Next up for Love & Magic Week: Get to know more about Sevry and Lucie from Chosen of Azara: 1. How did you meet? Sevry: I had been searching for a very long time for a magical talisman that would help me restore my destroyed land, Savaru. I was carrying out the search through magical means that I'm not at liberty to describe when I saw her. We actually met in person some months later when I took refuge from a storm at her father's house. Lucie: He's never told me exactly what he was doing when we saw each other by magic. I guess he can't, or isn't supposed to. And then it was a huge surprise when he showed up at my father's house! I'd never imagined I'd really get to meet him in person. 2. What was the first thing you noticed about the other person? L: He wasn't wearing very many clothes - I don't mean like that! [blushes] I mean, I noticed how many scars he has, and wondered how hard his life must have been, for him to have that many scars. S: I noticed her hair, curls of fire and copper glowing in the sun. And I noticed that she was wearing the talisman I was looking for on a chain around her neck. L: Now, dear, that isn't all you noticed, is it? S: [blushes] Well, um, I did also happen to notice that the neckline of her dress was fairly low-cut and that she had a fine figure... But the talisman. That was the important thing. 3. Did you know when you met that you would end up together? S: No. My options for my life were severely limited by the duty I'd been given, to find the talisman that would restore Savaru to life. Falling in love and marrying were not among those options. L: I was engaged to someone else at the time, so, no. 4. What do you like best about the other person? L: He treats me with kindness and respect, and even though he's had such a hard life he's still determined to always do the right thing. And he's very handsome and has a beautiful singing voice and tells wonderful stories from Savaru from long ago. S: I love her voice, and how she sings the old songs from Savaru that she's learned. And the way she makes me feel young and hopeful again. And her courage and gentleness. 5. What is something you enjoy doing together? (Besides the obvious!) L: We both love music, so we like to sing together. S: And she's teaching me how to play the lute. I wanted to become a bard when I was a child, but the war prevented it. So now she's helping my dream to finally come true. 6. How has the other person changed you? S: She made me feel loved, and gave me something to love and live for besides Savaru. L: He helped me learn to see beyond myself and my own little world, and to have courage to do the right thing even when it's hard. 7. What are the biggest differences between you? How important are these differences? S: Well, there's the age difference. I'm considerably older than I look. L: Although, when the difference is more than a few hundred years, I don't think it really matters any more. S: If the difference in our ages doesn't bother her, it doesn't bother me. L: He also had a very hard life, and I had a very easy life up until I met him and things... happened. We saw the world in very different ways and our priorities were very different because of that. But I think what happened is he took the good things from his hard life and I took the good things from my easy life and we put them together to make our new life better. Does that make any sense? 8. What do the two of you have in common? S: We both love music. L: And we both want to make Savaru a beautiful place to live again. 9. What does your family think of your partner, and what do you think of your partner's family? L: My brothers didn't like Sevry at first, because my fiance at the time was a good friend of theirs. But then Estefan showed his true colors, and my brothers realized that Sevry was much better for me. Now they like him very much. My father, he just wants me to be happy, so whatever makes me happy is fine with him. I think he thinks well of Sevry, too. As for my grandmama... S: Lucie and I are actually distantly related, and her grandmother is my closest living relative. Lady Lillia didn't think much of me at first, because I was trying to take Lucie away from her secure, comfortable life and the good marriage that was planned for her. L: I think grandmama has finally come around, though. She lets Sevry call her "cousin." 10. What role does magic play in your relationship? S: It was through magic that we were able to find each other across time and space. L: [sighs] Isn't that romantic? 11. What are your plans for the future? S: Raising our family, and restoring Savaru to the beautiful, prosperous land it once was. L: And learning to play the lute. 12. "The whole is greater than the sum of the parts" How is this true for the two of you? L: We brought a dead land back to life, and now we're working to give it a future. How awesome is that? S: I was the last king of the old Savaru, and I'm the first king of the new Savaru. I couldn't do it without my queen.
