Angels in the Angles

 

When I  started writing I'll Be Home for Christmas--which releases on December 7!!--I hadn't planned on making it a crossover story. It was supposed to be a pretty straight-forward riff on It's a Wonderful Life, featuring Scout from my Oberon series as she got to explore what life in Oberon might have been like if she'd never returned home. But once I started figuring out who my angel should be--and I'll admit I was heavily influenced by Dudley from the 1947 classic Christmas movie, The Bishop's Wife--I  remembered Edge. Once I  put him on the plane with Scout it was magic. Or, at least, that's how I remember it.

For those of you who aren't familiar with Edge...I'll let him introduce himself:

“People have all sorts of misconceptions about angels. They think we’re perfect. They think we don’t have feelings or emotions or lust after each other’s bodies—and occasionally after yours as well. That’s nonsense. Of course we do. We’re only human, after all. Or at least some of us were. Once. 

My name is Edge. I’m an angel. And this is my story. 

I understand how confusing it might seem at first, all the questions you’re probably asking yourself. Like aren’t angels and humans fundamentally different? Aren’t we completely separate species? Weren’t angels created first? The simple answer to all those questions is yes. But whoever said the universe was simple?

 There’s nothing uncomplicated about the human heart. There’s nothing easy when it comes to free will. If you consider all the trouble a soul can get itself into, or if you think about all the tasks the celestial hosts are called on to perform, you’ll see why it only makes good sense for there to be more than one type of angel in the world. 

Besides, if you’d ever caught even a glimpse of one of the seraphim—those fierce and fearsome creatures forever on fire to do battle against the forces of darkness—you’d think twice too about using them as messengers to ordinary people. Never mind sending one of them to stand watch over the kiddies while they sleep! 

The path to becoming an angel is actually far easier than you might imagine. All you have to do is lose your soul. That’s another concept many people find difficult to grasp. Soul loss. It’s something else that comes entirely too easily to most of us. Sudden death, violence, a lack of closure, guilt—that’s all it takes sometimes. You lose your way. You disconnect. Your soul fractures. The next thing you know, you’re waking up here. Stuck in limbo. Unable to move on to heaven…or the next plane of existence…your next lifetime… 

Okay, you want the truth? We don’t really know where we’re supposed to go from here. All we know is we aren’t going anywhere. Not yet. Not until we’ve found our closure, mended our fences, or in some cases, performed a truly unselfish act. 

Unselfish. Now that’s hard. Most of the folks here don’t have it as tough as that. They’ve just got closure issues to deal with. Closure is a piece of cake. It’s something almost anyone can manage once they’re ready for it. I’ve seen people find closure in the damnedest things. But unselfish acts—truly unselfish acts? Well, that’s a whole nother story. 

Take me, for example. I committed suicide. That’s what landed me here. And you really can’t get much more self-absorbed than that.”

***

Edge of Heaven is available HERE

It was a reckless act of passion that ended Edge's life and left him in Limbo--literally. Now, he's stuck here. While most of the other angels-in-training move quickly up the celestial ladder, Edge knows it can never be that simple for him. He's dealing with issues that are a lot more complicated than a simple lack of closure. 

 While Edge doesn't know for sure what it will take to get him into Heaven, there is one thing he's certain won't help; that would be his latest assignment guiding angel-baby Matteo Matinucci while the newbie find his wings. 

 But twenty-something Mattie--sexy, beautiful, recently departed and openly gay--could turn out to be the answer to all of Edge's prayers, as well as the fulfillment of all his fantasies, even the hot, sweaty, secret ones he's never confided to anyone.

Holiday Kisses is available for pre-order HERE

Experience the magic of romance this Christmas. Holiday Kisses is a festive collection of ten exclusive Christmas stories that will make you fall head over heels in love. Are you ready to take a journey with us? Get into the Christmas spirit with these swoon-worthy romances this holiday season.

️ Adina D. Grey - Special Christmas Present
Emily is perfect, but I could never make her as happy as she deserves.
Tyler is everything I've ever dreamed of, but I'm not enough. Will the magic of Christmas be enough to erase all doubts from their hearts?
️
Ann Grech - Gift Unwrapped
Two men to choose from... Unwrapping her gift was never so much fun.
️
Maci Dillon - Candy Canes & Cocktails
Stranded in a snowstorm with a swoon-worthy bartender never tasted so good.
️
Rosie East - Home for Christmas
Coming home for Christmas isn't always as simple as it seems...

️ Samantha Baca - Snow Place To Go
What happens when a woman looking for love gets stranded with a man who’s purposely avoiding it?
️
PG Forte - I'll be home for Christmas
A meeting with an angel has Scout dreaming of a weird Christmas—one in which she sees what life might have been like for her friends and family if she’d never come home.

️ Andrea Marie - Mrs. Claus
What starts as just a job, quickly opens the door to endless possibilities, including a chance at true love.

️Holly J. Gill- Christmas Mistake
When one mistake changes everything, how can you come back?

️Lynn Stevens - One Wish Only
We had three months together, then she was gone. I pushed her away, helped her run faster halfway around the world. Me and my big mouth, complete with the inserted foot. Now six months later, she’s standing in front of me as beautiful and stubborn as ever. And it will take a Christmas wish to win her back, or I’ll be forced to let her go forever.