Doors of the Heart Series

What if a friend called you and offered to take you on an exotic river cruise as her guest? Would you go? Even if it completely changed your life? It could happen. When Sharon Grant loses her husband, Dale, an internationally famous architect, in a mysterious traffic accident, there are unanswered questions. The police on the scene see nothing strange, but who is this “Vladimir” the barely conscious Dale is calling for before he dies? Sharon is still grieving almost two years later, when a former college friend invites her on a two-week Russian river cruise as her guest. She is intrigued, but unsure whether to accept. Her daughter Ellen and the employees of Dale’s architectural firm encourage her to go. When the cruise begins, Sharon meets Niko, a Russian tour guide in Moscow. Each time he takes her hand to help her on and off the bus, she experiences a surprising shiver of desire. When they leave Moscow and sail toward the next port, she discovers Niko is actually a member of the ship’s crew. As their tentative friendship develops into passion, Sharon wonders how she can bear to leave Niko when the cruise ends. He appears to feel the same, but he is Russian. There can be no future for them as a couple. Sharon returns home still mourning Dale and, now, the end of her new relationship, though Niko has begged her to write to him. This is a frustrating way to run a love affair, but it appears to be their only option. Friendship, trust, fear, pain, duty, bravery in the face of the unknown, lies uncovered, and secrets held, rest at the heart of Sharon’s, Dale’s, and Niko’s story. But the most important of these is the powerful strength of love.

She trips on his front steps. When he grabs her arms to steady her, she feels a tingling, almost like an electric charge. He’s grinning. Does he feel it too? It’s April, and Suzanna Smith is in Blue Ridge, county seat of Fannin County, Georgia, to find a summer rental. She has a 10-week leave of absence from her Manhattan PR job, and plans to research her late grandmother Smith’s ancestors. Grandma Rose was born here and claimed to be part Cherokee. To help Suzanna find the right rental now, and Smith family records later, is Tom Wolf, a Blue Ridge realtor, amateur genealogist, local historian, and full-blooded Cherokee. Arriving for their first meeting in his home office, she notices that he’s much better looking in person than in his unsettling website photo. He shows her the perfect rental cabin and agrees to research her family’s history. If only his attitude didn’t make her want to slap his handsome face! The victim, at age 23, of a short, disastrous marriage, Suzanna wonders if she will ever again be able to trust a man. Most of the men she’s dated in the eight years since her divorce were successful and seemed nice, but weren’t exciting enough to make her overcome her fears. Now, she’s feeling that excitement with a totally unsuitable man. Tom hates cities, especially Manhattan, and what about Suzanna’s career? Besides, Tom already has a girlfriend—Colleen, who if jealous looks could draw blood, Suzanna would be dead. Luckily, Suzanna has people she can count on: her brother Ron, and her best friend Ellen Grant, the daughter of Sharon and the late international architect, Dale Grant. Suzanna’s future may be more challenging than she could have predicted. Funny, how swiftly life can change.

Ellen Grant leads a double, sometimes dangerous, life. In her busy public life, she heads her late father's firm, Dale Grant Architects. Lately, her work has been featured in print, TV and social media. She is almost famous. In her shadow life, Ellen is a spy for the CIA. She is in Moscow to check on the progress of a building project she designed, and to meet with the American Ambassador for her next mission assignment. She hopes it will not interfere with the continuation of her affair with Russian Colonel Vladimir Ivanovich Morosov of the FSB, Russia's state security service and successor to the KGB. Life is good, though sometimes lonely. Her cheating ex-husband is history, her mother, step-father, and half brother are in Witness Protection, and her best friend lives far away. Soon, she must honor a promise to disclose her secret life, and risk losing the person she depends on the most. There may be a new love on the horizon. But, when you are in the public eye, and are also a spy, life can be uncertain. What could happen?