Nikki Broadwell's Page

Cold Coffee Press Spotlight Interview With Author Nikki Broadwell

Nikki Broadwell grew up an 'army brat', living in several states as well as Germany during her formative years. But it was her time in Virginia on a 400- acre farm that set the imaginative stage for "The Moonstone", the first book of a fantasy trilogy entitled "Wolfmoon".

She received a B.A. in English and Art from Sonoma State University and later studied Marriage, Family and Child Counseling. Over the years Nikki has had several art related businesses, including greeting cards and painting on silk--scarves and wall-hangings--that were displayed in high end galleries.

After living in the Pacific Northwest for over 15 years, Nikki, her husband and a dog and a cat have relocated to Tucson, Arizona (close to the Catalina Mountains) where the light shines, illuminating everything.

Nikki spends a lot of walking and contemplating the beauty around her. She has two grown children and seven grandchildren. Now she writes full time and has 11 books published, 2 Kindle Gift Sets and more to come in 2016.

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Interview:

What makes you proud to be a writer from Tucson, Arizona (close to the Catalina Mountains)? I love it and find it endlessly stimulating as well as a way to find out things I never would have known about, as well as exploring issues and dealing with my own emotions that seem to come out through the writing. .

What or who inspired you to become a writer? I spent a lot of time alone when I was a child, and that and my interest in the natural world inspired a fantasy life that came out later in the form of writing. I also love to read and read everything I could when I was a kid, another inspiration.

When did you begin writing with the intention of becoming published? When I finished my first fantasy, The Moonstone, which ended up being three books, I decided to publish.

Did your environment or upbringing play a major role in your writing and did you use it to your advantage? My environment was everything to why I became a writer—without the freedom to roam by myself as a child I doubt it would have happened. As a result I have a rich fantasy life that comes out in every book.

Do you come up with your title before or after you write the manuscript? Sometimes before and sometimes after.

Please introduce your genre and why you prefer to write in that genre? I write fantasy/romance as well as murder mystery/romance…the fantasy is really fun, allowing me to make up places and species and worlds. The mysteries have a paranormal element, which makes them fun to write and the romantic aspects are just what always seems to happen! My characters seem to fall in love with alarming regularity!

What was your inspiration, spark or light bulb moment that inspired you to write the book that you are seeking promotion for? “Just Another Desert Sunset” was inspired by living in the Sonoran Desert. I love coyotes and the idea of how a coyote would view the world as a human being made me laugh—also the idea of a coyote falling in love with a human woman I figured could be pretty hilarious.

What has been your most rewarding experience with your writing process? Sometimes I start laughing out loud as my fingers type. It’s as though the story is unfolding like a book that I’m reading instead of something I’m making up. The writing seems to come through me rather than me working at it.

What has been your most rewarding experience in your publishing journey? Deciding to self-publish has been the most rewarding—it is simple and wonderful.

Have you had a negative experience in your writing career? If so please explain how it could have been avoided? My only negative experience is in marketing and working like crazy to publicize my books and feeling as though it’s doing nothing.

What one positive piece of advice would you give to other authors? Don’t give up!

Who is your favorite author and why? I don’t really have a favorite author. I’ve liked many authors along the way—to name a few: Kurt Vonnegut, Margaret Drabble, Margaret Atwood, Tolkien, Lewis Carroll, Hemingway, Steinbeck, and Elizabeth George, Leif Enger, Poe, and many, many more…

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Author Nikki Broadwell’s Published Books

Gypsy Series
Gypsy's Quest: Gypsy Series Book 1
Gypsy's Return: Gypsy Series Book 2
Gypsy's Secret: Gypsy Series Book 3
Gypsy Trilogy Gift Set: Gypsy's Quest, Gypsy's Return, Gypsy's Secret

Wolfmoon Trilogy
The Moonstone: Wolfmoon Trilogy Book 1
Saille, The Willow: Wolfmoon Trilogy Book 2
The Wolf Moon: Wolfmoon Trilogy Book 3
The Wolfmoon Trilogy Gift Set: The Moonstone, Saille, the Willow, The Wolf Moon

