​​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 week's snippet is from The Dragon's Devotion, which has been out two years as of this week! The Dragon's Devotion is the story of Corentin, a scholar with a secret (he can turn into a dragon...) and Bastien, an earl whose duty weighs heavily on his shoulders. As they fall for each other, Bastien is drawn into an old mystery and a surprising amount of danger, and Corentin is forced to decide if he can reveal his secret to save the man he loves. I thought it only appropriate that we celebrate Bastien and Corentin's anniversary with a snippet from their book.

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

The Dragon's Devotion has been out in the world two years today! In The Dragon's Devotion, we have a scholar with a secret (he can change into a dragon!) falling in love with an earl who feels the weight of his responsibility heavily and puts himself i n danger when he becomes involved with an old mystery. Before this book, I'd been teasing about dragons in the earlier Tournai books—nothing too big and nothing you'd have to know to read this book, but I had so much fun hinting while these characters grew in my head.  Corentin even made a brief appearance in The Scholar's Heart. Dragons were hardly mentioned in The Merchant's Love and the upcoming The Spymaster's Secret, but I've returned to them in the Tournai book I'm currently writing, which features Bastien's brother Griffen. I've always loved dragons and dragon shifters, so it's a lot of fun to write my own (and I have plans for more about them too!).

Today, to celebrate Bastien and Corentin's anniversary, I think we need a giveaway. For the chance to win a copy of The Dragon's Devotion, tell me why you love dragons and dragon shifters. I'll choose a random winner in a week.

Corentin is a scholar with a secret—his magical Talent allows him to turn into a dragon, and he isn’t alone in that ability. Long ago, dragons were hunted fiercely, until they went into hiding, becoming things of legend. Corentin has traveled the world with one aim—to protect his people and keep their secret safe. Drawn to the principality of Tournai by news of someone close to discovering that secret, he hopes to avert suspicion. His attraction to the too-serious Bastien isn’t convenient for his purpose, but it isn’t something he can ignore either.

Lord Bastien, Earl of Ardesia, inherited his title unexpectedly when his parents were killed in a sailing accident along with the parents of his cousin, Prince Philip. Since then, Bastien has devoted his life to the obligations of his family and estate—so much so, that it has caused tension between him and his siblings. His world is further shaken when he receives an anonymous letter informing him that the tragic boating accident may, in fact, have been murder. Bastien throws himself into investigating whether the allegations are true and finding out who killed his parents.

As Corentin and Bastien become closer, the mystery of Bastien’s parents’ death draws him further into danger. Corentin feels compelled to protect Bastien, but the threat is closer than they know. Now, Corentin must decide whether preserving his secret—and potentially his people’s safety—is more important than saving the man he loves.


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Bastien didn't know what he expected—if he expected anything in particular—when Corentin began to use his Talent to change himself into a dragon. Change himself into a dragon—a phrase Bastien never dreamed he’d have cause to think. What a turn his life had taken.

Silver-purple light obscured Corentin’s form, twirling and twining around him and then growing, larger and larger. Expanding up and out, with Corentin hidden entirely in the center of the shimmering radiance. Bastien took a step back, unsure of what would happen, not wanting to interfere. But the light spread no further, only shifted to a steady glow, and, after a moment, began to fade away until it was gone entirely. Bastien blinked against the sudden darkness, with only the soft light of the lantern to alleviate it after the brilliant light of magic. When his vision adjusted, he gasped.

Where Corentin had stood only a moment ago was a large dragon.

Bastien stared, his gaze traveling over the astonishing creature sitting in front of him. The dragon—Corentin, the dragon was Corentin, and he had to remember that or he might be as terrified as he was awed--Corentin was a magnificent sight. He was enormous and sinuous, with a powerful body and a long neck and wings folded over his back. His body, except for his wings, seemed to be entirely covered in scales that glistened in the light from the lantern. In the near dark, Bastien couldn’t tell what color the scales were, and he very much wanted to know. Because Corentin was beautiful, and Bastien wanted to see all of him, to remember this sight forever. This first time he saw Corentin as a dragon.

He looked up, meeting Corentin’s eyes, and opened his mouth to ask about the color of his scales, which was probably a ridiculous question both for its subject and for the fact that Bastien didn’t know if Corentin could talk as a dragon. Could dragons talk? In the stories, they mostly roared and breathed fire, but the stories obviously weren’t correct. Except that dragons did exist.
And he was rambling even in his thoughts.

He nearly laughed at himself, but then he realized how wary Corentin looked. He wouldn’t have thought a dragon, so large and fierce, could look wary, but somehow

Corentin did. Corentin must be worried about his reaction. Could he not see how in awe Bastien was, how beautiful Bastien thought he was? How honored he felt to be trusted with this secret?

Bastien ached to reassure Corentin, to show him he wasn’t afraid. He was as drawn to Corentin the dragon as to Corentin the man. His fingers itched to reach out and touch the dragon’s scales. Bastien took a step forward and raised a hand. He froze and met Corentin’s eyes again. They were focused on him, the light of the lantern reflected in their surface, but Bastien couldn’t tell if they were the same brilliant violet as Corentin’s were as a man. He hoped they were; he suddenly realized how much he loved the color.

“May I?” he asked hesitantly.

Corentin nodded his large head. “Yes, if you like.”

