My latest release is all about Angels, the balance between good and evil, and of course, some super sexy romance. The premise of this first book in the trilogy is, what if the reason Lucifer was cast out of heaven isn’t what you’ve been led to believe? What if it was spurned by a broken heart? I’ve always wondered what the other side of Lucifer truly was. Word says he was once God’s most beloved creation and I wanted to show that part of Lucifer and spin my own story of why he was cast out and how he became the overlord of hell. While there are some sticking points rooted in religion, this is not a book about the bible. I’m not preaching, copying a book that has already been translated thousands of times or trying to push my opinions and beliefs down your throat. I literally redefine theology and put my own twist on historic events. Here’s a little behind the scenes explanation….

Theology is defined as the study of the nature of God and religious belief. Religious beliefs and theory when systematically developed.

For those reading this and thinking I’m going to be shoving my beliefs down your throat, or this is going to be a bible study with sexy times, wrong on both. I’m simply using spirituality as the backdrop of the story. In this series I’m going more with the latter of the definition of theology as I’m somewhat systematically developing my own version of heaven and hell. It’s a delicate balance to create a believable vision of these two places and not alienate readers on both sides of the fence. So I’ve decided to straddle that fence, so to speak.

Heaven is a broad stroked canvas with some ideas pulled from ancient and modern thoughts on the afterlife, where you go and what you become. An angel’s home will often be referred to as their sanctuary and that sanctuary is pulled from their conscious minds. For instance–Gabriel’s sanctuary is within the Hall of souls in heaven as this is where he feels most at peace. As God’s Messenger he also has the gift of sight, he can see what the All Father has seen, to an extent. Michael is drawn to water so you will often read him by a pond, lake or body of water. My angels have a soul, a heart and a mind of their own. They can communicate with each other and God telepathically, but they can also shut off their thoughts, almost a wolf pack mentality. They read books from a library with never ending shelves, they swim in lakes that are bottomless with trees, grass and birds as far as the eye can see, and beyond. It’s an infinity angle I’m using to try and pull readers into the world I’m building.

I’ve done a lot of research to try and keep a somewhat loose reality of heaven and hell and the thing that rings true with me more than anything else is balance. Without dark, there can be no light and also, knowing the difference between wrong and right. Angels are not blameless or above reproach, they have to answer for their actions. I used a balance equation for behavior specifically. Every angel is created with a balance of dark and light, almost like a void deep within and each angel has to decide whether or not they want to feed the light or entertain the darkness. I go back to the wolf theory here. A story told for hundreds of years within the Native American community is the story of the black and white wolf, many variations. Basically it’s this, within all of us there are two wolves, a black and a white. We have to decide if we want to be inherently good and therefore feed the white wolf, or swayed over to the dark side by feeding the black wolf.

This circles back to souls as well. You see, both mankind and angels have a soul, but an angel’s soul is created specifically for that celestial being by the All Father. Furthermore, angels are immortal so their soul would never leave their body. Mankind’s soul comes from the Hall of souls in heaven so when a man, woman or child dies, their soul will either return to heaven or be led to the pit, depending on how they lived their life. The pit for all intents and purpose is hell, though it will not be referred to as hell until the second book.

While all the angels listed in the character listing above are at least briefly mentioned in this book, the core of this story is the relationships between Gabriel, Michael and Lucifer. Gabriel exudes innocence and is often said to be almost childlike. It’s why the souls are drawn to him. Michael is this all powerful angel, the general of heaven’s army, smart, gorgeous and powerful. Lucifer is dark and dangerous but he’s also cunning and fiercely loyal to Michael. While Gabriel, Michael and the majority of the angels follow their creator blindly and without question, Lucifer sees things that others either don’t, or chose not to see and it makes him angry, makes him question their creator. The anger and confusion coupled with the distance growing wider between him and Michael feeds the darkness in Lucifer, thus causing a struggle within.

This book has been a labor of love for me and I’ve poured a lot of my heart and soul into this story and these characters. I really hope you’ll grab a copy and that you’ll love Gabriel, Michael and even Lucifer as much as I do. I used a quote from the book as the title for this post, Passion lies at the edge of uncertainty. These six words define a good portion of the story and I think it rings true for many things. Picaso, Einstein, Anne Rice are perfect examples. While they were uncertain how their gifts would unfold, how they we be accepted, they were and are very passionate and it shows in images, evolution, art and the written word.

What’s your favorite heavenly read? Leave a comment with a book, show or movie with angels that you love to be entered for a surprise giveaway! See you next month. PS, to see the list of characters you’ll have to grab the book!

The Messenger

The Archangel trilogy book 1

For centuries Gabriel, Michael, and Lucifer have worked together, coexisting in the same universe. Gabriel chooses to remain silent and secluded, preferring the garden in the Hall of Souls. He dances beneath the tree of life, barefoot and with reckless abandon…until the day he looks into the eyes of another angel and sees the dreams he’s kept silent mirrored there.

Eons have passed since the moment Michael came to be General of All Father’s army in Heaven, the protector of mankind. Michael has been in love with Lucifer for as long as he can remember, their relationship second only to his oath to All Father. But lately, Michael has begun to notice cracks in the surface of their bond, sensing that his lover is not as angelic as he seems.

Lucifer is All Father’s first creation, the bringer of light, his Morning Star. He sits to the right of the throne, as he’s done every day since the dawn of time. Two things were tasked to the archangels from the start: put no other before All Father, and protect the humans he cherishes. Lucifer challenges both sacred rules. He puts his love for Michael before his love for his creator, and he questions his creator’s wisdom when it comes to the atrocities he has seen committed by mankind.

One will fall while two remain and grow stronger. A battle of wills is on the horizon.…Not only mankind, but the fate of all beings will hang in the balance.

The Messenger buy links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon DE | Amazon AU | Amazon CA | B&N | Kobo | Playster | Smashwords | Payhip | Scribd

TM Smith Author bio and links: 

A military brat born and raised at Ft. Benning Georgia; TM Smith is an avid reader, reviewer and writer. A Texas transplant, she now calls DFW her home. Most days she can be found curled up with a good book, or ticking away on her next novel.

Smith is a single mom of three disturbingly outspoken and decidedly different kids, one of which is Autistic. Besides her writing, she is passionate about Autism advocacy and LGBT rights. Because, seriously people, Love is Love!

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