May 11 2014

Is He Upset? from MAGIC OF THE NILE for Weekend Writing Warriors

Happy Mother’s Day to all Moms, Moms-to-Be, Grandmothers and everyone who plays a motherly role in someone’s life – best wishes for a great day!

A fun way to sample new books and find new writers! Here’s the link to the Weekend Writing Warriors central page, so you can visit all the participants sharing excerpts today…

Continuing with the excerpts from MAGIC OF THE NILE =>I’m skipping the events of their evening together at the town festival (because I can’t excerpt the entire book here LOL). Suffice it to say Sahure doesn’t learn her identity while they’re exploring the town. I promised I’d share how he reacts when he does find out. Today’s excerpt is leading up to that moment.

The next morning…

As Tyema led the midmorning ceremony, chanting the hymns to Sobek, she was more conscious than usual of the small but attentive crowd of worshippers. Normally she blotted out any thought of the onlookers and lost herself in singing the sacred music. Today she wondered if Sahure was there in the outer sanctuary and whether he’d be upset to learn she hadn’t told him her true identity. Her anxiety wasn’t relieved any by the fact he’d appeared in at least one of her dreams as well, smiling and holding out another red flower she’d been too frightened to accept. Awakening from the dream with a gasp, she couldn’t go back to sleep, disturbed by unfamiliar thoughts and desires. Tossing and turning left her tired. By the time the ceremony was over and she was free to retreat to her office in the temple’s new wing, tension was rising in her like a wave. A small headache pounded over her left eye, spreading tentacles of pain through her head.

As always, I love your comments and feedback. Although this is a published work, the input helps for the future novels…

Here’s the story blurb:

The standalone sequel to Priestess of the Nile…picks up about fifteen years later and tells the tale of Tyema, who was the younger sister in Priestess of the Nile…

After a childhood spent scorned and ignored by her family because of her crippled foot, Tyema was magically healed then installed as the High Priestess of his temple by Sobek the Crocodile God. But Tyema is still haunted by her memories, scarred by the abuse she endured. Despite Sobek’s protection, as an adult she’s become a near recluse inside the temple grounds…

Until Captain Sahure arrives in her remote town, sent from Thebes on an urgent mission for Pharaoh, requiring High Priestess Tyema’s help. From that moment on, her quiet, safe life is upended in ways she never could have expected.

But after a whirlwind romance with Sahure, the two part as Pharaoh orders him to undertake another assignment on Egypt’s dangerous frontier, far from Tyema’s remote town.

Heart-broken, Tyema is ready to return to her life of loneliness, official duties and, now, regret. But the Crocodile God has other plans for his priestess: she must uncover the sorcerer who threatens Pharaoh’s life with black magic. Soon enough, Tyema finds herself thrown into the chaos of Pharoah’s court, neck deep in intrigue and danger. Just when she thinks she can’t take the pressures of a very public court life and her secret investigation for the Crocodile God any longer, Sahure re-enters the scene.

But is her former love there to help or to hinder? Can they resolve their differences and work together to find the dark sorcerer who threatens Pharaoh and Egypt? Will the love between a proud warrior and a shy priestess lead them to a future together?

Available at Amazon Barnes & Noble All Romance eBooks iTunes Google Play Books

Apr 13 2014

What Am I Doing? MAGIC OF THE NILE Weekend Writing Warriors

A fun way to sample new books and find new writers! Here’s the link to the Weekend Writing Warriors central page, so you can visit all the participants sharing excerpts today…

So we’ve moved on to the newly Released MAGIC OF THE NILE. This week’s excerpt follows Sahure’s invitation to Tyema to accompany him to the festival. I’ve skipped a bit of cajoling on Sahure’s part. (I may have played with the punctuation to make it eight sentences. I think!):

Tyema hastened to her quarters, the whole time asking herself what she was doing. She rarely set foot in town, with all its sad memories, not even to visit her sisters. Never to attend festivals! Am I so susceptible to a handsome stranger? She giggled, thinking of her half-sister Merys and the handsome stranger she’d met, who of course was revealed to be the god Sobek himself. “I don’t think this Sahure is a god in disguise,” she laughed to herself as she returned to the gate, half expecting to find him gone. But he’s a pleasing companion and tonight I’m in the mood to be wild, to do the unexpected.

