MAIN CHARACTER
Alel had never had to do anything but exist when I began her story. A simple, but unfortunate incident involving a strand of her red hair ended her life, but this is where Mechanical Angel began.
Graced with red hair, green eyes and pale skin, she is of the Relic bloodline, a line all but gone, but those that are left are hunted for status and for the rumor of power within them. Taught by her mother to hide within the walls of their cramped home, Alel rarely had a need to venture out of her small, but secure home on the Black Streets. Her mother’s death forces her to test the boundaries of all she has ever known to obtain bread to eat and clean water to drink.
She manages for a time, carefully hiding away behind black clothing from any seeking eyes. The wind catches a strand of her hair, drawing the eyes of men unused to anything beautiful or pure on the Black Streets. Attacked and assaulted, Alel is left for dead, where the rats come to feast on her flesh as she dies.
THE PLOT THICKENS
Sir Jax ‘saves’ Alel, taking her from the streets and giving her life again using his skill with artificial intelligence and metal to recreate her into a half-human, half-mechanical woman.
Alel awakes to a whole new world on the White Streets. Sir Jax tasks her with caring for his multitudes of mechanical creatures, including five children with varying degrees of humanity.
As Alel discovers Sir Jax may not be a safe haven at all, she begins to find within herself a fierce passion to end horrifying oppression and to give the children she quickly comes to love a home that is safe.
THE SETTING
The Black Streets where Alel grew up were poverty stricken, filthy and ruled by men. Women and children were treated as far inferior and as property, at the mercy of whatever was deemed appropriate for them by their owners.
The White Streets, although clean and beautiful, are controlled by men of wealth, power and status. Women and children are on display as trophies, or kept as slaves.
Sir Jax is among those holding positions of high regard, ruling over the town using mechanical birds as a subtle threat to any who dare oppose him, and to gather information.
THE CONFLICT
Alel never considers her choices as she deals with her new surroundings and her new master will have revolutionary consequences. Driven by love for the children and a deep desire for freedom, she begins to question the dictates of Sir Jax, society and how it operates, and whether she can trust anyone around her.
A BIT OF ROMANCE
Sir Javon is introduced as a supplier of sorts to Sir Jax. An artist with a flair for handling metal and creating beautiful structures, his encounters with Alel lead to a declaration of an offer for her.
Determined she will belong to no one, Alel defies Sir Javon’s intent, despite a growing attraction to the man.
As news of the Relic in Sir Jax’s estate spreads, more men come forward to seek the right to call her theirs to claim the fame and fortune possessing a Relic gives.
It is not long before Alel finds her life in danger again, and she must choose to overcome the fear and become who she was always meant to be.
Find out more about Alel and her story in Mechanical Angel, now available on Amazon!
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