Once Upon A Rose by Lorri Moulton

Release date: October 11, 2019

Subgenre: Fairytale Novella 

About Once Upon A Rose: 

 

In this clean/sweet fairytale, a princess uncovers a plot against her kingdom and tries to stop it with the help of her friends.

 

Excerpt:

 

“What are you doing here?” Avaleen whispered.  “It’s too dangerous for you to be here right now.”

“I want to ask you about something,” Celsiana whispered back, “but not until we have some privacy.

They walked to the middle of the garden and began weeding.  “So, what did you want to ask?”  Avaleen brushed her hands together.  “The soil is almost too wet to weed today.”

Celsiana nodded.  “I wanted to find out more about the guilds and if they’re involved in what’s happening at the castle.”  She glanced over at her friend.  “And why is your brother so upset?”

“This morning, the head of the guild told Nicholas he could no longer study in the other village.”  Avaleen shook her head.  “It’s not fair, and I don’t want to be the reason he has to stay here.”

“I heard what your father said,” Celsiana admitted.  “Do you really think they would threaten you and your family?”

“I do,” Avaleen replied.  “The guild has always tried to control what happens here, but it’s getting worse.”  She lowered her voice.  “I’ve never seen my father so worried.”

Celsiana debated whether to tell her friend about the diamonds.  She didn’t know if it would help, so instead she asked, “How long ago did the man leave?”

“Why?” Avaleen’s eyes narrowed.  “What are you planning?”

“I think my father needs to know what’s happening in the village,” Celsiana said, “but I doubt he’ll be concerned if Nicholas is not able to return to his studies.”  She hesitated.  “It’s not that he doesn’t care, but his focus will be elsewhere the next few weeks.”

“The weddings?” Avaleen asked.

Celsiana nodded.  “I think if I could see the head of the guild actually doing something that would threaten the safety of our subjects, my father would act.”  Or so she hoped.

“I don’t know what we can do,” Avaleen said.  “Nicholas might help us if you told him who you really are.”

“No.”  Celsiana shook her head.  “He would probably insist I return to the castle.”  She paused.  “I can tell you this.  There are some alliances involved with the wedding that may impact the guild, which might be why they’re so adamant about maintaining control right now.”

“That makes sense,” Avaleen agreed.  “We could try…” She stopped as she heard the shed door slam.

“I don’t want to discuss it,” Nicholas said.  “I’m sorry, Father.  I just need to clear my head.”

“Let’s go.”  Celsiana pulled Avaleen up with her.

“Where?” Avaleen asked.

“We’re going to follow Nicholas,” Celsiana replied.  “I would guess he plans to do more than take a walk.”

“What makes you think that?” Avaleen hurried after Celsiana.

“I have two brothers,” Celsiana reminded her.  “We’ll make sure Nicholas doesn’t do anything he’ll regret.”  She smiled.  “And maybe we’ll find out what’s really going on.”

“Do you think he knows?” Avaleen asked.

“I would imagine he has a fairly good idea,” Celsiana said.  “Royalty or not, men usually don’t share all the details with us.  I think this is one time we need to work together.”

 

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About Lorri Moulton:

“You know what the issue is with this world? Everyone wants some magical solution to their problem and everyone refuses to believe in magic.”
--Lewis Carroll

Fairytales are simply stories that remind us to be our best selves. If we do this, we can be successful. Good will triumph over evil. True love is possible....and dragons can be tamed.

The need for fairytales is just as important today as it has ever been. True love is romantic, but it is also means considering what is important to someone else and when necessary, to put their needs before your own. To work together to accomplish the goals that matter to both of you. To be open to the idea that magical and miraculous things happen everyday. And to build a future that will make the world a better place, at least in your little corner of the kingdom.

So, take a step back in time and enjoy an Everyday Romance. Real life fairytales happen all the time. You just have to believe in the possibility…and look for magic in the most unexpected places.

My name is Lorri Moulton and I live on a farm in eastern Washington with my family and our five horses. I have a Master’s degree in History and grew up hearing so many wonderful stories about our own family tree. My grandparents spoke of a more simple time, when people loved each other and helped their neighbors. I hope these stories share some of that beauty of the past, with all of you.

 

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Cast in Stone (Book 2 of The Conquest of Kelemir) by A.F. Dery

Release date: March 13, 2015
Subgenre: Fantasy romance, epic fantasy

About Cast in Stone:

After her parents are murdered by a brutal warlord, Celia makes it her ultimate mission to bring him to justice, but she can't do it alone.

Rupert is a criminal mage whose sentenced execution is commuted if he agrees to serve as Celia's Guardian until her mission is complete.

But what looks like the perfect opportunity for them both quickly turns into the perfect catastrophe. In the fall out, she is betrayed by those she trusted most. Now on the run, Celia and Rupert find not only their lives in jeopardy, but also their hearts.

Torn between her old vow and a new love, Celia must choose justice...or vengeance. 

This is book 2 in the series The Conquest of Kelemir, following Winter's Fallen.

Excerpt:

First, the man knew nothing, endless nothing without beginning or end. It was dark and still and cold, undisturbed and deep. There was no thought, no sound, no feeling, no memory. There was nothing, and he, or whatever was left of him, could not be distinguished from it.

Then, as if from nowhere and all at once, there was pain, waves of pain buffeting the man like a pitiful leaf swept up in a storm, pain without relief and without escape. It lashed at him and tore through him, and worse than that, it burned. If it was a wind, it was a desert wind, scorching and bone dry, its pure heat scalding him, all of him. Still there was no thought, and the only sound he could perceive was the shrill howling of the wind that clenched him in its hot, merciless fist.

He felt a sudden, sharper pain across some part of himself, different from the wind’s torment and unidentifiable to his empty mind, and instinctively he gasped. The air that filled his lungs in answer was unexpectedly frigid and burned in a completely different way, and though he was not aware of it, he began to shake violently. He fought against taking another breath with a mindless desperation born of unthinking animal instinct, anything to avoid the cold and the pain, but as soon as the cold from that first breath began to subside, his lungs began to burn once more with the same fire that was consuming the rest of him.

He struggled, but he had no choice: he took another breath against his will. Again the cold, again the pain, again the howling of the wind that seared him on the outside even as he felt as though the air he’d just drawn in was freezing him on the inside. Again he fought against the urge to repeat the cycle, and again the urge conquered him. Over and over it repeated, unrelenting.

His first clear thought was a wordless prayer for the nothingness to claim him again.

It was not answered. 

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About A.F. Dery

A. F. Dery has loved the fantasy romance genre for many years. A voracious reader, when she had trouble finding the kind of stories she was craving- non-explicit but emotionally engaging romances, in interesting fantasy settings and featuring adult main characters with adult problems and responsibilities- she decided to write her own. She lives in the U.S. and enjoys reading, writing, music, and spending quality time with her family. 

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