“You were quick, my lady,” he said, pushing away from the wall and coming to take her hand.

As always, I love your comments and feedback. Although this is a published work, the input helps for the future novels…

Here’s the story blurb:

The standalone sequel to Priestess of the Nile…picks up about fifteen years later and tells the tale of Tyema, who was the younger sister in Priestess of the Nile…

But after a whirlwind romance with Sahure, the two part as Pharaoh orders him to undertake another assignment on Egypt’s dangerous frontier, far from Tyema’s remote town.

Available at Amazon Barnes & Noble All Romance eBooks iTunes Google Play Books

Mar 30 2014

Every Broken Claw MAGIC OF THE NILE Weekend Writing Warriors

A fun way to sample new books and find new writers! Here’s the link to the Weekend Writing Warriors central page, so you can visit all the participants sharing excerpts today…

So we’ve moved on to the newly Released MAGIC OF THE NILE, which is the sequel to the book I had been sharing excerpts from. I’ll just jump in with the first eight sentences for now (and have played with the punctuation to make it eight sentences. I think!):

Patience running thin, Tyema tried in vain to focus on the endless details her head crocodile keeper Hotepre was only too eager to share. Proper care for Sobek’s animals was her responsibility as high priestess but the god didn’t expect her to know about every chipped tooth and broken claw.

“Did you want to inspect the new clutch of eggs?” Hotepre asked as they left the pond where promising juvenile crocodiles were kept.

Glancing at the sun sinking over the Nile, she shook her head, saying, “I’d intended to, but the ceremonies ran long today – we had so many petitioners. Can I see the eggs tomorrow?”

“Of course, my lady.” Hotepre’s frown deepened the wrinkles on his aged face as they climbed the gravel path from the ponds, winding up the cliff where the temple itself was located, “Are you going to the festival in town tonight?”

As always, I love your comments and feedback. Although this is a published work, the input helps for the future novels…

Here’s the story blurb:

The standalone sequel to Priestess of the Nile…picks up about fifteen years later and tells the tale of Tyema, who was the younger sister in Priestess of the Nile…

But after a whirlwind romance with Sahure, the two part as Pharaoh orders him to undertake another assignment on Egypt’s dangerous frontier, far from Tyema’s remote town.

Available at Amazon Barnes & Noble All Romance eBooks iTunes Google Play Books

Mar 24 2014

Discussing My Writing Process

My friend from the Here Be Magic author group, Jody Wallace, tagged me to participate in this meme. I love to answer questions – we all know that LOL – so here goes and Happy Monday to everyone!

What am I working on? Other than this blog post? And the dayjob stuff I brought home? Well, I’m on the second revision of my new science fiction romance/adventure, MISSION TO MAHJUNDAR. I’m also doing advance thinking for my next paranormal novel set in Ancient Egypt, tentatively entitled GHOST OF THE NILE. I’m mulling ideas for a series, researching books and authors for my USA Today/HEA column “Sci-Fi Encounters”…and kinda feeling overwhelmed. But I LOVE writing!!!

How does my work differ from others of its genre? It’s um written by me??? How does one answer a question like this, seriously? I will say, though, that when it comes to the novels set in Ancient Egypt, I research them as if I was going to write a historical and then I put in paranormal twists involving the gods. I’ve had Readers and Reviewers tell me they enjoy the matter of fact way the Egyptian pantheon takes part in the action and how the everyday warriors, dancers and other characters accept and expect this. So perhaps that’s my unique twist there! I began the series with Priestess of the Nile, featuring the Crocodile God Sobek as a shifter, who falls in love with a human woman…As far as the science fiction, I try to tell a good story, have pretty much nonstop action and of course some romance. Maybe not unique but hopefully enjoyable for the Reader.

