What happens when one of your
best friends, the First Lady of the newly democratic Republic of Lodatia,
appears to be an imposter? If you’re criminal defense attorney Julianna
Constant, you pursue the truth like a rabid dog, then wage a battle to save
your friend’s life.
When
criminal defense attorney Julianna Constant travels to Washington, D.C. to join
her former college roommate, Marella de la Aerelli, in celebrating her
husband’s election as the first president of the newly democratic Republic of
Lodatia, she is met with an unpleasant surprise. Her friend of almost 30 years
not only looks unwell, she is cold and distant. After Julianna becomes
convinced the woman is really an imposter, she attempts to expose the faux
Marella by using a secret only she, Marella, and the sitting U.S. President
share. In the process, Julianna helps to uncover an international conspiracy to
seize control of the new country, using the president’s wife as a pawn in a
dangerous and potentially deadly game. Will Marella be rescued before a coup
takes place? Or will she become collateral damage in one tiny nation’s fight to
be free?
Excerpt:
Julianna picked at her dinner, some sort
of beef dish with quirky vegetables, and continued to study Lodatian President
Georges and Mrs. Marella de la Aerelli, as they chatted quietly
with the U.S. president and his wife. Marella barely looked up from her plate,
and conversation with her hosts appeared to be minimal. God, that is so not the Marella I know. She hasn’t even acknowledged me
and I sent her an email informing her that I would be here.
Julianna
set her fork down on her plate and nudged her husband, Little River, Wisconsin
Police Chief David Manders. “Something’s wrong.” Julianna whispered. “Marella
looks wrong. Maybe she’s just tired after the campaign, but she looks sick. Too
thin and too pale. And she isn’t smiling. Marella is always smiling, even when
she feels like shit. And she hasn’t even looked at me. Why is she ignoring me?
Something is not right. I can feel it.”
David
looked at his wife and tried to hide his smile. “Jules, you find a conspiracy
behind every door these days,” he said quietly. He looked around to ensure that
the other four couples seated at their table were otherwise engaged. “I vote
for tired, no, make that exhausted. My God, five months ago, she was a farm
wife in Lodatia, now she’s been thrust into the international spotlight as the
wife of the President. That would exhaust anyone. I know if you ran for
president, it would have a negative impact on me.”
Julianna
smirked. “If I became President, sir,
it would have a negative impact on both of us.”
David
sighed and ran a hand through his short, silver hair. His piercing blue eyes
gazed at his wife, his fondness apparent. “Well, instead of jumping to
conclusions, let’s wait until the reception at the Lodatian Embassy. There are
a lot of rules and protocols for visiting dignitaries. Maybe it just isn’t
appropriate to buddy up to an old friend at a state dinner. Once you get up
close and personal with Marella, you can get a better fix on things. That woman
has been through the wringer, what with that opposition group trying to
assassinate her husband not once, but twice. I imagine the stress of clinging
to Lodatia’s newly formed democratic government is a kind of like hanging on to
a cliff, knowing that if you fall, there will be no net to catch you. Cut her
some slack and do not tell her she
looks awful.”
BUY LINKS
Publisher
– EXTASY BOOKS
Amazon:
coming
Barnes
& Noble: coming
About Seelie Kay
Seelie
Kay writes about lawyers in love, with a dash of kink.
Writing
under a nom de plume, the former lawyer and journalist draws her stories from
more than 30 years in the legal world. Seelie’s wicked pen has resulted in nine
works of fiction, including the Kinky
Briefs series, The Garage Dweller,
A Touchdown to Remember, and The President’s Wife, as well as the
romance anthology, Pieces of Us.
When
not spinning her kinky tales, Seelie ghostwrites nonfiction for lawyers and
other professionals. Currently she resides in a bucolic exurb outside
Milwaukee, WI, where she shares a home with her son and enjoys opera, the Green
Bay Packers, gourmet cooking, organic gardening, and an occasional bottle of
red wine.
Seelie
is an MS warrior and ruthlessly battles the disease on a daily basis. Her
message to those diagnosed with MS: Never give up. You define MS, it does not
define you!
Author links:
Happy Independence Day! My book, The President's Wife, was written in celebration of America's 242nd birthday. I wanted to remind readers that even today, not every country or every person is free. Gratitude to the men and women who have fought keep our country free. Maybe someday, everyone will have the same privilege.
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