Hi Miriam, and a special greeting to all lovers of Celtic romance! It's so lovely to be back at the Celtic Rose. And I'm so thrilled to announce the publication of Everlasting, Book IV of the Claddagh Series!
Everlasting is Shannon Flynn's story, and it's set once again in that tiny, wind-swept west-of-Ireland village of Ballycashel that was the setting for the first two books of the Claddagh Series. Ballycashel, and all of its residents, are very dear to my heart, and when Shannon Flynn visited my dreams one night, whispering her story to me, I could hardly refuse to write it.
Everlasting is a story of revenge and redemption, of fathers and daughters and the love that draws them together...and tears them apart.
Blurb:
Where
does justice end and retribution begin?
She
was driven by anger
When her fiancé died trying to feed his family,
Shannon Flynn vowed to punish those responsible…even if it alienated her from
her family, even if it put her—and them—in danger.
He
returned to exact revenge
Eight years after he was forced to flee his beloved
Ireland, Liam Collins returns to Ballycashel to find his family devastated and
the person he holds responsible for his exile dead.
Can these two wounded spirits come together to battle
a common enemy? Or will anger and pride destroy them both?
Excerpt:
Ballycashel, Ireland, Off Galway Bay
January, 1874
“I
see them! Sweet Mary be praised, they’re safe!”
Shannon
Flynn gripped her mother’s hand so tight she felt the bones crack. On Ma’s
other side, her sister Peggy let out a harsh sob. Little Fiona stood a few feet
away, white-faced, hands pressed to her mouth in silent horror.
Icy
needles of rain slashed Shannon’s face, and though they stood well away from
the waves, she could still feel the sting of the sea, taste its sharp, briny
tang. She blinked hard against the cloying mist. Was that really the Noreen, Da’s currach? That tiny craft bobbing over those vicious waves, helpless
as a cork?
She
flinched as the little fishing boat disappeared from view.
“They’ll
be fine.” Nora Flynn’s voice rang out, stern and bracing even as she kept her
gaze riveted on the storm-tossed sea. “Sure, yer da knows these waters better
than anyone. He’s been through many a storm worse than this. He’ll be fine.” Her
voice teetered on the edge of despair as wind and rain scored them with
merciless claws.
He’s never had Mike
with him.
The
boat reappeared, teetered at the crest of a towering wave and tumbled sideways.
Nora cried out once, pressed her fist to her mouth. The anguished sound echoed
in Shannon’s heart. Before she could react, Nora drew a deep breath and set her
shoulders. “Come ye, now. They’ll be needin’ us.” She threw a sharp gaze to her
two younger daughters. “Peg, look after Fiona. Shannon, come with me.”
Hand
in hand, they raced into the sea.
Shannon’s
breath gushed from her lungs in painful gasps as icy water clawed up her legs
and tangled in her long skirts. Had the sea ever been so vicious and cold? The waves so high? Oh, where was Da? Was he safe?
Was
Mike safe?
She
clung to her mother’s firm, strong hand as she slipped and almost fell on the
sea-drenched shingle and sand. Thick strands of seaweed twined about her legs. Ma
pulled her to a stop, her hoarse cry snatched away by the shrieking wind. Could
Da and Mike triumph over the furious sea?
Sweet Mary protect
them. Keep them safe. Bring them home.
Two
heads, one dark and the other fair, burst from the waves, went under, surfaced again.
Oh, God, was it possible? Could they really be farther out? The sea clawed
greedily at them, pulling them under, down and down. Away from her. The wind
tore her hair from beneath her red headscarf, and she lost sight of them for a
moment. She swiped the flying strands away, staring harder through a stinging
mixture of rain and fog and tears.
Dear sweet Lord, where
are they?
“I
see them! There’s Da!” Fiona appeared beside them, fighting to stay on her feet
as a wave broke over her shoulders. She pointed a trembling finger. “Look,
there’s Da!”
“Fiona,
get back!” Shannon fought to make herself heard over the crashing waves and the
devil’s howl of the wind.
“But
I see him, Shannon! I see Da!”
Mike can’t swim!
Even as icy realization swept over her, Shannon knew her father would fight to
the death to save him.
To the death…
She
squeezed her eyes shut, fighting back the tears.
“They’ll
be all right.” Peggy clasped her hand, swaying against the fierce current.
“Please God, they’ll both be all right.”
Please God…
“Tom,
look out!” Her mother’s scream reached above the greedy fingers of sea foam
just as a mighty wave knocked Da under once again.
Please God… Please
God…keep him safe. Keep them both safe.
Moments,
hours, days later, Shannon stood frozen under the leaden skies. Da stumbled into
the shallows and fell into Ma’s waiting arms.
Da
stared into Ma’s eyes, touched her cheek. “Noreen. Ah, Noreen. The currach’s torn to pieces, so it is, but
sure, we’re all right now.”
“Ye
are, thank God.”
“Da?”
Her own eyes wide and dry and burning with salt, Shannon searched her father’s
beloved face, saw his anguish.
Fissures
shot through her heart.
“Mike?”
Shannon scanned the beach in desperation. The gray sea roared and frothed
wildly. The broken currach lay on the strand like an exhausted shark. Rain and
tears blurred her vision. “Da? Where is he? Where’s Mike?”
Her
father’s dark eyes filled with sorrow. “He’s gone, love.” Tom Flynn blinked away
tears. “The sea took him.”
“Gone?
No!” Her heart ceased to beat. Something was strangling her. Ice held her feet
frozen to the beach even as she swayed drunkenly.
“I’m
sorry, a storín, so sorry, my dearest.
I did everything I could.” Dimly, she saw her father release her mother, move
toward her. “But I couldn’t save him for ye.”
He
reached for her, his big hands open, his face etched with grief. She flung up
her hands, shook her head. Denying. Denying. No. No!
Nonononono!
Then
she spun away, ran from her father to mourn alone the loss of the man she loved
more than life itself.
I hope everyone enjoys reading Everlasting as much as I enjoyed writing it!
You can buy Everlasting at Barnes & Noble
