Nancy Lee Badger Presents Belle Ami

Please again welcome author Belle Ami with her talk about the third book in this amazing series which will be available soon. Take it away, Belle!

Thank you, Nancy, for inviting me to share my new upcoming release in the Out of Time Series on your fabulous blog site. The Girl Who Adored Rembrandt is up for preorder on Amazon Kindle for $.99. This third book in my Amazon #1 bestselling series will publish on September 1, 2020, and join The Girl Who Knew da Vinci and The Girl Who Loved Caravaggio, chronicling the adventures of my psychic art historian, Angela Renatus and her art detective fiancé, Alex Caine. If you love time-travel, romance, thrillers, suspense, women’s fiction, or historical fiction, this is your summer read, or fall, winter, spring read for that matter.

Here’s the blurb for my romantic thriller The Girl Who Adored Rembrandt: 

A frightening premonition of the theft of a priceless Rembrandt family portrait pulls psychic art historian, Angela Renatus, on a hunt to uncover the truth about the masterpiece. Sensing a connection to the great master himself, Angela fears that another of her doomed past lives with her fiancé Alex Caine will reveal itself to her. And with that revelation comes the possible threat of losing Alex in this lifetime.

A former Navy SEAL turned private investigator of stolen art—Alex never backs down from a fight. When the FBI comes calling for Angela’s help to track down the powerful drug lord who masterminded the theft, Alex is determined to keep her safe. Angela is equally determined to unravel her visions about Rembrandt and the stolen painting—haunting visions about a long-buried secret in the Rembrandt family. A secret that could alter the course of her life…

And welcome to the excerpt:

PROLOGUE

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Rozengracht 184

October 12, 1662

 

“How dare those pompous ignoramuses return the painting! What do they know of art? Nothing!” 

Hendrickje Stoffels jumped as a plate flew past her ears, smashing against the wood cabinet. She ran to her daughter, Cornelia, and swept her up in her arms.

“Vader, no,” the weeping child pleaded.  

“It’s all right, Neeltje,” Hendrickje smoothed her daughter’s golden curls over her shoulder and kissed her cheek.

“The pandering vetzaks! Fat bags!” Rembrandt van Rijn raged, his voice shaking the rafters of the house. Neeltje clung to Hendrickje, her legs wrapped tight around her waist. Hendrickje prayed the painter’s venting would appease his temper and curb his assault on her good plates, or soon there would be nothing left to eat on.

She knew well it was better to let the bitter tirade run its course. What bothered her was seeing their eight-year-old daughter frightened to death by her father’s outburst. 

“Those Godverdomme zakkenwassers, their taste is in their klootzakken!”

“Rembrandt, enough! Think of Neeltje!” She covered the child’s ears. Referring to the governors of Amsterdam as goddamn pocket-washers and assholes was not appropriate language for a child, nor was it going to solve the problem. What if Neeltje repeated it in front of a patron? Mijn God, the trouble would certainly rain down on them.

Rembrandt’s mouth clamped shut into a thin line. His hands fisted on his hips, and he glared at her. Her gaze dropped to the floor, where a massive rolled canvas filled the length of the room.

“What has happened?” The realization beginning to dawn on her. 

“What has happened?” he repeated in a furious whisper. “What has happened is those idiots have returned The Oath-Swearing of Claudius Civilis, a painting, as you well know, I worked on for two years! It hung in the Town Hall for two weeks, and now they have sent it back without so much as a guilder for my trouble.”

Hendrickje covered her mouth to hold back the bile that rose in her throat. 

It was a disaster. 

They needed this commission—desperately. “What will you do?”

BUY LINK

AMAZON

More About Belle Ami

#1 Amazon Bestselling author Belle Ami writes intriguing romantic/suspense/thrillers with a touch of sensual heat. A self-confessed news junky, she loves to create cutting-edge stories about politics, espionage, and redemptive love. Her multi award winning Out of Time Series includes:

The Girl Who Knew Da Vinci (Out of Time series book 1)- 2019 RAVEN Award Winner Romance/Suspense and 1^st Runner up RONE Award Audiobook).

The Girl Who Loved Caravaggio is the second book in Belle’s highly acclaimed Out of Time series thriller series with a supernatural twist. Book Excellence Award Winner Mystery, and 2020 RONE finalist, and 2020 RAVEN Award Finalist.

Belle is the author of The Only One Series which includes The One, The One and More and One More Time is Not Enough.

She is also the author of The Tip of the Spear Series, a compelling romantic suspense espionage series which includes the highly rated Escape and Vengeance (2019 Readers’ Favorite Award Gold Medal Winner in Thriller/Espionage. The third book is Ransom & the fourth book Exposed will be published 2020.

