About
Robert Hays has been a newspaperreporter, public relations writer, magazine editor, and university professorand administrator. A native of Illinois, hetaught in Texas and Missouriand retired in 2008 from a long journalism teaching career at the University of Illinois. He has spent a great deal oftime in South Carolina,the home state of his wife, Mary, and is a member of the South Carolina WritersWorkshop. His publications include academic journal and popular periodicalarticles and several non-fiction books. His novels include The BabyRiver Angel, Circles in the Water and TheLife and Death of Lizzie Morris, all published by Vanilla Heart. Robert andMary live in Champaign, Illinois. They have two sons and a grandsonand share (long story!) a cat named Eddie with the family next door.
Through the Eyes of Maria: Choices
Description
<p>Maria hits the streets of New York in search of the love denied by her alcoholic father and indifferent mother. When Sergio, a dark, worldly stranger, lures her with diamonds, brand-name clothing, and undivided attention, Maria sees a way out of her dysfunctional home. Seduced by Sergio’s charm and the promise of wealth and recognition, Maria ignores her panicked intuition and wanders into his lair.<br /><br />But in a world where ambition and deception go hand in hand, where dreams are shattered and innocence crushed, Maria discovers she’s trapped in a hell much worse than the one she left. And now, there is no escape. The price for betrayal is blood.<br /><br />Destiny intervenes when Maria meets Christian, a handsome law student haunted by a dark family secret. With her life at risk and time running out, will Maria find the strength to save herself and convince Christian to go against all reason and risk everything to help her?</p>
Story Behind The Book
I collaborated on a book (G-2: Intelligence for Patton) with Oscar Koch, a retired general who served as Gen. George S. Patton's intelligence chief during World War II. Documents used in that work included the U.S. Seventh Army's detailed planning and after-battle reports on the invasion of Sicily. I wanted to write an authentic story of a veteran of that invasion, and at the same time deal with the very difficult issue of how we face death--and particularly the loss of a long-time mate. I did careful research on both topics to make the setting of this story accurate in detail as well as in broad scope.
