Weekend Writing Warriors ~ So We Meet Again

October 2, 2016 by Alexis Duran

New month – New Novel!

Welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors, the blog hop where a bunch of really great writers share snippets from their published work or works-in-progress. This week I’m leaving Wryer to his fate at Gryffon Hall and moving on to my next book, Matthias, which is set to release on November 2. This is a new-to-me publisher, Dreamspinner Press, and a new concept- writing one novel in a multi-author series. The series is called Order of the Black Knights (cool,eh?) and you can read about it here. On to the snippet!

***

“So we meet again, Matthias,” Dylan Connelly said in his best imitation of a James Bond voice. He clicked the Zoom button to increase the size of the image on his screen and tilted the monitor to reduce the glare of the overhead fluorescents. The resolution was low and the photo grainy, typical tabloid quality, but he couldn’t mistake the dark-haired, blue-eyed man lurking behind the main subject: struggling rock star Jason Vaughn.

Dylan leaned back in his creaking office chair and let out a long, slow breath. Looking at Matthias, even at low res, brought it all back. The agonizing pain of the most intense crush he’d ever endured, the months of pointless longing, the humiliation of rejection. Mostly it brought back the longing, and Dylan squirmed as his body reacted in its usual cock-jerk way to the sight of the mesmerizing creole con man, Matthias Krall.

“If that really is your name,” he muttered. Dylan had yet to uncover Matthias’s background. He’d appeared, as if sprung from the earth fully formed, ten years ago on the campus of the University of Washington.

***

From Louisiana swamp rat to revivalist huckster to skilled con artist, Matthias Krall clawed his way out of poverty using his natural gifts of grift and manipulation to become the leader of an exclusive retreat center. Exploiting the guise of spiritual guru, Matthias seduces the rich and powerful into turning over their lives and fortunes to his control. But wealth and a small cadre of loyal followers can’t protect Matthias from the betrayal he knows is imminent. Everyone wants what Matthias has, except for one man who wants to destroy it. Dylan Connelly is a reporter who’s determined to prove the charismatic recluse is not only a fraud but a murderer.

Irresistibly drawn to Dylan despite the warnings in his gut, Matthias lures Dylan to his island retreat, determined to destroy his enemy once and for all.

***

Order of the Black Knights

Every century has seen its knights, but they are not always seen. Some of them do what must be done—getting their hands dirty when no one else is willing. Assassins and antiheroes who work from the shadows, they are called the Black Knights. From the time of the society’s creation in the 1100s, these men are cursed to repeat their lives of bloodshed. But for each knight, there is one who can bring out the man that waits inside and break the cycle. The question is whether or not the knight will kill his true love before he figures it out.

***

This post is part of an ongoing blog hop hosted by Weekend Writing Warriors. Every Sunday, participating authors post eight to ten sentences from a published work or perhaps their current work in progress. Then we hop to our fellow warriors’ blogs and check out all the fabulous fiction that’s happening! I heartily invite you to participate as a reader, writer, or both. It’s a great way to discover your next favorite book. Click here or use the address: http://www.wewriwa.com

Seductive Studs ~ Unfortunate Encounter

September 26, 2016 by Alexis Duran

Hello and welcome to Seductive Studs, the hop that celebrates m/m romance in all its many wonderful forms. This week I’m sharing a snippet from my latest release, Gryffon Hall, a fantasy inspired by Beauty and the Beast.

***

Morning arrived on the plodding feet of ill-tempered giants. Glimmerveen Castle ground into a tumultuous, clanging upheaval as the harsh light of day crept over the castle’s outer walls and poured into Wryler’s window with relentless persistence.

He sat in bed with his hands wrapped around a mug of tea, recounting the evils of alcohol and swearing off the foul brew for the rest of his days. Amster snored loudly, stretched out on the settee beneath the window. Wryler had to summon a kitchen maid to bring him his breakfast—hot, spiced tea, dry bread, and a few sad-looking pieces of fruit. He nibbled on the bread and listened to fifty-odd guests loading their carriages, shouting at the servants, and generally making a very pointless racket. He wondered if Lord Rouchet was among those leaving and, with a creeping dread, recalled their unfortunate encounter.