Belle is a Kathryn McBride scholar of Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania. Her passions include hiking, boxing, skiing, spinning, cooking and of course, writing.

She lives in Southern California with her husband, two children, a horse named Cindy Crawford, and her brilliant Chihuahua, Giorgio Armani.

Belle loves to hear from readers.

If you are interested in writing an honest review in exchange for a free book, contact her at: belle@belleamiauthor.com 

 

Connect with her here:

BookBub     Amazon     Twitter @BellAmi5

Facebook     Instagram     bellamiauthor.com

 

…and don’t forget to read the 

first two books in this exceptional series! 

 

 

AMAZON 

 

 

AMAZON

Nancy Lee Badger Presents Belle Ami

Belle Ami, who stopped by to share her new release, hooked me with the title and gorgeous cover. Take it away, Belle Ami!

Will her visions lead her to the truth?

I'm so excited to tell you about my new release, The Girl Who Knew da Vinci, which was released June 1st. It's a romantic suspense thriller with a supernatural twist. It's also the first book in my new OUT OF TIME Thriller Series.

BLURB:

Art historian Angela Renatus is haunted by dreams of Leonardo da Vinci and a mysterious painting of Giuliano Medici and his mistress Fioretta Gorini. A painting that, as far as the world knows, doesn't exist. Compelled by her visions, Angela is determined to find out the truth.

When Angela is contacted by art detective Alex Caine, she's shocked to learn that he too is seeking the same painting. Alex's client, a wealthy German financier, is determined to clear the name of his late uncle, Gerard Jaeger, an art historian, who went missing in Florence, during World War II. In letters written before his disappearance, the historian describes his love affair with a beautiful young Italian woman named Sophia Caro, and the discovery of an extraordinary painting by the great master himself-a painting depicting Giuliano and Fioretta. 

Angela and Alex journey to Florence in search of the priceless treasure. Is it a lost da Vinci, potentially worth hundreds of millions of dollars, or a wild goose-chase that will only lead to a dead end? But someone else is searching for the elusive painting-Alberto Scordato is a powerful man in the art world and a sociopath who will stop at nothing to get what he wants, even murder. Scordato knows something about Angela that even she doesn't know, something that could threaten both Angela and Alex's lives, forcing them into the crosshairs of fate.

Excerpt from The Girl Who Knew da Vinci

Florence, Italy

Uffizi Gallery

August 3, 1944 

Sophia Caro was scared, but not half as scared as she should be. The world was at war and she was in love with a German officer. She covered her ears as another explosion rocked the building, pressing closer into the arms of her lover, Gerhard Jaeger. Had it only been a few hours? It felt like the Germans had been bombing for days.

“Florence will never be the same,” she whispered brokenly. After each detonation, the Uffizi Gallery strained and shuddered as if struck by an earthquake.

Gerhard held her tighter, shielding her with his body. “It will my darling, you’ll see.”

They planned to escape from Florence. Gerhard, who was no Nazi, would desert. If captured he’d be lined up before a firing squad. Adding to her worries were her brothers who were partisans fighting the Nazis. She and Gerhard were set to flee back home to her family vineyard in the Tuscan hills. She’d be lucky if her brothers didn’t shoot Gerhard first and ask questions later. Time had run out and the man she loved with her heart and soul was prepared to risk everything for her and their unborn child.

Another round of blasts shook the building. Huddling in the long central gallery of the Uffizi, dust and pieces of the frescoed ceiling rained down around them.

“The ceiling! What if the building collapses?” Sophia couldn’t control the panic that seized her. Blistering heat and falling debris made it impossible to breathe.

“We’ll be fine Sophia. The Uffizi has stood for nearly five hundred years. It will stand for another five hundred, I’m sure.” Gerhard kissed her forehead. “Longer than that bastard Hitler. It makes me ashamed and sick to be a German.”

Sophia lay her hand against his cheek. “You’re an academic, an art historian, not a soldier. You’d do anything to protect Florence’s art treasures. It’s one of the reasons I fell in love with you.”

“Have I done enough?” Deep lines etched his face.

A massive blast brought another shower of plaster, covering them in a fine veil of white dust.

“Heaven help us. When will it stop?” Sophia buried her face in his chest.

“It won’t stop until the bridges are demolished. Even for the industrious Germans that could take most of the night.”

Sophia covered her ears to muffle another round of successive blasts. “In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.” She crossed herself, wondering if God would listen to the pleas of a now-and-again Catholic. She felt a trickle of sweat roll down her cheek. Gerhard pulled his handkerchief from his pocket and wiped it away.

