Category: Rainbow Snippets

Rainbow Snippet January 19-20

1/19/2019

The hour was late when their guests finally left. Amory was tired but not sleepy, his body humming with happiness and anticipation. He settled in what had become their usual place in the sitting room. Philip handed him another glass of wine and sat close beside him. Amory sipped the wine, a crisp white that night, and watched the play of firelight over Philip’s face and glossy dark hair. So beautiful. He gave in to overwhelming temptation and stroked his fingers through all that silky hair. Philip’s eyes closed, and he made a sound close to a purr.

Philip always did that, and Amory was secretly delighted by it. Philip nuzzled into his hand and pressed a kiss to his palm before leaning forward to press another to his lips.

If you'd like to know more about The Prince's Consort, you can find it here. The ebook is 35% off at Dreamspinner right now, and paperbacks of all my Dreamspinner titles are 30% off. Thanks for reading!

4 Comments

Rainbow Snippet January 12-13

1/12/2019

6 Comments

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 that a man like Cathal would kiss like that? 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 learn more about The Artist's Masquerade here. And if you're looking for more books about redheads for Kiss a Ginger Day, check out The Prince's Consort and A Dance of Water and Air too (I write a lot of redheads...). Thanks for reading!

6 Comments

Rainbow Snippet January 5-6

1/5/2019

7 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+.

For the first Rainbow Snippet of 2019, I thought I'd share something from A Harmony of Fire and Earth, which is currently with the copy editor and set to be released by NineStar in March. I shared a snippet a couple of months ago, and this one takes place not long after it. Rhys and his sister Briallen have joined Gaz and Meraud, and they're talking about Rhys and Briallen's travels and wanting to get home before the winter snows strand them somewhere.

“I think it’s going to be the last bit of traveling we do for a while.” Briallen grinned, her eyes taking on a mischievous glint. “Rhys needs to get back to his greenhouses. If we keep him away too long, he pines.”

Rhys sputtered. “Oh, you’re one to talk. I know all you want right now is to get back to your books.”

Briallen shrugged. “I never said I didn’t.”

He rolled his eyes at her and shook his head, but a smile was creeping across his face anyway. He loved his sister, even when she was ridiculous. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Gaz’s lips curving in the smallest of smiles, but there was something sad in his gaze too. Where had that come from? Gaz glanced at him, as if he’d felt him watching, and the sadness disappeared, replaced by his usual inscrutable expression.

More about A Harmony of Fire and Earth soon, but if you'd like to know more about the first book in the Elemental Magicae series in the meantime, you can fine it here. Thanks for reading!

7 Comments

Rainbow Snippet December 29-30

12/29/2018

6 Comments

Finally, the colorful paper fell away to reveal a velvet box. Jewelry? Slowly, he lifted the lid, and gasped. Inside, on a pad of more dark velvet, lay a set of combs. The intricate silver filigree was set with little pearls and sparkling peridots. Faelen didn’t know what to say for a moment. The way he wore his hair wasn’t the fashion in Tournai, but Maxen had given him something he knew Faelen would love. A token perhaps, as were all gifts exchanged at Midwinter, but one he’d use happily.

“Maxen...” Faelen finally looked up to find the worry back in Maxen’s eyes. “They’re beautiful. I love them.”

Maxen’s smile bloomed. “I hoped you would. I saw them and thought of you. You’re always putting your hair up, and I thought these would look splendid in it.”

“Why don’t we see?” Faelen set the box down on a table and reached up to twist his hair back in a loose knot. He picked up one of the combs, slid it into his hair, and did the same with the other, anchoring the mess of curls. He looked up at Maxen through his lashes. “What do you think?”

“I think you’re beautiful, but I thought that the first moment I saw you.”

If you'd like to know more about The Merchant's Love, you can find it here. Also, The Merchant's Love and my other NineStar Press titles are 50% off in the Smashwords sale, so it's a great time to give them a try. Thanks for reading today!

6 Comments

Rainbow Snippet December 22-23

12/22/2018

7 Comments

“Shall I give you your present before the holiday is over?”

Faelen laughed softly. “I think it already is. It’s late, but I won’t turn down the gift.”

Now, Maxen laughed. “I didn’t think you would.”

He held on to Maxen when he would have moved away. “You didn’t have to buy me anything, you know.”

“I know. I wanted to.”

Maxen went to his coat and retrieved a small, brightly wrapped parcel. He handed it to Faelen, looking almost shy. A warm tide of something sweet moved through Faelen at the sight of it. He almost didn’t need to know what it was, just that Maxen had picked it and so obviously hoped he would like it. It was the first time they’d exchanged anything, except for the books, and that wasn’t the same—though Faelen would always treasure them.

You can more about The Merchant's Love here. Thanks for reading today, and if you're celebrating Christmas this week, I hope you have a lovely holiday!

7 Comments

Rainbow Snippet December 15-16

12/15/2018

4 Comments

They didn’t attend all of the entertainments, but they did see the things Thierry and Didier had been excited about. Maxen bought them each a little bag of roasted, sugared nuts almost immediately, and Didier tore into them just as quickly, a grin—the very same as Tristan’s—flashing at the first bite. Thierry seemed to think himself too old to do the same or to skip at Maxen’s side as he used to, but there was a sparkle of excitement in his eyes.

