30 January 2017

Release:: Viking by Jenika Snow











She’ll be his greatest conquest.


INGRID

I should have been afraid of him, the brutal man with the violence covering him and blood on his face. But he’d saved me from a fate worse than death. He was a Viking, a man who took what he wanted because he could, because no one dared to cross him, to go against him.

And he claimed me.

I was his now, and I didn’t want to fight that.


GUNNAR

From the moment I saw Ingrid I knew I wanted her as mine, as my wife, the future mother of my children. I’ll go to any lengths to keep her by my side, to make her see I’m not letting her go. I may give her the option to leave, to find her own way, but the truth is I would follow her to the ends of the earth to keep her close.

I’m a Viking, a savage, dangerous and violent. I don’t give up when I see something I want. I’ve been searching for Ingrid my whole life; I just didn’t realize it until I looked into her blue eyes.

She will be mine. No matter what.


Warning: Hope you like your men filthy, brutal, and willing to slay for the woman he’s claimed, because in this story you’re getting it all and then some. It’s dirty, totally unbelievable, and probably holds no real historical facts, but it’s fun and hot and hits the right spot. It is what it is, so hang on and enjoy the ride.


The sound of a battle cry wrenched through the air. The men around me took a fighting stance. I searched the village, seeing nothing but flames and smoke. The shadows crept around where the flames didn’t lick.

A grunt.

A cry of pain.

The scent of blood in the air.

The feeling of my enemies life force covering me.

It all hit me suddenly, and I fell forward, bracing my hands in the dirt, my breathing labored. I could hear fighting all around me, and I expected any second that final blow that would end my life.

But it never came. And when the silence stretched on, I lifted my head and looked around. The Vikings who’d destroyed my village were around me, their bodies bloody and broken. My heart thundered, and my throat was dry. I couldn’t breathe. It wasn’t just the thick smoke that surrounded me like a cloak, but my fear of what was out there. Of who had killed my enemy.

And then I heard heavy footsteps coming closer, but the fire raged on, making it impossible to see anything. I tried to stand, but my legs didn’t want to work. I heard my heart thundering in my ears, felt the pulse at the base of my neck.

The man who came into view was not a savior, a hero that had saved the day. He might have killed the men who’d hurt me, but he was still a Viking. His short dark hair, the leather, fur, and blood from his enemies that he wore making it known he’d seen violence…he’d delivered it himself. But although he was the same as the ones who’d terrorized my village, he’d also killed them, stopped them before they could take from me what wasn’t freely offered.

And then I saw several more men step up behind him. It was clear they were with him, part of his clan, as their shields showed the same coloring, the same crest. Their focus was intense, their attention trained right on me. They conversed with each other in a dialect I wasn’t familiar with. When the Viking in front of me started speaking, this time to me, I could only shake my head. I didn’t know if they meant me harm, or if they were worse than the ones they’d killed.

“Please, I don’t understand. I don’t know what’s happening.” I lifted my dirt and blood covered hands, knowing they were shaking. These Vikings probably didn’t understand me either.

“You’re afraid of us.” The one I’d seen first spoke to me, his words clear and his accent thick. He knew my language.

“Yes,” I whispered. There wasn’t any point in lying. He could see how clear my fear was. It was written along my body, in telltale signs.

“You have nothing to fear from us.” He held his hand out to me, and although maybe I still should have been afraid, should have tried to outrun them, to escape, the truth was I did feel safe. I didn’t know if they were telling me the truth, but they’d killed the men who had destroyed my home, who had been about to do unspeakable things to me. They could have harmed me ten times over by now, but they didn’t, they hadn’t.

So I lifted my shaking hand and slipped it into his bigger one, his palm covered in blood, his strength clear.

He helped me to stand, and I had to crane my neck back to stare into his face. He was huge, his body wide, muscular. I could see his eyes, a bright blue that didn’t look soft. I could see the violence and danger reflected in them, staring right into my very being. I was aware of the destruction around us, of the bodies littering our feet. I could even feel the other two men watching us.

I knew I should say something, anything, but I was lost in this hazy feeling of confusion, slight fear and…warmth.

And then he leaned down slightly so we were eye to eye. He lifted his hand, cupped my cheek, and said in a voice so deep, so masculine I couldn’t help but shiver, “You’re mine, female.”

I didn’t know what my fate was, but at this point I had nothing else to lose.   









Jenika Snow is a USA Today Bestselling Author that lives in the northwest with her husband and their two daughters. Before she started writing full-time she worked as a nurse.
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29 January 2017

Release with Review:: Pieces of Heaven by Natasha Madison












I didn’t want this life.

But sometimes you’re forced to make the best of the crappy hand you’ve been dealt. I wanted to teach my daughter that. No matter what happens you face your problems head-on.

Never cower. Never give up.

Then someone took her and I had to put my faith in a system that had failed me, and my hope in a man I didn’t know.

Serve. Honor. Protect, are the only things I’ve ever cared about until her case was dropped on my desk. As we searched for her missing daughter, the last woman I thought I’d fall in love with became my reason for living.

Then the world came crashing down around us.

One secret would change everything, but I had one more hand to be dealt. And if I played my cards right, maybe, just maybe we’d get our piece of heaven.


Chapter Eleven
Marissa

The bells over the door ring every single time someone walks in. I’ve been on edge ever since I got in this morning. Lucky for me it’s been non-stop people coming in, so my mind hasn’t been able to wander to Lori.

Now that it has been quiet and I’m filling the salt and pepper shakers, my mind wanders. It wanders to my baby girl, who is somewhere out there begging to come home. The sound of her voice plays in my head on repeat. My hands start to shake, so I close my eyes and sit down on a chair before my knees buckle.

I blink away the tears threatening to fall over, my heart starting to beat so fast I hear the echoes in my ears. A plate of meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and gravy is shoved in front of me. Phyllis’s eyes greet me when I look up.

“Eat that and then go home. You are done for the day. You’ve been here for fourteen hours.”
I look over at the clock hanging behind the counter that reads 8 p.m., realizing she’s right.

“I’m just going to finish filling the shakers then I’ll take off.” I know she’s about to argue with me when the bell over the door rings again, making us both look up.

His eyes find me right away. My heart that was starting to calm down is now speeding up. I focus on my meal, cutting a piece of meatloaf and dipping it in the gravy before popping it into my mouth. I try to ignore the heat of his stare, try to think of anything but him and that naked woman from last night. His girlfriend. I was so stupid to think that he would actually want me. I’m a used up stripper whose daughter ran away from home. I’m the opposite of what he wants or needs.

The chair in front of me is filled with his big frame. The scent of his aftershave, of cologne lingers around us. Musky, rich, and woodsy. It’s the smell that has seeped its way into my memory along with the way his lips felt on mine. The way that I just fit, like I was made for him. I blink away the memory, looking up at him.

“All the seats in this place are open and you sit in front of me?” I ask him before scooping up more food. I didn’t notice how hungry I was till I started eating.

“You didn’t text me back.” His voice is hard, his muscles tight, his jaw ticking.

I take out my phone. “Oh, I put the do not disturb on under your name. Maybe that’s why.”

My phone is snapped out of my hand in a blink of an eye. “What the fuck?” I see him touching the screen angrily and turning it off.

“You know you’re doing that for nothing since I can turn it on again?” I finish off my whole plate, making my stomach hurt since it’s the first thing I’ve eaten since last night.

“What if I had information on Lori?” Bulls-eye, hit straight through my heart. He must see the color drain from my face as I realize that I fucked up. I’m not going to admit it to him, though.

“I don’t have Jackson’s number blocked, and he would have called me.” I shrug my shoulders, picking up my plate to bring it to the gray bussing bin.

Walking over, I wipe down the table right when Phyllis comes out from the kitchen.
“There you are! I have your order ready. It’s being boxed up. Did you want dessert with that?”

His eyes never leave mine. “No, that’s okay. Thanks, Phyllis.”

I grab my phone from him, putting it in the front pocket of my waitress pouch. “I’m taking off. My feet are killing me. See you tomorrow, Phyllis.”

I don’t wait for her to say anything to me before I walk out the door to my car. Turning it on, I drive home, determined not to give Mick another minute of my thoughts. Just one problem with that plan, though. No one mentioned to my head that I wasn’t thinking about him because his eyes flash in my mind, the hard lines around them. The sorrow that is buried there, the sadness that he thinks no one sees but is there, if you look long enough.

