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 Merchant's Love again and follows after last week's. A couple of people asked me what Maxen gave Faelen for Midwinter, so I thought I'd share that with you. (I went a bit over six sentences, but I wanted to give you the whole thing.)

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!

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 snippet from The Merchant's Love for you today. In it, Maxen gives Faelen a Midwinter holiday gift.

​“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!

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 snippet for you from The Merchant's Love today. Maxen is taking his younger brothers to a festival celebrating Tournai's Midwinter holiday and getting a little lost in memories.

If you'd like to know more about The Merchant's Love, 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+.

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!

​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 give you the lines directly following last week's snippet from The Merchant's Love this weekend, so you can see how Maxen responds (Hint: denial! To Tristan, and himself). I really enjoyed writing the relationship between brothers Tristan and Maxen in this story, and sort of turning the tables. In The Scholar's Heart, Tristan was one all turned around by his relationship with Etan and Maxen the sensible one. It was fun to see how Maxen would react to his growing feelings for Faelen, and how Tristan would act as his brother.

​Etan probably didn’t know about all the notes Maxen exchanged with Faelen, or he would have told Tristan about that too. “Nothing, or nothing that you’re implying. We’re friends.”

​“Mhmm.”

At Maxen’s look, Tristan shrugged and did a poor job of looking innocent.

Maxen shook his head and muttered, “Someone save me from annoying older brothers.”

“I heard that.”

“You were meant to.” And even with Tristan’s teasing, Maxen couldn’t help taking one more peek at Faelen. 

​

If you'd like to know more about The Merchant's Love, you can find it here. The Merchant's Love and The Dragon's Devotion are still 50% off at Smashwords, but only through the end of the month. Don't miss out!

​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 The Merchant's Love for you today. I've skipped ahead a little. In this scene, Maxen is with his brother, Tristan, and, as they're walking together, sees Faelen at a gathering of courtiers. (Etan is Tristan's husband and Faelen's cousin.) (I went over the sentence limit again—I'm sorry! I thought it was necessary here.)

You can find out more about The Merchant's Love here. Don't forget that The Merchant's Love (along with The Dragon's Devotion) is 50% off at Smashwords through the end of July. 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 following off of last week's snippet from The Merchant's Love. Faelen and Maxen were about to have a picnic. This snippet comes toward the of their lunch. (It's a little longer than it should be, but I thought it was necessary.)

​"Don’t you have to go back to your office?”

​“But we haven’t finished lunch. We still have the best part left. Unless you have to get back to the palace.”

Faelen tilted his head. “What’s left of lunch?”

“Dessert, of course.” With a grin, Maxen retrieved the pastries from the bottom of the basket and unwrapped them to reveal spirals of dough sticky with honey, nuts, and spices. “We should have something sweet, shouldn’t we?”

Faelen’s eyes were wide, and he bit his lip. “I suppose we should.”

Maxen handed over one of the pastries, and Faelen bit into it immediately. The noise he made—a quiet little sound that was almost a moan—hit Maxen like a punch in the stomach. Faelen’s eyes closed as he savored the sugary bite. Would his face look that way if he were lost in pleasure of another kind? The thought flashed like lightning through Maxen. 

​

If you'd like to know more about The Merchant's Love, you can find it here. Both The Merchant's Love and The Dragon's Devotion are 50% off this month over at Smashwords if you'd like to give them a try. 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'm sharing a little more from The Merchant's Love today. This follows not long after last week's snippet. (I went just a bit over six sentences, but they're short!)

If you'd like to know more about The Merchant's Love, you can find it here. All this month, The Merchant's Love and The Dragon's Devotion are 50% off at Smashwords in their big sale. It's a great deal if you want to give them a try. 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 have more from The Merchant's Love for you today. Maxen and Faelen have been writing to each other, but this is the first time they've seen each other since the night they met.

You can find more about The Merchant's Love here. Today is the last day to get The Prince's Consort for 99c (at all retailers), and it's the last day to use coupon code PRIDE for 40% off your order at NineStar Press (where you could buy The Merchant's Love and lots of other great books). Thanks for stopping by and reading!

I thought I'd do one more The Merchant's Love and baked goods post to round out the month, though I will probably end up doing another when the paperbacks arrive. I'm sure I won't be able to resist pretty pictures with the paperback.

Today, I have a white wine bundt cake for you. I had some fun using a fancy bundt pan—and then realized after it was in the oven that I have a castle bundt pan that I forgot about and that absolutely would've been more appropriate, so maybe another cake next time. I really love this cake. The wine gives it a unique flavor, and it smells so good.

Usually I set up a prettier picture, or try to, but it's been not a great week, and that cake wasn't going to last uncut off the cooling rack. So a not so fancy picture this time!

White Wine Cake

3 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar
2/3 cup oil (I used olive, but another vegetable oil would be fine)
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons lemon zest
1 teaspoon lime zest
1 cup white wine (I used pinot grigio, but a different white wine would work too)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon almond extract

Preheat the oven to 350. Lightly grease and flour a 10 cup bundt pan.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar. In a medium bowl, whisk together oil, eggs, lemon zest, lime zest, wine, and both extracts. 

Slowly pour the wine mixture into the flour mixture while whisking constantly. Mix until the batter is smooth and no streaks of flour remain. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then turn it out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Serves 10-12.