Love & Magic Week, and Saturday Sneak Peek 2/8

2/8/2014

Valentine's Day is coming up, and so is my one-year publishing anniversary! (Urdaisunia was published on Feb. 9, 2013) To celebrate, I'll be having a special week of love and magic here on the site, Feb. 9-16. Here's what I have planned so far:

Couple character interviews
Romance and magic-themed sneak peeks
A playlist of love songs for the couples in my novels
A special sale price on Urdaisunia and Chosen of Azara at selected outlets - watch for details, or sign up for my newsletter to get the scoop! (I only use the newsletter to announce new releases and special offers, so I promise I won't flood your inbox.)
And my first-ever giveaway! Enter to win a signed paperback copy of one of my novels, Urdaisunia, Chosen of Azara, and The Lost Book of Anggird. Watch for it on the front page of the site!

And to kick things off, here's a romantic moment (with a little magic) from Urdaisunia: (this scene happens right after this part)

He pulled her into his arms again. “No matter what else happens,” he said against her hair, “if you’re safe, then that’s something that’s right with the world.”

He was her enemy; he was the man who had sacrificed part of his soul to try to protect her people. And now he was endangering himself to bring her this warning. Rashali pushed back a rush of emotion that made her want to lose herself in his arms and forget everything else. “I’ll warn Kefel, or try to. In truth, he only hears what he wants to hear. Now let me warn you—That drunken Sazar by the bar is one of your uncle’s spies. I knew you, even with the salik. If he recognized you, and notices that we’ve both left the tavern…”

Eruz’s back stiffened. “Damn. He came in right after me—he must have followed me in. I have to get back to Zir before my father hears about this.” He pulled away from her just enough to close his hand around the dolphin pendant that lay against the bodice of her dress. He spoke softly, then breathed on the pendant, briefly fogging the silver. “If ever you need to contact me, for any reason, hold onto that and think of me, then send your message. Be careful not to let anyone else get hold of it, or find out what it is.”

She believed it would work; she had seen him use Sazar magic. “Can you contact me, too?”

“No. The token has to be prepared by the person it’s meant to contact. It’s not difficult to make one, but I don’t have time to teach you now.” Still holding the pendant, he bent his head down and kissed her deeply, hungrily, as though he was a starving man and she was his banquet. The world around them disappeared, and Rashali clung to him, the only solid, real thing she knew.

Too soon, he pulled away from her. “I have to leave now. The gods watch over you.”

“The gods watch over you, too.” There was more she wanted to say, but before she could put it into words, he disappeared into the dark tangle of alleys.