The Consequential Heart: Large Print edition

Publisher Marketing: There was a time JoAnn had felt Jim was attracted to her, before he met Lexie, but Lexie broke his heart and married someone else. Was there the least bit of chance, JoAnn pondered wistfully, that she might replace his lost love and capture and mend his broken heart? The way to his heart was clear. But he would first have to open its door and let her in. Excerpt 1: ... JoAnn shook her head disconsolately. Nothing to be done about it. She'd have to see him. He'd made this long trip back to the cabin to speak to her. He must care some for her to take such an action. No matter how she looked at it, theirs was never truly your standard boss/secretary association. Both of them single, attractive, intelligent, and needy, it had been easy to offer him companionship and support. She'd made him more than her employer. She'd made him her dearest and best friend. And in like response, he had done the same. But Friendship, as close as theirs had become, was not love. The moment Lexie entered Jim's life, was a rude awakening that hurt terribly. When Lexie broke Jim's heart, JoAnn had every right to feel vindicated, and ready to exert every effort to capture his heart. But she did not feel that joy or the strong desire to capture his heart on the rebound. Her rose-colored glasses had cracked, and the truth bleached them to clear. Jim had no interest in her romantically. If there'd been the least bit of spark, he wouldn't have fallen in love with Lexie the moment he set eyes on her. No, she pondered miserably. The man simply wanted his friend and skilled secretary back. And in truth, she felt that she owed him that much, for his expending such efforts to find her and retrieve her, at least until he regained his footing in the office and she found him a skilled secretary he considered her equal to take her place.... Excerpt 2: ... Jim and Harold's law firm often represented the embezzled corporation in legal suits. JoAnn and both lawyers and their secretaries were called to the precinct to represent the firm after E. J. Stanton, the company's president, discovered and reported to the authorities a $100,000 dollar unexplained deficit, and accused Alliston, the bookkeeper, of embezzlement, but Jim felt Stanton's evidence accusing Alliston was dubious and decided to represent the accused Treasurer. No such money was found deposited into any account relating to Alliston's personal finances. The man swore he was innocent. But he was the most likely suspect since he handled all the company's finances. Jim hired a P. I. to investigate. Although the P. I. found no authentic proof that would stand up in court, he did lead Jim to form certain conclusions about who might have been the actual embezzler. "And you remember who I mentioned in my notes," Jim whispered. "Yes, I do." JoAnn answered. "But those suspicions were never made public." "Nevertheless, my office was broken into and files searched. Nothing was discovered missing except the file I carried with me in my briefcase." "Alliston's," JoAnn said, shakily." Jim nodded. "We are all in danger, aren't we?" JoAnn said. "Yes we are," Jim said. "There's already been one murder committed relative to this case...".. Clean Romance Novella, Murder Mystery, Suspense (Large Print Edition) Contributor Bio:  Freda, Paula Paula Freda, homemaker, mother of two grown sons, grandmother of two wonderful grandchildren, and former off-the-desk publisher of a family-oriented print small press, (1984 thru 1999), The Pink Chameleon, that she now publishes on line, was raised by her grandmother and mother, and has been writing for as long as she can remember. Even before she could set pencil to paper, she would spin her stories in the recording booths in the Brooklyn Coney Island Arcades for a quarter per 3-minute record. She states, "I love the English language, love words and seeing them on display, typed and alive. A romantic at heart, I write simply and emotionally. One of my former editors kindly described my work, '...her pieces are always deep, gentle and refreshing....'" Among the print publications in which her work has appeared are D'Youville Poetry Anthology, Clover Intl Poetry Competition, Small Press Writers & Artists Org. (SPWAO) Showcase II 1984, Nom de Plume, Labyrinth (1984), Harlequin Digest (a quarterly sent to Harlequin book subscribers during the 1980s), The Sacred Heart Messenger, Standard, Affaire De Coeur, Mid Island Times (hometown newspaper). On line, Peridot Books, The Romantic Bower, Romance and Beyond, and Alternate Realities. During February 2001 she taught an online class on writing at Topica.com. From 1985-1994 she coordinated writers clubs at two of her local hometown libraries. She further states, "I love writing, despite that I still have much to learn, and am grateful to any editor who takes the time to help me improve my skill. Although I've no fancy that I will ever be famous, or even want to be, my hope is that my writing will bring entertainment and uplift the human spirit. If someday in the future, someone reads my work and feels the better for it, then I have fulfilled myself." Her e-books & paperbacks are available through Amazon.com & several other online publishers.