The Reluctant Amazon
The Alliance of the Amazons, #1
My Review: Here
Date of Publication: September 3, 2012
Number of pages: 300
Word Count: 96,000
Available at the following retailers:
The last thing Rebecca Massee expects on her wedding day is to go from jilted kindergarten teacher to Amazonian Earth warrior. But when she causes an earthquake after her groom says I don't, she discovers that not only does she possess incredible powers, she is one of four lost chosen sisters who must fight to keep humanity safe from rogue gods and demons. Luckily she has help: ruggedly handsome Scottish warrior Artair MacKay, her protector and teacher.
An immortal, Artair has trained countless warriors for more than four hundred years. He understands Rebecca's confusion at the new world she's been thrust into and worries she is too emotionally vulnerable, but that doesn't stop his growing feelings for the beautiful and fearless woman.
When an evil force threatens to destroy the Amazons, Rebecca must claim her full powers--but they come at a cost. Can she sacrifice the man she loves if it means saving the world?
The Impetuous Amazon
The Alliance of the Amazons, #2
My Review: Here
Date of Publication: January 14, 2013
Number of pages: 261
Word Count: 92,000
Available at the following retailers:
Megan Feurer is strong and impetuous, like the Fire element she represents. She is an Amazon, sworn to protect humanity from demons, demigods and all manner of supernatural beings who wish ill upon the world. But her fire burns hot and fast, and her unpredictable control of the element brings into question her fitness as an Amazon.
Johann Herrmann chose the life of a Sentinel—a trainer of the four Amazons—to save his sister’s life. Now bound to the patron goddess Rhiannon, he knows his duty demands a solitary existence. But when he’s assigned to evaluate the Fire Amazon, his sacrifice becomes much more difficult.
Megan’s passions ignite a flame that neither she nor Johann can control, and the goddess Freya has reason to fan those flames. A mysterious force is gaining power, and Megan and Johann must join together to fight. And once a passionate fire has started, it’s nearly impossible to stop…
The Brazen Amazon
The Alliance of the Amazons, #3
My Review: Here
Date of Publication: May 6, 2013
Number of pages: 291
Word Count: 103,000
Available at the following retailers:
Zach Hanson is a tech wizard, capable of creating and improving gadgets—including remote nuclear warhead launchers. But he's always known that he's destined for something more, something greater, something...supernatural.
Powerful Air Amazon Gina Himmel is one of four sisters called to protect the world from those who would do it harm. Demigods in league with an Ancient have been taking over the bodies of leaders in the military and technological sectors, and Gina is sent to San Francisco to watch over Zach.
Under Gina's protection, Zach is introduced to a world of ancient deities, rogue gods and the bold, brazen Amazons who keep humanity safe. Amidst the whirlwind of battle, Zach and Gina discover a love that could give them the power to save the world—or destroy it.
The Volatile Amazon
The Alliance of the Amazons, #4
My Review: Here
Date of Publication: September 30, 2013
Number of pages: 287
Word Count: 99,000
Available at the following retailers:
Ian serves a twisted goddess, preferring this to an empty afterlife. He’s taken Sarita hostage to coax the other Amazons from their safe haven. But in his ancient Scottish castle, the passion and love Ian finds for Sarita resurrect his honor, until he chafes at the dark will of his mistress.
Sarita has finally found happiness—but before she can enjoy it, she’s “rescued” by her furious sisters. To save Ian from destruction at the hands of the Amazons, Sarita must risk wielding magick that could change her very nature. Only then can she prove the Water Amazon is the strongest of the four—and save them all from destruction.
Meet Earth, Fire, Air & Water in The Reluctant Amazon, The Impetuous Amazon, The Brazen Amazon, and The Volatile Amazon.
And the Myth that started it all...
A Myth...
