GIANNA"S LATEST NEWS

A Five Star Review for The Journey: "Lovely Paranormal Erotic Romance With a World View"


Hot Chocolate Kiss is now out of print, but I have copies.

Specials on packages and personalization


Upcoming Events:


February 6, 2016
Meriden, Connecticut

March 18-20, 2016


Past Appearances:

A Paranormal Author Goes Straight The Book Boost 8/29/11



Friday, January 22, 2016

The Romance Reviews Valentine's Day Celebration

I'm doing something a little bit different this year for Valentine's Day.  Hot Chocolate Kiss is out of print, but I have print copies.  Contact me if you're interested via my Amazon Marketplace page.  The Journey is still available from Eternal Press in both print and ebook.

Special Valentine's Day gift packages are available including signed books and a box of chocolates. Contact me.

Hot Chocolate Kiss is a short, sweet, and sexy. Guys love it thanks to the sports both on and off the slopes

The Journey is a great novella for those who love historically based plots, a love story, and lots of magic and intrigue.


I'm giving away an ebook of The Journey to one lucky participant in The Romance Reviews Valentines Day Party.

Go To The Event Log In





Keep reading for the answers to the questions you'll need to enter. 

Have Fun!




An Excerpt of Hot Chocolate Kiss
The blonde perched on a stool wore boots that looked like she’d strapped a husky dog to each leg. Keela doubted she had ever skied in her life. That sleek blonde ponytail wouldn't fit under a helmet, and she'd freeze her perky tits and tight ass off wearing that pink fleece jacket and black spandex pants.


She prattled out the usual disclaimers while processing the credit card transaction. "No refunds for conditions. The gondolas are closed due to high winds. Only the open chairs are going to the summit, and we might have to close them as well. The ski patrol has put up an extreme weather alert: no exposed skin, take frequent re-warming breaks."

Keela tried not to sound bitchy. This wasn't one of Ken's girlfriends. The kid was just doing her job. "Thanks for the tips."

After securing the $75.00 ticket on her parka and putting on every piece of protective equipment in her pack, she waddled out the door like a stuffed pig, sweating like one, too.

She knocked the ice off the bottom of her boots with her poles and clicked into the bindings. No matter who I’m with, it’s always me against the mountain—alone.

Keela skated over to the lift where the same guy she’d met outside the can was working. "It’s the Tuckerman lady." He winked and guided the chair under her butt.

She couldn't see the rest of his face but imagined him licking his lips.

The lift swept her up, and he called out, "Seriously, be careful. I’ll buy you a Hot Chocolate Kiss when you come down from the summit, sister."

I don't think so, dude. No more being treated like a buddy who happened to have a receptacle instead of a plug. No more schlepping boots and ski equipment, plus a backpack full of camping gear to the summit of Mount Washington , dodging rockslides and avalanches, to ski Tuckerman Ravine. No more romantic nights crammed into a lean-to, surrounded by a unisex cadre of other idiots, with a sleeping bag, thermals, and Gore-Tex to light her fire.               View the Trailer




           An excerpt of The Journey

Villagers swarmed around the dappled gray stallion to obstruct her passage. They buzzed like flies on  dung. Since the day Milena stumbled dazed and disoriented out of the Swampscott forest, and Hecabe'slair, they'd branded her a sorceress. Thomas found her huddled near the docks, knowing little of the world and nothing of her origins, surviving only by an innate ability to forage and perform simple magic. He transformed her from an illiterate, illegitimate enigma with his love and attention, teaching her numbers, letters and the ways of the civilized.


If not for the laws on the books, and the protection Thomas provided, Milena would have been hanged. Being shunned was the extent of her punishment. And for that she owed him her loyalty and fidelity. Perhaps the winds of war blowing since Lincoln 's election and the Southerners' secession now occupied the Northerners' attention, but Milena knew prejudice to be a blinder as effective as those used on skittish work horses.

"Go back into the woods where you belong, witch." A woman reached up and tugged Milena's ebony plaits. "Immodesty in dress and action. No cap covering your hair, devil worship at the full moon."

Greystone reared. The crowd fled the horse's shrill whinny and pawing hooves.

The woman spat on the ground. "Good riddance, demoness. Ride your ghost mount back whence you came."

Milena clutched the horse's middle with her legs, regained her balance and continued on to the docks. The gray, sticky aura of the sea's wrath shrouded everything in Milena's sight. Whitecaps frothed on the bay. Plumes of sea spray surged through the planks with each swell the agitated waters. A steady wind dispersed black clouds over the town.

