Four Winds Series

Anne Conley

The Four Winds is a series of stories by Anne Conley of God’s archangels: Uriel---the archangel of destiny, Rafael—the archangel of healing, Gabriel—the messenger, and Michael—the angel of war. Watch as each one defeats the devil, known as Damien, who thinks he’s entitled to their brides. See their struggle as they experience humanity for the first time in the name of love. Warning: contains elements of Christianity, coupled with some sex scenes, and what people may consider heretical viewpoints. 

Falling for Heaven

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Uriel is one of God's Four Winds, the Archangel of Destiny. He has helped thousands of people throughout the ages find their destiny according to His will. This time however, what he doesn't realize, is that it's his own destiny he's supposed to fulfill.



Heather is an exotic dancer, who's stage name is Heaven. It's not that that's what she's always wanted to do, it's just that it helps her pay the bills, and she's got a lot of bills, with taking care of her mother and her sister. When the mysterious Uriel comes into the club, she can tell he's different, just how different will rock her world... 

Falling for Grace

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Rafael is one of God’s Four Winds, the Archangel of Healing. He has answered the countless prayers for healing of loved ones, wondering what it was about the emotion that made humans willing to sacrifice so much.

Grace is a lifeguard who has been on Rafe’s radar since she lost a little boy three years ago. What she doesn’t realize is the green haze that comes over her during a rescue is actually a divine presence who’s about to give up his celestial body to become a very real entity in her life.

While Grace is trying to overcome her own demon, Rafe is discovering his own sexuality, but there’s a darker presence making himself known. The Deceiver wants what Rafe is getting, and he’ll do whatever it takes to have her.

Falling for Hope

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Hope is an eccentric librarian who lives with her five cats and loves to spend her time fantasizing about living in a world of shape-shifters, vampires, and fairies. Although the existence of a paranormal world is far from Hope's reality, she can't help but sense there's something different about the mysterious man lurking in her library.

Gabriel is God's Strength, the Messenger, who's been tasked with delivering the Word for millennia. His most recent assignment will be his last, to fall in love and become human. But he can't quite figure out what he's done to displease the Boss. Gabriel's latest assignment might be the hardest, but this gorgeous rubenesque quirk of a woman definitely has him intrigued.

Falling for Faith 

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In this, the fourth book in the Four Winds Series, the story is more intense, Damien is more intense, the sex is more intense. The entire series thus far has escalated into this, the archangel of war's story.

Michael, the archangel of war, is pissed. Humanity has taken every last vestige of any feelings he might have had and colored them in with cynicism. He’s ready to be done. So when The Boss gives him the deal, he’s eager for his mortality, at any cost, regardless of who he has to ‘fall in love’ with to get it. Blessed death. That’s what he’s looking forward to. When he finds out what Faith does for a living, he’s pissed off all over again.

Faith is a cat burglar, but when she inadvertently makes a deal with Damien, Michael steps in to protect what is rightfully his. She’s not over her own tragic past, and this hulking bundle of hotness can’t change that. But when he insists on protecting her, claiming her, and dominating her, she is powerless to deny her own emotions.

For mature audiences. Contains swear words, sex, elements of BDSM, and possibly heretical viewpoints.

Falling for Cyn

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Damien is bad—the original Evil. Satan from Hell on Earth has been his identity since forever. The Devil. Beelzebub. Minister of Evil. Prince of Darkness. Lucifer. Old Scratch.

He’s never been given a choice in this prison of fate, but it’s his turn now.

Hell is about to meet his match. When Damien gets a woman, the only underworld he’s ever known changes. She’s chosen for him, but she’s enough…

Cynthia doesn’t believe in Hell; she believes in kindness and science, and the greater good. She’s perfect, and pure and…

dying.

But she’s his.

And he’ll move Heaven and Hell to keep her.

This is Anne Conley's final installment in the Four Winds series.

About the Author

Anne has written her entire life and has the boxes of angst-filled journals and poetry to prove it. She's been writing for public consumption for the last four years. Currently she is writing three romance series. In Stories of Serendipity, she explores real people living real lives in small town Texas in a contemporary romance setting. In The Four Winds, she chronicles God's four closest archangels, Uriel, Gabriel, Raphael, and Michael, falling in

love and becoming human. In Pierce Securities, she gives us Ryan, Evan, Miriam, Zack, Quinten, and Simon. She lives in rural East Texas with her husband and children in her own private oasis, where she prides herself in her complete lack of social skills, choosing instead to live with the people inside her head.

