In this scene, Gratia has been trying to avoid a woman claiming to be her husband’s mistress by hiding in the darkness of a garden overlooking the Danube River. Her husband, Leo, has been gone with the emperor for over six months—most of their new marriage—and she fears this temptress is part of the reason why. As she hides, she presses herself against the high stone wall, enjoying the warmth left from the day, when a man suddenly steps up behind her and traps her.

“You should not be out here alone,” he said in a harsh whisper. The man smelled like horse and sweat and the thick dust of hard travel.

“Move away,” she squeaked. She could not free her hands nor turn her head far enough to see her attacker.

“Are you waiting for someone?” he rasped as he dared move his body close to hers, close enough she felt a heavy belt buckle press at the small of her back. “Perhaps a lover will meet you here in the dark, far from the light of the torches outside the house?”

“Move away,” she repeated, glad her voice carried more authority this time, though not enough to make the cur step back. What should she do? With what could she threaten him? “My cousin, the Lord of Regensburg, will hear of this!”

“Are you under his protection, then?” The whisper sounded angry now. Good. He should know he assaulted a woman of means, not some unguarded peasant.

“I am a guest here,” she snipped. “I also have a husband and a father who will—”

“Ah, so you do remember you have a husband.”

A shiver coursed down her spine like cold, inky river water as the whisper resolved into a deep voice on the word “husband.”

Her breath caught. “Leo?”

I really love this couple. Each of them is hurt and unsure, and they struggle to find the way back to each other over one tempestuous night.

If anyone would like a free review copy, please email me or comment below.

Love Like A River is available on Amazon for only 99 cents!

BLURB:

What is new bride Gratia to think when her husband’s been gone for six months and a woman claiming to be his lover attends her sister’s house party? Unsuspecting Leo returns eagerly home to a wife who isn’t there. When he finally locates her in a moonlit garden by the Danube, the reunion of these newlyweds sizzles with anger, accusations, and denied passion as each tries to find a path to the marriage they both desire. Love Like A River is Book Six in the Evolution Series set in Charlemagne’s Empire and is a novella of 11,000 words.

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I had a hard time choosing which of my Evolution Series couples to pick for the hook this week, but decided on Theo and Lily from Vain, who visit us again in the novella, Little Witch. The woman Nox is trying not to fall in love with has disappeared and he has come to his employer for advice.

EXCERPT

“Is Salena here?” Nox asked, addressing Lady Lily.

She shook her head while Theophilus demanded, “Who the hell is Salena?”

“I told you about her, darling,” Lady Lily said, recovering her voice. She tilted sideways to look past Nox. “Hello, Grant.”

Grant mumbled a greeting, keeping a wary eye on the lord who studied him and Nox keenly, a white scar standing out on his clenched cheek.

Nox made a quick introduction and explained what little he knew of the situation.

The Lord of Ribeauville listened intently, then stopped Grant when he began to offer details. He forced them to pause while Lady Lily gave Grant dry clothing and the housekeeper brought warmed wine and food. He saw them settled into chairs by his desk before he would hear another word.

Lady Lily glided in to stand behind him. Her presence, her hand lighting on his shoulder, sharpened him. The Lady of Ribeauville was concerned. They now had the full weight of her husband’s attention.

END OF EXCERPT

BLURB:

A vicious neighbor uses a series of coincidences to label Salena as the local moon-charmer and outcast in rural Francia. When Salena encounters her brother’s childhood friend, Nox, out on business for the Lord of Ribeauville, she worries he will accept the locals’ tales about her, especially since they relate to the death of his family a decade before. He is, instead, as charmed by her as she is by him.

As I mentioned above, the excerpt and blurb are from Little Witch: A Historical Romance Novella, but the featured couple’s story is told in Vain, which is Book 3 in the Evolution Series.

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EXCERPT

Doeg’s requirements in a prospective wife seemed simple enough when he started the search. He had learned in the last three years to examine his goals and break them into finite steps of surmountable size. He’d done just that, determining his essential needs in a spouse and discarding all other considerations. For example, he would not demand wealth, having turned over a new leaf to be an independent man. Intelligence was not needed and in fact, could be much over-rated where a woman was concerned. He also did not care if she was graceful, well spoken, or religious. And physical attractiveness had no bearing on it whatsoever. She could be tall, gaunt, and toothless since he had no intention of looking at her very often. He would not insist on a particular age as long as she would outlive him because he could not imagine ever going through this again.

