caring than just giving money.
"I think you've gotta winner there. I'll call John tomorrow and set up a time we can go talk ta him about it."
Sunny smiled and crinkled her eyes. "Sounds like a plan, partner."
"Meanwhile, how about dinner? I'm starving!"
"Huh? Oh, yeah, right, dinner!" And she dashed off into the kitchen. Eile followed at a more leisurely pace, and found her checking the sauce. She then turned on the heat under the water and uncovered the garlic butter.
Sunny started to smear butter on pieces of bread. "You know what? I think a vacation would do us a world of good."
"What sorta vacation?" Eile opened the bottle of Chianti Sunny had gotten out.
"How 'bout a camping trip up in the mountains? Mayv knows this great spot: it's remote without being inaccessible, and it's very private, if you know what I mean."
She decanted the wine. "I'd rather stay at a hotel with room service."
"Oh, come on! It'll be fun! And very romantic. Not to mention restful. I mean, what's gonna happen way up in the mountains?"
"Alright. I suppose I can stand it for a week. Anything ta make you happy."
"Aw, thanks, partner. You're so sweet!" And she leaned over and kissed her on the cheek.
+++
For more information on Eile and Sunny, Team Girl, see the official site [https://www.teamgirlforever.com/].
Back to TOC
+++
Biography of Pastor John Sjauken
John Edward Sjauken was born in 1908 in New York state. He graduated from Concordia College in 1929, then went to the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia, graduating with a Master of Sacred Theology. His first church posting was to a mission church in the Bronx, New York City. Being during the Great Depression, he joined the Army Reserve to supplement his income. When the US entered World War II in 1941, his unit was called up, but he decided to serve, and he went with the Second Army Corp to Africa as a chaplain. He later served in Sicily and Italy under Gen. Patton, and participated in the D-Day invasion, coming ashore at Omaha Beach. In France he received the Bronze Star and the Chaplain’s Medal for Heroism, and was promoted to Major before retiring in 1945. Upon his return to the States, he went back to the seminary and received a Doctor of Ministry with an emphasis on education, and taught Religion at Hartwick College in Oneonta, NY. In 1949 he took a church in Syracuse, NY, and became the Fire Department chaplain. In 1956 he came to Denver to found the Sunday School Wing of the Denver Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, and acted as its director until he retired in 1978. Yet he remained active in the church, conducting visitations with seniors and shut-ins. In 1987 he left the church entirely to start a homeless shelter, catering to single mothers with children. Though there was no shortage of people needing assistance, he has been able to help a large number of them turn their lives around and get off the streets.
Pastor Sjauken first met Medb hErenn in Europe and he helped her stop the Fomorians from using the war to reclaim their rule over the world. She was instrumental in helping him get his shelter started, and continues to help fund it to this day, and she is the primary benefactor behind his efforts to rehabilitate his patrons. He first met Team Girl when Sunny came to Denver looking for Eile, hoping she could protect her from the people trying to kidnap her. She hid out among the homeless for a time, and one of the few places where she felt safe was his mission. Later, the Girls hid out there together, but left when they thought he would betray them. However, he had alerted Medb they were there, and that made it possible for her to rescue them later. Since then, he has helped and advised them on a number of occasions, and they contribute time and money to his shelter whenever they can.
Pastor Sjauken is a kind, gentle, patient man, understanding, compassionate, and tolerant, but uncompromising in his belief and faith. He is pious and devout, but he does have some unorthodox ideas, and he is somewhat liberal in his outlook. For example, he is not bothered by the fact that Sunny and Eile are lovers, even though they are both girls, but he has explained that it is because he believes they are in love, not lust, and where there is true love there is no act that is inappropriate. Besides, in the end, he believes it is a matter between themselves and God, and they are the only ones who can know whether their actions are truly wrong. What really amazes the Girls, though, is that despite being over a hundred years old, he is still energetic and spry and shows no signs of slowing down.
+++
About the Author
Kevin L. O'Brien was born with a pen in his hand.
