Weekend Writing Warriors ~ Up Close

May 15, 2016 by Alexis Duran

Welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors. Well, last week I suffered a brain glitch and after dutifully setting up my post, forgot to sign up for the hop! So if you’re following the story, you can read what happened last week here. (You might notice the title of that post is somewhat ironic.) I’ve been sharing from my m/m fantasy, Gryffon Hall, which is now languishing in my editor’s inbox. (I’ve gotten spoiled; two weeks without a response seems like a really, really long time. Remember traditional publishers, who often take a year to respond, if at all?)

But I digress. As we rejoin our hero Wryler, he’s sitting next to the notorious Aeric Rouchet at an official state dinner, but for the moment he’s more worried about the man he expected to become engaged to- Lennox Arsburry, who is otherwise occupied.

***

To Wryler’s irritation, the dratted MacFarlane lad sat beside Lennox and they chatted and laughed merrily. Lennox never once looked Wryler’s way. Wryler gulped another goblet of wine and his dismay distilled into anger. He decided to stop obsessing over Lennox and his childish games, and tore his attention away with difficulty.

The Duke of Middlestone slept soundly, chin to chest. Wryler turned to Rouchet who, having sated his ravenous hunger, now chewed more methodically, grunts and growls subsiding into slurps and quiet belches.

Up close, he wasn’t as horrible as he first appeared. His dark, thick mass of red hair was clean and although tangled, not matted. His trim beard lined a strong jaw and accentuated the hollow beneath his prominent cheekbones. Rouchet intently scanned the room while he ate and Wryler got the impression he didn’t miss a single thing, not a snicker, a spoon drop, nor a beneath-the-table grope, such as the one Lennox was performing right at that moment with the blushing Branson MacFarlane.

***

Gryffon Hall ~

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 barbarian 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.

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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

Weekend Writing Warriors ~ He Really Ought to Pay More Attention

May 8, 2016 by Alexis Duran

Welcome to another edition of Weekend Writing Warriors. I have valiantly torn myself away from the rewarding task of pulling weeds to come inside and post this snippet, so I hope you enjoy it. I’m continuing to share from Gryffon Hall, an m/m fantasy inspired by Beaty and the Beast. I’ve skipped ahead a bit from last time. The party has moved into the great feast hall and Wryler is surprised to find himself seated at the head table.

***

Wryler looked at the place cards and blanched when he saw he was seated next to Aeric Rouchet. On his other side sat the frail Duke of Middlestone, who fell asleep soon after Lord Glimmerveen finished his official welcome to the assembled host.

Rouchet nodded at Wryler, then set upon his meal with the ferociousness of a bear just out of hibernation. The overly large man couldn’t be contained by his chair and his bulk encroached on Wryler’s place setting. Rouchet didn’t notice this as he planted his elbows and tore into a goose leg with fierce, tearing bites.

Wryler picked at his food, nibbling at cheese and bread. His stomach roiled with excitement and anxiety. Would his father announce the betrothal after the meal or was he too preoccupied with trade and politics? Was that the real reason the merchant Arsburry was there, to meet with Rouchet? Wryler thought, not for the first time, that he really ought to pay more attention to what was going on around him.

***

Barbarians aren’t all bad.

Gryffon Hall

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Weekend Writing Warriors ~ A Matter of False Perspective

May 1, 2016 by Alexis Duran

Hey there! Welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors. I’ve hurdled another deadline and it feels great to be back. I’m continuing on with the last scene I shared, which is from Gryffon Hall, the novel I just finished. It’s an m/m fairy tale revisited, inspired by Beauty and the Beast. Wyler has just gotten an eyeful of the intimidating Lord of Gryffon Hall, Aeric Rouchet.

This picks up right after the line: The footman, who was no slight fellow, appeared diminutive next to the visitor; Rouchet could have picked him up with one hand and used him to clean the gristle from his teeth.

***

Wryler blinked and told himself this was an illusion, a matter of false perspective as Rouchet strode toward them, burgundy-colored hair blazing in the light of a hundred lanterns.

He walked right up to Wryler’s father. Wryler had a hard time not shrinking into the background.

“Greetings, Lord Glimmerveen! I thank you for your gracious invitation and apologize for our lateness. We were fallen upon by bandits on the road from Demmonvale.”

