The Rainbow Snippets group on Facebook asks its members to share six sentence snippets from their work each weekend. Check out the group's Facebook page to read all the snippets and add lots of great books to your TBR. You'll find all sorts of books with the common thread that the main character identifies as LGBTQ.
I'm switching over to sharing some snippets from The Artist's Masquerade this month. Cathal is cousin to the crown prince of Tournai and son of a royal duke, and is absolutely shocked when his father tells him he has arranged a marriage for him with a relative of the emperor of Ardunn, who has for some time wanted to add Tournai to his empire. A dutiful son, Cathal goes along with the betrothal despite his misgivings, but when his bride arrives, finds himself more interested in her companion, Flavia. What he doesn't know is that Flavia is really Flavian, an artist fleeing the empire in disguise as his friend's companion. He never expected to have to keep up the charade for so long, but complications keep getting in the way. Cathal and Flavian are pulled reluctantly closer and closer, tumbling into love and trust, but the situation—Cathal's betrothal, spies infiltrating Tournai, secrets and lies—is stacked against them. I've skipped ahead slightly again. This week's snippet is a moment between Cathal and Flavian, as Cathal sits with Flavian while he draws.
They lapsed into silence then, and a few minutes later, Flavian began to sketch again. At first, he drew haltingly, glancing at Cathal sideways, but Cathal forced himself to stare out at the sea, and soon Flavian relaxed--Cathal could see it in the lines of his body and the way his hand flew across the page, confident and sure. As Flavian appeared to lose himself in the drawing, Cathal gave in to temptation and allowed himself to study Flavian surreptitiously.
Flavian drawing was yet another facet of the man Cathal was becoming far too fascinated with. Flavian drawing was calm and focused and more open. Seeing him this way made Cathal want to see more, learn more, discover more of who Flavian was. Cathal shouldn’t have come to Flavian, he knew it before, and he knew it now. He should be at the side of the woman he had to marry, not becoming even more fascinated by the prickly man masquerading as her companion.