Every writer has certain parts of their stories that they find particularly FUN to write. My favorite has always been when the Hero and Heroine encounter each other for the very first time. And this month, the theme of the HERE BE MAGIC BLOG just happens to be "First Meetings".
I had a hard time deciding on which of my characters to feature (as usual, they all wanted to participate!), but in the end, I chose the couple from Book 1 of my Grim Series. Hope you enjoy it! And be sure to check out the SALE on the first 3 ebooks in the series at the bottom of the page.
EXCERPT from STORM WARRIOR by Dani Harper
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| Available in Kindle, Trade Paperback and AUDIBLE |
Morgan pressed the sharp tip of the garden
hoe against the throat of the man lying in the grass. “Okay Reese, what the hell are you doing here on my front lawn? You’ve
got no car, no keys and no clothes. How’d you get here?”
“My name is Rhys.” He corrected, pronouncing it with a single roll of the r, just as Nainie had said her r’s all her life. As did every Welsh
person Morgan had met on her trip, from the hotel clerks to the shopkeepers to
the tour directors. “And it was you
brought me here.”
“I’m pretty sure I’d remember that. Now,
where did you come from?”
“I was a warrior of my clan until I was
captured by the Roman invaders. They forced me to fight in the arena at Isca
Silurum and named me The Bringer of Death
for my skills. I thought I knew hell
then, but I had not truly found it until I escaped from them.”
Good grief, was he high on something? The Bringer of Death… Somebody had been
playing way too many video games. “Good for you. Ten points for originality.
Let me guess, you were drinking last night, and your friends decided to play a
prank on you. They stole your clothes and dumped you at the wrong place. Am I
close?”
“A prank.” He seemed to consider that.
“Yes, you could say that a bit of a prank was played on me. I found a cave, but
it turned out to be an entrance to the world below. The Tylwyth Teg found me
there, and there aren’t greater pranksters to be had.”
She nearly dropped the hoe. “How do you
know about the Tylwyth Teg?” Except for her grandmother, she’d never heard
anyone on this side of the ocean speak of them, never mind pronounce their name
correctly. The tourist shops in Wales did a booming business in faery
merchandise, yet she hadn’t heard the real name of the fantasy creatures used
very much even in that country. She
narrowed her eyes at the man, daring him to answer.
He shrugged a little. Although she wasn’t
pressing on his neck anymore, he remained prone. “The Fair Ones are cousin to
men but very much older. Ancient as the mountains. It was the custom of our
clan to leave offerings for them, outside the village. The Fair Ones are often
bored, and they think nothing of toying with mortals for sport.”
Nainie Jones had often spoken of her
childhood, told of her mother leaving milk and bread on the back step for the
Tylwyth Teg. It was an offering, a gift of hospitality, she said, so they
wouldn’t play tricks on the family. Morgan gripped the hoe harder to keep her
hands from trembling, yet she couldn’t help but be fascinated.
“You cannot enter their territory without
permission or payment,” he continued. “I had nothing to offer when they
discovered me. Not even my life, as I was dying. I thought they would finish
me, but instead they healed me. And that was their prank. Because then they
changed me, so they could take their payment in servitude.”
Rhys—if that was even his real name—either
believed what he was saying or he was a prime candidate for an Oscar. Because
try as Morgan might, she couldn’t see any evidence that he was lying. He had to
be crazy then, but everything about the whole situation was insane. After all,
she was standing in her front yard in her pajamas, holding a naked man at the
point of a garden hoe. She’d taken assertive action when she’d seen him lying
in the grass, assuming he was drunk or something. Well, she’d gotten the upper
hand all right.
Now what was she supposed to do with the
guy?
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About STORM WARRIOR, Book 1 of the Grim Series
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| Check out all my books on my Amazon Author Page at https://www.amazon.com/Dani-Harper/e/B004FD8RV2 |
Two thousand years ago, Rhys was the fierce Celtic warrior branded by the Romans as “the Bringer of Death.” Mortally wounded in battle, he was captured by the Fair Ones, cunning and powerful masters of the Welsh faery realm. They spared his life…but for a price. As a grim, he has roamed the earth as a messenger of death—until a single act of kindness breaks the ancient enchantment and delivers him into a strange new world…
As a child, Morgan Edwards marveled at the faery tales spun by her beloved grandmother, stories of the magical beings hidden in the heart of ancient Wales. But now Morgan is all grown up, a veterinarian who believes only in what science can prove—until the night a massive black dog saves her from a vicious attack, and life as she knows it changes forever. Suddenly a stranger stands before her, the man of her dreams made flesh and blood not by science, but by a magic that could bring them their hearts’ desires ... or cost them everything they have.
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Love Faeries? 3-BOOK SPECIAL SALE
Get all 3 ebooks in the Grim Series by Dani Harper for just $6 at
Sale is ON NOW through the end of February!
PS - Don't forget to watch for Book 4, STORM CROSSED, releasing this year!
PS - Don't forget to watch for Book 4, STORM CROSSED, releasing this year!
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Great post title. LOL
ReplyDeletesherry @ fundinmental