GiGi

  Hi Caroline 628, It must have been very thrilling to have the opportunity to meet and spend some time with Sylvia. It must have been so exciting to sit in a room with a beloved author who was willing to take time out of her busy schedule and answers her fan’s questions. I also just wanted to say thank you for taking the time to post all of this information for us. I greatly appreciate it as I am sure that many others are as well.  After thinking about your notes I had a few thoughts of my own, (as I am sure that many others had as well): I wonder if people think that cops are stupid or just can’t stand cops and detectives because they can be pathological liars (I am using Detective Graves as my example before everyone gets the knickers in a knot). I said it from the beginning as I am sure that many others thought the same thing. I don’t think that Detective Graves has one altruistic bone in her body. I always felt that she was being less than honest (if not lying outright). I personally think that she will do whatever is necessary to try and nail Gideon and if lying to Eva accomplishes that goal then….oh well.  As far as the Corinne thing is concerned, I wonder how Gideon will extricate her from his life. Many in the forum have speculated that Gideon will be just as ruthless in his dismissal of Corinne as Corinne was in her cruelty towards Eva. I however believe that Gideon may have a heart and not completely destroy the woman. I am hoping that Gideon may have taken some time to reflect on his actions and the part that he played when he helped to create this dysfunctional situation. Others thirst for blood I know; I just don’t think that the situation warrants that drastic an action. I don’t see that what Corinne did rises to that level (nasty yes but not completely evil). Only Sylvia knows and maybe on June 4th we the readers will get some answers (or some blood).  I mentioned before and others have been playing match-maker, I hope that Magdalene gets together with Arnoldo and Corinne gets together with Brett. It may seem odd, but given all the personalities, they seem to fit.  In a way, I am glad that Christopher Jr. will not be in the next book. He is a creepy little fellow and as such I wouldn’t want to give him the time of day, but on the other hand I do hope that we the readers will find out what his back story is. I understand that jealousy issues Christopher Jr. has towards his brother, but I get the feeling that something more is going on. Again, time will tell…  As for Monica, I am so glad that we will get to find out what the deal is with her. Thus far, this woman stinks as a mother! I think that many in the forum would agree. I also think that maybe people want to know why she is such a crappy mother. Your description (or Sylvia’s) of Monica being two dimensional is right on the money!!  If Monica and Stanton knew that Gideon was taking Eva away for the weekend then my question would be just how much did each of these individuals discuss what was going on with Eva and her safety? Were they all in collusion with one another? Why did they never once think to keep Eva in the loop as to what was going on?  Caroline and Everyone, it was my understanding that Eva had absolutely no idea that Nathan was in town and most definitely was not aware that Nathan was attempting to blackmail Gideon, Monica and Stanton. Eva was also not aware that Nathan had photos and videotapes of him raping Eva.  I am glad that Victor is coming back. Personally I don’t like the idea of Victor getting together with Detective Graves. That idea just makes me want to vomit. I hope that Victor does put down his torch for Monica and that he lays down the law in what she did and how she handled/mishandled this entire Nathan thing was wrong…oh so wrong!!  I also hope that Cary gets a happily ever after, I just don’t know how he would accomplish a goal like that in such a short period of time. Thus far, we the readers have been fed information about our beloved Gideon and Eva in two to three week increments. That this rate we will wind up old women before all the characters wind up with a happily ever after. So it will be interesting to see how Sylvia tackles the timeline issue.  I just wanted to thank you as well for taking time out of your busy schedule to go to the meet and greet. You have given people some much needed insight.  You also may have tortured a few of the forum members who wish that they could have been at the meet and greet, there right with you. Thanks again. Â

Hi everyone, I too, think that Megumi’s lack of mentioning her boyfriend by name may not be such a big deal. Thus far Megumi and Eva are still in the very early stages of their friendship and as such I don’t know whether she would go into great detail about what was going on in her personal life. There may also not have been enough time. Most things that they said to one another were in passing; going to lunch or coming back from lunch. I think the amount of information that Megumi gave Eva was probably just the right amount given those circumstances. If Megumi continues to see the “mystery†man and still doesn’t reveal any information to Eva, then I might find that a little suspect.  What I did however find a little suspect, was that Megumi was meeting the “mystery†man’s parents after such a short time. I would think that most people would continue to go out, then date exclusively before considering having one partner meet the other’s parents. What does everyone think?

