Egg-cerpt Exchange with Lizzie Starr

Keltic Flight

Double Keltic Triad: Book Three

To the Faerie Gentry of the Otherworld, the fairy wee folk are but a myth and legend. Until the fairy Korin falls in love with a hal-Gentry maid. Foced to bargain with an evil king to woo her, he risks discovery, and his life, to fulfill the conditions. Book Three of the Double Keltic Triad

Korin Goodfellow loves the Gentry maid, Nanceen. In order to woo her, Korin bargains with his evil king, who sets seemingly impossible tasks. The first? She must believe in him.

But the folk of Faerie, the Gentry, don't believe in the odd assortment of beings who make up the wee folk. And definitely not in fairies. 
 

Nanceen doesn't know what she believes. Until Korin calls to her, then makes his way into her world, becoming a wingless man she can see, touch, believe in.

But will the rat king's conditions drive a wedge between them, or force Korin to confrontation, to battle, into risking his life for love?

Excerpt: 

Korin lay back. The leaf dipped with his movement as he reached to one side and snatched at the length of a nearby blade of grass. He tugged until a bit broke off, stuck the end in his mouth, and chewed thoughtfully. Floating high above him, clouds filled the clear sky. Their flat, gray color matched his mood. He sighed and turned to his side, propped his head on one hand and stretched his wings.

As much as he hated to admit it, the first of his king’s conditions would perhaps be the hardest to meet. It was the only clear requirement listed on the parchment. She must believe in him.

Korin tossed the shredded stem away. There had been a time long ago, even to the fairy, when both humans and the gentry readily believed in the smallest of the sidhe. Even after the human’s religious beliefs forced the gentry underground, then to the Otherworld, the diminutive fairy were honored, or at least remembered, with sweet honey cakes and fresh milk. Korin smacked his lips. It had been a long time since he’d tasted the creamy white ambrosia of milk.

Until humans began to blame the wee folk for their troubles. When aided by the priests, their beliefs in fairies disappeared. But how had the breach with the gentry occurred? Even the legends skirted the issue. There was no history to help him, and Korin was unsure how to proceed. Without Nanceen’s belief in him, fulfilling any of the other conditions would be useless.

Useless. That’s what he was. The niggling doubt became a surety. Somehow, the Fir Dhaerrig had manipulated him. But at what cost?

Korin flopped to his back, wincing as he folded an edge of one wing under him. He adjusted his position and covered his eyes with one forearm. There had to be a way to make Nanceen--no, he could not make her do anything. He would find a way to convince her of his reality. And the existence of his people. One word flashed through his mind. Over and over until the rapid flashes burned behind his closed eyelids. How?

A shadow covered him, cooling his skin. Cautious, he lifted his arm from his eyes and opened them. A face loomed over him. Startled, he scrambled to a sitting position and scooted back until he pressed against the plant stem.

“Hi, bu’fly man.”

The child’s whisper sent waves of relief over him. Occasionally there were children who saw fairies, until adults taught the belief out of them. Sadness followed the relief. If children could only retain their beliefs, perhaps the breach between races would be healed. And he wouldn’t be fighting to claim love from one of the gentry.

A chubby finger moved closer and he held still. Gently, the child touched the tip of one wing and giggled. “Pretty.”

“I thank you, child. How are you called?” At the confusion in her dark brown eyes, Korin asked, “What is your name?”

The rosebud mouth formed a silent ‘oh’. “I’m not supposed to talk to strangers.” She giggled again. The clear sound filled Korin with a strange hope. “Who’re you?”

“I am Korin, young mistress.” He rose, bowed deeply, then spread his wings to their fullest.

“Bu’fly man. Kor’n.”

Korin winced at the childish lisping of his name, but cast a brilliant smile to the engaging girl. “Kor-in, young mistress. Are you able to say Kor-in?”

“Kor’n.” Dark brows drew together as she concentrated in forming her mouth around the syllables of his name. “Kor-in.”

