Reviews For SANDEFLAY by Linda Mooney

Ms. Mooney doesn't shy away from the issue of a relationship between a paraplegic and a handsome stud. Instead she lets the story grow with it. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know Sandeflay. It parallels our world but some things are so much more advanced just as some things seem primitive in an exotic kind of way. I'm thrilled that I couldn't predict how this author would work things out. Just when I thought I'd guessed the path she would take she'd veer off on a side path that was much better than the simple storyline I'd envisioned. This story is rich in characters, love, eroticism and beautiful fantasy. Linda Mooney has done an excellent job of penning a story that will be fun for anyone who likes to get lost in a great book. - 5 hearts, Dee Dailey, The Romance Studio

A Simply Romance Reviews OUTSTANDING READ!

Let me tell you, the shocks and wow's in this book are outstanding. Sandeflay sounds like a place I would love to visit or even live. This book is full of life and the people are wonderfully real. Collin is hunk and in a few paragraphs you fall for him hard. Randi is a strong woman, and when she finds that place inside her, the one that she hid years ago, that lady is one that is so easy to like and in time you cheer for her and Collin. Especially when Linda throws one more extra surprise into the mix. Great book, a definite keeper. - Grade A ~ Reviewed by Melisa, Simply Romance Reviews

I loved this story. It had the entire heart-string-pulling you come to expect from Ms. Mooney, but always with a little something extra. She never disappoints her readers. I really loved the characters and the way they were drawn to each other. I loved Collin's pet and you will too. I loved all the character development in this story and I hope we get more stories from this world about other Extinguishers and their lives. I always come away from a Linda Mooney book with a little tear and a few stars in my eyes for her books are what romance is made of. People that truly care about one another and not just sex but there is that too but it is done in such a way that you just feel the love between the characters and wish them well. 5 Enchantments! ~ Reviewed by Melanie, Enchanting Reviews

SANDEFLAY is an absolutely stunning read by Ms. Mooney; her characters are endearing and her fictional world of Sandeflay is a place I would be delighted to visit.
I went through a whole range of emotions while reading this book including love for the characters and the world of Sandeflay, empathy for Miranda and her limitation along with the seemingly unwinnable situation between Collin and herself, respect for the sacrifices that Collin has made for his planet, his job and his pet, and heartbreak when the plot took some nail biting twists and turns.

The love that Collin and Miranda have for each other is so strong it is a thing of beauty. Ms. Mooney has surpassed all expectations with SANDEFLAY.

Blue Ribbon Rating: 5, Reviewed by jhayboy, Romance Junkies

Sample Chapter For SANDEFLAY by Linda Mooney

Miranda Sayers was different, but not because of her handicap. Collin had dealt with many people who had lost the use of a limb or an eye. In his line of work, it wasn’t unusual for an Extinguisher to suffer severe, sometimes critical wounds. Only if the injury prevented him from resuming his job was an Extinguisher taken out and replaced before being reassigned to another position out of the field.

But there was something about Randi that defied explanation or description. It was as if there was another woman hiding inside the pale, thin shell—a stronger, more vibrant woman. An identical twin, trapped inside a beautiful but useless body.

What he couldn’t understand was why he felt such an overwhelming need to protect her.
At first he had entertained the thought that maybe she was like a little sister. Collin was an only child, but he had always wished he had grown up with another sibling. Maybe he felt this way because he wanted to think of her as a helpless little sister. After all, she couldn’t be more than twenty. Twenty-two at the most. And now that her grandmother was no longer able to take care of her, that left her in an even more dire situation.

Randi had no idea he had scoped out the apartment when she had gone back into the bedroom to fix her makeup. A few random quick checks had shown him that the electricity was out. Shut off. The kitchen held little food in the pantry and none in the warm refrigerator. The end of the month was still six days away. So how was she expecting to cope between now and the next disability check?

Collin glanced down at the figure bundled up in an old cable-knit sweater and a thin blanket as he pushed the wheelchair down the sidewalk. The woman had been invading his dreams for the past three months. Now that he knew her better, now that he knew her circumstances, it would only get worse.

Damn him for starting to fall in love with her.

The moon-glow face glanced up at him. She wore a dazzling smile. “You’re taking me to Roxanna’s, aren’t you?”

