The top east-end London crime syndicate, the insane Pope Crew, fly out to New York to negotiate a mega-bucks weapon trafficking deal with the barbaric and merciless Mafia Don, Giovanni Commarata. All is well; then Archie Pope, a kitten and flower loving softie with a tough exterior, falls in love with Isabella Commarata. Very bad move. Commarata has had every young man who has shown the slightest interest in his precious daughters, hastily executed.
The top east-end London crime syndicate, the insane Pope Crew, fly out to New York to negotiate a mega-bucks weapon trafficking deal with the barbaric and merciless Mafia Don, Giovanni Commarata. All is well; then Archie Pope, a kitten and flower loving softie with a tough exterior, falls in love with Isabella Commarata. Very bad move. Commarata has had every young man who has shown the slightest interest in his precious daughters, hastily executed.
Giovanni Commarata and the Pope Crew are at war! Gun fights, betrayals, warfare on a battlefield scale all ensue. Both sides are either the Destroyers or Destroyed. All mayhem breaks loose. But this is also a rom-com, it is about two young people falling in love under the most difficult of circumstances.
The story is narrated by Archie Pope and Isabella Commarata. James Duncan writes for Archie Pope, using UK English and a fair whack of cockney slang. J Kahele, writes for Isabella Commarata, using American-English. This is a collaboration between an American romance writer and an English comedy writer.
So transatlantic thrills and spills a-plenty, with something to warm your heart!
I observed that the “tramp’s” hands were made out of plastic! I detected movement inside his ridiculously ginormous coat that could comfortably have contained two men. I made an instant decision. As Bell stooped over to drop the score into the cap, I yanked her back by the arm, simultaneously kicking the tramp in the mush – giving him a mouthful of steel-toe-capped boot. Screaming, he hit the deck, as the bullet he had fired from his pistol went awry, hitting a passing motorcyclist in the shoulder, causing the wounded motorcyclist to plough into the rear of the car driving in front of him. The bike toppled and the motorcyclist fell into the road.
‘Nice try, wanker!’ I growled, putting my pistol to the head of the phoney tramp and without hesitation, pulling the trigger. I watched the blood spurt from his exploded face with angry satisfaction.
‘Archie – look out!’
A silver Ford Fusion Titanium had mounted the pavement, and was hurtling towards us, with the intent of mowing us all down...
EXCERPT and Characters' BIOS
She moved in for the kiss and our lips met with an urgent force as we necked wildly. A long time passed before we were finished. Isabella opened her eyes and smiled at me. Then her eyes flashed over to somewhere behind me and a look of horror filled her face.
‘Oh my God! Archie! It’s Papa!’
The main reason why I am still alive is that I have hypersonic reflexes. I dived to the ground, pulling Isabella with me. Bullets whizzed overhead. The bodies of nightclub ravers standing at the bar fell.
Several bullets’ destination was the optics and it shattered from the almighty impact, hurtling cascades of glass and liquor across and over the bar, glass shards penetrating the backs of bartenders and the faces and bodies of customers. I spun myself around, hauling out my gun as I spun on my stomach. I held it aloft, pushing the safety level down to fire position, my finger straining against the trigger; I would shoot the microsecond I observed my target. The spin completed, my brain registered 6 armed, black ski-masked figures. Giovanni was eminently identifiable from his stocky body shape and his cold eyes that wouldn’t have looked out of place in a cobra’s head. I discharged my semi-auto frantically...
CHARACTER BIOS
ARCHIE POPE
The youngest son of Charlie Pope. Brought up to be a tough, ruthless East-end gangster, but possesses a kindly nature and has a far softer side. He is the romantic hero of the story when he falls for Isabella Commarata. He will go to an lengths to rescue her from danger and spend the rest of his life with her.
CHARLIE POPE
The leader of the top London crime syndicate, the Pope Crew - the nastiest, most vicious, feared bunch of thugs around. Charlie is a dissolute criminal mastermind, who has prospered from many crimes such as gold bullion robbery, drug and weapon trafficking, contract killing et al. In short, a nasty piece of work.
GARY POPE
Charlie's oldest son and a chip off the old block. Loves killing, maiming, violence, and any extreme criminal activity. Loathed by Archie because he's such a jerk and a bully.
STEVE AND BRIAN POPE
Two more of Charlie's psychopathic offspring.
ISABELLA COMMARATA
The beautiful, captive daughter of Mafia don, Giovanni Commarata. A naive young woman, because her controlling father has blocked her from having the life experiences most 22 year old women have had. When Isabella and Archie meet, it's an explosive meeting of mind, body and soul.
GIOVANNI COMMARATA
The evil Mafia don, Charlie and his crew travel to meet in New York to discuss weapon trafficking. He is an evil, sadistic madman who has been responsible for scores of murders. he watches over his daughters, Isabella and Margarite, with a jealous eye. So when Archie falls for Isabella, a dirty and full-scale war breaks out between the Pope Crew and Commarata.
MARGARITE COMMARATA
Giovanni's youngest daughter. Margarite is a headstrong, aggressive, sexually precocious young woman. It is a reaction to Giovanni's possessive control. She falls for Dominic, one of Giovanni's henchmen.
DOMINIC
Defects from Giovanni, to be with Margarite and to fight alongside Archie against his former boss. He becomes Archie's closest buddy.
CARMICHAEL ZAFFUTO
Head of one of families that Giovanni controls. He rebels and fights alongside the Popes to bring Giovanni down, when he discovers that Giovanni murdered one of his sons. A tough and cynical Mafia man, he is also capable of compassion.
MACIMIMO CHIRCA
Head of another family Giovanni controls. He is a staunch ally of Giovanni and equally as cold-blooded. He is another enemy for Archie to fight.
CARLO SAMILRELLI
Head of another family Giovanni controls. The Samilrellis are uncouth, ignorant, violent warriors - whose motivation is to kill and make lots of money. Fortunately, they are fighting alongside the Popes, as they despise Giovanni Commarata with a passion.
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About the authors:
J KAHELE - I am a married mother of three teenage girls and live in southeastern Michigan. I have one flaw that could rightly be considered the worst flaw possible. I procrastinate constantly, which gets me into a little more trouble than I like, especially with my girls. I love to swim, ride horses, relax to a good book and spend time with my family. Writing has helped me to calm down the very hectic life I have and release the scattered thoughts that often run through my head,(no I don't hear voices), but I do envision characters of my books, when I see people interacting around me. That's pretty much sums up my life!
JAMES DUNCAN - I started by writing children's books, but progressed easily to adult books, my first being 'Serendipity', my latest, 'Crazy On You', written with J Kahele. Something powerful and amazing happens when we write together. Basically genre-defying, 'Crazy On You' is a gangster rom-com thriller, with something extra that reveals that happiness and success can only be achieved with the unlimited power of love. I also love music, playing and listening, and meditation.
1 comment:
Thank you very much for being a host on the tour :) J Kahele
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