Luck Be An Angel by Liza O'Connor

Ethan searches for Facts not Advertising dollars

Ethan is a true newshound. He has no interest in ad revenue. He just wants to discover secrets, crimes, and astounding truths. He will gladly risk his life to discover the truth. He dreams of the day when he finally wins a Pulitzer prize for one of his pieces. Thus, he will NEVER become an editor, because they do have to care about ad revenues. The truth is, Ethan has probably gone as far as he’ll ever go unless he can find a shocking truth about the missing father that will astound everyone.

BLURB

Reporter, Ethan Long, is sent into the backwoods of Arkansas to investigate a woman who claims her sixteen boys were born by Immaculate Conception. Not believing in divine intervention, Ethan plans to uncover the identity of the man who continues to impregnate Sara Smith every year, leaving her to raise her sons on nothing but luck and love. He enters their home as a tutor and eventually discovers the truth, but not before he has fallen in love with Sara and her wonderful boys. Now he must face his own crossroad in life and decide whether to follow his heart or his professional obligations.

EXCERPT

Jacobs glanced down at a sheet of paper in front of him. His face soured as if the paper gave him indigestion. “Here’s the problem. If this story’s done right, it could be Pulitzer prize winning.”

Ethan felt every muscle in his body tense with excitement.

“It could give this paper great publicity which could translate into bigger ad revenues.”

Ethan’s foot thumped with impatience. He had no interest in advertising revenue. He was a newshound, a reporter, a man on the streets, finding the secrets, uncovering the truths, and explaining the complex so all could understand.

His news-sense told him Jacobs had a great lead on his desk. Yet, he could see the lead was not yet his. Something was making Jacobs hesitate, probably his ex-wife’s tantrum.

“I’m your man,” Ethan said with certainty.

Jacobs chewed the inside of his cheeks. “Well, that’s my problem. You’re my best writer, but I’m not sure you can set aside your personal issues to do this story.”

“What personal issues? I’m a hundred percent professional!” Ethan felt his anger rise again. Damn his ex-wife! Jacobs had never in the six years he’d worked for this paper ever suggested he wasn’t professional until now.

“If this was a bank heist, I couldn’t agree more. But this story might have a better chance with Carlson.”

His fingers gripped the plastic arms of the chair. “Carlson! He can’t write himself out of a paper bag.”

Jacobs sighed and nodded in agreement. “Which is why I’m contemplating giving you this story, even though my gut tells me you can’t do it.”

He released the chair’s arms before he snapped them in two. “Well, your gut needs to see a doctor, Jacobs. There isn’t a story in the world I can’t do better than Carlson.”

SALES LINK

For

Luck be an Angel

AMAZON

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Liza O’Connor lives in Denville, NJ with her dog Jess. They hike in fabulous woods every day, rain or shine, sleet or snow. Having an adventurous nature, she learned to fly small Cessnas in NJ, hang-glide in New Zealand, kayak in Pennsylvania, ski in New York, scuba dive with great white sharks in Australia, dig up dinosaur bones in Montana, sky dive in Indiana, and raft a class four river in Tasmania. She’s an avid gardener, amateur photographer, and dabbler in watercolors and graphic arts. Yet through her entire life, her first love has and always will be writing novels.

OTHER BOOKS BY LIZA

(I've got 38 of them now and more to come!)

The Duchess Lydia by Liza O'Connor

Lydia discovers clever ways to help Georgiana choose the best suitor

Lydia manages to remove all of her own suitors in short order by giving them tests with no right answer so their chance of failing was almost certain.  And while Georgiana would never abuse her suitors in such a manner, nor could she whittle them down.

They all seemed so nice.

Lydia assures here there are not twelve good men in all of London!

Thus, with Georgiana’s permission, Lydia let Georgiana’s suitors know she has

more money and seven of the fellows moved their interest to her. Then Lydia dumped them. Finally, she whittles Georgiana’s beaus to two beaus: Thomas Birch and Laurel Collins.

Darcy wanted Georgiana to marry Laurel, but Lydia thinks Thomas the better choice, so she has her men of business retain the best investigator in England to determine the truth of each man.

BLURB

Thanks to the Duke of Rochester’s generosity and the death of Wickham, Lydia Bennet is now a wealthy, independent woman. When Lydia takes residence in the finest house in the West End, her brother-in-law, Darcy, is concerned that she is ‘over her head’.

Despite his concerns, Darcy retrieves his sister, Georgiana, from Pemberley and places her in Lydia’s home. The two young ladies, both recently widowed, form a strong sisterly bond and soon set out to find love again.

Unfortunately, the man Lydia wishes to marry, David, the Duke of Rochester, is already contracted to marry another woman. When Lydia discovers the fiancée plans to murder David and his sons, she rallies her servants and friends, determined to stop the murderess at all costs. Will Lydia’s love of David and his boys triumph, or will the “Lady of Death” continue her path of destruction?