“What gave me away?”

“It’s the only decent place to eat in this direction. Besides, it specializes in midday brunches and high tea.” She flashed him another smile, one that added a grateful shine to her blue eyes. “I’ve never been to Roxanna’s before.”

“You haven’t? Well, then, just you wait. You’re in for a treat.” He tried to act surprised although he wasn’t. He would have to be careful how he asked about her life and how she came to be a paraplegic. If he was to gain and keep her trust, he needed Randi to believe he honestly cared about her. And about her future. That shouldn’t be too difficult considering he was already at that point.

In the back of his mind he was also starting to argue with himself. Where is all this leading, old boy? Let’s say you start to fall even more in love with the woman. For what purpose? Were you planning on giving up being an Extinguisher so you could trot around town, pushing her wheelchair?

Crap! The voice of reason could be such a mean son of a bitch! On one hand he admitted he wanted to be here with Randi, wheelchair or no. Yet, on the other hand, he knew he had to get away from the claustrophobic feelings she evoked in him. It was the only thing that reined him in, knowing that if he attached himself to her, she would inevitably become an anchor dangling around his neck. Pulling him down. Dragging him down. Slowing him down until he either suffocated or drowned.

Sweet heavens, what am I going to do?

Once they reached the small restaurant at the end of the block, Collin pushed her into the main entry where they were led to a table near one of the big picture windows overlooking the street. Because it was the middle of the week, and before the lunch rush, he knew they wouldn’t have any difficulty being waited on.

He kept a discreet eye on the woman sitting across from him. He knew by the look of concern that crossed her face that she had seen the prices in the menu. A pinprick of pain touched him to know that such a simple thing as eating out was something she rarely got to experience.

“Order anything you like,” he offered, laying down his menu. “The soufflés are great here.”

Her glance at the choices caused a little worry line to form between her brows. “I don’t know, Collin. I’m really not that hungry.”

Bullshit. She was probably famished. “Order what you want, Randi. If you don’t eat it all, you can take it back with you and finish it later.”

That remark seemed to do the trick. She immediately brightened as the waitress came up to take their order. Collin made a mental note to himself to get a few croissants and some tarts before they left. Foods that wouldn’t need refrigeration before she got around to eating them.

After sugaring her coffee, she held the warm cup in her palms and savored the aroma before taking her first sip. Collin watched her, fascinated. “Don’t tell me you’re a coffee connoisseur,” he almost teased.

“No, no.” She shook her head. “But I love the smell.”

“What other kinds of smells do you enjoy?”

Small talk. Just keep plying her with small talk, and eventually she would begin to reveal things about herself and her past. Collin sat back in his seat to savor her company as much as she did the hot beverage.

“Oh…peppermint. Sometimes vanilla, although that almond vanilla stuff they have out now in hand lotions and bath soap is too much. Too sweet. I also like the smell of oatmeal.” She glanced at him over the rim of her cup. “Does that sound odd to you?”

“What? That you like the smell of oatmeal? No, not really. I like the smell of real leather.”

“So do I! Granny Mae used to have a leather purse. I would go into her closet and sniff inside it.” Randi sipped at her coffee. “I also like the smell of snow. You know, when it starts to fall, and the air is so cold you can almost break off a piece of it to suck on.”

That last remark struck home. There were times of the year on Sandeflay when the air almost felt that way to him.

“What kind of job do you have?”

“What?” He looked at her, unaware he had been drifting. “Job?”

“Yeah.” She rested her elbows on the table and propped her face in her hands. “You said earlier you had been called out on a job when you caught Mr. Vincennes in my apartment. What kind of work do you do that calls you out at two in the morning?”

“I’m an Ex—exterminator.” Damn! Think first, old boy!

“An exterminator? You mean like bugs and rats?”

“Actually it’s a bit more complicated than that. Think bigger,” he smiled.

Her eyes widened. “Bigger? Like snakes?”

At the mention of snakes his mind’s eye could envision a verdant lasher slithering its way through one of the highly charged Ducts. Most of the poisonous creatures averaged six to ten feet in length, although one time he had managed to put away one that was easily eighteen feet long, and as big around as his upper thigh. “Yeah. Like snakes. Mostly wild animals.”

