Today we welcome Juli D. Revezzo, author of Changeling’s Crown with an excerpt and 4 Fun Facts about her hero.
Blurb:
When Ianthe began her career as a faery godmother, she stumbled so badly that Snow White will probably never speak to her again. After a long suspension, she’s finally been given a chance to redeem herself…but everything on this latest assignment is going wrong.
But why?
Worse, she definitely doesn’t need an attractive mortal man distracting her from her duties. Of course, needs and wants are two different things.
Briak has had his eye on Ianthe for a very, very long time, but he’s been waiting for just the right moment to make his move. Despite the fact all hell’s about to break loose on his watch, he can’t resist the opportunity to insert himself into her earthly assignment. Can he convince Ianthe of her true calling and thereby win her heart? Or will his subterfuge ultimately cost him her love?
Genre: New Adult Paranormal Romance
Available at Amazon US, Amazon UK, Barnes and Noble,
Createspace (paperback) and Smashwords.
The setting shifts back and forth from our current world (a Central Florida horse ranch) to Ianthe’s faery tale world. The following scene takes place in Florida.
Excerpt:
“Are you sure this isn’t a bad time?” Ianthe asked. The innocent question wouldn’t give her away so soon. She hoped.
“No. Not at all,” Briak said. “Tell you what. Why don’t I show you around, then we can go from there?” He pointed to the front door. “Follow me.”
She shaded her eyes from the muted sun as they reached the paddock. There, several sturdy mares waited. One mare pawed at the ground impatiently. The handlers grabbed onto its lead and assured her the horse was tame as could be. Ianthe hoped so. She didn’t want to take the students back to their parents with hospital bills attached.
Briak pointed to the docile white horse. “Would you like to try one yourself?” he asked.
Ianthe’s eyes went wide. Me? Ride a horse? No. No, a thousand times! “No. I had a bad experience with a horse once. My butt still hurts from it.”
Briak laughed. “When did this happen?”
“About a millennia or so ago.” That she was—and wasn’t—being sarcastic was lost on her listener, she was sure. “I think I’ll pass.” She trusted no other horse, save Dittander. He’d never throw her. No mortal horse could compare to him.
“Some children tend to be a little skittish around horses,” Briak said, nodding to a young mother and her daughter standing to the far side of the paddock. “The adults usually have to assure them the animals won’t buck.”
“And this should concern me?” she asked.
He nodded. “Might be best to try one first and see how you handle her before you have a group of squealing eight year olds spooking her.”
She supposed he knew what he was talking about. “Oh, very well. Since you make such a persuasive argument, I suppose I have no choice.” She turned to one of the ranch hands, and plopped her purse in the poor man’s hands. He fumbled the pricey leather bag as if it were a hot potato.
Pretending to sweep away a stray hair, she hid a smile behind her hand. She wondered how she could get out of this ride. She couldn’t explain why she was so reluctant to mount a horse. Mr. McGee would never believe her. Taking a deep breath, she approached a white mare with a black mane and tail. “This mare won’t bite you, ma’am,” said the horse’s handler.
“I’m sure it won’t,” Ianthe drawled. Though she wasn’t at all.
“Don’t worry,” Briak said. “I wouldn’t let anything hurt you.”
She blinked, wondered at the cool finality of his statement. He said the words as if he solemnly swore he meant them. She shook off the feeling and set her foot into the stirrup, pushed up from the ground, and toppled back. She tried a second time with the same result.
Couldn’t she just float up? She blew out a frustrated breath. No. Too many humans watching.
She jammed her foot into the stirrup. “Be good now,” she ordered.
The mare stood stock-still. Ianthe thought maybe she could handle this.
Somewhere in the distance, a door slammed. The skittish mare danced sideways.
Ianthe toppled butt-first to the ground. The watching child hooted her glee. Ianthe cursed herself.
She got to her feet, and approached the horse again. Come here, you stupid animal. Let’s you and me make nice and I won’t send you to the glue factory.
Foot firmly in stirrup, she grasped the saddle horn and managed to set herself in the saddle. The horse sidestepped and she slid right off, landing hands first in a puddle. The wet muck sloshed into her face. Oh, for the love of—
She turned to a sitting position and wiped her face with the hem of her skirt. “Give me a break, would you?”
“No.”
She glared at the horse. “What did you say?”
Ianthe knew her own horse spoke, but this wasn’t a faery mount. Surely, she’d been mistaken. Mortal horses didn’t speak.
4 fun facts about my hero Briak McGee and the book CHANGELING’S CROWN:
1. Though he’s got more, other important, worldwide duties. my hero, Briak, really enjoys working on the Florida horse ranch he’s employed by.
2. He fell hard for Ianthe when everyone else was laughing and pointing at her. She wasn’t supposed to ruin Princess Rebecca’s life, after all.
3. There’s a scene in the book where his gardener approaches (yes, he has a gardener) and if he weren’t in such a bad mood, he really would place the roses on his mother’s grave.
4. The book came about years after my first encounter with a horse. It was a good one, and a bad one…I fell off the horse’s back after it stopped moving. 🙂
Author Bio:
Juli D. Revezzo is a Florida girl, with a love of fantasy, science fiction, and Arthurian legend, so much so she gained a B.A. in English and American Literature. She loves writing stories with fantastical elements whether it be a full-on fantasy, or a story set in this world-slightly askew. She has been published in short form in Eternal Haunted Summer, Dark Things II: Cat Crimes (a charity anthology for cat related charities), Luna Station Quarterly, Potnia, By Blood, Bone, and Blade (forthcoming charity anthologies by Biblioteca Alexandrina); Crossing the River, An Anthology in Honor of Sacred Journeys; The Scribing Ibis: An Anthology of Pagan Fiction in Honor of Thoth, and Twisted Dreams Magazine. She’s the author of The Antique Magic series and the Paranormal Romance Harshad Wars series.
She is a member of the Independent Author Network and the Magic Appreciation Tour. Come learn more about her at http://julidrevezzo.com.
You can find Juli online at:
Website: http://julidrevezzo.com
Blog: http://julidrevezzo.com/blog/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/julidrevezzo
Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/111476709039805267272/posts
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/jewelsraven/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/julidrevezzo
What a fun excerpt, Juli. In my one and only horse ride, when I was about thirteen, I had a bad experience with a cantankerous horse. It went off the track and under an awning in an attempt to knock me off. I was able to duck, so I didn’t fall, but had a scraped arm from protecting my head.
Do you ride? Or are you a chicken like me? Leave a comment to be entered for a chance to win my monthly drawing for a $15 Starbucks gift card.
Linda