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Book Week Costumes - The Rainbow Fish

Each year, as part of a week long celebration of books and reading, my children's school has a dress up day where the students are encouraged to come to school dressed up as a character from their favourite book.  My children have had 3 years of costumes so far and I have had fun making their costumes for them each year.

This year was the first year that my son was participating in the book week celebration as a student.  He selected "The Rainbow Fish" as his favourite book/character so it was time to try to work out a way to make a costume for that theme.  I decided to use a similar style of costume to the one I made for "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" and go for a sandwich board idea. 



I made up a basic fish shaped pattern and some fins as well as a shape that looked scale like (thankyou old CDs once again).  Using several different coloured materials I made up scales that were as close to the images from the story as I could get.  Each scale was made using 2 pieces sewn together with the open hem at the top of the scale.  Then I sewed the scales onto one of my fish pattern pieces in rows.  The sequin material played havoc with the needle on my sewing machine because of the thickness and pure bad luck.  I ended up breaking 3 different needles by the time the costume was finished ... oops!

 (A work in progress shot with the scales)

Once the scales were all sewn to the front I created the fins using the pieces I'd cut out and some gold, zig-zagged ribbon.  I used the same ribbon to add detail to the tail of the front piece to the costume too.  A small loop of blue ribbon was placed at the top point of the fins so that the fins could be held out from the body a little bit by slipping one of his fingers into the loop.  The fins were layered over the scales along with the ribbon to form the ties over his shoulders and then I placed down the 2nd side to the piece and sewed it together, leaving the bottom of the tail free so that the piece could be pulled through to the right side.  Special care was necessary here to make sure that I didn't accidentally sew the scales in a way that meant they'd catch as I tried to turn things right side out.  For the back part of the sandwich board I used the basic fish shape (no fins) and made it double sided with the ribbons for ties but didn't worry about scales or other decoration for this part.  A quick hem across the bottom on both parts and the majority of the costume was finished.

(The costume laid out to show both sides)

The hat was constructed using the same method as the hats from "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" costume.  I laid 2 pieces of a light blue felt over each other and sewed an arch around them before trimming the material down to close to the seam and turning the hat right side out.  I then sewed on the lips and eyes that I'd cut out of scraps of felt I had to finish the hat off.  In hind-sight, I probably should have sewn the eyes on before creating the hat shape because sewing them on after the hat was constructed wasn't the easiest thing to do but the lips in particular needed to be sewn on at the end so that they'd go over both sides of the hat.  

(Fish head, both sides were decorated so it didn't matter if it got turned around)

He wore a blue tracksuit underneath the costume with a pair of blue shorts and a blue shirt as an option for as the weather heated up through the day.  He was thrilled with the costume and, as he got out of the car at school, I heard another student recognise his costume as "The Rainbow Fish" which was fantastic to hear.

(My "Rainbow Fish")

Book Week Costumes - Wenda

Each year, as part of a week long celebration of books and reading, my children's school has a dress up day where the students are encouraged to come to school dressed up as a character from their favourite book.  My children have had 3 years of costumes so far and I have had fun making their costumes for them each year.


For her third year of selecting costumes my daughter decided to go as Wenda from the "Where's Wally?" series of books.   Wenda is one of the additional characters that readers are encouraged to find on each page alongside their search for Wally.




Once again I made use of patterns I already owned to help make parts of the costume.  The Shirt and Trousers were made based off 2156 Simplicity's pattern.  Technically the pattern was for stretch material and the material I was using wasn't stretch so I enlarged the pattern a bit to make it work but it made a very helpful starting point for me.  A blue skirt she already owned + a pair of costume glasses from the local $2 shop and we were almost finished.

To make the hat I used a piece each of white and red felt.  I cut each piece in half and sewed a white piece to a red piece.  Once I had that finished I laid the two pieces of fabric together and sewed an arch across the fabric using the same method as the one mentioned in my post about "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" costume.  My daughter helped me make a pom-pom using red wool that I then sewed to the top of the hat and her costume was complete.

(Wenda)

This year my son was also participating in the dress up day so had his own costume (there's a separate post for that costume) and my younger daughter made use of components from "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" costume I made a couple of years earlier.