McCloud Paranormal Mystery Series
Murder In Plain Sight: A Summer McCloud Paranormal Mystery-Book 1
Saffron and Seaweed: A Summer McCloud Paranormal Mystery (Book 2)

Desert Series
Just Another Desert Sunset
Coyote Sunrise (Desert Series Book 2)

Stand Alone Books
Bridge Of Mist and Fog

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Desert Series
Just Another Desert Sunset
Coyote Sunrise (Desert Series Book 2)

Featured Book One:
Just Another Desert Sunset (Desert Series Book One) by Nikki Broadwell

A Paranormal Romance.

Coyote yearns to be human but when his wish is granted he discovers that the shaman left out one tiny detail--as soon as he falls asleep he will always return to animal form.

Meeting the human female Sara further complicates Coyote's life as he is drawn to her in a way he can't explain. Ignoring Raven's warnings that he should stick with his own kind, Coyote-man finds himself heading to Sara's house at odd times, her essence impossible to ignore.

When a cruel trick of fate separates them, Coyote seeks council from a Navajo man who promises to help. Will this man trick him like the other shaman or can he be trusted?

Walking the spirit trail brings answers but not to the questions he asked. What will happen if Sara learns the truth?

Will she turn away from this strange-looking man with the yellow eyes who seems like he comes from a different planet?

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Cold Coffee Press Book Review
for Just Another Desert Sunset by Nikki Broadwell

“There was once a coyote who wanted to become a man, but before he could be granted his wish the shaman asked him for three things.”

Just Another Desert Sunset is a provocative paranormal romance that begs the reader to recognize the fine line between humans and animals in a mystical realm that honors Native Americans traditions and beliefs.

This face paced well written story takes place in Arizona where Author Nikki Broadwell uses the beauty of both sky and land with desert creatures that crawl, area birds fly and furry animals that hunt. Nikki weaves spell binding rituals with humans that are going about their lives unaware of the clash of cultures that exists as a fine line ready to tear the very fabric of time and space.

Well-developed characters live in a modern world that collide with a spiritual world were a coyote leaves his familiar pack in search of a way to become a human man. His deepest desire is to see, hear, feel and make love to Sarah who overwhelms his senses with her fragrances and beauty which brings confusion and longing in his spirit. Shape-shifting is not new to literature, but it is new to coyote when his warm, four footed fury body shifts into a Native American man named Istaga with yellow eyes, long braids and smooth, hairless skin.

I quote a passage where romance bridges instinct. “Coyote woke with a start, staring down at the woman curled up next to him. She looked serene and peaceful, a slight smile curling up the corners of her mouth. He wanted to stay as he was, wanted her to know him as animal as well as man, but it was too soon—too early for her to find out the truth. If she woke now he couldn’t imagine how she would react seeing a wild beast lying next to her. He thought of the night before and how he had longed to turn into his coyote form but had managed to control the urge. How he wished his visions would come to pass—that they could change together from human to animal while they mated. When he moved away she moaned in her sleep, reaching for him, but he was already loping into the underbrush, searching for their breakfast.

When Sara woke, Istaga was gone, nothing left to indicate he’d ever been there. She had a moment of panic, wondering if she’d dreamed the entire scenario, but then she felt the sand in her hair, the sore muscles in her shoulders and hips and smiled to herself. There had been no exchange of the usual endearments between them but somehow the episode felt profound and deeper than any sex she’d ever experienced. Except for the first time with Istaga, she thought to herself, chuckling. Hopefully he had only gone to relieve himself and would be back soon. The thought of him disappearing from her life again was too painful to bear.”

Cold Coffee Press endorses Just Another Desert Sunset by Nikki Broadwell as a delightful paranormal romance that intertwines human and animal nature in its purest form. Nikki currently has 10 books within 4 series, two Kindle Gift sets and a new book coming out early in 2016. We reviewed this book in a Kindle/PDF format. This review was completed on November 23, 2015. For more information please visit http://www.coldcoffeepress.com

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Just Released!

