Antonia Aquilante
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Rainbow Snippets November 5-6

11/6/2022

1 Comment

 
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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.

​I'm sharing snippets from The Spymaster's Secret over the next few weeks to celebrate the book's third birthday. The Spymaster's Secret is an opposites attract romance between a flirtatious, outgoing royal with hidden depths and an older, serious widowed father with very mysterious work. Which our young royal is quite curious about. And you know what they say about curiosity. Last week, I shared a snippet from Alexander and Faelen's preparations for the masquerade ball. This week, I thought I would give you a glimpse at the ball itself...and Alexander's flirtation with Marcus there.
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Alexander tilted his head as he contemplated Marcus. “What is it? What are you thinking?”

​
Marcus needed to divert Alexander away from his actual thoughts. Because he couldn’t tell him, not when Marcus had been trying to avoid those feelings. Before he could find the words, Alexander’s eyes darkened, something coming into them as he watched Marcus steadily. His lips curved more, just a hint of a seductive smile, and Marcus shook his head immediately in denial.

“Alexander.”

His smile didn’t falter at Marcus’s quietly voiced admonishment. If anything, it grew. “Marcus.”

His name in that low, teasing tone rippled through him, leaving heat in its wake. “We can’t do this.”
Alexander’s eyes widened behind the mask, before he lowered his lashes to veil them. “I didn’t ask you to do anything. But maybe I will now.”

“Alexander.”

He ignored the repressive tone again. “Dance with me.”

“You—you want me to dance with you?”

“We are at a ball.” Those peridot eyes glittered flirtatiously. “At balls, 
people dance. I enjoy dancing. I think I might enjoy it very much with you.”

You can find more about The Spymaster's Secret here. Thanks for reading today, and I hope you're staying safe and well!
1 Comment

Rainbow Snippets October 29-30

10/30/2022

1 Comment

 
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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.

​I'm sharing snippets from The Spymaster's Secret over the next few weeks to celebrate the book's third birthday. The Spymaster's Secret is an opposites attract romance between a flirtatious, outgoing royal with hidden depths and an older, serious widowed father with very mysterious work. Which our young royal is quite curious about. And you know what they say about curiosity. With Halloween tomorrow, I thought I would share a snippet from the closest thing I have to a Halloween scene—a masquerade ball. In this snippet, Alexander and his twin, Faelen, are getting ready for the masquerade. They've dressed alike—Alexander's idea. He wants to make a little good-hearted mischief...though he has other reasons too.
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Tonight was a masked ball though. Everyone would be in disguise.
 They would dress in finery and cover their faces with fanciful masks and dance the night away. Why shouldn’t he and Faelen have a little fun?

Their clothing was identical down to the smallest detail of the rich, emerald-green velvet jacket and pants, the gold embroidered shoes. Alexander had insisted they put their hair up, securing it with gold combs, to disguise the slight difference between them. Their masks were exactly the same as well--intricate gold and green half masks with green- dyed feathers and a single white silk rose on the right side. They were secured with glossy green ribbons. Yes, Alexander was pleased with the effect. They looked wonderful, and no one would be able to tell them apart.

“Why is it the point?”

“Don’t be so serious! Just think of people’s faces when they don’t know who they’ve seen or how one of us can be in two places at once.” Alexander grinned. “You know it’s going to be fun.”

You can find more about The Spymaster's Secret here. Thanks for reading today, and Happy Halloween!
1 Comment

Rainbow Snippets October 22-23

10/22/2022

1 Comment

 
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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.

​I'm sharing snippets from The Spymaster's Secret over the next few weeks to celebrate the book's third birthday. The Spymaster's Secret is an opposites attract romance between a flirtatious, outgoing royal with hidden depths and an older, serious widowed father with very mysterious work. Which our young royal is quite curious about. And you know what they say about curiosity. This snippet occurs early on in the book. Marcus is trying very hard not to be interested Alexander, the prince's cousin, but Alexander has no reservations about displaying his own interest, much to Marcus's confusion.
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A laugh shattered the quiet and brought Marcus’s attention fully back to his surroundings. As he approached an intersecting corridor, the two young men he’d been thinking of came around the corner. They were nearly identical in appearance with the same shade of dark hair that glowed red in the light, the same ivory skin and peridot eyes, the same delicate features, an intriguing mix of pretty and sensual. Their differences were slight, but perfectly apparent with a moment’s study. Alexander was slightly taller, and Faelen’s hair fell in loose curls while Alexander’s was a tumble of waves.

