Category: Rainbow Snippets

Rainbow Snippets January 15-16

1/15/2022

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.

I have another wintry snippet for you this week, this one from A Harmony of Fire and Earth, which follows A Dance of Water and Air in the Elemental Magicae series. Gaz is a wielder of Fire magic with dangerous and Rhys is an Earth wielder who has been his friend and in love with him for quite some time. They get pulled into a risky magical undertaking, and all those secrets come out and danger and conflict follow. But in this snippet, none of that has happened yet, and the two men are sharing a first kiss on a snowy night.

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!

3 Comments

Rainbow Snippets January 8-9

1/8/2022

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.

Today, I'm sharing a snippet from A Dance of Water and Air, the first book in my Elemental Magicae series about two princes who must find a way to save both their kingdoms from a plot against them, and hopefully find a way to be together too. I thought about this series because it happens in winter, and we just got snow here. So, a snippet of A Dance of Water and Air involving snow, which is something Edmund sees little of in his home country.

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.

4 Comments

Rainbow Snippets January 1-2

1/2/2022

3 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.

Happy New Year, everyone! For our first snippet of 2022, I have more from The Merchant's Love. I haven't written a holiday book yet, but The Merchant's Love begins in autumn and runs through the winter holidays in Tournai. I often call this book—the story of a bookish royal and the merchant who is besotted with him falling in love over books and baked goods—a warm hug in book form, so I thought I'd share some snippets from it. And as the festive season draws to a close, I thought I would give you one last snippet, continuing on from last week in which Maxen is giving Faelen a Midwinter gift. (I went over the sentence limit, but I really wanted to finish out this bit...I'm sorry!)

Maxen cupped his cheek, stroking his thumb over it lightly. “Just open it.”

Faelen turned his head and kissed Maxen’s palm. Then he began to carefully work the wrapping free. He could tell Maxen was smiling without looking at him, but Faelen had always been deliberate in opening presents. Not that Faelen wasn’t eager to know what this package held—he just liked the anticipation.

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.”

You can learn more about The Merchant's Love over here. Thanks for reading today, and I hope 2022 brings you health and happiness.

3 Comments

Rainbow Snippets December 25-26

12/26/2021

1 Comment

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 more from The Merchant's Love for you today. I haven't written a holiday book yet, but The Merchant's Love begins in autumn and runs through the winter holidays in Tournai. I often call this book—the story of a bookish royal and the merchant who is besotted with him falling in love over books and baked goods—a warm hug in book form, so I thought I'd share some snippets from it. In this snippet, Maxen is giving Faelen a Midwinter gift.

Maxen pressed the parcel into Faelen’s hands. “I hope you like it.”

Faelen wouldn’t tell him he was sure he would because he’d only sound as if he were saying what Maxen wanted to hear, but Faelen would like it just because it was the first gift Maxen had given him at a holiday. Instead of saying anything, he turned his attention to the package. It wasn’t very heavy. He resisted the urge to shake it.

Maxen laughed. “Are you trying to guess?”

“Maybe?” Faelen grinned up at him.

You can learn more about The Merchant's Love here. Plus, you can get The Merchant's Love and my other books 50% off at Smashwords through January 1st. Don't miss out on a great deal! Thanks for reading today, and I hope you're staying safe and well. And if you celebrate, I hope you had a lovely Christmas.

1 Comment

Rainbow Snippets December 18-19

12/18/2021

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 have more from The Merchant's Love for you today. I haven't written a holiday book yet, but The Merchant's Love begins in autumn and runs through the winter holidays in Tournai. I often call this book—the story of a bookish royal and the merchant who is besotted with him falling in love over books and baked goods—a warm hug in book form, so I thought I'd share some snippets from it. In this snippet, Faelen is walking through the city on his way to meet Maxen, thinking about the holiday.

He strolled into the city as dusk fell, coat fastened and gloves on against the cold. The streets were bustling even now, some people rushing in and out of the shops finishing their errands for the holiday. He’d purchased gifts already—little things, as that was what his family had agreed upon. Maxen’s gift had been difficult for him to choose, but he hoped Maxen would like it.

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.