They strolled through the market, watched jugglers and acrobats, and went to one of the puppet shows. Maxen almost missed that he didn’t have to put Didier up on his shoulders anymore, though it had been years. Where had this nostalgia come from? It was hard to resist slipping into it at the holiday. To notice all the differences. His little brothers were growing up. Tristan was married, happily this time, to the man he loved. Father was gone, for only the second Midwinter holiday.

If you'd like to know more about The Merchant's Love, you can find it here. Thanks for reading!

4 Comments

Rainbow Snippet December 8-9

12/8/2018

5 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 giving you a snippet from A Dance of Water and Air today because it (and other trans and nonbinary books) are on sale at NineStar for the next few days. And since we unexpectedly got a little snow today (more than flurries but nothing that stuck), here's a little scene with some snow.

Arden emerged from the bathing room as Edmund opened the curtains, flooding the room with light. A little thrill of delight went through him at the sight that greeted him. “It snowed overnight.”

Arden came up beside him, standing close, and peered out. “Only a coating, but it does look pretty,” he said with a sidelong glance at Edmund, as if he knew Edmund’s childlike glee at the snow. Thalassa got little snow and none this early in the year. “I’m happy it waited until after we arrived. It would have been a cold walk otherwise.”

If you'd like to know more about A Dance of Water and Air, you can find it here, and it's 35% off at NineStar through the 11th if you were waiting to give it a try. Thanks for reading!

5 Comments

Rainbow Snippet December 1-2

12/1/2018

6 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 December—I swear I still think it's October sometimes—so I thought I'd share something sort of seasonal. I haven't written a Christmas story yet, but The Merchant's Love is set in fall/winter and over Tournai's winter holidays. And it's overall a warm and fuzzy kind of book (demisexual bookish royal and bisexual merchant who is awkwardly besotted with him fall in love over books and baked goods), which is what I always want in a story this time of year. So, here's a snippet from The Merchant's Love. (We're in Faelen's point of view.)

He bought a bag of roasted chestnuts from a cart on a corner and kept walking. The bag warmed his hand even through his glove, and the chestnuts were as delicious as he remembered. They didn’t grow in Teilo, but he used to eat them practically by the pound during the winter when he was a child. The treat warmed him inside and out, at least partly from the glow of pleasure and nostalgia.

When he approached the theater, Maxen was coming toward him from the other direction, and Faelen smiled. He kept walking until he and Maxen met, until only inches separated them, and looked up into Maxen’s twinkling eyes.

“Hello.”

“Hello.” A ripple of something—pleasure, amusement, happiness—ran through Maxen’s voice before he dipped down and stole a kiss.

If you've like to know more about The Merchant's Love, you can find it here. You can also get The Merchant's Love (and my other NineStar books too!) 40% off through December 2nd at NineStar with code HOLIDAY2018. Thanks for reading today!

6 Comments

Rainbow Snippet November 24-25

11/24/2018

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+.

I'm working on edits for A Harmony of Fire and Earth, the second book in the Elemental Magicae duology after A Dance of Water and Air, and I thought I would share a snippet from that with you today. Then I had to find one that didn't have lots of spoilers for Dance! This snippet introduces some new characters to you (and I went over the sentence limit again! Sorry!).

Rhys unwound his scarf as he greeted the tavern owner, smiling and laughing at his greeting. He and his sister had been stopping in this tavern every time they were in Alizarin for years, and their work brought them there often, at least to pass through. The inn they preferred was next door, and the food and drink were always good and reasonably priced here. But there was another reason Rhys liked this particular tavern.

He wished he could say he hadn’t looked as soon as he stepped through the door, but of course he had.

Briallen took his arm and drew him over to a table. She seated herself before he could get to her chair, which was certainly her intention; she also left him the side of the table with the better view of the room—also intentional, if he knew his sister. He gave her a wry look, but she only smiled in return.

“He’s here.”

“I’m aware.” Rhys could do nothing but admit it—Briallen would know he lied if he said he hadn’t seen Gaz seated in the corner.

A Harmony of Fire and Earth should be out from NineStar Press in March 2019, which gives you lots of time for the first book in the series, A Dance of Water and Air. If you haven't read it yet, or you need to catch up on any of my books, they're all on sale this weekend! Find them at Dreamspinner and NineStar. Thanks for reading!

2 Comments

Rainbow Snippet November 17-18

11/17/2018

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 have a little more from A Dance of Water and Air for you this week. Edmund has been accused of trying to assassinate the queen and thrown in the dungeon, and Arden is about to help him escape. (I went a little over the sentence limit, but I thought it was necessary this time. Sorry!)

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.

If you'd like to know more about A Dance of Water and Air, you can find it here. Thanks for reading!

4 Comments

<<Previous

Rainbow Snippet January 19-20

Rainbow Snippet January 12-13

Rainbow Snippet January 5-6

Rainbow Snippet December 29-30

Rainbow Snippet December 22-23

Rainbow Snippet December 15-16

Rainbow Snippet December 8-9

Rainbow Snippet December 1-2

Rainbow Snippet November 24-25

Rainbow Snippet November 17-18

Author

Archives

Categories