All of my books are 50% off at Smashwords this week in their Read an Ebook Week Sale. Now is a great time to grab yourself some fantasy romance cheap!
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All of my books are 50% off at Smashwords this week in their Read an Ebook Week Sale. Now is a great time to grab yourself some fantasy romance cheap!
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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. This month, I'm sharing some snippets from A Harmony of Fire and Earth, the second book in the Elemental Magicae duology. This book picks up right where A Dance of Water and Air ends (if you don't want spoilers, proceed with caution!). Arden and Edmund have reached relative safety in Edmund's home kingdom and are preparing for their wedding, but as personally happy as they are, they know their countries are still in danger. They believe there is a way to protect them, but they need powerful wielders of Earth and Fire magic to help. Arden sends for two he trusts—Rhys and Briallen—and they bring Gaz, a powerful Fire wielder, with them. Rhys fell in love with Gaz a long time ago, but his friend doesn't know it. And almost no one, including Rhys, knows that Gaz is actually Prince Gareth, Edmund's brother long thought dead and in hiding for his own safety. Gareth agrees to return home to help his brother, knowing that it could put him in danger and destroy the relationship he begins with Rhys along the way. A bit of a random snippet this week. Rhys, Gaz, Briallen, and Meraud are in the middle of their journey, made more difficult because it's winter and very cold and snowy. Rhys has a gift for Gaz to help with the cold.  “I have something for you.” A teasing smile flirted with the edges of Gaz’s lips. “I don’t think we have time for it, but the sentiment is appreciated.” “Ha. Not what I meant. This is for you.” He handed over the bundle. Gaz’s brow furrowed in a frown, but he took the bundle of wool and began unfolding it. Both the scarf and the cap were made of the same soft wool in shades of rich red. Rhys forced himself not to fidget while he waited for a reaction, any reaction at all, from Gaz. “I know you seem to stay a bit warmer than the rest of us, but it’s still bitterly cold. You don’t have a scarf and hat.” Never mind that Rhys had made Gaz a half dozen sets of each and some gloves and other things as well, most of which sat packed away at home, waiting for the day he would give them to Gaz. You can find more about A Harmony of Fire and Earth here. Thanks for reading today and I hope you're staying safe and well.
I have a belated Rainbow Snippet for you today. It should've posted over the weekend...but I didn't manage that! 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 some snippets from A Harmony of Fire and Earth, the second book in the Elemental Magicae duology. This book picks up right where A Dance of Water and Air ends (if you don't want spoilers, proceed with caution!). Arden and Edmund have reached relative safety in Edmund's home kingdom and are preparing for their wedding, but as personally happy as they are, they know their countries are still in danger. They believe there is a way to protect them, but they need powerful wielders of Earth and Fire magic to help. Arden sends for two he trusts—Rhys and Briallen—and they bring Gaz, a powerful Fire wielder, with them. Rhys fell in love with Gaz a long time ago, but his friend doesn't know it. And almost no one, including Rhys, knows that Gaz is actually Prince Gareth, Edmund's brother long thought dead and in hiding for his own safety. Gareth agrees to return home to help his brother, knowing that it could put him in danger and destroy the relationship he begins with Rhys along the way. In this snippet, Edmund and Arden get a look at each other right before their wedding ceremony.  “What?” Without waiting for an answer, he turned, and everything stopped, everything faded away. He wasn’t even breathing. Arden stood in a doorway watching Edmund. He’d managed to combine Thalassa’s current fashions with some from Aither into an icy blue and silver wedding outfit, flattering to his lithe frame, which would surely be copied by tomorrow. Edmund hadn’t had any doubts Arden could bend anything to his will, including this. His copper curls were crowned by a glittering tiara that had been in Edmund’s family for years and yet seemed made for Arden. Arden looked at him with a small, soft smile on his face. He came to Edmund and took his hands. “Breathe, love.” Edmund chuckled with Arden. “Not my fault. Look at you.” “I’m too busy looking at you.” He raised Arden’s hands to his lips. “We’re getting married today.” “Yes, we are.” Arden’s smile was brilliant and open and just for Edmund. He squeezed Edmund’s hands. You can find more about A Harmony of Fire and Earth here. Thanks for reading today and I hope you're staying safe and well!
