The Gifted Ones: A Reader (27 page)

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If you’d like to learn more about me and my work, please visit my website,
MariaRomana.com
. You can also contact me directly through the contact page on the site.

About the Contributors

Story Author
: Maria Elizabeth Romana has a background in research statistics, with experience in pyscho-social, pharmaceutical, and marketing research. She also spent six years as a volunteer and board member at the women’s center in Durham, NC. She has published articles on several websites and has two book series out. Her educational background includes degrees in mathematics and business. Maria lives in the Research Triangle region of North Carolina with her husband and two children.

Story Editor
: Madeline P. Plimpton is managing editor of Research Triangle Publications in Research Triangle Park, NC. Maddie has over 30 years experience in writing, editing, and publishing in a variety of industries in North Carolina and Virginia. She currently lives in the Raleigh-Durham area with her husband of 30 years, and enjoys visits from her three grown children.

Publisher
: Research Triangle Publications is a small, independent press, specializing in works by authors local to the Research Triangle region of North Carolina. RT Pubs was formed in early 2010 as a wholly owned subsidiary of At Your Command Computing, Inc., a data analysis and software services company, established in 1995. The company currently has nine titles available, focusing on both fiction and non-fiction that reflects the scientific and analytic backdrop of this unique part of North Carolina. You can reach us through the
Research Triangle Publications
website.

Continue on for a list of our current titles...

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The Unbreakable Series

If you’re a fan of medical mysteries or romantic suspense novels, you will enjoy Maria Elizabeth Romana’s
Unbreakable
series, a 2010 Readers Favorite Gold Medal Award Winner, consisting of
Little Miss Straight Lace
,
Little Girl Lost
, and
Daddy’s Little Girls
.

Synopsis: When a dedicated researcher learns a bit too much about her client’s new drug, the horrors from her past seem destined to return. As her life begins to spin out of control, a dashing computer security expert arrives from South America and seems the perfect antidote. But is his sudden appearance just the happy coincidence it seems? Find out in this series of novels which combine romance, mystery, and suspense to take the reader on a roller coaster ride of murder, mayhem, sex, and drugs—of the pharmaceutical variety, of course—until the very last page.

“Romana’s characters are portrayed with skill, each is a credible person filled with foibles, warts and gaffes...the various twists and turns are handled with skill, are easily followed, and add depth and dimension often lacking in works provided by newer writers...Maria Romana’s Little Miss Straight Lace is a fast paced, keep ’em guessing and turning the page type read sure to intrigue readers who enjoy good writing, a bit of romance, a lot of action, and a downright good read.”
—Molly Martin,
Midwest Book Review

Book Sample:

Josie pulled her laptop toward her, but peered out the corner of her eye. Damn it! They were sitting right up at the bar. Probably waiting for a table for dinner. Six o’clock, too. Why didn’t they make reservations? Losers. She watched Gary shift in his seat, opening his view to the room. Then, as he glanced around, acting casual, he caught her eye and grinned ever so slightly. A twinge poked in her belly. She quickly shifted her focus back to her laptop.
Ignore him, Josie. Your club, your friends, not his.

“Jos!”

She looked up. It was Shawn, grinning from ear to ear. She grinned back. “So...did you work it out?”

“Better.” He plunked down in his seat and picked up his wine. “Guy was kissing my ass.” He tossed back the last of his glass. Josie leaned in to hear the scoop, but before Shawn could say any more, they were interrupted.

“Shawn, Josie, how are you two?”

Shawn answered for both of them, “Gary. Is there something we can do for you? Josie and I are in the middle of a very important meeting.”

Gary brushed the top of their empty wine bottle with his thumb. “Looks like it.” He turned to Josie. “Shawn tells me you’re just back from a little vacation with your boyfriend. I was kind of hoping I might get to meet him. Oscar says he’s a real swell guy. Nic, right? Not gone to South America again, is he?”

Pins and needles started pricking the back of her neck. Why was Gary asking about Nic? How was it he cared enough to remember Nic’s name and where he was from? An image flashed in her mind of the day at the airport, of Gary watching Nic load his bags in the trunk of the car. Was he going to do something to Nic? Try to get back at her by hurting him? Not while she was alive! Josie looked up and faced Goldman as she hadn’t before. Stupid sardonic grin. Ice cold green eyes—nothing like Daddy’s. She looked Gary in the eye and answered him, “None of your damn business.”

Both Shawn’s and Gary’s eyebrows shot up. After a second, Gary recovered and reached out toward her, running his finger along the top edge of her computer. “Well now, that wasn’t very friendly.”

Not very friendly, is she? Three guys standing around her and one behind—surrounded!

Huh? What was that? What was she thinking of? Josie felt the color draining from her face.

Before anyone could say anything else, Gina reappeared at the table. “Josie, hun, sorry to interrupt, but would you taste test these for me? New recipe I’m trying. It’s called chocolate covered golden hearts. See, it’s these little flaky pastries with a layer of...”

But Josie wasn’t listening. Chocolate covered golden hearts. Chocolate covered. Chocolate covers. Gold hearts. Josie could see it—a bed with a chocolate brown coverlet. Windows with chocolate brown drapes. A bathroom with chocolate brown towels. All with gold accents. Where? When? And Gary Goldman. Huh? Why was all this crap floating around in her head today?

“Josie? Will you, hun? Will you try them for me?”

She tried to focus on Gina’s face and her pretty red hair, but Gina was standing right next to Gary, who was still grinning his stupid grin and no doubt seeing the confusion on Josie’s face. The voices in the room were pulling away, sounding distant. Someone had lowered the lights. And turned up the thermostat.

“Jos, you okay?” Shawn’s voice.

“What is your name? Where do you live? Do you know who I am?” Gary’s voice. But the words didn’t match his lips. How was he asking that?
Why
was he asking that?

“Doctor, should I increase the dose now?” Gina’s voice. But her lips weren’t moving at all. And why would she call him doctor? Well, he was a doctor—of finance, right? But Gina didn’t know that.

The room was getting darker still, and the voices in it further and further away. Crap—she was losing it. No, no, no. Not now. Not right in front of world’s biggest jackass. Not right after she’d finally stood up to him. Josie pushed herself up from the table.
Just need to get out of here, get some fresh air.
She backed away from the table, knocking her chair down as she went, and ran toward the veranda door.

The Birds Christmas Carol

This illustrated edition of
The Birds Christmas Carol
is a remastering of the 1912 version of the timeless Christmas classic, originally written by Kate Douglas Wiggin in 1886. It tells the story of Carol Bird, a wealthy but sickly young girl, who decides to bring the joy of Christmas to a neighboring family with nine children who have very little but each other. Despite its serious undercurrents, the story is lively and even comedic at times, as Carol endeavors to pull the holiday celebration together from her sickbed, while the Ruggles children struggle to learn how to behave in “fine society”.

The ebook version of
Birds
contains more than 30 original illustrations by accomplished artist Katharine R. Wireman. The book’s text has also been modestly rewritten to eliminate antiquated terms and writing conventions, making it more accessible to young readers, while preserving the charm and flavor of Ms. Wiggin’s original tale. Children and adults alike will fall in love with this story and want to read it year after year.

Food, Glorious Food: The eBook Carb & Calorie Counter

Food, Glorious Food
is a comprehensive guide to nutrient values for more than 12,000 natural, packaged, and restaurant foods. Unlike other food count books, however, the information has been specifically formatted for ebook readers. Rather than squeezing numbers into narrow rows and columns, each entry is presented in the familiar nutrition label format, with resizable font and reflowable text. The book is easily searchable with