Gifts of Love Come in all sizes and oddity Gifts come in all sizes and shapes and can be given for good or weird reasons. I remember my true love’s first gift was a glued together sand castle. He gave it to me for no reason at the start of an early date. I’ve always suspected it was an unwanted present that one of the ladies at work picked up on her island holiday and gave to him. So he gave it to me in a strange re-gifting moment. When I opened the door, he started talking about Greeks bringing gifts. Honest to God, I had no idea what he was talking about and was shocked when he concluded his ramble by handing me a small, permanently glued together Sand Castle with a felt bottom and a bent flag. I long ago lost the boyfriend, but I still have the sand castle and to this day I have no idea why he gave it to me. Maybe it was cluttering his cabinet. Now of course, it’s cluttering mine. 
In Jacko, the pirate’s romance novel, he sends Alice what most people would think to be a strange and disturbing gift, but at least it made sense to me. And more importantly, Alice understood why he sent the gift. 
First let me apologize for the red background. It should be a scarf, but painting a scarf is much harder than you might imagine and clearly I had no artistic juice within me on the night I created this. Here’s the excerpt where Alice receives her gift. 
Alice returned to the package, cut the twine and unwrapped the paper. She lifted up a colorful silk scarf wrapped around something oblong and hard. As she unwrapped the scarf, she caught the musky scent that had haunted her senses in her sleep. Jacko. “What is it?” Thomas asked. Alice had become so enchanted with the scarf, she had failed to notice the item wrapped inside it. In her hand lay what looked to be an ivory handle. But to what? She noticed a pearl inset on one side and pressed it. A lethal four-inch blade of silver jutted out. “Dear Lord!” Thomas exclaimed. “Do you think Carson sent this as a threat?” “No.” She smiled and stroked the handle. “I think Jacko sent it as a gift.” “A gift? What type of man sends a knife to lady?” She pressed the scarf to her lips. “A very unique one. A man who admires a woman good with knives.” Placing the scarf around her neck, she examined the slender blade. When she pushed the pearl inset again, the blade returned inside the handle. “Now that is clever.” She showed Thomas how the knife could appear and disappear. He scowled and stepped back. “Perhaps you should put the ‘gift’ in your safe.” “First, I must show it to Mother.” She headed to the door. “Your mother is far from recovered. She does not need to know ill-dressed gypsies are giving you knives!” Alice stopped and turned to Thomas, angered by his words. “You will never refer to the man I intend to marry in such disrespectful terms again.” “Marry? You cannot marry a gypsy.” “This is not your say.” Thomas refused to back down. “Your mother will not allow it!” “It is not her say either. However, I believe once she knows Jacko better, she will welcome him into our home.” “A gypsy?” “A man who risked his life to save a woman he had never met.” She caressed the ivory handle of her hidden knife. “A man who wishes me to be strong and unafraid.” She then recalled them seated together at the kitchen table. “A man with warmth and laughter in his eyes.” 
Jacko, a gypsy with a great love for stealing, rescues a suffragette from Bedlam. Upon returning the elderly woman to safety, he meets her blue-stocking daughter. Alice has decided she prefers managing her estate farms over London society. She is resigned to never marry until the handsome and surprisingly wealthy man with a dark past and several identities steals her heart. 
A Right to Love 
Liza O’Connor was raised badly by feral cats, left the South/Midwest and wandered off to find nicer people on the east coast. There she worked for the meanest man on Wall Street, while her psychotic husband tried to kill her three times. (So much for finding nicer people.) Then one day she declared enough, got a better job, divorced her husband, and fell in love with her new life where people behaved normally. But all those bad behaviors has given her lots of fodder for her humorous romances. Please buy these books, because otherwise, she’ll become grumpy and write troubled novels instead. They will likely traumatize you. You have been warned. Mostly humorous books by Liza: Saving Casey – Old woman reincarnates into troubled teen’s body. (Half funny/half traumatizing) Ghost Lover--Two British brothers fall in love with the same young woman. Ancestral ghost is called in to fix the situation. And there’s a ghost cat that roams about the book as well. (Humorous Contemporary Romance) A Long Road to Love Series: (Humorous Contemporary odd Romance) Worst Week Ever — Laugh out loud week of disasters of Epic proportions. Oh Stupid Heart — The heart wants what it wants, even if it’s impossible. Coming to Reason — There is a breaking point when even a saint comes to reason. Climbing out of Hell — The reconstruction of a terrible man into a great one. The Troublesome Apprentice — The greatest sleuth in Victorian England hires a young man who turns out to be a young woman. The Missing Partner — Opps! The greatest sleuth in Victorian England goes missing, leaving Vic to rescue him, a suffragette, and about 100 servants. Not to mention an eviscerating cat. Yes, let’s not mention the cat. The Mesmerist — The Mesmerist can control people from afar and make them murder for her. Worse yet, Xavier Thorn has fallen under her spell. 
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT
LIZA O'CONNOR Investigate these sites: Liza's Blog and Website Facebook Twitter WIN A FREE COPY OF A TROUBLESOME APPRENTICE Just leave me your email address and it’s yours
Liza O'Connor
12/10/2014 03:36:22 am
Thanks for having me! And remember, if anyone wants a copy of The Troublesome Apprentice (which also has Jacko in it) just ask for it and it's yours. 12/10/2014 05:42:00 am
Love the regifted sandcastle with the bent flag :-)
Liza O'Connor
12/10/2014 09:37:19 am
Yeah, well, that really happened. Comments are closed.
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