We’ve heard all the jokes about Southerners not being able to drive if two snowflakes fall together. But what those jokes don’t mention is the fact that no one can drive on ice coated streets. Atlanta is gridlocked. There was a major error in judgment and all one million plus people in the city hit the streets at the same time. Add to that thousands of big trucks on the major highways that jack-knifed or stalled out and you have a recipe for disaster.
The news coming out of the Atlanta area has been filled with pictures of stranded motorists. Children has to spend the night at school because the buses could not take them home. Other students were stranded on school buses for hours and even all night. This is the stuff of nightmares for parents. My children are grown, my grandchildren could have been included in this debacal. Luckily they were not. My heart goes out to the children, parents and teachers who have been caught up in this mess.
Slowly the traffic is beginning to move through Atlanta, still there are people stranded.
Yet in the midst of all this there are the stories that make you smile. A baby delivered safely by a police officer on 285. Target, Home Depot, CVS, Kroger and other stores allowing stranded motorist to spend the night in the warmth of their stores. Many of those stores are not open 24 hours, but chose to remain open to help the citizens in need. Kudos to them!
There were Facebook pages set up to help people stranded on the expressway with people in the area who offered help.
One man made PB&J sandwiches and walked to the expressway to hand out food to those who’d been stranded for 18+ hours.
So things continue to be difficult here in Georgia today. Hopefully everyone will soon be home and safe. The cold is depressing, the icy roadways are depressing. Hoping everyone stays in and is safe.
I saw a news post about a woman at Walmart who had a feeling about a man. He was acting strangely and she wrote down his tag number. Later that same day the man abducted a seven year old girl. The woman gave the tag number to the police and the child was saved.
There was another case a few years ago where a woman had a feeling about a child being in danger and it turned out she was right. The child had been kidnapped and thanks to the woman’s intuition or sixth sense, that child was saved.
The second case is where the idea for A Matter of Trust was born. Have you ever experienced intuition that saved you or someone you know? Have you experienced a sixth sense? Tell us about it. You share one and I’ll tell you about one of mine.
A Matter of Trust
By MJ Flournoy
While watching a news account of the rescue of an abducted child, I became absorbed in the story. So much so, that I took that one event and built an entire plot around it. The person in the news story encountered a small child and her intuition told her something was wrong. Being a teacher, I have often encountered situations where that intuition kicked in to help a child. Often teachers have a sort of sixth sense where the well-being of students is concerned.
I took that grain of an idea and built it into the plot of A Matter of Trust. Jolie Wyngate is a teacher with a gift, or curse, depending on how she views it. She tries to keep knowledge of her ability undercover, but when the wellbeing of a child is at risk, she has to use her ability, regardless of the personal cost.
What would you do in a similar situation? If you had a special gift, but sharing that gift could cause you to lose the career you’d worked hard to establish, would you do it? Would you do the right thing regardless of personal costs?
I like to think that I would rise to the occasion. That my innate sense of always “do what is right, regardless,” would be strong enough to help me do what my conscious insisted I do.
That is exactly the dilemma Jolie faces in A Matter of Trust. She has learned through many personal setbacks that sharing her gift with others usually came with a steep price for her personally. Now she faces the ultimate challenge.
Mac Carlson is a man on a mission. Ex-Navy SEAL and security expert, Carlson’s mission is to save a kidnapped child. Jolie shows up on his radar as his major suspect. With serious trust issues on both sides, it seems unlikely that these two will be able to work together to save the kidnapped child, let alone develop a serious relationship.
Add to that the presence of the Maniac, the disembodied voice that is the source of much of Jolie’s information and the plot becomes very complicated. A Matter of Trust, by MJ Flournoy, available now.
Leave a comment here and visit MJ’s blog and leave a comment for a chance to win an Amazon gift card. Excerpt:
A Coke, a fat one, or an orange soda.
“Not gonna happen.” Jolie Wyngate shrugged, climbed from her car and hurried toward the convenience store to pick up a quick snack before continuing on her way south.
And why not?
“Because I have to drive another hundred and fifty miles, and I don’t intend to stop every half hour for potty breaks.”
You are so not any fun! It’s just a Coke, for Pete’s sake.
“And you, lady, are so predictable.”
Make it chocolate then.
Jolie smiled. Chocolate, a compromise with which she could live. “Right.”
And stop speaking out loud, people will think you’re crazy.
“Me crazy? Get real, Maniac, I’ve talked to you since childhood. If I haven’t landed in the
loony bin by now, I hardly think it’s going to happen.”
Humor me, then.
Jolie shrugged, continuing toward the store. She’d pick out a chocolate bar to keep her unseen companion happy.
Serve you right if I quit talking to you all together.
“Put it in writing.” Jolie reached for the door handle.
A giggle erupted within Jolie’s mind. Then, in the tone Jolie hated hearing: Shush, pay
attention. There’s something wrong in there.
Oh, hell. Jolie bit the soft flesh of her lower lip. Her hand tingled as if the door was
electrified. Shit, this was the real reason for the Maniac’s sudden thirst.
The cool, dry air of the convenience store surrounded her when she stepped through the open door. For a second, the young clerk behind the counter looked up from the newspaper spread in front of her. Nothing. Jolie expelled a breath of relief, exchanged a quick smile with the clerk, and then headed toward the candy isle.
