Which is being sorely tested at the moment. The author copies of Jareth, First Lord have shipped, as well as the pre-orders, and while the buttons and Autographed Copy stickers have arrived, the books are still somewhere in limbo.
Oh well. What’s another day or two?
Here’s an excerpt from Jareth, First Lord to get you through.
“When the final edict was posted in the village, Viviane was stunned as she read the declarations. If the fools had gone to her father he could have asked for aid from the neighboring lords. Instead, he was saddled with repayments to Clan Brannach and penalties for ignoring the complaints. Why had he let this happen? This wasn’t like him at all.
While the penalties were within the limits of clan law, life in Clan Belfort would be much more difficult for a while. But The Choosing, this dark legend out of the dim past, while legal and binding, had never been invoked in Viviane’s lifetime. Re-reading the edict, she saw that all women of marriageable age who were childless and unmarried were required to report one week from the date of posting. One tenth of their number would go to Clan Brannach.
Since she was now marriageable and without children Viviane was required to present herself to Brannach’s First Lord. Panicking, she searched the notice again for an exemption for women of the ruling house, but found nothing. They may have been upset because she wanted to be independent but were they really willing to cast her out altogether?
Her blood turned to ice as she considered her chances of being chosen. There were many younger women in the clan. Wouldn’t they be chosen first? Why choose someone who was nearly thirty when fresher faces abounded? Dizzy and with her heart pounding, she ran to her little cottage, slammed the door, and leaned against it to stay on her feet. The smell in the air she recognized as the scent of fear while cold sweat trickled down her back. She could go to her father and ask him to exempt her from the proceedings. He’d been anxious for her to come home. Certainly he would do this one small thing.
Firmly reining in her emotions, she thought about the consequences of such an action. What if this was the way out of her difficulties? She couldn’t–wouldn’t–go back home, and she couldn’t keep the shop open much longer. Everyone in the village knew her as Viviane Lebrun as she’d not used her title after marrying Robert. Lord Jareth hadn’t been ruling long and they’d never been introduced. If she were chosen there should be no repercussions to the clan or ruling house. If she kept quiet about her family ties, this might be the answer to her predicament. Maybe this was the sign she’d asked for. She would present herself with the others and leave it in the hands of chance.”
Haven’t ordered your copy yet? Here are the links!
http://www.booksamillion.com/p/Jareth-First-Lord/Mellie-Miller/9780989678643?id=6142571080981
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/jareth-mellie-miller/1113216056?ean=9780989678643
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