A deep chuckle rose from Korin. “You may call me bu’fly man if you wish.” 

art nouveau male fairy brooch by Sliver b3

Visit *lizzie's blog at starrwords

Find out more about Keltic Flight and the tales of the Double Keltic Triad:

Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords

  

Thank you, Lizzie for stopping,

Tina

Egg-cerpt with Sherry Gloag

His Chosen Bride

Blurb:

        Prince Henri Gasquet is happy to let his father, the king, choose his bride for him until he meets Monica Latimer.

Monica Latimer is not prepared to risk letting any man close enough to learn about her Gift. A gift that normally has men running for the hills when they find out about it.

Excerpt:

She lost track of time until the flames caught her attention once more. They flickered from orange to gold, to silver, to white.

A flurry of snowflakes masked the flames and for a second Monica watched the most beautiful, pristine snow-scene she’d ever seen. Her lips curved in longing. How she’d love to get a toboggan and slide down that slope. She knew where it was, and had done just that many times in her childhood, first with her parents and then, in clandestine manner, with her brother. Sneaking an old tin tray from the back of her mother’s walk-in pantry, she’d then grabbed Billy’s hand and they’d rushed out the back gate, heading for the lakeside track that led up into the hills.

Darkness, dense and thick with grief dropped over the scene. Startled and disconcerted by the strength of emotion emanating from the vision Monica shifted to her knees, ready to stand, when a voice, a deep male voice, sharp with fear called out her name.
“Monica!”

She knew she’d never heard the voice before, and yet—it was as familiar to her as the image she saw in her mirror each morning.

“Help me, Monica.”

Desperate for more clues, she searched the darkness within the flames until it sputtered and faded. With a curse she jumped up and ran for the phone. With her outstretched hand hovering over it she halted and let her hand drop to her side once more. What could she say? What would the police or rescue team think of her if she called them and told them she’d seen a vision of a man in distress?

They’d laugh in her face and classify her as a lunatic. Well, maybe not. It wouldn’t be the first time she’d contacted them with positive information but something—an instinctive gut reaction told her what she’d seen this time hadn’t happened yet.

http://www.astraeapress.com/#ecwid:category=1651593&mode=product&product=9472803

http://www.amazon.com/His-Chosen-Bride-ebook/dp/B0079A7V9W/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_6/190-6871302-0103505

http://www.amazon.co.uk/His-Chosen-Bride-ebook/dp/B0079A7V9W

Egg-cerpt Exchange by Penelope Rivers

In high school, Farrell was cruel toward Toyo Hayashi, the transfer student. Ten years later Farrell is in an abusive relationship with a man named Allen that cheats and lies, and he works a dead-end job with a terrible boss. All that is about to change, however, when he gets hired on at a new wing of his company. Unfortunately, the last thing that he expects is that his new boss is none other than Toyo Hayashi, the boy that he used to bully. Farrell is determined to prove that he's changed, but will Toyo give him the chance?

http://peneloperiversreleases.weebly.com/
http://www.amirapress.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=66

This Day in History

1890 - Reporter Nelly Bly circled the globe alone in 72 days.

Read about the woman at
http://www.answers.com/topic/nellie-bly

Another amazing women - Wow, we rock.

Egg-cerpt Exchange with Susan Wingate

Susan Wingate’s DROWNING

Nabs #1 Amazon Bestseller spot AND wins first place!

In the category of drama in the 2011 Forward National Literature Award.

Earlier this year, DROWNING, had won an award as a finalist in the 2011 International Book Awards.

What people have said about Wingate’s writing & “Drowning”–

“Simply put, Susan Wingate is a master of the written word.” -Joshua Graham, bestselling, award-winning author of “Darkroom” and “Beyond Justice”
“A vivid voice” -Jennifer (St. Martin’s Press)

“…a character of memorable proportions emerges, and we have a new heroine to cheer on and to embrace.” -Phyllis Schieber

“At turns lyrical and touching, you’ll find this an exercise in emotion and intimacy. Highly recommended.” - Michael Angel (author of bestselling fantasy novel, “The Detective & The Unicorn”)

“a powerful novel that is designed to show the conflicts as well as the complex inner workings of human nature.” - author, Veronica Esagui

