Samantha King's highly successful life turns upside down when her soul-mate and colleague falls four stories to his death in New York. She is determined to find the murderer. Samantha is a strong and independent minded woman. She never gives up and always delivers. During the investigation which takes her from Texas to New York, England, France, Italy and India, she runs headlong into a romance and an affair that threatens to break her heart. Buried in an earthquake, she faces death. Will the love that devastated her save her at last? And what about the killer who now stalks her?
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When I first contemplated writing a story with a woman as the protagonist, I got lots of advice. Some of my friends nodded thoughtfully, digesting the news with no apparent need to comment and usually changing the subject to some sport event. Some looked pained, as if I had announced I were considering a sex change. Some women laughed at the thought that any man could be capable of understanding a woman's complexities. There were a few however who stuck their thumbs in the air, which I assumed were signs of approval. They even offered words of encouragement. So I started writing. I chose Samantha as the name of my protagonist. Samantha Callendar King. I liked the sound and the rhythm. I wrote and wrote and after awhile I felt her presence. Sort of a looking-over-the-shoulder presence. She would clap her hands in agreement over this or that scene. Often we would stop the story and have a chat about how she felt about some of the things I had her doing. Especially when I wrote the sexy scenes, I was aware of her sense of pleasure and awe. "You've got to be kidding," was a favorite response, followed with words like wow, woo, and ugh. I'll have to hand it to her for being such a good sport. She liked the other characteristics I gave her--an independent spirit, her commitment to work and friends and an excellent expertise in the martial arts. I put together a great cast of characters to support her and gave her freedom to roam the world in her position as a real estate broker who arranged acquistitions and sales of very expensive properties for her decidedly paranoid clientele. Naturally, she solved murders and persevered in the face of hair-raising adventures and the vicissitudes of romantic relationships. I like her a lot. Oh yes, after writing her adventures, do I understand Samantha better? I'll have to admit she often surprises me. She has been a delight. I have laughed with her and cried with her. She's super as far as I'm concerned. I hope you like her too. --Lloyd Mardis
About LLOYD MARDIS
Lloyd Mardis is a student of the human condition, wielding the written craft to enrapture the mind much like an artist wields a brush. The pages are a blank canvas on which to draw from a talent heralded by many and matched only by an imagination that rises to the task. Beneath The Mirror is the first in a series of Samantha King novels, with work progressing quickly on the next exciting story. The author, Lloyd Mardis, holds degrees in Theology, Philosophy and Psychology. He lives with his wife, Nancy Anne, and Cookie, a loving but suspicious calico, in Memphis, Tennessee.
Samantha King's highly successful life turns upside down when her soul-mate and colleague falls four stories to his death in New York. She is determined to find the murderer. Samantha is a strong and independent minded woman. She never gives up and always delivers. During the investigation which takes her from Texas to New York, England, France, Italy and India, she runs headlong into a romance and an affair that threatens to break her heart. Buried in an earthquake, she faces death. Will the love that devastated her save her at last? And what about the killer who now stalks her?
Lloyd Mardis is a student of the human condition, wielding the written craft to enrapture the mind much like an artist wields a brush. The pages are a blank canvas on which to draw from a talent heralded by many and matched only by an imagination that rises to the task. Beneath The Mirror is the first in a series of Samantha King novels, with work progressing quickly on the next exciting story. The author, Lloyd Mardis, holds degrees in Theology, Philosophy and Psychology. He lives with his wife, Nancy Anne, and Cookie, a loving but suspicious calico, in Memphis, Tennessee.