Why didn’t you take me?
There was no way he
could live without her. He wanted to kill someone—something—anything that might
stop the pain. He thought about the Jericho pistol in his drawer. He wanted to
hold the shiny, black, instrument of death to the head of her killers. He
wanted to pull the trigger. He wanted to see blood gush, brains splatter—he
wanted revenge.
BUY LINKS for VENGEANCE:
**************************************************
BUY LINKS FOR ESCAPE:
More About the Author
Tema Merback writing as Belle Ami believes “Dreams
do come true”. As a mother and wife, she
dedicated herself to her family and loved every minute of it. One day, like
Sleeping Beauty, she awoke to find gourmet cooking and b
eing a classical
pianist wasn’t enough, she needed to reinvent herself. So, she brushed away the
cobwebs and locked herself in a room and spent a year writing a historical
novel which, low and behold, was a Finalist for a national book award. Her
first author incarnation was born.
When she read Fifty Shades
of Grey, her world tilted. Like a laser beam focusing on a target, she had found
her passion: Sexy, steamy, romantic suspense. Hence came a second incarnation
and a fitting nom de plume, Belle Ami. A quote that Belle considers her mantra
is by Wilferd Peterson, “Success is focusing the full power of all you are on
what you have a burning desire to achieve.”
She is a Kathryn McBride
scholar of Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania. She lives in California with her
husband, two children, three dogs, and horse.
She is the author of The Only One series, The One (#1), and The One & More (#2). Her third in the series titled One More Time is Not Enough, was
published July 13th, 2016. She was honored to be included in the RWA
LARA Christmas Anthology Holiday Ever
After featuring her short story The
Christmas Encounter. Her next series entitled The Tip of the Spear begins with Escape, published January 10, 2017. The sequel to Escape, entitled Vengeance was published September 12, 2017, and she’s currently
writing the third in the series titled Ransom. Connect with her here:
No comments:
Post a Comment