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 some snippets from A Harmony of Fire and Earth, the second book in the Elemental Magicae duology. This book picks up right where A Dance of Water and Air ends (if you don't want spoilers, proceed with caution!). Arden and Edmund have reached relative safety in Edmund's home kingdom and are preparing for their wedding, but as personally happy as they are, they know their countries are still in danger. They believe there is a way to protect them, but they need powerful wielders of Earth and Fire magic to help. Arden sends for two he trusts—Rhys and Briallen—and they bring Gaz, a powerful Fire wielder, with them. Rhys fell in love with Gaz a long time ago, but his friend doesn't know it. And almost no one, including Rhys, knows that Gaz is actually Prince Gareth, Edmund's brother long thought dead and in hiding for his own safety. Gareth agrees to return home to help his brother, knowing that it could put him in danger and destroy the relationship he begins with Rhys along the way. Since Valentine's Day is this week, it seemed like the perfect time for a first kiss snippet.  Rhys turned to him as they stopped near the stables, just outside the circle of lantern light near the door. He watched Gaz for a moment, nerves making his stomach churn. Could he do this? “And what if what I want to do is kiss you?” Gaz’s indrawn breath was sharp and loud in the quiet of the night. “Do you?” “I do.” “It might not be a good idea.” “I know. But it might be a very good idea too.” Laughing a little, Gaz shook his head. “Do you not want me to kiss you? If so, just say, and I’ll never mention it again.” He silently recited every prayer he knew that Gaz wouldn’t say it. “It isn’t that I don’t want you to. It’s just—” Rhys didn’t let Gaz finish, and maybe that was wrong. He didn’t even consciously make the decision to close the distance—only a step or two—between them and press his lips to Gaz’s. It was a whisper of a kiss at first, light and soft. But Rhys was stunned to be kissing Gaz after all this time. Just that fact was glorious. You can find more about A Harmony of Fire and Earth here. Thanks for reading today and I hope you're staying safe and well!
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 some snippets from A Harmony of Fire and Earth, the second book in the Elemental Magicae duology. This book picks up right where A Dance of Water and Air ends (if you don't want spoilers, proceed with caution!). Arden and Edmund have reached relative safety in Edmund's home kingdom and are preparing for their wedding, but as personally happy as they are, they know their countries are still in danger. They believe there is a way to protect them, but they need powerful wielders of Earth and Fire magic to help. Arden sends for two he trusts—Rhys and Briallen—and they bring Gaz, a powerful Fire wielder, with them. Rhys fell in love with Gaz a long time ago, but his friend doesn't know it. And almost no one, including Rhys, knows that Gaz is actually Prince Gareth, Edmund's brother long thought dead and in hiding for his own safety. Gareth agrees to return home to help his brother, knowing that it could put him in danger and destroy the relationship he begins with Rhys along the way. Here's a bit from the beginning, before Arden gets in touch. Gareth and Meraud, his one-time guard and now friend (she would say she's still his guard too), are in the village tavern.  “Rhys and Briallen just came in,” Meraud said. Gareth looked toward the door without even thinking about it, his eyes seeking out the brown-haired man with the laughing eyes and the bright smile. He snapped his gaze back to Meraud and shook his head. “Stop.” “I only pointed out that people who are the closest things you have to friends, other than me, just arrived.” “Of course it’s all you did.” Maybe it had been her only intention, but Gareth was used to her teasing and pushing him toward men. He resisted every time. He couldn’t see himself forming deep relationships of any kind with such a big secret hanging over his head. He could get away with deflections and vague lies in the kind of polite, superficial relationships he had with people in town. Only Rhys pushed at his resolve. You can find more about A Harmony of Fire and Earth here. Thanks for reading today, and I hope you're staying safe and well.
