Where in the world are SR's readers?

Almost 800 readers have added their locations to the SR Friends map!  Have you pinned yours yet?

It's easy.  Select "Additions," then "Add Marker - Simple."  A form will open up in a window. Fill it out with your location and the name you want to use, and then click "Submit."

If you'd like to contact others who live in your area, add your Twitter name and location to the comments. Check back here to see who's near you!

Congratulations To Our Winners!

Hello Everyone,


Listed below are the winners of our Giveaway.  All winners have already been notified by email. 

Winner of a set of signed UK paperback editions of Gabriel's Inferno and Gabriel's Rapture. Courtesy of Sylvain Reynard:  

Eleanor P.

Winners of 1 copy (either paperback or ebook) of either Gabriel's Inferno, Gabriel's Rapture or Gabriel's Redemption (release day 12/3/2013). Courtesy of Professor Gabriel O. Emerson Fanpage on Facebook:

Sarah L.

Jenn D.

Margaret H.

Debbie M.

Maria D.

Congratulations to all, and thank you yet again for participating in our fundraiser to aid those affected by the tragic events in Boston and West, Texas.  Our final total raised was $2,685.00!

Take Care,
Jenn, Coco, Elli & Sere

Reader Review from Karen

Hello Everyone,

After Margaret shared her review of the Gabriel Series last week, we received a lot of positive feedback. I also received this review of "Gabriel's Inferno" from a reader named Karen.  I enjoyed what she had to say about the book and asked her permission to post it here.

If you haven't read "Gabriel's Inferno" yet, please be aware there are spoilers in the review below.

I'm also excited to share that we have another reader submitted post scheduled for tomorrow. If you'd like to share something with us, please feel free to email me at jenn@argyleempire.com.  Coco, Elli, Sere and I love receiving these kinds of things from fellow fans of SR's works. We also love to encourage discussion in the comments section below.

Thanks again to Karen for sharing her thoughts with us.

Enjoy and Take Care,
Jenn

 

Gabriel's Inferno is a hauntingly seductive story of lust, forbidden love, faith and redemption. This is not your usual love story. In fact it is rather dark. If you are looking for sex on every page, you won't find it. Reading this book will more often than not leave you feeling on edge. My heart beat so fast throughout parts of this book I could hardly stand it!

The angel and the demon. The innocent and the sinner. Can they find love with one another? Redemption, grace, atonement, forgiveness, restoration, faith, hope, virtue and pure, unconditional love are the main themes throughout this book and not coincidentally, main themes in the Bible. We learn that no matter how great our sins are, if we repent and show remorse, forgiveness and love is for everyone who wants it. Thus we can experience a little piece of what heaven must be like. I have never been more absorbed by a story in my life!

This is a tale of a man's escape from his own personal hell while trying to earn what he believes is impossible...forgiveness and love. It is a story of two broken souls that meet a long time ago, lose each other, find each other again, and find in each other love and forgiveness. Gabriel is the quintessential Prodigal Son. By day Gabriel Emerson is a well-respected Dante professor at the University of Toronto who likes to wear bow ties and expensive suits. By night he's a man who pursues a life of pleasure, with a taste for fine food and fine wine. He uses his good looks and charms to gratify his lustful nature with most any woman he can seduce into satisfying his lust. He is secretly tortured by his dark past and consumed by his deep belief that he is beyond all hope of redemption because of past transgressions, or as he sees them, outright sins. In fact, he feels he is a magnet for sin, especially lust. His sincere hope is that goodness can be recognized, despite the fallen angel's sad and desperate addiction to sin.

When Julia Mitchell, a girl from the states enrolls as his graduate student, his mysterious attraction to her not only jeopardizes his career, but sets him on a path in which his past and present collide. She is a passive, innocent, kind young woman in her early twenties who has been beaten down by people in her life who should have protected her. As a result she has no self worth. The event that directs her life happened when she was 17. She meets her best friend's adopted brother, who is 10 years older than her. For her it was love at first sight. For Gabriel it was an emotional encounter in an orchard when he had just been through a traumatic event in his life. This meeting and the evening they share together leaves a lasting impression on them both. Julia remembers this past encounter with a troubled young man, because he showed her how special a first kiss could be. She never forgets him. Gabriel thinks it was nothing but an hallucination.

