Welcome to another
Sunday with Weekend Writing
Warriors and Snippet
Sunday. Sample the work of a
new author. Read snippets of stories in different genres.
Sorry, I had to miss last week because the internet was too spotty at the place we were staying. This week, I’m happy to announce that my new SciFi novella is coming up for pre-order and releases at the end of March. Instead of continuing from previous snippets, I’ll jump ahead so you can meet the future romantic lead. First, here’s the title and blurb.
Lured by the Lion
Space opera and second chance romance with a
moody hero and pirates.
After the death of her ailing father, Jocelyn
Navarre Yazzie is free to roam the galaxy in the Star Condor, the spacecraft
she inherited from her deceased husband. She embarks on a trip to deliver her
father’s bequest to her aunt on a rural planet outside the civilized sectors.
A chance encounter with the crippled Leonardo
Horlis changes her future. Horlis suffers from a debilitating malady and
expects to live for less than a year. Josie is strongly attracted to him, yet
she cannot hope to compete with his beautiful dead wife, whose portrait
dominates his house and his memories. Sympathizing with his grief and illness,
Josie offers to transport him in her spaceship to the top medical center of the
ultracivilized inner planets.
Their attraction intensifies in the cramped quarters of her spaceship. But, unexpected perils threaten to tear them apart and terminate their voyage. Can Josie and Leo escape the dangers and vanquish the ghosts of their past to find happiness together?
In my earlier excerpt, Josie and her crew launched
from her home world to travel to the planet of Wick’s Paradise (see https://auroraspringer.blogspot.com/2022/02/liftoff-excerpt-from-my-new-sci-fi.html).
Relevant Background: Leo Horlis is not a lion shifter, although he has the characteristic thick
cat-like fur of the Felicine race.
Josie has arrived in the principal town of Wicksport
and she is walking to her aunt’s house to deliver the valuable vase. On the
way, she rescues a young woman from a gang of bullies. As Josie escorts
Penelope Horlis to her home, the girl discloses that her father has been in low
spirits since his wife died.
The story is in Josie’s perspective.
As they walked up to the house,
the door swung open and a man stepped onto the stoop. A tall man with a dour
visage and shaggy rust-red hair. His clothes were a funereal black that
emphasized his broad shoulders and firm chest. His short-sleeved shirt exposed
muscular arms covered in dense brown hair from his biceps to his wrists. He
leaned on a stout wooden stick.
“Tata.” Penelope ran to embrace
him.
“Penelope, what has delayed you?”
His deep, gravelly voice quivered with anxiety.
Nine lines
plus a little more:
“I got lost and strayed into a
mite of trouble.” Indicating Josie, she said, “Josie rescued me from a gang of
bullies. She chased off the brutes. She’s so brave.”
Mister Horlis stared at Josie.
His frown lifted, his brown eyes brightened, and his gaze lingered on her face.
A smile warmed his gloomy visage.
His charming smile stirred a
flare of attraction in her, surprisingly intense, the strongest she had felt
since losing Jim. Despite the grief engraved on his face, her interest in
Horlis deepened.
Seizing her cue, she stepped
forward, holding out her hand to greet him. “Jocelyn Navarre Yazzie. I’m glad
to help.”
He hooked his cane over his elbow
and grasped her hand in both of his, a firmer and warmer greeting than she had
expected. Short brown curls covered the backs of his large hands. A distinctive
ring gleamed on the index finger of his left hand, a wide gold band inset with
a large ruby. He growled, “Leonardo Damocles Horlis. I am deeply grateful to
you for leading my daughter safely home.”
His name fitted the man. His unruly mane of hair, short beard, and broad shoulders gave him a leonine appearance. Yet, he was a crippled lion supported by a cane and suffering from the loss of his mate.
I’ll
be happy to reply to your comments.
If
you’re in the mood for reading, you can find more than 140 Super Free Science
Fiction and Fantasy eBooks at https://pattyjansen.com/pages/sff-promo-main/
These
books are free at retailers for the five days of the promotion from 12-16th
of March. I can highly recommend many of these books and authors. The
collection includes my books, Europa and Grand
Master’s Pawn.
Please
return to http://wewriwa.blogspot.com/ to sample the works of
the other writers.
Find a catalog of my published stories HERE.
So he has a dangerous and indecisive sword hanging over his head! I'm intrigued!
ReplyDeleteTrue in a way.
DeleteFascinating excerpt, enjoyed all the details as always with your great stories!
ReplyDeleteThank you. This book will be part of a new series.
DeleteQuite the chance encounter to bring her to his door. Sounds like fate. ;)
ReplyDeleteYes. They'll both want to improve their acquaintance.
DeleteLove the description.
ReplyDelete(And I'm still waiting for the vase to have its own story arc.)
The vase will contribute to a joke. The new motif is cats.
DeleteA very intriguing snippet! I definitely want to read more!
ReplyDeleteGreat!
DeleteInteresting name for him. And fate seems to have brought them together.
ReplyDeleteTweeted.
You could say it was fate.
DeleteI love his name! Very distinctive. I loved your description of him, too. Although I must admit the mention of the cane threw me. I immediately thought of him as older (and nothing wrong with that) then saw the cover. However old he is, he's very intriguing. Great snippet! Tweeted.
ReplyDeleteHe is 42, neither old or young. Presumably his lame leg is due to an injury. The cover image doesn't show how much hair he has!
DeleteGreat snippet. I liked the descriptions and can "read" her instant attraction to him.
ReplyDeleteThank you. That's great.
Delete