“Geesh. Wild animals? In the city? What were they, pets people no longer wanted so they just set them free to try and fend for themselves?”

He gave her a simple shrug. “I don’t know. I don’t care, really. My job is to make sure they don’t harm anyone.”

“So what do you do when you encounter one of these things? Do you kill it? Or hand it over to the zoo?”

“Yeah, something like that,” he truthfully admitted. The conversation had turned down a path he had to move away from before it got to the point where he would have to start lying to her. Collin had the impression Randi would sense a bold-faced lie with little difficulty. “So, do you mind if I ask you something?”

Dropping her empty cup back onto its saucer with a clatter, she sat back with a resigned look on her face. “You’re wanting to know what’s wrong with me, right?”

He had struck a nerve, and she had instantly gone on the defensive. “Well, yes, to be honest, I am curious to know how you came to be in a wheelchair. But if the topic is too uncomfortable for you, Randi, you’re not obligated to tell me.”

“No, no.” She waved a hand in front of her face to dismiss his last remark. “Like I said earlier, I owe you big time for all your help. And you bringing me here is placing me in your debt even further.”

“Randi.” By the near anger in his voice, he knew he had her full attention when she stopped and stared at him. “Let’s just stop all this nonsense right now about who owes who, and how much. Let’s start at the beginning. Square one. I’m glad I was able to help out when you needed it. And to be quite frank, I’ve been hoping to find a way to get to know you better.”

“Then why not just knock on my door and ask me out?”

“Because of that damn wall you throw up whenever you’re around others,” he snapped back in a softer tone of voice. But his meaning was not lost on her. Watching her as she chewed on her lower lip, Collin continued. “I know you’re handicapped, but that doesn’t give you the right to block people out because of it. What keeps you so standoffish, Randi? Do you think people will treat you differently because of your disability?”

“They have before,” she managed to answer him.

The waitress came up to the table at that moment to refill their coffee cups and to let them know their food would be arriving shortly. Collin thanked her and resumed where he’d left off.

“What is it about me that frightens you?”

“I’m not afraid of you,” Randi protested weakly.

“Okay. Maybe that’s not the right word. Let me try again. What is it about me that makes you hesitant? Is it because I’m not handicapped like you are?”

He waited while she sugared her coffee and added creamer before she answered. “That’s part of it,” she admitted softly. Lifting her crystal blue eyes up at him, she asked, “What is it about me that interests you, Mr. First? Why waste your time with someone like me?”

Ah, but she got you there, old boy!

“That’s something I’ve been trying to figure out ever since I first saw you,” he told her bluntly. “I don’t see you as weak. I don’t see you as being crippled. Sometimes it’s like you being in that chair is a part you’re playing. And at the end of the day, when you close the door to your apartment, you get up out of that chair and have a great laugh, knowing how well you’ve fooled us all.”

Their food was delivered. In the middle of the waitress serving them, he couldn’t help but notice the brightness of tears in Randi’s eyes. Once the waitress left, he continued to watch the young woman as she took a tentative bite of her soufflé. “It’s good, isn’t it?” he asked, adding a smile.

Randi nodded. “Yeah. And you’re right about the other. There are days I feel like I could just get up out of this damn thing and do cartwheels across the living room rug. Or dance to a song on the radio. Or jog down to the corner market for some milk.” She took another bite, a bigger one, and chewed slowly, savoring the taste.

“So why don’t you? Why are you in that wheelchair, Miranda?”

“You really want to know?”

“I have all the time you need,” he assured her, but not before adding a prayer that he wouldn’t get a call while they were at the restaurant. Although Ducts rarely formed during the daytime, it wasn’t unheard of. And in this city where the formations were as random and as erratic as anything they had ever encountered before, Collin knew that sooner or later he would be called to take one down in the middle of the day. Maybe even in front of witnesses. And when that happened, there would be hell to pay.

Randi buttered a scone then added plum jelly to it. “Promise me one thing if I do.”

“You have my word.”

“Promise me it won’t change anything between us. Promise me we could still be…friends.”

The simple request tugged at him. “That won’t be a problem,” he told her. And it was the truth.

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