When they finally meet again, Gabriel feels he is unworthy of her, not to mention there are rules about fraternization with students. They each have painful secrets and painful pasts that they want to remain secret and in the past. But slowly secrets are revealed and they each deal with their personal demons. At the same time their attraction for one another grows. The reader doesn't learn all the secrets till much later in the book, but this is part of what keeps you on the edge as you read. The transformation that Gabriel makes throughout the book is a radical one, however, the heartaches along the way are many. Eventually Gabriel sees Julianna's forgiveness and unconditional love as the source of his redemption. And Julia, who has experienced shattering heartbreak, struggles with her own worth and her belief in Gabriel's love.

There are some serious issues dealt with in this book, i.e. drug abuse and alcoholism, but many of the scenes have humor to help get the reader through. You can feel the joy of their intimate confessions to one another, the playfulness they have when they let their guard down, as well as the heat of their passion when angry or loving.

There is a lot of discussion and comparison with Dante, Italian art, and literature, thus making this book intellectually stimulating, as well as romantic. You don't need to be an expert to follow the story though. I did find myself going to the internet to do research on these subjects, however. There are also many songs mentioned throughout the book that I proceeded to download onto my Kindle. All of this helped me to feel the story in a more personal way.
There are those that have compared this book to the 50 Shades Trilogy. Yes, there are similarities simply because there is an older man, younger woman, and Gabriel is damaged as Christian was damaged. But Gabriel's Inferno is a far better book!

Love wins out at the end of the this book, so you do get a HEA ending...sort of. But in the meantime, Gabriel and Julianna's happiness is threatened by vindictive students, university politics, and a jealous ex-lover.

In the end Gabriel no longer seeks just fulfillment of sexual desires, but is searching for a deeper, almost spiritual experience to share with Julia. The author has written: "Perhaps sex (when done in a worshipful way) is a glimpse, a shadow of what it would be to bask in the glory of God in Paradise, like Dante and Beatrice. As Dante expresses in his Paradiso, the universe is held together by love..."

I think Gabriel finally finds this with Julia, his Beatrice.

This book has affected me profoundly. Maybe it's because in a way I feel I'm married to a Gabriel, and I'm his Julianna. Everyone deserves love! This will be a book I read over and over again.

There is a sequel, Gabriel's Rapture that continues the story, which I downloaded even before I finished reading Gabriel's Inferno. I'm halfway done with it, and it is every bit as good! These books are must read!

Charity Tuesday: Covenant House

Hello Everyone,

As we all know, spotlighting charities and worthwhile causes is important to SR.

As a group, Elli, Coco, Sere and I are also dedicated to promoting these endeavors. Therefore, we are happy to post a weekly series in order to take a more in-depth look at the various charitable organizations highlighted by SR. You can find a complete list of these charities on our blog by clicking on the "About the Charities" header.

Today's charity spotlight was submitted by one of our readers, Terry, who wanted to share her experiences with all of us.

We hope you will find the information in these posts informative and educational. If you have a particular cause that is close to your heart or you have personal experiences with any of the charities we spotlight, please feel free to contact us about it.

Take Care,
Jenn

PS Today is the final day of our fundraising campaign to aid those affected by the tragedies in Boston and West, Texas earlier this month. To date, we have raised $2,660.00.  Thank you, Everyone for your efforts in making this endeavor such a success.

If you donate a minimum of $5.00 to either the American Red Cross, your local chapter of the Red Cross or to The One Fund Boston, simply email a copy of your receipt to me at jenn@argyleempire.com. Then enter the giveaway posted at the top of our homepage.

The fundraiser concludes at midnight Pacific Time this evening. Winners will be randomly selected on May 1st and notified by May 3.

I was very fortunate to be raised by my single mom who was a fervent believer in the Jewish concept of Tikkun olam, or, “heal the world.” We were not observant by any means, but that phrase and the sentiment behind it has guided me since childhood and is the most active element of my faith. The idea that no matter how little you may have, you can help those who have even less is something that motivates me to try to be an active helper.  Both my nursing and teaching careers are rooted in my desire to heal – the mind, the body, the soul.  I wasn’t raised to sit on the sidelines by a mom who was a dedicated volunteer herself.

