Category: Elemental Magicae Duology

Rainbow Snippets October 1-2

10/2/2022

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.

Happy October, all! And with October 1st comes the publishing anniversary of A Dance of Water and Air (out in the world for four years!). I thought I'd share a few snippets this month to celebrate. A Dance of Water and Air is the first book in my Elemental Magicae series, which I wrote challenging 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 his secretary are traveling to meet Edmund's intended bride.

They climbed upward—rolling hills becoming higher and steeper, air that had been pleasantly warm on the coast taking on the chill of autumn, leaves that had still been green at home changing to red and rust and gold. Edmund’s first sight of the mountains pulled a gasp from him; he might have been embarrassed if Peregrine hadn’t done the same.

It looked like a painting, and so different from home he almost ached looking at it. The castle towered above the capital city, shooting up from the rock of the mountains, white towers gleaming in the moonlight as they reached toward the sky. As the carriage rattled through the empty nighttime streets, stone buildings silent and dark around them, Edmund kept his eyes on the bright white of the castle, seized by a sudden burst of fear as reality came crashing down upon him. This was to be his home?

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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Rainbow Snippets August 6-7

8/7/2022

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Edmund snagged his hand as Arden walked by and gently tugged him in and close. He paused a hairsbreadth from kissing Arden, giving Arden an opportunity to step away. As if Arden would. He closed the slight distance and touched his lips to Edmund’s. He’d meant it to be a light kiss, playful and sweet and quick, but when he tasted Edmund, he sank into the kiss, burying his other hand in Edmund’s hair and holding on.

When they finally, reluctantly, pulled back from each other, Arden’s head was spinning. He’d always enjoyed kissing, but with Edmund, he never, ever wanted to stop. He blinked up at Edmund, waiting for his scattered thoughts to settle. Edmund was quiet too, watching Arden with wide, dark eyes. Finally, Arden leaned forward and nuzzled into Edmund’s neck for just a moment.

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!

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Pride Month Sale!

6/4/2022

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NineStar Press is having a big sale this month. Lots of books, including all of mine, are 40% off. Go get some reading for Pride Month and beyond!

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Rainbow Snippets January 29-30

1/29/2022

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“I thought you might like some chocolate.” She came to him and leaned against the edge of the desk, handing him a steaming mug.

“Breaking into the precious stores?” he teased.

“The snowy day seemed to call for it.” She sipped from her own cup.

“We’re going to have a lot of them.”

“I know.”

He laughed softly and settled deeper into the worn cushions of his chair, breathing in the scent of the rich chocolate. There were memories in the scent—of childhood with his siblings, of winters since with Meraud in Aither’s cold. He couldn’t decide if he wanted to revel in them or turn away, and he didn’t much like that he was getting maudlin. He took a drink from his mug instead.

“Everything all right, Gareth?”

He glanced up at her, hating the concern in her eyes. He’d seen too much of it in the months and years at the beginning of their flight from Thalassa. He didn’t want it now.

You can find more about A Harmony of Fire and Earth here. Thanks for reading today, and I hope you're all staying safe and healthy (and warm, if you're also dealing with this storm!).

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Rainbow Snippets January 22-23

1/22/2022

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Gareth stared out the window at the falling snow. Fat, soft flakes drifted down from the gray sky, coating bare tree branches and making everything look like a painting, stark and beautiful. This early in the season, he could appreciate the beauty of it, before biting wind and ice made it more painful than anything else, and he wouldn’t want to leave the cottage if he didn’t absolutely have to. Even today, he was content to sit and watch it accumulate, see the little pile against the window glass begin to grow.

He’d been working, reading through a book he’d been sent by a Fire wielder from Damek he’d trained with briefly with a request for his comments, but though the book’s theories were interesting, nothing was holding his attention today. If he were honest with himself, he’d admit his attention had been lacking for a while now. Since the night before Edmund’s wedding. Since the night Rhys had kissed him.

But Gareth wasn’t ready to be quite so honest.

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!