Bastien’s mouth fell open just a bit when Corentin spoke. His voice was even deeper, a rumble that was almost a purr. Slowly, Bastien smiled and laid his hand against Corentin’s side. The scales were hard and silky smooth, and warm. Somehow he hadn’t expected them to be so warm. But there was nothing about Corentin that was ever cold. Bastien found himself stroking Corentin’s side, enjoying the feel of the scales under his hand. Corentin made a sound of pure pleasure and seemed to relax into the soft caresses.

“You are amazing like this.” Bastien let the words out on a breath of air and felt his cheeks flame. 

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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+.

Today, I'm snippeting from The Dragon's Devotion. I thought I'd give you when Corentin first sees Bastien. They're at a mutual friend's wedding reception, at which Corentin doesn't know very many people. His attention is wandering, and he sees Bastien. I went way over the sentence limit. I thought it was necessary, but I'm sorry!

If you'd like to know more about The Dragon's Devotion, you can find it here. It's also 50% off at Smashwords for a few more days, along with The Merchant's Love, A Dance of Water and Air, and A Harmony of Fire and Earth. Thanks for reading today!

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 decided to share a snippet from The Dragon's Devotion today, since I've been spending some time with these characters lately as the book I'm working on is about Bastien's younger brother Griffen. Here is a snippet of Bastien and Corentin's first kiss.

​“Bastien.”

​The word was little more than a whisper, but Bastien turned to him all the same, faint surprise coloring his features. He parted his lips, but whatever he was about to say was lost when Corentin bent and touched his mouth to his in a gentle kiss.

Gentle, yes, but no less stunning for all that.

Bastien made a small sound in his throat, and Corentin feared he might pull away, but he only stepped in closer, bringing one hand up to clutch the front of Corentin’s jacket. Corentin put his hands lightly on Bastien’s hips and continued the caress of his lips over Bastien’s, coaxing reactions out of him with delight, and drowning in the sensations himself. 

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You can find more about The Dragon's Devotion here. And if you like, you can get The Dragon's Devotion (and lots of other great books including the rest of mine) 50% off at NineStar Press with coupon code Narrative0503 through May 17th. Thanks for reading!

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 taking a little break from snippets of A Harmony of Fire and Earth this week. I've been working on another Chronicles of Tournai book (untitled of course, because titles and I do not get along), this one about Griffen who was the brother of Bastien, one of the main characters in The Dragon's Devotion. Which means I've spent some time looking back at that book lately, and I thought I'd share a snippet from it. Here's a conversation between Bastien and Griffen, in which Griffen tries to convince Bastien he doesn't have to be the protective older brother all the time. Bastien tends to take a lot on himself since their parents died years ago and left him with the title and three younger siblings to be responsible for.

You can find out more about The Dragon's Devotion here. The Dragon's Devotion and all of my other NineStar Press titles are 50% off through May 3rd with coupon code Narrative0420. Thanks for stopping by and reading!

Happy anniversary, Bastien and Corentin! The Dragon's Devotion has been out in the world one year today. Can you believe it? I loved writing about these two, the earl carrying the world on his shoulders and the scholar with a secret he has to protect above all else. Watching them become more enmeshed with each other as Bastien gets in over his head with an old mystery that brings a very real danger, and leads us to the question of whether Corentin can reveal his secrets to save the man he loves. And a dragon, of course. A purple dragon. (Personally, I think purple is one of the best colors for dragons.)






​If you haven't read The Dragon's Devotion, here's some more info:

​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's snippet is from The Dragon's Devotion. I wasn't sure what to snippet this week, so I opened the book and picked almost at random. (It's been that kind of week!)

You can find out more about The Dragon's Devotion here. Thanks for reading!

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 week's snippet is from The Dragon's Devotion. Bastien has caught Corentin's attention at a wedding, but he's trying to ignore his interest (see how long he manages that!). Alexander is a cousin of Bastien's cousin (and twin brother to Faelen, whose book The Merchant's Love will be out next month). I've just started to write Alexander's story, but he's already a lot of fun. (I went a bit over the six sentences for this one. Sorry!)

If you'd like to know more about The Dragon's Devotion, you can find it here. Also, the first four Tournai books are 30% off at Dreamspinner through the 31st in case you've missed one. Thanks for stopping by!

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 week's snippet is Bastien and Corentin from The Dragon's Devotion.

Bastien looked up into Corentin’s eyes. The concern there warmed him in an odd way, but it wasn’t what he wanted at the moment. “Distract me.”

Corentin watched him closely for a moment before his lips curved slowly once more. Bastien felt the force of it straight to his gut. “I take it you’re not looking for an engaging conversation.” 

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

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 week's rainbow snippet is from The Dragon's Devotion. (I went a little over six sentences. Sorry!)

​They cut across a small, deserted square. Their footsteps were loud on the paving stones, the only other sound the peaceful burble of the fountain in the center. As they came up beside the fountain, Corentin stopped. Bastien took a couple steps before he realized and turned, their arms stretched between them, hands still linked. Corentin’s face was in shadow, and Bastien frowned.

“Corentin?”

Corentin gave Bastien’s hand a gentle tug, pulling him a step closer, and then another.

“Corentin, what—?”

He came up against the solid muscle of Corentin’s chest. He let out a little huff of air, and then Corentin’s lips were on his. 

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The Dragon's Devotion is 50% off right now at Smashwords (today is the last day!), and you can find out more about it here. Thanks for reading today!