Another gasp went up from the listening crowd. Rouchet grinned and said, “Oh, it was no trouble for us to dispatch the motely crew, but it did slow us down. These two ugly brutes are my cousins, Krull of Dane’s Forge and Phynnias Ledderbrook.”

The two men stood on either side of Rouchet side, forming an impressive wall of manhood.

***

Here’s my first stab at a blurb:

Gryffon Hall

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Seductive Studs ~ Gryffon Hall

April 1, 2016 by Alexis Duran

Welcome to my blog and another steamy round of Seductive Studs. This week I’m succumbing to WIP love and sharing from the story that is currently my everything. Still shiny and new, I’m having a lot of fun with this twisted fairy tale, working title Gryffon Hall.

After watching his betrothed-to-be, Lennox Asburry, flirting with someone else, Wryler succumbs to jealousy and too much wine, and accidentally flirts a bit himself with the mysterious visitor, Lord Rouchet of Gryffon Hall. He’s about to suffer/enjoy the consequences.

***

Wyler squinted up a velvet sky recently cleared of clouds. It would be a good night for peering through his telescope, if only the stars would stop swarming about so.

“Lovely night after so much rain.”

Wryler snapped his chin down and stood up straight. The voice had come from the shadows toward the stables, along with the sloshing of boots through puddles. With a few more strides Aeric Rouchet emerged from the gloom, that damnable grin on his face.

“Yes. Quite,” Wryler said, “The dining hall got so hot.”

“It did, didn’t it?” Rouchet kept walking and Wryler feared he might plow straight into him. He braced himself for impact but Rouchet stopped a few inches shy of contact. “The fresh air is bracing, but it hasn’t done much to cool the flush in your cheeks.”

“It’s a curse. The blushing,” Wryler said, and damn if his blood didn’t flame even hotter.

“I find it quite becoming.” Rouchet rested his palm against the wall next to Wryler’s head and leaned in. “Is it only the quest for fresh air that keeps you from your cozy bed, Sir Wryler?”

“Yes. What else would it…would I…?”

“Oh, I don’t know. I noticed the young Mr. Arsburry giving you the eye all night.”

“Him?” Wryler snorted. “There’s nothing going on between us, I assure you.”

“Glad to hear it. I thought perhaps you were looking for company.”

“I weren’t. I wasn’t.” Accursed wine!

“But now?” Rouchet placed a finger under Wryler’s chin and lifted it slightly. His looming presence enveloped Wryler in warmth and the musky smell of leather. Rouchet blocked out the sky, the stars replaced by his gleaming eyes. Wryler shrank back against the wall. He wasn’t being held in place, but he might as well have been. He couldn’t move, and didn’t much want to.

***

For more juicy M/M goodness, don’t forget to check out the rest of the hop at www.seductivestuds.blogspot.com

Weekend Writing Warriors ~ Stand Your Ground

March 27, 2016 by Alexis Duran

Hi! Good to be back at Weekend Writing Warriors. I’ve been in bunker mode, writing like a demon to meet a deadline. Happy to say the WIP is now in submission and I can do other things again, like bathe, look out the window, and participate in blog hops.

I’m continuing on with the scene from Blood of Salar that I was sharing before I fell into the abyss. M’lan is confronting rebel soldiers who are plundering the chapel at Ka’alar’s temple. They’ve been warned, but naturally they scoff at the slight young monk and his “empty” threats.

***

M’lan took a deep breath and closed his eyes. “Ka’alar, I call upon you to help me protect your house.” He focused on pulling the magical energy of the sacred space from its stones, but he needn’t have bothered. As if coiled in his blood waiting to strike, a dark, fluid power surged through his veins and poured into the statue.

Ka’alar’s stone eyes opened, lifeless white replaced by fiery red. The man on the fountain screamed and fell backward.

Raffe shouted, “Sorcery! Stand your ground, men. It’s only an illusion.”

The marble statue began to twist beneath M’lan’s hands. The smooth, cool scales of the mighty serpent caressed his skin as they slid past.

***

M’lan, headmaster of the order of Ka’alar and Jamil Jarka, king’s assassin, find their impossible love challenged to the utmost as a rebellion sweeps them apart, sending Jamil on a dangerous mission to assassinate the rebel leader, General Charvat. Unknown to anyone, Charvat is on his way to the temple to exploit the headmaster’s magical abilities.