As the blade thrust through Arthur’s heart, Rhiannon had felt her own heart bleed. Now, the Lady of the Lake stood on a distant hill, staring down upon the carnage on Salisbury Plain. Rhiannon loved these people, these warriors, these knights who had sworn their allegiance to her Arthur. Aye, she loved them all. At least as much as a goddess could love humans. She had offered them her benevolence, and their worship had fed her powers.
The flash of light announced the arrival of another Ancient. Rhiannon glanced to the Norse goddess Freya of Folkvang who now stood at her side.
“See what she has wrought?” The Lady of the Lake swept her arm out. “My own priestess!”
“Morgaine the witch?” Freya flipped her long, white-blonde hair over her shoulder.
“Aye. One and the same. She had no right, Freya.”
“Aye, my friend. So much trouble in this world caused by those who wish they could be one of our legion.”
Another flash of light brought the Mayan goddess Ix Chel, another Rhiannon counted among her friends. Her dark eyes scanned the bloody landscape as she fisted her hands at her side.
“A shame. Such a waste of life,” Ix Chel finally said with a shake of her head. “And your Arthur?”
“Dead. By the hand of his bastard son,” Rhiannon replied. She closed her eyes and sighed. Then she opened them again to look at Freya. “This must end. This senseless killing must end.”
“Aye, it must.” Freya gave her a decisive nod before her face grew pensive. “But how? Men are wont to kill men. ’Tis the way of the humans. Never happy with what they have, always seeking more, more, more.”
“Not all their kind,” the Indian goddess Ganga said as she shimmered from another realm to stand at Ix Chel’s side. “The human women live in peace.”
Ix Chel and Freya murmured their agreement.
Rhiannon turned to stare at Ganga. “What say you?”
“Should women rule, there would be no more death. Women are givers of life, not takers. And we all know women are of superior intelligence.” Ganga gave them a cocky smile. “Just as goddesses are superior to gods.”
Rhiannon’s hand swept out again, showing Ganga the death upon Salisbury Plain. “See you my knights? ’Twas a woman who caused this.”
“Not a woman,” Ganga replied. “A witch. A force of evil in this world. The women, the human women, are a gift. They love. They give. They survive. If only women could rule the humans.”
“Nay,” Freya said, idly stroking the brown fur trimming the sleeve of her long gown. “’Tis a foolish wish. They have not the power. Men have the muscle, the strength. They shall always force their will upon others. Women use their intelligence and compassion instead.”
“Just as goddesses are more benevolent than gods,” Ix Chel added.
Her friends murmured their agreement, but Rhiannon didn’t bother to correct that misassumption. She’d encountered too many goddesses over the millennia who were more than willing to prove they could be every bit as ruthless as the gods.
“’Tis a shame,” she finally said, “that we cannot give their women the power of their men and force their men to be the caretakers of their children. Aye, let them labor to bring those children into the world. All the men do is receive the pleasure of the mating act. The women suffer the consequences.”
“That would be wonderful,” Ganga said with a grin. “A bit of justice such as a poet would impose.”
“Hmm,” Freya said, laying a finger against her cheek. “Perhaps…”
Rhiannon stared at Freya, knowing the way her friend’s mind worked. “You are about mischief again.”
A smile broke out on Freya’s face. “We may not be able to give all the women the strength of men…” Her voice faded as her smile grew even brighter. “Perhaps we can give that power to some of the women.”
Ganga clapped her hands as she seemed to warm to the idea. “Not women. Warriors. Women of impeccable character who have the heart and courage to do the right thing, even when it is the most difficult thing to do.”
Ix Chel smiled as well. “Women who will guard against the men who would rule in our stead.”
“Not merely men, but against all who would rule in our place,” Rhiannon said. “Aye. I will make such a warrior. No, several warriors. At least one in each generation. One whose heart is bound to my Earth.” The more her mind worked, the more Rhiannon felt the weight of her great loss ease. “I shall give her skills and magicks with which to destroy those who try to usurp the power of the Ancients. She shall make the ground move as she wishes, creating earthquakes with naught but her will. She shall have domain over the plants and animals, and they will do her bidding. She will live a very long life, should she not die in battle. Longer than mere mortals. And she shall be replaced by another woman of my Earth upon her death.”
