Eye
of the Eagle is the third book in my Hotel LaBelle Series. Many would say
it should have been easier than the first two, but in fact, it was my most
challenging to write. Out of all my books, the heroine in this story is my most
personal. Phoebe Wagner is based on my grandmother, Bessie T. Engelman, who
gave me unconditional love when I needed it most.At the age of three years old,
my mother put me on a plane in Washington, D.C., and sent me to Connecticut to
live with my deaf grandmother, my aunt, uncle, cousin, two Chihuahuas, and a
parakeet. At night, I would cry because I missed my family. As I sobbed, my
grandmother would take me in her arms and hug me. I’d fall asleep wondering if
I’d ever see my family again, not knowing that my parents were divorcing.
A year after being shipped north, I
was reunited with my family. Another year
When I hit my fifth decade, I felt
compelled to research my family tree, beginning with my beloved grandmother. My
only clues were embedded in childhood memories of kitchen table conversations
between my mother and aunt. The family legend, told and re-told, with American
Sign Language (ASL) consultations for verification, was that my grandmother was
born hearing and healthy to a wealthy family. My research gave me much more
than I expected: it gave me a love story and insight into this feisty woman.
Born in 1881, my grandmother
contracted spinal meningitis at sixteen months of age and lost her hearing. She
was a resident at what is now the Kentucky School for the Deaf in Danville,
Kentucky from age seven to twenty-one. An educated and strong woman, she moved
to Washington, D.C., where she worked for a Congressman addressing envelopes
with her beautiful penmanship. She met my grandfather, Carl Rhodes, on a blind
date. A wild man on a motorcycle, Carl was born deaf, became a ward of the
Department of the Interior, and attended Kendall School housed on the campus of
Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C.
Defying her wealthy Kentucky family, my grandmother married her “bad
boy” and raised six hearing children in Washington, D.C. where my grandfather
worked for the U.S. Botanical Gardens and the White House.
Every day I thank my grandmother
for defying her parents, for marrying my grandfather, and for showing me the
most important of all abilities: persistence, hope, compassion, and love. I
know she is my guardian angel, always looking out for me and my family. Eye of the Eagle is my love story for my
grandmother, inspired by her love for me.
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One soars like an eagle. One strikes like a thunderbird. But for both
hearts, revenge can be deadly when it's nourished.
Anomaly Defense Director and
shapeshifter Bert Blackfeather doesn't need a boss with no experience. So what
if she's beautiful or gives him a jolt when she shakes his hand? He never plans
to get seriously involved with another woman—not in this lifetime.
Phoebe Wagner, an empath with
psychometric abilities and an advocate for the deaf, gets more than she
bargained for with Bert. One touch and she relives his IED injuries. So what if
he's handsome and hot? She doesn't need to add his secrets to her own. Phoebe's
are bad enough.
When his niece goes missing from
Hotel LaBelle, Bert goes to Montana to help—and Phoebe insists on going with
him. Can these two hard-headed people share their darkest secrets in order to
work together? It may be the only way to save an endangered child—and their own
hearts when Bert's past rears its ugly head.
Book Trailer: https://youtu.be/O9uml6F9tw8
Buy Links:
Barnes & Noble https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/eye-of-the-eagle-sharon-buchbinder/1129689525?ean=2940161597996
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