Featured Book Two:
Coyote Sunrise: A Shapeshifting Story by Nikki Broadwell

Sara and Istaga and their two-year-old baby are not what they seem. All three can shift into coyotes. When the Predator Masters arrive and hunt coyotes for sport Istaga turns into a snarling replica of himself, insisting they travel far into the mountains to warn other coyotes and keep out of danger. But before that can happen Sara’s former husband, Raleigh, steals their baby girl and discovers exactly what she is.

When Istaga shifts into a coyote and nearly kills Raleigh, someone manages to get the entire surreal scene on his camera phone. From that moment on Sara and Istaga are thrown into turmoil, their lives and that of their shape-shifting baby placed in grave danger. With hunters and cops searching for them they head for the hills.

What will it take to free themselves from Raleigh?

Can their love survive?

A Paranormal Romance

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Cold Coffee Press Book Review For Coyote Sunrise:
A Shapeshifting Story by Nikki Broadwell

Suburb storytelling and a must read series if you love animals and want to protect their environment. This tantalizing paranormal romance will take you across the fine line between humans and animals in a mystical realm that honors Native Americans and exposes the dark side of human nature.

Coyote Sunrise is book two (Just Another Desert Sunset-Book One) in the series where the reader is drawn into the life of Sara and Istaga and their two-year-old baby (Kaliska) who shift from the human world into the treacherous world of coyotes. Although a series, each book stands alone as Author Nikki Broadwell masterfully writes a complete saga from beginning to end with expert knowledge of the Tucson Arizona Desert, Coyotes, American Indian Traditions and the mission of the Predator Masters Hunting Group who hunt to kill predators, especially Coyotes with the blessing of the United States Government.

Descriptive writing brings the reader not only into the story but into the desert environment with the glory of sunrises and sunsets, the birds of the air and the creatures of the land with raw dangers that are inherit in the life cycle of coyotes. Istaga along with his wife Sara is determined to “keep these hunters from laying waste to all predators”. I am careful not to spoil the story for the reader, but I always quote a passage so you can experience the authors writing style.

“Once she was away from town she shifted, knowing it would take less time on four legs. The moon was up, spreading silver light across the pale desert landscape and seeming to light her way. Her belly was empty and she was anxious to see her pup and her mate, but other than that her mind was on the pungent scents riding the cool night air and the other animals roaming and trying to stay out of sight. In the distance she heard sirens, a sound that never failed to make her heart beat faster.

Her anxiety began to taper once she reached the river and swam across. There was no light from the fire when she worked her way up the steep cliff face toward their cave. Her coyote mind pictured raw meat instead of cooked, her mouth filling with saliva. But as she approached the cave she stopped to listen. There were no sounds coming from within. Before she processed the thought she was standing on two legs, alarm filling her body with adrenaline. Ducking her head under the overhanging lip of the cave she entered dark space. There was no one there.”

So check your DNA and keep turning the pages as the dialog and storyline is keenly in Nikki’s realm of imagination and sphere of time. I encourage to read Coyote Sunrise as I now wait for the next story in this series to take shape in Nikki’s mind.

Cold Coffee Press/Café endorses Coyote Sunrise: A Shapeshifting Story by Nikki Broadwell as a tale of courage and survival. Coyote Sunrise is Nikki’s eleventh novel and follows Just Another Desert Sunset that shares a place and time where Nikki and her husband call home. I reviewed this book from a Kindle/PDF format. This review was completed on January 6, 2016. For more information please visit Cold Coffee Press and Cold Coffee Cafe. http://www.coldcoffeepress.com and http://coldcoffeecafe.com/

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Wolfmoon Trilogy
The Moonstone: Wolfmoon Trilogy Book 1
Saille, The Willow: Wolfmoon Trilogy Book 2
The Wolf Moon: Wolfmoon Trilogy Book 3
The Wolfmoon Trilogy Gift Set: The Moonstone, Saille, the Willow, The Wolf Moon

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Featured Book Three:
The Moonstone: Wolfmoon Trilogy Book 1 by Nikki Broadwell

Is magic gone from the world? Was it ever here? Read The Moonstone and you might just believe in magic again! Fans of strong women like those found in 'The Mists of Avalon' series will find themselves right at home.

Finna’s mother is dead. So why is this woman standing on her stoop claiming to be just that?

Catriona arrives bearing a gift—a luminous moonstone that holds the secrets to Finna’s heritage. What heritage?

Catriona insists that the two of them must journey to the castle of the Celtic moon goddess, Arianrhod. Moon goddess?

The story Catriona weaves is preposterous. A parallel reality, known as the ‘Otherworld’, exists next to this one. According to her, this place has no electricity, cars or any other modern conveniences. “The moonstone will show the way,”

Catriona intones cryptically. Newly pregnant Finna is naturally skeptical. Where has this woman been for the past eighteen years? And why would her father lie about her mother’s death?

All her instincts tell her to stay put during this critical time. But Catriona is uncannily persuasive, convincing her despite Finna’s misgivings.

What a trip through this alternate reality really means, and the secrets Catriona reveals about their family and the baby Finna carries, have Finna questioning everything she has ever known. With her life and that of her unborn child in jeopardy, Finna must find a way to survive.

Amazon Customer Reviews
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Featured Book Four:
Saille, The Willow: Wolfmoon Trilogy Book 2 by Nikki Broadwell

Maeve has been having strange dreams but when she goes to the psychic to find out some answers she leaves with more questions. As she walks out of the store a crow stares down at her from on top of a telephone pole and she could swear his gaze seems malevolent. When a shipment of paintings arrives from Scotland Maeve feels drawn to them in a way she can't ignore.

Why do the dark landscapes seem so familiar? And why is there a glowing moonstone hovering in the background of each one?

More dreams plague her sleep and when she finds herself running down a path that only exists in a painting, she realizes that her safe, predictable life has taken a very different turn.

Between consulting the psychic and falling in love, Maeve will find out a secret that will turn her life upside down and send her careening into a future she could never have imagined.

Amazon Customer Reviews
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Featured Book Five:
The Wolf Moon: Wolfmoon Trilogy Book 3 by Nikki Broadwell

It is close to the winter solstice when Maeve Lewin's simple trip to Scotland to re-unite with her mother throws her headlong into a dangerous world. A prophecy written centuries before seems to describe her as 'the one', and despite Maeve's insistence that this couldn't possibly be true her mother and grandmother both agree that it is.

What Maeve doesn't know is that her boyfriend, Harold, is part of her destiny, mentioned in the ancient text as 'the one of noble birth who will stand by her side." But Harold's only plan is to join Maeve in Scotland for the New Year before the two of them fly home to the States.

The night of the winter solstice brings Maeve face to face with a terrifying reality, but it's Harold's arrival that forces her to come to terms with the truth. He seems to have lived in this parallel world before and his part in future events has been sealed as surely as hers.

With dark forces hunting her relentlessly and confronted with a fate she didn't choose, Maeve must come to terms with her future and somehow find the strength to fulfill the perilous task set before her.

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Feature Book Six
Kindle Gift Set
The Wolfmoon Trilogy Gift Set:
The Moonstone, Saille, the Willow, The Wolf Moon by Nikki Broadwell

The first book of Wolfmoon Trilogy, The Moonstone, begins in the highlands of Scotland in 1984 but we soon find ourselves in a parallel reality known as the Otherworld. We travel the paths of this mystical land along with Finna and her mother, Catriona, led by a magical moonstone. But an ancient evil follows in the shadows as Finna heads to the castle of the moon goddess to have her unborn child blessed.

In Saille, the Willow, we are twenty years in the future when Maeve unpacks paintings that have arrived at her New England gallery. Her reaction to these mysterious and shadowy works brings up questions that she cannot answer. Why do they draw her in like a moth to a flame? The answers to these questions will set her on a path that she never expected.