I make my way into my apartment, taking my shoes off my throbbing feet at the door.

Walking into the kitchen, I take out the tips from my pocket and count them out. Three hundred and seventeen dollars. Two hundred of that is going to that damn debt that I’m still paying off. I can’t fucking wait till it’s over. I walk over to Lori’s room like I do every single night, turning on the light to see if maybe something has been misplaced or moved.

I’ve put scotch tape on the drawers to alert me if they’ve been opened, but it’s still intact. I’ve labeled her clothes hanging in the closet by number, and I count them, seeing that none have been taken either.

The bed is exactly how she left it. I crawl into her bed and grab her pillow, breathing in her scent. Tears run down my face, seeping into the pillow. This has become my nightly routine. I sleep here so I’m closer to her. I lie in this bed, talking to her. Telling her about my day, praying that she calls me again. I tell her stories about when she was small, about the day they placed her in my arms. The tears never stop. It’s like an endless river.

The soft knock at the door has me raising my head. Walking slowly to the door, I look through the peephole and see that Mick is in the hallway. His hands are braced against the doorframe, his head hanging down.

I place my forehead on the door, take a deep breath in, and open the door. His eyes land right on mine. The tears continue to roll down my cheeks, right off my chin on their way to the floor. He brings his thumb up to my chin, catching them.
“Marissa,” he whispers, and it’s all I can do before I collapse into his arms, sobbing. Begging. Pleading with him to bring her back to me.

He picks me up and carries me inside. Sitting on the couch with me curled into a ball in his lap, my tears soak his shirt. I’m so exhausted from the fear, stress, and worry. I’m just too tired to move.

“I’m a good mom,” I whisper to him. “I was tough on her only because I wanted better for her. Wanted her out of this life. Wanted her to be something.” My hand lies on his chest, the beat of his heart pounding against my palm.

“I know, baby, I know.”
I don’t say anything more. I just continue to soak up the feeling of his heart beating as it calms me. My eyes droop, and the exhaustion drags me under.

I don’t move from this position all night. I wake the next morning with the same heart beating against my hand.


Review::

Mick, Mick, Mick, man I dont even know if I can explain how much I loved him, the men in this series just keep better. Mick is Jackson's partner. Mick was in the first book pretty heavily as well as Marissa so we know a little about them. 

Marissa's daughter has gone missing, Mick and Jackson are on the case. Mick meets her, is rude to her, cant help himself from being an alpha ass to her but then tries to fix everything in her path. He is drawn to her. He makes her quit job that she feels obligated to since her ex has credited a debt he isnt paying. Mick only has flashbacks of his childhood and demands she get something better. 

He works her case, trying to find her daughter, all the while getting closer and closer to Marissa. She gives him a run for his money but the more she pushes he pulls until she is sitting on his lap, right where he wants her. 

Marissa is given a job from a very close friend of Mick's. Goodness that lady was funny and honest. As she is giving Marissa the run down to why she has a spot for her at the diner, this comes out of her mouth "Lucky Jolene gave her notice last night after I found her on her knees in the supply closet with Becky’s husband . The same Becky who was sitting in a booth, waiting for him to finish in the bathroom.” Marissa’s eyes practically bulge out of their sockets.---This is what you deal with when a scene is at the diner, funny, laughing out loud hilarious.
Mick wants to fix everything, Marissa wants to be independent, and Jackson wants his friend to kill someone when they get to the bottom of the case with the missing girls. I loved the suspense, I loved that book one and book two intertwined, scenes you've already read are shown in either Mick or Marissa's point of view.

I laughed, teared up, read some scenes that don't leave you, and wishes for it not to end. Natasha keeps getting better. She keeps giving us these wonderful alpha men with hearts of gold. She needs to write faster because if Chris is getting a story, I would like it yesterday. She is a favorite now, one that I definitely watch for with upcoming news and one that I rush at for one-clicking when the book is available.




When her nose isn't buried in a book, or her fingers flying across a keyboard writing, she's in the kitchen creating gourmet meals. You can find her, in four inch heels no less, in the car chauffeuring kids, or possibly with her husband scheduling his business trips. It's a good thing her characters do what she says, because even her Labrador doesn't listen to her...

