Friday John Ku – TGIF and Marcia Meara Author of the Emissary Series

~ John W. Howell

I am so pleased to have Fellow Story Empire member and author Marcia Meara with me today. She is here to discuss Book Three of her Emissary Series.  Marcia the floor is yours. (Well, the walls too.)

Thanks so much for having me here today, John. I’m pretty excited to be sharing the news of my latest release with you and your followers, and I’d like to take a moment to chat about angels in today’s fiction.

I don’t know how many of you have noticed, but angels on book covers in recent years do not look like they did when I saw pictures of them in Sunday school. Nope. Not at all. For one thing, they aren’t wearing robes and carrying harps. Mostly, they’re bare-chested with those washboard abs that are so admired these days. This always leaves me wondering how they have time for typical angelic duties, what with all those workouts over at the Cloud 9 Gym. (Poor Clarence from “It’s a Wonderful Life” was robbed. 😉 )

And though the term “Nephilim” is mentioned in Genesis, and sometimes defined as the offspring of an angel and a mortal, that was another concept that wasn’t bandied about much in popular fiction decades ago.

Regardless, love affairs between humans and angels, with or without offspring, are themes that have been pretty popular in many of today’s romance and urban fantasy novels. With those trends in mind, I had a lot to think about before beginning my Emissary trilogy. Just how did I want to approach my own angelic-themed tales?

My decision was to go in a very different direction. While this little fantasy doesn’t pretend to be any kind of serious religious work at all, I still wanted my featured angel to be very different from most I’ve seen gracing book covers today.

Is Azrael’s chest finely sculpted and utterly swoon-worthy? I have no idea. He wears a long white robe. Always. Even on the beach. But one thing I know for sure—he doesn’t cavort with mortal women. Ever.

Azrael is the archangel in charge of all things connected to helping souls cross over into Heaven after death, and he has always had far more important things on his mind than any sort of tom-foolery like that—especially in recent years.  Due to the drastic over-population of the planet, the constant strife between countries, and the plethora of unsavory temptations everywhere mortals look, Azrael’s current problem is what to do about angels being desperately overworked. In an attempt to ease this impossible situation, the archangel believes hired help is the answer. He decides to form a team of emissaries from Heaven-bound souls he’ll pull directly out of line at the Pearly Gates.

Jake Daughtry is his first choice. Giving him some new powers, including a limited form of immortality and an ability to help humans avoid making very bad choices, Azrael sent his first emissary back to earth on a sort of trial run. It goes better than the angel expected, and before too long, Jake is joined by a second recruit named Dodger. From that point on, the growing Emissarial Team has been Azrael’s main focus. That, and trying to keep the disapproving Council of Angels from ending his experimental program outright.

Over the course of my three novellas, the archangel’s stern and righteous character has expanded to encompass a new understanding of human beings, and his strong connection to his two first emissaries has resulted in some surprising insights on his part. But though he has gained a lot more understanding of mortals and his temperament has mellowed somewhat, Azrael continues to enjoy seeing Jake’s startled reaction when he pops up behind him unexpectedly. And he still has not learned to use contractions.

Buy Links

Buy The Emissary 3: Love Hurts HERE

Blurb

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 ~~~

Azrael’s emissarial program was growing daily, but it still met with stubborn opposition from many on the Council of Angels. Dodger’s request to be allowed to experience what falling in love was all about didn’t help matters, but Azrael thought the boy was onto something. He agreed emissaries who’d shared a loving relationship during their mortal lives would have a deeper understanding of human emotions and motivations, thus enhancing the skills they needed to do their jobs.

With that in mind, Azrael gave Dodger one chance to search for true love. He then laid down a daunting set of stringent rules and guidelines that could not be broken under any circumstances lest dire happenings occur. But while the angel sincerely hoped Dodger would find a way to make this endeavor work, he feared an avalanche of unintended consequences could be in store for his youngest emissary.

Sometimes even angels hate to be right.

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~~~

Will Azrael ever tire of popping up behind Jake just to see his first emissary fall out of his chair in shock? Will sharp-eyed motel owners ever notice a big red and white semi mysteriously appearing and disappearing from their parking lots overnight? And will Dodger be able to track down the mystery girl who caught his eye two weeks earlier to see if she’s really The One?

To find the answers to these and other angelic or emissarial questions, come along on one last adventure with Jake, Dodger, and that ginormous, glowy-eyed archangel, Azrael. They’re waiting for you!

