We All Have our Gifts
By Donnell Ann Bell
I always believed I had a nice voice. Then I watched several seasons of America’s Got Talent and The Voiceand realized I could carry a tune and that’s about it. For what it’s worth, I readily accept I can’t dance and will never in this lifetime appear on Dancing with the Stars.
I tell you this, lest you think I’m being critical of people I love. It’s important to know our talents and equally important to know our limitations. In the words of writing coach Becca Syme, “Some people can, and some people can’t.”
When I was young and observant of family dynamics, I learned my father was good at his job, an extremely hard worker, but in no uncertain terms was he a handyman. In fact, if my dad even mentioned he was going to “fix” something, my mother left the room, picked up the phone and called a professional. I always thought that was a bit odd until she wanted a kitchen remodel. She showed us a spread in a home improvement magazine, stared longingly at it, and the first words out of my father’s mouth were, “I’ll do it.”
The outcome was ghastly, and they lived with it for a couple of years until even my father admitted the project was a disaster. Later, my mom would have her dream kitchen, complete with an added sunroom. Better yet, it was completed by a licensed contractor.
Fast forward ten years or so when I met and married my husband. For all intents and purposes, I might have married my father. Not literally but figuratively, of course. My husband, now retired, was a chemical engineer, highly respected in his field of industrial water treatment. His brother, on the other hand, is an excellent carpenter and craftsman who builds houses. That started my husband down the wrong road of assumptions, believing he, too, carried a handyman gene.
Much like my father had with the kitchen, my husband decided he would economize and complete the laundry room in our basement. The laundry room, tucked between my children’s playroom, a bathroom, and a guest room, was space we used every day. No matter. He spent several hundred dollars on material, then banished us upstairs. After a few hours of banging and sawing, I dared a peek down the stairs to discover the washer and dryer now blocked a majority of the hallway.
Shortly after that, the door to the utility room flung open, my husband stepped outside, and in a disgusted voice said, “Hire somebody!”
Next year, we’re planning a bathroom remodel. I can already see him adding the budget in his head. I don’t think he’ll attempt to do it himself, but you never know. Wish me luck!
Speaking of gifts, I do believe one of mine is storytelling. To that end, for the rest of June, two of my books are on sale! Betrayed, one of my bestselling romantic suspense novels, and Until Dead, book two in my Cold Case Suspense series, are both on sale for the deeply discounted price of $.99.
Betrayed
A mother told her baby’s death was a lie.
A daughter rocked by her true identity.
A detective fighting to protect them both.
A conspiracy that strikes at our most precious bonds.
When Oklahoma City resident Irene Turner learns the incomprehensible, that the stillborn baby she delivered 28-years earlier is alive, she takes the evidence to where her daughter now lives—Denver Colorado. Detective Nate Paxton can’t believe what Irene Turner shows him. Kinsey Masters, a world-class athlete, raised by a prominent Denver family, an unattainable woman he’s known and loved for years, was stolen at birth.
Irene Turner, Nate Paxton, and Kinsey Masters are united in a sordid conspiracy. But it’s who the conspirators turn out to be that will leave the trio shaken and in disbelief. Irene’s foundation of trust will be ripped from its core, as kidnapping, murder, and a thirst for revenge lead her to learn she’s been betrayed.
Until Dead
This killer won't stop …until she's dead
When Lt. Everett T. Pope is notified of an explosion in downtown Denver close to the judicial buildings, his first instinct is gas leak. No such luck. As Incident Command and Pope's own Major Crimes unit move in, he discovers he knows the intended victims—an Assistant U. S. Attorney—and Pope's former partner, now a private investigator, has died shielding the injured AUSA with his body.
As ATF and the FBI take over investigating the bombing and unraveling motives behind the murder attempt, Pope is relegated to a peripheral role. But the injured AUSA's aunt is a United States senator used to getting results. She turns to the team that solved the Black Pearl Killer murders with a very big ask—find her answers and locate the bomber.
FBI Special Agent Brian DiPietro must recall his entire cold case team from their far-flung assignments knowing he's being asked to do the impossible. The senator, however, doesn't know the meaning of the word. All too soon, DiPietro finds his team working alongside ATF on a red-hot mission. One that uncovers a decades old cold case.
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