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28 January 2017

Read:: Wayward Angel (Wayward Saints MC Book 1) by K. Renee

We meet Anslie as a teenager living with her worthless mother scared for her life. Her father is the President of a motorcycle club, leaving her with her mother for a chance at a normal life. Her mother saw it as a burden I believe. Her mother is acting as if she is still a teenager herself. Anslie's life is horrible and terrifying. 

Brantley is in the MC and meets Anslie shortly after she comes to live with her father and brothers. The attraction to her is instant but she is off limits. He protects her the best he can while she is living with her father and tries to keep her close to his side. 

They get to a point where fighting it is hard, they don't want to and cant any longer. At such a young age, Anslie doesn't really know what she wants or needs but she has never felt what she feels for Brantley before and she likes the way he makes her feel when they are together. 

Brantley's father sees the destruction that could lead to his son being involved with the President's daughter so he sends Brantley away. 

Years pass and these two end up at the same club, Anslie now of age and away from the Club makes it easier for Brantley to decide that he wants her and hes not stopping until he has her. Their time together does come to be problematic but both don't want it to end. When a club rival goes after Anslie, Brantley immediately distant himself, blaming himself for not being able to protect her. 

More years go until these two are pushed together again. Brantley is one alpha that gets his way. I loved how he came back for Anslie as if there hadn't been years in between the time they had been together. I loved how he wanted to protect her. I loved Anslie's relationship with her brothers. I loved that we met Brantley's brothers and there were there for him. I couldn't put this book down until the end. K's writing kept me wanting more until I knew these two were going to be alright. 





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What do you do when the one thing you want is against the rules?

Anslie Davoli is the sixteen year old daughter of the President of the Wayward Saints MC, Cason Davoli. After her mom takes her away from the club at just five years old, certain circumstances bring her back into the club under her older brother's watchful eye.

Brantley Insico grew up in the club. His father is the Vice President of the Wayward Saints MC. At twenty-one, he thinks he's got it all, the club, his family, and no woman tying him down. One family barbecue and his world is turned upside down. 
Brantley knows Prez's daughter is off limits, but he still craves her. 

Will Anslie and Brantley be able to stay away from each other, or will they have to deal with the consequences

