Blog Archives

Rainbow Snippets May 28-29

5/29/2022

It's weekend, and time for more Rainbow Snippets! 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.

This month, I'm sharing a few snippets from The Artist's Masquerade, which was released two years ago this month by NineStar Press with gorgeous new cover art. I feel like picking favorites among my books is like picking favorite children and I can't do that, but I do adore The Artist's Masquerade and Cathal and Flavian's story. This is an opposites attract romance between the uptight and duty-bound duke's heir and a sharp-tongued artist who is in disguise and on the run. There are also spies and intrigue and magic and an exploration of family. When the book begins, Cathal's father has informed him that he has arranged a marriage for Cathal with a relative of the emperor of Ardunn. When she arrives, Flavian is with her disguised as her female companion and prepared to slip away as soon as possible. Things do not go to plan. And then Cathal is an added complication—he's supposed to marry Flavian's friend (though the marriage was arranged before either of them met) even as attraction explodes between him and Flavian.

“What do you want?” he whispered to Cathal. “What do you need?”

“You.”

Flavian’s breath caught. Cathal had to only mean what he said at this moment, in bed, but staring into Cathal’s eyes, Flavian wanted it to mean more, wanted Cathal to need him for more than the physical.

“You have me,” he whispered back, trying to ignore the fear lancing through him because those words were true. He was Cathal’s. He didn’t know how it had happened or when, but he was. It was terrifying but also...joyful.

You can find more about The Artist's Masquerade here. Thanks for reading today and I hope you're staying safe and well!

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Rainbow Snippets May 21-22

5/22/2022

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Cathal confused him. So much. His heart still beat too fast as he remembered the look in Cathal’s eyes, all simmering heat and impishness. And Flavian liked it, far more than was good for him. He liked other things about Cathal too--flashes of heart and humor that came through at the oddest times, past the outer shell of propriety and rigid adherence to duty. And his smile--not the practiced, polite smile Flavian had seen often, but the real one that had graced Cathal’s lips tonight...it had been beautiful.

You can find more about The Artist's Masquerade here. Thanks for reading today and I hope you're staying safe and well!

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Rainbow Snippets May 14-15

5/15/2022

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It's weekend, and time for more Rainbow Snippets! 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.

This month, I'm sharing a few snippets from The Artist's Masquerade, which was released two years ago this month by NineStar Press with gorgeous new cover art. I feel like picking favorites among my books is like picking favorite children and I can't do that, but I do adore The Artist's Masquerade and Cathal and Flavian's story. This is an opposites attract romance between the uptight and duty-bound duke's heir and a sharp-tongued artist who is in disguise and on the run. There are also spies and intrigue and magic and an exploration of family. When the book begins, Cathal's father has informed him that he has arranged a marriage for Cathal with a relative of the emperor of Ardunn. When she arrives, Flavian is with her disguised as her female companion and prepared to slip away as soon as possible. Things do not go to plan. I've skipped forward a bit for this snippet. Cathal now knows who Flavian is and isn't shy about showing his attraction. (And apparently, I lied last week when I said I would keep to sentence limits this week—I'm sorry!)

“Cathal.” He meant it as warning, protest, but he couldn’t make himself step away. Why was Cathal standing so close to him? A hand came to rest on Flavian’s back, warm and large, fingers drawing slow, caressing circles Flavian felt all the way down to his toes.

He needed to move. He needed to step away from Cathal right this minute and go back to the party where there would be other people and he would be safe from himself. Yet he still couldn’t make his feet move. He just stood, staring up at the lights, while Cathal’s hand moved slowly on his back.

Mesmerizing. The lights swirling and sparkling above them, the slow movement of Cathal’s fingers...the rest of the world faded away. Beautiful though they were, even the lights couldn’t hold his full attention, blurring together in front of his eyes as his focus narrowed to Cathal’s touch. Those strong fingers drawing random patterns up and down his back, the heat of them burning through the layers of fabric separating them from his skin. He tried to make sense of those patterns, tried to anticipate where Cathal would move, but he lost even the attempt in the sensations, the heat shivering through him.

“Flavian...” It was a whisper of sound, and Flavian barely heard it over his own heart beating in his ears.

You can find more about The Artist's Masquerade here. Thanks for reading today, and I hope you're all staying safe and well!

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My April Reading

5/11/2022

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April was a chilly month here that sometimes felt more like winter than spring, but it still seemed to go by really quickly. I did some more rereading, including listening to the audio of The Gentle Art of Fortune Hunting by KJ Charles. The book is delightful, and the audio is excellent. Here are some new to me reads I enjoyed:

Twisted Pretty Things by Ariana Nash: Twisted Pretty Things is the first book in the Shadows of London urban fantasy series. The world building is intriguing and the plot appropriately twisty with secrets, lies, betrayals. I wouldn't say there is a romance in this book, though it feels like maybe a love triangle is being set up...? I'm not a huge fan of love triangles, if that's where this is going, but I'm going to give the next book a try.

What We May Be by Layla Reyne: Ten years ago, Sean, Charlotte, and Trevor were in love and planning a future together, but it all fell apart when Sean left. Now with the FBI, he's back in town helping Charlotte find a killer. I enjoyed this second chance romance/mystery, and I'm excited to hear that my favorite secondary character will be getting his own story.

