DAUGHTER OF BELIAL

 

 

Daughter of Belial

by Jennifer Juvenelle

GENRE: Psychological Thriller

Some Family Trees Should Be Burned. . .

Greer Girls are special. Greer Girls are rare. Greer Girls are central to the secret Order of Belial.

Sophie Greer knows none of this. All she knows is that her now ex-boyfriend cheated on her, she’s alone working in Paris, and her mysterious billionaire boss, Edward Hughes, is way too interested in her life.

But when Sophie is kidnapped in Moscow while on a business trip, she’s plunged into the dark underbelly of the global elite and a sinister secret society with deep ties to her family; ties that lead to revelations darker than anything Sophie could have imagined.

Betrayed by the man who raised her, and targeted by the illustrious Hughes family, only one thing is certain—family history can be deadly. If Sophie is to survive, she must decide who to trust and what to believe, or risk being crushed beneath the weight of the all-powerful secret Order of Belial.

Excerpt:

After removing his weapons, the men bind Wyatt’s hands behind his back using a zip tie before gagging him. They’ve barely glanced in my direction, so focused are they on subduing Wyatt. Subtly, I attempt to take a few steps away from the group when, of course, Mr. Leader Guy decides to switch his attention to me. 

“Where do ya think you’re going, little lady?” he asks. 

I freeze but don’t respond. Seems like a rhetorical question, anyway. I look to Wyatt for support. He’s backed into the wall of the tunnel with the other two men guarding his flanks. Slipping Wyatt’s gun into the back of his waistband, the asshole in charge approaches me. 

His breath, a sickly sweet halitosis, poorly masked with hints of spearmint, wafts into my nostrils when he speaks. “Don’t worry, sweetheart,” he says, coming closer, “the big, bad man can’t hurt you anymore.” 

“Who are you?” 

“Dante Pierce,” he says, holding out a gloved hand for me to shake, “pleased to meet ya.” 

I refrain from taking his hand. This miffs him. Rolling his eyes, he addresses his men, “Seems to me our fair maiden isn’t feeling too appreciative about being rescued.” His men laugh awkwardly, exchanging nervous glances. 

Dante Pierce doesn’t seem to notice. Returning his attention to me, he slowly removes his helmet and gloves. Never breaking eye contact, he drops them to his feet along with his rifle, and steps so close to me our noses practically touch. My bones rattle in their sockets as he looks me up and down in a predatory manner. By the time he completes his visual perusal of my body, I could take a hundred showers and it still wouldn’t be enough to wash off the scum from his gaze.

 

About the Author:

JENNIFER JUVENELLE is a Native American/French author born in Hollywood, raised in Detroit, and fashioned in France. Formerly an actress and model, Jennifer now splits her time between crafting psychological thrillers and the magic of motherhood. A survivor of childhood sexual abuse, Jennifer made healing from trauma a priority when her life became untenable. Daughter of Belial is the unexpected product of her journey from trauma to triumph. An eager explorer, she currently lives in a remote Mexican seaside-jungle village with her debonair Aussie author husband and their young son.

Q&A With the Author

What did you enjoy most about writing this book?

Finishing it! Haha no seriously finishing each chapter was always a rush and when I finished writing the book, I swear I was on the biggest natural high of my life. It lasted a week! I love the feeling of being in the zone in my writing. When I’m fully in, the story is flowing and I completely lose track of time and my sense of self, it’s the best feeling in the world. Well…I’ve since had a child, so maybe second best! 

Do you have any other books you are working on that you can tell us about?

I’m currently writing the second book in the Daughter of Belial series. It picks up almost immediately where the first book leaves off. I have a few ideas about where the story is going as well as the overarching theme, but as for the details, I’m just as excited as the readers to discover where Sophie Greer and the rest of the characters will end up!

Can you tell us about what you have planned for the future?

I plan to complete the Daughter of Belial series. There will be at least three books, possibly more, but I won’t know that until I’m writing the third installment. After that, who knows?! I’m excited to see where this journey takes me. I’m also really passionate about personal development, growth, and healing and am simultaneously building a platform in that area to correlate healing, writing, self-transformation and everything in between.

How long have you been writing?

Writing has been an outlet for me since I was given my first journal on my 12th birthday. Mostly, I wrote these emotional, stream-of-consciousness rants about whatever was going on in my life. It wasn’t until my mid to late teens that I began to get creative with it, expressing myself through poetry and little written blurbs of prose. I’ll be turning 39 in December so I guess that means I’ve been writing for close to thirty years, wow!

Anything more you would like to say to your readers and fans?

It was a reader just like you who saved my book. There was a time when I’d essentially given up on completing Daughter of Belial, so when a good friend of mine asked to read my unfinished manuscript, I said, “Sure, why not? I’m not going to finish it.”

That seemingly small act revived the entire story! Over the few weeks that my friend was reading my book (which was about halfway complete at that stage), the story suddenly roared back to life. The characters rose from the grave to dance across my imagination once more. Before I even knew whether he liked the book (he loved it), I was ready to dive back into the writing. 

So it is with the deepest gratitude that I thank you for reading these humble words, for reading the excerpt and back cover description. And to the daring who choose to read the whole book, it is you who brings the story to life.

As writers we are in service to you, the reader. It is our job to give you a story worthy of your time, your money, your imagination, and your intelligence. A book is nothing but a block of finely cut wood until someone decides to interact with it. It’s the alchemy of your consciousness with the storyline that energizes it. Your imagination whips up the scenery, the characters, the plot into vivid detail. Without you, books are mere words on a page. And so it is to you, dear reader, that I thank the most. Thank you for reading, for co-creating the cinema of literature that can only take place within each of us.

 

Links

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100084032235265

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jjuvenelle/

Website: www.jenniferjuvenelle.com

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Daughter-Belial-Uncovering-truth-dangerous-ebook/dp/B0B85WN3SG/

GIVEAWAY

Jennifer will be awarding a $50 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway