A fall and crash
A violent journey through the doorways of time
A villain or hero in the making
Rosemary Mayfield teeters on the brink of ruin. With the murder of her parents she is left the sole guardian of her younger brother and sister. Once a wealthy socialite in New York City, she now finds herself stranded in the untamed wilderness of the American West. When a wounded man comes crashing through her roof, as rough as the savage land, it is against her better judgment to bring him into her home and her heart. But she soon discovers he holds a secret that shatters everything, and she must make a choice, unaware that often destiny hinges on a single moment.
Fresh from an unsavory past and a violent fall through time, Nicolas Ekkridon awakens to find himself cared for by three orphans ignorant of the role he played in their parents’ untimely death. They accept and embrace him, and a lifetime of hardened barriers begin to crumble. On the precipice between good and evil, only Rosemary and her spirited defiance stands between him and villainy. But time and space are against them. As its weaving tentacles envelop them in an indifferent grasp, they are swept into a shattering series of circumstances that threaten the very makeup of their lives. But when time can be bent, nothing is written in stone.
Praise for The Villain
There are very few words that can describe what they’ve accomplished in The Villain. Here are a few that come to mind: magnificent, overwhelming, heart-stirring, and a bit frightening at times.
This author team writes some of the best characters I’ve ever read about and weaves them together in such a fascinating web. Each character has depth and an important role in the storyline (and possibly future storylines). Characters who didn’t particularly interest me, at first, became very significant throughout the book. ~Shannon Keith
The Villain is one of those books you pick up and read in one sitting. The kind that surprises you with its powerful and compelling characters and its poignant message. To say that I was surprised at how much the story touched my heart would be an understatement. ~C.J. Anaya
Reading this book reminded me of the television shows I used to watch when I was a kid. “Little House of the prairie” and “Dr Quinn Medicine Woman”. I can confidently say if you enjoyed those shows, you will enjoy this novel. ~Nina Schluntz
Excerpt
“Have you done… very bad things?” I asked, wishing I didn’t have to ask.
His answer was simple. “Yes.”
“And are you going to go on… doing bad things?”
He lay very still, like if he moved, he would be discovered. The man as big and hard as the mountain had a weakness. “The gods of the ancient world punished men terribly for their sins,” he said in a hollow voice, his accent there again, thicker than I ever heard it. “Tortured them for eternity. There was no point in trying to escape.”
I put my sewing down. “We don’t believe in those gods anymore.”
He laughed in a hard, hateful voice. “And why should you? You were protected and cosseted and kept from every sin. What do you have to fear from them?”
“And you like to imagine yourself some sort of wild, dangerous creature, trapped in a dungeon of your own making. You are too stupid to realize there are no locks on the doors. Does it come as a shock that brute force isn’t always called for? Does it horrify you to find some kindness lurking deep in your heart?”
“Kindness!” he repeated bitterly, “I’ve done no kindness to you, my girl!”
“You have!”
He regarded me steadily. “If you knew the things I’ve done, Miss Mayfield, your blood would boil with hate and you’d throw me out the door this moment. And you should.”
My heart stilled. “What have you done?”
He turned away, and I couldn’t see his face. He was closed off. But I felt a shrinking from him, a retreat from a memory.
I pushed my specs up the bridge of my nose and picked up my sewing again. An image filled my mind of the shoe flying across the room. His incense at Benjamin ignoring me. His artless, diffident effort to make up with Emily. Instinct made me say with some gentleness, “Whatever you did, perhaps it’s not as bad as you think it is.” I was frightened even as I said it, but I did not wish it away.
He scoffed, but he looked at me. I saw something inside that good eye hoping to be convinced. He reminded me, I realized suddenly, of Benjamin.
“There is no doubt you’ve done things you shouldn’t. And sure, you can be a pig sometimes. Mother would have been horrified,” I smiled. “But a real scoundrel would have shown himself long before now. You haven’t hurt us. You’ve even been good to us.”
“Maybe I’m biding my time. I’m weak and injured and still need you to look after my wounds.” His tone was a cold blanket.
“In which case, you’d hardly warn me against you. Instead you’d be trying to put me at ease.” My voice was equally cool.
He snapped and threw up his hands. “Oh, I don’t have time for this! The sooner I get away from you all, the better!”
I gathered up my sewing basket and stood.
“The west is a dangerous place. You’re ripe for the picking out here in the wilderness, just waiting for someone to come along and help himself!” He couldn’t help but say.
“What do you care? You just said it yourself, it isn’t your problem.”
His hand balled into a fist. “Rosemary, you can’t just trust people, all right! It isn’t wise! Don’t just let anyone through your door and nurse him back to health, you got that? Don’t let Emily sidle up to him and cry over him and tell him her stories. And Benjamin tries to be angry, but it’s all bluster. He’s easy prey for anyone who gives him attention and sounds like they have some useful knowledge. Don’t just let anyone through that door!”
“We didn’t let just anyone in, Nicolas,” I said simply. “We let you in. And I’m glad.”
Caroline Gregory and Shawnette Nielson are sisters on a mission. Their goal is to write clean, adventuresome romance stories, full of lovely characters, personal growth, truth, and hope. Although they live miles from each other, and are both busy with the daily needs of their respective families, they carve out time each night to put fingers to keyboard and write. Their goal? Twenty completed books. Set all over the world and throughout time, they thrill at the freedom that writing time travel offers them. From Georgian society, to Ancient Egypt and the Wild Western, the possibilities are limitless.
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