Then she saw her. The little girl wandered listlessly down the candy isle, her small hand
trailing over the rows of candy, gently touching, but taking nothing. Jolie watched her for a moment, then scanned the store and saw no one in sight.
The child turned, her gaze lifting until it found Jolie. She tilted her head to the side, her eyes searching Jolie’s for an instant. Then she moved closer and stared up at her. The expression on the small face caused Jolie’s heart to turn over. She knelt to the child’s level and touched the riot of red curls. A jolt of emotion skittered along Jolie’s spine, but Jolie forced herself not to pull away.
“Hey, sweetie, does your mommy know you’re out here alone?”
The little girl looked about three. She continued to stare mutely. Jolie smiled at her. “That your mommy behind the counter?”
She lifted the child into her arms. Unprepared for the sudden shock of pain and despair that engulfed her, Jolie almost dropped her. Instead, she tightened her arms instinctively around the frail body.
Something’s not right.
Blurb
Her paranormal abilities had always caused her grief. But can they save the life of a child who has been spirited away from her parents and the life of the man she loves?
Jolie Wyngate is a middle school teacher with an extraordinary gift—or is it a curse? Throughout her life, she’s been never been sure. Now, when she is implicated in the disappearance of a child, the ultimate value of her powers will be put to the test.
Mac Carlson, former Navy SEAL and security expert, is tasked with rescuing the girl, Rachael Anne. From the moment he meets Jolie, his suspicious and protective nature sets its sights on her as a prime suspect. Can Jolie clear her name and gain this man’s hard-won trust?
More importantly, can she save the girl before time runs out? She won’t be able to do it without her psychic abilities—but Mac has a hard enough time trusting Jolie as it is, let alone trusting her powers to lead them to Rachael Anne.
As Mac and Jolie realize they have no choice but to work as a team—and as they slowly warm to each other in the process—they realize they have a new problem: the man they are after has set his sights on Jolie. Now Jolie will need all of her abilities, and all of Mac’s strength and skill, to stay out of the fiend’s hands and bring Rachael Anne back home.
Bio for MJ Flournoy:
MJ Flournoy loves crafting stories of romance and suspense. Her interest in writing grew organically from her love of reading. A late bloomer, MJ attended college as a non-traditional student and earned a degree in history with an eye toward writing historical romance.
After graduation from college, MJ became a middle school teacher, which helps to keep her grounded in the real world while her plots take her away to the extraordinary worlds of imagination and creativity. MJ enjoys adding a twist of paranormal to her plots.
MJ makes her home in rural Georgia with her husband. She has two children and two
grandchildren. Her favourite activities are writing, reading, and travel.
What is your dream vacation? Can I tempt you to start planning now? Let’s see, what would it take? Is it cold where you are? Are you tired of snow and ice? Can I tempt you to tag along with me on my virtual vacation? Come on, it will be fun. Where shall we go?
Venice, Italy how does that sound? Romantic enough for you? We could enjoy a romantic gondola ride down a Venician canal with our main squeeze.
We’ll stroll across Railto Bridge and watch the traffic along the Grand Canal.
Then it’s on to Athens to climb to the top of the Acropolis and explore the Parthenon.
Finally, we’ll stop to sun ourselves in the warm Mediterranean sun while we sit and enjoy an amazing lunch. What could be more fun than people watching at an open air cafe?
How about it? Did you enjoy our virtual vacation? Did it help to warm you up? No, still not warm? Then might I suggest you curl up with a good book? Do I know of a good book? Why I thought you’d never ask! Might I suggest a spicy romantic suspense?
What do you do when cabin fever strikes? I’m not sure cabin fever is exactly the right term, but it’s the closest one I have at the moment. It has been below freezing for several days now, and I’m about ready to climb the walls. I live in the south. It isn’t supposed to be five degrees here. One night it was minus three with the wind chill! That is just too much.
So how to cope? I’ll tell you what I plan to do. I’m going to make myself a large cup of hot chocolate and pull out my vacation photos. I’ll imagine myself somewhere sunny and warm. Oh, I don’t know. Maybe Italy? Let’s see would you like to take a trip with me? Let’s visit some warm sunny spots.
What better way to defeat cabin fever than to relive my favorite vacation cruise? This is aboard MSC Musica, we had a balconey cabin.
Our first port was Bari, Italy. We enjoyed touring the old town and seeing the small port.
The next day we were on to Katakolon, Greece. We took a bus trip and visited the site of the Orginal Olympic games.
Then we cruised on to Santorini, Greece. I would not believe the water was truly so blue had I not seen it for myself. Don’t take the donkey’s up the mountain, my daughter was thrown half way up!
On to Mykonos, Greece which is known as the party capital of the Greek Isles. Notice the interesting scenery?
Mykonos was beautiful, warm sunny and welcoming.
It’s a new year and I want to wish all my friends a Happy New Year. 2014 is shaping up to be a busy year. I have three projects to finish. One is a novella that my editor is waiting for edits on, the second is the sequel to A Matter of Trust, which will feature more paranormal elements with a “walk-in” and finally I’ve been asked to write a romantic suspense sans paranormal. This third thing offers the most challenge for me because almost all of my work has strong elements of paranormal that find their way into my writing.
What about you, my friends? What are your plans for the new year?
If you haven’t download it already you can find my romantic suspense novel, A Matter of Trust, here: