Despite the Devil by Shawna James
Stephanie gazed at Andrew’s clean-shaven, long and slender face. His dark green eyes were captivating. His brown hair was neatly combed to the side. His eyebrows were thick and kind of joined in the middle, and his nose looked even sharper from the angle at which Stephanie was now looking at him. Girl, he’s handsome! Stephanie thought, And that accent!
When Stephanie meets Andrew Simmons, she believes she’s found the perfect man: smart, handsome, kind, and athletic. Best of all, the Norwegian former soldier is as interested in her as she is in him. But as their romance begins to blossom, Stephanie learns that Andrew’s past could haunt their life together. His dangerous earlier life may destroy the happiness the two of them share. Will Stephanie and Andrew’s fairytale be strong enough to resist the wickedness from Andrew’s former life?
Winner of the Canada Book Awards!
Description
Find more from this author on:
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TwitterAbout the author:
Shawna James is an award-winning author & writer. Her debut novel “Despite the Devil,” released in audio, paperback and hardcover in Spring of 2021, as part of her “They Loved Collection” book series. She has received 5-Star awarded book reviews, including Readers Favorite, and is a winner of the Canada Book Awards, as she quickly began gaining reader fans from around the world.
This author has book two of this series now on special pre-order price, titled “As It Should Be,” which releases Summer 2021 for all her reader fans on Amazon Kindle, Kobo, iBooks. Both books are available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and many fine bookstores.
Shawna, a Canadian author, works as a university instructor, fueling the bright minds of her students. When she is not writing in her favorite coffee shop or instructing, she enjoys the great outdoors and loves hiking with her puppies.
She also enjoys traveling abroad, is an avid reader, and enjoys watching her favorite football games on Sunday afternoons. She continues to reside in the Vancouver, Canada area.
The author welcomes readers, publishers, and agents to visit her Official Author Website for all her author news, updates, new releases and is open to interviews at https://ShawnaJames.com.
What inspired you to write your book?
The inspiration and message of 'Despite the Devil' is:
Be You.
Events happen around us, not to us. Despite imperfect people and broken systems, stay true to yourself and love with all your heart.
Here is a short sample from the book:
Excerpt from Despite the Devil:
It was Monday, and Stephanie was supposed to go to the gym in the evening. By the time she walked out of the teachers’ room with Maya, she still had a couple of hours to spare. Maya left and Stephanie was now alone. She tried to decide whether to go home or stay around. Just then she remembered that she had to make a poster for the new drama play she was planning for that year.
She spent the next half an hour designing the poster and getting it printed. Then, she went to the notice board to put it up. No such luck. The notice board was all filled and she didn’t want to cover up any of the other posters. She scanned each one to see if there was anything that was past the event date so that she could ask the owner for permission to remove it.
While she was looking at the posters, she noticed Andrew’s soccer poster and read it once more.
“Interested in joining the soccer team?” came a voice from behind her.
Startled, she spun around to see Andrew standing behind her, smiling and looking down at her.
“You scared me,” she blurted out, placing a hand on her chest. Her heart was beating wildly.
“Oh, sorry,” Andrew apologized. “I didn’t mean to scare you.” Andrew looked genuinely worried.
Stephanie smiled at him reassuringly. “No, no. It’s alright,” she said. “I’m just looking for a place to hang my poster. I can’t decide which one to remove.”
“You can remove mine,” Andrew offered kindly.
“No, you don’t have to do that.” Stephanie blushed.
Andrew stepped forward, and before Stephanie could say anything else, he took down his poster. Then, he took Stephanie’s poster from her hand and, despite her protest, posted it in the now empty slot on the noticeboard.
“Don’t worry. I already selected my team and came here to take it down anyway.”
Stephanie couldn’t discern whether he was telling the truth or being sweet to please her. She was glad that her poster was now on the notice board though, occupying a prime spot that could grab lots of attention.
“You are too nice,” Stephanie complimented him.
Andrew smiled and said nothing. He glanced at his watch.
“Am I keeping you?” Stephanie asked, glancing at her own watch.
“No. I have about an hour to spare and was wondering where I could get a good cup of coffee,” Andrew explained.
“I know exactly the place!” Stephanie told him cheerily. She was encouraged by the fact that she hadn’t said anything stupid to Andrew yet. “In fact, it’s my friend Maya’s find. It’s on my way home; I could show you the spot. Have you met Maya?”
“I haven’t met most of the teachers yet.”
“You would have noticed her,” Stephanie quipped drily. “She’s bubbly and talkative, has short hair, and teaches math.”
“Ah, yes, I think I have,” Andrew chuckled. Even his laugh was enticing.
“Don’t tell her I called her bubbly,” Stephanie muttered in a low voice, glancing around them. Andrew cracked a smile and nodded. His eyes brimmed with humor and life. He had such a caring look and sense of gentleness about him. Stephanie tried to calm her stomach, which kept getting a swooping sensation every time she looked at Andrew.
They walked out of the school, and Stephanie directed him to the restaurant, the one Maya and she regularly visited.
“This place has the best coffee and cheesecake, approved by Maya,” Stephanie said by way of introduction. “Maya may be a math teacher, but her real expertise is food.”
“Approved by the expert. Got it,” Andrew replied charmingly.
Stephanie glanced at her watch again. She also had another hour to spare. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Andrew studying her.
“Why don’t you join me for a cup of coffee?” he invited. “Maybe you could lend me more expertise on food-related matters.”
Stephanie could feel her heart skip a beat and her face flushed with excitement. She searched for words to politely refuse this invitation, but truthfully, she wanted nothing more than to spend time inside the restaurant with him. “I’m not the expert,” she argued lamely. “It’s my friend Maya who’s the foody, but I will join you for that cup of coffee.”
“Consider this an apology for bumping into you the other day,” Andrew added and held the door open for Stephanie to enter.
Stephanie stepped inside, her mind screaming ‘be cool, be cool … don’t show how much you like him’.
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