Hi everyone, I am sorry I can’t remember who posted that they wished Sylvia would come to Orlando, but I noticed something on her website:  Book Signing and Appearance APPEARANCE & BOOKSIGNING June 29, 2013   Book Bash Hilton Doubletree 60 South Ivanhoe Boulevard Orlando, FL 32804 Come join us for a fun-filled day with over 40 of our favorite authors! Have your favorite books signed during our 4-hour book signing, participate in an author Q&A panel, and then let’s go on some author tours Saturday night at Universal City Walk! www.bookbash.net

Hi Everyone, In an effort to keep up with my homework assignment here are a few favorite quotes that I really liked from a few of the chapters.  Chapter 5: Page 70 Eva states “I’m not looking for happily-ever-after, Cary, especially not with a mega-mogul like Cross. I’ve seen what it’s like to my mom being connected to powerful men. It’s a full-time job with a part-time companion. Money keeps Mom happy, but it wouldn’t be enough for me.†In that passage the reader gets the opportunity to understand Eva better. Eva knows herself and knows what it is like to grow up in a privilege (with wealth and connections) and yet isn’t willing to sacrifice her personal sense of self (emotional health and such) for a comfortable lifestyle. What does everyone think?  Chapter 6: My chest hurt and I rubbed at it (page 81). I thought my dad might still love my mom. He’d never married. That was one of the reason I never told him about what happened to me. As a cop, he would’ve insisted on pressing charges and the scandal would have destroyed my mother. I also worried that he’d lose respect for her or even blame her, and it hadn’t been her fault.   As soon as she’d found out what her stepson was doing to me, she’d left a husband she was happy with and filed for divorce. That passage peaked my interest for many reasons. One hand the reader is left questioning what happened to Eva’s attacker. Why wasn’t this man brought to justice? How this case was dealt with and did Eva ever really get justice? As a reader I suspect that Eva never got justice for herself and no one got justice for her. Sylvia’s words, or lack-there-of, lead me to think along those lines.  That paragraph also gave me insight into Eva’s state of mind when she remembered those events. From a reader’s perspective, it seems like Eva feels guilty about having being raped and about how her rape affected her mother (her mother left a marriage that she was perfectly happy with). Prior to that, Eva never mentioned how she felt about how being raped made her feel or how it affected her emotionally, physically or even if she correlated her past bad behaviour with the effects of having been raped (very eye opening).  Eva also related the events of the rape to everyone else. She worried about how her dad would react and how he would react towards Eva’s mother Monica. For whatever reason Eva felt badly about the fact that her mother and father never married. She worried that if her father found out about Eva’s rape that Victor would have lost respect for Monica. Eva was busy playing mother to Monica and not the other way around. Eva was also worried about how her father would react toward her mother which wasn’t her place to do so. She was a child and didn’t deserve to bear those responsibilities. Eva wasn’t and isn’t supposed to clean up her mother’s mistakes, yet it seems that through her silence, she is doing just that. It also seems that Eva is allowing her father to maintain the illusion that Monica is this perfect siren of a woman who can do no wrong.  It also wasn’t Eva’s responsibility if her father found happiness or not. It seems like Eva put herself on the hook for these things. I am sorry if I am not explaining this properly. Feel free to jump on in here ladies. I hope you get what I mean.  Lastly Eva blames herself for her mother having left a marriage she was perfectly happy with. At no point does Eva step and take a look at the situation in its entirety. I suspect that Monica wouldn’t have had much choice in the matter. If Monica had continued to stay with Mr. Barker then she most likely would have lost custody of her child. If there was even the possibility of coming into contact with Nathan, then there is no way the CPS would have released Eva into Monica’s care. The only prudent thing Monica could have done was to divorce Mr. Barker.  What I find most interesting is why Eva didn’t take herself into consideration or question her mother about why she was so completely clueless about what going on during those years?  Has Eva really forgiven her mother or has she just become accustom to placating her mother? Eva constantly takes everyone else’s feelings into consideration before she takes her own into account (often to her detriment).   What does everyone think?  Chapter 7: “You’re beautiful, Gideon.†The words fell out of my mouth without conscious thought. (Page 112). This was a simple verse coming from a woman who had let her guard down for a split second. Eva let the walls down and exposed a very vulnerable side of her to Gideon and it was a very beautiful thing to see. Eva is in love and she just doesn’t know it yet or doesn’t want t admit it to herself.  In the next instant, Eva’s walls went right back up and her vulnerability was walled off. It was a good example of; the “come closer yet stay away from me†type of relationship that Gideon and Eva are having. What does everyone think?Â