“A sensitive tale of love struggling to unwind Taut narrative Crisp dialogue” -Michelle James (author)

“A very insightful and moving book it’s a page-turner.” -Michael Conrad

“A staff pick and a favorite.” -Roberts Press

Available in paperback at: Roberts Press, 324 pages, ISBN: 9780615448121

Available on in eBook format AND paperback through:
Amazon.com,
Barnes&Noble.com, &
Smashwords.com

Susan Wingate is the Author/Instructor of the very popular writing workshop, “Muscle-up the Gut of Your Story: How to Write the Novel”

This award-winning novel is written in picaresque of or relating to a type of fiction in which the hero, a rogue, goes through a series of episodic adventures. [The picaresque] originated in Spain in the 16th century. “Even with her mother’s death days away, even as her marriage is falling apart, Euly Winger leaves home, returning to the place she grew up in order to uncover a dark secret about her family’s past.” A suspenseful and inspirational read, DROWNING, is a story of love and redemption, loss and forgiveness. Categorized as mainstream contemporary women’s fiction.

DROWNING

by Susan Wingate

Prologue – Child’s Play

I took my last breath on a blistering hot day but it felt cool. The second my brother pushed me in, when my feet left the deck, I reacted – my body curving and twisting into correct formation and diving with my fingertips first into the sweet welcome contrast of the pool’s frigid water. Young bodies are like that – supple and quick to respond.

He didn’t get away with it. He didn’t win. See, I decided to play a trick on him for pushing me.

Each millimeter, every dry molecule of my skin became drenched as I dove beneath the surface, deep, deeper to the bottom. I stayed down longer than necessary and the funny thing was? It made me happy down there.

A beating drum pounded my chest with music

from the party above and voices sounding like Charlie Brown’s cartoon mother saying wah wah wah, swallowed up their words and muffled through a filter of water.

After deciding my time spent below had been long enough, I pushed off the scratchy surface of the pool but there were so many people floating, dog- paddling, coursing the length of the pool, re- surfacing, it reminded me of a fantastical dance, maybe one performed only in heaven, hanging over my head. But, I knew I could hold my breath a long time. We had breath-holding-contests in the shallow end of our pool, at home, all the time.

To read more of Susan’s “Drowning,” go to her website at: www.susanwingate.com.

“Drowning” and all of Susan’s books are available at the following online bookstores:

At Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Susan-Wingate/e/B003CMMERK/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1329863256&sr=8-1

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/c/susan-wingate

http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/authorsusanwingate

Egg-cerpt Exchange with Zrinka Jelic

Thank you for having me here today as your Egg-cerpt exchanger. My debut novel “Bonded by Crimson” has been released on January 28^th, and it is available in all formats at Black Opal Books, Amazon, Smashwords, Barnes & Noble

AUTHOR’S BIO - Zrinka Jelic lives in Ontario, Canada, with her husband and two children. A member of the Romance Writers of America and its chapter Fantasy Futuristic &Paranormal, as well as Savvy Authors, she writes contemporary fiction—which leans toward the paranormal—and adds a pinch of history. Her characters come from all walks of life, and although she prefers red, romance comes in many colors. Given Jelic’s love for her native Croatia and the Adriatic Sea, her characters usually find themselves dealing with a fair amount of sunshine, but that’s about the only break they get. “Alas,” Jelic says, with a grin. “Some rain must fall in everyone’s life.”

BLURB

Love isn’t in the cards for her…

After her short failed marriage, Kate tries to rebuild her life and takes a position as a nanny to three small boys. She quickly grows to love them, but their father, terrifies her, while igniting a passion she didn’t know she possessed. Disturbed by his distant manner with his sons, Kate struggles to make him more involved in the boys’ daily lives. Her efforts are mysteriously supported by an entity that cannot really exist. Or can she? And if she does exist, is she really trying to help Kate, or just take over her body?