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Welcome to Love and Magic Week here on Welcome To My Worlds! I'm celebrating Valentine's Day and my 1-year publishing anniversary with some fun events. There are some couple character interviews coming up, some romance and magic-themed sneak peeks (including from my forthcoming novel Sarya's Song and the Daughter of the Wildings series, possibly a guest blog or two, and a playlist of love songs for the couples in my novels. Here's the first couple interview for Love and Magic Week: Rashali and Eruz from Urdaisunia: 1. How did you meet? Rashali: I was preoccupied, walking back to my village after getting water from the river, and I started across the road without seeing him, and he rode his horse right into me. Eruz: Actually, it was you who walked into Teshkarizaz. I tried to pull around you, but couldn't. 2. What was the first thing you noticed about the other person? R: All I noticed was that he was a Sazar warrior and nobleman. That was all I needed to know about him, that he was the enemy. E: Her eyes, full of fear and sorrow but also full of pride. 3. Did you know when you met that you would end up together? Both: No. R: The thought of an Urdai and a Sazar together was.. It was unimaginable. E: Impossible. 4. What do you like best about the other person? E: Rashali speaks honestly to me, and sees me as a person rather than as just a provider of wealth and prestige, as my former wives did. R: He's a good, brave, honorable man who is committed to doing what's right no matter how hard it is or the consequences to himself. 5. What is something you enjoy doing together? (Besides the obvious!) E: We like to discuss the best ways to serve our land and both the Urdai and the Sazar people. R: We also enjoy walking together in the Jewel of Zir, the great garden behind the palace. It's a very special place to us. 6. How has the other person changed you? R: Because of Eruz, I have learned to see the Sazars not as faceless enemies but as real people who in truth want the same things anyone else does, a place to call home, safety, a way to provide for their families. E: Rashali gave me the courage to act on the things I believed, instead of just thinking about them. 7. What are the biggest differences between you? How important are these differences? R: He is Sazar, I am Urdai; that is the greatest difference. To an Urdai, the idea of being with a Sazar is... disgusting. And the Sazars feel the same way about the Urdai. As though the Urdai are somehow less than human. Also, he was born a prince, heir to the Sazar throne; I was born a peasant, and became a rebel against the Sazars. At first, these differences seemed insurmountable to me, but we eventually overcame them in the face of greater challenges to us and to our land. E: The differences never mattered very much to me. For me, the barriers between us were more a matter of what was expected of me as heir to the throne. I was expected to choose my wives from a certain class of women - Sazar women, of course - and to adhere to certain ideals about the superiority of the Sazar people. 8. What do the two of you have in common? R: I lost a young daughter to plague. Eruz has a daughter, about the same age that mine was, so he understands my love for my daughter and my grief. And I understand his love for his daughter. E: We both also love our land, Urdaisunia. Rashali's people have lived here for thousands of years, while my people only came here seventy years ago. But it's home to both of us, and we both want it to thrive again and become the great land that it once was. 8a (new question!). What are the greatest challenges you have faced in your relationship? E: Besides the fact that our people are mortal enemies? R: I hated Sazars. I found it impossible to believe that a Sazar could be a good person, never mind that I could be happy falling in love with one. I'm glad that Eruz changed my mind about that. E: I had to make choices between doing what my father the King expected of me and doing the right thing for Rashali and her people, between my role as Heir and being with Rashali. Those were difficult choices, but, regardless of how difficult it was, I know I made the right decisions in the end. 9. What does your family think of your partner, and what do you think of your partner's family? R: Although Eruz is a Sazar, my sister (the only surviving member of my family, along with her two surviving children and her new husband) is very happy for me, that I've found love again after losing my husband Tigun. As for Eruz's family, I've no use for them. They've been cruel and hateful to him. Except for his daughter, of course. She's adorable, and I love her like my own. E: My father and brothers were horrified at the idea of me being with an Urdai woman. To them, such a thing is as bad as treason. I don't know Rashali's sister and her family very well, but they seem like good people and I'm glad they're willing to accept me. 10. What role does magic play in your relationship? E: The first time Rashali truly softened towards me was when I did a small magic trick, making a flower bud come into full blown. Her reaction was unforgettable. R: It was one of the most wonderful things I'd ever seen. The Sazars worship Kuz, the god of sorcerers, more than the Urdai do, and I'd never seen anything like it. I was amazed that this man who was an enemy could do something so beautiful. 