The grieving widower - Excerpt from Lured by the Lion for #WeWriWa and #SnippetSunday

 

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.

I’m posting the next excerpt from my new Sci-Fi Romance. This story will be the second in a new series, Second Chances in Space. This series will have standalone stories with space pirates, spies and second chances for romance.

Last week, the widowed heroine, Josie Navarre Yazzie, met Leonardo Damocles Horlis, a grieving widower with a lame leg and a 22-year old daughter, Penelope.

You can read the excerpt at https://auroraspringer.blogspot.com/2022/03/a-crippled-lion-excerpt-for-wewriwa-and.html

We continue directly from last week.

She returned his warm smile. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Sir.”

After pressing her hand again, he released her. His expression reverted to the sad, haunted look, which seemed habitual to him. This aura of grieving tugged at Josie’s sympathy. She also knew the misery of losing a beloved spouse.

Penelope took her father’s forearm, saying, “Josie is Annabelle’s sister.”

His brows compressed. “Annabelle?” 

“Don’t you remember Annabelle Navarre, my friend from Summerfield Academy on Saffeen?”

Ten sentences plus a little more:

“We did not meet, although I remember you talking about her.” His gaze switched to Josie. “Mistress Yazzie, what may I ask are you doing in this godforsaken town?”

“I’m visiting a relative, my Aunt Gabrielle. Her lodgings are on Wardle Lane, two streets north of here.” She glanced at the sky where the sun was dipping toward the hilltops. “In fact, I ought to be going there. She expects me for dinner.”

“Josie,” Penelope interrupted, “I’d love to see you again.” Her voice rose in a plea, “Won’t you come to visit us?”

“Penelope,” her father said in a gentle tone, “She might have other plans.”

“My aunt invited me to stay for several days,” Josie said. “I’d be glad to visit you.”

“You could come for lunch.” Mister Horlis sounded as keen as his daughter for the visit.

“Oh, yes,” Penelope agreed. “We can sit outside on the patio. The garden is lovely on a sunny day.”

Josie smiled at their eagerness. “Sure. How about tomorrow?” 

After arranging the time, she said goodbye.

Penelope smiled.

Mister Horlis clasped her hand, conveying his gratitude by his warm pressure. “We look forward to your visit.”

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?

You can pre-order Lured by the Lion for release on the 30^th at Amazon  iBooks  B&N  Kobo  GooglePlay  Other

 

The first book in this new series, Captured by the Hawk, is a fun and fast-paced space opera originally published in 2014. 

An intrepid Irish spy is captured by the notorious space pirate, Captain Hawk, a widower with a tragic secret. 

Discounted to 99c at Amazon  iBooks  Kobo  B&N  GooglePlay

 

I’ll be happy to reply to your comments.

Please return to http://wewriwa.blogspot.com/ to sample the works of the other writers.

 

Find a catalog of my published stories HERE.