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Saturday, March 16, 2013

#BlogHop--Big Cocks and Shamrocks


Happy Saint Patty's day to all you blog hoppers! I'm offering a signed copy of the anthology WEDDED AND BEDDED and some bathtime goodies to relax with after a hard day of inspecting all those...ahem **shamrocks**. One lucky commenter will be drawn at random from all US participant who leave a comment. So sorry to my worldwide friends, but international shipping costs can be prohibitive. Sorry! Starving author here :)

Okay, today I have for you a snippet from something special I'm working on...and it's the closest to Irish characters I've written to date. SHELTERING ARMS is actually set in a fictional medieval kingdom called Cherte, but hey, it was inspired by Anglo-Saxon and Celtic lore. Close enough, right?

Here's an unedited excerpt in which my star-crossed lovers are saying their final goodbyes. Enjoy!

SHELTERING ARMS
Copyright Cindy Jacks, 2013

Excerpt:

Pressing her forehead to his chest, she cried silently. A rough hand wiped at the tears streaming down her face.
“You should get back before you are missed.” Jostling her, he moved toward the back of his cell, but she caught his shoulder.
“This cannot happen.”
“It can. And it will, milady.”
A clumsy step forward and Merewyn clutched her arms around his neck. Her mouth pressed to his, she kissed him still weeping. For a moment, he gave himself over to the rush of heat and electricity, letting it warm his loins. Then he remembered that such passions were for the living and he was already a dead man.
He moved away again, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.
She gasped, sobbing harder.
The weight of his cruelty bore down on his shoulders. His imprisonment was not her fault. The trap in which he found himself had begun with his own meddling—interfering in a situation he had no right to put his hand in.
Even tear-stained she was the loveliest woman he’d ever seen. Was it her beauty that had besotted him or was it the cruel hand of fate that she’d been dealt that compelled him to act. He had no regrets. She and Owain and her other children had a chance now. Was it not his duty to protect the monarchy from threats both foreign and domestic? He had carried out his duty and now he would die with honor, if not in historical record at least in his heart. He could die in peace. Why then did the image of Merewyn in Leontes’ bed haunt him, tearing apart his peace, mocking his resolve to die like a man?
“Please go, milady. Before you are discovered here and my sacrifice comes to naught.”
She clutched at him, but he shook her off.
“Go!” he rasped. “Do not kiss me with same lips that he tastes. Just go.”
She spun around as though he’d slapped her, tearing open the door and fleeing from him.
It was better this way, he told himself. In two more dawns, he would be but a memory, a number of dawns after which that memory would fade into oblivion. She would move on…no, not would. She already had.
-------------------------------------------------------
Check out more Cindy Jacks books here: http://cindyjacks.com/books
Don't forget to keep on hopping! There are lots more goodies to be had and more talented folks to visit: http://closeencounterswiththenightkind.blogspot.com/2013/01/big-cocks-and-shamrocks-st-patricks-day.html
Don't forget to enter the Rafflecopter giveaway!





21 comments:

Michelle Brack said...

Happy St. Patrick's day! :) Thanks so much for the giveaway!

mmbrack@earthlink.net

lisagkendall said...

Enjoyed the excerpt. Thank you.
lisagk (at) yahoo (dot) com

Yvette said...

Nice blurb...thank you for sharing!
Yvette
yratpatrol@aol.com

JeanMP said...

Really great excerpt, thank you.
skpetal at hotmail dot com

Mer said...

I enjoyed the excerpt, very moving. There's something just so heartbreaking about starcrossed lovers steadfastly doing what seems to be the right thing, even if it tears them apart. I'd love to know the background here.

dancingcelt at gmail dot com

Natasha said...

Sounds like a great read!!
Thanks for the chance to win!
natasha_donohoo_8 at hotmail dot com

Unknown said...

That was heartbreaking but i loved it... I want to read it... Thanks for being part of the hop.

j.m.platt83@gmail.com

Urb said...

Thanks for the excerpt, and for joining the hop.

Urb
brendurbanist at gmail dot com

Unknown said...

What a wonderful excerpt. I really enjoyed reading it and had to write down the name of the book so I don't forget to pick it up!

Thank you for the chance to enter the giveaway and I hope everyone had a very Happy Saint Patrick’s Day!!
Shelly H.
Booski24@hotmail.com

Ashley Applebee said...

Great excerpt! Thanks so much for the great giveaway and joining in on the hop!!!
Ashley A
ash_app(at)hotmail(dot)com

Katie Amanda said...

Thanks for participating. Katieamanda1(at)yahoo(dot)com

RILEKAT said...

Hope you had a great St. Patrick's Day - thanks for the giveaway!

VampedChik said...

Great excerpt! I totally want to read more! :)
-Amber
goodblinknpark(AT)yahoo(DOT)com

SheriV said...

Loved the excerpt. Hope you had a great St Patrick's Day

Meghan said...

I love how naughty this hop sounds and it just so happens that I am a BIG fan of both those things. As for St. Patty's Day, I spent the day working and the evening partying. I went to visit my best friend and we went to two Irish Pubs as well as an assortment of other places. We danced and flirted and sported green. We even got hit on my two cops who stopped their cop car just to talk to us. At first, I thought we were in trouble for something but then they said they thought they knew one of us. Well, they didn't… they just wanted our phone numbers. Cute.
Thanks for the giveaway! And, I hope you had a very happy St. Patrick's Day!

mestith at gmail dot com

June M. said...

Thanks so much for the great giveaway :)
June
manning_J2004 at yahoo dot com

jessiel said...

Thank you for the snippet & being part of this fun hop!

JessieL62(at)comcast(dot)net

Unknown said...

love the excerpt. Thanks for the sneak peek.
lauratroxelatyahoodotcom

Krysykat said...

Thanks for the chance to win!

Morganlafey86(at)aol(dot)com

Kaci Verdun said...

Great giveaway, thanks for the chance to win!
kacidesigns AT yahoo DOT com

Foxx Miyamoto said...

And the winner is Lisa Kendall! Thanks to all who dropped by :)