Release:: Jax by Victoria Danann

Title - JAX: Resurrection
Series - KBS, Next Generation #2
Author - Victoria Danann
Genre - Paranormal Romance
Release Date - January 27, 2017
When you want a job done right, get a womanizing vampire. 
Being a vampire playboy has worked for Jax for 600 years. 
That's about to change.
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, Victoria Danann, continues the breathtaking new take on Knights of Black Swan with a sizzling follow up to Falcon.
The Next Generation of Black Swan knights continues the struggle to rid the world of "deadheads", virus infected vampires who are barely more cognizant than zombies. Jax, one of the vampires turned by the immortals, joined the fight and became Falcon's partner.
For six hundred years Jax has seduced women, drunk their blood, and left them feeling blissfully satisfied, but without memory of the event. It was a good and manageable life for a vampire until the deliciously wild redhead came along and showed him what he's been missing.
Find out why readers are saying it is awesome, riveting, steamy, and that they are totally in love with Jax.
"NO ONE can tell a love story like Victoria Danann!" - Pam J.
"The thrill of the hunt at its finest." - Becky B.
“So you’re the vampire?” Jax opened his eyes to look at the owner of the deep male voice and found a man standing in the aisle by the empty recliner next to him. He nodded. “Want some company?”
For a split second Jax debated whether to tell the truth or not. The truth was that he wanted to be alone to further contemplate the mystery of Drogheda Daley and how she’d managed to do what no other woman, out of a hundred thousand, had done. Namely, to cause Jax to think about her after what he affectionately called the ‘nip and tuck’ was over
He wanted to be alone, but didn’t want to be rude. So he motioned to the unoccupied seat.
The man introduced himself as he sat. “Blake Lavers. I’m attached to Edinburgh. Paranormal investigation.” The guy looked a lot younger than he sounded. He had coal black hair and pale green eyes that were highlighted by long dark lashes. Jax supposed that women probably found him attractive. “I guess it doesn’t get much more paranormal than being a vampire. So I thought I’d kill some time investigating.”
Jax rewarded Blake’s attempt at humor with a half-smile. “So this is an interview?”
Blake laughed. “Interview with a vampire? Good one. Yeah. I guess. If you’re up for it. But no matter what you say, it’s not going to end with me asking you to turn me.”
“No? And why’s that?”
Blake narrowed his eyes. “Sly. I’m the one asking the questions.”
“And I’ll answer if it’s an exchange. Perhaps you know things that would either inform or entertain me.”
Blake seemed to consider that. “Tit for tat? Quid pro quo?”
“Whatever you want to call it.”
“I should probably invite my partner over.” He glanced toward the front of the plane where a young woman with mahogany hair and the youthful look of a cheerleader was staring unabashedly. “Megan.” Blake grinned. “But I won’t. Maybe if you tell me stuff she wants to know, she’ll finally break down and sleep with me.”
Jax looked from Blake to Megan and back again, wondering if they were as young as they looked or if he was feeling the effects of being ancient, even if he also looked no more than twenty four.
“I’m feeling generous,” Jax said. “You go first.”
“Any regrets? Are you glad you were turned?”
“Wow,” Jax said in a rare use of the modern exclamation. “You go right for the kill. Maybe you should have been a journalist.”
Blake suddenly looked older as his smile widened slowly. “Making a mental note that you ducked a direct and immediate reply. You stalling, vampire?”
Jax responded with a slow appraisal of his own. “I prefer Jax to vampire. You’re a chess player, aren’t you?”
“That’s two evasions and a delay still in progress. You can take a minute if you need to think about the answer.”
Jax grew serious and sighed. “Honestly. I’ve never been asked that question nor have I ever put it to myself. Probably because it’s entirely impractical. What would be the point of dwelling on what cannot be changed?”
“Practical or not, if you hadn’t made a good adjustment, you’d have a ready answer about regrets. Since you don’t, I’m going to put that in the ‘no’ column.”
Jax narrowed his eyes. “Are you a mental therapist?”
Blake burst out laughing then shook his head. “Hardly. Your turn.”
“Tell me about a case you’ve worked on that would make a good movie.”
Blake laughed again. “Well, Jax. I’ve got to admit that you’re not what I expected.”
“What did you expect?”
“Which question do you want answered this turn? Number one or number two?”
“Number two.”
“Hmmm. Ego gets ‘em every time. Maybe I’m a little Hollywood-influenced myself. I guess I expected you to be grim and brooding. Angsty. And older. I thought you’d be at least fifteen years older. I mean… Well, you know what I mean. Not in how old you actually are, but how old you look.”
“I understand.”
“When I asked the question about regret I would have thought you’d go on about what a nightmare life has been for you. I’m not getting the sense that your life hasn’t been a nightmare.”
Jax chuckled. “I hope this is not disappointing you, but I’ve had a pretty good life.”
“Yeah. I’m getting that vibe.”
“Are you psychic?”
“A little bit. Everybody in P.I. is. A little bit. Your turn. What made you decide to, uh, come out of the shadows? That’s just an expression and not meant to cast aspersions. Can I just have a blanket ‘no offense’ waiver for the remainder of this exchange?”
Jax chuckled. Blake was the sort of person who’d be hard not to like. “Yes. You can have a ‘no offense’ waiver, but that was two questions. So it’s my turn.” Blake smiled and good naturedly shook his head at his own folly. “Answer the movie question.”
