The Hamburg Grand Hall Unconscious of her gesture, Valentina smoothed the skirt of her long deep purple silk jersey gown, her face glowed with rapture; her fingers involuntarily moved with the tempo of the sonata. With a sweeping motion of his arms and hands, the conductor brought the music to a finis. He glanced at her standing in the wings, nodded then tapped the stand with his baton. Valentina gracefully glided onto the stage. Her walk faltered for a spilt second as her eyes ranged over the people sitting in the first few rows of the concert hall. A shiver of apprehension tingled down her spine, "He's here again. I can feel his eyes on me. He scares me. Why is he here?" Her eyes became undisciplined; they spun to the right, directly into his black abyss eyes. With a super human effort she tore her gaze away to focus on the grand piano that waited for her. Valentina sucked in a deep breath, her mind whirled, focus on the music; forget everything else. The years of lessons, practice and performances took over. Even though she was just days from her twenty-sixth birthday and had been playing to the public for years, Valentina was an enigma. The press spread her reputation as an elusive, mysterious piano prodigy. The mystery that surrounded her made her all the more in demand by fans young and old.
About the Author: Caroline Bonham was born and raised in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Growing up as the youngest child, she began riding horses at the age of five. Her passion for horses has never ceased and has influenced all parts of her life. Graduating from college in Virginia at the young age of seventeen, she went to work for her uncle, a well-known horseman throughout the country, Man Bonham. After remaining with him for five years, the business moved to Orange County, California, where she still resides today. Ms. Bonham has been a hunter/jumper trainer since assuming her uncle's business when he returned to the Midwest. Never leaving her training business, she returned to school and became a vet technician enabling her to work with the animals she has always cared so much about. Today, Caroline continues her training business. She introduces riders young, and not so young to the joys of riding horses. She has taken riders from the beginning stages to the show ring. Many of her students are now trainers in their own right. Always an avid reader, Caroline has switched gears and is herself an author. Ideas running rampant, she has turned out twelve novels whose characters return time and again to influence each other's lives and delight the reader. In a departure from the espionage and romance, Caroline will soon present an illustrated children's book for the 5 to 12 year old about a young Border Collie named TWEED. Watch for this new exciting life story!