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.
In April, I'll be sharing snippets from The Artist's Masquerade. The Artist's Masquerade is my second book, published back in 2015 (and rereleased in 2020 with its pretty new cover). This book is the story of Cathal, a royal duke's heir who has spent his entire life doing what is expected of him by his father, putting aside his own needs and wants to do so. When his father tells him that he has to marry—and that his father has chosen his bride for him—Cathal goes along with it but then finds himself far more fascinated by his intended's companion, Flavia. What Cathal doesn't know is that Flavia is in reality Flavian, an artist in disguise and on the run from a bad situation in his home country. His friend—Cathal's intended bride—came up with the ruse to disguise him as her companion and smuggle him out of the country so he can disappear into a new life. Only everything doesn't quite go as planned, and Flavian finds himself trapped in his role and pulled into intrigue. I'm jumping in at the beginning of Chapter 7 with Flavian and Cathal's first kiss. Cathal doesn't know Flavian's real identity yet, but he soon will. I'm picking up directly after last week's snippet.
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.
In April, I'll be sharing snippets from The Artist's Masquerade. The Artist's Masquerade is my second book, published back in 2015 (and rereleased in 2020 with its pretty new cover). This book is the story of Cathal, a royal duke's heir who has spent his entire life doing what is expected of him by his father, putting aside his own needs and wants to do so. When his father tells him that he has to marry—and that his father has chosen his bride for him—Cathal goes along with it but then finds himself far more fascinated by his intended's companion, Flavia. What Cathal doesn't know is that Flavia is in reality Flavian, an artist in disguise and on the run from a bad situation in his home country. His friend—Cathal's intended bride—came up with the ruse to disguise him as her companion and smuggle him out of the country so he can disappear into a new life. Only everything doesn't quite go as planned, and Flavian finds himself trapped in his role and pulled into intrigue. I'm jumping in at the beginning of Chapter 7 with Flavian and Cathal's first kiss. Cathal doesn't know Flavian's real identity yet, but he soon will. I'm picking up directly after last week's snippet.
“We can’t do this.”
Flavian tried to speak clearly, but the words were lost in the kiss. He brought his hands up and braced them against Cathal’s shoulders, trying to push Cathal away, but Cathal was strong and, well, Flavian’s traitorous body wasn’t trying its hardest. The kiss was so good; Cathal’s body against Flavian’s felt so good.
But he couldn’t. They couldn’t, not only because Cathal was betrothed to Flavian’s friend but also because Flavian wasn’t what Cathal thought. He wasn’t a woman as Cathal thought he was. And if Cathal found out Flavian was a man, it would be disastrous for him and for Velia. That last was what finally galvanized him to push harder against Cathal’sshoulders. He still wondered if he was really trying to push Cathal away— he couldn’t do anything to make Cathal think he was a man, but he needed to do something more than mumble into the kiss and push at Cathal, especially when half the time his fingers tried to curl into the fabric of Cathal’s clothing. Flavian couldn’t let it happen, couldn’t let Cathal find out.
Cathal tore his mouth from Flavian’s. “Flavia?”
Flavian shook his head to clear it. For an instant, relief flooded him. Then he felt it against his hip, even through the layers of Cathal’s clothing and Flavian’s skirts—Cathal’s hardening member—and if he could feel it, then Cathal could feel him. “Cathal—”
“Who are you?”
Flavian tried to speak clearly, but the words were lost in the kiss. He brought his hands up and braced them against Cathal’s shoulders, trying to push Cathal away, but Cathal was strong and, well, Flavian’s traitorous body wasn’t trying its hardest. The kiss was so good; Cathal’s body against Flavian’s felt so good.
But he couldn’t. They couldn’t, not only because Cathal was betrothed to Flavian’s friend but also because Flavian wasn’t what Cathal thought. He wasn’t a woman as Cathal thought he was. And if Cathal found out Flavian was a man, it would be disastrous for him and for Velia. That last was what finally galvanized him to push harder against Cathal’sshoulders. He still wondered if he was really trying to push Cathal away— he couldn’t do anything to make Cathal think he was a man, but he needed to do something more than mumble into the kiss and push at Cathal, especially when half the time his fingers tried to curl into the fabric of Cathal’s clothing. Flavian couldn’t let it happen, couldn’t let Cathal find out.
Cathal tore his mouth from Flavian’s. “Flavia?”
Flavian shook his head to clear it. For an instant, relief flooded him. Then he felt it against his hip, even through the layers of Cathal’s clothing and Flavian’s skirts—Cathal’s hardening member—and if he could feel it, then Cathal could feel him. “Cathal—”
“Who are you?”
You can find out more about The Artist's Masquerade here. Thanks for reading today!
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