Meet Annunciata Doyle of Caper Magic

       This month Kat and I brought Caper Magic out of mothballs to celebrate October and, of course, Halloween, There is no better way to do it than introduce our readers to Annunciata "Nunie" Doyle and Nick Forrester, two sworn enemies who are thrown together to save Caper Madness a month long celebration of all that is Halloween.
      To make things even more special I've spent the day [Friday the 6th of October] introducing a dear friend to Cape Vincent, the historic tourist town on the Saint Lawrence River in Northern New York State which is the setting for Cape Brendan and Caper Madness.
       Rather than have me explain things, let Nunie Doyle do it . . .

Where are you from? I was born and raised in Belfast in the north of Ireland.

Did you have a happy childhood? I suppose it was as happy as most Catholic girls in that day and age raised in the North, midst poverty and religious bigotry, with no future except to marry an unemployed drunkard and push out ten to twelve babes by the time they're forty. When I was seven, my parents were murdered by a faction of the Ulster Volunteer Force who bombed a local pub because they served Catholics. Thereafter I was sent to live with my grandparents in Tuam, a cathedral city in the western part of the Irish Republic, near Ashford Castle and the village of Cong where parts of The Quiet Man were filmed. As I was a handful in those days, the grandparents sent me to one of the Magdelene Laundries, in hopes the nuns would teach me a skill. The Tuam facility was recently in the news after the remains of many young women and infants, were discovered. 

Where do you live now? I've been in Cape Brendan, a small tourist town on the eastern most edge of Lake Ontario where it bleeds into the Saint Lawrence River for the past several years. We are known for two things: ship building and Caper Madness, a month long celebration of all things Halloween.

What do you do for a living? I am a retired social worker. At the height of my career I was Director of Crime Victim Services in Syracuse New York.

Is there something you'd rather be doing? To supplement my rather meager retirement checks, I model for an agency, La Vrai Beaute, which is known for its older and large size models. Come winter, when the Cape is often as cold as Mother Superior's heart, I don't mind spending a few

weeks in places where it rarely falls below 80 degrees, showing off fabulous clothes by talented designers.

What's going on in your life right now? I am harboring a woman and her children while they wait on a judge to decide which parent will be awarded permanent custody of these delightful kids. The husband and father . . . is less than upstanding shall I say. His attorney, a posturing, skeeving git if there ever was one, is arse deep in illegal machinations, making sure his client wins his children back. If the judge is having a bad hair day or is pre-menstrual and rules against the mother, it will be my job to immediately get her to a safe place. If this man, the husband I

mean, is granted custody, he will kill her and the children. Or worse.

Is there someone special in your life right now? Nicholas Forrester came to Cape Brendan to assist Henri Pierpont, his elderly uncle, in the coordination of Caper Madness. After Hank's

health takes a swan dive, he asked me to assist Nick with managing the events. Nick is having a significant amount of difficulty adjusting to me as well as the quirks and foibles of the Capers as

the locals call themselves.

How did you two meet? We were in the Emergency Room, waiting for word on Henri's condition. Nick knows me, though we never met, with relation to an unfortunate event from our pasts. Back then, I felt I was doing my job as the head of a victim advocacy agency, but Nick blames me for his best friend losing his position on the police force and eventual suicide. Things were rather tense in the ER, especially after Henri asked me to assist Nick on Caper Madness and “make him proud”. I couldn't say no but Nick made my life miserable until we resolved our differences.

What's his family like? His uncle, the coordinator of Caper Madness, is Nick's only living relative. Henri and his deceased wife Genny cared for Nick and his sister after their parents took off for better pickings. This was many years ago; Nick adores his uncle and feels guilty for not spending quality time with them while his aunt was still alive. Neither of Nick or his sister, or I, for that matter, had it easy growing up.

What's keeping you two apart? He is a retired police officer who now works as chief investigator for the skeeving git attorney I mentioned earlier. While Nick is here in Cape Brendan, assisting with Caper Madness, he is also keeping close watch out for the client's wife and their kids who, unbeknownst to him, are hiding in my house. Nick's boss is convinced they will attempt to flee to Canada via the Cape Brendan ferry which traverses the River several times a day. My mission, should it come to that, is to get the woman and her children to safety no matter the cost.

What one thing could you do that would make you feel like the relationship will work out? I suppose I could turn them over to the skeeving git and therefore the sexual predator husband. But that will never happen. Also, I'm not certain I want another relationship. Around here I'm known as the Black Mamba, because of the four husbands and fiances I've buried either shortly before or right after the weddings. I'm not what they'd call a safe bet. Plus, I can't imagine any man in his right mind who would want me after learning my background. 

Any last comments? Caper Madness is the first in a series of stories set in Cape Brendan. Characters from previous novels written by Veronica or her alter ego, Kat Henry Doran, will surface and create new lives for themselves on The River.