My charitable involvement with Covenant House Philadelphia is relatively recent, however, and is directly related to a storm and an author, both converging at the same time.  Hurricane Sandy blew through Philadelphia in late Fall 2012 and luckily left us relatively unscathed, but the tri-state area was devastated. Grass roots groups cropped up to deliver food and clothing, and I volunteered to join them.  Like in most disasters, the spirit of volunteerism surfaced with a ferocious energy, and I spent several days helping to deliver food and clothing to those affected in upstate Pennsylvania.  As the Red Cross moved in and opened shelters, less of the grass roots efforts were necessary. 

At just about the same time, something SR posted on his website about the effects of the storm caught my attention (as most things SR writes. Well, all things. )

Covenant House.  I'm including them because their house in Atlantic City, New Jersey had to be evacuated. Covenant House provides a safe place for teens in crisis, many of whom are running from abusive households. If you can, please consider giving to the Atlantic City Covenant House to help them continue to provide a home for their youth. (SR)

Living in Philadelphia, of course I had heard of Covenant House- -the local facility is not far from where I work. But SR’s posting grabbed my attention. Kids in crisis.  If I was frightened of Sandy as an adult (who sustained relatively little damage), what about the trauma to kids who were right in the middle of the superstorm’s flooding, darkness, and devastation and had who lost everything? What must they be experiencing? What could I do to help in the long-term?

I pulled together my staff at work who also felt the need to help. Together we purchased and packed up the necessities – cleaning supplies, clothes, toiletries, blankets.  When I dropped them off at Covenant House Atlantic City, I was inspired to see how ready these kids were to rebuild.  These are not just “teenagers.” They are teens who have seen  and experienced too much of the abhorrent side of life and are getting the help Covenant House provides in order to help them move away from the danger of the streets.  They are so wounded, yet so brave. I wanted to get involved in some way, but 120 miles is a long way to drive to routinely volunteer.

I did the next best thing. I called Covenant House- Philadelphia and asked how I could help our local facility.  Winter can be exceptionally cold here on the East Coast, so I was asked to collect as many coats and blankets as I could. Philadelphia may be full of history, but is also a gritty city, full of poverty and desperation for far too many. I see homeless kids every day warming up in the lobby of the hospital, or sitting on the subway steps.  Kids.  Homeless runaways, hungry, exceptionally vulnerable, and very scared. Now, at least, I could help Covenant House keep them warm.

 

I am fortunate to work at Temple University Hospital, a medical center whose mission is to care for the underserved and poverty-stricken.  Because the nurses there are so sensitive to the needs of the immediate community, before I knew it, my office was filled with donated coats, sweaters, and blankets. So much was donated, in fact, that I needed my nurse- colleagues to help me deliver it. And the smiles when we dropped off our donations could light up a room. I know it lit up our hearts. From that time, I was committed to providing blankets and coats to as many teens as I could.

While I would love to work as a nurse directly with the kids, CH requires a full time commitment to do so. Instead, I work my network of friends, colleagues, family, neighbors, and nurses to help collect the needed items that CH provides to both the kids on the street and those who are now residential. When a social service agency such as Covenant House serves over 5000 kids per year through outreach, a crisis center, and transitional living programs, their needs are significant, and sadly, endless. Every two weeks, I pack up my car with donated and/or purchased items and off I go.  The staff has come to expect me, and that makes my heart very, very happy.  I’ve tried not to let my chemo treatments slow me down with my deliveries, and so far, I’ve been able to stay on schedule.

If there’s a message in any of my experience, it is that to do Tikkun olam is something everyone can do, regardless of faith. We are responsible for one another, especially the most vulnerable among us. And thanks to SR’s post and his own dedication to Covenant House Toronto, I have been given the opportunity to aid an organization that heals, if not the world, but many of the defenseless in it.

If you live in or near one of the areas listed below, please consider calling your local Covenant House to see how you too can help. I know they will be grateful to hear from you.

 

Covenant House is dedicated to serving all God's children with absolute respect and unconditional love ... to help suffering homeless kids ... and to protect and safeguard all children in need.

Anchorage, AK
Los Angeles, CA
Oakland, CA
Washington, D.C.
Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Orlando, FL
Atlanta, GA
New Orleans, LA

Detroit, MI
St. Louis, MO
Atlantic City, NJ
Newark, NJ
New York, NY
Philadelphia, PA
Houston, TX
Vancouver, British Coumbia
Toronto
Mexico City, Mexico
Guatemala
Honduras
Nicaragua

 
Web site: http://www.covenanthouse.org/
Twitter: @CovenantHouse
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CovenantHouse

 

You Did It!

$2,500 raised in 10 days!

We'd like to thank everyone for participating in our fundraiser to aid those affected by last week's tragic events in Boston and West, Texas.  

Although we've reached our goal, we still have 4 days left to go in our campaign so please keep those donations coming in.

If you donate a minimum of $5.00 to either the American Red Cross, your local chapter of the Red Cross or to The One Fund Boston, simply email a copy of your receipt to me at jenn@argyleempire.com.  Then enter the giveaway posted at the top of our homepage.

Whether you've donated, tweeted, posted, reblogged or all of the above, your group efforts have achieved great success. But don't just take my word for it...

This is really great news. Thank you & please pass my thanks to the others, too. What a great milestone, SR

 With Our Gratitude,

Jenn, Elli, Coco & Sere

More Goodies For The Giveaway!

Hello Everyone,

As I type this post on Wednesday evening, I do so with a smile on my face.  Our fundraiser took a significant leap in donations today, and our current total raised to help aid those affected by last week's terrible events in Boston and West,Texas now stands at $2,305.00!

We're a mere $195.00 away from reaching our ultimate goal of $2,500.00.  With 46 donors currently entered in our giveaway, this means the average donation received has been $50.00. The kindness of SR's fans has been appreciated and noticed within our community, and so I'm happy to make another special announcement.

The Professor Gabriel O. Emerson Fanpage on facebook has generously donated five of SR's books so that we can draw for additional winners when we hold our giveaway on May 1st. Those winners will be able to select one of SR's books (either paperback or ebook) and they can choose either Gabriel's Inferno, Gabriel's Rapture or Gabriel's Redemption (which is now available for pre-order).

                                        

Because these books are being donated by our sister site, please be aware they will not be personally signed by SR.

We are so grateful to the Professor Gabriel O. Emerson Fanpage for this spectacular offer! Please be sure to stop by to say hello and thanks!
 
If you donate a minimum of $5.00 to either the American Red Cross, your local chapter of the Red Cross or to The One Fund Boston, simply email a copy of your receipt to me at jenn@argyleempire.com.  Then enter the giveaway posted at the top of our homepage.

In addition to the books mentioned above, SR has graciously agreed to sign UK edition copies of both Gabriel's Inferno and Gabriel's Rapture for one winner.

Our fundraiser will continue through April 30th, no matter when we reach our fundraising goal. If you haven't done so, please consider donating, and if you have please help us continue to keep word of our fundraiser on the radar.

We're crossing our fingers that we can make a celebratory announcement tomorrow.

Until then, take care,
Jenn, Coco, Elli & Sere

A Reader's Journey...

Hello Everyone,

Today we are taking a break from the fundraising campaign in order to share a review of the Gabriel Series by a reader named Margaret. Her piece not only highlights her favorite moments with The Professor, it tells the journey she has experienced as a result of reading the books.  It's an experience we here at Argyle Empire can relate to very well and we want to thank Margaret for sharing it with us and with you.

Enjoy and Take Care,
Jenn

PS In case you haven't heard, our total funds raised at the moment I type this are $2,055! We're only $445 away from reaching our ultimate goal of $2,500 and have several days left to get there. Thanks again so much for your support of our campaign to aid those affected by last week's events in Boston and West, Texas.

My thoughts on Gabriel's Inferno & Gabriel's Rapture

Firstly I haven't included any spoilers for those who've not read Gabriel's Inferno and Gabriel's Rapture. I strongly recommend giving these books a read and I promise you'll hold them close to your heart forever.

