FROM ICE WAGON TO CLUB HOUSE: THE LIFE OF JUDE MOONEY by Viola Russell

FROM ICE WAGON TO CLUB HOUSE: THE LIFE OF JUDE MOONEY by Viola Russell

Probation? No booze? What?

Jude Mooney, the man who began his working career on a horse, is building an empire--but at what cost to his life, soul, and love?

Jude Mooney, the son of poor but proud Irish immigrants, is delivering ice on a horse-drawn cart to New Orleans families with his friend Pete when the novel opens in 1914. When his brother James commits suicide after a banking scandal, a devastated Jude looks for easy money and good times in the notorious Storyville, but his time there is marked by disillusionment an tragedy.

When he flees Storyville and the disapproval of his parents, Jude finds himself in his family's native Ireland. It is there that he meets the fiery revolutionary Maeve, the young woman who will set him on fire and change his life.

When he then flees Ireland with a young family, circumstances force Jude to enter the world of bootlegging and horse-racing.

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~Excerpt~

That night, Jude awoke from a disturbed sleep. Maeve haunted his dreams. He sat up in bed, his body soaked in sweat. Images of her sitting across from him with the sun shining on her dark hair sent his blood throbbing to his brain. Visions of her slender body sent shivers of wanton desire through his spine, and he imagined what her skin was like under her clothing. Taking deep breaths, Jude tossed the blankets aside, stumbled from his bed, and shakily made his way to the dresser, grasping its edges. His loins burned, and he poured water from a pitcher into the basin in front of the mirror. He splashed the water over his face and stared at himself in the mirror. A voice inside echoed within the depths of his soul. Go to her. She wants it as much as you.

Walking stealthily down the hall in his bare feet, Jude looked from left to right and then behind him. He’d slipped into his dungarees but was bare-chested. Coming to Maeve’s door, he knocked softly and gently tried the door. Suddenly, she was before him, prim in a flannel gown, her hair in a long braid. Her eyes, however, defied her lady-like attire. She unbuttoned the few buttons at the top of her gown while she licked her lips. Her gaze met his, and she reached for him, clasping the blanket around his shoulders and drawing him near until Jude was so close to her that he could smell the scent of her hair. Jude closed the door with his foot and crushed Maeve against the wall as his mouth closed over hers. She said huskily, “My birthday’s tomorrow. I want you for a present.”

Jude laughed softly, bent over her, and let his lips linger along her neck and face. His breath feathered the downy hair on her neck as he buried his lips into her skin. She hungrily returned his kisses and let her open mouth devour his firm chest. She encircled his neck with hot arms and leaned hard against him. Jude slipped Maeve’s gown over her head and drew in a breath upon seeing that she was naked underneath the gown. She covered his bare torso with kisses as she unzipped his pants with frantic fingers. Within minutes, they were both naked. Jude lifted her, growing hard against her mound as he felt her legs part and wrap around his middle. He made his way to the bed, her legs around his waist. Spasms of desire and pleasure already coursed through his insides, and he leaned over her, drinking in her small frame, creamy skin, ample breasts, and shapely limbs. Maeve’s body grew taut against him, and Jude nibbled her thighs until her legs parted even more. Convulsive spasms raced through Jude’s loins as he penetrated her, collapsing onto her prone body with hurried breathing. He buried his lips in her moist hair and then let waves of sated desire pour through him.

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THE LOVING WIFE by Viola Russell

THE LOVING WIFE by Viola Russell

Gerry, a successful doctor, thinks he has met the perfect woman in the younger Lily, but something in her demeanor and sexual proclivities is unsettling. However, Gerry is blinded by love and ignores the stirrings in his brain.

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~Excerpt~

Gerry smiled after her, placing the bottle of Digitalis capsules on the counter as he marveled about how his life had changed. A little over a year ago, his life had seemingly been in ruins. He’d been a brilliant cardiac surgeon, but atrial fibrillation had ended his career. The rapid heartbeat came upon him too suddenly and without warning. He had to abandon the career he’d loved and practiced for over twenty years, retiring to the home his grandparents had lived in before their untimely deaths in a car accident some years ago. Not that life had ever been easy for him. Shrapnel from a sniper’s bullet in Vietnam had left him with a limp that made walking difficult, and Gerry had never been an athletic kid. Grade school as well as high school had been nightmarish with the constant taunting, but Gerry’s brilliance had proven his salvation. He’d won scholarships to Harvard and then Johns Hopkins after serving with distinction in the military as a medic. He was a self-made man, and his working-class parents had been fiercely proud of their son.

Gerry had returned home to New Orleans and begun his practice after obtaining his degree. Relationships didn’t come easy to him, and he’d had actively to pursue those women who had become his bed partners. After the war, many couldn’t look past his injury, but some saw beyond his handicap and loved his brilliance, especially when he was in medical school. He also had a thriving practice and was generous with those he loved. He’d early learned that such traits could buy him company, however briefly.

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BURIED TRUTHS by Viola Russell

BURIED TRUTHS by Viola Russell

While shopping in a local bookstore in post-Katrina New Orleans, Heather Flanagan Kerry is startled when Sarah, a young clerk, asks her if she ever had a son and gave him up for adoption. Now a successful professional woman, Heather denies ever having a child, however, Sarah’s revelation that her husband is part-Asian tells Heather her past has caught up with her.

Wesley Chou, now a prominent oncologist hasn’t heard from his first love, Heather, since both their parents forced them apart in their teens right after they gave up their infant newborn son for adoption. He’s surprised when Heather contacts him to tell him their past has come calling. Fate draws them together again when their long lost son, Ezra, and his wife bring their infant daughter to Wesley. The child has leukemia, and Wesley contacts Heather as a possible marrow donor to save the child’s life. Together, Heather and Wesley must evaluate if they are strong enough to rekindle their love, face society’s condemnation of their past, and their own son’s anger.

Can their love survive the passage of time and the secrets that could destroy them?

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          Drawing a deep breath, Dr. Wesley Chou pulled open the door of the coffee shop, searching for the face that had bewitched him twenty-four years ago. When he saw her sitting in the corner sipping coffee, his heart raced.

She rose when he entered and moved toward him.

The silky hair, the tight jeans, the fisherman’s cross earrings, the smooth skin. Her beauty still made him gasp. He’d seen pictures of her in the newspapers and on television representing the Archdiocese, but those images hadn’t represented her stunning beauty. She’d been a lovely girl, but she’d developed into an elegant and poised woman.

He’d tried to forget his love for her. That woman who he saw speaking to the press wasn’t the woman he’d loved. When he’d made love to his ex-wife, Wesley had to refrain from calling out Heather’s name. The memory of her had carried him through every trial he’d ever faced.

With an effort, he controlled his breathing as he approached her, taking her hand in his. Her touch sent his skin tingling. As her gaze met his own, he concentrated on sucking air into his lungs. Much of that shared past was tragic, but no woman had ever sent his blood racing through his veins like that adolescent girl with auburn hair and gray eyes. His pulse pounded inside his ears.

Heather’s call had reminded him of what they’d lost. Seemingly, they had both moved on, but he hadn’t forgotten her. Had she forgotten their passion? He’d always loved her. Even when he’d agreed to give her up, he’d loved her. Had too much happened for them ever to rekindle that youthful passion? Probably, but his heart ached knowing she was once his and was now lost to him. Because of his cowardice. Because of his lack of will. He stared at her for a long time before leading her back to the table.

Heather’s eyes filled with tears. She dropped a tissue into the almost-full cup of coffee. Those tears cut him like a knife. What had happened to make her cry?

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