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Rainbow Snippets January 15-16

1/15/2022

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Gaz’s lips were soft and still under his. Then he made a little noise and stepped into Rhys, bent just a bit, and the kiss became something more. Rhys clutched at Gaz’s hips, slim beneath the thick coat he wore. He wished they didn’t have coats and gloves between them—he wished they didn’t have anything between them. But there was something magical all the same about a kiss in the winter night, stars above them, fresh snow beneath their feet, crisp, cold air nipping at them. Even the bite of the cold disappeared after a moment. He didn’t want the kiss to end, and if his mind was working properly, he would be thinking of somewhere they could go alone for more kisses.

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!

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Rainbow Snippets January 8-9

1/8/2022

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Edmund turned back to the window. Snow was indeed falling lightly to the ground. An almost childlike delight filled him. He’d thought the view beautiful before, but with the softly falling snow and the hushed stillness it brought, it was perfect, like a painting.

“I love that smile.” Arden’s whisper startled Edmund, and perhaps Arden too if his widened eyes were anything to go by.

“What?”

Arden bit his lip. “The way you smiled when you saw the snow, as if you took such joy in the simple sight of it. I wish I could see you smile that way more.”

Find out 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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Smashwords End of Year Sale!

12/17/2021

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It's that time of year again—the Smashwords End of Year sale started today! There are so many books on sale, including all of mine. My books are all 50% off at Smashwords through January 1st, so if you haven't read any of them, now is a great time to pick them up. Happy reading!

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Rainbow Snippets October 9-10

10/9/2021

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When they arrived at the border, they were met by a contingent of Aither guards who joined them for the rest of the journey. Edmund’s own guards would see him safely delivered to the castle and then return home, leaving him on his own but for Peregrine and one personal guard. The sense of vulnerability and exposure was odd and unfamiliar—he’d spent his whole life surrounded by guards loyal to his family and kingdom. The idea of not knowing whether he could trust anyone made him uneasy. Logically, he knew they had to protect him, if only to protect their own queen and the alliance she’d made. But it was little comfort, especially with a looming threat to Thalassa.

He found some distraction when the landscape began to change. They climbed upward—rolling hills becoming higher and steeper, air that had been pleasantly warm on the coast taking on the chill of autumn, leaves that had still been green at home changing to red and rust and gold. Edmund’s first sight of the mountains pulled a gasp from him; he might have been embarrassed if Peregrine hadn’t done the same.

You can find more about A Dance of Water and Air here. Thanks for reading, and I hope you're all staying safe and well.

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Rainbow Snippets September 25-26

9/25/2021

4 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+

I'm sharing a snippet from A Harmony of Fire and Earth today, the second book in my Elemental Magicae series. It continues the story of Edmund and Arden from A Dance of Water and Air and their quest to save two kingdoms. Edmund and Arden marry in A Harmony of Fire and Earth, but this book includes a new romance between Rhys, an Earth wielder who has been enamored of his friend Gaz for years, and Gaz, a reclusive Fire wielder with secrets that have kept him from acting on his own attractive to Rhys. Rhys and Gaz met long before the beginning of the book, but in this snippet, Rhys remembers their first meeting, prompted by his sister Briallen questioning him about whether he'll ever let Gaz know how he feels.

Briallen shook her head. “Are you ever going to say anything to him?”

“I say things to him all the time. Every time I see him, in fact.”

She narrowed her eyes. “You know what I mean.”

“I do. I’m just not sure why you’ve chosen to say it now.” He’d met Gaz for the first time four years ago and wanted him in his bed from the moment Gaz opened his cottage door. Rhys could still see him in that moment, a tall, lean man with light brown skin and wary dark eyes, wavy hair tipped in the fiery red signifying his Element and the glint of silver at his ears. But Rhys didn’t jump into bed with men he’d just met, and Gaz hadn’t indicated he’d want to anyway. Other feelings on Rhys’s part had followed over the years. He still wanted Gaz in bed, but he wanted so much more as well.

“Because it’s been years.” Briallen’s voice pulled him from the memory.

You can find out more about A Harmony of Fire and Earth here. Thanks for reading today and I hope you're all staying safe and well.

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