Until last summer I was not an avid reader of books, I tended to read now and again but mainly on holiday around the pool. I only read light hearted romance, a genre that would be guaranteed to cheer me up and be an easy read. I was obsessed with television and spent most of my evenings after work and dinner glued to the tv.

In the early long wet summer of 2012 I noticed a new book appear in my local supermarket 'Fifty Shades of Grey' I was put off by its dark cover at first but decided I'd give it a go. I was soon obsessed with Mr Grey and wanted other books to fill the gap. My husband offered me his Kindle as it was cheaper to buy books and let me use his Amazon account. I soon discovered the very established Sylvia Day and devoured her books over my summer holidays.

I began to run out of Sylvia Day books and wanted other books about hot men to read. Amazon had been recommending a book called Gabriel's Inferno to me throughout the summer but I thought it sounded weird, a professor? I imagined a stuffy older man with bad teeth, not my cup of tea. So I ignored the recommendation and as I had to go back to work and move house my reading tapered off as real life took over once more.

In October 2012 I had a small operation and needed to stay off work for a few weeks to recover. By the middle weekend off I was bored, my husband was out of the country and the weather was terrible, cold, blustery and dark by early evening. I thought 'I need a book to read to see me through to Monday'. So I got on to my husbands Amazon account and looked for something to read, Gabriel's Inferno appeared in the recommendations? Mmmmmm should I risk buying it? I did and by end of page one I was hooked 'He was ruggedly handsome, but in that moment bitterly severe', I thought oh a handsome professor, clever and good looking this is going to be good. However, the story didn't quite pan out as I thought, this was not just a sexual romp, a sexfest or a no holds barred sexual affair.

Within pages the angry Professor Emerson who I'd hated minutes before was sobbing in his office and I was desperate to know what turned this severe cold man in to an emotional wreck? And what was Julianne's connection to him? As the story unfolded and long into my night from my lounge to my lonely bed I found I could barely breath at times I was so invested. I neglected my housework and teenage son for most of the weekend and stayed up into the early hours of fri/sat/sun gripped. I didn't even wait until I was half way through Gabriel's Inferno to purchase Gabriel's Rapture.

The fact that the characters didn't immediately have sex actually made the story better, it allowed me to concentrate on their story and not be distracted by yet another sex scene (I mean seriously who has that much sex?) I felt Julianne's heartache when Gabriel couldn't remember her and I felt Gabriel's heartache when he realised he'd been a massive dickhead! But their discovery of each other was not the end it was the beginning of a painful journey for both Gabriel and Julianne. So painful that I sobbed my heart out at 2am, so much so that I couldn't read or breath until I pulled myself together. But my tears were cathartic and healing not wasted, like Gabriel and Julianne I had to ride out the storm to get my reward.

We can all relate to the themes of this book, regret, we've all been stuck in a 'Lobby'. We've all felt guilt, fear, heartbreak, loss and a need to be forgiven. I think that's why this book affected me so deeply and moved me to sobbing tears. But it also reinforced the goodness of life, love, giving, patience, acceptance, 'sticky little leaves' and redemption. No one is perfect, we all make mistakes but if we can learn form those mistakes we can move on and live a better life. That's what these books mean to me, that's what Sylvain Reynard means to me.

As a result of reading these books I tweeted Sylvain to let him know how his books had affected me and kept me awake! To my surprise he responded and so I began to follow him and the Gabriel's Inferno fan accounts on twitter. Within a short time I'd made connections with women across the globe who loved Sylvain's books as much as I did. Six months down the line and I've made some fantastic friends on twitter, ladies who share my thoughts on life, love and of course book boyfriends! I still tweet with SR as do so many of you lovely ladies and he is always gracious with his time and tries to reply to our many tweets. SR also tweets the shit out of charities which I love! We all need to be more charitable and giving and his daily reminder of that has made me think more about others and less about myself.

So thank you E L James for leading me to Sylvain Reynard and thank you SR for writing these books but also thank you for introducing me to the world of twitter and for the many new friends I have made along the way. Please keep writing and don't get so famous that you can no longer tweet with us. Big love, hugs and kisses to one of my favourite authors SR mwah mwah mwah xxx

Mags