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Bio

Marcia Meara lives in central Florida, just north of Orlando, with her husband of over thirty years and four big, spoiled cats.

When not writing or blogging, she spends her time gardening, and enjoying the surprising amount of wildlife that manages to make a home in her suburban yard. She enjoys nature. Really, really enjoys it. All of it! Well, almost all of it, anyway. From birds, to furry critters, to her very favorites, snakes. The exception would be spiders, which she truly loathes, convinced that anything with eight hairy legs is surely up to no good. She does not, however, kill spiders anymore, since she knows they have their place in the world. Besides, her husband now handles her Arachnid Catch and Release Program, and she’s good with that.

Spiders aside, the one thing Marcia would like to tell each of her readers is that it’s never too late to make your dreams come true. If, at the age of 69, she could write and publish her first book (and thus fulfill 64 years of longing to do that very thing), you can make your own dreams a reality, too. Go for it! What have you got to lose?

CONTACT MARCIA HERE

marciameara16@gmail.com

The Write Stuff

Pinterest

Twitter: @marciameara

Find Marcia’s Books Here:

MARCIA’S AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE

Todays JohnKu talks about angels. I hope you all have a great weekend

Angels by John W. Howell © 2020

Some do not believe,

There are such things as angels . . .

Until they meet one.

 

90 thoughts on “Friday John Ku – TGIF and Marcia Meara Author of the Emissary Series”

  2. Pingback: Friday John Ku – TGIF and Marcia Meara Author of the Emissary Series | Legends of Windemere

    1. Thanks so much, Jill. It’s lovely to be here today! And I’m so glad you like the cover of my book. My cover designer and I played around with it for a day or two before settling on this one. I’ll pass your kind words along. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by and taking a moment to comment. 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    1. For at least a decade, paranormal romance was absolutely filled with them. It was sort of astonishing to me, but what do I know? I was just looking for a whole different kind of angel for my story, and happily, Azrael cooperated. 😀 Thanks for stopping by and taking a moment to comment, Liz. I appreciate it! 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

      2. They sort of creep me out too, LIz, even on mere mortal characters. They always look airbrushed, for one thing, and I’ve never in my entire LONG life seen a real-life man, no matter how fit and well-built, who actually had abs like that. So, I definitely wasn’t going to give them to any of my characters, much less the Archangel Azrael. 😀

        Liked by 1 person

  8. Thanks so much, Harmony! It does my hear good to know you enjoyed The Emissary 1, and I hope you’ll like the rest of the trilogy just as much. Isn’t John’s haiku perfect? I’m planning to share it with Azrael, who will enjoy it very much I’m sure. 😉 Thanks for stopping by today! 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

      3. Ha!! When you put it that way, I see exactly what you mean. I’m going to remember it! 😀 *scribbles it down on a scrap of paper, laughing the whole time*

        Liked by 1 person

  12. Reblogged this on The Write Stuff and commented:
    This morning, I’m over at John Howell’s blog, talking about angels in general, and Azrael specifically, just as I envisioned him for my Emissary trilogy. Hope you’ll stop by and say hello. Don’t miss John’s angelic John Ku (haiku) at the end. It’s perfection! And please consider sharing this one far and wide so others can enjoy it, too. Thanks so much, and thanks to John for hosting me today! It’s very much appreciated, my friend! 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  13. John, thank you so much for having me here today. I hope your readers will enjoy learning more about Azrael and his emissaries, whose earthly duties can make a difference in the lives of mortals on the brink of bad decisions. I had a lot of fun writing this trilogy, and shed a few tears here and there, too, and I appreciate you helping me get the word out! 🙂 And your John Ku was sheer perfection! I’m printing that out to put over my desk!

    Liked by 1 person

    2. I was getting perplexed by those covers, Teri, for sure. But I wanted to write about a powerful angel, and that just wasn’t the direction I wanted to go, so … back to white robes, it was. 😀 (But you’ll notice I didn’t put Azrael on the cover, either. 😀 )

      Thanks so much for stopping by today! 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

    1. Thanks, Staci. Sometimes I actually do spend a while pondering things like this. 😀 (Other times, I just start writing willy-nilly and and let my characters tell me what’s up. 😀 ) Thanks for stopping by today! 🙂 I appreciate it!

      Liked by 2 people

    1. Thank you, Dale. Hope you’ll get a chance to read it someday, and see what you think. And thanks for stopping by today. Nice to “meet” you. 🙂 (PS, I like hiking, too, especially through the North Carolina mountains, or here in central Florida, along our rivers and creeks.)

