Sunday, March 02, 2008

I'm a Sucker


... for Billy Heart.

You haven't met him yet? Well babies, wait until you do!! The central character in Man Overboard, by Lara Diamond, Billy is a Latin dream. A delicious detective with a few rough edges, drawn deeper by the moment into danger on a case he KNEW he should walk away from.

Lara has written a book that hooks you from the first page and catapults you back into the 1920s. Personally, I entered a film noir movie that played in my head in a most delightful manner. Set in Tampa and Ybor City in a time when smoke-filled speakeasies were the places to find information and maybe a mysterious beauty, this book has voice that's refreshing real and exciting.

Man Overboard is based on a true story. In the 1920's the Florida land bust caused quite a few millionaires to do a Peter Pan off the top of an unfinished building. One tycoon that was hit hard, E.Q. Edmunds, didn't take a dive, but did disappear. From a luxury ocean liner. And his companion on this fateful voyage was not his wife, but his hot little mistress, a Cuban taxi dancer named Lola.

Make no mistake, the widow Edmunds wasn't a happy camper. Hell she was downright pissed. And determined to get every dime coming to her as his widow. But without a body how was she going to cash in on his death?

Enter Billy Heart. Oh be still my heart. Billy's gorgeous,tough, savvy, has a bad taste in his mouth for Anglos and knows the moment he finds the widow in his office, drinking his booze that he needs to turn around and leave. Have nothing to do with her. Only sometimes Billy doesn't listen to the voice of inner reason. And hey, he's a sucker for a gorgeous dame.

What he finds himself embroiled in is enough to have his mother praying for his salvation and him praying for survival. And the reader's eyes flying over the pages, hungry to find out what's going to happen next.

So, if you're looking for an escape with mystery, danger, sensualtity and authenticity then hurry on over to Cerridwen Press and buy a copy. Sink into a tale that takes you from the exotic mansions of the fabulous Edmunds Islands of Tampa to the steamy underground tunnels and smoke-filled speakeasies of Ybor City, as Billy Heart follows a trail of greed, lust, intrigue and danger. And while you're at it, stop in at the Man Overboard site to find out more about the fabulously talented Lara Diamond, get some inside scoop on Man Overboard and register for a chance to win a free copy of the book.

And you can thank me later as I know you will.

This is Ciana for the Hussies, saying have a great Sunday and remember ... letting your inner Hussy out to play CAN get you taken out to dinner (no dishes to wash? Hey, that's always a plus!!)

1 comment:

Dani said...

Oooh, this sounds great. Like all the detective movies that my Gran used to watch on TV (I'd end up watching with her). I'm excited to hear that it's written with Tampa and Ybor City in the spot light. There's a lot of history in this area that's just begging to be written about.

Thanks for talking about it Ci!