The Second Chances Books

Icarus Rising

After his fall to Earth, Icarus has been in Hell, punished for his hubris. When he wins a chance at parole, he's thrilled - except for the set of wings attached to his body.

Eve Gregory runs a small bookstore in northern Connecticut. When she hires the handsome stranger to work for her, she doesn't know the secrets he's hiding. Or that becoming involved with him will embroil her with the Greek gods and goddesses.

Icarus and Eve must perform a quest set down for them by Zeus. If they are successful, will that be end of their relationship? Or will love teach them a new way to soar?

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Cassandra Heeded

Cassandra of Troy has been idling in Elysium for centuries. When Apollo offers her a second chance at life on earth, she jumps at it. The only snag is she must find the Kuon Khryseos, the small golden dog Rhea gave Zeus as a baby. 

Artemis finds Cassie a place in Devon, Connecticut living over her coffee shop while she researches her task using her visions as well as a laptop. Jack Burnett works at the shop, and is fascinated by the new woman typing on her computer at one of his tables. But Cassie thinks he looks too much like Ajax, the man who despoiled her during the fall of Troy.

Will Cassie learn to trust Jack, and will they find the Kuon Khryseos?


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Wax Wings - The Icarus Song by Sean Casey and The Eloise Mcdaniel Consortium

Icarus has been an inspiration in the arts for centuries and modern musicians are still painting pictures or writing music about his flight to the sun. I like this modern interpretation.

Icarus Ascending by Dan Fogelburg

The theme of Icarus appears in a lot of art and music. Here is one of my favorites, Icarus Ascending by Dan Fogelburg.

Soaring alone upon a threatening wind
Just fix your eyes on the horizon
Cut off from everything
You've known or have been
I shouldn't think it's so surprisin'
Spiralling upward on a freshening lift
Reaching the realms of fleet Apollo
You have been given the most sacred of gifts
You must be fearless now and follow

[Chorus:]
Don't look down
Though your heart may be weary
Don't look down
Though your wings are on fire
Don't look down
Though the night may seem endless
There's a reason you're flying
This fast and this far

Let your faith be your strength
And your love be your guiding star
Venturing further than
The length of your sight
Out past the reach of your beginnings
There is a gamble in each
Proud act of flight
But the losses pale before the winnings
Circling and diving with this
Freedom you've found
Illusion blows apart and scatters
There is no darkness in this place
That we're bound
Love is the only thing that matters

[Chorus]

Up.....up.....up.....up.....

Second Chances series: Tour the book locations in Icarus Rising - Holyrood Palace

Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh sits at the bottom of the Royal Mile at the opposite end from Edinburgh Castle. Icarus and Eve visit the Palace in search of clues for the quest that Zeus has assigned them.
The Palace was originally a monastery in the 12th century and the ruins of that structure still remain on the back side of the Palace. Queen Elizabeth and the royal family maintain apartments still in the Palace, but the older part of the structure is open to the public.

The apartments that Mary Stuart used are still in existence. A blood-stained mark shows on the floor, supposedly left by David Rizzio who was stabbed 56 times by her Mary's husband, Lord Darnley, who was jealous of the Italian secretary's influence on her.

My favorite room is the Great Gallery. The Gallery is the largest room in the Palace, and is best known for the extensive series of portraits of the Scottish monarchs that line the walls. These were commissioned by Charles II from the Dutch painter, Jacob de Wet, and delivered between 1684 and 1686. They feature every king of Scotland, real and legendary, back to the supposed founder of Scotland, Fergus I, in 330BC, and were a clear message about the lineage of the Stuart kings, mostly that they all had large noses as did Charles II.

Icarus as performed by the Paul Winter Consort

This has long been a favorite piece of music. I've seen the Paul Winter Consort many times and love this song. It is very easy to picture Icarus flying too near the sun, then falling to Earth as the music rises and falls.
The amount of instruments that the Consort plays from around the world is staggering. Every winter they play a holiday concert in St John the Divine's Cathedral in New York City that is truly lovely to see and hear.

Now on PreOrder: Icarus Rising by N.W. Moors

Icarus Rising is now on PreOrder at Amazon, B&N, Kobo, iBooks, and Smashwords. You can find the link to them all here:

 Order Icarus Rising Here!

After his fall to Earth, Icarus has been in Hell, punished for his hubris. When he wins a chance at parole, he's thrilled - except for the set of wings attached to his body. 

Eve Gregory runs a small bookstore in northern Connecticut. When she hires the handsome stranger to work for her, she doesn't know the secrets he's hiding. Or that becoming involved with him will embroil her with the Greek gods and goddesses. 

Icarus and Eve must perform a quest set down for them by Zeus. If they are successful, will that be end of their relationship? Or will love teach them a new way to soar?

Second Chances series: Tour the book locations in Icarus Rising - Chateau de Chenonceau

The first book in my new series, Icarus Rising, will be coming out soon. Icarus, who flew too near the sun and fell to Earth, is given a second chance at life by Zeus. He and Eve, owner of the bookstore where he ends up working, end up doing some traveling for a quest.

The first place they visit is the Chateau de Chenonceau, a lovely estate in the Loire Valley of France. The current Chateau was built in the early 16th century and extends over the River Cher. 

The original owners defaulted to King Francis I when they couldn't pay their debts to the crown. In turn, his son, Henry II, gifted it to his mistress, Diane de Poitiers. You can still see many Greek mythological themes derived from Diana's name (after the Roman name for Athena). After the king's death, his wife, Catherine de Medici, forced Diana to give her the chateau and made many improvements. She also tried to stamp out her rival's presence, but you can still see intertwined letters of D, H, and C representing the husband, wife, and mistress.

This is the period I used to represent Icarus and Eve's quest in Icarus Rising. This picture of Catherine de Medici features as a clue in the story.  

The Five Queens’ bedroom is named in memory of Catherine dé Medici’s daughters, Queen Margaret

(married Henry of Navarre in 1572, who became King Henry VI in 1589, she agreed to have the marriage annulled in 1599) and Elisabeth of France (wife of Phillip II of Spain), her daughter-in-laws, Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots (wife of King François II), Elisabeth of Austria (wife of King Charles IX) and Louise of Lorraine (wife of King Henry III). All stayed here at one time during Catherine's lifetime.

Later the Chateau was used by other Queens and nobility. During WWI it was used as a hospital ward. In WWII the Chateau was used as a bridge between Nazi-occupied France and the 'free zone' on the other side of the river. Today it is a place for tourists to admire as one of the top spots to visit in France.

I will continue to feature locations from the book on this blog along with other tidbits from the book.

The Second Chances series - coming soon!

Author unknown, but this is what the Second Chances book series is all about.

Second Chances