Well, not quite, but he has been writing for as long as he can remember, at least since First Grade. Writing has always been his first, true love, but it hasn't always been his career. He worked for 15 years as a biomedical researcher, then for 3 years as a web designer. However, after 30 years of trying to be published in print with little success, he has decided to try his hand at self-publishing. Most of his works will be sold as ebooks through various online retailers, but he also plans to make some available for free exclusively on Goodreads.
He writes primarily speculative fiction--fantasy, science fiction, horror, and their sub-genres--but he also likes to try his hand at thrillers, suspense, mystery, and even westerns. However, his stories tend to have a fantasy element, no matter how subtle.
Most of his stories involve the following three main characters:
Medb hErenn [https://www.medbherenn.com/]--One-time queen of Ireland, she is over 3500 years old. A warrior and a sorceress, she cannot be harmed by any weapon made by the hand of man.
Eile and Sunny, Team Girl [https://www.teamgirlforever.com/]--They are two adorable, vivacious, fun-loving young women whose motto is ONWARD TO ADVENTURE!!! Yet trouble follows them like a love-sick puppy wherever they go.
Sir Differel Van Helsing [https://www.sir-differel.com/]--The descendent of Abraham Van Helsing and King Arthur, she heads the Caerleon Order, the premier monster-hunting organization of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth. She commands Dracula, the most powerful vampire extant, and the greatsword Caliburn, better known as Excalibur.
He also writes a series of sword & sorcery stories set in an alternative universe known as the Lands of the Dreams of Men.
Kevin lives in Denver with his family and 4 cats.
For more information, see the Songs of the Seanchai [https://www.seanchaisongs.com/].
Back to TOC
+++
Discover other titles by Kevin L. O'Brien:
Enjoy these other titles at fine ebook retailers everywhere.
Available on Goodreads - https://www.goodreads.com/story/list/20075368
Back to TOC
+++
Connect with Kevin L. O'Brien Online:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/KLOB_writer
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kevin.l.obrien.1
Website: https://www.seanchaisongs.com/
DeviantArt: https://teamgirl-differel.deviantart.com/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/Kevin_L_OBrien
Back to TOC
+++
Sample Excerpts
From "Masie's Mind"
When Eile came down the stairs into the basement, she found Sunny standing outside the door to the Mystery Room, staring at it. She had been doing that a lot lately.
The house they shared technically wasn't theirs. Medb had bought it to have a place to stay whenever she came to Denver, but she made her home in Cairnsford, halfway between Denver and Colorado Springs. However, they needed a safe place to live, what with Sunny's parents being in hiding, and the house not only had a sophisticated alarm system, it was located within a highly secure gated community. So she let them stay there, ostensibly as housesitters, but really as permanent residents. In the end, however, they couldn't really help thinking of it as their own place.
She allowed them to decorate it as they saw fit, and provided funds to pay for it. They claimed one of the two master bedrooms on the second floor as their own, while reserving th
e other for Medb whenever she was in town. They then converted the remaining two bedrooms into guest rooms. Beyond that, they pretty much left it as it was, even though Medb had told them that she didn't care if they gutted the place and put in monkey bars and hammocks, as long as they didn't go over budget. She did, however, make a number of modifications to the original plan to suit her own purposes. One was converting the garage into a library, since they didn't drive and thus did not own a car. She also converted the conservatory into a music room, and split the family room into a combined game and media room. However, most of her modifications were done in the basement. One corner was converted into a safe room, with armored walls, floor, and ceiling. Fully a third of the space was taken up by a utility room that contained equipment Eile didn't recognize or even know what it was for. Only one corner was for their own use, and they converted it into an exercise room, where Eile practiced boxing and Sunny did her aerobics. The remaining space was devoted to the Mystery Room.
At least, that's what Sunny called it. It was Medb's private workroom, and she kept it locked with a palm reader. Sunny was just dying to know what was in it, but whenever she broached the subject, Medb refused to say, the last time telling her in no