Category: The Merchant's Love

Rainbow Snippets December 4-5

12/4/2021

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!

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Rainbow Snippets November 27-28

11/27/2021

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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.

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.

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Rainbow Snippets October 16-17

10/17/2021

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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+

This week's Rainbow Snippet is from The Merchant's Love. I often call The Merchant's Love a warm hug in book form. It's the story of a bookish royal and a merchant who is immediately besotted with him becoming friends and falling in love over books and baked goods (while dealing with family drama and intrigue and a bit of magic gone wrong). I was looking for another autumnal snippet because The Merchant's Love takes place from autumn into winter, and I remembered this scene in which Maxen invites Faelen out for a picnic after quite a while exchanging letters. This snippet isn't explicitly autumnal, but it seemed right.

And then every thought went out of his head when he saw Faelen walking toward him.

Faelen was just as lovely as he’d been at the wedding. Maxen almost thought he’d exaggerated it as he’d read Faelen’s words. As if Faelen’s intelligence and wit had bled over into how Maxen saw him in all ways, and maybe it had, and maybe that was all right. Whatever the reason, Faelen was more and more appealing in Maxen’s eyes.

He wore rich sapphire blue, the coat velvet and fitting close to his slender form, the shade heightening his dramatic coloring. The wind had brought a slight flush to his ivory cheeks and sent a few curls dancing around his face, escaping from where they’d been pulled back. He smiled when Maxen raised a hand to greet him, an almost shy curve of his lips that Maxen immediately adored.

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

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Rainbow Snippets August 28-29

8/28/2021

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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's snippet is from The Merchant's Love. I always call this book a warm hug in book form because it's the one in which a bookish royal and the merchant utterly besotted with him fall in love over books and baked goods. It also overlaps a bit with The Dragon's Devotion, which I shared a snippet from last week—apparently I just wanted to make timeline headaches for myself—and Faelen and Maxen in this book meet at the same wedding that Bastien and Corentin did. Maxen sees Faelen during the wedding ceremony and is immediately fascinated. Faelen is demisexual and doesn't experience the same immediate attraction, but he does enjoy their eventual conversation that night. Here is Maxen's first sight of Faelen.

His attention was drawn almost instantly to a man seated in the second row. He was pale, his skin like porcelain, with large eyes the green of peridot. His face—an uncanny mix of pretty and sensual—was framed by dark hair that blazed red in the room’s light, falling in soft curls nearly to his shoulders. Maxen could see nothing else of the man, but what he saw pulled at him, and it was so strong, so unexpected, it took his breath. He’d never felt an attraction so sudden; he could do nothing but stare as time spun away from him.

Abruptly, the man seemed to sense his regard, his gaze snapping over to meet Maxen’s, giving him no time to look away. The unusual green eyes widened, but he didn’t look away for long moments—long moments when Maxen heard nothing but the pounding of his heart in his ears. And then the man looked away, severing the connection and leaving Maxen floundering.

You can find more about The Merchant's Love here. And you can also get 40% off this book and my others with code ABQPRIDE at NineStar Press through August 31st. Thanks for reading, and hope you're staying safe and well!

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Rainbow Snippets June 12-13

6/12/2021

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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+

This week, I'm sharing the first lines of The Merchant's Love. I've often described this book as a warm hug in book form—it's the story of a bookish royal and the merchant besotted with him from the start falling in love over books and baked goods. There's some magic gone wrong and some family drama, but overall, this is a pretty warm and fuzzy book. Here's Faelen (aforementioned bookish royal) returning home to Tournai.

In the last decade since his father was appointed ambassador to the kingdom of Teilo, Faelen had been on the grounds of Tournai’s royal palace three times, if he included today. The relief, happiness, and utter sense of home flooding through him as soon as he stepped off the boat had been shocking in its intensity, but not surprising otherwise. Sometime in the middle of the journey, he’d been hit with the bone-deep certainty that he needed to be back in Tournai. He’d mentioned it to Alexander, who admitted feeling the same—which Faelen was happy to hear from his twin, even if it did make the whole thing stranger.

