Sneak Peek Sunday - 'Just Beyond the Garden Gate'

Welcome to this week's Sneak Peek. For more Sneak Peek fun, check out the other participating authors by clicking the link below. Hope you enjoy this wee snippet!

Still shivering from the sensation of his velvety tongue gliding over her palm, Laurie glanced around the hall. Everyone stared, many with smirks, while others harbored hostile expressions on their infuriated faces.

Mortified, she stepped down hard on the bridge of his foot. He chuckled at her lame attempt to hurt him. She wished she wore heels instead of soft China flats. Stilettos. Something that would do damage.

When he released her and stepped away, Elspeth leaned close to whisper. “Curtsy.”

Laurie wanted to slap the grin off Patrick’s arrogant face. Instead, she inhaled a bracing breath, swallowed her pride, executed a clumsy curtsy, and nearly fell to the floor.

He caught her arm in time to stop her from landing hard. “Now the whole clan kens you belong to me,” he said in a quiet voice, thankfully only she heard.

He’d the nerve to laugh, the hearty sound echoing through the hall. She wanted to spit in his face or knee him in the gonads. Feeling her temper escalate, yet knowing she dare not make a scene, she glared at the jerk.

Click here

to join in the fun

and hop along

with Sneak Peek Sunday.

~Dawn Marie

Rainbows and Flowers and Parties

Last evening my husband went out to water the garden and called me out to see a rainbow. A romantic moment to share. Priceless.

I promised some pictures from RWA 2013, but realized I didn't take many. These flowers were one of TWO bouquets that arrived at our room for my roommate. Very romantic for a man to send roses to a romance author at a romance conference. Must be a keeper.

There was much to do at RWA® 2013. Workshops, retreats, author signings, parties. One of the highlights for me was the FF&P gathering. Here are the five finalists from the costume contest. Caryn Moya Block (far left) won the bragging rights. On the far right is A.E. Jones, 2013 Golden Heart® winner for paranormal. Congrats, A.E.!

Waiting with Emma Leigh Reed for the 2013 RITA® and Golden Heart awards to begin. Although I didn't win, I'm honored to have been among the finalists.

~Dawn Marie

Blogging at Voices From the Heart Today

Whew! Back from RWA2013. Had a great time and met a ton of wonderful people. I have a short post up at Voices From the Heart today. I'll post some photos here tomorrow.

~Dawn Marie

Welcome to this week's Sneak Peek. For more Sneak Peek fun, check out the other participating authors by clicking the link below. Hope you enjoy this wee snippet!

With Lady Laurie’s denial burning in his mind, Patrick was rougher with the lass than proper. Battle lust rode him hard. He wasn’t about to be denied by a mere slip of a lass. He would teach her a lesson. A lesson he thoroughly planned to enjoy.

Facing the crowd, he held her tight, waiting for silence. In a thunderous voice, everyone in the room would be sure to hear, he said, “I have sent the Lamont dog back to his master with his tail betwixt his legs.”

His clan cheered, stomping their feet and pounding their fists on the tables. Again, he waited for silence. Firmly holding onto Laurie, he ignored her struggles to escape his grip. When the crowd calmed, he cleared his throat.

All eyes riveted to the couple on the dais.

“I present to you the Lady Laurie Bernard.” He held her hand out in front of them so the crowd was sure to see he clasped it. “She has come to us from France to be companion to my wee sister, Lady Elspeth. Hear me. She is under my protection and shall be treated as my honored guest.”

Laurie subtly tried to free herself, but he easily held her in place. He flipped her hand palm up, bowed his head and placed a kiss in the center, licking her palm with the tip of his tongue.

Click here

to join in the fun

and hop along

with Sneak Peek Sunday.

~Dawn Marie

Sneak Peek Sunday - 'Just Beyond the Garden Gate'

For this week's Sneak Peek, we're with Patrick. He's musing on the lady who claims to be from the future. For more Sneak Peek fun, check out the other participating authors by clicking the link below. Hope you enjoy this wee snippet!

Patrick ground his teeth, annoyed to discover he stared out the window of his private work chamber like a besotted fool. The sun shined brightly to the east. He’d barely noticed the men fishing from the beach below, the rippling water of the small bay or the distant heather covered hills. Good Lord, the castle could have been under attack and he wouldn’t have noticed.

Emotions he normally suppressed crippled him, making him uncertain how to proceed. Clenching his hands into fists, he reflected on his earlier conversation with Lady Laurie. She told an incredible tale, one most would not believe. He wasn’t most, and unfortunately, he believed her. He knew, for certain, brownies and faeries existed. He’d even heard some of the fae possessed the ability to sift the sands of time.

Munn told him Caitrina, one of the Sithichean, was in some way involved with both the lass and with his missing parents. Could she sift time? Was it possible she was capable of such an extraordinary power? He hadn’t yet questioned the lass about her connection to the faerie or about the brooch she wore, not wanting to warn her of his interest. He planned to bide his time until he gained her trust.

After seeing her in the bath, he knew how to accomplish that. He was determined to seduce Lady Laurie into sharing his bed.

Smiling at the mental image of her curvy, naked body stretched across the furs on his bed, he loosened his fists and turned away from the window. He paced the chamber. Concern replaced lust. No one had seen Munn since the lass appeared. With such unusual events happening, it was odd the clan brownie had gone missing. Munn’s absence worried him more than he wanted to admit.

An unbidden thought pricked his mind. Could the lass be responsible for Munn’s absence? Quite the riddle he needed to solve.

 

Click here

to join in the fun

and hop along

with Sneak Peek Sunday.

~Dawn Marie

Review and Interview at Writer Wonderland

Morgan Wyatt at Writer Wonderland reviewed Just Beyond the Garden Gate and interviewed me. Thank you, Morgan!

• Review
• Interview

~Dawn Marie

What's in Bloom? Crape Myrtle, Phlox, Sunflowers

There has been much discussion since we moved into our new home as to the possible color of the crape myrtle tree in our front garden. I didn't want to select new plants until I knew the color of the tree. The neighbor's tree bloomed lavender. Another's bloomed white. Ours was slow, building anticipation. The color—deep rose.

I'll take pictures of the garden now and design a plan during the winter to harmonize with the crape myrtle. Plants will be ordered and planted in the spring. A garden faerie statue would be a nice addition. We'll have a refurbished garden for 2014.

 

A new garden is always full of surprises. When I weeded in the spring, I left behind a couple of sprouts I wasn't sure about. Maybe they were weeds. If I was lucky, they might grow into a garden specimen.

I'm so glad I didn't rip them out and discard them. They turned out to be white phlox with a heavenly scent.



Before we hung the thistle feeder on this part of the fence, we had a sunflower feeder, hoping to attract cardinals, titmice, and chickadees.

Some of the seeds fell and sprouted and now we have a run of volunteer sunflower plants.



It's pleasant to sit in the back garden and work. This week, I'm editing the second book in the Highland Gardens series, Just Once in a Verra Blue Moon, planned for a September release.

~Dawn Marie