Why do I write what I do? I’ve always been fascinated by the ancient world and especially the Egyptians. I loved the YA book Mara, Daughter of the Nile by Eloise McGraw Jarvis and always wanted more of that kind of fiction to read, but with a lot more romance and magic. So I write those! On the science fiction side, I was heavily influenced by all the SF my Dad kept in the house, especially Andre Norton, and again, I wanted more romance to go with the action…

How does your writing process work? I’m very superstitious about my Muse so I frankly don’t delve too deeply into my process. I sit down, the words flow, the story happens. I usually know the opening, the ending and a few key scenes when I start writing a book and the rest fills itself in as I go. I always know who the hero and heroine are, but the other characters introduce themselves as the story unfolds. I sit here at my great grandmother’s desk, which I inherited, and I bang away on a laptop (learned on an old Royal typewriter to of course I still pound the keys LOL). Periodically my cat Jake will insist on attention. He usually wants me to throw various items for the other cat, Keanu, to chase, which amuses Jake. Eventually I have to get up and retrieve All The Items because Keanu loses interest when the toy stops moving. He doesn’t fetch.

I think this meme is losing steam so I’m only tagging two authors for next week: Beth Matthews, author of The Beauty’s Beast and Shawna Reppert, author of The Stolen Luck.

Best wishes with your week!

Mar 23 2014

Who Is He? PRIESTESS OF THE NILE Weekend Writing Warriors

A fun way to sample new books and find new writers! Here’s the link to the Weekend Writing Warriors central page, so you can visit all the participants sharing excerpts today…

PRIESTESS OF THE NILE was my first published work and MAGIC OF THE NILE is the sequel to PRIESTESS.

You can read the beginning of Chapter One of PRIESTESS here on my website.

Merys has been tending an abandoned temple of the Crocodile God Sobek and doesn’t realize she’d been talking to him (in his human form and calling himself “Bek”).

Sobek forms a habit of stopping by the beach in the evenings to chat with Merys. He grows ever more attracted to her, she falls in love with him (of course or there’d be no story)…but she still doesn’t know who he is. Isis intervenes with serious threats….but eventually Sobek can’t resist sneaking back to the beach to catch a glimpse of Merys… “just to hear her sing”.

Merys has been fishing with a net in the Nile shallows when she loses her protective amulet, which unbeknownst to her Sobek had bespelled to keep his crocodiles from attacking her. With it gone, she’s easy prey…seized by a crocodile…rescued by Sobek and…I’m skipping the part where he magically heals her injuries. This will be the final excerpt from Priestess. I’ll be switching over to the recently published sequel Magic of the Nile.

She put a trembling hand on his cheek, saying “Who are you, Bek?”

“Sobek,” He said, clearing his throat as he stroked her back with one hand, resting his lips next to her ear, he whispered, “I am Sobek.”

New adrenaline pumped through her, making her heart pound and sending a hot pulse along her nerves. “The Crocodile God?” I’ve been sitting and talking to the Great One all this time, treating him like a human man? I fell in love with him – how could I have been so blind? “The Crocodile God himself?”

“Yes,” He nodded, watching her closely, his green eyes steady on her face, his brows slightly raised, “I’m sorry I misled you.”

(The above excerpt has been edited somewhat from the published text to fit the Weekend Writing Warrior rules and give you a complete scene. )

As always, I love your comments and feedback. Although this is a published work, the input helps for the future novels…

The story:

Drawn to his abandoned temple on the banks of the Nile by an enchanting song, Sobek the Crocodile god is even more captivated by the sight of the singer herself. Appearing to her as a man, he learns she is Merys, a descendant of his last priestess. Though filled with lust, Sobek believes Merys deserves to be more than just his mistress. But the rules that govern the Egyptian pantheon forbid anything beyond a physical joining of a Great One and a human.

Merys is attracted to the handsome stranger, who arouses passions in her that no man ever has. But with no dowry and no hope of ever leaving her village, she dares not dream of the future—or love.

Sobek takes every opportunity to visit Merys, taxing his resolve to leave her pure. And when he saves her life, their mutual desire must be sated. But can a love between a human and an immortal survive the ultimate test of the gods?

Available: Amazon Barnes & Noble Carina Press All Romance

Mar 16 2014

Escaping the Crocodile Snippet PRIESTESS OF THE NILE

Cover by Fiona Jayde

PRIESTESS OF THE NILE was actually my first published book…

Merys has been tending an abandoned temple of the Crocodile God Sobek and doesn’t realize she’d been talking to him (in his human form and calling himself “Bek”).

…something huge flashed by her in the water and struck the crocodile with enough force to shove it sideways a few feet against the current. The predator opened its jaws to deal with the threat and Merys floated free. A tiny hope of survival bloomed within her – a spurt of energy sizzled through her nerves, giving her new strength. Kicking as hard as she could with the injured leg, heart pounding, Merys clawed her way to the surface. Something solid rose from the murky depths behind her.

As Merys screamed and flailed, too weak to swim, a hard surface lay under her, lifting her completely out of the water, supporting her as if she were stretched out on a board or a raft.

When Merys regained consciousness, she was held safe in Bek’s muscular arms, nestled against his broad chest. Too exhausted to question the miracle of his presence she curled closer to him in relief while he strode across the beach toward her favorite spot under the palm trees.

(As you can see, being extremely angry and upset, Sobek shifted into his crocodile form to rescue his lady….

From Author’s Collection

The story:

Merys is attracted to the handsome stranger, who arouses passions in her that no man ever has. But with no dowry and no hope of ever leaving her village, she dares not dream of the future—or love.

Buy Links: Amazon Apple Books Kobo Nook Google

HQN does retain the rights to the audiobook. They kept the rights to the original cover art by Frauke of Croco Designs, which I still love…

Audiobook: Amazon or Apple Books

Mar 10 2014

New Release MAGIC OF THE NILE Available Now

I’m so happy to announce the Release of my latest paranormal romance set in ancient Egypt – MAGIC OF THE NILE.

The story:

But after a whirlwind romance with Sahure, the two part as Pharaoh orders him to undertake another assignment on Egypt’s dangerous frontier, far from Tyema’s remote town.

The sequel to Priestess of the Nile

Available at Amazon Barnes & Noble All Romance eBooks now! Other eBook Sellers Coming Soon!

Mar 9 2014

In the Grip of the Crocodile PRIESTESS OF THE NILE Snippet

Cover by Fiona Jayde

Merys, who has been tending an abandoned temple of the Crocodile God Sobek, didn’t realize she was talking to him (in his human form).

Sobek forms a habit of stopping by the beach in the evenings to chat with Merys. He grows ever more attracted to her, she falls in love with him (of course or there’d be no story)…but she still doesn’t know who he is. The goddess Isis intervenes with serious threats….but eventually Sobek can’t resist sneaking back to the beach to catch a glimpse of Merys… “just to hear her sing”.

The bone-crushing force sent a sheet of hot pain up her leg and through her body until adrenaline pulsed in her system.

The beast dragged her under the surface of the Nile, pulling her toward the center of the river. Cold water rushed over her face, into her open mouth. Merys gagged, tried to hold her breath, beating on the animal’s closed jaws with her fists, then trying to jab at the nearest eye. Her stomach heaved, nausea and weakness from the intensity of the pain in her leg spreading outward from her gut.

The crocodile rolled her over and over, tossing her like Tyema’s puppy with a rag doll. Black spots danced before her eyes and she scrunched them tightly closed against the dizziness. What do I do to get away before I drown? I have to breathe. My chest is going to explode. I’ve got to have air. Just as her lungs were bursting, something huge flashed by her in the water and struck the crocodile with enough force to shove it sideways a few feet against the current. The predator opened its jaws to deal with the threat and Merys floated free.

A tiny hope of survival bloomed within her. A spurt of energy sizzled through her nerves, giving her new strength. Kicking as hard as she could with the injured leg, heart pounding, Merys clawed her way to the surface. The water in her vicinity churned bright red. Something solid rose from the murky depths. Merys screamed and flailed, too weak to swim. A hard surface lay under her, lifting her completely out of the water, supporting her as if she were stretched out on a board or a raft. Thank the gods for helping me. Nausea and dizziness overwhelmed her and the world faded from her view.

