Character Bio on Lia Cassidy…

I’m Lia Cassidy and I was born and raised in Ontario, Oregon, the heart sugar beet country.  My Dad is a farmer and I feel lucky I grew up with my feet in the dirt, wriggling my toes in that warm, sandy soil.  I didn’t really have much computer time because I loved being outdoors.  I came from a large family and often dreamed of having one myself.  When I rode my palomino horse, Goldy, bareback, I would throw my arms out at my sides, riding that rocking chair rhythm aboard my best friend.  I never gave a thought that my life would turn out so horribly different and difficult.  I look back on my wonderful growing up years, a loving set of parents, happy being in Nature, and shake my head.  That’s all gone, now.

Maybe it started because I loved adventure.  I joined the Army after graduating from high school.  I was really great at mechanics and the Army didn’t waste my talents.  I ended up being a mechanic in a motor pool at Bagram, Afghanistan.  I was one of the very few women and worked mostly with men in that building.  But I loved fixing things and I was very good at it.  Two years into my enlistment, I was attacked by two men who worked with me.  I had the duty that night and was alone in the huge building.

My father had taught me an Israeli fighting technique known as Krav maga.  When they pushed me into a corner, wielding knives, threatening to kill me if I didn’t let them rape me, my terror turned to rage.  I wasn’t going to lay down and let it happen,so I fought back.  They weren’t expecting it.  I still remember that terror-filled night like it was yesterday. Once they realized I wouldn’t capitulate?  They tried to kill me because they knew if I escaped, I’d turn them in.  Worse?  To this day, my body bears the scars of their knives.  My world was turned inside out.  I try to hide the scars from others by the kind of clothes I wear, but I can’t conceal all of them.  Men look at me, see the scars and turn away.  I never knew what loneliness was until this life-changing incident happened.

I survived the assault, but barely.  I left the Army and went to work for Delos, a global charity.  I wanted to hide and try to heal.  I was assigned to La Fortuna, Costa Rica, and became the manager for a Home School Foundation charity.  The jungle beauty of this country, the kindness of the people, the loving children who didn’t care about my scars, were exactly what I needed to continue to heal.

But even here, where I hid and was happy, evil stalked me again.  Dante Medina, the local drug lord who lived outside the village, attacked our small school and murdered the two teachers.  His soldiers came after me, to kill me, but I escaped, running for the jungle.  Tears ran down my face over the trauma of losing my two teacher friends.  If I survived Medina’s soldiers tracking me down, what was left of my twenty-five year old life?  Once, as a child I had dreamed of the man I would marry and how happy we would be.  Children would be just another form of love between us.  And since the attack?  I no longer dream those dreams.  And now, this demented monster who is going to hunt me down.  Was there nowhere to hide?

GIVE AWAY:  How do you think you would handle being badly scarred by violence?  Leave a comment below to be entered to win an e-book of NOWHERE TO HIDE.  International entries also accepted!  One winner will be chosen and notified.  Good luck!

NOWHERE TO HIDE

Welcome to my new series, DELOS!  Book 1, NOWHERE TO HIDE, introduces this romantic suspense series.  It features Lia Cassidy and ex-SEAL, Cav Jordan.  There is a FREE prologue, LAST CHANCE by Lindsay McKenna, so be sure to grab an ebook copy of it now!

This free novella is available on the five major ebook platforms (Amazon, KOBO, BN.com, and iTunes/iBooks/Apple on 7.13.15).

Don’t own an ereader but would like the ebook novella?  Come directly to my website, www.lindsaymckenna.com, and receive a free copy of it via the Selz software we have installed.  At the the end of the steps, you’ll receive a FREE copy of LAST CHANCE on your desktop of any device you want it on.

Paperback lovers, sorry, there is no paperback available on this free novella prologue.  But you can still download a copy from my website without any problem.  Try it!  It’s easy and quick!

Visit my website for all things Delos.  Family history, information on present and coming characters, their books, publishing dates, and so much more.  Just go to the Delos tab in the toolbar.  Download quote books on the Family and Delos charity.  Peek into the lives of the children you will read about!   This is a global, multi-national family who has a vision to help those who have less than they do.

Meet each of the siblings of General Robert Culver, USAF, and his Turkish/Greek wife, Dilara Badem-Culver.  Talia is first born.  Dilara then has twins:  Matt and Alexa.  Even though their family is worth billions because the Turkish-American-Greek family owns the largest fleet of container ships in the world, these three siblings learn early on that service to one’s country and being patriotic, is expected of them.

Follow their stories after the two above introductory ones.  Tangled Pursuit is Tal and Wyatt’s book, 11.11.2015.  Forged in Fire is Matt and Dara’s book, 12.3.2015.  Broken Dreams is Alexa and Gage’s book, 1.2.2016.  Paperback/ebook.  Sign up for my quarterly newsletter that brings you ongoing information about Delos and other series I’m writing.  Exclusive info.  A give-away. And more!  www.lindsaymckenna.com.