Friday, August 1, 2014

#FriskyFriday - 8/1/14 - Deadly Enchantment - The contract is binding #Shapeshifters #ParanormalRomance


An unhappy shape shifter can be a dangerous companion....

It's Frisky Friday, and for A Writer's Naughty Thoughts, Fridays are also anything can happen days.


My excerpt for this week is from my 2nd book, Deadly Enchantment.  A shapeshifting wizard romance set in Victorian England published by New Concepts Publishing, 




In this snippet, which occurs at the beginning of the third chapter, Dominic Westcroft has reason to suspect Serena Blanford, one of the guests his sister has invited for him to consider as a potential bride, possesses magical abilities she's trying to keep hidden.  Believing she may actually be a plant placed in his home by his treacherous brother, he decides to give her to a purity validation test.

Serena has no idea what this process actually entails, but other women who've submitted to it have returned pale and shaken, refusing to discuss it.  So, up until this point she has managed to keep both her and her cousin from having to undergo the ordeal. 


            When she reached the foot of the long staircase, Westcroft extended a hand and caught her arm.  “I need to speak with you,” he advised firmly.
            “But my cousin and I were just about to go to breakfast.”
            “Your cousin may go with my sister.  You will come with me.”
            “But ….”
            “Allison will come to no harm, Serena,” he promised in a tone that was both firm and gentle.  “You have my word.”
            Then, before Serena could argue further, he escorted her into a large room where every wall was lined with books.  Surmising she was in Westcroft’s library, she asked, “Why did you insist upon separating me from my cousin?”
            “I’ll answer your query shortly, but first I would like you to answer a question of mine.  Why do you think your aunt sent you and your cousin here?”
            Though Serena didn’t particularly care for Westcroft's calculating expression, she considered the question fair given the circumstances.  “Like many of the other girls’ families, my aunt and uncle are in need of money.  My uncle fell seriously ill recently and now they are having difficulty paying off their creditors.”
            “Do you not care for your aunt and uncle?”
            “That is a rather odd question to ask.”
            “Perhaps, but from your actions of late, I gather you wouldn’t mind seeing them locked away in debtor’s prison.”
            Serena hesitated for only a second, but she feared the man beside her had gathered quite a bit from her pause.  “Of course I would mind.”
            “I don’t see how that’s possible.”
            “Why not?” she asked, feeling just the tiniest bit defensive.
            “Because if you’d truly cared, you would’ve seen your part of the contract filled.”
            Serena regarded him through narrowed eyes.  “If you refer to that barbaric custom your sister is masquerading as some sort of purity validation, you would be right."


Dominic Westcroft is determined to uncover his young guest's secrets even if it means testing her himself.
M/F, Shape shifting  wizards in Victorian England.

Read the first three chapters at: Deadly Enchantment

Available at NCPAmazonBarnes & Noble or ARe

Thanks for visiting.  I hope you enjoyed this brief excerpt and wish you and yours a very Frisky Friday


No comments:

Post a Comment

I love hearing from readers, so thank you for making my day! Writers with any thoughts at all (Naughty or otherwise) love comments, and I'm no exception.