No, he never wanted to waste another ten months of his life in the apparently futile search for the one woman in Bavaria who could meet his two requirements, which at the beginning of the hunt last March had seemed so elementary he had expected to be married by April.

END OF EXCERPT

Can a quiet widow help a damaged, secretive man find redemption?

Doeg has only two requirements in a wife and upon meeting Philantha he knows she is the one who will fulfill them. However, she has a requirement of her own that tests and eventually breaks the barriers Doeg has maintained around himself for decades. They struggle during the day to revitalize his estate while the night-time awakening of their passion leads to binding love and redemption beyond their wildest imaginings. When an unexpected threat to Philantha emerges, Doeg rises to the challenge, throwing off the shackles of his past once and for all.

Travel to Bavaria in 834 where Redeemed combines the best elements of historical romance with an exciting new setting. Book Two in the Evolution Series. You can learn more about this series and me here. All the stories stand on their own, so if Redeemed has intrigued you, grab a copy!

REDEEMED – AVAILABLE AT THESE ONLINE STORES

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My story, Unbidden is set in 831, when enough time had passed for Louis and his family to start screwing things up. This is a snippet from the scene where Rochelle, the heroine, meets her emperor.

EXCERPT

“Is there something you wish to say?” the emperor asked with a teeth-clenched softness, more than a little warning in his voice.

“I do not wish to marry,” she said, her voice cracking on the word marry. A hiss of indrawn breath came from her right, though she wasn’t sure if it was Theo or David. A slight buzz filled the room as the repetition of her words passed to its furthest corners. She lifted her chin to stare at him. “And I do not want a war fought on my estate.”

“I do not care what you wish,” he said quietly, his narrow face beginning to mottle with red. Then he shouted, “I do not care what you wish!”

END OF EXCERPT

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EXCERPT

She lifted the new summer fruit, yellow and fuzzy. He hadn’t had a peach since last year. His mouth watered. Without another word, she found a knife and cut a tiny, crescent sliver, releasing juice down the side of her hand. He could smell the sugary flesh as she lowered it to his mouth, deftly slipping the thin bite between his lips. The ripe pulp crushed succulently between his tongue and palate with a burst of flavor and sweet liquid. The strip of resilient skin rubbed satisfyingly in his mouth, giving him the welcome sensation of eating something substantial. She fed him one delicious bit after another until the entire globe of perfection was gone. She wiped her hands on a damp cloth, now smiling as though he had conquered not only Rome, but Athens, as well. He had forgotten those tiny dimples on her cheeks. He sighed as his stomach growled again, beginning the forgotten work of handling solid nourishment. He could not hold his eyes open another minute, dropping back into sleep, despite the distraction of fingers brushing the hair from his forehead.

END OF EXCERPT

Amazon http://amzn.com/B00BNETIG4

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In this passage from historical romance Unbidden, the heroine endures a journey in the unexpected snow as her villainous brother-in-law kidnaps her to Bavaria. Since many of us are feeling the effects of holiday spending, I offer this first book in my series for FREE. Treat yourself to a warm, sensual read with a classic hero and a feisty heroine.

EXCERPT

Snow began to fly on the third day, setting up a night of misery. Rochelle couldn’t help but imagine how different it would be if David were curled behind her. She wondered if he slept safe in their bed. The thought of that chilled her as much as the weather, that he might be ensconced at Alda while Doeg dragged her across the empire. Her thoughts preyed on her. She swung the gamut of imagining him healthy or dead or every possibility in between. Healthy meant he’d sent her away from him, her home, and their marriage. Injured or dead meant Doeg had finally succeeded at whatever nefarious motivation drove him. If that was the case, however, what did he want from her now?  For what purpose would he kidnap her?  Exhaustion eventually stemmed the wild flow of her thoughts, letting her sleep.

A wet covering of snow as deep as the horses’ fetlocks coated the ground by morning. The further east they traveled, the more remote the surroundings became.

Doeg announced heartily, “We will pass Eichstadt today. Tonight we sleep in a hut, and by tomorrow we should arrive at Atrum Calx, if the snow does not slow us down too badly.” He’d become less arrogant, perhaps even a bit cautious with her of late. He acted like someone who had belatedly realized his own blunder, finding himself set on a track he could not leave.

“What will you do with me there?” Rochelle asked cautiously, trying to make out his purpose.

“I will show you the estate,” he replied, “after you have had a day or so to rest, of course.

The strange answer threw her, but his caring whether she had rest was even stranger. They retreated into the usual uncomfortable silence, only heightened by the muffling effect of the falling snow.