“I could add a warrior with my benevolence and grant her the power of Fire,” Freya offered. “She may use flames as her weapon and change into one of my beloved hawks to search the heavens for trouble.” Freya gave Rhiannon an affectionate cuff on the shoulder. “Aye. A marvelous idea, my friend. A duo of women who could hunt down troublesome demigods.”
“And witches. Perhaps even demons,” Ix Chel added with a grin. “Not a duo. A trio. I shall give one of these remarkable women the power of my sky. The power to use Air for her will, to know not the confines of gravity. She may harness the strength of a storm, and she shall rain down lightning as a weapon.”
“And my beloved river,” Ganges said, “shall flow through the veins of my Water. She shall swim as the mermaids, control the waters with her heart and heal the other warriors who fight at her side, just as the sacred Ganges heals those who worship me.”
Freya suddenly frowned. “’Twould be unfair to those we call. I had not thought of the sacrifice we would be asking of these warriors.”
“Aye,” Rhiannon said. “They are sure to die in battle.”
“They must not have children,” Ganga added. “Bearing children would keep them confined while the child grows inside them, and a family could easily be used against them, held as hostages to bend our warriors to a demon’s will.”
“Aye.” Rhiannon sighed. “They will sacrifice much in the cause to protect our people and receive little in return.” Another fascinating idea rolled through her mind. She snapped her fingers as the ground rumbled in response to her emotions. “We should gift them with something to ease the pain that they cannot be mothers.”
“Gift them?” Ix Chel asked, knitting her brows.
Rhiannon nodded, a smile forming on her lips. “Since they shall fight like men—they should love like men. They may take lovers where they choose, when they choose.”
“’Tis a wicked thought, that they may lie with any man,” Freya said with laughter in her voice, “as if they are Ancients, loving freely and often.”
“But it is truly a fitting gift.” Ix Chel maintained her typically sober tone. “To aid in their pleasure, no sickness shall infect them. Let them find their amusements where they may for they will be like the shooting stars in my sky. Bright and brilliant but, with the battles they face, sometimes not long for this world.”
Rhiannon held her hand out, her palm facing her beloved Earth. “Then a pact we have made here today. Four women, gleaned from each generation should evil befall the humans, who will work for the good of humanity and protect them from those who would destroy them.”
Freya laid her hand over Rhiannon’s. Ix Chel and Ganga quickly followed.
“And we,” Ganga said, letting her gaze fall on each of the goddesses, “shall be allies from this day. Our warriors—”
“Our Amazons,” Rhiannon interrupted with a bold smirk.
Freya laughed. “You are challenging Artemis by using the name of her warriors, my friend. Will you two forever be at odds?”
“Aye,” Rhiannon drawled. “Until she learns who the more powerful Ancient is, we shall. Her arrogance sits like a thistle under my skin. So I shall take the name of her women for my own.”
“So be it,” Ganga replied. “Our Amazons will have our benevolence. Earth, Fire, Air and Water.”
“But who shall train them?” Ix Chel asked, a quizzical frown on her face.
“I shall provide a man,” Rhiannon replied, “a great warrior such as my Arthur who shall answer to us for the training and care of our chosen women.”
“You know such men?” Freya asked. “Men like your knights who lie on Salisbury Plain are not plentiful.”
Rhiannon glanced back to her fallen warriors, those who had followed her Arthur to his death. “Nay, not plentiful, but I know of such men. They call to me in tragedy, asking my help when one they love has fallen. I shall answer the right one and place him as the soldier to show our Amazons the way. He shall be a gatekeeper to a home I will provide. A Sentinel to guard over a new Avalon.”
“What gifts shall you give to him, this warrior who nobly sacrifices his future for one he loves?” Freya asked. Rhiannon replied with a haughty smile. “I shall give them the greatest gift that comes from my Earth. Immortality.”