He tried not to dwell on it, which was made a bit easier because of his discomfort that they were arriving unannounced and uninvited.

You can learn more about The Merchant's Love here. And it's currently 50% off at NineStar Press with code PRIDE2021, along with my other books.

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Rainbow Snippets April 10-11

4/10/2021

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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+

This week's first kiss snippet is Faelen and Maxen from The Merchant's Love. I've often called this book my warm hug in book form because that's what it feels like to me. Faelen is a demisexual, bookish royal cousin, and Maxen is the bisexual commoner merchant who becomes completely (and awkwardly) besotted with them. Surrounded by meddling family (some helpful, some very much not), they fall in love over books and baked goods...and deal with a bit of magic gone wrong. This week's snippet is much longer than it should be—I'm sorry! I just thought this kiss needed the set up, but feel free not to read the extra!

Faelen just looked at him for a couple of moments and then took a breath. “I want to kiss you.”

Maxen froze. He wasn’t even sure he breathed for a moment. Had he heard what he thought he had? Had Faelen said...? He stared at Faelen, who looked as surprised as Maxen felt and just a bit dismayed. That was enough to help Maxen shake off his paralysis. “Faelen?”

“I probably shouldn’t have said that.”

“But you meant it?”

“Yes.” It was a breath of sound, which became stronger. “Yes.”

Maxen watched him for another moment. “Then you should do it.”

Faelen drew in a sharp breath. “Maxen?”

“If you want to, you should kiss me.”

Faelen was utterly still as they stood in silence. Then he moved, slowly coming closer to Maxen. He reached out almost carefully and rested his hands on Maxen’s shoulders lightly and then more firmly. His hesitance did something to Maxen, a swirl of emotions he couldn’t quite put name to, except for the sudden need to protect, but he stayed still, letting Faelen do as he would. Finally, Faelen stretched up and brushed his lips lightly over Maxen’s.
It was barely a kiss, but it was devastating nonetheless—and not just, it seemed, for Maxen. Faelen blinked up at him owlishly and bit his lip, a flush staining his ivory cheeks.

“Fae.” Maxen cupped Faelen’s cheek in his hand. “Are you all right?”

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

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Read an Ebook Week Sale!

3/7/2021

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All of my books are 50% off in the Smashwords Read an Ebook Week sale through March 13th. You can find them all here. Go grab some books!

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Autism Awareness Blog Hop & Giveaway

4/16/2020

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I'm honored to be a part of RJ Scott's Autism Awareness Blog Hop this year. This month, authors will be posting facts about autism to increase understanding and awareness, and there will be some giveaways along the way too. Find links to the other posts here.

Today's autism fact: Autism is NOT a disease.

The theme of this year's hop is Food. Maybe it's my Italian heritage, maybe just something about my personality, but, for me, food has always been a way to show care. If you come over or I visit you, I will try to feed you. I love cooking for people and baking for them. With the world turned upside down as it has, I'm not cooking and baking for others the way I always did (and I look forward to when I can again), but I've been cooking for me—all my favorite comfort foods (lots of pasta!)—and I've been baking. Baking is one of my favorite hobbies—something I do for others, yes, but also something I do for fun and distraction. And right now, something I do to relieve anxiety and stress. My freezer is becoming seriously stocked with baked goods, though I've also eaten more than I should...

I'm sharing my favorite brownie recipe with you here. These are delicious, chocolatey and fudgy and chewy. They're also gluten free, and—important for those of us conserving flour right now—flourless. And pretty easy to make.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsalted butter
2 oz. dark chocolate, chopped
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1/2 chocolate chips (technically optional, but I like the added chocolate. Sometimes I also add a little cinnamon or some finely chopped fresh mint if I have it in the summer)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8x8 inch pan with aluminum foil and lightly grease.

Melt butter and chocolate together in a small microwave-safe bowl (or use a double boiler). Stir until smooth, and allow to cool slightly.