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 going to share some snippets from A Dance of Water and Air, the first book in my Elemental Magicae series. This book has a demisexual cis m/bisexual trans m pairing. Prince Edmund is informed that he must marry the queen of a neighboring country in an alliance marriage. When he arrives, the queen is distance, but Edmund grows close to and ends up falling in love with her brother, Arden. Then Edmund is accused of attempting to kill the queen, and he and Arden flee. They have to unravel a plot that endangers both of their countries, and find a way to be together too. This is a sweet little moment between Edmund and Arden, a little break from the worrying and strategizing happening after their escape from the palace.  Edmund asked to see more of the house. It was probably just to distract them both, but Arden was happy to show him, both for the distraction and because he was proud of the house, even if it wasn’t quite completed. The structural work was long finished, the floors laid and polished, the walls painted and plastered. “You have hardly any furniture,” Edmund said as they left an empty room Arden envisioned as a study. “But I have books.” Arden gestured to the volumes lining the shelves as they stepped into the library. “That you do.” Edmund stopped just inside and looked around. “I know where your priorities are.” “Of course.” “I like that you filled the library first, and made sure there are chairs to read in.” Edmund walked to the closest set of shelves, but he looked over his shoulder at Arden, eyes soft with affection. It warmed Arden through in a way he was utterly unused to—but he wanted to bask in that affection. “Well.” He struggled for his wits and words. “You have to know what’s important.” Edmund’s laughed tumbled out, threatening to drown him in warm sweetness. You can find more about A Dance of Water and Air here. Next week, I'm going to switch over to the second book in the Elemental Magicae series, A Harmony of Fire and Earth. Thanks for reading and I hope you're staying safe and well.
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 going to share some snippets from A Dance of Water and Air, the first book in my Elemental Magicae series. This book has a demisexual cis m/bisexual trans m pairing. Prince Edmund is informed that he must marry the queen of a neighboring country in an alliance marriage. When he arrives, the queen is distance, but Edmund grows close to and ends up falling in love with her brother, Arden. Then Edmund is accused of attempting to kill the queen, and he and Arden flee. They have to unravel a plot that endangers both of their countries, and find a way to be together too. After walking through the night, they arrive at a house where they can spend some time safely and get their bearings. But the lack of enough beds means sharing...  He could feel Edmund standing just inside the door, looming somehow larger behind Arden. They’d been alone before, but in the darkened bedchamber, it felt different, more intimate. He steadied his hands, which wanted to tremble, and got the fire going. Standing, he turned to face Edmund, who drooped with exhaustion but seemed frozen where he was. Suddenly, the odd awareness didn’t seem so important, or not as important as taking care of Edmund. “The bathing room is through there.” Arden gestured at a door. “It’s probably warmer to change in here, though, for now. Are you sure this is all right?” Edmund seemed to come out of whatever thoughts had held him, or perhaps he’d been asleep on his feet. “Why wouldn’t it be?” Did Edmund not feel what was between them? Arden warmed just thinking about their kiss, and not entirely from embarrassment that he had been so brazen. So inappropriate. But Edmund had kissed him back; he had to feel the same pull that Arden did. Didn’t he? You can find out more about A Dance of Water and Air here. Thanks for reading today, and I hope you're staying safe and well.
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 going to share some snippets from A Dance of Water and Air, the first book in my Elemental Magicae series. This book has a demisexual cis m/bisexual trans m pairing. Prince Edmund is informed that he must marry the queen of a neighboring country in an alliance marriage. When he arrives, the queen is distance, but Edmund grows close to and ends up falling in love with her brother, Arden. Then Edmund is accused of attempting to kill the queen, and he and Arden flee. They have to unravel a plot that endangers both of their countries, and find a way to be together too. I've skipped ahead just slightly for this snippet from last week's. They've gotten out of the dungeon and the castle and are on foot, trying to get away before they're discovered missing.  Their breath puffed in clouds, visible in the sharp cold air. Even with the steady pace they kept to, Edmund was still cold, and he was glad for the foresight of whoever had stuffed a pair of warm gloves in the pocket of his coat. The others had similarly drawn on gloves as they walked, and Arden pulled one of his scarves from a pocket and wound it around his neck. Unlike some of the delicate, beautiful creations he wore, this scarf seemed to be made for warmth before fashion. After a while, the trees thinned again, depriving them of some of the cover they’d been using, but Ciaran and Arden kept them all walking just inside the edge of the forest. Loud barking suddenly split the silence of the night, and they froze. Edmund wanted to turn and run, but he had no idea which way to go. Arden wrapped a hand around his arm, holding him in place. He shook his head and held up his hand to them all, a signal to wait. Then he closed his eyes. A slight breeze stirred the air around Arden and ruffled Edmund’s hair. Edmund had to be crazy, because it felt as if the breeze twined and slid around them, tugging at hair and clothes and something more. Or maybe he wasn’t. Arden had to be pulling on some magic. Edmund waited, frozen in place and barely daring to breathe. Had they been discovered missing already? Had Arden and Ciaran been wrong about the tunnel being forgotten? Were hunters’ dogs about to burst out of the trees and run them down? Peregrine’s eyes were wide and frightened; Edmund held his friend’s gaze as interminable minutes passed. You can find more about A Dance of Water and Air here. Thanks for reading today and I hope you're staying safe and well.
