Romantic Suspense
Date Published: June 2016
Who is Dorothy Lyle?
She’s a woman who appears super-normal at first glance. She resides in a modest house in a small Irish town, and commutes to a typical office. She’s a lone parent who misses her children now that they are at college. Yet Dorothy is so much more than the obvious. She is a powerful psychic who has been masquerading as normal for twenty years. She is also a woman who has been avoiding men since a nasty breakup and divorce left her reeling in shock while still in her twenties.
The winds of change begin to blow around Dorothy as she approaches her fortieth birthday. An unfortunate affair of the heart means that her daughter, Diane, has distanced herself from her former home and doting mother. Dorothy wonders if some extra cash might alleviate the immediate problem.
Enter the lottery and one hundred and eight-five million tax free dollars.
How easy do you think it is to hide your true self when you unexpectedly become the fortieth richest woman in your own small country? How feasible do you think it is to avoid all dating and romantic involvements when you are single, and literally rolling in cash? How practical do you think it is to stay safe when so many of those around you seem to resent your good fortune?
This box set contains the following three books:
DOROTHY LYLE IN AVARICE – BOOK 1. Join Dorothy on the first leg of her rollercoaster journey as she discovers what an emotionally charged and complicated experience dealing with unexpected wealth can be. Clairvoyance may in handy on occasion, but it doesn’t help you decide who gets what!
DOROTHY LYLE IN COLOUR – BOOK 2. Relax with Dorothy as she begins to truly enjoy her wealth and changes in fortune. Only for her new-found pleasure to be jeopardised by a tarot card reading of all things! Once again, change is afoot, although this time it’s of a sinister nature.
DOROTHY LYLE IN HELP – BOOK 3. Watch what happens when Dorothy concedes that she cannot protect herself alone, and sets out to hire professional help. Ever wondered what it would be like to come face to face with your other half? The half you weren’t fully aware was even missing. And if he happened to be in a bad mood at that momentous moment, do you think it might colour your judgement? Read on, folks, and find out the answers to these questions and about a hundred more.
MIRACLES AND MILLIONS: TWO MINDS, TWO BODIES, TWO HEARTS, ONE SOUL
EXCERPT
Even though Glenda’s bedroom was on the lower level of the Falcon apartment, the bloodcurdling scream from the twelfth floor was so loud, it instantly woke her. Fearful that the Sick Puppy had invaded the apartment, she sat bolt upright and switched on her bedside lamp.
Thinking only of Dorothy and with scant regard for her own safety, she leaped out of bed and rammed her feet into a pair of furry pink slippers. She glanced around for something to use as a weapon, but the only thing she spotted was a curling tongs. She grabbed it and bolted for the door.
There was a security light glowing in the hallway when she emerged from her room. All appeared well on this floor and was deathly quiet. Glenda sprinted up the stairs in a way she had not done since she was fifty and paused at the top, listening for intruders. Silence reigned. Terrified of what she was walking into, she made her way to Dorothy’s bedroom, her feet padding softly on the hardwood floors as she went. She made sure the hall light was fully on, then tapped on the door. Receiving no reply, she pushed it open, her pulse beating so rapidly she was sure she was going to have a heart attack.
In the half-light from the hallway, Glenda saw Dorothy sitting upright in bed. Her face was flushed, and sweat was trickling down her forehead. She was silent and her eyes stared sightlessly at the housekeeper. Willing herself to remain calm, Glenda put down the curling tongs and slowly approached her boss, not knowing if she was awake or asleep.
She turned on the bedside light and dimmed it to a soft glow. She doublet checked to ensure there was nobody else in the room then scampered into the en-suite. She ran a washcloth under the cold tap, picked up a second one from the clean supply and trotted back to the bedroom. Dorothy had not moved a muscle in her absence. Using the damp cloth, Glenda gently wiped away the rivulets of perspiration, then dried her employer’s face with the spare cloth.
‘Everything’s okay now, Boss,’ she said softly, as she wiped. ‘It was only a bad dream.’
‘He’s in trouble, Glen,’ Dorothy sounded calm as she replied. ‘They’re trying to kill him.’