“Okay. A case that would make a good movie. Truthfully, they would all make good movies if they involved taking the camera behind doors with Megan. I’m thinking Megan undressed would be box office gold.” He raised his eyebrows for emphasis. “But I’m also thinking that’s not what you’re asking.” A quick glance at Jax confirmed that. “There was this guy who was convinced his wife was shtupping a ghost. They’d bought a Brownstone in Brooklyn to renovate.”
Jax felt his eyes glaze over as he wondered about the odds of talking to two humans in two days about renovating a Brownstone in Brooklyn and wondered if fate was screwing with him.
“That’s what we were doing in New York,” Blake continued. “The guy kept telling everybody that the place was haunted and that his wife had fallen for the spirit that came with the house. The wife, who was no longer enamored with the hubby, called Bellevue and the state got involved. Somebody on the inside… you know we’ve got people everywhere, somebody called Black Swan to report that a case involving something paranormal had been brought to their attention.
“To make a long story short. The poor devil was telling the truth. The wife was schtupping the ghost of a guy who’d been a previous owner.”
“How is that possible?”
Blake grinned and held up a finger in a way that was both dorky and utterly charming. “That can be your next question. Here’s mine. Again. What made you come out?”
“Symbiosis was upset and things had become unbalanced. If too many deadheads multiply too quickly, humans become extinct in a shockingly short time. Then where would I be? So, you see, it was purely selfish. I need humans to survive. As a TV vampire once said, it’s like millions of Happy Meals walking around on two legs.”
“I see.” Blake blinked several times.
“You look like you weren’t expecting that answer.”
“I guess I wasn’t. Makes sense though.”
“Now you. How is it possible for a ghost to ‘shtup’ anybody?”
Once Blake recovered from being forced to think of himself as a ‘Happy Meal’ on two legs, he grinned. “You know the thing I love most about my job is that the unthinkable and improbable are the stuff of routine. When I come to work, I never know what’s going to happen. In this case, the spirit became corporeal when sexually aroused. Afterward he fades into a form so diaphanous he’s virtually invisible.”
“Wow.” Even Jax couldn’t believe he’d used that word twice in one day. “Does that kind of thing happen often?”
Blake did a bobble head. “Let’s just say it’s not novel.”
“What happened?”
“With the marriage?”
“Yes.”
“I just gave you a pass on three questions. No more bob and weave. Tell me how you became a vampire.”
“I was a farmer near Yerk. That’s what it was called then. It’s known as York now.”
“England.”
“That’s right. I met an immortal in the town while running an errand for my father. She liked what she saw and turned me.”
“With your consent?”
Jax smiled. “What happened to the marriage?”
“They’re divorcing. The husband moved out. But the ghost told the wife where to find gold that he’d hidden behind a wall. It’s enough to make her rich by most standards of comparison. So she’s going to use it to buy the house herself.”
“I wish I could think of another word besides wow.”
Blake chuckled. “In this business, that word is my best friend. I’ve got to say that it’s kind of fun to wow the vampire with a ghost story.” Jax grinned and shook his head. “So. Consensual or not?”
Jax looked away momentarily and sighed. “That’s a hard question. My first reaction would be to say yes and no. The immortal who made me what I am asked if I wanted a carefree life, to be as rich as a king, to travel to exotic places and see marvelous things, to have eternal youth and have sexual power over women. I was a virgin and had never even been to a town the size of Yerk before. Naturally, I thought all that sounded great. Nothing was said about the downside.”
“And what is the downside?” Jax tipped his chin and gave Blake a slanted look. “Okay. Ask your question first.”
Blake kept Jax amused for most of the long flight overseas.  
When the jet touched down, Blake said, “Where are you headed?”  
“Venice. I’m on a recruiting mission.”
Blake smiled. “Gotta keep the Happy Meals reproducing.”
Jax grinned. “That ‘no offense’ waiver goes both ways.”
“Sure.” Blake stuck out his hand. Jax looked at it for a couple of seconds before shaking. “Let me know next time you’re in town. We’ll get a drink or something.” He caught himself. “I mean alcoholic beverages.”
“Yeah. I knew what you meant.”
“Maybe I’ll introduce you to Megan.” Blake lowered his voice. “But only if you agree she’s off limits.”
Jax chuckled. “She’s very cute, but you have my word. Megan is off limits.”
New York Times bestselling author of seventeen romances. Victoria's Knights of Black Swan series won BEST PARANORMAL ROMANCE SERIES THREE YEARS IN A ROW. Reviewers Choice Awards, The Paranormal Romance Guild.
Co-host of the ROMANCE BETWEEN THE PAGES podcast. 
Her paranormal romances come with uniquely fresh perspectives on "imaginary" creatures, characters, and themes. She adds a dash of scifi, a flourish of fantasy, enough humor to make you laugh out loud, and, occasionally, enough steam to make you squirm in your chair. Her heroines are independent femmes with flaws and minds of their own whether they are aliens, witches, demonologists, werewolves, hybrids, psychics, or past life therapists. Her heroes are hot and hunky, but they also have brains, character, and good manners... usually.
The rich characterizations come from being a lifelong student of behavior, casually, and a serious student of behavior academically. She also studied comparative religion, myths, and Dark Ages history.
Victoria lives in The Woodlands, Texas with her husband and a very smart, mostly black German Shepherd dog.
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