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 going to share some snippets from A Dance of Water and Air, the first book in my Elemental Magicae series. This book has a demisexual cis m/bisexual trans m pairing. Prince Edmund is informed that he must marry the queen of a neighboring country in an alliance marriage. When he arrives, the queen is distance, but Edmund grows close to and ends up falling in love with her brother, Arden. Then Edmund is accused of attempting to kill the queen, and he and Arden flee. They have to unravel a plot that endangers both of their countries, and find a way to be together too. I'm jumping in after Edmund has already been accused. He and his secretary Peregrine and guard Seren have been thrown in the dungeon. But Arden has been scheming to get them out (the kiss is unplanned!).  He had no idea how much time had passed when he heard the scrape of a key in the lock. Seren scrambled to her feet with less than her usual grace, but far more quickly than Edmund expected. Edmund was slower to move on legs gone stiff and cold. He squinted into the light as the door swung open. Seren tensed, as if ready to jump at whoever might come through, never mind how well that had worked before. Two figures crowded into the doorway; Edmund had just realized who they were when one of the men spoke. “Edmund,” Arden gasped. “Are you all right?” “Arden—” Arden rushed forward and pulled Edmund into a kiss, a kiss that tasted of fear and desperation and a brilliant sweetness underneath the rest. The suddenness of it, the impulsivity of Arden’s kissing him in front of others—in a dungeon of all places—froze Edmund for half a second, but then he was kissing Arden back, and he never wanted to stop. Edmund brought his hands up and held on to Arden’s arms with chilled fingers, anchoring Arden’s slim, strong body to his. The feel of it went a long way toward warming Edmund through. You can find more about A Dance of Water and Air here. Thanks for reading today and I hope you're staying safe and well.
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. I thought I'd share a few snippets this month to celebrate the fourth publishing anniversary of A Dance of Water and Air, the first book in my Elemental Magicae series. I wrote this series as a challenge to myself to write a series that would be complete within those two books. (It is, but I'm probably going to write more in this world. Because of course.) In this book, Edmund is a demisexual prince whose father arranges a marriage for him with the queen of a neighboring country to create an alliance. However, Edmund soon finds himself falling for the queen's brother, Arden (who is bisexual and transgender). When Edmund is framed for an attempted assassination of the queen, he and Arden realize there is a lot more going on than they thought, and they go on the run, hoping to figure out a way to save Edmund and their countries and for them to be together. In this snippet, Edmund and Arden demonstrate their magic for each other—Edmund has Water magic and Arden Air, and by this point, they've spent a lot of time in their growing friendship talking about magic.  Arden’s attention was pulled slowly to the river as waves rose—but only in the area in front of them, and only in gentle, even swells. Then the water surged up from the river and swirled in the air, too perfectly to be anything except magic. Watching the even motion was soothing, peaceful. And then everything went back to normal between one blink of the eye and the next. “I wasn’t sure what to do,” Edmund said. “It was lovely.” Edmund smiled, open and honest and almost enough to break Arden’s heart. “Now, you. Show me something.” Arden bit back a teasing, and wholly inappropriate, reply. “All right.” It was hardly work at all to feel the currents of Air around him, to seek out the threads of magic within them. It took barely more than a thought to move the Air, to create the playful little breeze that picked up the colorful leaves and to make it swirl around Edmund, to ruffle his hair and tug at his clothes. Arden wished the sight of Edmund’s sparkling eyes, the sound of his delighted laugh, didn’t give him so much pleasure. You can find more about A Dance of Water and Air here. Thanks for reading today, and I hope you're all staying safe and well.
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AuthorAntonia is a writer and a reader and a copy editor/proofreader. She loves books, travel, art, photography, baking, pasta, and shoes. Archives
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