(Wenda, Butterfly, Rainbow Fish)

Book Week Costumes - Little Red Riding Hood + a simple Dinosaur/Dragon costume

Each year, as part of a week long celebration of books and reading, my children's school has a dress up day where the students are encouraged to come to school dressed up as a character from their favourite book.  My children have had 3 years of costumes so far and I have had fun making their costumes for them each year.

For the second year my daughter decided she wanted to dress up as Little Red Riding Hood.  She had a costume for this that she'd been given several years earlier that her Nanna had made for her.  Unfortunately, as tends to happen, she'd outgrown the costume so it was time to make her a new one.  For this costume I utilised several patterns that I already owned to make the various pieces needed.

 

(The three patterns that were used to form the costume)

The skirt was simply made using the basic pattern for options B, C and D from 2576 Simplicity.  The hood I made was a combination of pieces from options A and C from 9476 Burda Kids and was constructed so that it was double sided - one side pure red, the other a red and white check pattern using the same material as the skirt.  I also made an apron using red and white material adapted from pieces from 1595 Simplicity, although she decided not to wear the apron as part of the costume on the day.  To complete the costume she wore a white shirt from her cupboard and I bought a small weaved box from a local $2 shop.  A simple handle and insert for the weaved box was made using some ribbon and left over material from the skirt/cape and she added some toy food from her play kitchen.

 (Little Red Riding Hood)

 (The basket and apron)

 (Some play food to 'fill' the basket to take to Grandma's house)

To finalise the costume I braided her hair with some red ribbon threaded through it as well.

(You can also see the double sided nature of the hood in this picture)

My younger two children also wanted to dress up since their older sister was.  My son decided to use a store bought costume he had with a green tracksuit to become a dragon and my younger daughter was able to wear the other Red Riding costume we had.

Book Week Costumes - The Very Hungry Caterpillar + Simple Winnie the Pooh

Each year, as part of a week long celebration of books and reading, my children's school has a dress up day where the students are encouraged to come to school dressed up as a character from their favourite book.  My children have had 3 years of costumes so far and I have had fun making their costumes for them each year.

The first year my daughter chose "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" as her favourite character.  I wanted to make the costume in a way that was relatively easy to make while still allowing her to 'transform' from the caterpillar to the butterfly from the story so broke it down into 3 parts - a hat for the head of the caterpillar/butterfly, a body for the caterpillar and wings for when she became the butterfly.

To make the hat I bought 2 A4 size pieces of red felt as well as some green and yellow felt.  I cut out the eye shapes from the green and yellow felt and sewed them onto one piece of the red felt.  I also made 2 tubes of green to become the antennae which I laid between the two pieces of red felt before sewing an arch shape around the outside edge of the felt pieces to create the 'hat'.  A trim down to near the stitching and then turned right way out and I had my caterpillar/butterfly head.

 (Caterpillar head pieces)

For the body I decided to try to keep things simple and went for a sandwich board style costume using some ribbon and 2 different shades of green.  I cut the green out into strips and sewed the strips together to make one large piece of fabric.  I then folded the large piece of fabric in half, adding some ribbon to the top to make straps before sewing around the top and side.  After pulling the fabric right side out I sewed a hem on the piece and I had one side of my sandwich board complete.  Repeating the steps quickly gave me my 2nd side.

(Caterpillar body, laid out to show the two sides to the costume)

To make the wings I used a piece of colourful fabric that my daughter selected and created a 'wing' shape, using an old CD to help with the scalloped edges.  I cut two wing shapes out so that it was double sided and some ribbon attached in strategic places meant that it could be tied around her shoulders and looped over her wrists so that she could flap her wings around.  I sewed around all the edges, leaving a space to pull things through to the right side then sewed that space shut and the wings were complete.

(Butterfly Wings)

(The completed costume)

The rest of the costume just came from items she already had in her cupboard - a green jumper and a pair of track suit pants with a change to a pink shirt and purple skirt for as the day warmed up.  Her younger brother also wanted his own version of the costume so a 2nd one was made up minus the wings for him to wear too.

                                             (The 2 Very Hungry Caterpillars)

 (Transformed to a Butterfly)

 (The butterfly after removing the caterpillar body.  She was fortunate enough to win 'best dressed' in her class and received a book for her prize.)

There was actually a whole school parade on the dress up day where the students were going to display their costumes.  Since I had a caterpillar costume for my son I also wanted to make something for my youngest too.  I decided to dress her as Winnie the Pooh as it was an easy costume to make - a yellow wondersuit and a red shirt and her costume was organised.

(Winnie the Pooh)