11. What are your plans for the future? R: To raise Eruz's children from his prior marriages, and have children of our own. E: And to see Urdaisunia restored to a great land, a comfortable and prosperous home for all those who live there, Sazar and Urdai alike. 12. "The whole is greater than the sum of the parts" How is this true for the two of you? E: We overcame more than seventy years of hatred and prejudice between our people and the vast gulf between peasant and prince in order to be together. We hope that our relationship is a symbol of what the land and people of Urdaisunia can achieve. R: If an entire land can be saved through love, then we hope that is what we are able to do. Urdaisunia is available at:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Apple | Kobo | OmniLit Smashwords | CreateSpace | DriveThruFiction Meet Latan, the "holy man" from The Warrior and the Holy Man, a pair of stories set in the same world as Chosen of Azara: 1. What is your full name? Is there anything significant about your name? My name is Latan. I gave up my family name when I entered the order of Source Tiati. 2. How old are you? I am thirty-two years old. 3. Tell us about your family. What do you like and not like about them? I have a mother and father, and a number of older brothers and sisters. My father is a farmer, not poor, but after providing inheritances for my older brothers and dowries for my sisters, there wasn't going to be anything left for me. So when I was twelve my parents brought me to Source Tiati and had me sworn into service here. I know they did what they thought was best for me, but at times I've felt as if I was unwanted and cast off. I know that wasn't the case, my parents just wanted to make sure I was provided for, but sometimes I wonder what it would be like to have the kind of life my older brothers are able to have. I know my parents are still living and doing well, and that my brothers and sisters have successful livings and good families, because from time to time they send donations to the monastery of Source Tiati, along with a short letter to me. But I haven't seen them in twenty years. 4. Who was your first kiss, and what did you think of it? As I said, I was brought to Source Tiati and sworn into its service at the age of twelve, before I had much interest in kissing anyone, or the opportunity. Celibacy is a requirement of those sworn to Source Tiati, so I haven't had the opportunity to kiss anyone since then, either. 5. What is your occupation? I am the Clerk of the order of Source Tiati. I keep the records and history of the order. The record-keeping includes such things as those who enter the Source's service, those who pass away, the order's supplies, receipts, and expenditures, the daily weather, and any events of note. I don't have the ability to use Source power, so I can't be a priest. But my temperament and talents seem to be well-suited to being a clerk. 6. What are your best and worst qualities? I'm meticulous in my record-keeping. I also have something of a talent for languages. And I'm very loyal. As for my worst qualities, I tend to be a bit distracted sometimes, and I'm also rather timid. 7. What quality do you value most in a romantic partner? The option of having a sweetheart or wife was taken away from me when my parents brought me to Source Tiati. Mostly I don't think about it; my life here is busy and I do appreciate the security of being a member of the order. But sometimes I do wonder what it would be like to have a nice wife, some fine children, and a home of my own like my brothers do. If I had the opportunity to marry, I don't think I'd be too picky in my choice of wife, as long as she was willing to put up with me. I would work as hard for my family and be as loyal to them as I am in the service of Source Tiati. 8. What is your favorite thing to do? In my spare time, I enjoy translating and studying historical documents. I'm not a scholar, by any means; there are much more intelligent and learned men here at Source Tiati than I. But I do have a bit of a knack for languages, and I find old documents fascinating - a glimpse into other times and other places, a small piece of the wide world beyond the bounds of Source Tiati which I have never had the chance to see and probably never will. I receive a very small stipend for my services as Clerk, and I save up most of it for when a trader or other traveler comes by who happens to have an old book or document for sale. In fact, there are a couple of traders who come through regularly who make a point of keeping an eye out for old documents that might interest me. 9. What is your greatest fear? I've spent my entire youth and adult life in the service of Source Tiati. Because of this, some things have been denied to me, but I've done my best to serve faithfully and well, and it's now the only home, the only life, I know. So my greatest fear is that for some reason I would be cast out of the order and sent away. 10. What is your most treasured possession? As a member of an order devoted to a Source, material possessions aren't very important to me. But I do enjoy the small collection of historical documents I've amassed over the years, and I treasure the time I'm able to spend studying them. The Warrior and the Holy Man, available for Kindle from Amazon.
