This week, I'm incredibly pleased to bring you something a little different to ponder on. The lovely and very talented Mahalia Levey is my guest and she's going to share her take on something near and dear to many people's hearts. The Price of Beauty. I'm sure you'll all find this as interesting as I did.
by Mahalia Levey
What price do a majority of women pay for being glamorous or
a smokin’ hawt knockout for a girl’s night out?
From waxing, to plucking eyebrows, to a few of us attaching fake eyebrows that look fantastic but have a penchant to make the eyes water the first day, or even irritate the skin inflaming it. You’d think we’d stray away from being uncomfortable…But somewhere in our DNA it’s been ingrained that to look fantastic is to feel fantastic…no matter the cost.
My personal contribution to this…is shoes-glorious shoes. I
am a die-hard sexy shoes fanatic.
My predicament! We were out watching my favorite local band play and I looked down at my adorable canvas wedges, not too dressy but cute with black jeans and a pink top to be casual. My feet were killing me. My friend’s feet were killing her, and we both felt out toes falling asleep at points in time and doing the little wiggle dance and scrunchin of the toes in time with the Rock music to play it off. Mind you we were only at the performance for three hours and not enough alcohol would dull the painful aching. The dance floor is sticky and music is blaring and you daren’t take off your shoes and go barefoot. So like the troopers we were…we held strong til time to go.
My predicament! We were out watching my favorite local band play and I looked down at my adorable canvas wedges, not too dressy but cute with black jeans and a pink top to be casual. My feet were killing me. My friend’s feet were killing her, and we both felt out toes falling asleep at points in time and doing the little wiggle dance and scrunchin of the toes in time with the Rock music to play it off. Mind you we were only at the performance for three hours and not enough alcohol would dull the painful aching. The dance floor is sticky and music is blaring and you daren’t take off your shoes and go barefoot. So like the troopers we were…we held strong til time to go.
As the DH came to get me and meet my good friends he hadn’t been able to…I hobbled to the car. We got home and the balls of my feet hurt so bad I crawled from the garage to the door. He of course laughed because he doesn’t get the whole wearing what ends up being unbearable. There is no price that’s too high for cute shoes… well unless it causes an untimely demise- that’s my story and I’m sticking to it!
Now onto Matters of the Heart which happens to take place in Hollywood one of the hugest areas where beauty is a high demand for various careers!
Matters of the Heart
by Mahalia Levey
Publisher: eXtasy Books
Genre: contemporary, erotic romance, Tarot series
Buy Link
Publisher: eXtasy Books
Genre: contemporary, erotic romance, Tarot series
Buy Link
~Card
Overview~ The Queen of Cups is the quality of a woman’s kind nature to
others. Inside, she is at constant odds with self-love and often is troubled by
insecurity. She is a provider to others, her chalice always overflows. Her cup
in a situation symbolizes that the virtue of true love is unconditional. It is
a calling for growth in emotional fulfillment. All one has to do is reach out
and accept it. We can only hope she will see for herself that she is worthy of
having what she bestows on others to herself.
Madeline ‘Eden’ Jenning’s life is in upheaval. Growing older is perilous for her career. Aging gracefully does nothing for her if it means losing out on all she’s worked for. Plastic surgery becomes her obsession— finding the fountain of youth, a way to hold onto the persona she’s emulated for three decades. Desperation makes her beg her dearest friend for the best surgeon known in their area. She doesn’t expect him to be someone from her past.
Tanner James Thornton, a
well-known plastic surgeon, takes only the worst of all cases, those needing
his skilled hands to give them a semblance of normalcy once again. When he
promises a friend he’ll assess a new client, immediately he knows being her
surgeon won’t work. Not only is he attracted to her, but he remembers who she
was before the glam. He has the answers she needs that don’t revolve around
Hollywood’s superficial reasons for body augmentation.
Excerpt
Rain pelted down on the
morning of her appointment. Umbrella shielding her, she moved to the doors of
the clinic. In her email box, she’d received a confirmation of appointment, was
given a questionnaire and advised what to expect. Eden clicked her umbrella to
close and shook off excess drops of water and then entered the establishment.
A warm ambience greeted
her. She’d expected the building to be a high rise. Pleased, she walked up to
the receptionist’s desk.
“Good morning, I’m here to
check in for an assessment.”
“Name?” the receptionist
asked while fielding phone calls from her headset.
“Eden Jennings.”
“You’re a bit early, please
fill out these forms, front and back, and don’t forget to include insurance
policy numbers, if you decide to have surgery, payment options will be
discussed, including monthly payments, should you qualify. One second please.”
She paused, “Thank you for calling the Thornton clinic, please hold.” She
shifted her attention back to Eden. “When you’re done, please bring back the
clipboard and the top document, the rest will go with you.”