      Liked by 2 people

  19. Hi, Sue! thanks so much for your kind words. Yeah, I’m not all that fond of washboard abs on mere mortals, and they sure look odd to me on guys with wings. 😀 But, who am I to argue with success? A whole lot of paranormal romance books featuring them have been sold. So, good on them! It just wasn’t what I was looking for.

    Azrael has turned out to be everyone’s favorite character, pretty much, so you’ll have to get in line, I’m afraid. 😀 But I think you’d like him. (I can put in a good word for you. 😉 )

    Thanks for stopping by this morning. I really appreciate it! 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thanks, Baydreamer. So glad you enjoyed the post, and I agree about that haiku. Loved it!! Thanks so much for your well wishes and for stopping by today! 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

  21. What a great post and a fantastic look at Azrael. Although I love Jake and Dodger (I’ve read all three novellas and highly recommend them), Azrael is my favorite. I’m so glad you didn’t give him airbrushed abs, Marcia. He is an intriguing and noble character exactly as you’ve written him. And I loved seeing how he softened that stern outer shell just a tad over the course of the books.
    Wishing you all the best with Emissary 3!

    And a great JohnKu today as a companion to Marcia’s post, John!

    Liked by 2 people

    2. Thank you so much, Mae. Airbrushd abs are okay for those who enjoy them, for sure. (I’m afraid I’m always reminded of Ninja Turtles. 😀 ) But they would never have been right for the stern, staid, non-contraction using Azrael. Glad you agree. 🙂 And so glad you’ve enjoyed the series. As I’ve said several times, it was the most fun thing to write I’ve tackled so far, even as much as I love writing Rabbit. His stories have some serious issues in between the fun that even outweigh the ones in The Emissary novellas. (Except maybe for that first one.) And I like your description of Azrael as “noble,” too. Thanks for stopping by today! I greatly appreciate it! 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  22. Hello to Marcia. It’s lovely of you to host her today, John. I can’t wait to read the rest of this series. And yeah, angels with washboard abs are fine with me. Lol. I started Rabbit last night, Marcia, and Could. Not. Put. It. Down! Now, I have to sign off so I can read more. 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

    2. Not a problem, Diana. That’s why there’s vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry in the ice cream freezer at Publix–something for everybody. We share plenty of common likes, but we aren’t the same person, after all. And good news–I won’t be fighting you for those washboard abs guys! (Aren’t you glad?? 😀 ) I do like strong men, mind you. I just like them to look more natural. 😉

      Now as for you finally reading Rabbit, I’m absolutely over the moon that you are enjoying it so much! He’s been such a joy to write about! (And it’s always easy to write his bits, because he pretty generally dictates them to me. I just type whatever he says.) 😀 Hope you’ll like the rest of his first story, and will check out the next two at some point. Thanks for letting me know, and for stopping by today to say hello! 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

    1. Thanks, Robbie. It was great fun to be with John today, and I’m still enjoying his John Ku, which I printed out and posted on my bulletin board. It makes me smile! 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!

      Liked by 1 person

  25. It’s lovely to see Marcia on your blog, John! Her Emissary series reads fascinating. That was a great synopsis of her books. Fabulous post! Thanks for hosting. 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

  26. Thank you, Vashti! I’m glad you enjoyed the post, and it was great to be here at John’s today. Loved his Angels John Ku, too. Thanks for stopping by and saying hello! 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

    2. Thank you so much, Trish! Sorry I’m late responding, but it’s not because your comments aren’t important, believe me. Things got kinda hectic as I prepared for my first presentation since being quarantined for over 7 months. But I’m catching up today, and VERY happy to see you here. 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

  29. I’ve been gone for a few days, so playing catch up with blogs. I have to say that I LOVED The Emissary 3 from Marcia. I now will go back and read the beginning of the story. 🙂 What a great JohnKu!!

    Liked by 2 people

    2. I heartily encourage folks to read this series, when possible, though the middle book isn’t quite as critical. If you haven’t read Book 1, you have no idea how Dodger even came into Jake’s world, etc. HOWEVER, having said that, and knowing that you enjoyed Book 3 anyway, Jan, I’ll take it! And be very, very grateful for it! (Hope you do get a chance to read how it all began, though. Some of the things that followed might make more sense.)

      So glad you liked this one, and very happy to see you here today. (I’m running behind, too.) 😀

      Liked by 2 people

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