My Sexy Saturday ~ Long Gone

April 30, 2016 by Alexis Duran

Hello and welcome to another My Sexy Saturday. Today I’m celebrating vanquishing yet another deadline (they just keep coming, though). This week’s theme is My Sexy Love and the novel I just completed happens to be all about falling in love (and monsters, curses, and such, but mostly love). Gryffon Hall is m/m fantasy; a revisited fairy tale inspired by Beauty and the Beast. Wyler and Aeric have an arranged marriage. This snippet is from their wedding night. They’re not quite in love yet, but things are looking up.

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“I’ll try not to hurt you, but there will be pain,” Aeric said.

“Don’t hold back.” Wryler wrapped his arms around his husband’s back. It was like hugging a tree. A supple, sweat-slicked tree. “I welcome it.”

Aeric pushed back to his knees, dragging Wryler’s tattered shirt from his arms and flinging it away. He did the same with Wryler’s trousers and crouched over him, doing exactly what Wryler had hoped he wouldn’t; he inspected every inch of Wryler with both eyes and hands.

“Goddess, what perfection,” Aeric sighed.

“I told you, you don’t need to butter me up with false compliments,” Wryler pouted. “I’m perfectly aware of my limitations.”

Aeric cupped Wryler’s cheek in his palm. “Lovely Wryler, how is it you’re so blind? I must return to Glimmerveen first chance and slap your father and brothers across their silly faces.”

Wryler clucked sternly but in fact he warmed inside hearing Aeric’s words. Only Lennox and a few sly knights had complimented Wryler in such a fashion, and that was because they were trying to get into Wryler’s trousers. Aeric didn’t need to try. They were married, and the trousers were long gone.

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Here’s my first stab at a blurb:

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

Weekend Writing Warriors ~ The Barbarian From the West

April 17, 2016 by Alexis Duran

Greetings and welcome to another round of Weekend Writing Warriors. This week, since I’m up to my eyeballs in it, I’ve decided to share from my current WIP, a reimagined fairy tale currently titled Gryffon Hall. Our hero, Wryler Glimmerveen, is reluctantly attending a fancy feast hosted by his father, lord of Glimmerveen castle. Wyler, the fourth son, expects to soon be married off to Lennox, a wealthy merchant’s son, but a mysterious visitor may throw his carefully planned future into disarray.

***

A commotion at the wide doors served as a welcome distraction. Three rather large men had entered, shouting greetings and apologies for their lateness. The crowd parted and a footman cleared his throat.

“Lord Aeric Rouchet, Earl of Gryffon Hall!” he announced. The gasp and murmur that rippled through the room would have amused Wryler, if not for the fact that Wryler couldn’t help gasping and murmuring along with the rest of them.

“What is he doing here? Shall we alert the guards?” he whispered into his father’s ear.

The music came to a squeaky halt as Aeric Rouchet stepped forward. Everyone gaped at the notorious barbarian from the west. 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.

***

Gryffon Hall, known in the real world as Eltz Castle, Germany.

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 ~ Tranquility

April 10, 2016 by Alexis Duran

Welcome to another round of Weekend Writing Warriors. I’m celebrating passing the 10,000 view mark last week, and much of that is due to participating in this fabulous blog hop. Thanks, guys!

Today I’m finishing up the scene from Masters and Mages 2: Blood of Salar that I’ve been posting from over the past several weeks. While confronting rebel soldiers who were desecrating the chapel of Ka’alar, M’lan called upon the long dormant god of death for help and was surprised when the god answered. I’m under the limit this week, so I’ve included the last line from last week.

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The serpent continued to thrash, golden fangs exposed.

“Stop!” M’lan gasped. The air shimmered, the columns trembled, and the walls seemed to warp and expand. Suddenly everything became still, the silence acute. The statue was as it had been before. Only a few broken stones and Raffe’s limp body showed anything had happened.

M’lan stared at the lifeless, graceful statue of the serpent, sacred waters once again dribbling benignly from its fangs into the pool below. Despite its tranquility, it seemed to be laughing at him.

***

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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Weekend Writing Warriors ~ Ka’alar

April 3, 2016 by Alexis Duran

Welcome to my little corner of Weekend Writing Warriors, the blog hop where a fantastic group of writers share excerpts from their published work or works in progress.

This week I’m continuing with a scene from Masters and Mages 2: Blood of Salar. Last week, M’lan used his powers to perform what he thought was a simple magic trick, making a stone statue of the snake god Ka’alar appear to come to life in order to stop rebel soldiers from destroying the chapel and assaulting one of the monks. But now, M’lan is about to learn the very real consequences of calling upon the god of death.

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The diamond-shaped head of Ka’alar rose in the air, then plunged downward, striking Raffe on the forehead. The blow dropped him to his knees, and he slumped sideways. Blood flowed freely from a wide gash.

Raffe’s men had seen enough. Filling the chapel with echoing cries of terror, they fled.

M’lan would have cried out too, if he could have spoken. The huge white serpent recoiled, thrashing blindly so its head smashed into the ceiling and sent broken stones plummeting to the floor. The columns shook.

M’lan jerked his hands free and stumbled back. The serpent continued to thrash, golden fangs exposed.

***

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.

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Blood of Salar on Amazon Loose Id

All Romance eBooks Barnes & Noble

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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.

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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.

***

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.

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Blood of Salar on Amazon Loose Id

All Romance eBooks Barnes & Noble

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