Hateful eyes glared from a safe distance. She tethered Greystone and walked into the shipping company office. Her footsteps echoed in the room. The workers fell silent.

She approached the purser's desk. He surveyed her from the neckline of her sackcloth dress down to the battered boots on her feet. "What business have you here, witch?"

"To inquire after Thomas Harper." Milena ignored her heart pounding and stared directly into his eyes. He would not intimidate her.

"And of what interest is he to you?" A smirk spread over his face.

The vision of Thomas headed into the forest on the day he left flashed through her mind. Milena's voice quavered despite her effort. "He's my husband."

Unmoved, the brute spoke with the venom of a poisonous snake. "His ship was last seen leaving Cay West on two months ago. The ship went down, but no one knows where." His crooked smile indicated perverse delight in delivering the news. Despair surged through Milena's body like lightning. Her heart trembled with grief, the empty pit in her soul ached. Why had the spirits not spoken the truth? She would not show any vulnerability, she would not react, she would not give them the pleasure of seeing her cry.







Sunday, November 9, 2014

I'm At The Fifty Authors From FIfty States Blog

It's been a very long year with lots of changes. I still have business in New York City, but I am living in Vermont now. It's a bittersweet return, since no one or nothing I left behind is here with me. But still, there is a great deal of comfort in being out in the peace of nature

Now that the uproar is dying down, I hope to get back to writing fiction. First up, finding a new home for Hot Chocolate Kiss, which is out of print with Eternal Press. But I still have copies if you'd like one.  The Journey will be available from the Eternal Press website for another year, but I am still offering my special personalized gift packages for holidays and special gifts.

Check the banner above for the Eternal Press discount code.

Next up, writing the rest of the Sexy Seasons Series and finishing At Home With Peter and Sandra in the Suburbs.

For now, hop over to Annette Snyder's blog and check out all my news.



Thursday, August 28, 2014

Inside the Mind of Paranormal Author

Here is a reprint of a post I wrote both on this blog and for Whipped Cream Reviews, just after I photographed a spectral orb (be sure to blow up both the pictures of the cemetery or you will not be able to see it).  Just so you know where I get my inspirations.

I once sailed out of Camden, Maine for a four day Windjammer cruise--no electricity, no running water, a marine "head" that you have to pump to flush. I had to help hoist the sails, drop the sheets, and even got to sit next to the captain at the tiller. The Windjammer I sailed on dated from the late 1870s, so it was easy to imagine it was the 19th Century. And perhaps because I grew up on and around sailboats, the sensation of walking the decks early in the morning or late at night, alone, seemed familiar, like I'd been there, done that. Those experiences helped me write The Journey-a love story with an action/adventure plot featuring a witch and a sailor just before the Civil War. 

This year, we took a two-hour cruise out of Provincetown, Massachusetts, on the Kalmar Nyckel, a three masted (with three crow's nests) replica of a 1625 Dutch Pinnace. I again got to help hoist the sails of my imagination and time travel back to the days of the pirates. That was topped off by a visit to the Pirate Museum at P-town's Macmillan Wharf, where artifacts from the slave ship/pirate vessel of Black Sam Bellamy, Captain of the Wyhdah, are on display. Blackbeard was one of Bellamy's apprentices and the displays are appropriately creepy enough to have lit a spark for me to write a pirate yarn—with a female captain, of course. 

Provincetown, as many towns on Cape Cod, was colonized in the 1600s, and a ghost tour of the labyrinthine streets lined with quaint historic inns, taverns, and haunted mansions was the perfect ending to the night. I've never been afraid of ghosts, and maybe that's why they allow me to feel their presence in such a real way. We weren't disappointed, and photographed an orb over a gravesite in one of P-town's five cemeteries, and noted a lot of electromagnetic activity on a cool (free) application Paranormal States.

So, that's a glimpse of how the mind of a paranormal author works—and how I do my research. It might be my imagination that allows me to conjure the images, emotions, characters and eventually the plots that go alone with them, but outdoors, on the sea, on the shore, in the woods, and on the mountains where nature is in her full glory-both beautiful and terrible, the boundary between the real and surreal, between the natural and supernatural, between the worlds, time blurs, morphs, expands and contracts, trapping me in a very special place. One I hate to leave.

