Silver Silence
Days until the Summer Solstice: 2 !!!!!
Day in the life of a paperback writer... (cue Beatles music)
Yesterday I was proofing the galley pages for Christmas Unplugged, my novella in the October Santa Honey Anthology, when my editor called wanting to discuss edits on Silver Silence, my November Druids of Avalon book. Here's the abridged version of what she said:
"Loved it, loved it, loved it! Couldn't put it down, but... it's running a bit long so I cut out Chapter Two and axed a few flashback scenes, plus I have a bunch of other questions. I'm emailing the file, can you read it through and do the edits by Monday?"
LOL. So now you know what I'm doing for the weekend.
So far I've read about the first quarter of the book, where my editor's cyber red pen did most of its work. I have to admit, the pacing of the story has really improved. That's why editors get the big bucks, right?
Though I do love theflashback scenes. I wrote them to show the long pre-story history between the hero, Rhys, and the heroine, Breena. They'll not disappear co mpletely, though. I've already decided they'll be joining the other "Before the Book" and "Between the Books" Druids of Avalon shorts on my website.
In the meantime...here's the very first sneak peek of Silver Silence....
Duty dooms Rhys to wander the endless roadways and wild forests, searching for Druid initiates for Avalon. It’s a hopeless, solitary life, that drives Rhys to take refuge in shameful dark passions, even as he longs for the young, innocent sister of his best friend.
When Breena disappears into the dangerous and mystical Lost Lands, Rhys does not hesitate to follow. He finds himself in Britain’s grim future, a troubled time when the dark magic Breena has foreseen threatens to extinguish the Light of Avalon.
And Rhys discovers that only together can he and Breena unravel the secret linking their past with the future King that is Britain’s last hope.
Excerpt...
The shore was cold and damp. The seat of Rhys's breeches was wet where his arse touched the ground. The discomfort was welcome. Or, if not exactly welcome, tolerated. It allowed Rhys to focus on the wretchedness of his body, rather than the wretchedness of his soul. For that small distraction, he was grateful.
Silence spread like a woolen blanket over Avalon. Far off, a raptor screeched. Perhaps it was Hefin, hunting. The village, however, slept. Rhys had tried to do the same, on the spare pallet in Trevor's roundhouse. He was as tired as he could ever remember--exhausted in soul as well as body. But sleep would not come.
Sleep never came to him easily, here on Avalon.
Aye, he could drop off at a moment's notice camped by the road, under trees and sky. He slept effortlessly in vermin-ridden hay lofts, or wrapped in a thin blanket in front of some stranger's hearth. And he'd slumbered soundly in any number of beds belonging to widows and whores.
But here in Avalon, surrounded by the people he loved, and who loved him in return, he could not sleep. His loneliness was too profound, his hurt too deep.
He wanted what he could not have. Desperately.
Gwen had scolded him soundly for staying away so long. He was sorry to have frightened his twin. Once they had been so close, they had shared nearly every thought, but now Gwen's husband was first in her heart, and her connection with her twin had faded. Still, his sister loved him deeply, even if she understood him less well. He wondered if she suspected that Breena was the reason Rhys had stayed away so long.
Now that he could no longer tell himself she was too young to give herself to a man, he could not look at her without wanting her beneath him. Or on her knees, her red lips parting eagerly. Or bent over a bed, or chair, or even a log… he broke the thought with a shudder of guilt.
Perhaps there might have been hope, had Breena been raised in poverty, as Rhys had been. Until four years ago, Breena's home had been a prosperous Roman estate. She'd been born to luxuries Rhys hadn't even known to dream of during his own childhood. The comfort and security of the Celtic settlement of Avalon was a primitive life for her. The hard life of a wandering minstrel's wife? He almost laughed. Unthinkable.
He stared into the fog and the darkness. He should not have come. Visiting Avalon, far from comforting him, had only driven loneliness and hopelessness deeper into his cold heart.
"Rhys?"
He would have known her voice at a hundred paces. As it was, she spoke from only a few steps behind his back. He dropped his head and pressed his forehead to his bent knees. He could not face her. Not now. Perhaps if he gave no answer, she would simply leave.
He should have known better. Even as a small lass, Breena had been too stubborn for her own good.
"Rhys, what are you doing here all alone? Are you...all right? You're not ill, are you?"
He admitted defeat by lifting his head. "Nay."
He didn't look back as she approached. His body tightened as she neared, the scent of roses wafting before her. He could not suppress the wholly inappropriate hardening of his body.
