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.
The Artist's Masquerade rereleased four years ago this weekend! 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 picking up right after last week's snippet. (This snippet went a bit long—sorry! This seemed the best place to break it.)
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.
The Artist's Masquerade rereleased four years ago this weekend! 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 picking up right after last week's snippet. (This snippet went a bit long—sorry! This seemed the best place to break it.)
Father would be outraged at the thought of Velia having a lover, if only because it would cast doubt on whether any of her future children were Cathal’s, but Cathal was far more concerned at this point about Ardunn’s spies than Velia’s potential lover.
Flavian scrutinized him for a moment. “So how does this work?”
He wasn’t sure why he was so relieved Flavian seemed to be agreeing. By all rights, he shouldn’t even be giving Flavian the truth potion--not by himself and not without Philip’s approval, at least. “You drink this. I ask you questions. The potion won’t compel you to answer, but it will force you to tell the truth if you do answer.”
“Well, that’s stupid. What good is it if it doesn’t make someone answer all your questions?” His words had an edge to them, but Flavian stepped closer nonetheless, holding out a hand for the vial.
The sorcerers were working on a potion to do exactly what Flavian suggested, but they hadn’t come up with anything reliable yet. Not that Cathal owed him an explanation. “You don’t think it tells me something when someone refuses to answer a question?”
“I suppose it does.” Flavian contemplated the little glass vial for a moment before unstopping it and downing the contents in one go. His face twisted into a grimace that would have been comical in any other situation. “Oh, it’s disgusting.”
The involuntary comment nearly forced a snort of amusement from Cathal. “I’ll let them know you think it should taste better, shall I?”
“Yes, do.” Flavian looked as if he was fighting a smile as well and then he shook his head. “What do you want to ask me?”
Flavian scrutinized him for a moment. “So how does this work?”
He wasn’t sure why he was so relieved Flavian seemed to be agreeing. By all rights, he shouldn’t even be giving Flavian the truth potion--not by himself and not without Philip’s approval, at least. “You drink this. I ask you questions. The potion won’t compel you to answer, but it will force you to tell the truth if you do answer.”
“Well, that’s stupid. What good is it if it doesn’t make someone answer all your questions?” His words had an edge to them, but Flavian stepped closer nonetheless, holding out a hand for the vial.
The sorcerers were working on a potion to do exactly what Flavian suggested, but they hadn’t come up with anything reliable yet. Not that Cathal owed him an explanation. “You don’t think it tells me something when someone refuses to answer a question?”
“I suppose it does.” Flavian contemplated the little glass vial for a moment before unstopping it and downing the contents in one go. His face twisted into a grimace that would have been comical in any other situation. “Oh, it’s disgusting.”
The involuntary comment nearly forced a snort of amusement from Cathal. “I’ll let them know you think it should taste better, shall I?”
“Yes, do.” Flavian looked as if he was fighting a smile as well and then he shook his head. “What do you want to ask me?”
You can find out more about The Artist's Masquerade here. Thanks for reading today!
RSS Feed