But when he deals the hand, all bets are off…

Six years after his beloved wife passed away, Matthias is still trying to become the father she wanted him to be. Not an easy task for a three-centuries-old immortal. His search for the ultimate nanny ends when Kate Rokov stumbles to his home and into his arms. The immediate attraction he feels for her seems like a betrayal of his dead wife, a love he’s harboured for over three hundred years. But when Kate is stalked by a deadly stranger, life he clung to in the past begins to crumble and break down. Can Matthias learn to trust and to love again in time to save his family from disaster, or will his stubborn pride destroy everything worth living for?

EXCERPT

He claimed to be immortal, but that was ridiculous...wasn’t it?

Kate’s heart hammered. The experience seemed so real. A low moan escaped her and she bit her lip. Soon warmth surged through her, causing her body to go limp. Her legs gave way underneath her, but Matthias—or whoever this man claimed to be now—wrapped his arm around her waist. His sweet, musky scent clung to her. Ecstasy filled her and she felt as if she hovered in the air. If he intended to kill her like this, she could imagine no better way to die. A voice echoed through her mind, speaking of undying love in centuries old Croatian.

“Wake up,” he whispered close to her ear, his strong arms still locked around her.

“I don’t want to.” Her head wobbled, exuberant with sheer happiness, a kind she had never experienced before.

“You must.” He stroked her hair with tender fingers. “Wake up now.”

“No. I want to stay like this. Forever.” She focused on his handsome face staring at her through her haze.

His smooth cheek brushed against hers. “Me too, but you must wake.”

The fog lifted and his image appeared, clearly now. She blinked once. Twice. What had happened? She pushed away from him and flattened her back against the wall.

“You, you—”

“You,” he said, pointing at her, “asked for proof.”

Places to find Zrinka

Contact me @: www.bondedbycrimson.blogspot.com

http://zrinkajelicromanceauthor.wordpress.com/

First Egg-cerpt from Shannon Donnelly

PATHS OF DESIRE

ISBN: 978-0-9831423-9-3

http://shannondonnelly.com/2012/01/20/paths-of-desire-a-regency-historical-romance/

On Amazon Kindle

On BN Nook

At Smashwords

With too many secrets in her past, and too little future as an actress, Theodosia Newell wants one thing more than all else—security. She’s seen her mother abandoned, her younger brother die, and she’s vowed never to be poor. But then her path crosses that of a man who tempts her to abandon caution and all thought for the future for a passionate affair. Can she find the courage to break from her deepest fears? And will her love prove enough to save them both?

Born with a soul for adventure, David Llewellyn cannot resist a challenge—and his enthusiasm for life is as magnetic as his personality. But two women share his life, and only one can be his. Will his stubborn refusal to make a choice between them lead him to lose everything? Or will he find, in the journey to the lost city he dreams of discovering, a path to a deeper love than he thought possible?

For ten years, the affair between David and Thea goes from passion to love. Lives are changed.  Secrets come out. Marriages end. And new ones begin. Through it all, the desire of two strong-willed people lead them to clash, and to eventually find their own path--to each other and to facing the need and love they share.  From London to Italy to Syria, the Paths of Desire lead them on a journey they must make together.

EXCERPT

            Leaning forward, he cupped her face and kissed her, hard and deep. She held still under his touch, but her lips parted, her tongue met his. Her hand stole up to clutch at his coat collar. He moved his hand from her face to her breast. Kissed her until he had no breath. He pulled away while he still could and leaned his forehead against hers, breath mingling in matching ragged gasps.

            “I don’t know what you do to me—I’ve not looked at any woman in months. Not had one for longer. I’d convinced myself I’d had no need for this.”

            “I’m not doing anything!”

            “You are—just by existing. I’d forgotten the joy of bringing a woman pleasure. I’d forgotten too much.”

            She turned away and pulled her cloak tight. “I’m not looking for pleasure—I’m looking for a husband.” He gave a laugh, and she turned to him. “You wouldn’t laugh at a lady who said as much—and you wouldn’t handle a lady as you have me!”

            “No—thank merciful heaven for that. But I want more than to touch you.”

            “Go away—and stay away! You...you’re a distraction! An arrogant, conceited distraction. And—”

            He caught her wrist. “Don’t lie to me. Don’t lie to yourself. This doesn’t end here between us.”