A Post About Me

So, you want to learn more about me?  I’m just a normal person.  I’m a Mom.  I’m a cat lover.  I’m a home owner (yes, I hate paying taxes too!).  I love playing Sims and I love singing on Rock Band.  But what I like to do most (well, other then spending time with my family) is writing.

I’m Laurel O’Donnell.  The name Laurel comes from the laurel tree and is symbolic of honor and victory.  Awesome!  No wonder I write about knight of honor.  When I grew up, my family called me Laurie.

Tell you more?  When I was growing up I wanted to be an actress.  I loved performing on the stage!  I was in several college plays and took countless acting and drama classes in college, which I really believe helped my writing.  It helped me to get inside the character’s head, to see their motivation.

I read a lot when I was young, much more then I read now.  I guess I had more time.  My favorite author growing up was Isaac Asimov.  I really enjoyed Sci Fi then.  More then reading, I enjoyed the movies.  Raiders of the Lost Ark, Star Wars.  Nowadays, I don’t get to the movies much.  I’m busy writing and doing family stuff.  If I do have time to watch a movie, it’s usually on Netflix.  So, I have to say the best movie I saw last year was Titanic (for the thousandth time).

I come from an Italian family and food has always been a big part of my life.  Desserts are my specialty, especially cookies which I make around Christmas.  My favorite dessert, which I can’t make, is Crystal.  My Grandmother used to make it.  It is dough that is cooked in oil and sprinkled with powdered sugar.  Delicious!  I haven’t had it for years.  Since I love desserts, it is only logical that I don’t like vegetables.  I can’t stand Brussel Sprouts.

I see a lot of terrible things on the news and often wonder what people are thinking.  But, the thing that scares me the most is that something horrible will happen to my children.  This terrifies me.  My children are all teenagers, driving, doing crazy things, taking unthinkable risks.  Okay, I admit it, they are teenagers and not of sound mind.

I’ve never had an imaginary friend.  Not as a child, nor as an adult.  I simply heard voices in my head…

I do believe in aliens.  It’s arrogant for us to think we are the only species among all those stars.  There simply has to be something or someone else out there.

That pretty much gives you a glimpse into who I am.  There’s so much more coming.  Right now, I’m working on the next installment of my Lost Souls series entitled Deception.  This series has so much potential!  Not only are my brave characters battling evil, but they all have their own problems they need to deal with.

Here’s a sneak peek at Deception, coming soon!:

Sam, a Lost Soul (souls who refuse to pass into the afterlife become wandering spirits, trapped between the world of the living and the dead), has found out that her husband is not dead, but a Changed (beings who were once Lost Souls but who are now dark, dangerous and disturbed monsters).

Sam fazed to her car.  She was glad to see Damien wasn’t near it.  He lounged against the wall with that infamous masculinity.  His head was bowed and his long dark hair hung over his face, shielding it.  How many times had she seen him like this?  The past came searing back, so long ago.  He wore different clothing back then, but it was the same pose.

Sam mentally shook herself and clenched her jaw.  Damien wasn’t the same man.  Her husband would never have killed that human so coldly.  She thought of the horrible tragedy surrounding coach Frederick’s death, then quickly put aside the memory of their failure to save the human.  “I’m starting to think you’re following me.”

“I am.”

The timbre of his voice sent chills down her body.  She had always reacted to his deep voice with anticipation.  “Why?”

“You’re the only one who knows how to blast Changed who have made the Jump.  You’re the only one using that technique to stop them.”

Sam nodded.  “That’s right.  You don’t like us blasting your friends.”

“They are no friends of mine.”

“But you want us to stop.”

Damien lifted his head and pinned her with his black eyes.  “I don’t want you to blast them.  Go ahead and kill them like you used to, I don’t care.  Just don’t blast them.”

Sam narrowed her eyes.  Perhaps the other Changed were not his friends, but he still belonged with that race of hideous monsters.  Damien was of the same grotesque stock now.  “You’re out of luck.  We’re going to keep blasting them.  We’re going to save the humans and kill the Changed.”

Damien jerked away from the wall.

A rush of power swept through Sam and her muscles tensed in preparation.

Damien’s gaze swept her and he released a breath as he relaxed.

The moment of power disappeared.  Sam cocked her head in confusion.

A small smile crept over his lips.  “You always knew how to get me angry.”

“You didn’t have to kill that human.  He was a coach.  He was a father.”

“You were blasting him.  I warned you not to.”

Sam’s jaw clenched.  “Tell me you did it because he was doomed anyway.  Tell me you did it to save his family from scandal and humiliation.”  That was the argument she, Ben and Christian had.  Kill the man to save the family.  She wanted to know Damien had that moral dilemma too, that he hadn’t killed the human just because he didn’t want her to blast the Changed.

Damien grinned softly.  “I’ll tell you that, if you want me to.”

Part of Sam cried out for her lost love because he was a monster now.  He no longer cared for life.  “Thanks for straightening me out in that matter.”  She began to faze.

Damien was suddenly before her, grabbing her wrist.  He was so fast!  And even more shocking…somehow he was able to grab her wrist during her faze.

“I’m not done talking to you.”

“How did you do that?”  No one had ever interrupted her faze like that before.  She never even knew such a thing was possible.

“I can do a lot of things now,” he said.

She yanked at her hand, but he held it firmly.  Then, he tugged her against him, his arm circling behind her, holding her close.  His chest was firm just like she remembered.  He was too much like she remembered, like she wanted him to be.  Her gaze swept his face.  “Going to drain me again?”

Those lips, a sensual slash on his face, curled in amusement.  “You’d like it too much.”

She felt herself melting against him, her body instantly warming to his hold.  She fought the feelings.  Not my husband, she told herself.  Her jaw clenched.

He lifted a hand and wiped a strand of her hair back from her cheek.  Small blue electrical shocks danced between his fingers and her cheek.  “Life is different for me now, Sammie,” he whispered.

Yes!  You’re a monster, she wanted to scream at him.  She knew his morals, the morals that had been so filled with honor and pride, were now corrupted with evil.

“I’m so glad I’ve found you.”