You can find more about The Merchant's Love here. The Merchant's Love and my other books are all 50% off in the Smashwords end of year sale through January 1st, so it's a great time to grab them. Thanks for reading today, and I hope you're staying safe and well.

4 Comments

Rainbow Snippets December 11-12

12/11/2021

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.

I have more from The Merchant's Love for you today. I haven't written a holiday book yet, but The Merchant's Love begins in autumn and runs through the winter holidays in Tournai. I often call this book—the story of a bookish royal and the merchant who is besotted with him falling in love over books and baked goods—a warm hug in book form, so I thought I'd share some snippets from it. This snippet happens just a little while after last week's—Faelen and Maxen's plans to leave the Midwinter fair early have been foiled by the arrival of Faelen's twin, Alexander, (being overprotective) and their cousin and friend. So the group is now watching performances in the square. I went over the sentence limit—I'm sorry!

At the front of the line, they ordered the cider, and Maxen paid before Alexander could offer. They split the cups between them and worked their way through the thickening crowd. When they returned to the others, it was to find Faelen looking anxious and Meriall standing on a bench.
Maxen glanced up at her and then back at Faelen, frowning.

“She couldn’t see well enough,” Adora supplied, as if that explained everything. Adora came closer to relieve him of two of the cups, keeping one and handing the other up to Meriall. Maxen had meant to give one to Faelen, but Alexander was already doing that.

“Have we missed anything good?” Maxen asked, not really directing the question at anyone, but watching Faelen, trying to silently reassure him all was well. He absolutely would not complain about Alexander to Faelen, would not let any of his annoyance show. Maxen understood why Alexander felt the way he did, even if he wished he’d been straightforward with him.

“Just the jugglers,” Faelen said and smiled slightly.

“They’re still going,” Meriall added.

“Should you be up there? Etan won’t be happy with me if you fall.” Maxen said it with a smile, but he was mostly serious.

She laughed. “It’s a bench. I’m not standing on a roof. You’re not responsible for me anyway. I am.” A look of mischief came into her eyes. “Though Alexander brought us out here, so I think I’d blame him if anything happened.”

Alexander let out what could only be called an indignant squawk, and Faelen laughed, a delightful sound, full of mirth and a little teasing at his twin’s expense. Maxen smiled just hearing it. Faelen looked at him, the laughter in his eyes softening, blurring into something else, some quieter joy.

You can find out more about The Merchant's Love over here, and you can get it and my other books 40% off with coupon code NARRATIVE40 at NineStar Press through December 18th. Thanks for reading today, and I hope you're all staying safe and well!

7 Comments

Rainbow Snippets December 4-5

12/4/2021

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 have more from The Merchant's Love for you today. I haven't written a holiday book yet, but The Merchant's Love begins in autumn and runs through the winter holidays in Tournai. I often call this book—the story of a bookish royal and the merchant who is besotted with him falling in love over books and baked goods—a warm hug in book form, so I thought I'd share some snippets from it. In this snippet, Faelen and Maxen are still enjoying the Midwinter festival...

Maxen turned to him and handed him a pastry drizzled with honey and studded with dried fruit and nuts.

Faelen took a bite and made a little noise of pleasure. When he’d swallowed, he looked up to find Maxen watching him. “What is it?”

“Just trying to stop myself from abandoning the market to drag you to bed and see if I can get you to make that noise for reasons other than pastry.”

Faelen’s breath caught even as his cheeks heated. Cursing his fair skin, he bit his lip and stared into Maxen’s eyes. “Why don’t you?”

Maxen sucked in a sharp breath. “And if I said I’d like to see if you taste better than the pastry drizzled in honey?”

Faelen’s eyes flew wide. Well, that was...interesting. “Is that meant to make me refuse?”

For a moment, Maxen just stared at him. “Do we have anything else we have to see here?”

Faelen didn’t even think about it. “No.”

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

2 Comments

Rainbow Snippets November 27-28

11/27/2021

3 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.