Check out my pictures on Facebook

The Journey

Hot Chocolate Kiss is no longer available at Eternal Press, but I have copies! This is a delightful short story that makes a great gift for a special guy--they love the action both on and off the slopes.

Contact Gianna for print copies in Gift Packages, which include either or both The Journey and Hot Chocolate Kiss, plus a box of chocolates.

Sunday, February 9, 2014

The Eternal Press Authors' Valentine Blog Hop Begins Today



Here are some excerpts of The Journey (the prize I'm donating to this blog hop). And our publisher Kim Richards will also be sending out some great gifts from Eternal Press to the winner as well. 

Another little gift for you! Hop over to http://www.eternalpress.biz/  and use promo code 20EPdb14 at check out for 25% off your entire ebook order.

Don't worry, If the blog hop winner has already bought The Journey, I'll substitute a copy of Hot Chocolate Kiss instead. And send some chocolates to sweeten the prize. And if you already have both my books, I've got some great titles from other EP authors not on the blog hop to toss into the grand prize. YOU CAN'T LOSE!

Special Valentine Gift packages including either or both of my titles (wrapped up with chocolates) are available. Email me for details and personalization. There's still time to get them by Friday.


So, welcome to the Eternal Press Authors Valentine Blog Hop!
Here are the rules:

*Leave a comment and your email address anytime from February 9th through February 15th at 5 p.m. Eastern time for a chance to win 1 of 3 grand prize packages of 7 e-books from the fabulous and talented authors listed below.

*Be sure to visit each author and comment to increase your chance of winning.

*PSSST participating authors will be holding their own drawings as well...so check out their temptations! Eternal Press has kicked in some swag for our wonderful hoppers and each author will be drawing for that awesome give away!

Don't forget to keep hopping and commenting at our Eternal Press authors listed below

Scroll all the way to the bottom for another little surprise.......











Somer’s Rising, Book 2 of the McRaidy Clan




For The Love Of His Life




The Journey





Secrets Revealed



Passion Surrender releasing 2014



Kissing Another Grimaldi



Forgotten Legends



Angel in My Heart, Devil in My Soul



Apocalipstick



Dare to Breathe



Escaped


Silent Heart



Jade



Red Dahlia



Affaire de Coeur



Deep Green


It seems like just last year that I was gearing up for the Winter Olympics—and for the release of my first book with Eternal Press. But it was 2010—and Lindsay Vonn was the sweetheart of the United States Olympic Team. She reminded me of Keela, the tough athletic heroine in Hot Chocolate Kiss. In fact, many of my blogs and appearances throughout the release month and winter of that year included references to Lindsay and her Olympic performances.

 But it's really 2014, and Hot Chocolate Kiss is off contract with Eternal Press, in out of print limbo. I still have a few print copies that I'd love to send to anyone who wants a special Valentine's Gift for someone. Guys love this hot, short and sweet story for all the action on and off the slopes. The Journey, my second title with Eternal Press, was also released in 2010—on the cusp of the new year. And like, Lindsay Vonn, I've had my share of injuries and romantic trials and tribulations that derailed my fitness and exercise routine-- and my writing. She's not complaining, and neither am I.  She's got a new boyfriend (Tiger Woods—go figure after what he did to his wife), and is making the best of a bad situation. I've had to find time to write in between moving and getting settled once again in Vermont, very close to Haystack Mountain (where Hot Chocolate Kiss takes place). It's changed—like most of us and most things—now a private club, but my memories of good times there with family and friends keep me warm on those cold Northern nights.

 So my book, my life, and my writing are in limbo right now—but over the next year I hope we'll both have new homes and a new life. The Journey continues on for two more years with Eternal Press—just like life it's all subject to change. I'm still working on my contemporary project—a funny collection of erotic shorts, At Home with Sandra and Peter in the Suburbs, with just one final story to write before it goes in search of a home. No, the last couple of years hasn't been easy—juggling work, family, and writing responsibilities. But in the works of Lindsay Vonn "If you go around being afraid, you're never going to enjoy life. You have only one chance, so you've got to have fun."


Monday, July 1, 2013

Chistmas In July-25-50% Off All Eternal Press Titles

I have been quiet, but I have been busy. Plans are in place to finish At Home With Peter and Sandra in the Suburbs--a contemporary erotic collection of shorts. And I'm plotting the the rest of the Sexy Seasons stories to complement Hot Chocolate Kiss. 

