From bullied teen to young woman on a mission...

One of my most popular series is an urban fantasy collection -
The Children of the Goddess - featuring young women who have found their power, and a new purpose. 

Meet Penny, the heroine of Book I in the series.  Penny faced a lot of emotional abuse as a child, and that will color her attitudes for the rest of her life.  In the excerpt below, she has taken the first steps in breaking free of her past and is now a teenager living on the street. But she is not helpless, make no mistake.

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“That’s all I’ve got. Things have been slow, and my wife needed medicine…” 

“Listen Frank, you know the rules. Five hundred per week and life’s good. Anything less and this place is off the protection list. Who knows what might happen then,” as he finished speaking he swept a display from the counter onto the floor. The old fellow tried to catch what he could, but the big man grabbed him by the collar and pulled him halfway across the counter. Before he could speak, there was a soft voice from behind them. 

“Let him go.” The two men spun around to see a teenage girl in baggy clothes setting her backpack on the floor. 

“Get out of here kid, while you still can,” snarled one of the men. 

“You don’t want to do this.” Penny’s voice was steady as she stepped away from the backpack. “Just leave now and there’s no problem.” 

“Stupid brat,” snarled one of the men as he swung a huge hand out to slap her face. His day took a very bad turn at that point.

​With a move too fast to follow, she grabbed his wrist in her right hand and drove her left into his elbow, shattering the joint. As he howled in pain the back of his knee was kicked, and as he fell forward, his face was driven into floor, breaking his nose. Before his partner could fully react, a fist crashed into his solar plexus, driving the air from his lungs and rendering him helpless. The door of the store crashed open and the two men were hurled against the shiny car outside, where they fell heavily to the pavement. 

“They have guns,” warned the old fellow, as Penny shifted down off combat mode. 

“Not anymore.” She smiled as she pulled the two guns from her waist band and put them on the counter. “Maybe you should get rid of those.” 

“What are you?” asked the old fellow as he tried to back away from her. 

“Hungry,” she replied with a grin. “I was coming in to see if I could get something to eat. I don’t have much, but I have a few dollars. Do you have sub sandwiches?”

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And so began her new career, doing what wasn’t ever done for her: defending the weak. 

Her name’s Penny, but on the street, they call her Lady Blue.

Have a great day!
Pru​

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