“Thank you,” Eden said as
she found a plush seat to fill out the requested health assessment forms.
“Eden Jennings?” a nurse
called from the opening of a private set of doors leading to examination rooms.
“Yes.” Eden picked up her
purse, tucked it under her arm and rose, following the nurse to the back.
“I’m Carmen, I’ll be
joining Dr. Thornton during your physical. Please follow me.”
“Okay.” She eyed the
efficient nurse and followed her past the doors leading to the back.
“Nervous?”
“Very. Is it obvious?”
“Normal. Anyone
contemplating surgery should have a level of nervousness.”
Carmen’s warm smile made it
easy for Eden to relax.
“Dr. Thornton’s door is two
doors down on the left.”
Eden opened her mouth to
speak.
“Thank you for the report,
Mrs. Hatfield. I’m pleased to hear your son’s healing well. Don’t forget his
check up in two weeks. No, daily reports aren’t necessary.”
“It can’t be.” She stopped
dead still just before his office. Her heart lurched. One coincidence was
enough, now two? She didn’t believe in such things. On the other side of
that door sat TJ.
“Is there a problem, Ms.
Jennings?” Carmen said as she touched her arm lightly.
“I’ve made a mistake.”
“Panic is common, let’s go
talk to the doctor and we’ll see if this is for you, okay?” She encouraged her.
“I-I can’t go in there. Do
you have another doctor?”
Carmen shook her head.
“Doctor Thornton doesn’t have a partner, ma’am. You did request him. I’m not
sure why there’s a problem. I assure you he’s the best surgeon on the West
coast.”
Bile rose in her throat. No
way could she go in there and ask her first lover to augment her body.
“Carmen, bring my
appointment in please,” a timber voice ordered over the intercom.
Eden darted a nervous
glance at the door and began backing up toward the reception desk, her throat
dry, hands shaking. She couldn’t very well explain why to the nurse. The sooner
she made it out the door, the better. Turning on her heel, she made a break for
the door.
“Madeline.”
Tanner James sure did know
how to use her name like no other. His warm whiskey voice brought her to a
screeching halt. Pasting a false smile on her face, she turned. Her heartbeat
spiked. His large body was leaning in the doorway. “Tanner James.” Who was the
woman whispering his name on an airy breath?
“I thought we had an
appointment. Are you backing out on me?
“I—uh.” She looked over at
Carmen who watched the byplay with a look of interest.
“No,” she squeaked, not
willing to give the satisfaction of him calling her a coward, as his eyes
belied.
“Good. Today would be nice,
now—even better.”
“Coming,” Eden said,
blushing furiously at her choice of retort. A lot of time had passed since
she’d been called Madeline. God, he even smelled the same. Time had taken away
the youthful athlete and in its place stuck a debonair man. Her brain screamed run, her body screamed you’re home. Warring with what to say,
she bit her tongue and sauntered toward him, determined not to let him find
another reason to comment. Drat, that man and his chuckle.
“Carmen, please cancel the
rest of my appointments for the day. Reschedule them and apologize for the
short notice.”
“You don’t need me here?”
Bless her soul. The nurse
wasn’t going to leave her alone.
“Maddy and I have some
catching up to do, don’t we?”
The tone of his voice dared
her to disagree. Melting like butter, Eden swallowed and shook her head no.
“If you’re sure,” Carmen
replied.
“Carmen. Maddy and I have a
long history together. When we’re ready to discuss augmentation, I’ll page
you.”
“Damn.” His dismissing tone
improved tenfold since the old days. Eden felt a pang of sympathy for the
protective nurse. “I’ll be fine Carmen,” she said, almost believing the lie
springing out of her mouth. Eden brushed past her and ducked under Tanner’s arm
into his office and found a chair to sit in before her knees buckled on her.
Pure magnetism, Tanner
walked in and sat down behind his desk. There were no family pictures or
photographs gracing the polished cherry wood, and no ring on his ring finger.
She observed it all with her first glance. “This is awkward.”
“You look beautiful Maddy,”
Tanner complimented, taking the forms from her hands, setting them in front of
him.
And, Mahalia has offered another snippet for your enjoyment. Make sure you read right down to the end, she's got a surprise for you!
Not Since You
by Mahalia Levey
Publisher: eXtasy Books
Genre: Paranormal, romance, shapeshifter
Blurb
A
moment of reckless passion changed S’Niah Donovan’s life. As her
family’s healer, she’s coveted, and as the only female in three
generations, she’s overprotected. Personal tragedy takes her faith and
hope in one fell swoop, unfairly harming the one man who’s brought
nothing but joy to her darkened life.
