From now through tomorrow night you can download a copy of Jareth, First Lord for FREE!
If you’ve been wanting to give my writing a read, now is the time to try it. Book 1 from the Esperance Series is now free to download from BookFunnel!
A paranormal fantasy romance set on a different world where paranormal abilities abound, meet Jareth, the First Lord of Clan Brannach. In a dispute between his clan and a neighbor, he invokes an ancient penalty–The Choosing. And when he makes his choice, he can’t take his eyes off of the raven haired beauty with sapphire eyes.
Viviane is the daughter of a First Lord, but eschews all the trappings of the ruling house. But when her husband dies, she’s left with scarcely enough to make do. Of course, being included in The Choosing and taken to a new clan wasn’t part of her plan. And she has hidden the fact her father is the clan ruler from this dark and mysterious lord.
So, can Jareth win his lady’s heart before he starts a clan war?
I’ve been getting the next book from Gambler’s Folly edited–hopefully for the last time–so I thought I should give you a few snippets. I also have a book coming later this year from Esperance!
So who wants an excerpt?
OLD FLAME
Gambler’s Folly Book 4
They hadn’t spoken or met since their university days 30 years ago, but here they were on their way to Houston to board the shuttle for Gambler’s Folly. What mischief does Mother Nature have up her sleeve this time?
The landing went well, but he noticed her fingers clutching at the armrest of her seat.
“All right?” he asked.
“Landing always makes me nervous. It’s too close to crashing.”
“Any landing you walk away from is a good one,” Kort said, quoting the old saying. “Let’s go eat some lunch. We can’t check in for another two hours.”
Lunch was good. Another thing he’d always liked about Liz was that she wasn’t afraid to eat. She’d managed to stay at a good weight even after all these years. She had a little extra padding, but he didn’t like stick figure women anyway. With his size, they always seemed so fragile. Liz, on the other hand, might be a lot of fun.
What was he thinking? Get your mind out of the gutter, Kort told himself. Why would she be interested in him? This was Liz, who might be intimidated by his social position, but would never let it dazzle her.
“Kort? Where have you gone?” Liz asked.
“Somewhere a long way away,” he admitted. “How is your lunch?”
“Fantastic! I’d forgotten how much I love Thai food. Thank you, Kort.”
“Well, I couldn’t let you starve, could I?” he teased.
“Are you saying I need to watch my weight?”
“Not at all. I like a woman I can get hold of and wrestle to the ground.”
Where in hell had that come from? Wrestle to the ground? Good lord, what must she think?
Liz doubled over in laughter, partially easing his embarrassment. Apparently she wasn’t offended.
Ben of Blackstone’s Forge
Esperance Book 5
Everyone had assumed that Ben and Deborah would marry once they were old enough. But when Ben went away to finish his apprenticeship, someting happened and nobody knew what. Suddenly Deborah was distant, cold, and at times, downright hostile. As the oldest daughter, tradition said her sisters couldn’t marry before she did and she wasn’t ready. Ben’s father was urging Ben to find a wife, but he couldn’t think of anyone but the Deborah he knew before his apprenticeship journey. What does the future hold for them?
“Thanks, Mr. Blackstone,” she said. “And see if you can teach Ben some manners.”
With a sway in her hips that heated Ben more than the forge, she turned and disappeared down the walk toward the town square.
“Why don’t the two of you get together?” Seth asked his son. “She’s good-looking, from a good family, and can cook with the best of them.”
“Yes, and her tongue is sharper than a carbon steel blade,” Ben added.
“All she needs is a firm hand and a good seeing to,” the elder Blackstone said with a laugh.
“It would take a brave man to bed Deborah Wills,” Ben said, picking up a pair of tongs. “A man could wake up and find himself neutered.”
“Now, Ben, she’s not as bad as all that.”
“No? I think she hates all things male,” Ben said. “She rides a mare, her dog is a bitch, and the cat has been cautioned to have only female kits in her litters.”
His father’s hearty laugh filled the forge, finally bringing a smile to Ben’s face.
“I thought you two were an item there for a while,” Seth said.
“Yeah, I thought so, too. I don’t know what happened after I left to work with Bellamy Forge. We were good when I left, but when I came back she wouldn’t give me the time of day.”