 Hi ShazScott1980, Now you have peaked my interest...do tell sister!!! What's your wild card theory? I am all ears!! I am sitting here just waiting...and waiting...and waiting....

 Hi Kirsten, At this point I could potentially believe just about anything. Sigh! I would be interested in reading that backstory. I wouldn't even know how Sylvia would address a storyline like that. How did Christopher Jr. meet Megumi? How did he know that Megumi works with Eva, etc.? I think that there would be a lot of ground work to cover in order for the reader to buy into it.  Now we wait until May 7th so we can torture ourselves a little more. One tiny, tiny little chapter to tide us over until June 4th. It is like eating one little shrimp as an appetizer when we are all freaking hungry for the entire book buffet!!

Hi Peachies, I agree with you. It is nice of Mark to let Eva in on the inner workings of the advertising industry. I think that kind of experience and knowledge would prove invaluable to Eva.

Hi Julie, I think that if a man tried an approach like Gideon's then he would have to be really, really, really good looking and d**n charming to get away with a stunt like that. Otherwise he would have wound up with his "accoutrements" mounted up over my fireplace! If men can hunt game for sport then I can mount those up over my fireplace for sport too!!

Hi Sscrph, It could very well be. I have never personally had someone chase with me with kind of ferocity or vigor so I can't draw on from personal experience, but maybe it was a combination of both things. Gideon chased Eva with passion and she slowly started to find herself or maybe tried not to lose herself in Gideon. What do you think? What does everyone think?

 Hi Kirsten, I just finished writing this great post....and I lost it again!! Ugh!! One of these days, I am going to have to learn to write, copy and post. Sigh! Ok, now back to the response I was going to make. I think that it must have surprised Gideon greatly when Eva gave him the brush-off.  Here is a man who built a billion  dollar empire by not taking no for an answer, so imagine what must have been going through his mind when Eva came along. What do you think? What does everyone think?

Hi Julie, I was wondering about that. Does Eva go for that reason or does she go because her mother and step-father support the charities of her choice? Eva mentioned that attending charity functions is a tiring ordeal but that she does it because child abuse charities are very close to her heart.  What do you think? What does everyone think?

Hi Julie, I can't believe that the book hasn't been released in Australia yet...gasp!!! Oh, no!! I would have thought for sure, Australia would pick up the Crossfire Series. How odd. I would have suggested that maybe some of the ladies could send over a copy of the books to the soon-to-be fans, but then I thought that there is no way that any of us would give up our copies. We need it for our homework assignments.

Hi Peachies, I thought that it would have been mandatory for Mark to attend the presentation meetings. He was the person who was assigned the account wasn't he (or at least he was one of the people who were assigned to this account)? I thought that it was highly unusual for someone with Eva's employment title, to attend a meeting like that (she was an entry level employee). What do you think? What does everyone think?