Mason
Donovan loves two things, music and his mate. The complicated woman
wove an unbreakable spell around his heart and then shattered it with
her desertion. No longer human, unable to leave her as she did him, he
sticks around, in the shadows, learning his new craft and how to tame
his beast. Three years later, enough is enough. He now plans on using
every trick of magic to bring his wayward mate back into his life.
Excerpt
Excerpt
“S’Niah Murielle Donovan.”
Her name and the loud banging on the door broke apart their conversation. Sin looked at Reina and groaned.
“Well, I guess you have your answer.”
Reina
dinged it right on the dot. Chaos erupted in her home. The sound of
Havi bellowing added to Lyric’s voice saying her movie was over. Sin
cast a surreptitious glance at the door, playing it off as if she didn’t
know who was out there. Reina pinched her into action.
“Ouch.”
“Get to that door. I got the kids.” Reina darted into the playroom to handle Havi’s racket.
“Lyric,
Auntie Reina will be in in a minute, okay,” Sin called out to her
daughter as she headed to her front door, placing her hand on the knob
and removing it. Would Mason go away if she pretended not to be home?
She stepped back on her tiptoes.
“I don’t have time for games, S’Niah. I know you’re right on the other side of the door.”
He
couldn’t possibly. Or had his senses picked up quite a bit more? Sin
closed her hand around the knob and opened it up a sliver. “What do you
want and how do you know where I live?”
“To talk…and I’ve always known.”
He sounded a bit angry and smelled better than the scone she’d devoured alongside Reina. “I have to feed the baby.”
“Hiding behind him still? Worked earlier, not this time. Let me in.”
“Mason Donovan, you have some nerve demanding I let you into my home.”
“I
played things your way once before, Sin. Not again. You can open the
door and let me in to talk like civilized adults or I can break it down
and let myself in to talk at you uncivilized.”
Sin
shut the door with force and wove an intricate ward with her dancing
fingertips. Feeling rather smug with herself, she turned, her intention
to finish her conversation with Reina after seeing to Havi.
Pinpricks
of unease drifted down her spine, her tiger moving restlessly just
under her skin, pacing. She sniffed at the smell of magic and turned
back at the door to see her ward unraveling quickly. In an effort to
keep Mason out, she called upon her best spell and began a second level
to shield her from his presence.
“I could do this all night and the next day.” Mason’s voice rang with determination and a hint of arrogance.
Sin
cracked her knuckles and sat on the floor Indian style. “Let’s see what
you got, or did you forget you gained your magic from me?” Sparks
fizzled in front of her. He danced a fine tune, dissolving layers of
symbols. Each time he gained entry, she slammed him with another tighter
woven ward and smirked though he couldn’t see it.
“You think that after a year of strategy with Roarke and Valerian I couldn’t disable a simple ward?”
“I don’t think it. I know it. You can barely keep up with my talent. You’re good…but I’m better.”
“Sin. I gave Havi a bottle and grabbed two more. Taking them over to my place,” Reina yelled.
“No. Wait. Reina.” Sin groaned.
“Problems? I’ll give you a handicap. As soon as the door shuts and she’s free. You have ten seconds to enable a new ward.”
Sin
wasn’t a fool. Yeah, she needed the handicap. He’d grown in
capabilities since she last saw him. “Deal.” Her palms sweated
profusely. Her back screen door slammed shut, the sound resonating to
her anticipating-audible sense. Rewriting the ward took a second longer
than she anticipated. At each turn she stumbled to keep it moving,
watching it stall on her and break apart into tiny fragments.
The
door flew open with a spike of energy that sent shards of ice-cold
unease rippling across her body. Mason stepped in and used telekinesis
to slam the door shut behind him, and the entire time his scrutinized
glare daring her to bolt, to give him a reason to chase.
Sin
blinked in rapid succession and licked her dry lips. Her mouth went dry
the moment she raked her gaze over his toned body decorated in new
artwork. The white tee shirt stretched over his pectorals and the nipple
rings he sported. Cargo pants encased his muscular thighs and side view
of his ass she’d glimpsed briefly at the grocery store earlier. Now
faced with all of him, desire coiled within her, waking the sleeping
tiger she’d put into hibernation. On sensory overload, her breath came
out in uneven spurts, mimicking her unsteady, palpating heartbeat.
Yeah, he enjoyed her discomfort. Run or stand my ground. There wasn’t time for bubble gum in a dish or some other childish game to help her come to a resolution.
“Boo.” He leaned forward, breaking her concentration.
Mahalia is offering a free copy of each book to two lucky people who post a response there on the blog. That's two books you have the chance to win, folks. So, make sure you comment and leave an email address where she can get in touch with you.
You can find Mahalia at the following sites online:
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