END OF EXCERPT

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Unbidden is not free at these vendors, but still a bargain!

iTunes for 99 cents

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Audible for $1.99

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EXCERPT

He had never heard Lily sing, not consciously. He had never seen Lily dance. Had she ever really laughed in his presence?

They danced for over an hour, carried in the sea of sweaty bodies and injured toes. Theo bought ale and roasted nuts, and they sat on his cloak in the grass watching the chaos, then he pulled Lily back into the fray. When the musicians finally tired and the torches started to sputter out, he had to search in the darkness for his cloak while Lily giggled behind him. He finally found it, probably ruined by grass stains and people tramping on it. He flung it around his shoulders anyway. He took her hand in both of his.

“May I walk you home?” he asked earnestly, like a boy with his first love.

Her smile faded. She stared up at him, her face pale and her eyes wide in the light of the harvest moon.

END OF EXCERPT

What is Vain about? A tailor’s abandoned daughter fashions a vain nobleman’s tunic, finding passion between the neckline and hem as misfortune forces her into his precarious aristocratic world. Vain is book three in the Evolution Series, but stands alone as a story. In fact, I wasted two hours skimming back through Theo and Lily’s story, and decided it is my favorite.

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BLURB

Rochelle of Alda, a feisty Frank noblewoman, expects to continue her industrious life managing her family’s estate. When her emperor summons her to the palace to meet the skilled soldier she is required to marry, Rochelle engages in a battle for independence from David of Bavaria. As her own deceptions multiply, she suspects another of also plotting against their marriage. To her surprise, and too late, David’s passion and patience begin to win her heart. Can their love survive the tangled web of her schemes and the secret adversary David refuses to see?

In this excerpt of David and Rochelle’s first meeting, David has arrived to take Rochelle to the palace for the betrothal, and is dismayed to learn her mother has told her nothing about it.

EXCERPT

David turned his head as the noise from the door escalated, unsure what he expected to enter his life. Given her mother’s shocking hair, he didn’t hold his hopes too high for the girl’s appearance, no matter what Theo said. The need for deception to even get her to Aix did not indicate a particularly biddable personality. Based on the increasingly violent rattling from the latch, she couldn’t even open doors for herself.

He was about to climb the steps to offer assistance when the door finally wrenched open, releasing a storm of muttering about city workmanship and rotten carpentry carried in a whirlwind of deep blue linen. She all but flung herself onto the narrow staircase. Not exactly light of foot nor entirely graceful, she rushed down the stairs, noticing his presence in time to abruptly stop on the bottom step.

She stared at him.

From across the room he could feel the chill of cold caution. Even so, his concern about her looks evaporated. She stood taller than her mother, clear skinned, with eyes of a soft green. The gold circlet on her head held her veil neatly in place, covering what it was intended to cover. An unexpected desire to see the color of her hair shot through him. He could only approximate it from her eyebrows:  not quite brown, but certainly not red either. And her female attributes remained a mystery to him as well, hidden under layers of varying shades of blue, though a heavy gold girdle studded with aquamarines suggested narrow hips.

“Mother?” she queried.

David reluctantly turned to Marian, who, it appeared, had been watching him stare at her daughter. A small smile quirked her lips. Her tightly clasped hands now lay on her chest as if in prayer. She did not find her voice until David cleared his throat expectantly.

“Rochelle!” she said too loudly. “Theophilus, the gentleman who has helped us so much, sent this burly young man to escort ye to yer audience with the emperor. He is called David. A Bavarian, no less!”

David raised his brow at her rather obtuse explanation of his role in the upcoming event. Marian gave him a slight warning shake of her head. Well, if the woman hadn’t the courage to tell this girl the truth of the matter, he certainly did. He didn’t know much about getting along with women, but he guessed that starting his marriage with deception – and necessarily short-lived deception at that – could not be wise.

As he opened his mouth to explain exactly who he was, Rochelle spoke, “I do not see why I need an escort. I found the palace yesterday.”  She lowered herself off the last step and strode toward him with a confident swing of her arms. “But if Theophilus wants to share his guard, so be it.”

Marian bobbed her head. “It was quite thoughtful of him.”

David held up a hand. “I am not Theo’s guard. And did you just suggest you were wandering about the city yesterday, alone?”

Rochelle studied him assessingly. Yes, assessingly was the only word for it and, God help him, she was lovely up close. Her not brown, not red brows arched over green eyes flecked with hazel. A dusting of freckles decorated a thin nose that flared pertly at the nostrils. Her soft pink lips were slightly parted exposing straight teeth.