Introducing Haveshi Yellowcrow, from The Warrior and the Holy Man. This is Haveshi as she is at the beginning of the second story, "The Path of Latan the Clerk." 1. What is your full name? Is there anything significant about your name? My name is Haveshi Yellowcrow. The Yellowcrow is the god of the clanless and outcasts. 2. How old are you? I am thirty years old. 3. Tell us about your family. What do you like and not like about them? I had a husband, Tirn, a son, Bebir, and a daughter, Leshi. They are no longer part of my life. My children were the cleverest, best-behaved, and most beautiful children ever born. I miss them every day, but they were very young when we were forced apart and so would not remember me. As for my husband, I loved him very much, but if he ever truly loved me, he stopped a long time ago. The two guards who work with me, Jokun and Aday, are like brothers to me. Although they are much larger than I am, and I am a foreign woman, they treat me with great respect and loyalty. 4. Who was your first kiss, and what did you think of it? Tirn. I liked it enough to turn my back on the warrior's path and marry him. 5. What is your occupation? Before I married Tirn, I was one of the few women invited to become one of my clan's warriors. All Krunabashai women are taught to fight, to defend our homes, our children, and ourselves, but only the most skillful are invited to enter upon the warrior's path. Now I am a guard for hire, and the leader of a team of three guards. 6. What are your best and worst qualities? My fighting skills are as good as any man's; better than most men's, in truth. Although I have a man's job and a man's skills, and although I live a very rough life, I do take great care and pride in always looking my best. I also strive to do my very best to fulfill my responsibilities to the people I'm hired to guard. If necessary, I would even give up my life to protect them. As for my worst qualities, I sometimes have a sharp tongue. 7. What quality do you value most in a romantic partner? I would like a husband who will stand up for me. I'm able to take care of myself and protect myself, but I dream of one day finding a man who will love me and stand by me no matter what. 8. What is your favorite thing to do? When I had lost everything else, my skills as a warrior were all that were left to me. Perhaps it sounds unwomanly, but I enjoy a good, hard-fought battle with skilled and honorable opponents. 9. What is your greatest fear? The thing I feared most already happened - No, that's not quite true. More than being separated from my children, I fear my children dying. But the last I knew, they were well and being cared for. 10. What is your most treasured possession? Besides my fighting skills and my memories of my children, I treasure the yellow feather that I was given by the Yellowcrow when I left my homeland, the Krunabashi Desert, to begin my new life. The Warrior and the Holy Man, available for Kindle from Amazon.