​
He’d made a point of finding out which of them was which. And not because of the way Alexander had looked at him the one previous time he’d been in their presence.

The way Alexander looked at him now. Curious with a spark of something more.

Alexander had been the one laughing, a joyful, delighted sound that made Marcus want to smile. He forced himself not to, forced his face to remain bland and pleasant and unremarkable. Forced himself to ignore the little lurch, the punch of attraction when he looked into Alexander’s eyes.

He had to.

Those eyes sparkled. “Good morning, Lord Marcus.”

You can find more about The Spymaster's Secret here. Thanks for reading today, and I hope you're staying safe and well!
1 Comment

Rainbow Snippets September 4-5

9/4/2021

4 Comments

 
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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 sharing a snippet from The Spymaster's Secret, the story of Alexander, a flirtatious, mischievous royal with hidden depths, and Marcus, an older widower who does very mysterious work for the crown. Plus family, magic, spies, and shenanigans at a masquerade ball. Alexander and Marcus have seen each other only once before the beginning of this book, though Marcus has made it a point to learn about both Alexander and his twin Faelen (because of the afore-mentioned mysterious work). Here is the first time they see each other in this book.
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​A laugh shattered the quiet and brought Marcus’s attention fully 
back to his surroundings. As he approached an intersecting corridor, the two young men he’d been thinking of came around the corner. They were nearly identical in appearance with the same shade of dark hair that glowed red in the light, the same ivory skin and peridot eyes, the same delicate features, an intriguing mix of pretty and sensual. Their differences were slight, but perfectly apparent with a moment’s study. Alexander was slightly taller, and Faelen’s hair fell in loose curls while Alexander’s was a tumble of waves.

​
He’d made a point of finding out which of them was which. And not because of the way Alexander had looked at him the one previous time he’d been in their presence.

The way Alexander looked at him now. Curious with a spark of something more.

Alexander had been the one laughing, a joyful, delighted sound that made Marcus want to smile. He forced himself not to, forced his face to remain bland and pleasant and unremarkable. Forced himself to ignore the little lurch, the punch of attraction when he looked into Alexander’s eyes.

He had to.

You can learn more about The Spymaster's Secret here. Thanks for reading, and I hope you're all staying safe and well!
4 Comments

Rainbow Snippets June 19-20

6/19/2021

6 Comments

 
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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 sharing the first lines of The Spymaster's Secret. This next book in the Chronicles of Tournai is the story of Alexander, a flirtatious royal with hidden depths, and Marcus, a mysterious older widower. It's an opposites attract romance plus spies, intrigue, and magic.The book begins in Marcus's point of view. I went over six sentences because it seemed to need it.
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​“What do you have to tell us, Lord Marcus?”


Marcus sat in one of the chairs across from the pair of desks in the princes’ private office and contemplated Prince Philip. The crown prince had the look of his father and something of his manner, a commanding presence he had probably cultivated since birth. He had the dark hair and classically handsome features of the men in the royal family and the bred-in-the-bone care for this country. Which Marcus had a feeling he might have thrown over in a heartbeat for the man beside him. Prince Consort Amory was shorter and fair with large dark eyes and curling auburn hair. He hadn’t been born into royalty or even nobility, but he’d adapted to his role far better than most of Tournai’s nobility had anticipated. Marcus knew quite well what each noble family thought of the marriage, just past its third anniversary, although the princes had never asked him for the information.

You can find out more about The Spymaster's Secret here. Also, The Spymaster's Secret (along with my other books!) is 50% off this month at NineStar Press with code PRIDE2021. 
6 Comments

Rainbow Snippets April 17-18

4/17/2021

5 Comments

 
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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 snippet is Alexander and Marcus's first kiss in The Spymaster's Secret. Alexander is a flirtatious royal cousin with hidden depths, and Marcus is an older widower with very mysterious work. It's an opposites attract romance with spies, intrigue, and magic thrown in. And some shenanigans at a masquerade ball...which brings us to their first kiss at that ball. (Alexander speaks first in this snippet.)
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​“Will you kiss me?”


Marcus watched him for one breathless moment before reaching up and removing his mask. He moved slowly, deliberately, toward Alexander and stretched a hand out to cup his cheek. Alexander leaned into that big hand and let his eyes flutter shut on a sigh. He wanted more, but being touched this way was lovely. He wouldn’t mind much more of it too.