“Not alone. Our servant, Gilbert, was with me.”

“Gilbert, the bag of bones who opened the door?” David scoffed. “He could not keep a street rat away much less a pack of thieves. From this day forth, you will not leave here without an able-bodied man at your side.”  She smelled nice.

Rochelle placed her hands on her hips, pleasantly outlining a slim waist beneath her clothing. “What has given you the idea you can make pronouncements such as that to me?  I will go where I wish, when I wish, escorted or not, as I wish!”  Her chest heaved a bit and there were breasts under that tunic, he could tell, and damn it when was the last time he’d lain with a woman?  He mentally bridled himself. First, betrothal. Betrothal was the task set before him today. It was time to attend to that task.

He stepped forward, purposely crowding her and letting his hard gaze bore into her fiery eyes, daring her to challenge him. “I will tell you what gives me the right –“

Marian made a strangled sound before finding her words. “Ye should be going!  It will not do to be late to the palace.”

Rochelle eyed first him, then Marian, before backing away to grasp her mother’s hands. “Mother, I do wish you would reconsider. Certainly the nobles have forgotten your circumstances by now. Father would want you to have the honor of meeting Charlemagne’s son.”

Marian laughed a bit shrilly. “No, that is no place for me. Ye shall have the glory today, daughter. Here is your cloak.”  She kept babbling as she closed the gold and aquamarine clasp at the neckline of the pale blue garment. “David will keep you safe. Do as he says, my dear. He is in charge of you today. And possibly tomorrow.”

Rochelle chortled. “Mother, do not be ridiculous. This will be over in an hour or two and then we are going home!  Home, where I also do not require an escort!”  She fixed David with a significant look before she walked to the door, wrenched it open with relative ease, and stepped onto the street without him.

Medieval Monday is a regular feature on this blog. Subscribe today, or stop by regularly to find new historical romance authors.

   

Unbidden

     

Second Love: A Short Historical Romance Story

    

Redeemed

     

Vain 

     

Little Witch: Historical Romance Novella

   

The Evolution Series Bundle

     

My sons have played football since 2006. They are both in high school now, the oldest a junior playing wide receiver and corner for the varsity squad, and the younger getting ready to start his season on the junior high team. The high school program has been struggling for years but we are all sure it is at the turning point now. We have an enthusiastic young coach; supportive assistant coaches; a core group of experienced players who were very successful in the local youth league working alongside newer, much-needed teammates; and a healthy sports booster association that has upgraded the playing and practice facilities. The team has been conditioning since last winter and went to a football camp together this summer.

In a nutshell, they are working hard to succeed. All the pieces are in place.

On Friday night, they lost 55 -14.

The score does not reflect the improvement we see, believe me. But there are still gaps in every aspect of the squad. Tiny failures to execute, all the way from the coaches to the youngest players, from offense to defense, that cost one yard here and a first down there. Small mistakes that add up to 55 points.

Anyone who has ever worked for anything knows this is the nature of any endeavor. Doors keep slamming shut, and you try the next door or you quit. It takes time to build a successful program or product, to get enough experience and volume to achieve success. In the meantime, we have to cling to the moments of brilliance. Cheer for the lineman who made the big defensive play. Scream when those elusive touchdowns ARE made. Notice that the coach is uploading film at 1:00AM Saturday morning: learning, planning, helping his young team to improve.

I’m living this in my life as an author. I published my first book almost two years ago and just put my sixth title out at the end of August. I should be proud of that, in and of itself. Reviews are good, but I couldn’t buy a week’s worth of groceries on what I’m making in a month selling books, especially with two teenaged athletes bellying up to the table every night!

When you are working so hard for that elusive success, little things feel catastrophic, like the rejection from the big expensive advertising site who said my book didn’t fit their needs, then didn’t even HAVE a historical romance in their offerings for the date I requested, as if my book is so bad it can’t even fill an empty slot in their roster.

But other strategies have started working for me. Making the first book in my series permanently free and visiting on a couple of blogs that get a nice stream of traffic has gotten September off to a stronger start than I expected.

So, I keep trying doors. I keep filling gaps in as many aspects of my self-publishing business as I can. I am a team of one. I am coach, player, and booster, lucky enough to have some amazing fans on the sidelines cheering me along. And just like my sturdy boys and their teammates, I’m not giving up.

Author’s note added September 18:  For the next uplifting chapter of the football saga, please visit the blog entry linked here How Badly Do You Want To Win?