The Wolf Moon, book 3, finds Maeve on her way to Scotland to discover her long lost mother. But what she doesn't understand is that she is being summoned there by forces outside of herself. She has been named in an ancient prophecy as the one who will bring balance back to a dark world.

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Gypsy Series
Gypsy's Quest: Gypsy Series Book 1
Gypsy's Return: Gypsy Series Book 2
Gypsy's Secret: Gypsy Series Book 3
Gypsy Trilogy Gift Set: Gypsy's Quest, Gypsy's Return, Gypsy's Secret

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Featured Book Seven:
Gypsy's Quest: Gypsy Series Book 1 by Nikki Broadwell

The last thing Gertrude remembers is landing at the Edinburgh airport, but this medieval world where she finds herself bears no resemblance to Scotland. Here there is neither indoor plumbing, nor any electronics, cars, busses or trains.

When she discovers that she’s pregnant her fear mounts. There are no hospitals, no doctors, and no stores in which to buy diapers or baby food. And why can’t she remember the father?

But things are worse than she imagines—her past is catching up. And when her baby is kidnapped, the horrible memories begin to resurface.

Little does she know that searching for her baby will pull her into a larger quest to save the world. But before she can do either, she must save herself. Does she have the strength to overcome the obstacles in her way before it’s too late to save anyone?

Aided by a man from her distant past and a magical boat, she hunts for her child in worlds that should only exist in myth.

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Featured Book Eight:
Gypsy's Return: Gypsy Series Book 2 by Nikki Broadwell

A time traveling romance.

The flutter of a butterfly's wings may cause a hurricane across the world, but can the turn of a page cause chaos across time?

Gertrude is about to find out just how mighty the pen is when she publishes The Hanged Man, a fictional account of her time in the future that is meant to prevent the suffering she witnessed. But the love and loss she experienced are brought crashing back when the god Loki informs her that good intentions aside, her book has sent ripples into the future with disastrous consequences.

An evil sorcerer and witch have joined powers with malevolent corporations, creating a society based on massive wealth disparity and the worst manipulations of science. If this weren't enough for Gertrude to deal with, she is given reason to believe that her son is still alive in this terrible new world.

Frantic to find out the truth Gertrude searches out an ancient druid who brings her face to face with the law of unintended consequences. Is there anything she can do to rectify the future before it's too late?

With the help from some old friends, Gertrude sails into the unknown, fearful but determined to make things right and reclaim her son.

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Featured Book Nine:
Gypsy's Secret: Gypsy Series Book 3 by Nikki Broadwell

It is June of 2011 and Gertrude has been working tirelessly to finish The Tower as part of the bargain she made with Loki. The god has made no attempt to fulfill his end of the agreement, and Gertrude is out of patience as she waits to be reunited with her son.

When Ella uses Gypsy to travel back to Gertrude’s timeline and make trouble, Gertrude is able to steal the ship to return to 2457Fell. What she finds is a world in chaos with reoccurring shifts in time that thwart every attempt she makes to find her son and Kafir.

As Gertrude struggles through a world gone mad what she doesn’t realize is that Ella is now pregnant, carrying a child who will bring about the end of Far Isle and every living thing in it. Gertrude’s powers are tested in new ways and her son’s abilities astonish all who encounter him.

Will their combined power, aided by Gunnar, MacCuill, and the gods and goddesses be enough to combat this new evil?

Or is it too late to save the world from ultimate darkness?

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Featured Book Ten:
Kindle Gift Set
Gypsy Trilogy Gift Set: Gypsy's Quest, Gypsy's Return,
Gypsy's Secret by Nikki Broadwell

In 'Gypsy's Quest' Gertrude finds herself in a land called Far Isle that seems steeped in the past. When she discovers she's pregnant with no memory of how this came to be she tries to find her way home, but there are no trains, no planes or ships to carry her back to Milltown, Massachusetts. Her fear mounts when she runs into an evil sorceress who tries to kill her and her baby before he's even born. But it is when her baby is kidnapped that things really heat up. With the aid of a man from her distant past Gertrude searches for her seven-month-old son in Norse worlds she's only read about in books. And along the way she learns a thing or two about what it means to love.

