Alyssa Richards

Mystery, Thriller, and Suspense

Romance

Get The Fine Art of Deception Series Box Set – Incredible Value!

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Now is the time to discover the much-loved Fine Art of Deception Series that has introduced the world to Addie Montgomery and Blake Greenwood. The Fine Art of Deception Series blends the mystery of the Isabella Gardner Museum Heist with Addie’s psychic gift of touch and tie them together with unexpected threads from the distant past.

UNDOING TIME
SOMEWHERE IN TIME
LOST IN TIME

Her touch uncovers secrets. His secrets might be more than she can handle.

Art appraiser Adeline “Addie” Montgomery craves a normal life. But because of her gift, she’ll never know what normal means. She can touch any object and know its owner’s secrets. It comes in handy in her line of work, but it frequently wrecks her personal life. Addie one day hopes to use her ability to solve the disappearance of her father and grandfather, but her strange dreams of a lover from a past life seem to keep getting in the way…

The mysterious Blake Greenwood has an aura of danger that pulls Addie right in. As a client of Addie’s firm, he seems to have more secrets than paintings. She tries to steer clear, but the connection between them feels older than time itself.

Addie wants to take a chance on love, but will letting her guard down show her a life she never thought possible or send everything crashing down?

If you like nail-biting suspense, captivating love stories, and a touch of time travel, then you’ll love Alyssa Richards’ compelling paranormal series.
Buy The Fine Art of Deception to discover if love can stand the test of time!

“I felt like I was standing right in the middle of a Movie Set of something between Pierce Brosnan’s “The Thomas Crown Affair” or Sean Connery’s “Entrapment”. I was sucked into the story from the beginning and I could not stop reading. It was such an interesting mix between the paranormal romance and crime elements that kept me reading and wondering what might happen next.”–Jeri’s Book Attic

“This book was loaded with mystery and suspense. The plot was well executed and kept me on the edge of my seat. The sizzling passionate scenes between Addie and Blake were red hot.” —Smut Book Junkie Book Reviews

“I am so in love with the universe Alyssa Richards has built as a paranormal version of the world, much more exciting and full of possibilities. From the very first moment I started reading the story of Addie and Blake I felt in love with both characters. Stories about reincarnation are of my favorites subgenres inside the fantasy world because they blend the power of imagination with a realness that seeps into the bone.

If I thought the first book was a master piece, then I have no words to describe what the second book did to me while I was reading it.

I only have praise and admiration for the work Alyssa Richards has created and the only thing I have left to say is give this series a chance because it may be your new favorite read!” Azahara, Living in Our Own Story Book Blog

“Man oh man! Alyssa Richards has seriously outdone herself with trilogy. It encompasses love, passion, deception, heartache, reality and alternate reality. Just a stunning from start to finish. Each character was created with such care and have developed so well over the course of the trilogy. This conclusion has gripped my heart. It made me laugh andcry.” Nay Denise, Nay’s Pink Bookshelf

“The Last book in the series, and what a book it was. I’m kind of sad that it was goodbye for these fantastic characters and a amazing story. Alyssa Richards out did herself in book three. I have enjoyed every minute of this series…At times I was sat on the edge of my seat biting my nails afraid to continue reading…I have been on an unimaginable journey through these books and I’m so glad I said yes to reading them. I would definitely recommend anyone to read this series even if it is not your usual style of reading, you will definitely be hooked from page one.” Linda Luscious Literature

 

Fitness Secrets from Cover Model for Romance Novels

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jasonbacashot2 Romance Novels. They definitely inspire visions of fit men and women, don’t they?

Check out this interview with Jason Aaron Baca, who graces the covers of more than 320 Romance Novels and see what he does to stay in shape!

http://www.betternutrition.com/fitness-secrets-of-a-romance-model/ 

If you’ve spent any time on my Instagram page, you know that I’m a huge fan of fitness and healthy eating. The kids and I take a short trip to the farm every week for the healthiest foods available, I work out six days a week and just generally try to stay active. Which isn’t easy when you write — a very sedentary practice — but, with effort it can happen.

You know, it’s funny. I’m such a health nut that I cringe whenever my characters have bad eating or drinking habits. I’ll write a character a certain way and then think, ‘wow, do you know what that’s doing to your body?’ Ha! Well, they are who they are…

PS If you’ve never tried pasture–raised eggs, you must! You can find them at your local farm for less than standard grocery store eggs. And I’ve seen them at Whole Foods, though they’re expensive as they truck them in from far away farms.

Enjoy the picture of Jason and let me know how you stay healthy!

Dorian Gray from Penny Dreadful

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Dorian Gray from Penny DreadfulDorian Gray is one of my favorite characters from Showtime’s Penny Dreadful.

Actually, I have several favorite characters from this show. It’s impossible to choose just one from such an extraordinarily talented cast!

Dorian Gray is a character that hails from Oscar Wilde’s only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray. It was originally published in a more abbreviated version in Lippincott’s Monthly Magazine in 1890 and was considered offensive and indecent by British reviewers of the time. Mr. Wilde extended the story from 13 to 20 chapters and it was published by the editorial house Ward, Lock and Company a year later.

If you’ve read the book you probably remember that an artist has painted the portrait of the young and handsome Dorian Gray.  Dorian soon decides that beauty is the only worthwhile aspect of life and he wishes to stay young and attractive forever. He pursues a hedonistic lifestyle and ultimately falls in love with a talented actress. He proposes, and all bodes well until Dorian learns that his love has given up acting, which he considered to be inseparable from her beauty.

