My Sweet Saturday Sample is a morsel from my latest release, an epic fantasy romance, Heritage Avenged: Enchanted Bookstore Legend Two. This is the second of a 5-part series.
Here’s a snippet of a Christmas morning scene where Lyra is staying at the upper Michigan cottage of her deceased aunt. Lyra is joined by her 220-year-old wizard lover, Cullen, along with his magical owl assistant, Kenzo, and his pseudodragon familiar, Noba. These four are having a fun moment, relaxing between dangerous adventures in the fantasy land of Dragonspeir.
When
Lyra made her way downstairs with a stack of wrapped packages, she found her
Noba and Kenzo wound up and playing a game of chase through the kitchen and
family room. “Stop! You’re making me dizzy,” she declared as she laid the
presents under the tree. While Cullen sneaked upstairs to shower, she diverted
them with her CD player. “These are special tunes for Christmas. We’ll listen
while we trim the tree. Let me eat, and then we’ll find the decorations.”
She
nearly choked on her bagel, watching the pair hop about on the rug to Frosty the Snowman.
Cullen
quickly reappeared and helped her carry boxes of Christmas things from the
storage closet under the stairwell.
She
located the miniature lights and handed the end of the last strand to Kenzo. “A
job for you—fly carefully around the tree and drape this on the branches. Start
at the bottom and work up.”
He
proudly took it in his beak and set off.
The
little pseudodragon danced from foot-to-foot, almost on top of her. “Lady Lyra,
what can Noba do? Noba wants a job too.”
“After
Kenzo has finished, hang bits of this tinsel on the ends of branches.”
He
grabbed a clawful and skipped to the tree, so excited little clouds of smoke
puffed out of his snout.
“You
won’t be my familiar much longer if you burn down Lady Lyra’s tree. Keep that
fire under better control,” Cullen called out with a laugh.
Lyra
was glad to see Cullen relax and enjoy himself. She handed him a small box of
delicate ornaments and a collection of unbreakable ones for his helpers.
Kenzo
dropped his lights and flew backward. “Watch where you’re flying, Noba! You
nearly hit me with your poison tail.”
“Noba
sorry. Tinsel sticks to claws.” He tucked in his tail while trying to shake off
strands of silver foil wound around his talons.
Lyra
sat back and laughed at the three of them colliding as they decorated.
“Come
join us,” Cullen called.
She
picked up a lid of ornaments, mostly ones she made as a child with Jean, and
was soon lost in happy memories as she hung each one.
When
they finished, tinsel lay everywhere on the floor, stuck to Cullen’s sweater,
in her hair and Kenzo’s feathers. But Noba fared the worst—his spines and wing
joints were plastered like they’d been glued in place.
Lyra McCauley receives an alarming letter from the coroner
who evaluated her deceased aunt, originally thought to have died of cancer. The
news causes Lyra to take leave from her job and travel from sunny Tampa to the
frozen island community in northern Michigan. Questioning whether Dragonspeir
magic was responsible for her aunt’s death, she resolves to learn the truth and
accepts the Imperial Dragon’s appointment into the Alliance sorcery training.
Additionally, becoming proficient in magic craft is the only
way she can bridge the gap between her mortal human world and her lover’s.
Cullen, a 220-year-old wizard, is dependent upon his Dragonspeir magic for
immortality. He is her only family now; she cannot lose him.
Evil forces block her and try to steal her inherited scribal
aura. Riding a stealth dragon, a cloaked rider pursues Lyra. Both the Alliance
and Dark Realm alchemists lay tricks and traps. Her aura equals that of the
first and most powerful Scribe, but will Lyra’s novice training allow her to discover
the truth? Will she be able to be with Cullen, or will the Dark Realm keep them
apart?
I'm
looking forward to seeing what sweets some of my fellow authors on this hop
will serve. Be sure to check them out on the main blog page for Sweet Saturday
Samples.
5 comments:
I love Noba! Very entertaining sample. Makes me wish it were Christmas, especially with this heat.
Although my understanding is limitied in this realm of fantasy, I admire authors who can write about wizards and pseudodragons with such skill!
I could use a few mythical creatures to help me out.
I love the scene and the characters, human and otherwise in it
Patricia, Noba is cool! He steals hearts. :-)
Sandra, it takes a wacky imagination, but I have a blast with it. Thanks for stopping by.
Elaine, so could I--probably why I created these fun imaginary friends!
Lindsay, thanks lots!
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