Book 2, 'Gypsy's Return' finds Gertrude trying to remedy what she's experienced in the future of Far Isle by writing a book in her own time--she has decided that this is the only way she can retrieve her child from Loki, the Norse god who holds him hostage. But things turn ugly when she returns in order to hold Loki to his promise. Her son's father is not who he appears to be and when she discovers his alignment with a very powerful sorceress called Ella, Gertrude realizes her own powerlessness. Loki demands that another book be written to bring this future into some sort of balance.

In Book 3, 'Gypsy's Secret', Gertrude is once again placed in a precarious position trying to right the wrongs she's caused by her previous books. Far Isle is in chaos with shifts in time that frustrate all her attempts to find her son and the man she loves. And thwarting her at every turn is Ella, the witch and sorceress who was once married to the same man Gertrude holds dear. Ella wants to erase all memory of Gertrude and Gertrude's son in her frenzied race to control Far Isle. And this time Ella has a son of her own who is more powerful than anyone could have predicted.

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McCloud Paranormal Mystery Series
Murder In Plain Sight: A Summer McCloud Paranormal Mystery-Book 1
Saffron and Seaweed: A Summer McCloud Paranormal Mystery (Book 2)

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Featured Book Eleven:
Murder In Plain Sight: A Summer McCloud Paranormal
Mystery Book 1 by Nikki Broadwell

Summer McCloud has been managing without her mother for five years now. But what she knows about Lila McCloud could fill a teacup.

When a woman is murdered the same day she buys a book from Tarot and Tea, the occult shop Summer inherited when her mother disappeared, Summer's life begins to unravel. She is the number one suspect in the murder investigation. But Summer is an amateur sleuth and has visions about murders--she can solve this one, can't she?

The only person on the force who believes in her innocence is a homicide detective that Summer once dated. But now Jerry seems to be working at cross purposes. When ghosts from the past begin to rear their ugly heads Summer begins to lose her confidence. Is her mother alive or dead?

A journal belonging to the dead woman reveals more than Summer wants to know, leading her down several twisting paths that put her life in jeopardy. She must solve this case or lose everything, including her life.

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Featured Book Twelve:
Saffron and Seaweed: A Summer McCloud Paranormal
Mystery Book 2 by Nikki Broadwell

Book 2 takes Summer and Jerry away from Ames on holiday. Little do they know what awaits them there!

Summer and Jerry’s romantic weekend takes a dark turn when they discover the body of a young woman in the surf.

When the local police deny the crime and the newspaper prints nothing, Jerry and Summer realize they are on their own. But they have no idea how deep they will have to dig to find out the truth. The murder is only a thread in a web of lies that extends to the furthest reaches of political office.

Are Summer’s visions to be the only clues? Jerry doesn’t think so, his focus on good old-fashioned detective work, but when he doubts her psychic abilities the trust between them begins to crumble.

As the days pass, Jerry and Summer come to understand that not only their relationship, but their very lives are in jeopardy.

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Stand Alone Book

Featured Book Thirteen:
Bridge Of Mist and Fog by Nikki Broadwell

Airy Fitzhugh is anxious when she spots an island off the coast that her mother is unable to see--she's lived in her powerful mother's shadow her entire life. But when she consults the goddess of prophecy and discovers she has a destiny, her mood lifts. According to Corra she's linked to someone on that island and their future involves building a bridge between two worlds.

It's another matter altogether when her parents insist that she attend college in Milltown, Massachusetts, far from the mystical Otherworld where she's lived all her sixteen years. It is only when she meets a boy from the future that Airy's world begins to expand. Fehin makes her aware that her ability to talk to trees is a gift. She is special after all. But many dark and tangled paths must be taken before the two of them can discover what fate has in store.

How can they trust in destiny when everything is working against them?

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Professional Website
Amazon Author’s Page

Professional Blogs
http://niksblog-authorinprogress.blogspot.com/2015/10/saffron-and-seaweed.html
http://www.jalapenosandjavelina.blogspot.com/

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