Saving Casey by Liza O'Connor

 

Why did I put a giant papermache lady part in my story?

 

When Cass first arrives at her huge white mansion ‘family home’ she is horrified by its outrageous size. When they park in the garage with stalls for ten cars, not one of them under a million dollars, she is sickened by the waste of money. Then when it turns out they require a golf cart to drive through the wide hall that leads to the main house, she’s speechless. However, this is all forgotten when they enter the ballroom.

Here’s how it goes:

She gasped when the elevator doors opened and they entered an immense and mostly empty space with a glistening wood floor. Mostly…but not entirely, and the few items occupying the thousand square foot room caused her intake of breath. Before her stood what had to be the world’s largest purple and green papier-mâché vagina. At the other end of the room was a twenty-foot twisted red penis.

Her father kissed her temple. “Glad to have you home safe and sound, kitten.” He then turned and headed to the elevator.

 

Why on earth would I think of putting a giant vagina in the ballroom? I’m pretty sure that wouldn’t go over well with the proper socialites of the town. However as we discover along the way, Cass’s new mom, Anne, has been shunned due to Casey’s past stunts. So balls are never held at their house anymore because absolutely no one would come. Only one person in the entire town has remained her friend: Margaret, the mother of the boy Casey accused of raping her when she was twelve years old. Thus, Anne commissioned an artist to create the giant vagina and the twisted red penis to symbolize the anger she has for her husband, since he has also abandoned her, having fallen in love with someone else.

And how did I think of such a thing to put in her ballroom. The strangest of all my friends had a very large papier-mâché vagina on her stairway. I recall it was larger than me. It’s possible they put it on the stairs because it was actually taller than the first floor and the stairwell had more ceiling space.

Why did she have it all? She had been involved in a theatre production of The Vagina Monologue and when the play ended its run, she took it home with her.

 

 

Saving Casey

By

Liza O’Connor

 

 

 

Book 1 of the

Requires Rescue Series

Contemporary Suspense

 

BLURB

When 80 year old Cass Goldman learns she has inoperable cancer, she decides to end her life, peacefully on her terms. So imagine her horror when she wakes to find herself in a hospital with strange rich people staring at her. It’s not until the doctor arrives to examine her that she realizes she’s no longer old. She’s in the body of a seventeen year old teen named Casey.

Unfortunately, her new body comes with some serious baggage. First of all, the kid has burned every bridge imaginable. Secondly, those ‘people’ in her room are her outrageously rich parents and while the Dad seems friendly, the mother wants nothing to do with her. The moment they take her home to a horrifically huge mansion, which she dubs Tara, she’s abandoned to the care of the butler.

While Cass is determined to turn this train wreck of a life around, doing so is far harder than she expected. In fact, without help, she’ll end up dead just like the last occupant of this body. Thankfully, her dad has his hunky head of security become her body guard. Between her eighty years of life lessons and hunky Troy’s help, she just might live long enough not to be jail bait.

 

EXCERPT

He grimaced and kissed her hands. “I’m sorry I taught you old math. This is no doubt my fault.”

Cass groaned at how wrong he was. “Let’s just blame this one on God.”

“Don’t let your mother hear you say that.”

“Why? Is she religious?”

He shrugged.

“Because I’m struggling with the image of a religious woman placing a giant vagina and penis in a room that otherwise might be useful as a roller rink.”

Evidently, she’d crossed the line with her comment. He choked and buried his head. Once he recovered from coughs, which sounded suspiciously like subversive laughter, he looked up. “Don’t mention that to your mother either.”

“Which part? The incompatibility of giant sex organs and religion, or making the room a skating rink?”

He covered his face, but not before she glimpsed a smile. “Both,” his muffled voice replied.

 

 

SALES LINK

AMAZON

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Liza O’Connor is a nut.

Not a real nut, but she is prone to being a smart ass at times, and not surprisingly her heroines say odd and inappropriate things in her book, as well. So even in a suspense novel you can expect to laugh along the way. That’s because Liza loves to see humor in the crazy world around her.

Saving Casey was actually the first book Liza published. Having recently reclaimed her rights to the book, she is happily re-publishing it as her 18^th book. And because her books sell better when in a series, she using Saving Casey to kick of a new series called Requires Rescue. It will be different from her other series where the same characters show up in each book. This series will be about strong women who are trying to go it alone, only when help is offered, they have the good sense to accept the helping hand, because in all of our lives, there will come a time you need someone else to help you. Being strong doesn’t make us invincible. Book 1 is Casey/Cass’s story. Book 2 will be about an entirely different young woman who desperately needs help before she’s murdered on the streets of NYC. Book 3, well the plot is super unique, and more books will follow.

You’ll be able to read the series in any order you want, but in each case, you’ll have a strong young woman, a guy stepping up to help when no one else does, and danger galore with humor stuffed in anywhere I can.