“Amore mio, I promise you it will end by dawn. My contact, Deiter, assured me that the Ponte Vecchio will not be destroyed. When they’ve finished bringing down the rest of the bridges the explosions will cease. Then you and I will leave this nightmare of a war behind.”

A series of booms echoed again through the city and the reality of their situation returned. She held her stomach, protecting the small bump that protruded.

He covered her hand with his. “I hope you packed something substantial for our journey, my love. You need to keep up your strength for our child’s sake. Besides which,” he said, “I’d hate to be arrested for a grumbling stomach.”

“This is Italy,” she said with a quirk of her lips. “We aren’t going to die of starvation.” She looked around. “What have you done with the painting?”

“I had to cut it from its frame,” he said with a grimace. “I wrapped it in tissue paper and rolled it paint side out. Then I rolled it in lamb’s wool and fit it in a thick cardboard tube. I think it should be safe from the elements. My backpack is waterproof.”

She knew he’d do anything to keep her and their unborn child safe, but the painting worried her. It seemed to her an unnecessary risk to take a painting from the Uffizi, even if he meant only to keep it safe. It was a bone of contention between them.

“It’s twenty-seven kilometers south of Florence to my family’s vineyard in Montefioralle. I’m afraid much of it is uphill.”

“We’re young and strong, Sophia. If I have to carry you up a mountain, I will. It should take us about six hours to walk twenty-seven kilometers; we can manage that. Didn’t you say the area is famous for its Chianti?”

“The best Chianti and the most beautiful village in Italy. You will never want to leave.”

“Sounds like a good place to wait out the war, a glass of wine in hand, a bambino on my lap, and a goddess in my bed. The perfect place for us to begin our new life.” He drew her close and caressed her abdomen.

It seemed impossible that amid the chaos of war their child had been conceived. She hadn’t meant it to happen and feared he’d think she’d entrapped him. But when she told him, he was overjoyed, professing his excitement to be a father. She knew, then, that his love for her was true.

Sometime after dawn, the explosions ceased and the Uffizi Gallery grew quiet. Gerhard had kept his military uniform on until the last second. But now the die had been cast and it was time to escape. He discarded his uniform and donned the clothes of a civilian. Sophia straightened his collar while he stuffed the fake identity papers into his pocket.

“Well, Giorgio Bandini, accountant from Pisa, are you ready to begin the next phase of your life?”

He grabbed her around the waist and kissed her. “So long as I’m allowed to make love every night to the most desirable woman in the world. Shall we go, angelo mio.”

Sophia knew the Vasari Corridor like the back of her hand. If need be, she could walk it blindfolded. The concealed passageway above the bridge would be their escape route. She gave silent thanks to the clever Duke Cosimo I de’Medici who, in 1565, had ordered Giorgio Vasari to build the secret corridor. It allowed the Medici family to travel from the Palazzo Vecchio to the Palazzo Pitti in safety and privacy. During the five years Sophia had worked at the Uffizi, instead of walking the crowded Ponte Vecchio below, she’d chosen to walk the three-quarter mile from the Uffizi to the Pitti in privacy, just as the Medici family had.

Holding a candle for her, Gerhard followed her through the unmarked secret door near the Botticelli room and down a flight of stairs. She unlocked another door and, after he passed through it, she locked it behind her. The minute the door shut, it was as if the air changed. The eerie silence was disconcerting after the hours of continuous bombings.

“Don’t worry, it always feels like you’ve entered another world,” she said.

“Cooler. I’ll take it.” He shifted the heavy backpack to his other shoulder.

Taking his hand, she led him through the twists and turns of the corridor. “Before the war these walls were hung with Medici portraits. Now they’re hidden in storage vaults. The war has altered the world forever.”

“Not forever, amore mio." 

Buy links:

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More About the Author

Belle Ami writes intriguing romantic/suspense/thrillers with a teaspoon of sex. A self-confessed news

junky she loves to create cutting-edge stories about politics, espionage, and redemptive love. She is a Kathryn McBride scholar of Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania. Writing, cooking, spinning, hiking, boxing, and skiing are her passions.

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 13^th, 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.

The Girl Who Knew da Vinci is her latest release. It’s an intriguing romance/paranormal/thriller. She is currently working on book three of The Tip of the Spear Series, titled Ransom.

She lives in Southern California with her husband, two children, a horse named Cindy Crawford, and her brilliant Chihuahua, Giorgio Armani. Connect with her here:

WEBSITE     FACEBOOK     TWITTER  @belleami5