Here's another peek inside Urdaisunia. Earlier, Rashali and Eruz parted under difficult circumstances, thinking they'd never see each other again, but now their paths unexpectedly cross again: The noise of shouting, laughing, and gambling assaulted Eruz’s ears as he entered the tavern. The smell of wine, burning aksa-weed, fish, and bodies that had been working in the heat all day was almost overwhelming. Smoke from the lamps and torches fogged the room. He made his way across the crowded room to a spot on a bench along one of the walls. No one took any notice of him in his plain tradesman’s clothes and white salik; he also wasn’t the only person in the room who wasn’t Urdai. A small group of Xaxan men sat in one corner, drinking and gambling. Three Kai-Kalle youths in brightly-striped robes laughed and bragged and harassed the Urdai serving girl. An extremely drunk Sazar man stumbled into the tavern and began arguing with the barman, then slumped to the floor in a stupor. Eruz ordered beer from a serving boy; though he usually preferred wine, the wine served in a place like this was likely to be sour and watery, while, it was said, it was impossible to make bad beer from Urdaisunian barley. He slowly nursed his drink while he observed the activity around him. A small group of Urdai came in and went to a low table in a corner that was quieter than the rest of the tavern. A tall, lean Urdai man sat there with a number of other people. He had a quiet, authoritative air, and seemed to listen more than he spoke. Most likely he was the leader of the Nest, or at least high up in the leadership. Seated next to him was-- Eruz blinked to clear his smoke-hazed eyes and looked again. Rashali. Relief and joy surged through him, along with an odd, sudden twist of dislike for the man sitting next to her. Eruz watched as the group that had come into the tavern spoke to him. They seemed to include Rashali in what they said, and the man frequently turned to her, as though asking her advice or opinion before replying. It was almost as though they were partners in running the Nest. Fear quickly overshadowed Eruz’s relief. The Nest was in danger, which meant that Rashali was in danger. He hadn’t known how to deliver his warning—it was unlikely that any Scorpion would listen to a Sazar—but she would listen. He hoped. If she didn’t hate him for what he had done at Three Leaping Fish. Urdaisunia is available in ebook and paperback from:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Apple | Sony | Diesel Smashwords | CreateSpace | All Romance Ebooks Here's the cover art for To The Gap, Book 4 of Daughter of the Wildings! First, the full wrap-around version for the paperback edition: And the ebook version: There's an old song called "Who'll Stop the Rain?" Silas and Lainie are doing their best, but it isn't easy, and this is no ordinary rainstorm. And if the other cattle drive hands find out they can use magic, there'll be trouble! But with thousands of head of cattle at risk, along with the success of the big cattle drive, they'll do their best to save the day! Thanks again to Mominur Rahman for this awesome art. Check out more of his work at me-illuminated.deviantart.com!
Here's another peek inside The Lost Book of Anggird. Perarre and Roric, on the run from the law, have met a friendly woodcutter named Elmond. Here, Roric and Elmond go shopping: After breakfast, Elmond stopped at the wagon to transfer some of his money into a small leather pouch and lock the rest in the lockbox, then they walked down the street to the mercantile. Clothing was the most immediate need, Roric decided. The well-stocked store had several shelves and racks of ready-made dresses, trousers, and shirts. Dresses didn’t seem practical for a long journey on horseback, so, using his hands to estimate Perarre’s height and the size of her hips and chest — his face growing warm as he did so — Roric consulted with the shopkeeper to choose some trousers and shirts for her as well as for himself. The trousers and one remaining shirt he had brought with him from the University, besides being nearly threadbare, didn’t fit quite right any more. The Uurikhani tended to be solidly muscular, and three weeks of chopping and hauling wood had had a noticable effect on Roric’s build. To the pile of clothing on the counter he added a pair of leather-and-canvas packs that could be carried separately or fastened together and slung across a horse’s back, two large leather water flasks, a flint and steel for starting fires, a good knife, packages of hard flatbread, dried spiced meat, and dried fruit, and a pair of blankets. Roric briefly looked at a set of lightweight cooking gear, then decided not to get it. While Perarre, from growing up in an inn, might know how to cook on a stove, neither of them knew how to cook over a campfire, and, even if they did, he didn’t know how to hunt anything for them to cook. It was sheer dumb luck, he thought, not for the first time, that two people as helpless as they were had survived this long, and he had the feeling that their journey to escape from the Guards and discover the origins of the magica had barely begun. The shopkeeper showed Roric a small medical kit, and he added it to the pile, along with a pair of heavy, sturdy boots for himself and another pair for