“I haven’t seen her with anyone else,” Seth answered. “Why don’t you ask her out for the Gather dance?”
“She won’t come. I’ve asked her out to the last three dances and she’s refused. I’ve asked her out to dinner and been turned down. Same with coffee and sandwiches. She’s not interested.”
“Are you asking anyone to the dance? A man your age should be thinking about a wife.”
“I was going to ask Moire. She will at least speak to me.”
Watch for these two books later this year. I’ll keep you posted on progress and release dates.
I know I’ve been quiet for a while, but between my husband’s surgery, my surgery, follow up appointments and physical therapy, it has been hectic around here. But I’m back today to say Happy Sunday.
I’m still plugging away at the editing for Old Flame. I’m trying out a program called AutoCrit to see if it can help make the process easier for my editor. I figure if it can catch all those words I repeat ad nauseam at least a little of her work will be done for her.
So far, I’m liking the program. It checks for a lot of things, not just repeated words, and I’ve found quite a few areas I need to work on. All in all I feel it will help me out in this final editing phase.
Not much else happening around here at the moment. I hope to be finished with Old Flame soon and get back to writing on Tiger’s Tempest. I also have to work on the editing for Gregor and Lady Calloway…
Looking for my work?
Go over to AllAuthor. You’ll find links to all my books there and links for sample pages to preview!
Take care, enjoy the spring weather, and have a lovely evening.
Everything out here is beginning to green up in preparation for springtime. The trees have new buds and a few have tiny leaves showing. I just hope they know what they’re doing. Last year we had a late freeze which killed quite a lot of the fruit around here. We had no mulberries at all due to the late freeze.
So what else is happening around here?
I’m about two-thirds of the way through the final edit of Old Flame, the next book in the Gambler’s Folly series. And my editor is nearly finished with Ben of Blackstone’s Forge, the next in line for Esperance. I’ll keep you posted on release dates!
So what are they about?
Old Flame features Kort Behrens and Elizabeth Murphy, bear shifters from the USA. Thirty years ago they were friends at university, but hadn’t met since, until are both on their way to Gambler’s Folly. Kort is now a billionaire, twice divorced, and giving up on love. With his single status and his wealth, he’s a target for women hoping to hook up with a rich playboy and is tired of the hassle. Liz is a widow who lost her husband four years ago and is content by herself with her energy healing practice. They had never really dated in their younger days, but each considered the other a good friend.
But on the way to Gambler’s Folly, a spark begins to grow and these two old friends find there is much more attraction than they had counted on.
Maybe they’ll have a a second chance at love.
Ben of Blackstone’s Forge tells the story of Ben Blackstone and Deborah Wills. They’d grown up together and each had always figured they would marry when the time came. But something happened while Ben was away on his apprenticeship which changed everything. When he returned, Deborah was cold, nearly hostile, towards him and nobody could tell him why.
On top of that, his father was insisting he find a wife. He hoped to retire in a few years and wanted to see Ben settled. Unfortunately, the only woman Ben had ever loved was Deb.
Deborah’s father was pushing her to get married as well. She had younger sisters with beaus, and tradition dictated the eldest marry first. But she couldn’t marry the only man she’d ever loved for reasons only she knew. And she would not marry anyone else.
And then their fathers get together and draw up a contract for an arranged marriage for the two of them, to take place in a month’s time.
Watch for Old Flame and Ben of Blackstone’s Forge!
You can help me out by picking your favorite cover art for Old Flame!
It’s that time of year again–rain most days and temperatures from summer to winter and back again. It will be just a bit too chilly not to have heat, but as soon as you light a fire, it’s too warm.
How are things going in your world today? It seems like a great idea to find a good book, a cup of coffee or tea, and have a seat for the rest of the afternoon.
What are you reading? If you haven’t looked at my books before, check out the video below for a brief preview. I have two series under this pen name–Esperance and Gambler’s Folly.Esperance is more laid back featuring people with unusual abilities. Gambler’s Folly is futuristic with shifters.
Either way, one of them would make a good read for your afternoon. I’ll have new covers out soon, so let me know what you think. In the meantime, happy reading!
Every summer and winter, Smashwords gives authors a chance to join the site-wide book sale! Thousands of books will be included, along with all of mine!
So if you’re in the mood for something fanciful, or something with shifters, or magic go over and check out the links for my books.