He breaks the engagement and then notices that the portrait has taken on a cruel appearance. His wish has been granted. He retains his beauty, while his portrait absorbs the price of his narcissistic choices.

In the Penny Dreadful series, we haven’t yet seen Dorian’s portrait but we know it exists. Too, he currently has a love interest and he is celebrating her publicly. In the book, the actress kills herself after Dorian forsakes her. Could the same theme be far behind in the series? Angelique does seem quite fragile and emotionally dependent upon Dorian’s love and acceptance.

“To be different, to be powerful. Is that not a divine gift?”

Dorian Gray to Vanessa Ives

I love the entire premise of the show, how each character has a darker side they have yet to accept. Episode by episode we follow their path to see if their hidden identities will empower or destroy them.

Tune in!

I blend the same theme throughout The Fine Art of Deception series, as I find the idea of secrets and secret identities are so fascinating. Everyone dons a mask when they step into the public eye. People are rarely, truly themselves, even when they boast that they are. I wanted to explore what it would be like for someone who sees what others wish to keep secreted away. How do they react toward someone who shows up with such uninvited intimacy? What happens when someone like this is confronted by a love that requires them to be authentic and vulnerable? Could there be a place in in this person’s life where they find happiness and love?

Book 1 in The Fine Art of Deception series, Undoing Time is available now. Book 2, Somewhere in Time is due out at the end of the summer!!!

Review – The Fine Art of Deception

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Thank you to Splashes Into Books for their Review of The Fine Art of Deception!

The Fine Art of Deception: Undoing Time by Alyssa Richards

Title: The Fine Art of Deception: Undoing TimeAdobe Photoshop PDF

Author: Alyssa Richards

Publisher: CreateSpace Publishing

Published: January 18th, 2015

Rating: 5/5

Adeline Montgomery comes from a family of psychics. They each have their own talents and hers is that when she touches an object she sees events and feelings relating to its owner, sometimes their deepest secrets. This is a great way of finding out if art work is genuine or fake but sometimes others just find it too frightening to cope with – like her ex, Jeremy, who is now engaged to the person who used to be her best friend. Even though they split seven years ago it has had a severe effect on her willingness to share her gift or to trust men. She can also see and communicate with “ghosts” and touching someone can reveal their secrets whether she wants to know them or not. Shutting out all these communications is difficult for her at times. Now she’s going to try for a job as a researcher in the Art appraisal company started by Otto Albrecht and her grandfather. It is now years since her father and grandfather mysteriously and dramatically disappeared whilst in Paris for the company  – even with her psychic talents she hasn’t been able to find them. Her sister warns her to stay away from the company but she needs the job and maybe she can find out what happened to their father and grandfather!

Gallery owner Blake Greenwood admits people in the art world aren’t always what they seem. He’s tall, dark and dangerously attractive as far as Adeline is concerned, their attraction is mutual and somewhat irresistible. Her gifts, however, warn her to keep away from him – should she listen to her head or her heart? She needs to decide quickly because in the fraudulent art world, mafia involvement and people who aren’t what they seem all threaten Adeline, even when she doesn’t realise her danger.

This is well written with complex characters who reveal more of themselves as the story progresses. It is a great mystery with paranormal elements that make it enthrallingly different and captivating. With soul mates, vengeful spirits, a range of psychic abilities together with a possible romance this book has it all. Any fans of mysteries or paranormal romance are likely to be as enamoured with this book as I am. It does end but there are so many loose ends that I really hope there will be a sequel!

Thanks to the author, publishers and NetGalley, too,
for letting me read an ARC in exchange for an honest review.   

The Tragic Love of Francesca da Rimini and The Kiss

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1835_Ary_Scheffer_-_The_Ghosts_of_Paolo_and_Francesca_Appear_to_Dante_and_Virgil The Tragic Love of Francesca da Rimini

Francesca fell in love with her husband Giovanni ‘s younger brother, Paolo, with whom she carried on an affair. That is until Giovanni ultimately surprised them in Francesca’s bedroom and killed them both.

In this stunning painting by Ary Scheffer, Dante and Virgil meet Francesca and her lover Paolo in the second circle of hell, which is reserved for the lustful. Here, the couple is trapped in an eternal whirlwind, doomed to be forever swept through the air because they allowed themselves to be swept away by their passions.

Dante’s ‘Inferno’, canto V, 1855 by Ary Scheffer (1795-1858)

The sculpture, The Kiss, was originally titled Francesca da Rimini, as it depicts the 13th-century Italian noblewoman immortalized in Dante’s Inferno (Circle 2, Canto 5) who falls in love with her husband Giovanni Malatesta’s younger brother, Paolo. Having fallen in love while reading the story of Lancelot and Guinevere, the couple are discovered and killed by Francesca’s husband. In the sculpture, the book can be seen in Paolo’s hand. The lovers’ lips do not actually touch in the sculpture, suggesting that they were interrupted and met their demise without their lips ever having touched.

When critics first saw the sculpture in 1887, they suggested the less specific title Le Baiser (The Kiss).

I saw The Kiss when I was in Paris this past summer — it is EXQUISITE!!!  It’s located in Musee’ Rodin – a beautiful museum with extraordinary gardens. The Kiss is located on the main floor in a brightly lit room and commands the attention of the visitors. If you should happen to visit at a time when the crowd is too heavy, step into the next room. There you’ll find the much smaller model that Rodin made before he sculpted the full-sized version.

The gardens are also filled with Rodin’s sculptures. The Thinker is prominently placed as are The Gates of Hell. I took several pictures of The Kiss, the gardens and a few of Rodin’s other sculptures and posted them here: https://instagram.com/alyssaauthor/

Hope you enjoy!