Since I'm moving back to Vermont--well at least becoming a commuter between states--there is a good chance all the stories except one will be set in New England. The summer installment, Sex on the Beach involves surfing so Florida (where Kens's daughter lives) or Hawaii seem more likely though there is very good surfing on Cape Cod (that's were I took lessons for research purposes).

Anyway, if you haven't read Hot Chocolate Kiss--or would like to give it as a gift-- that book and The Journey, an erotic novella with a historical/nautical theme are part of the Coffee Time Romance sale in July.

Both are 50% off here.




For anyone that would like print books or personalized gift packages,  when you order through my Amazon Marketplace site. Before shipping,  I will contact you regarding personalization and gift options to sweeten that deal as well.

Scroll down to the bottom of this blog to view the trailers or go here.

Excerpts are here.

Happy Summer! Happy Shopping!

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Welcome to the Eternal Press Valentine's Day Blog Hop!



Eternal Press Authors for Eternal Love
Valentines Blog Hop and Contest!

Readers! Would you like to win free E-books from your favorite Eternal Press authors?
How?
Rules: Each time a "Hopper" leaves a comment and email address on a participating author's blog, the "Hopper gets another entry in the drawing (8 possible entries)!!

Comments will be tallied from February 14, 2013 through February 16, 2013 at midnight (eastern time). The winner will be drawn on February 17, 2013.

We've made it easy because we Love our Readers!

Remember to visit all the authors below and leave a comment and email address
for an entry to the
Eternal Press Authors for Eternal Love Valentine's Blog Hop and Contest


Barbara Winkes - Winter Storm (sequel to Autumn Leaves) www.barbarawinkes.blogspot.ca

Em Epe – Only Because it was You, Gus McRaidy http://www.emeperomances.blogspot.com/

Gianna Bruno - The Journey or Hot Chocolate Kiss (winner's choice) http://giannabruno.blogspot.com

Jacqueline Paige – Salvation http://jacqpaige.blogspot.com/

Leanna Harrow - Killing the Desire http://authorteasereadings.wordpress.com

Linda Hays-Gibbs - Angel in My Heart, Devil in My Soul http://www.lindahaysgibbs.blogspot.com

Maeve Alpin - Conquistadors In Outer Space http://maevealpin.wordpress.com/

Stephanie O'Hanlon - Affaire de Coeur www.stephanieohanlonwriter.blogspot.ca





I'm really excited that I will be skiing at Haystack on President's Day weekend! It's been reopened and I'm going back to my old hometown to actually look for a romantic cabin in the woods. HCK wasn't conceived there, but I adapted a real life stormy experience at another mountain to my beloved Vermont hideaway.

Anyone else out there love the cold and snow? Skiing, tubing, sledding, skating, snuggling?

No? Well  The Journey is as hot as they come.

I've given you all some ideas to dish about, now get busy posting and hopping!

Hot Chocolate Kiss is a perfect little teaser: short, sweet, and sexy. Guys love it, too, thanks to the sports both on and off the slopes.

The Journey is a great story for those who love historically based plots, a love story, and lots of magic and intrigue.

As always, contact me via my website  or  Amazon seller's page Amazon seller's page if you'd like a personalized note or signed print copies of either or both stories sent out in time for holiday gift giving. 





The blonde perched on a stool wore boots that looked like she’d strapped a husky dog to each leg. Keela doubted she had ever skied in her life. That sleek blonde ponytail wouldn't fit under a helmet, and she'd freeze her perky tits and tight ass off wearing that pink fleece jacket and black spandex pants.


She prattled out the usual disclaimers while processing the credit card transaction. "No refunds for conditions. The gondolas are closed due to high winds. Only the open chairs are going to the summit, and we might have to close them as well. The ski patrol has put up an extreme weather alert: no exposed skin, take frequent re-warming breaks."

Keela tried not to sound bitchy. This wasn't one of Ken's girlfriends. The kid was just doing her job. "Thanks for the tips."

After securing the $75.00 ticket on her parka and putting on every piece of protective equipment in her pack, she waddled out the door like a stuffed pig, sweating like one, too.

She knocked the ice off the bottom of her boots with her poles and clicked into the bindings. No matter who I’m with, it’s always me against the mountain—alone.

Keela skated over to the lift where the same guy she’d met outside the can was working. "It’s the Tuckerman lady." He winked and guided the chair under her butt.

She couldn't see the rest of his face but imagined him licking his lips.

The lift swept her up, and he called out, "Seriously, be careful. I’ll buy you a Hot Chocolate Kiss when you come down from the summit, sister."

I don't think so, dude. No more being treated like a buddy who happened to have a receptacle instead of a plug. No more schlepping boots and ski equipment, plus a backpack full of camping gear to the summit of Mount Washington , dodging rockslides and avalanches, to ski Tuckerman Ravine. No more romantic nights crammed into a lean-to, surrounded by a unisex cadre of other idiots, with a sleeping bag, thermals, and Gore-Tex to light her fire.               View the Trailer

           An excerpt of The Journey

Villagers swarmed around the dappled gray stallion to obstruct her passage. They buzzed like flies on  dung. Since the day Milena stumbled dazed and disoriented out of the Swampscott forest, and Hecabe'slair, they'd branded her a sorceress. Thomas found her huddled near the docks, knowing little of the world and nothing of her origins, surviving only by an innate ability to forage and perform simple magic. He transformed her from an illiterate, illegitimate enigma with his love and attention, teaching her numbers, letters and the ways of the civilized.


If not for the laws on the books, and the protection Thomas provided, Milena would have been hanged. Being shunned was the extent of her punishment. And for that she owed him her loyalty and fidelity. Perhaps the winds of war blowing since Lincoln 's election and the Southerners' secession now occupied the Northerners' attention, but Milena knew prejudice to be a blinder as effective as those used on skittish work horses.

"Go back into the woods where you belong, witch." A woman reached up and tugged Milena's ebony plaits. "Immodesty in dress and action. No cap covering your hair, devil worship at the full moon."

Greystone reared. The crowd fled the horse's shrill whinny and pawing hooves.

The woman spat on the ground. "Good riddance, demoness. Ride your ghost mount back whence you came."

Milena clutched the horse's middle with her legs, regained her balance and continued on to the docks. The gray, sticky aura of the sea's wrath shrouded everything in Milena's sight. Whitecaps frothed on the bay. Plumes of sea spray surged through the planks with each swell the agitated waters. A steady wind dispersed black clouds over the town.

Hateful eyes glared from a safe distance. She tethered Greystone and walked into the shipping company office. Her footsteps echoed in the room. The workers fell silent.

She approached the purser's desk. He surveyed her from the neckline of her sackcloth dress down to the battered boots on her feet. "What business have you here, witch?"

"To inquire after Thomas Harper." Milena ignored her heart pounding and stared directly into his eyes. He would not intimidate her.

"And of what interest is he to you?" A smirk spread over his face.

The vision of Thomas headed into the forest on the day he left flashed through her mind. Milena's voice quavered despite her effort. "He's my husband."

Unmoved, the brute spoke with the venom of a poisonous snake. "His ship was last seen leaving Cay West on two months ago. The ship went down, but no one knows where." His crooked smile indicated perverse delight in delivering the news. Despair surged through Milena's body like lightning. Her heart trembled with grief, the empty pit in her soul ached. Why had the spirits not spoken the truth? She would not show any vulnerability, she would not react, she would not give them the pleasure of seeing her cry.

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

The Next Big Thing--and a Coffee Time Romance Celebration

I've been nominated by Andrew Richardson for The Next Big Thing. Pretty amazing, since the last year has been a lot of behind the scenes work (much of which Andrew has been involved with as one of my dedicated critique partners).

To celebrate that, and the fact that Valentine's Day is fast approaching I'm hosting a get together on my Coffee Time Romance Forum this Saturday, February 1. The cafe is open 24hours, and Andrew and another erotic romance author I have been privileged to work with, Alice Gaines will be stopping by.

Andrew writes supernatural horror and erotic romance, with a special knack for LGB themes. Alice writes historical erotic and erotic romance. And I write, well I'll save that for The Next Big Thing.

We've all be tagged as the next big thing, and I'll be unveiling  my post answering the list of questions and where to find it. There will be some general chatting, some giveaways of course, and ideas for those gifts.



Be sure and stop by. You might need information in these excerpts to answer a contest question or two, or to consider one of my gift packages.



Hot Chocolate Kiss is a perfect stocking stuffer: short, sweet, and sexy. Guys love it, too, thanks to the sports both on and off the slopes.

The Journey is a great story for those who love historically based plots, a love story, and lots of magic and intrigue.