She stood beside him, just visible in his peripheral vision, hesitant, shivering. His first instinct was to pull her into his arms and warm her. But because he had some measure of honor left, he did not.
"Why are you here?" Her teeth chattered a little. She rubbed her arms. "The whole village is asleep."
"You are not."
She did not answer. He did not rise, nor did she move to sit. He glanced up at her, but could not discern her expression in the darkness.
"But you should be asleep," he said. "Did you follow me, Bree?"
"Yes," she confessed. "I woke and...I needed air. I opened my shutters, and saw you leave Trevor's roundhouse. When you did not return..."
"You should not have come after me. You should be in bed."
She hugged herself more tightly. "I...have not been able to sleep much of late."
He caught the tremor of fear in her voice. "The silver visions?" he asked sharply. "Have they returned?"
"Yes, the visions..." She blew out a white plume of breath. "But that is not all. You were gone so long. Even Gwen was frightened for you. As for me...I think of you often, Rhys. Especially at night, when I..." Her voice faltered.
Dear gods in Annwyn! He did not want to hear this. She stood so close now, her skirt brushed his knee. Exactly when she'd moved, he did not know.
She sat down beside him. He fought the urge put his arm around her. Or get up and run. He wasn't sure which he wanted to do more.
"The ground is wet," he said.
"I don't care."
A heavy silence fell between them. It lengthened into awkwardness. The night seemed to contract around him, until the darkness contained nothing but the lap of water on the shore, the shush of Breena's breathing, and his own pounding heart.
He inhaled her scent. She must have put rose oil in her bath water. It was a Roman fragrance, very much prized by wealthy women. The aroma seemed to draw a thin, straight line between them. He did not try to cross it. He knew better.
Unfortunately, she did not. "Will you stay the winter in Avalon? I...I do hope so. Everyone has missed you." She paused. "I have missed you."
He was ashamed at how fiercely he drank in those four words. She had missed him. His cock responded, even as he fought to remain detached from a rush of tangled emotions. In the grand scheme of things, it did not matter that Breena missed him.
"I'll stay perhaps a sennight," he said. "Until the harvest feast. After that...I must go."
She uttered a sound of dismay. "But that is hardly any time at all! Gwen will not have it, Rhys, I am telling you that right now. She will not allow you to--"
"My sister has no authority over my comings and goings." The words were harsher than he'd intended.
Breena sucked in a breath. "I...I didn't mean to imply that she did. Only...only that she loves you. She misses you dreadfully when you're gone."
"No one should miss me. I am not a part of Avalon."
"How can you say that? Why, you're the most important part of us! Without you, the sacred isle would be all but deserted. Most of us are only here because you brought us."
It was true. Of Cryic's original small band of Druids, only Mared and Padriag remained. And Gwen, of course. All the others... Dead. Or lost.
As Rhys was.
"I'm used to wandering," he told her. "I am more comfortable on the road."
"What nonsense! You could not possibly be."
He made no reply.
"Mared says in the past, when Cyric was alive, you visited far more often, and stayed longer. But now that your grandfather is dead, and your freedom greater, you stay away. Rhys, is it...is it because of me? Do you...do you hate me so much?"
He turned so abruptly she lurched backward. He grabbed her arm to steady her. He released her an instant later, as if he'd touched a hot coal.
"I could never hate you." He swallowed. "How could you imagine such a thing? You are like a sis--
"I am not your sister! I never was, and I don't want to be. Rhys, I lo--"
"Gods in Annwyn, Breena!" He jerked to his feet. "Do not say it. Please."
She stared up at him. "Why not? It is the truth."
"What you want from me can never be the truth between us."
Slowly, she pushed to her feet, regarding him with sober eyes. "Rhys. You are shaking."
He was. He turned and paced a few steps away. His hand went to the back of his neck. He needed some space.
But her voice followed. "I understand now why you rejected me that day at my father's house. I know why you flung all those hurtful words at me. I was too young for what I was asking of you. But, Rhys, that was four years ago. I'm no longer that girl. I'm a woman now."
He clenched his teeth. Gods. Aye, she was a woman. A lush, tempting...
Her words battered him. "There's no longer any need to push me away. Don't you see? I love you, Rhys. I always have, and I always will. And I think you l--"
Something snapped inside him. He spun around, and stalked toward her. "Breena, stop. Before you say something you'll regret."
"No! I won't. I'll say what's in my heart. I lov--mmph!"
He'd covered her mouth with his palm. His other hand gripped her shoulder. "Don't," he pleaded. "Don't."
