Courtly Love Winner and Knight of Glory

Drumroll please.....

The winner of the ARC of Knight of Glory.....


From all the great commenters (and comments) was....


Lexie!

I really hope you enjoy my book. If you want, send me an email with what you thought of it after you read it.

Other news:

Knight of Glory was released today! I am very excited about this release. I think it's my best novel to date (which I hope I always say about each new release, I want to always grow and be a better writer).

The blurb:

Sir Geoffrey, along with some companions, has been sent away from Arnhem, entrusted by Queen Aislinn for a special mission, and has to leave behind the mysterious lady Celestia. On his journey, he uncovers seeds of a sinister plot, learns a horrible secret, and makes a new friend in exile Jenanna.

Their mission completed, Geoffrey and his companions rush to two different kingdoms to ask for aid. Danger and betrayal lurks around every corner, and even allies have secrets that could prove deadly. Geoffrey's feelings for Celestia grow and wane. After learning some of Celestia's secrets, he begins to have second thoughts about his love for her and is even drawn to Jenanna

Rumors abound that the Speicans have enlisted a mage of their own, to work unspeakable, forbidden magic. The war between Speica and Arnhem has just begun. Will Geoffrey survive the battle to live another day and discover which woman he truly loves?

And a short excerpt:

One lady stood by herself in the middle of the ballroom. The dancers paraded around her, ignoring her, and she appeared to be in her own world. Geoffrey's feet guided him to her even before he thought about it. "Hello," he said, bowing lowly. He accepted her outstretched hand and brushed his lips against it. A complete gentleman, he released it as soon as his lips touched. To hold her hand any longer, especially without knowing her name, would disgrace her reputation. "My name is Geoffrey of Siva."

"Hello, Geoffrey," the vision of loveliness said. "It is a pleasure to meet you."

"The pleasure is all mine." Geoffrey took half a step back and drank in her beauty. Her complexion was unlike any that he had ever seen before, a pale faint blush color.

A single strand of long wavy hair tumbled from her elegant hairdo, and she twirled it around her finger. "I am known as Celestia," she said, her voice light and feathery.

"Well, Celestia, would you care for a dance?" Geoffrey's heart thundered. Is this the first stirrings of love? He found himself drawn to her, unable to tear his gaze away. Reaching out with his hand to hold her, he was shocked when she stepped backward.

"I would rather not."

"Oh." Geoffrey fought back a wave of disappointment and struggled to keep his face from showing his frustration and regret.

The corners of her ruby lips twitched, and she let loose a soft chuckle. "I have never made it a practice of mine to dance with strange men."

"But I'm not a strange man," Geoffrey rushed to protest.

"Ah, but I do not know you, do I? Let us talk awhile." She gestured to some chairs.

They walked over, pausing to allow the dancers room to twirl and glide, and sat down next to each other. "What kingdom are you from?" Geoffrey asked. He placed his hands in his lap, for lack of a better place to put them and suppressed the urge to crack his knuckles. He always cracked his knuckles whenever he felt unsure of himself. Once Brother Amicus had yelled at him for the distracting noise when it had broken the silence of the classroom after the monk had asked Geoffrey a question that he didn't know the answer to.

Celestia stared at him, her eyes pale, barely showing a hint of color. Green? Or blue? Geoffrey couldn't decide which, but he didn't minding gazing into her eyes, trying to decipher their color.

"I'd much rather talk about you. Tell me some of your daring adventures. You have had daring adventures?" She raised an arched eyebrow, and her lips curved into a teasing smile.

Also, in mid-February, the Classic Romance Revival put together a wonderful anthology called The Cupid Diaries: Moments in Time. My short story, A Squire's Love, is included in this wonderful tome! This story centers on the squire Leo, a character that is briefly mentioned in Knight of Glory. It's a cute, heart-warming story in which Leo faces family difficulty put still has time to save a damsel in distress.

I submitted a short story to Pill Hill Press for their Atlantis anthology but was rejected. (Boo hiss) I'm going to try to work on it a little before sending it out.

So what's next? Well, I have a short story in another anthology to be released next month, in Desert Breeze Publishing's Be Mused Anthology. But as for writing, I think I am going to focus on completely redoing the beginning to The Land of Imagining. Work on Alexia's character, add more action to the beginning. The middle and end are done, it's just the opening that is giving me grief. Then I'll send it to a friend's teenage daughter so I can finally have a younger perspective on it.

To check out where I've been lately, read the latest issue of the Avoid Writer's Hell magazine. Toward the back of the issue, Shiela interviewed me.

So that's what's new with me. What's new with all of you? What are you working on?