Caraval by Stephanie Garber: I grabbed Caraval in audio from the library because it seemed intriguing. It's YA fantasy romance and the first book in a trilogy. Scarlett has to navigate the world of Caraval, a game played over multiple nights with a fantastic prize at the end, in order to find her sister and try to keep them both safe from their abusive father—and decide if she can trust a budding romance with someone she meets along the way. The world is dreamy and dark and filled with lies and secrets, twists and turns.

The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes: Another YA audiobook I borrowed from the library last month. I heard comparisons to Knives Out about this book, and I can absolutely see it. In this first book of a trilogy, a teenage girl inherits the estate of a billionaire she's never met. To fulfill the terms of the will, she has to move into his house (filled with secret passages and riddles), where his mostly disinherited family still lives. They see her as a con woman, or a last puzzle left by their deceased grandfather, in the case of the four grandsons, and she decides to play his games to figure out why she's there and stay alive. Despite the absolute presence of a love triangle, I have the second book on hold at the library.

Allow Me to Retort: A Black Guy's Guide to the Constitution by Elie Mystal: I've been meaning to read more nonfiction, and I started with this book, which was fantastic. Constitutional Law always interested me in law school (though you absolutely do not have to be a lawyer/former lawyer to read and understand this book), and with the current state of politics/jurisprudence/everything, this is a very timely book. It's an unflinching and honest look at the history and interpretation of the constitution, but it's also witty and engaging.

What have you read and loved lately?

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Rainbow Snippets May 7-8

5/8/2022

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It's weekend, and time for more Rainbow Snippets! 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.

This month, I'm sharing a few snippets from The Artist's Masquerade, which was released two years ago this month by NineStar Press with gorgeous new cover art. I feel like picking favorites among my books is like picking favorite children and I can't do that, but I do adore The Artist's Masquerade and Cathal and Flavian's story. This is an opposites attract romance between the uptight and duty-bound duke's heir and a sharp-tongued artist who is in disguise and on the run. There are also spies and intrigue and magic and an exploration of family. When the book begins, Cathal's father has informed him that he has arranged a marriage for Cathal with a relative of the emperor of Ardunn. When she arrives, Flavian is with her disguised as her female companion and prepared to slip away as soon as possible. Things do not go to plan. I have another snippet that is far too long, but I thought all of it was necessary for context—I promise I'll do better next time.

Flavian was beginning to feel as if the entire situation was getting out of hand. He hadn’t planned on spending even one night in Tournai dressed as Lady Flavia, and here he was, weeks later, still pretending to be her. And every day, he wondered if this would be the day someone discovered who he really was.

He tried to go unnoticed, to stay out of sight, but doing so wasn’t always possible. Velia insisted he accompany her as a real companion would, so he had to attend court social events. And it became increasingly difficult to fade into the background while at them. Prince Amory, who seemed too kind to be quite real, often tried to include him in conversations, even turning the subject to art since he knew Flavian enjoyed it. Not to mention Prince Amory had taken to showing him some of the palace’s art collection.
And then there was Cathal.

Cathal, who had spent time with him when Prince Amory was delayed and showed every evidence of enjoying the time. Cathal, who tried to dance with him. Cathal, who watched him when he didn’t think Flavian was looking. Cathal, who hardly smiled but was proper and courtly and charming when he wanted to be. Cathal, who was tall and strong and so very handsome.

Cathal, who didn’t know Flavian was a man.

You can learn more about The Artist's Masquerade here. Thanks for reading today and I hope you're all staying safe and well.

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Rainbow Snippets April 30-May1

5/1/2022

2 Comments

It's weekend, and time for more Rainbow Snippets! 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.

Somehow, it's May and both the weekend and last month got away from me...so I'm very late posting this week's Rainbow Snippet, but at least I'm posting one! This month, I'm sharing a few snippets from The Artist's Masquerade, which was released two years ago this month by NineStar Press with gorgeous new cover art. I feel like picking favorites among my books is like picking favorite children and I can't do that, but I do adore The Artist's Masquerade and Cathal and Flavian's story. This is an opposites attract romance between the uptight and duty-bound duke's heir and a sharp-tongued artist who is in disguise and on the run. There are also spies and intrigue and magic and an exploration of family. When the book begins, Cathal's father has informed him that he has arranged a marriage for Cathal with a relative of the emperor of Ardunn. When she arrives, Flavian is with her disguised as her female companion and prepared to slip away as soon as possible. Things do no go to plan. Here is Cathal and Flavian's first meeting. (This is much longer than it should be...I'm sorry!)

The duke introduced him, but Flavian hardly heard any of it. He was too busy looking at Cathal. He was tall. Very tall. Without these stupid heeled shoes, Flavian probably would barely stand as high as his shoulder. Deliciously broad shoulders. In fact, Cathal’s whole body seemed well muscled, thick but not bulky. Flavian could only imagine the lines of those muscles hiding under his fine clothing. The thought made him yearn for a sketchbook or, better, a canvas and paints. He could see the lines of those muscles taking shape on the page...but he would never paint them. He couldn’t even let himself think of painting them.

The rest of Lord Cathal was just as nice. His hair was dark and thick and wavy, well ordered at the moment, but Flavian wondered if that was always true. It had the look of hair with a mind of its own. Cathal’s features were chiseled and quite handsome but set in serious lines. There was an easily identified resemblance to his father, but despite its seriousness, Cathal’s expression seemed to have less rigidity than his father’s. And his eyes...

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, and I hope you're all staying safe and well!

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Rainbow Snippets May 28-29

Rainbow Snippets May 21-22

Rainbow Snippets May 14-15

My April Reading

Rainbow Snippets May 7-8

Rainbow Snippets April 30-May1

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