When the rebel army arrives, M’lan is thrust into a struggle against political and sexual dominance as Charvat attempts to break his resistance. Violence and death mount, awakening within M’lan both the powers of destruction and the desire for revenge.

On the trail of his prey, Jamil begins to question his devotion to M’lan as his once innocent lover transforms into a mage and invades the assassin’s thoughts and dreams. The closer Jamil draws to M’lan, the more he puts his life and his very soul at risk. Jamil soon realizes that his lover might prove to be more deadly than the man he was sent to kill.

A final confrontation between assassin and monk might destroy them both, but Jamil is relentless in his determination to rescue M’lan, for he knows that only his love can master the mage.

***

Blood of Salar on Amazon Loose Id

All Romance eBooks Barnes & Noble

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My Sexy Saturday ~ My Next Move

March 26, 2016 by Alexis Duran

Welcome to My Sexy Saturday. This week’s theme is Some Sexy Action, which can be interpreted in a variety of ways! This excerpt from Curse of Salar is actually a bit of a break between the action. Prince Dezra has been excited to spar with a visiting soldier who isn’t afraid to engage the prince in a real fight, but Dezra soon finds that getting trounced repeatedly, even by the sexy Nevar, wears thin after a while.

***

Dezra had never spent so much time on his back unintentionally.

Captain Nevar loomed over him, the tip of his shibar hovering close enough to Dezra’s neck to signal victory but not so close as to be disrespectful. If the bout had ended with Nevar on the ground, Dezra wouldn’t have hesitated to drive the tip into the skin hard enough to leave a lasting bruise.

“Game to Captain Nevar,” Lanz said wearily. Their audience was becoming accustomed to seeing Dezra defeated. The spectacle had lost its initial charm, even for Dezra. The only one still enjoying himself was Nevar, who grinned as he held out his hand to jerk Dezra to his feet.

“You’re getting slower, not faster,” the captain commented and dared to brush some of the dirt from Dezra’s shoulder. Dezra’s reaction to the captain’s touch hadn’t dimmed over the past three days, no matter how much his enthusiasm for a real fight waned. His bruised skin tingled, and his already pounding heart clenched.

“Everything hurts,” he said. Even his hands ached from gripping the shibar too tightly. At least he hadn’t been disarmed.

“If I had six months, I might be able to make a passable foot soldier out of you.”

Dezra glared at Nevar, aware he’d been insulted but surprised that he didn’t much care. He welcomed the captain’s dominance in a way that was as enticing as it was alarming. “How is it you always know what my next move will be?”

***

Blurb for Masters and Mages 3: Curse of Salar

In the desert kingdom of Jahar, the rule of mages has been overthrown and the ancient lineage of sorcerer kings wiped out. Prince Dezra and his sister are the last living members of the royal family and are held prisoners in their ancestral palace.

Prince Dezra lives a life of lies and deceit. In order to stay alive, he must pretend to be a drug-addicted wastrel, trusting no one, isolated from even his sister who has chosen to cooperate with the government that executed their parents.

Into his lonely existence comes a man who should be his sworn enemy; Captain Rayn Nevar. Dezra is irresistibly drawn to the rough soldier and his longing for a simple sexual encounter quickly morphs into a dangerous obsession.

Captain Rayn Nevar knows he should stay far away from Prince Dezra, but his desire for the beautiful young man overrides all common sense. Despite the fact that Dezra’s ancestors destroyed Rayn’s family, the captain finds himself in a position of protecting the prince from the many schemers who believe the last of the mages should be annihilated.

When treachery leads to Dezra’s escape, he is at last free to bond with the serpent god Ka’alar and develop his long repressed powers. Only the arrival of a mysterious monk with powers greater than Dezra’s stops the prince from using black sorcery to destroy all who stand in his way, including Rayn.

As Jahar edges toward another war between masters and mages, Rayn must question his devotion to his increasingly deadly lover while Dezra must decide if ultimate power is worth the ultimate sacrifice.

Buy on Amazon All Romance Ebooks (ARe) Loose Id

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Don’t forget to continue the hop to discover a wonderful array of sweet and steamy romance at My Sexy Saturday.