Her eyes were huge. In the moonlight they looked gray rather than the clear blue he knew them to be. And in them...a spark of dangerous, feminine knowledge.
Her lips parted. Her breath bathed his palm. Before he could react, before he could even think, she tasted his skin with the tip of her hot, wet tongue.
The tiny point of moisture caused his brain to seize. His body, already more than half hard, flashed into full arousal. And still, he might have resisted. Might have pulled back completely, and retained some shred of his honor.
If she hadn't pressed her open palm on his stomach.
And slid it downward, slowly.
;-)
Joy's Countdown to Summer's final week of prizes...
Three readers will receive winner's choice of any book from my backlist, including hard to find small press releases.
Comment on any post from Monday June 15 until Saturday June 20 for a chance to win. I was going to choose the winner at the precise moment of the Summer Solstice on Sunday June 21, until I googled it and found out that's 1:45 AM EDT! Since I'll most likely be sound asleep at that time, I'll pick the winners sometime after I wake up on Sunday, and post by Sunday night.
Good luck!
Joy Nash
www.joynash.com
Available NOW!
A Little Light Magic
Summer at the Jersey Shore has never been so hot!
Day in the life of a paperback writer... (cue Beatles music)
Yesterday I was proofing the galley pages for Christmas Unplugged, my novella in the October Santa Honey Anthology, when my editor called wanting to discuss edits on Silver Silence, my November Druids of Avalon book. Here's the abridged version of what she said:
"Loved it, loved it, loved it! Couldn't put it down, but... it's running a bit long so I cut out Chapter Two and axed a few flashback scenes, plus I have a bunch of other questions. I'm emailing the file, can you read it through and do the edits by Monday?"LOL. So now you know what I'm doing for the weekend.
So far I've read about the first quarter of the book, where my editor's cyber red pen did most of its work. I have to admit, the pacing of the story has really improved. That's why editors get the big bucks, right?
Though I do love the
Duty dooms Rhys to wander the endless roadways and wild forests, searching for Druid initiates for Avalon. It’s a hopeless, solitary life, that drives Rhys to take refuge in shameful dark passions, even as he longs for the young, innocent sister of his best friend.
When Breena disappears into the dangerous and mystical Lost Lands, Rhys does not hesitate to follow. He finds himself in Britain’s grim future, a troubled time when the dark magic Breena has foreseen threatens to extinguish the Light of Avalon.
And Rhys discovers that only together can he and Breena unravel the secret linking their past with the future King that is Britain’s last hope.
Excerpt...
The shore was cold and damp. The seat of Rhys's breeches was wet where his arse touched the ground. The discomfort was welcome. Or, if not exactly welcome, tolerated. It allowed Rhys to focus on the wretchedness of his body, rather than the wretchedness of his soul. For that small distraction, he was grateful.
Silence spread like a woolen blanket over Avalon. Far off, a raptor screeched. Perhaps it was Hefin, hunting. The village, however, slept. Rhys had tried to do the same, on the spare pallet in Trevor's roundhouse. He was as tired as he could ever remember--exhausted in soul as well as body. But sleep would not come.
Sleep never came to him easily, here on Avalon.
Aye, he could drop off at a moment's notice camped by the road, under trees and sky. He slept effortlessly in vermin-ridden hay lofts, or wrapped in a thin blanket in front of some stranger's hearth. And he'd slumbered soundly in any number of beds belonging to widows and whores.
But here in Avalon, surrounded by the people he loved, and who loved him in return, he could not sleep. His loneliness was too profound, his hurt too deep.
He wanted what he could not have. Desperately.
Gwen had scolded him soundly for staying away so long. He was sorry to have frightened his twin. Once they had been so close, they had shared nearly every thought, but now Gwen's husband was first in her heart, and her connection with her twin had faded. Still, his sister loved him deeply, even if she understood him less well. He wondered if she suspected that Breena was the reason Rhys had stayed away so long.
Now that he could no longer tell himself she was too young to give herself to a man, he could not look at her without wanting her beneath him. Or on her knees, her red lips parting eagerly. Or bent over a bed, or chair, or even a log… he broke the thought with a shudder of guilt.
Perhaps there might have been hope, had Breena been raised in poverty, as Rhys had been. Until four years ago, Breena's home had been a prosperous Roman estate. She'd been born to luxuries Rhys hadn't even known to dream of during his own childhood. The comfort and security of the Celtic settlement of Avalon was a primitive life for her. The hard life of a wandering minstrel's wife? He almost laughed. Unthinkable.