Next Sobek will have to deal with her injuries and reveal his true identity….

Depositphotos

The story:

Merys is attracted to the handsome stranger, who arouses passions in her that no man ever has. But with no dowry and no hope of ever leaving her village, she dares not dream of the future—or love.

Amazon Apple Books Kobo Nook Google

HQN does retain the rights to the audiobook.

Audiobook: Amazon or iTunes

Mar 2 2014

Never Lose the Amulet PRIESTESS OF THE NILE for Weekend Writing Warriors

A fun way to sample new books and find new writers! Here’s the link to the Weekend Writing Warriors central page, so you can visit all the participants sharing excerpts today…

My new book is still a week or two (finished the copy edits yesterday) away from being Released, so I thought I’d fill the gap with excerpts from PRIESTESS OF THE NILE, which was my first published work, because the new book is a sequel to PRIESTESS.

This excerpt is a tiny bit edited from the published book to meet the eight sentence requirement.

You can read the beginning of Chapter One of PRIESTESS here on my website so for the excerpt I’ll go a bit further into the story. Last week, Merys, who has been tending an abandoned temple of the Crocodile God Sobek, didn’t realize she was talking to him (in his human form).

And now the events begin that cause him to reveal his true identity….she’s been fishing with a net in the Nile shallows when she loses her protective amulet, which unbeknownst to her Sobek had bespelled to keep his crocodiles from attacking her. With it gone, she’s easy prey…

She pushed her hair out of her eyes roughly and sighed in frustration, checking her neck one more time, not quite accepting the loss of her necklace. The slithering sensation against her skin as the old leather thong parted and the amulet fell had been so startling, she had not grabbed for it in time. Peering uselessly into the murk of the Nile, Merys blinked back tears. The only possession of my great-grandmother’s I had left, the symbol of my being a priestess—gone. I’ll wait for the silt to settle and then hopefully I can find it. Taking a moment to enjoy the soaring flight of a flock of white ibis against the blue sky, she stood straighter, easing her muscles.

The sky tilted and vertigo assailed her as her feet were violently yanked out from under her. A crocodile closed its mighty jaws around her ankle, ripping a desperate scream from her throat.

Next week we’ll see what Sobek does…I love your comments and feedback!

The story:

Merys is attracted to the handsome stranger, who arouses passions in her that no man ever has. But with no dowry and no hope of ever leaving her village, she dares not dream of the future—or love.

Available: Amazon Barnes & Noble Carina Press All Romance

Feb 23 2014

Does He Appreciate Her? Priestess of the Nile Weekend Writing Warriors

better wewriwa A fun way to sample new books and find new writers! Here’s the link to the Weekend Writing Warriors central page, so you can visit all the participants sharing excerpts today…

So we’ve closed the door on DANCER OF THE NILE (although now you guys have me thinking about sequels…)

My new book is still a few weeks away from being Released, so I thought I’d fill the gap with excerpts from PRIESTESS OF THE NILE, which was my first published work, because the new book is a sequel to PRIESTESS. You can read the beginning of Chapter One of PRIESTESS here on my website so for the excerpt I’ll go a bit further into the story. Merys, who has been tending an abandoned temple of the Crocodile God Sobek, doesn’t realize she’s talking to him (in his human form). Sobek is somewhat amused by her fierce loyalty:

“I’m sure your efforts are appreciated.” He tried to keep the smile off his face, biting his cheek.

The girl frowned at him and shook one finger saying, “The god protects us even now.” Her tone was cold, her eyes narrowed. “We have had only one ox and two cows seized by crocodiles in the past year, and no small children.” She furrowed her brow as some memory surfaced. “Well, one man was taken, but he was suspected of being a thief so no one mourned him. And the flooding of the Nile has been generous in bringing us fertile fields.”

The Story

Merys is attracted to the handsome stranger, who arouses passions in her that no man ever has. But with no dowry and no hope of ever leaving her village, she dares not dream of the future—or love.

Available: Amazon Barnes & Noble Carina Press All Romance