But on a much lighter, happier note: Saving Moirra's Heart goes live in less than an hour! I did not do a big book release party with this release. But I did start a new Facebook page dedicated to that book and series. Readers are encouraged to stop by, ask questions and leave comments.
I want to thank all of you, my beautiful readers, who continue to offer words of encouragement and love. You're simply the best!!
Please know how much I adore and appreciate all of you!!
Below is a snippet from the first chapter:
Pushing
Moirra behind him, Alysander stood to his full height, jaw clenched. “What the
bloody hell do ye mean ye’ve come to arrest her?” Questions abounded, blended
with his anger that anyone would so unjustly accuse his wife of such an
atrocity as murder. ’Twas enough to make his head spin.
The sheriff was unmoved by Alysander’s display of
protection. He gave a nod to his men, who immediately dismounted. “Me brother’s
body, or what was left of it, was found last eve.”
“What evidence do ye have that my wife killed
him?” Alysander challenged, as he kept a close watch on the men slowly
approaching.
The sheriff grunted his displeasure at having
anyone question his authority. “I don’t need any bloody evidence. I ken
she killed him.”
Alysander knew he was sorely outnumbered, and
being unarmed did not help his situation. Still, that knowledge did nothing to
quell the instinct to protect his wife. When the first man reached out to grab
Moirra, Alysander’s fury erupted. He swung out, his fist landing hard on the
man’s jaw. He stumbled backward, his eyes wide with stunned surprise.
In the blink of an eye, Alysander was fighting
with such ferocity and fury, he was able to land several punches into the faces
and stomachs of the other men. But soon, they had overpowered him and wrestled
him to the ground. Moirra’s daughters stood frozen in fear just inside the
barn, looks of horror on their faces. Moirra and the girls screamed when the
sheriff’s men began to beat Alysander to a bloody mess.
“Stop!” Moirra called out, momentarily frozen in
place, so gripped with fear she could not move. “Stop! Yer killin' him!”
The girls raced from the barn, anger alight in
their eyes, sgian dubh’s drawn and at the ready.
“Nay!” Moirra screamed at her daughters. “Nay!”
Mariote and her sisters came to an abrupt halt,
just steps away from the pile of men. Orabilis apparently hadn’t heard the
order to yield, for she stepped forward and kicked one of the men, her boot
landing against his ear. Esa wrapped both arms around her littlest sister and
pulled her away.
“Almer!” Moirra shouted as she lunged toward the
men, pounding their backs with her fists. “Make them stop!”
One of the men rolled Moirra off with a shrug of
his shoulders. She lay on her back, covered in sweat and out of breath. Her
daughters rushed to her aid, kneeling beside her. Moirra continued to beg for
mercy on Alysander’s behalf, tears streaming down her face.
When her words went unheeded, she looked up to
Almer. “I’ll go with ye!” She screamed. “Just tell them to stop!”
A triumphant and arrogant smile formed on Almer’s
face before he called his men to stop. “That be enough,” he shouted.
The men stood, faces and tunics covered in blood,
much of it belonging to Alysander, but some of it their own. Moirra knelt down
to look at her husband. His lips were cut and bleeding: both eyes were
beginning to swell shut: and bruises covered his face. “Alysander!” she
whispered.
He tried to sit but couldn’t. His ribs hurt with
each breath he took. “Moirra,” he said as he reached for her hand.
Two men grabbed her by the arms and pulled her to
her feet.
“Moirra,” Alysander called out to her. “Moirra!”
The last thing he saw before blackness enveloped
him, were the tears streaming down Moirra’s face as the sheriff and his men
hauled her away.