As always, contact me if you'd like a personalized note or signed print copies of either or both stories sent out in time for holiday gift giving. 





The blonde perched on a stool wore boots that looked like she’d strapped a husky dog to each leg. Keela doubted she had ever skied in her life. That sleek blonde ponytail wouldn't fit under a helmet, and she'd freeze her perky tits and tight ass off wearing that pink fleece jacket and black spandex pants.


She prattled out the usual disclaimers while processing the credit card transaction. "No refunds for conditions. The gondolas are closed due to high winds. Only the open chairs are going to the summit, and we might have to close them as well. The ski patrol has put up an extreme weather alert: no exposed skin, take frequent re-warming breaks."

Keela tried not to sound bitchy. This wasn't one of Ken's girlfriends. The kid was just doing her job. "Thanks for the tips."

After securing the $75.00 ticket on her parka and putting on every piece of protective equipment in her pack, she waddled out the door like a stuffed pig, sweating like one, too.

She knocked the ice off the bottom of her boots with her poles and clicked into the bindings. No matter who I’m with, it’s always me against the mountain—alone.

Keela skated over to the lift where the same guy she’d met outside the can was working. "It’s the Tuckerman lady." He winked and guided the chair under her butt.

She couldn't see the rest of his face but imagined him licking his lips.

The lift swept her up, and he called out, "Seriously, be careful. I’ll buy you a Hot Chocolate Kiss when you come down from the summit, sister."

I don't think so, dude. No more being treated like a buddy who happened to have a receptacle instead of a plug. No more schlepping boots and ski equipment, plus a backpack full of camping gear to the summit of Mount Washington , dodging rockslides and avalanches, to ski Tuckerman Ravine. No more romantic nights crammed into a lean-to, surrounded by a unisex cadre of other idiots, with a sleeping bag, thermals, and Gore-Tex to light her fire.               View the Trailer

           An excerpt of The Journey

Villagers swarmed around the dappled gray stallion to obstruct her passage. They buzzed like flies on  dung. Since the day Milena stumbled dazed and disoriented out of the Swampscott forest, and Hecabe'slair, they'd branded her a sorceress. Thomas found her huddled near the docks, knowing little of the world and nothing of her origins, surviving only by an innate ability to forage and perform simple magic. He transformed her from an illiterate, illegitimate enigma with his love and attention, teaching her numbers, letters and the ways of the civilized.


If not for the laws on the books, and the protection Thomas provided, Milena would have been hanged. Being shunned was the extent of her punishment. And for that she owed him her loyalty and fidelity. Perhaps the winds of war blowing since Lincoln 's election and the Southerners' secession now occupied the Northerners' attention, but Milena knew prejudice to be a blinder as effective as those used on skittish work horses.

"Go back into the woods where you belong, witch." A woman reached up and tugged Milena's ebony plaits. "Immodesty in dress and action. No cap covering your hair, devil worship at the full moon."

Greystone reared. The crowd fled the horse's shrill whinny and pawing hooves.

The woman spat on the ground. "Good riddance, demoness. Ride your ghost mount back whence you came."

Milena clutched the horse's middle with her legs, regained her balance and continued on to the docks. The gray, sticky aura of the sea's wrath shrouded everything in Milena's sight. Whitecaps frothed on the bay. Plumes of sea spray surged through the planks with each swell the agitated waters. A steady wind dispersed black clouds over the town.

Hateful eyes glared from a safe distance. She tethered Greystone and walked into the shipping company office. Her footsteps echoed in the room. The workers fell silent.

She approached the purser's desk. He surveyed her from the neckline of her sackcloth dress down to the battered boots on her feet. "What business have you here, witch?"

"To inquire after Thomas Harper." Milena ignored her heart pounding and stared directly into his eyes. He would not intimidate her.

"And of what interest is he to you?" A smirk spread over his face.

The vision of Thomas headed into the forest on the day he left flashed through her mind. Milena's voice quavered despite her effort. "He's my husband."

Unmoved, the brute spoke with the venom of a poisonous snake. "His ship was last seen leaving Cay West on two months ago. The ship went down, but no one knows where." His crooked smile indicated perverse delight in delivering the news. Despair surged through Milena's body like lightning. Her heart trembled with grief, the empty pit in her soul ached. Why had the spirits not spoken the truth? She would not show any vulnerability, she would not react, she would not give them the pleasure of seeing her cry.