Why I love spring
by Kim Headlee
When God created the world, He had to
make it functional, of course. He didn't have to make it beautiful, and yet He
did. The dancing bands of the aurora's display, the giggle of a child, the
caress of silk on the skin, the first whiff of coffee and bacon in the
morning... but never is that beauty more evident than in the sights and sounds
and smells of the season of rebirth and hope. It is my hope that you enjoy all
these sensory delights as much as I do!
Spring flowers play a major role in God's
rebirth process, of course. My paranormal historical romance Snow in July
presents a rebirth metaphor, often using flowers too: a rebirth from the winter
of angst, grief, fear, and hatred into the spring of acceptance, compassion,
forgiveness, and love.
TITLE – Snow in July
SERIES – N/A
AUTHOR – Kim Iverson Headlee
GENRE – Paranormal Historical Romance
PUBLICATION DATE – July 2014
LENGTH (Pages/# Words) – 386 pages/94K words
PUBLISHER – Pendragon Cove Press
COVER DESIGNER – Natasha Brown
SYNOPSIS
Sir Robert Alain de Bellencombre has been granted
what every man wants: a rich English estate in exchange for his valiant service
at the Battle of Hastings. To claim this reward, the Norman knight must wed the
estate's Saxon heiress. Most men would leap at such an opportunity, but for
Alain, who broke his vow to his dying mother by failing to protect his youngest
brother in battle, it means facing more easily broken vows. But when rumors of
rampant thievery, dangerous beasts, and sorcery plaguing a neighboring estate
reach his ears, nothing will make him shirk duty to king and country when
people's lives stand at risk. He assumes the guise of a squire to scout the
land, its problems, and its lady.
Lady Kendra of Edgarburh has been granted what no
woman wants: a forced marriage to an enemy who may be kith or kin to the man
who murdered her beloved brother. Compounding her anguish is her failure to
awaken the miraculous healing gift bequeathed by their late mother in time to
save his life. Although with his dying breath, he made her promise to seek
happiness above all, Kendra vows that she shall find neither comfort nor love
in the arms of a Norman…unless it snows in July.
Alain is smitten by Lady Kendra from the first
moment of their meeting; Kendra feels the forbidden allure of the handsome and
courtly Norman "squire." But a growing evil
overshadows everyone, invoking dark forces and ensnaring Kendra in a plot to
overthrow the king Alain is oath-bound to serve. Kendra and Alain face a battle
unlike any other as their honor, their love, their lives, and even their very souls
lie in the balance.
In the following excerpt, Kendra, alone
with the badly wounded and unconscious Alain, confronts her fear of her
inherited paranormal healing gift, the activation of which is catalyzed by
touching dried Christmas blooms from the Glastonbury thorn tree. That fear is
born from the failure on her previous attempt to use the flowers to save her
dying mother, several years earlier. The petals had ignited in her hands,
causing a lurid rash whose scar has left a permanent reminder of her failure
and anguish.
EXCERPT
As she reached for the packet again, fear
froze her hand.
The Glastonbury thorn’s Cristes-mæsse
flowers were reputed to work miracles for the pure of heart. Yet how could she
be “pure of heart” when she harbored venomous hatred for the man who had
murdered her brother? How could she look her Norman bridegroom in the eye and
proclaim her fidelity to him while she felt herself succumbing to this squire’s
forbidden allure? How could she reconcile the months of despising England’s new
king for what he had done to her people, her family, and her very existence?
“I can’t!” Sobbing, she buried her face
in her hands. “I just can’t. The thorn won’t work for me. I am not worthy.”
Power does not come without sacrifice.
But for Alain’s sake, and yours, you must endure the thorn.
For Alain’s sake.
Raising her head and drying her face on
the sleeve of her gown, she gazed at the man—the Norman—who’d already sacrificed
God alone knew how much for her sake. His chilled, waxy face convinced her that
whether she was betrothed to another man or not, and whether Alain was kin to
Del’s murderer or not, she didn’t want him to pay the ultimate price.
She had no right to permit him to make
such a sacrifice.
The very least she could do for him was
sacrifice a small piece of herself.
She drew a deep, shuddering breath,
released her hatred as best she could, and pressed the packet between her
palms.
***
Author's
Note: Cristes-mæsse is the ancient Saxon word for Christmas
BUY & TBR LINKS
AUTHOR BIO:
Kim Headlee
lives on a farm in southwestern Virginia with her family, cats, goats, and
assorted wildlife. People and creatures come and go, but the cave and the
250-year-old house ruins—the latter having been occupied as recently as the
mid-twentieth century—seem to be sticking around for a while yet.
Kim is a
Seattle native and a direct descendent of twentieth-century Russian nobility.
Her grandmother was a childhood friend of the doomed Grand Duchess Anastasia,
and the romantic yet tragic story of how Lydia escaped Communist Russia with
the aid of her American husband will most certainly one day fuel one of Kim's
novels. Another novel in the queue will involve her husband's ancestor, the
seventh-century proto-Viking king of the Swedish colony in Russia.
For the
time being, however, Kim has plenty of work to do in creating her projected
8-book Arthurian series, The Dragon's Dove Chronicles, and other novels under
her new imprint, Pendragon Cove Press.
FOLLOW KIM:
Thanks Kim for sharing.
So what do you love about spring?
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