Antonia Aquilante
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Rainbow Snippets April 29-30

4/30/2023

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​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.
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​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.

You can find more about The Artist's Masquerade here. Thanks for reading today!
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Another Late Rainbow Snippet

4/24/2023

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I'm late again with this week's Rainbow Snippet, after a busy weekend (one of these days I will manage to plan ahead properly again!).
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​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. After their kiss in last week's snippet, Cathal now knows who Flavian really is and tells his cousin, Prince Philip. Which leads to a serious discussion.
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​"You love who you love, Cathal.”

​​
“I never said anything about love.” The protest was immediate and vehement. Attraction certainly, but he wasn’t in love with anyone and never had been.

“Say caring then. Connection? Feelings of some kind, because if this was just desire, you would have put it aside like you have every other attraction to a man before this. I’m sure there were some.”

“Of course there were.” Fleeting, momentary attractions ignored without another thought. “But it doesn’t matter now.”

“It does, because I want you to be happy. I want you to have more than a life of duty and responsibility. I want you to have love.” Philip gripped Cathal’s arm, his gaze boring into Cathal.



You can find more about The Artist's Masquerade here. Thanks for reading!
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Rainbow Book Fair

4/17/2023

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I'm going to be selling and signing books at Rainbow Book Fair in New York City this Saturday. You can find more information about the book fair here. If you're in the area, come see me! 
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Rainbow Snippets April 15-16

4/16/2023

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​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 this week to Cathal and Flavian's first kiss—complicated by the fact that Cathal doesn't yet know who Flavian really is (though that's about to change) and is still supposed to marry someone else.
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​Flavian froze, his mind going utterly blank the instant Cathal’s lips 
touched his.

​
Because Cathal was kissing him.

Cathal was kissing him. Flavian never, ever, expected it to happen, or for it to be like this. A passionate, uninhibited kiss with Cathal’s firm body pressing against his, pushing him into the unyielding surface of the door. Who would have thought a man like Cathal would kiss like this?

And for an instant Flavian drowned in it
—the feel of Cathal’s smooth lips on his, the firm grip of his hands on Flavian’s waist--as Cathal devoured him.
But then reality came back in a flood. “We can’t do this.”

You can find more about The Artist's Masquerade here. Thanks for reading today!
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Rainbow Snippets April 8-9

4/9/2023

2 Comments

 
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​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. In an extremely late snippet last week, I shared Cathal and Flavian's first meeting from Flavian's perspective. This week's snippet is in Cathal's point of view but still during that first meeting.
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​He could have let someone else help Flavia into the carriage. He could have found some reason to step away after helping Velia in. He 
should have let someone else help her. But Cathal didn’t want to. He wanted to know if the heat of their first touch had been an anomaly or if it would happen again.

​
Flavia looked at the hand he held out to her as if she wasn’t sure why he was offering it, but an instant later, she shook her head and smiled, taking his hand. The smile was charming and unexpected; the feeling when they touched was the same as earlier. Something that might have been dismay darkened her eyes. It matched what he felt himself.

You can find more about The Artist's Masquerade here. Thanks for reading today!
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My March Reading

4/5/2023

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Happy April, my darlings! I hope March treated you well and brought you many books you loved. Here's what I read last month:

The Tarot Sequence and The Eidolon by KD Edwards (urban fantasy with m/m romance): This series has been on my radar for a while, and I finally binged through the three books that have been released in the main series plus the first book in the related Magnus Academy series in audio. And loved them. And now must wait as patiently as I can for the next book in the series because I need to know what happens. I don't read much urban fantasy—I'm always looking for more romance and more character development. While I would have loved more page time for the romance in this series (because it's wonderful), I adore the characters and their dynamic with each other and the found family they build through these books. As the series continued, the world building deepened and plot twists popped up, and very much need to know how certain things are going to be resolved!

The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen by KJ Charles (historical m/m romance): I cannot tell you how excited I was for a new KJ Charles book, and it absolutely lived up to all my expectations. Gareth and Joss had a brief affair in London, which left them both hurt and bitter. Just as it ends, the heartbreakingly lonely Gareth finds out his estranged (and frankly horrible) father has died and left him property and the title of baronet, so he goes out to Romney Marsh to claim it. He doesn't expect to meet Joss again there (and their reunion does not go so well!). Joss is an incredibly overworked smuggler and head of a smuggling family (sort of—everyone is afraid of his mother, who I could not stand, and who asserts her authority to incredibly poor results), who has nothing for himself alone. The romance between the two is lovely and sweet, and the shenanigans and mystery they find themselves involved in are absorbing and twisty.

Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree (cozy fantasy with f/f romance): I am very excited for this newish (or maybe new to me?) sub-genre of cozy fantasy—low stakes, cozy vibes, fantasy. (I think my The Merchant's Love would count as cozy fantasy, though I didn't know that's what I was writing five years ago!) Anyway, Viv is an orc who has decided to leave behind a life of fighting and adventuring to open the first coffee shop the city of Thune has ever had. And that's what happens. Along the way, she makes connections and creates a lovely found family (and there is a sweet slow burn romance going on mostly in the background) while dealing with some obstacles that pop up in her way. The characters are wonderful (Thimble must be protected at all costs!), and the descriptions of baked good will make you hungry. I adored this book.

Heart Haunt Havoc by Freydis Moon (horror/paranormal with trans m/nonbinary romance): If you know me, you know that horror is very much not my thing. This skirted right up to the line of what works for me and what would make me put the book in the freezer. An exorcist is hired by a witch to cleanse their haunted house of ghouls and ghosts. In the process, Colin uncovers secrets that Bishop, the owner of the house, would prefer remain hidden, and they stumble into a romance. There's a lot packed into this short novel. Examinations of love and grief, complicated relationships with religion. The descriptions were vivid and the writing atmospheric. The romance was almost gentle and soft, and gave the impression that the characters fit perfectly.

​What have you read and loved lately?
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An Extremely Late Rainbow Snippet

4/4/2023

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The weekend got away from me again, so I'm sharing a very late Rainbow Snippet!
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​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. This snippet is from the beginning of the book when Cathal and Flavian first meet.
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​Flavian nearly jumped to find himself the focus of Lord Cathal’s 
unusual gold eyes. Flavian had been so engrossed in studying the man that he must have missed the formal introductions making it around to him.

​
“Lady Flavia.” Cathal’s voice was deep and smooth, and Flavian shivered just hearing it. But the shiver was nothing compared to the heat flaring inside him when Cathal took his hand to bow over it. The heat rushed through his body and left him biting back a gasp. No. Not good. He could not be attracted to Cathal of all men.

You can find more about The Artist's Masquerade here. Thanks for reading today!
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    Author

    Antonia is a writer and a reader and a copy editor/proofreader. She loves books, travel, art, photography, baking, pasta, and shoes.

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