Wryler’s body stirred, and he grimly ordered it to calm down. Thank goodness he hadn’t succumbed to Rouchet’s impetuous advances. It was a small miracle the brute hadn’t taken advantage of Wryler’s obvious drunkenness. He dimly recalled Rouchet threatening to hoist Wryler over his shoulder and carry him off to ravish him, at which point Wryler had said something devastating enough to send the barbarian running off into the night.

To his extreme irritation this muddled memory did nothing to soothe his body. His troublesome cock just kept growing harder and harder no matter how much Wryler conjured terrifying images of being abducted by the lord, manhandled, forced to do… Well, his imagination wasn’t that lurid… Oh dear, yes it was.

He nearly dumped the tea in his lap when someone thumped loudly on his door, and for a second he thought it might be Rouchet come to make good on his threats.

Then the door burst open and his father marched in, followed closely by his first minister, Fenwale Cook. They were both smiling, which made Wryler want to leap from the bed and throw himself out the window. No good ever came from his father smiling.

***

Fated to be born the useless fourth son of the Lord of Glimmerveen, Wryler dreams of getting married and escaping the rustic confines of his father’s castle. A wealthy merchant’s son seems to hold the key to Wryler’s safe if somewhat dreary future. However, the arrival of a mysterious stranger on the eve of Wryler’s betrothal sends his plans into disarray and Wryler finds himself traded off in marriage to one of the most notorious rogues in the land.

Is Lord Aeric Rouchet the scoundrel he appears to be, or is he something much worse? Separated from his family and thrust into a strange and dangerous new life at the foreboding Gryffon Hall, Wryler must unravel the secret of his husband’s shadowed life and defeat the curse which threatens not only his growing affection for the barbarian in his bed, but the lives of everyone the Lord of Gryffon Hall is sworn to protect.

***

Check out the great review on Diverse Reader.

Amazon

ARe

Loose Id

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Don’t forget to continue the hop at Seductive Studs for more steamy m/m goodness.

My Sexy Saturday ~ A Touch More Monstrous

September 24, 2016 by Alexis Duran

Welcome to the 160th Week of My Sexy Saturday. This week’s theme is Sexy Has It’s Way. I don’t know about you, but I keep reading that as Sexy GETS It’s Way. And it usually does, doesn’t it? In this scene from Gryffon Hall, Lord Aeric Rouchet definitely thinks he’s going get his way.

***

“Never mind Formister,” the lord of the manor said as he followed Wryler out. “He was quite the rogue in his day. He only pretends to be offended.”

“But he had every right to be. Really, Lord Rouchet, your behavior is less than decorous.” Shame still writhed in Wryler’s innards. He couldn’t get away from the librarian and his smirks fast enough.

“Ah, we’re back to Lord Rouchet, are we?” Rouchet grabbed Wryler’s arm and stopped him. Wryler didn’t like the mischievous gleam in Rouchet’s eye one bit. “As far as rude behavior goes, you haven’t seen anything yet. I’ll have you on every flat surface in this castle before the year’s out.”

This time Wryler managed to keep his head and jerked free, chin held high. “That’s your right, as my lord, but I have one more day of freedom, and I ask you to respect my person until that time as I have no say in matter.”

“I’m sorry if you feel that our marriage is a prison sentence for you, but I have to say your fiery gaze and your words only enflame my passions. I quite look forward to being your lord and abusing everything our bond entitles me to.” Rouchet grinned, and Wryler had to admit the flash of white teeth made him look quite handsome and a touch more monstrous. Odd that the two things didn’t seem to conflict. But Aunt Otillia was right. Wryler must establish himself as someone to be respected, not only with the servants but the master of the house as well.

“I would kindly request that you keep your distance until we meet at the altar tonight. Until then, I bid you good day.” Wryler bowed stiffly and then marched down the hall, half expecting Rouchet to pounce on him from behind. Instead Rouchet laughed again and called after him.

“Don’t get lost now, Sir Wryler. I can’t bear the thought of delaying our union a single moment.”

***

Check out the great review on Diverse Reader.

Amazon

ARe

Loose Id

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Don’t forget to continue the hop at My Sexy Saturday for more steamy snippets.

Weekend Writing Warriors ~ Not Even a Life

September 18, 2016 by Alexis Duran

Welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors, the blog hop where a bunch of really great writers share excerpts from their published work or work-in-progress. As I hope everyone on the vast interweb knows by now, my m/m fantasy Gryffon Hall released on August 30. I’ve been sharing from the scene where Wryler finds out he’s been betrothed to the notorious Lord Rouchet. He’s been left alone to pack and roil in his own worry and misery. I skipped ahead a bit from last week.