Ix Chel shook her head. “No, you mustn’t. The other Ancients would surely resent such a gift. He must have a weakness, as each demigod or demon has a weakness.”
“As even we each have a weakness,” Ganga added. “He is, after all, still a mere human.”
Rhiannon agreed, although she hated constraints being put on her magicks. As one of the most powerful of all the Ancients, she shouldn’t have to bow to the wishes of the legion. But the anger of the other gods and goddesses wouldn’t fall to her; it would fall to the Amazons. “I relent to your wishes. A blade piercing his heart can cost him his life.”
“We shall shield each other.” Ganga’s words stilled the goddesses for a few moments.
“Each other?” Ix Chel finally asked, breaking the silence.
Ganga added, “For the other Ancients will be angered at our interference.”
Rhiannon nodded. “From this day forth, we four shall stand firm, protecting our Amazons and each other so that we may all protect the world.”
Four divine voices joined in power and in pledge, changing the fate of humanity. “So be it!”
Personal Note:
As a book blogger, one of my great joys and responsibilities is to read and give honest reviews and recommendations on books to others for consideration. On my personal journey in the book blogging world, I have come across some great reads and met some wonderful people. Some of those people are fellow bloggers, some are followers and some are authors of the books themselves.
Ms Sandy James is an author that I discovered on my blogging journey. She delighted me from the first book I read, The Reluctant Amazon and hasn't stopped through three different series. The Alliance of the Amazon Series holds a special place in my heart, though. And I think she knows this because I am constantly asking when the spin off, Sons of Gaia will be coming out. (She keeps promising that she is working on it! ☺) I have become one of her biggest fans and supporters.
And so I was honored when she asked me about doing a special post to help her and her family.
Right now, Ms. James' family is going through a very rough patch. Her husband of 32 years is fighting stage 3 colon cancer. Since she has taken a leave of absence to be by his side, and with the medical costs, needless to say this has been not only a physical and emotional strain, but now a financial one as well.
Let's help her and her family out and buy a book, or two. This is such a simple way to help. For a couple of bucks, you can show your support. PLUS you get a shiny story!! In your choice of Romance Genres!! We all talk about supporting authors, here's a chance to really make a difference when it's needed.
Below is more details from the Februrary Newsletter:
Things in my world have been difficult since the school year began in August. First, I lost my beloved pet, my Schnauzer, Carter. Then my mother had a massive stroke on her September 15th birthday and passed away a few days later. The week of final exams, I had to take my husband to the ER for what we thought was a nasty stomach bug like the one I'd had the week before. Instead, the rug was yanked right out from under our lives. A CAT scan showed his colon had ruptured and he had a massive infection.
After emergency surgery, Jeff went septic. He was put into a drug-induced coma so he could be placed on a ventilator, then his kidneys shut down. For several tense days, he was given dialysis and medicines to keep his blood pressure from falling. After a second emergency surgery, he took a turn for the better. He spent a total of ten days in ICU, and thank God, he made it through that infection--especially since I was told he only had a 50/50 chance. The hospital was his "home" for twenty-four days. Unfortunately, we also learned his rupture had been caused by colon cancer. He's currently undergoing chemotherapy. Please keep him in your prayers!
The drama continued when my father passed away in January. Needless to say, all this loss has devastated me, both mentally and physically. I'm on leave of absence from teaching right now to help Jeff through chemotherapy and to get a grip on my lupus. Stress has taken a toll. The good news is that Jeff's prognosis is good, and although chemotherapy isn't easy, it offers him hope for beating this damned disease.
Thank you all again for all of your support through these trying times! I truly appreciate the posts on Facebook and Twitter as well as the emails and cards!
With much love,
Sandy
Author Bio:
She is published through Forever Yours, Carina Press, and BookStrand, as well as self-published. She has been an Amazon Bestseller many times and has won numerous awards, including two HOLT Medallions.
To connect with the author online:
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Amazon Page | Pinterest | Goodreads
Thank you so much!! <3
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