As we get into the holiday season, I wanted to share some snippets that are appropriate for the season. I haven't written a holiday book yet, but The Merchant's Love is begins in autumn and runs through the winter holidays in Tournai. I often call this book—the story of a bookish royal and the merchant who is besotted with him falling in love over books and baked goods—a warm hug in book form, so I thought I'd share some snippets from it. In this snippet, Faelen and Maxen are on their way to the city's Midwinter festival, but Maxen has been dealing with some family issues and Faelen wants to distract him.

He bit his lip. “Will you let me distract you for a while, then?”

A slow smile curved Maxen’s lips. “What did you have in mind?” “Well, I think we’ll go to the festival, and I’ll drag you around the market and to all the entertainments and ply you with sweets.”

“I thought I would be the one plying you with sweets, Fae.”

Faelen narrowed his eyes and glared at Maxen, but inside he thrilled at the pet name and that Maxen’s eyes had some of their sparkle back. “Last I checked, you weren’t indifferent to them either. Now, the change of plan is that instead of staying out as long as we’d planned, I would drag you back to your house and up to bed.”

Maxen’s gaze went hot, the sweep of it over Faelen’s body almost a tangible thing, making him shiver. “And what will we do when we get there?”

You can find out more about The Merchant's Love here. And you can get The Merchant's Love and all of my other books 50% off at NineStar Press with code BLACKCYBER through Monday November 29th.

3 Comments

Rainbow Snippets November 13-14

11/13/2021

3 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 another snippet from The Envoy's Honor this weekend, to celebrate its one year anniversary this past Tuesday. The Envoy's Honor is an adversaries to lovers story between Kirill, an envoy from a far off land trying to protect his people, and Griffen, son of an earl and cousin to the prince trying to protect his family. The two are on opposites sides of a dispute, until a murder and a nefarious plot cause them to have to work together. And there are dragon shifters, which makes everything more fun. This snippet picks up directly after last week's.

“Do we need to fully trust each other for that?” Griffen asked finally. He ignored how little he wanted another meaningless affair or tumble with someone he didn’t know well, didn’t see a future with. He ignored how much he wanted more than he’d had in the past. Because he wanted to feel Kirill against him again more than anything at that moment.

“To kiss? Maybe not.” Did something wistful flit over Kirill’s face, or was it only a trick of the dim light? Griffen wanted to ask, to find out somehow what Kirill was feeling behind the mask he wore, but he couldn’t. Kirill had said he didn’t entirely trust Griffen. “Maybe not.”

Kirill went quiet again and watched Griffen for another moment. Then it seemed he came to some sort of decision. He stepped forward, closing the remaining distance between them. He hesitated a fraction of a second, as if checking to make certain Griffen wouldn’t object, and then brought his lips to Griffen’s.

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

3 Comments

Rainbow Snippets November 6-7

11/6/2021

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.

Today, I'm sharing a snippet from The Envoy's Honor, which will have been out in the world for one year on Tuesday. The Envoy's Honor is an adversaries to lovers story between Kirill, an envoy from a far off land trying to protect his people, and Griffen, son of an earl and cousin to the prince trying to protect his family. The two are on opposites sides of a dispute, until a murder and a nefarious plot cause them to have to work together. And there are dragon shifters.

“I still don’t entirely trust you,” Kirill said abruptly.

The words hit Griffen with the force of a sharp blow, and he only just managed to keep himself from wincing. But was his reaction truly fair? Did he entirely trust Kirill? No...but he wanted to, and he wanted Kirill to trust him even more. Which was probably the most ridiculous part.

“I don’t entirely trust you either.”

Kirill didn’t flinch. In fact, he only nodded slightly, and Griffen expected him to turn and go right then, but he didn’t do that either.

“I shouldn’t want to kiss you again,” Kirill said.

“But you do.” Griffen didn’t make it a question. “I want to kiss you too.”

They stared at each other for another moment in the deepening shadows of the garden.

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

2 Comments

<<Previous

Rainbow Snippets January 15-16

Rainbow Snippets January 8-9

Rainbow Snippets January 1-2

Rainbow Snippets December 25-26

Rainbow Snippets December 18-19

Rainbow Snippets December 11-12

Rainbow Snippets December 4-5

Rainbow Snippets November 27-28

Rainbow Snippets November 13-14

Rainbow Snippets November 6-7

Author

Archives

Categories