I hope you’ll come along with me so you can laugh, love, and get revenge.

 

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT 

LIZA O'CONNOR

 

Liza's Blog and Website   Facebook   Twitter

 

A work in progress

I haven't updated my blog since the end of September. I haven't worked on my current project in over a month either. Life gets in the way too much for my comfort.

But rest assured, I AM still working on the third book in the Amethyst Chronicles entitled Past Reflections. And to prove I have been working, here's a bit from chapter one.

******

Why would she be dreaming? Last thing she remembered was getting the device Dr. Fergas asked for. She was examining the weird looking contraption and then was under an attack. The fireballs were all around them before she was engulfed in a bright light. Her stomach flipped at the realization.

Them. Her and Liam. Only now he was gone. Her entire world had disappeared.

The only thing that made sense to her was if the device actually worked.

“Oh, no.” She covered her forehead with her hand. “Oh, wow. Okay.”
“Is everything okay?” Dr. Brooks asked.
“Not in the slightest. Okay.” Ember rubbed her temples, trying to come up with another way to phrase her next question other than blurting it out. She quickly gave up. “What year is this?”
“Year?” Dr. Rhodes questioned. She exchanged an odd glance with her counterpart. “2016.”
“2016.”

Ember let out a deep breath as her mind reeled. Her head hit the wall and she slid down to the floor, bringing her knees to her chest. Dr. Rhodes watched her curiously as Dr. Brooks walked in front of Ember, peering at her awkwardly. She reached for Ember’s hands, but stopped when her friend snapped her name.

“She’s not going to hurt me, Mack,” she insisted.
“Better safe than sorry.”

Dr. Brooks shot the woman a glare before turning her attention back to Ember. Still, she didn’t attempt to touch again. The soft blue eyes seemed unfazed as she searched Ember’s purple ones for answers. It was time she gave some. Ember stood up, smoothing out the front of her navy blue uniform in the process.

“Okay, what I’m about to say is going to sound strange. I’m not even sure I can really prove it, but I am going to ask you to trust me.”
“Awfully big statement coming from a woman who appeared in my lab out of thin air, but go ahead.” Dr. Rhodes nodded toward her.
“As I said, my name is Ember Wilson. I am an agent with the ISC from the year 3018. I was on a mission to retrieve a device that you invented.” Ember pointed to Dr. Rhodes. “What I found was an oddly-shaped device with a pyramid on top. My team and I were under attack and the device began to light up. Next thing I know, I’m here.”

Both women paused at her words. Dr. Rhodes scanned over Ember’s appearance and turned to Dr. Brooks.

“Maddie, do you know what this means?”
“Yes!” she exclaimed. “Your machine will work!”

Ember was taken aback as the scientists wrapped their arms around each other and began to dance in a circle. They laughed in celebration until Ember cleared her throat and they stopped.

“I’m sorry, forgive us,” Dr. Brooks said. “I know how this must seem to you.”
“Look, I know you aren’t celebrating my misfortune, Dr. Brooks—”
“Maddie,” she corrected.

Surprise rippled through her. Ember felt honored. To be standing in front of this woman whom she admired so much and to be able to call her by the same name her friends and family did made Ember smile.

“Okay, Maddie. I don’t need to tell you I don’t belong here. So if you and Dr. Rhodes don’t mind, I’d like to be getting back to my own time.”
“Call me Mack,” she instructed. “I would love to, but that’s going to be a problem. The device you described is one I’m currently working on, but . . . well . . .”
“Well, what?”
“It’s not operational yet.”
Ember’s eyes darkened. She swallowed the growl forming in her throat. “What do you mean, not operational?”
“It’s not completed.”
“Are you kidding me?” Ember sputtered. “You mean I’m stranded here?”
The two women exchanged another glance. “We’re . . . not sure,” Maddie admitted.
“Not sure.” Bitterness dripped from Ember’s voice. “You two are geniuses. Figure it out.”
“Okay, I know this comes as a shock—” Maddie began.
“A shock? You think this is a shock?” Ember stepped toward Maddie.

Mack pushed the woman behind her, glaring hard at Ember. The action made Ember pause. She could only imagine how she appeared to them. She slowly nodded, taking a step back and pressed against the wall.

“I’m sorry. I’m not going to hurt you.”
“That remains to be seen,” Mack said in a flat tone.
“We know that,” Maddie said, placing her hand on Mack’s shoulder. “We’ll figure it out. Just bear with us, all right?”

Ember nodded. It was, after all, unfair of her to expect them to have all the answers.

Maddie gave her a gentle smile and walked over to the desk, picked up a flat device in the shape of a small rectangle, and turned her attention to the newcomer.

“Okay, then. Let’s start from the beginning, shall we?”


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