***

And the master of Gryffon Hall, Aeric Rouchet, destined to be Wryler’s protector and husband, what of him? Wryler could only think of the man tearing into the greasy flesh on his plate and wonder how he behaved when out of the company of refined men and women.

Wryler forced himself to move. There had to be some way out of this cursed fate. He went to his wardrobe and flung it open. He could run away. But where on earth would he go? As a youth he’d harbored fantasies of returning to his mother’s people, but now a very harsh truth hit him. His mother had been traded off to Wryler’s father just as Wryler was now being traded off to Rouchet. A life in exchange for an advantageous trade agreement, and not even a life, in the eyes of the dealmakers, but a title, a name.

***

Check out the great review on Diverse Reader.

Amazon

ARe

Loose Id

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Weekend Writing Warriors ~ Muddled Misery

September 10, 2016 by Alexis Duran

Welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors, the blog hop where a fun and diverse group of writers share excerpts in ten sentences or less from their published works or works-in-progress. I’ve been sharing from my new release, Gryffon Hall, an m/m fantasy inspired by Beauty and The Beast. In this scene, Wryler’s father informs him that he’s been betrothed to the notorious Lord Aeric Rouchet. Last week, Wryler found out that he’s to leave for Gryffon Hall three days hence. His father, who is entirely unsympathetic to Wrylers’ misgivings, is the speaker:

***

“Cheer up, Wryler. I don’t want my last image of you to be the one of muddled misery I see before me now. When you give me that baleful look, I can’t help but think of your mother.” He sighed, momentarily woeful, then rallied, slapping his hands together. “Let’s go, Cook, we’ve still got a house full of guests with aching heads–all ripe for a little lucrative conversation.”

With that, the two intruders departed, slamming the door behind them. Wryler stood motionless, listening to their fading boot stomps and the grating buzz of Amster’s snores.

Sent away into the wilderness, alone, to live out his days with a stranger. A barbarous stranger who battled monsters for a living. For most of Wryler’s life, Gryffon Hall had been held up as an example of power gone awry—a once great seat of power brought down by greed and black magic.

***

Check out the great review on Diverse Reader.

Buy on Amazon

ARe

Loose Id

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My Sexy Saturday ~ This Undeniable Fact

September 10, 2016 by Alexis Duran

Hello and welcome to My Sexy Saturday, the blog hop where a host of writers share steamy snippets from their published work or work in progress in either seven words, seven sentences or seven paragraphs.

This week I’m sharing from my new and shiny m/m release, Gryffon Hall. The theme is My Sexy Dilemma and on Wryler’s wedding night, he unexpectedly finds himself right in the middle of one. His groom has become irritatingly respectful all of a sudden, and what happens next is up to Wryler.

***

Wryler rolled onto his side and felt horribly, dreadfully lonely. Dratted wine.

Rouchet’s touch, his kisses, his heat…had been so convincing, so passionate. Rouchet had awakened a fire in Wryler only to douse it with politeness.

How dare Rouchet be so polite all of a sudden? So irritatingly considerate? There was, if one wanted to open one’s heart to further humiliation, the tiniest possibility that what Rouchet had said was actually true. He wanted to give Wryler the choice.

Wryler flopped onto his back again. Perhaps, not only was Rouchet not a monster, but quite human. Maybe he wanted to be wanted just as Wryler did.

“Ridiculous,” Wryler muttered. “You’re only thinking that because you want it to be true.” He sat up and, after a moment, pulled off his boots. Then he tore at the cravat. He nearly choked himself, but got it off and threw it aside. Damn it. Rouchet was supposed to be doing this. Wryler’s husband was supposed to be peeling his clothes off, lavishing him with kisses, groping him with abandon.

“Oh, stop it,” he said to his traitorous cock, which stiffened and swelled, entirely unaware that it had been rejected right along with the rest of Wryler’s body. His breathing grew ragged.

He wanted Rouchet. All Wryler’s arguments against this undeniable fact crumbled to dust.

***

Check out the great review at Diverse Reader. (And check out the blog tour giveaway)

Buy on Amazon

ARe

Loose Id

And finally, don’t forget to continue the hop for more sexy snippets at My Sexy Saturday