‘No, no, Boss,’ the housekeeper did her best not to burst into tears. ‘You’re the one who’s in danger. Don’t worry, we’re not going to let anything happen to you. Why don’t you lie down now?’
Dorothy obediently lay back on her pillows. Her eyes were wide open and her pupils fully dilated. Glenda was not sure if the other woman even knew she was in the room with her.
‘I’m going to sit here until you fall asleep,’ the housekeeper said reassuringly. ‘Close your eyes, Boss. You need your rest. We have a big weekend ahead of us.’
The words sounded totally inane to her ears, although they seemed to do the trick. Dorothy moved her hand until it rested on her heart then slowly closed her eyes.
‘So much blood,’ she murmured. ‘I think he got away this time, but it was a narrow escape.’
‘I’m sure he’s fine,’ Glenda replied helplessly. ‘Try not to think about blood. Think about the lovely new house. Is it true you’re getting a waterbed?’
‘A waterbed,’ Dorothy sighed dreamily. ‘Big enough for a basketball team. Wait until you see it, Glen.’
‘I can’t wait,’ the housekeeper replied truthfully. ‘Bel mentioned a rotisserie, although I expect she was teasing me. She’s naughty like that.’
‘You’re going to love that too,’ Dorothy whispered sleepily. ‘Goodnight, Glen. Sleep well.’
‘Goodnight, Boss,’ the housekeeper replied, as she dashed away a tear.
Dorothy’s breathing changed and Glenda knew she was asleep. There was a wing-backed chair in the corner of the room. She dragged it closer to the bed and made herself comfortable.
‘I’ll sit here for twenty minutes in case you have another dream,’ she told the sleeping form. Dorothy was blissfully unaware of the worry she was causing the other woman and slept on. This time she dreamed of flying.
About the Author
Ella Carmichael was born in Ireland in the 1960’s, but only toyed with writing when she was young. Toyed might be too kind. She goofed about with a pen and paper when she was a child and teenager, but never wrote anything longer than a silly poem. She says, “You really have to fight for your dreams in this life, and I didn’t fight for mine. The thought of doing so never even crossed my mind back then.”
From the age of 20 she worked in offices, and often used to ask herself if there might be more to life than the daily grind. This is one of the few things that she has in common with Dorothy Lyle, the main character of her series, The Miracles and Millions Saga. Dorothy is cheesed off with the 9-5 life and hopes for more. Little does she realize what’s around the corner. Be careful what you wish for!
Ella got the idea for M&M back in 2010. There was lottery fever all over Europe that autumn, yet at the same time there were photographs appearing in the papers that showed hundreds of individuals standing in line for free lunches at the Bow Street mission house in Dublin. It was hard for her to make sense of it all, yet somehow she knew it was important.
She was in a very bad place in her life in 2010, after ending a relationship with a most unsuitable man. Figuring that she had little to lose, she began to write as a form of therapy. Carmicheal tends to be a dabbler by nature, yet when it came to writing she found she was as focused as one of those drones we hear so much about. It took more than thirty years to do it, but she became a writer in the end. Ella hopes any budding authors who are reading this will draw inspiration from that. It’s never to late to give it your best shot.
Once the die was cast, characters literally began to materialize in front of her. The strongest back then was Dorothy, although it certainly didn’t stop with her. The Maddox character appeared over her bed one morning in a cloud of dry white ice. In the earlier drafts, Jack was very much the iceman, but Ella decided to soften him up and make him fall madly in love. Just because. It progressed from there. More and more characters began to show up and soon she had a series on her hands instead of just one book.
Publishers and agents aren’t interested in a series unless the writer follows a number of very strict criteria. Carmichael has broken those rules. Her books are best read in order. The story progresses in each one, and spans the two year period between January 2011 and December 2012.
Once she understood that no publisher would touch her, she decided to go it alone. She felt she was too old to sit around and wait for a letter that will never drop onto the doormat. She signed up with KDP and uploaded every completed manuscript. At the time of writing this bio she has not yet uploaded Book 10. She is struggling to let it go…
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