Perarre. He stepped back, contemplating his purchases as he rubbed at the itchy beard that had overrun his face, then put a razor, cake of soap, small mirror, two small towels, and a comb with the other things. If Perarre was going to be able to translate the journal, she would need paper, pencils, and a writing surface. At Roric’s request, the shopkeeper added a sheaf of blank paper, a handful of pencils, and a foot-square roofing shingle to the pile. Then Roric glanced around the store one more time to see if he had forgotten anything important, and wondered how he could possibly have enough money for the small mountain of items on the store counter. But after the shopkeeper added it all up, muttering over a long column of figures scratched on a piece of paper, and Roric paid the resulting sum, he had a generous handful of coins to spare. Elmond refused to take back the money, so after buying a couple of bedsheets for Elmond to replace the ones he had cut up for bandages, Roric tucked the pouch with the rest of his money into a small pocket in one of the new packs. When Elmond finished with his own purchases, the woodcutter took a small axe, the length of Roric’s arm, from his own heap of supplies and put it with Roric’s things. “You’ll need an axe for firewood. This one’s small enough for travel, and the best blade in the store. My gift to you.” Before Roric could find words to thank him, Elmond winked. “In all honesty, my friend, you’re going to need all the help you can get.” The Lost Book of Anggird, now available in ebook and paperback from Amazon, Smashwords, CreateSpace, and All Romance eBooks
Here's another quick peek inside Urdaisunia for Sneak Peek Sunday! Prince Eruz has just explained to Rashali that the Sazars conquered Urdaisunia because the mountains where they had lived could no longer sustain them and they were in danger of dying out. Rashali is unsympathetic. [note: Kuz is the god of sorcerers.] “So you traded your own hunger for that of the Urdai, and you took all our work, all the fruits of our learning and labors, for yourselves—the dams and canals, the great temples, the palace, even these gardens. You Sazars have no skills or knowledge to make such things, so you had to steal them from us. You didn’t even have writing until you began using ours.” He flinched slightly, his pride clearly stung by her contemptuous words. “We do have skills and knowledge of our own.” “Making swords,” she said. “And breeding and training warhorses. Nothing like this.” She indicated the Jewel with a broad gesture of her arm. “You could never make something like this. Even now, you depend on Urdai slaves to maintain the gardens.” “Not entirely.” Eruz stopped beside one of the low trees with thick hand-shaped leaves—a nariyi, it was called—and plucked a tightly-curled bud from it. “We have skills besides those of warfare.” He looked intently at the nariyi bud, then whispered a few words and blew lightly on the bud. Slowly, the green sepals unwound from around the five thick white petals, which unfolded into a bowl-shaped blossom. The flower’s sweet, rich scent filled the air. “Here,” Eruz said. He took Rashali’s hand and placed the flower in it. “We worship Kuz more than the Urdai do, and he has given us a number of gifts.” If she hadn’t seen it for herself, she never would have believed it. She looked up at him, her hand still in his, at a loss for words to respond to the wonder he had shown her. “That—that was—” He bent his head down and covered her mouth with his. For more sneak peeks, check out http://sneak-peek-sunday.blogspot.com/!
Here's Perarre, from The Lost Book of Anggird, to tell you a little about herself: 1. What is your full name? Is there anything significant about your name? My name is Perarre Tabrano. There's nothing significant about it; it's just a regular Essan name. 2. How old are you? I am 22 years old. 3. Tell us about your family. What do you like and not like about them? I'm the youngest of ten children. My father died several years ago, and my mother Malia still runs the Golden Hare, our family's inn, in Madena, a small farming village in Essa Province. I don't get along well with my mother, but that's at least as much my fault as hers. I was not an easy child, and by the time I came along I think she was tired. I'm very close to my oldest sister, Samale, and she's really been more of a mother to me. Her husband, Luka, is an amazing man, and they have seven children. If anyone was meant to have a lot of children, it's them. 4. Who was your first kiss, and what did you think of it? My first kiss that counts was a boy not long after I came to the University of Vorunne City when I was 13. I'm afraid I don't remember his name, but I certainly liked it, better than I thought I would. 