He stared into the fog and the darkness. He should not have come. Visiting Avalon, far from comforting him, had only driven loneliness and hopelessness deeper into his cold heart.
"Rhys?"
He would have known her voice at a hundred paces. As it was, she spoke from only a few steps behind his back. He dropped his head and pressed his forehead to his bent knees. He could not face her. Not now. Perhaps if he gave no answer, she would simply leave.
He should have known better. Even as a small lass, Breena had been too stubborn for her own good.
"Rhys, what are you doing here all alone? Are you...all right? You're not ill, are you?"
He admitted defeat by lifting his head. "Nay."
He didn't look back as she approached. His body tightened as she neared, the scent of roses wafting before her. He could not suppress the wholly inappropriate hardening of his body.
She stood beside him, just visible in his peripheral vision, hesitant, shivering. His first instinct was to pull her into his arms and warm her. But because he had some measure of honor left, he did not.
"Why are you here?" Her teeth chattered a little. She rubbed her arms. "The whole village is asleep."
"You are not."
She did not answer. He did not rise, nor did she move to sit. He glanced up at her, but could not discern her expression in the darkness.
"But you should be asleep," he said. "Did you follow me, Bree?"
"Yes," she confessed. "I woke and...I needed air. I opened my shutters, and saw you leave Trevor's roundhouse. When you did not return..."
"You should not have come after me. You should be in bed."
She hugged herself more tightly. "I...have not been able to sleep much of late."
He caught the tremor of fear in her voice. "The silver visions?" he asked sharply. "Have they returned?"
"Yes, the visions..." She blew out a white plume of breath. "But that is not all. You were gone so long. Even Gwen was frightened for you. As for me...I think of you often, Rhys. Especially at night, when I..." Her voice faltered.
Dear gods in Annwyn! He did not want to hear this. She stood so close now, her skirt brushed his knee. Exactly when she'd moved, he did not know.
She sat down beside him. He fought the urge put his arm around her. Or get up and run. He wasn't sure which he wanted to do more.
"The ground is wet," he said.
"I don't care."
A heavy silence fell between them. It lengthened into awkwardness. The night seemed to contract around him, until the darkness contained nothing but the lap of water on the shore, the shush of Breena's breathing, and his own pounding heart.
He inhaled her scent. She must have put rose oil in her bath water. It was a Roman fragrance, very much prized by wealthy women. The aroma seemed to draw a thin, straight line between them. He did not try to cross it. He knew better.
Unfortunately, she did not. "Will you stay the winter in Avalon? I...I do hope so. Everyone has missed you." She paused. "I have missed you."
He was ashamed at how fiercely he drank in those four words. She had missed him. His cock responded, even as he fought to remain detached from a rush of tangled emotions. In the grand scheme of things, it did not matter that Breena missed him.
"I'll stay perhaps a sennight," he said. "Until the harvest feast. After that...I must go."
She uttered a sound of dismay. "But that is hardly any time at all! Gwen will not have it, Rhys, I am telling you that right now. She will not allow you to--"
"My sister has no authority over my comings and goings." The words were harsher than he'd intended.
Breena sucked in a breath. "I...I didn't mean to imply that she did. Only...only that she loves you. She misses you dreadfully when you're gone."
"No one should miss me. I am not a part of Avalon."
"How can you say that? Why, you're the most important part of us! Without you, the sacred isle would be all but deserted. Most of us are only here because you brought us."
It was true. Of Cryic's original small band of Druids, only Mared and Padriag remained. And Gwen, of course. All the others... Dead. Or lost.
As Rhys was.
"I'm used to wandering," he told her. "I am more comfortable on the road."
"What nonsense! You could not possibly be."
He made no reply.
"Mared says in the past, when Cyric was alive, you visited far more often, and stayed longer. But now that your grandfather is dead, and your freedom greater, you stay away. Rhys, is it...is it because of me? Do you...do you hate me so much?"
He turned so abruptly she lurched backward. He grabbed her arm to steady her. He released her an instant later, as if he'd touched a hot coal.
"I could never hate you." He swallowed. "How could you imagine such a thing? You are like a sis--
"I am not your sister! I never was, and I don't want to be. Rhys, I lo--"
"Gods in Annwyn, Breena!" He jerked to his feet. "Do not say it. Please."
She stared up at him. "Why not? It is the truth."
"What you want from me can never be the truth between us."
Slowly, she pushed to her feet, regarding him with sober eyes. "Rhys. You are shaking."