“Alexander.” His name came out quietly, a breath of sound that struck Alexander as resigned more than anything else.

Before he could open his eyes to look at Marcus, to try to see what he was feeling, Marcus’s lips were on his. It wasn’t a sweet kiss. It was too demanding, too greedy for sweetness. As if Marcus wanted everything from Alexander in that one moment. And Alexander reveled in it.

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

Read an Ebook Week Sale!

3/7/2021

0 Comments

 
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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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Rainbow Snippet February 22-23

2/22/2020

6 Comments

 
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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 have a snippet from The Spymaster's Secret for you.
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​They lingered over kisses
--long, luxurious kisses that spiraled out around Alexander, leaving him almost dizzy with them. He had no idea how long they kissed and lazily touched, holding each other close and reveling in the feel of skin on skin, but it was long enough for Alexander to feel heavy and drugged on the pleasure of those kisses. Finally they slowed, then stopped, and Marcus settled at Alexander’s side, gently gathering him close and tugging the blankets up over them.


The care in the gestures had Alexander’s chest going tight. He wasn’t used to it in his affairs, but he didn’t care to examine that tonight. What he wanted to do was snuggle in even closer and let sleep pull him under, warm and safe in Marcus’s arms.

You can find out more about The Spymaster's Secret here. Thanks for reading today!
6 Comments

Rainbow Snippet February 1-2

2/1/2020

2 Comments

 
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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+

Does anyone else feel as if January lasted six months yet also flew by in about ten seconds? Just me? All right. It's February 1st (finally or already), and I'm diving into the New Jersey Romance Writers' JeRoWriMo challenge today, trying to write 30k words this month and hopefully jump start my writing on a new book. It's also the first Rainbow Snippet of the month. Today I have a snippet from The Spymaster's Secret for you.
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​Alexander was beautiful and vibrant--he drew other people to him, and Marcus wasn’t immune—but it didn’t mean every man he was with was a lover or potential lover. And really, Marcus had no right to be jealous or possessive now. He and Alexander had shared a few kisses, although the description paled in comparison to what they’d actually felt like, and were going to have dinner. Which, well, Marcus was almost positive would end with them in bed together. But he had no claim on Alexander, and he shouldn’t want one. His life was not conducive to having a lover, especially one like Alexander. He shouldn’t even be looking at the young royal.

​
Knowing that didn’t stop him from anticipating their dinner.

You can find more about The Spymaster's Secret here. Thanks for reading today!
2 Comments

Rainbow Snippet November 30-December 1

11/30/2019

7 Comments

 
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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+.

I'm going to back to The Spymaster's Secret for a snippet this weekend before I switch off to other things. This follows directly after my snippet from two weeks ago in which Alexander and his twin, Faelen, are getting ready for a masked ball and dressing alike. (I went a little over the sentence limit—sorry!)
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Their clothing was identical down to the smallest detail of the rich, emerald-green velvet jacket and pants, the gold embroidered shoes. Alexander had insisted they put their hair up, securing it with gold combs, to disguise the slight difference between them. Their masks were exactly the same as well--intricate gold and green half masks with green- dyed feathers and a single white silk rose on the right side. They were secured with glossy green ribbons. Yes, Alexander was pleased with the effect. They looked wonderful, and no one would be able to tell them apart.

“Why is it the point?”

“Don’t be so serious! Just think of people’s faces when they don’t know who they’ve seen or how one of us can be in two places at once.” Alexander grinned. “You know it’s going to be fun.”

Faelen shook his head, but he was laughing. Trying to stifle it, but laughing. “Only you would decide this would be the most amusing way to spend a ball.”

“Well, I also plan to dance quite a bit. Perhaps flirt some.” Marcus’s face floated up in Alexander’s mind but he blinked the image away.Marcus would be at the ball--his name was on the guest list anyway, and unless something catastrophic happened, it was an assurance he’d attend.

“With anyone in particular?” Faelen fixed him with an arch look.

You can read more about The Spymaster's Secret here. And through Monday December 2nd, The Spymaster's Secret and my others books are all 40% off at NineStar Press with code BLACKCYBER.
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    Antonia is a writer and a reader. She loves books, travel, art, photography, baking, pasta, and shoes.

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