I am excited to welcome author TJ Bennett, who is celebrating the release of Dark Angel with an exclusive excerpt.
When young widow Catherine Briton is washed ashore, the sole survivor of a violent shipwreck, all she wants is to go home to London. But injured as she is, she can’t escape when a shadowy stranger rescues her and takes her to his castle—where she’s healed with suspicious, almost magical speed.
The more time Catherine spends in the castle, the more her curiosity rises where her fiercely handsome new “master,” Gerard, is concerned. As she begins to investigate, though, her discoveries only bring more questions. It seems Gerard isn’t the only one on the island keeping secrets…
The small town is full of strange mysteries and townspeople who know more than they should about her. And when a hulking beast that stalks the nearby hills and valleys catches up to her, Catherine must figure out what’s going on before it’s too late
Make sure you stick around to the end. We’ll be giving away a Cameo necklace and a $20 giftcard.
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Exclusive Excerpt: Dark Angel by TJ Bennett
At this point in Dark Angel, my heroine Catherine Briton, a former nurse who served in the Crimean Theater with Florence Nightingale, has just been rescued after washing up on the shore of the island of Ynys Nos, somewhere in the middle of the Irish Sea—or so she believes. The enigmatic man who rules this island has taken her to his castle high on a cliff to recover. An injured Catherine awakens to find that her savior has been watching over her while she sleeps…and that something very important to her has gone missing.
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I have lost something, sir.” I swallowed my anxiety, forcing my voice into a normal pattern despite the screaming panic in my mind. “Did you find a reticule on my person, or near about, when you brought me from the water? It was black with jet beads.”
I did not. It is likely sunk to the bottom of the ocean by now,” he answered.
Despair sheared through me. No, it cannot be. After everything…I bit my lip to stifle my cry of anguish, pressed down hard to stop it from escaping.
He noted my reaction, his body shifting as if to protect me from a danger he could not possibly comprehend. “This thing was of importance to you?”
What could I say? Only that it meant everything, and I could not possibly replace it? That I had lost all hope with the loss of the money in that bag, money I had been told I had no right to possess? What good would it do to bemoan my fate, to rail at the sea that had stolen my future and that of the children?
I traced the oval shape of the cameo beneath my nightgown and neatened my face into a bland semblance of normality for the sake of appearances. It was a long-ingrained habit appropriate to my strict Victorian upbringing. A well-bred gentlewoman never revealed her inner turmoil to another, even when she wanted to scream and beat her bosom.
Especially not then.
It is nothing. A trifle. Do not think of it again,” I managed, my throat squeezing shut.
A trifle.” He regarded me, speculation in his gaze.
I did not realize my hand on the sheet clenched and unclenched, twisting the fabric into knots, until he tapped his fingertip gently against it. I stilled instantly, and his hand moved away.
What is your name?” he asked.
He knelt down before me, so close I could see the ring of coal black surrounding the gray of his irises. The movement had been swift and soundless, startling me back against the plump pillows.
C-Catherine,” I stammered, surprised into answering by his proximity. He radiated energy, a subtle magnetism that suggested he was accustomed to obedience.
I will look after you now, Catherine. Whatever troubles you becomes my trouble, too. Whatever you need, I will provide.” He smiled, a flash of white teeth, and my heart nearly stopped. “‘Ask, and it shall be given you.’”
“‘The devil quotes scripture for his own ends,’” I rejoined without thinking, then gasped at the sheer audacity of my remark.
His smile only widened further.
Yes,” he murmured. “That he does.”
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Meet TJ Bennett!
TJ Bennett has been writing for publication since 2000, but she’s been interested in it a lot longer than that. It wasn’t the best of books that got her writing, however; it was the worst. After slamming one particularly awful novel against the wall and complaining to her husband, “I can do better than that,” he challenged her to “just do it.” That was all the encouragement she needed. Since then, TJ has placed in over a dozen literary contests, including the Pacific Northwest Writers Association’s mixed-genre contest, the Daphne du Maurier mystery contest, the Holt Medallion, the Book Buyers Best, and many others.
Contact Info
Website: website
Blog: Blog
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Want to purchase ’s novels?
Dark Angel
Behaim Brothers of Wittenberg
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I really liked the description and excerpt of Dark Angel. It has definitely caught my interest and I’m looking forward to reading it.
Gothic tales are just what I like, so I’ll keep this one in mind.
This book sounds great! So excited to read it.