He was. He turned and paced a few steps away. His hand went to the back of his neck. He needed some space.
But her voice followed. "I understand now why you rejected me that day at my father's house. I know why you flung all those hurtful words at me. I was too young for what I was asking of you. But, Rhys, that was four years ago. I'm no longer that girl. I'm a woman now."
He clenched his teeth. Gods. Aye, she was a woman. A lush, tempting...
Her words battered him. "There's no longer any need to push me away. Don't you see? I love you, Rhys. I always have, and I always will. And I think you l--"
Something snapped inside him. He spun around, and stalked toward her. "Breena, stop. Before you say something you'll regret."
"No! I won't. I'll say what's in my heart. I lov--mmph!"
He'd covered her mouth with his palm. His other hand gripped her shoulder. "Don't," he pleaded. "Don't."
Her eyes were huge. In the moonlight they looked gray rather than the clear blue he knew them to be. And in them...a spark of dangerous, feminine knowledge.
Her lips parted. Her breath bathed his palm. Before he could react, before he could even think, she tasted his skin with the tip of her hot, wet tongue.
The tiny point of moisture caused his brain to seize. His body, already more than half hard, flashed into full arousal. And still, he might have resisted. Might have pulled back completely, and retained some shred of his honor.
If she hadn't pressed her open palm on his stomach.
And slid it downward, slowly.
;-)
Three readers will receive winner's choice of any book from my backlist, including hard to find small press releases.
- Alien Encounters (my novella is "Dream Guardian" in this futuristic anthology which also features stories by Ashley Ladd, Dominique Tomas, and Jane Toombs - New Concepts Publishing)
- Ultimate Warriors (my novella is "Heroes Incorporated" in this superhero anthology which also features stories by Jaide Fox, Breena Lyons and Michelle M. Pillow - New Concepts Publishing)
- Crystal Shadows (full length fantasy romantica novel from Ellora's Cave)
- Or...the winners can choose any one of my first six Dorchester books, Celtic Fire, The Grail King, Immortals: The Awakening, Deep Magic, Immortals: The Crossing, Immortals: The Reckoning Anthology.
- Check my website - www.joynash.com - for more info on all my books!
Comment on any post from Monday June 15 until Saturday June 20 for a chance to win. I was going to choose the winner at the precise moment of the Summer Solstice on Sunday June 21, until I googled it and found out that's 1:45 AM EDT! Since I'll most likely be sound asleep at that time, I'll pick the winners sometime after I wake up on Sunday, and post by Sunday night.
Good luck!
Joy Nash
www.joynash.com
Available NOW!
A Little Light Magic
Summer at the Jersey Shore has never been so hot!
Labels: arthurian legend, druids of avalon, joy nash, silver silence
posted by Joy Nash | 11:06 AM
16 Comments:
What a wonderful excerpt, Joy,and so full of emotion, my heart hurt for Rhys.
Thanks for the excerpt. Have a great day.
Cutting and axing sounds painful. :)
Great excerpt! *happy sigh*
sounds like a great summer read. I love the covers of your last couple books. It really feels like summer already here today.
Great excerpt Joy! Can't wait to read the rest.
Loved the excerpt! Can't wait to read the rest.
Whoo boy...this is gonna be a good one. Rhys doesn't stand a chance against Breena - great excerpt!!!!
Wonderful excerpt. Can't wait for it!
I loved the excerpt, really like the title too, though I don't usually pick a book by title or cover
Oh this looks like a goodie. :) Love the name Rhys and look forward to reading his story. Loved the excerpt Joy. Thanks. And I'm so glad you will post the scene on your web site.
Carol L.
Lucky4750@aol.com
Thanks for the great excerpt! I'll be looking forward to the parts that got cut from the novel on your website.
Sounds wonderful! Thank you for giving us a taste.
Enjoyed the excerpt...it sounds like a very good read. I like the cover and the title of the book, also.
Know I'll have to add this to the series. I've yet to read DEEP MAGIC, but it is sitting there waiting for me. Think I will save it until SILVER SILENCE comes out and read them in sequence then. I always hate waiting for the next book to come out when I've finished one.
Enjoy the Summer Solstice and the rest of the season.
Keep writing those great books!
What an awesome cover - it totally draws me in. This is one I'd pick up and buy based on the cover alone!
msboatgal at aol.com
Thank you, thank you, thank you for that excerpt Joy! Since I recently finished Deep Magic not that long ago, this was just what I wanted to read. Now I can't wait until this book comes out! I'd be definitely getting it!
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