 Ciao Gabri, I stated in an earlier posting that I thought Dr. Lucas is despicable for many reasons. If he treated Gideon, then he violated Doctor -Patient Privilege and as such would be disreputable in my and many people's eyes.  The second point is that Dr. Lucas is a mean spiteful little man, who doesn't have the b***s to confront Gideon about sleeping with his wife, so instead Dr. Lucas picks on the emotionally weakest people in Gideon's life (by filling their heads with self doubt etc.), which is a punk a** thing to do in my book.  As far as Monica is concerned, I saw the situation a little differently. I think that Monica should carry around a HUGE TRUCK LOAD of GUILT!!! She lived with that little girl for four years while that little girl was being raped and tortured and Monica didn't notice anything. I just want to vomit when I sit and think about that. Monica neglected her daughter in the most basic of ways.  I have to wonder whether Monica was ever emotionally connected to her daughter at all. Who was bathing this kid, washing her underwear, tucking her in at night? If Monica would have done any of those things than she would have seen at least some of  the signs that her daughter was being abused. I believe that a mother has a moral and legal obligation to see to her child's well being and I think that Monica failed in many basic ways. It wasn't as if Monica could rely on her parents (Eva's grandparents) or Aunts/Uncles, sisters or brothers. So the responsibility fell on Monica's shoulders and I get the feeling that she passed it off to her household staff to deal with. In my eyes that is wrong. What do you think? What does everyone think?

Ciao Gabri, I think your English is lovely. You should have heard me when I was learning how to speak Italian. Some other time I will tell you about the time I went to order a roast beef sandwich and couldn't think of the words. Oh boy was that ever embarrassing.

Hi Julie, That sounds fabulous! Big huge reunion for everyone at my house! We can all sit and eat a huge feast and then discuss the next book that will be coming out!  Everyone, just remember to bring your sweat pants (stretchy pants). You will need them!!

Hi Julie, Why would Megumi have such poor taste to date Nathan? How would Nathan know that Megumi works with Eva to begin with?Â

 Hi ShazScott1980, What?! What's going on? Christopher Vidal Jr. or Nathan....I am lost. What random guy? What's the latest theory now lady? Catch me up please. Thanks.Â

  Hi Kirsten, Who's the mystery man? See what happens when I go and get some sleep...I miss everything.  Someone catch me up please. Thanks.

Hi Caroline! Welcome to the forum!! It would be great if we could all gather for a "traditional book club" type of meeting. I think that would be fun! But alas, we are all scattered all around the world, so we have our virtual meetings instead.  I hope you enjoy yourself.

Hi Kirsten, I personally don't suspet Megumi...yet.  She hasn't given me any reason to do so, but if we have to wait any longer than I may start suspecting that woman of kidnapping the Lindberg baby (wink, wink).  Hey maybe we can all come up with alternae theories of what nasty things Megumi may have done and then we can go after her... Since some of us have already paired up Magdalene with Arnoldo, maybe Megumi will make a play for him and the hair will fly..

Hi Julie, You make me smile! Bless you!

Well if you ever come to Canada sister, you are welcome at my house any time! We will throw you a huge Easter Celebration European Style! Just remember to bring your sweat pants (or stretchy pants) because you are going to need them. We eat until someone at the table swears that their pants are going to split. Then we roll ourselves off of our chairs and waddle over to a sofa or some other comfortable place where we can lay down like a bunch of hibernating bears and slowly come out of our self-induced food coma.  By the time the food has begun to digest, then it is time for dessert and specialty coffee. Then everyone is done in for!  We complain that our pants won't fit tomorrow and that we probably will have gained a zillion pounds and swear that we will never do it again....only to do the very same thing again the next year. Sigh! Thank goodness for the treadmill and a fitness membership!

Hi Julie, Chin up sister! I think that love may find you again. They say that it always happens when you least expect it.  I will find my "happily ever after" even if I have wrangle and rope him...

Okie dokie, I will probably be joining back in with you later on today. I think it would be around 9pm your time. I have a few errands to run and things to do today. Our Easter is coming up next weekend and I have to prepare for the up-coming festivities. Is there a time that works better for you?