EXCERPT

After several months of investigating and following both men, Lydia received their report. Shocked to the core, she carried the document to Georgiana, who sat at the vanity while the maid fixed her hair. She sent the girl off.

“Before you go out with your gentleman, you should read this.”

Lydia sat on her bed and watched her open the file. She knew the moment Georgiana reached the bad news, for she gasped. “This cannot be true! Darcy would have told me!”

“Darcy doesn’t know. This occurred ten years ago, before he ever met Laurel.”

“And the woman still lives?”

“Read on. She’s still alive and their son is now sixteen. She believes Laurel died ten years ago in a train wreck. She still possessed a picture of Laurel which the investigator purchased for ten pounds. She did not wish to part with her beloved’s picture, but she is very poor and ten pounds would feed them for many months. The investigator says her son is the spitting image of Laurel, but for the difference of ages.”

“And Thomas? What horrible thing have you found out about him?”

“His report follows Laurel’s.”

“I dare not read it. I will remain an independent woman such as you!”

“Then you would lose a good man. Thomas is a better man than we knew. He clearly does not brag. Read the second report. You will see what I mean.”

Georgiana moved to the second report and read that Thomas was the third son of a Duke. He was educated at Oxford as a doctor and excelled in his studies. He spent two years in Africa trying to help cure a deadly virus running amongst the villages. He then returned to London and opened a medical clinic to help the poor. The second brother had died in the same Nepalese war that had taken Fitz. His father allowed him to continue his good deeds as long as he promised to marry before the end of this year.

“He never told me any of this!” Georgiana protested.

“That is true, even though he had to know it would have impressed you, yet he said nothing,” Lydia observed.

Georgiana rose and paced about the room. “But why would he keep this a secret?”

“I don’t know. Perhaps you should invite him over and ask him why.” Lydia rose and wrapped her arms around Georgiana. “I think he is the perfect man for you, but you won’t know until you ask him why he kept so many good qualities a secret.”

“Darcy will be so disappointed.”

“Not with you, but with a man who planned to become a bigamist.”

She smiled. “Yes. I’m sure once he reads both reports, he will choose Thomas as well.”

The Duchess Lydia

Amazon

Free for KU customers

More About the Author

Liza O’Connor’s favorite books are Pride & Prejudice and Douglas Adams’ four book trilogy, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Go figure…

Raised in the southern mid-section of U.S., Liza escaped to the East Coast once out of college. She’s worked as a journalist, a radio DJ, a security guard, a stock broker, a strategist, and a business solutions consultant to name a few of her many occupations.  Again…go figure.

She learned to fly planes, jump out of planes, hang-glide, kayak and scuba dive, to name of few of her ‘let’s kill Liza’ sports. However, her favorite activity is to hike with her dog Jess among the shaved mountains of NJ.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT

LIZA O'CONNOR

Investigate these sites:

Liza's Blog and Website   Facebook   Twitter

Google +

Check out Liza’s Many Books

The Duchess Lydia, a spin off from P&P by Liza O'Connor

How Lydia became an independent woman of wealth

Widowhood could emancipate a woman or send her into poverty, depending on the size of income she would receive from the dowry that her father had negotiated for her to have upon her marriage. 

Take Lady Russell from Persuasion. She did not remarry again from choice. Her independent life, free from money worries, was so improved without the presence of a husband. A husband could dictate her every move and take control over her possessions. Thus, she would be a fool to remarry unless she became very much in love.

While Lydia’s dowry was quickly wasted away by Wickham, Darby recognized her tenuous position and established a bank account for her in a different name, so she would always have some money that Wickham would not know about. Her lover, David, had then added to her account for each child she bore him. (This occurs in book 1) Thus, by book 2, Lydia has become a very wealthy woman, but not in the normal procedure. David’s final gift was his fine house in West End and half his treasures.

Lydia declares herself an independent lady of wealth, and never plans to marry again. Nor will she tell Darby exactly how she became so wealthy, which concerns him a great deal. Her new home and lifestyle are far beyond the money Darcy had given her and he cannot see how she could have possibly acquired sufficient wealth to afford the house she lives in.

BLURB

Thanks to the Duke of Rochester’s generosity and the death of Wickham, Lydia Bennet is now a wealthy, independent woman. When Lydia takes residence in the finest house in the West End, her brother-in-law, Darcy, is concerned that she is ‘over her head’.

Despite his concerns, Darcy retrieves his sister, Georgiana, from Pemberley and places her in Lydia’s home. The two young ladies, both recently widowed, form a strong sisterly bond and soon set out to find love again.

 Unfortunately, the man Lydia wishes to marry, David, the Duke of Rochester, is already contracted to marry another woman. When Lydia discovers the fiancée plans to murder David and his sons, she rallies her servants and friends, determined to stop the murderess at all costs. Will Lydia’s love of David and his boys triumph, or will the “Lady of Death” continue her path of destruction?

EXCERPT

“I was retrieving you a present,” Lydia scolded Darcy in return and approached him with the book held behind her back. “Did you enjoy Rob Roy?”

