KAREN’S KILLER BOOK BENCH: Welcome to Karen’s Killer Book Bench where readers can discover talented new authors and take a peek inside their wonderful books. This is not an age-filtered site so all book peeks are PG-13 or better. Come back and visit often. Happy reading!
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A HOST OF ANGELS
Angel Sisters Book 1
BY CATHERINE LAMPSHIRE
Blurb
Cast down from heaven, or so little Lailah says. Virtuous, principled, and incorruptible SERAPHIMA (SERA) ANGEL finds herself in Paradise. Nursing her wounds and setting up her doctors practice. This new sanctuary comes with its own archangel GABRIEL SLAYER, a widower with two children. Owner of a California, Sierra Nevada ranch named Paradise.
Cast down Gabriel vows to protect and watch over Sera as she recovers from injuries incurred in a plane crash and from those seeking to return her to the Devil himself, Luther Devlin, an underworld boss and owner of Lust, a casino in Reno.
Devlin will not be denied and demands to have what he desires—Sera. Those who cross him won’t long outlive his wrath. He lusts after Sera. Sera will be the cost her gambling addicted fiancé must pay to make good the debt owed to Luther. His life that will be the fee for that last first kiss.
As love between Sera and Gabriel grows, so too does danger. More than one snake lurks in Paradise. With lives and property at risk, will the presence of undiscovered demons and evil acts make Sera flee her new haven? Not if her warrior angel has his say.
When Sera is spirited away, it will take A HOST OF ANGELS to see her returned to where she is meant to be—Paradise.
A HOST OF ANGELS
Angel Sisters Book 1
BY CATHERINE LAMPSHIRE
Excerpt
Looking out the window, I can see we’re flying directly into the storm.
What are storms but a mixture of the two competing forces? A battle that unites and creates something awesomely terrifying in its strength and power. Destructive and cleansing at the same time. Oh, how I long to cleanse away all the filth that has entered my life of late. Maybe the heavens will open up and do me a favor.
How I wish to possess some of that passionate power.
My passion has always been directed toward helping those in need. That’s why I became a doctor. Instead of working in a hospital network or having my own private practice, I work for Global Medicine, an NGO funded through generous private donations. A team of doctors who routinely visit places where quality medical care is limited.
I’m a general practitioner with additional training and certification as an OBGYN. I’m not a plastic surgeon or any other kind of specialist. I might not conduct extreme lifesaving or life altering surgeries that get the lion’s share of media attention, but I do make a difference.
Delivering babies, helping pregnant women, administering prenatal care and inoculations, and treating illnesses within my repertoire are just as necessary for a high quality of life. Besides, it frees up others to do their important work.
How ironic that it’s that passion for my work and the difference my team and I make that got me where I am, here, stuck on this plane, a prisoner.
Unlike David, my former fiancé, I don’t come from money. My family isn’t wealthy. What we are rich in is love and determination. No strangers to hard work and perseverance. Good grades got me scholarships and acceptance into a good college and medical program. Working several jobs enabled me to support myself so I wouldn’t be a financial burden to my family. One of those jobs is modeling. I fell into it as a youth and have continued with it, working on the side when I’m not traveling the world with Global Medicine.
For the past several years, Global Medicine has been my life. We live and work on an outdated and refurbished cruise ship donated by one of the cruise lines. Each member of the team has their own cabin unless people want to share. The ship has been outfitted to serve as a floating hospital complete with several surgical theaters, waitingrooms, rooms to house overnight patients, and rooms in which to see and treat patients.
Sometimes there is more space onboard than we use. Knowing this, Peter wanted to use it for his own purposes. Peter works for a man who operates a drug cartel. He’s constantly looking for mules or methods to transport illegal drugs to key destinations.
We’re medical professionals. As such, rarely are we scrutinized by government agencies searching for illegal contraband. That might all change once the issue with David goes public. Who would suspect a floating hospital of concealing and transporting illegal drugs? Right? That’s what Peter counted on. We already have numerous controlled substances on board, but all are for medical purposes.
I know some among my team with lower ethical standards may be tempted. Heck, the pay Peter, or his boss, promises is alluring, but once you sign up there’s no getting out. You’ve just sold your soul.
David discovered this the hard way.
The only way to call it quits is to die. Should you get caught with the junk? Not even heaven can help you avoid retribution.
Depending on where exactly one gets caught, death may come knocking on the door any way. Or worse, a person may spend years behind bars in a third world country. Even if they are lucky and get a reprieve, they’ll lose their medical license and never work in the field again. Think of the wasted years and dollars spent. In the end it just isn’t worth it. At least by my way of thinking. Not so for others…
Best bet, in my estimation—stick with your ethical standards and personal code of integrity. Don’t get involved.
Thing is, I have moral fiber. I’m not bragging. It’s what it is. My parents taught my sisters and I right from wrong. For goodness sakes, they named me Seraphima Angel. You know like in seraphim. The Seraphim are the angels that sit closest to the throne of God and sing holy holy holy.
The Seraphim are the highest-ranking order of angels according to many Christian faiths. They are celestial beings filled with passion for doing God’s holy work. Some claim them to be six-winged divine messengers. A few ancient texts describe seraphim as winged dragons or serpents, even phoenixes, and ‘flying elements of the sun.’ All my sisters’s names have to do with the goodness and purity of angels.
Living up to our name was mandatory in my parent’s household. My sisters and I did not dare disappoint our parents. We were always expected to act like angels because we were Angels. It sounds a bit tongue in cheek but for my parents, they were serious. They weren’t evangelical uber conservative in their faith. They were quirky people who had high expectations and saw things in black and white when it came to raising their daughters.
As a result, I was never a problem child. Never has my integrity, my honesty been questioned. Doing the right thing is what got me into trouble. Go figure.
Meet Author Catherine Lampshire…
For Catherine, life has ever been an adventure. Her eclectic tastes come naturally along with an abundance of curiosity and the thirst to explore the world around her. Her life’s experiences as a member of a military family often traveling and relocating to places around the world have helped with that. By the age of twenty-four, she had visited every continent but one. This semi-nomadic life helped foster a love of history, reading, and adventure, sparking her imagination. Years as a historical reenactor and interpreter fueled her drive to teach. For over twenty years Catherine was a high school history teacher before she began to seriously write down the stories filling her head. When not writing, Catherine can be found traveling with her husband, working in her garden or taking walks with Mr. Pickle
Interesting premise….but I’d throw this into a PNR romantic suspense category…Nice to meet you, Catherine and thanks, Karen.
This sounds like a must read, Catherine! I liked what I read in the blurb and excerpt! You’re a new author to me. Thank you for sharing this! I’ll check out your other books!
Thanks Karen!
Good morning, Catherine, and welcome to to Karen’s Killer Book Bench. What an interesting premise. Sera sounds like a wonderful character. I’ve never read anything with a medical professional outside the U.S. She’s gotten herself into a pickle. Can’t wait to see how she gets herself out. Thanks for sharing your book with us today!
This sounds intriguing, definitely a romantic suspense. Thanks for sharing your book with us today.
Oh, love the title and it sounds like the sisters’ stories should be very engaging
Sounds like a Great Read 📚
Thanks for coming and sharing your work with us
Your books sound like great reads .