In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, cocoa powder, and cornstarch. Add in the butter mixture and whisk until well combined. Whisk in the vanilla and salt. Whisk in the eggs one at a time. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Pour into the prepared pan. Bake for 30-33 minutes, until the brownies are set around the edges. All to cool completely in the pan before slicing.

Makes 16 brownies. (Or fewer if you like really big brownies, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that!)

For a chance to win an ebook of The Merchant's Love, my fantasy romance in which a bookish royal and merchant fall in love over books and baked goods, tell me in the comments below what your favorite dessert or baked good is.

About The Merchant's Love:

Faelen, cousin to the prince and son of a diplomat, has finally come home to Tournai after years away. The pull to return was almost tangible, and the sense of rightness at being back is absolute. He wants nothing more than to put down roots and build a life among family while pursuing his linguistic studies. Becoming involved in magic meant to protect Tournai isn’t part of his plans…and falling in love is even more unexpected and unfamiliar, but he finds himself doing just that as his friendship with Maxen deepens into something more.

Maxen, second son of a wealthy merchant family, longs to leave Tournai and visit everywhere he can. All his life, he’s found places on maps and dreamed, planning out routes to get to them. For now, he’s tied to Tournai’s capital city by family obligations and his position in their shipping business. Someday, though, he’ll be able to travel. His sudden attraction to Faelen shocks him, but their friendship soon becomes a necessary part of his life. Love, however, has no place in his plans, especially not love for a royal cousin with secrets who wants nothing more than to stay in one place.

For Faelen and Maxen to build something real between them, they must resolve their differences, but when magic goes awry and all Faelen’s secrets are revealed, will Maxen remain at his side?

Take care and stay safe, everyone!

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Rainbow Snippet February 15-16

2/15/2020

5 Comments

He leaned over and retrieved Maxen’s book from the floor, turning it to read the title. “Oh, this is new, isn’t it? What do you think so far?”

Maxen hadn’t gotten more than a few pages in, as distracted as he was, and he’d only bought the book that day. “I’m enjoying it so far. I bought you a copy too. I was going to send it to you tomorrow.”

Faelen turned to him, surprise and pleasure in his eyes. It was a small enough gift, but from the look on Faelen’s face, it was as if he’d brought him diamonds or something equally valuable. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Maxen ached so much to kiss him in that moment as the firelight teased out the red in Faelen’s hair and reflected in his large, wide eyes.

You can find out more about The Merchant's Love here. The Merchant's Love and all of my other books are 40% off at NineStar Press this weekend with code Valentines40 if you'd like to give one a try. Thanks for reading today!

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Rainbow Snippet December 28-29

12/28/2019

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+.

It's the last Rainbow Snippet of 2019—how did that happen?? I'm finishing out the year with another snippet from The Merchant's Love, my warm and cozy fantasy romance set over Tournai's winter holidays. In this snippet, Maxen is walking his younger brother home from school and goes into a shop to look for a Midwinter gift for Faelen. (It's too long again. I'm sorry! I really do promise to do better next time!)

The shopkeeper wasn’t gone more than that before he came back with a tray containing a glittering array of hair ornaments. He began explaining each piece but was called away almost immediately. Maxen accepted his apologies, happy to be left alone to look in peace. Well, as alone as he could be with Thierry hanging over his shoulder.

Maxen picked up a little silver comb. “Hmm.”

“Do you have a sweetheart? Is that who the gift is for?” Thierry piped up from behind him.

“I...I suppose I do.” He hadn’t ever thought of Faelen in those terms. “Who is she, then?”

He twisted to look at his brother. “His name is Faelen.”

Thierry’s eyes went wide. “Then why are you looking at hair combs?”

“Because he wears his hair long, and he likes them.” Maxen had
noticed that when Faelen did something with his hair other than leaving it loose, he seemed to have a fondness for combs and clips with fanciful work to them, some made of silver that stood out in his rich dark hair.

“Oh. All right.” Thierry turned to the tray and seemed to study it with interest. “What does he like? What is he like? You haven’t mentioned him.”

You can find more about The Merchant's Love here. You can also buy The Merchant's Love and all of my other books 50% off at Smashwords through January 1st. Thanks for reading today!

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