“I enjoyed it immensely.”

“Have you read Waverly?”

“No. That was the first book of the series and I must wait until it is republished. Collectors bought out all the first editions. I had a chance to acquire it once, but I thought the price outrageous so I foolishly didn’t buy it.”

Lydia smiled and presented him his book. “This is from Georgiana and me.”

His eyes rounded in shock as he realized it was Walter Scott’s Waverly. He gently removed it from her hands and opened the cover. “Lydia! This is signed by Walter Scott himself.”

“Indeed, it is.”

“This is a highly-prized book. Whoever owns this house would have you arrested for giving away such a treasure.”

“Oh, Darcy! You make matters so difficult! I want you to have the book.”

“It is not yours to give!” he insisted.

“Yes, it is. I own this house and all these books, and the priceless paintings as well. But this book, I want you to have.”

“Do you have proof you own this house?” he challenged.

“My men of business do.”

“I discovered who owned this house before,” he snapped. “I even contacted him to ensure you were legally allowed to be here.”

“Then you know it’s mine,” Lydia insisted.

“No, I don’t. He told me to mind my own business and to stay out of his.”

Lydia burst into laughter. “Oh, Darcy, you silly goose.”

SALES LINK

Amazon

Free for KU customers

More About the Author

Liza O’Connor’s favorite books are Pride & Prejudice and Douglas Adams’ four book trilogy, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Go figure…

Raised in the southern mid-section of U.S., Liza escaped to the East Coast once out of college. She’s worked as a journalist, a radio DJ, a security guard, a stock broker, a strategist, and a business solutions consultant to name a few of her many occupations.  Again…go figure.

She learned to fly planes, jump out of planes, hang-glide, kayak and scuba dive, to name of few of her ‘let’s kill Liza’ sports. However, her favorite activity is to hike with her dog Jess among the shaved mountains of NJ.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT

LIZA O'CONNOR

Investigate these sites:

Liza's Blog and Website   Facebook   Twitter

Google +

Check out Liza’s Many Books

A New Spinoff From P&P by Liza O'Connor: The Duchess Lydia

A NEW SPINOFF FROM

PRIDE & PREJUDICE

1st there was

UNTAMED & UNABASHED

With the 16yr old Lydia

Now there is the adult:

THE DUCHESS LYDIA

BLURB

Thanks to David’s generosity and the death of Wickham, Lydia Bennet is now a wealthy, independent woman. When Lydia takes residence in the finest house in the West End, her brother-in-law, Darcy, is concerned that she is ‘over her head’.

Despite his concerns, Darcy retrieves his sister, Georgiana, from Pemberley and places her with Lydia. The two young ladies, both recently widowed, form a strong sisterly bond and once their mourning is over, they set out to find love again.

Unfortunately, the man Lydia wishes to marry, David, the Duke of Rochester, is already contracted to marry another. When Lydia discovers this woman plans to murder David and his sons, she rallies her servants and friends, determined to stop her at all costs. Will Lydia’s love of David and his boys triumph, or will the “Lady of Death” continue her path of destruction?

EXCERPT

Darcy focused on Georgiana. “Perhaps you should go upstairs.”

“Darcy,” Georgiana sweetly replied, “Lydia will tell me whatever you say once you leave. You might as well let me hear it firsthand. But honestly, I don’t understand why you are so angry with Lydia. She just wanted to give you a very fine gift.”

“It will not be a very fine gift if I am arrested for possessing it,” Darcy snapped.

Lydia walked to the wall and tugged the servant’s bell. Simon arrived soon after. “Simon, would you please tell Darcy who owns this house.”

“You do, madam.”

“And the books in this library?”

“They are yours as well.”

“So, if I give a book to Darcy as a gift, will he be at risk of being arrested?”

“No, ma’am. But just be aware every book in this library is a first edition and most have been signed by the authors, so they are treasures, one and all.”

“Thank you, Simon. That will be all.” Once he left, she approached Darcy and placed her hand on the book he still held. “I want you to have this, Darcy. You gave me the greatest gift imaginable when you brought Georgiana to me. So allow me to give you a present in return.”

SALES LINK

Amazon

Free for KU customers

More About the Author

Liza O’Connor’s favorite books are Pride & Prejudice and Douglas Adams’ four book trilogy, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Go figure…

Raised in the southern mid-section of U.S., Liza escaped to the East Coast once out of college. She’s worked as a journalist, a radio DJ, a security guard, a stockbroker, a strategist, and a business solutions consultant to name a few of her many occupations.  Again…go figure.

She learned to fly planes, jump out of planes, hang-glide, kayak and scuba dive, to name of few of her ‘let’s kill Liza’ sports. However, her favorite activity is to hike with her dog Jess among the shaved mountains of NJ.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT

LIZA O'CONNOR

Investigate these sites:

Liza's Blog and Website   Facebook   Twitter

Google +

Check out Liza’s Many Books