5. What is your occupation? I am a translator of ancient, middle, and modern Vorunic and Lazivanic languages. I'm also a Reader, which means I'm able to read thoughts and emotions left behind on objects by people who handled them previously. This is a very useful skill for a translator, as you can probably imagine, especially if the document I'm translating is an original and not a copy. Being able to tell what the original author meant, what he was thinking and how he felt as he was writing, makes my translations a lot more accurate and meaningful. Right now, I'm finishing up the second year of a three-year Assistantship, which is a program that graduates of the University can enter to gain further skills in their fields and to get good references from Masters and Professors on their dossiers, which gives you a big advantage in getting future employment. After I complete my Assistantship, I hope to be able to get a position with the Foreign Service, preferably one where I'll actually be posted in a foreign country. I want to travel to as many places and see as many different things as I can, the more exotic the better. In fact, as soon as we're done here I'm supposed to meet with Professor Rossony - yes, that Professor Rossony - to interview for a position as a translator for him. I've heard he's a sanctimonious prig and almost impossible to get along with, but a good reference from him will totally make my whole career. Keep your fingers crossed for me to get the job! 6. What are your best and worst qualities? I'm smart, I'm a hard worker, and I take pride in my work. I've got a good sense of humor, and I'm friendly. As for my worst qualities, I tend to react emotionally instead of thinking things through, which has gotten me into more than a little trouble in the past. I've done some pretty stupid things because of that. Also, I chew my fingernails when I'm concentrating, and I'm not very good at being neat and tidy, and sometimes I'm kind of a smart-mouth. 7. What quality do you value most in a romantic partner? I'm not looking for anything permanent, and I had enough of people trying to make decisions for me and control my life before I came to the University. So I'd like a man who's willing to let me be myself and be independent, who won't try to tie me down. He needs to have a good sense of humor. Looks aren't as important, but I do prefer men who have something unique about their appearance. Beautiful eyes and a good strong nose especially catch my attention. And - am I allowed to say this? - I like a good time in bed with a man who doesn't have to be skilled as long as he's enthusiastic and we're both having fun. It's been a while since I've found anyone who interests me, though. Which is probably just as well; I've had a few close calls with that kind of thing, with guys who weren't as nice as I thought they were and with being afraid I was pregnant. So for now, I'm just concentrating on my career. 8. What is your favorite thing to do? I love to read, and I love good food (that is, anything but what they serve in the Assistants' dining hall!), and I really enjoy my work. 9. What is your greatest fear? That something will happen to force me to leave the University and go home and live the life there that my parents expected me to. Especially if it involves marrying him. Ugh. 10. What is your most treasured possession? My independence. Sneak Peek Sunday is something fun I found out about from author Isabella Norse's Facebook page. If you're here from the Sneak Peek blog hop, welcome, help yourself to virtual punch and cookies over at the buffet table, and feel free to have a look around :) Here's my first sneak peek, from Urdaisunia: In the drought-stricken desert land of Urdaisunia, which has been oppressed by the conquering Sazars for three generations, the Urdai peasant woman Rashali has a near-deadly encounter with the Sazar Prince Eruz. Without warning, there was a rush of pounding hooves from her right, and a voice shouted, “You, Urdaina! Watch out!” A wall of black struck hard against her right side. She tumbled to the ground, the yoke sliding from her shoulders, the buckets spilling their water onto the thirsty ground. Rashali got to her feet, stumbling on a twisted ankle. Three Sazar warhorses stood in front of her, a huge black beast flanked by two slightly smaller dark brown horses. From their mounts, three Sazar warriors clad in silver-trimmed black stared down at her. Hate and rage clouded her senses. These sallow-skinned, narrow-eyed barbarians had degraded and destroyed her people. They were responsible for the deaths of her husband and daughter and countless others. And they had spilled her water. She drew up precious moisture into her mouth and spat at the man in the middle, the man whose black horse had knocked her down. The three horses danced and snorted like demons. Two long, curved, gleaming-sharp swords suddenly loomed above her head. The man on the right jumped down from his horse and grabbed Rashali in a choke hold. The point of a knife pricked the skin beneath her chin. Tears of terror filled Rashali’s eyes and her heart raced painfully, but she refused to look away from the warrior in the middle, whose richer silver trimmings marked him as superior to the other two. She would not bow down, she would not give way, she would not grovel before a Sazar, even if it cost her her life. The moment seemed to hang suspended as the warrior gave her a long, hard, searching look, as though he were trying to peer into her mind and discover how she dared to defy him. Then he sheathed his sword. Check out the Sneak Peek Sunday site for more sneak peek fun!
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AuthorI am Kyra Halland, author of tales of fantasy, heroism, and romance. Sign up for my email list
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