Laurel O'Donnell's Blog, page 26
February 26, 2017
Medieval Monday! Continuing the Journey with Lucan
Continuing along with Lucan by the remarkable Bambi Lynn!
Forgot what the story was about? Here’s the blurb –
Neala Comyn, wife of a powerful laird, wants to end the pain and suffering of an abusive marriage. She is a woman without hope, believing God has forsaken her. When she is kidnapped by a rival laird who claims to be a god himself, her faith is further shaken. Could Lucan Munro be the salvation she has prayed for? Or will her sins condemn her to eternal damnation?
Lucan Munro, has the power of a Celtic god. He can conjure his heart’s desire from thin air. But can he save the woman he loves from a demon hell-bent on claiming her soul?
***
Continuing from last week –
Lucan would kill him if it was the last thing he did.
“I shall leave ye to imagine the swiving she will get from me as part of her homecoming,” Angus taunted, “while young Cael here soaks the ground with your blood.”
“I will track ye down, Angus, from beyond the grave if needs be. I will slaughter ye in yer sleep. Ye’ll never be safe from me.”
Follow along next week by checking out Barbara Bettis’ blog with excerpt #5 http://barbarabettis.blogspot.com/
Authors work hard to bring you these wonderful stories. Please don’t forget to leave a review!
Laurel O'Donnell - Medieval Romance Novels, Paranormal Romance Novels and Urban Fantasy
February 19, 2017
Medieval Monday! Join the Journey – The Highlander’s English Woman
Continuing along with The Highlander’s English Woman by the talented Ruth A. Casie!
Forgot what the story was about? Here’s the blurb –
Laura Reynolds is in love with her long-time friend, Jamie Maxwell Collins. She adores his playful sense of humor, caring nature as well as his strong sense of family and honor.
Jamie lives across the border in Scotland. Outwardly carefree, he hides a dark secret. He can’t involve Laura in this deception. He can’t give her hope for a future together.
Laura stumbles upon Jamie’s secret. In her heart of hearts she knows Jamie is innocent. Their relationship in tatters and with no hope of reconciliation, she plays a deadly game to exonerate Jamie, she agrees to a political marriage. She has no idea the entire game has been orchestrated by her future husband, Jamie’s greatest enemy.
***
Continuing from last week –
“It’s a challenge keeping everyone’s spirits up. At times, I succeed.” She shrugged. “Other times, I fail miserably. Lisbeth stayed at the Keep for a while then left for the hunting lodge to be alone.”
Jamie turned to her. Her drawn ashen face disturbed him.
Follow along next week by checking out Barbara Bettis’ blog for excerpt #4
http://barbarabettis.blogspot.com/
Authors work hard to bring you these wonderful stories. Please don’t forget to leave a review!
Laurel O'Donnell - Medieval Romance Novels, Paranormal Romance Novels and Urban Fantasy
February 14, 2017
What a Deal – 2/15
What a deal!!!
Check this out! From USA Today and Amazon Bestselling authors! 5 fabulous historical romances for only 99 cents! Historical Heartthrobs
Laurel O'Donnell - Medieval Romance Novels, Paranormal Romance Novels and Urban Fantasy
February 13, 2017
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Here’s a bouquet of roses for Valentine’s Day to all my followers, fans and friends!
Laurel O'Donnell - Medieval Romance Novels, Paranormal Romance Novels and Urban Fantasy
February 12, 2017
Medieval Monday! Join the Journey – The Highlander’s French Bride
Continuing along with The Highlander’s French Bride by the amazing Cathy MacRae!’s excerpt –
Forgot what the story was about? Here’s the blurb –
Heir to a lairdship, Kinnon Macrory is driven to prove his worth by fighting the English on the battlefields of France. His dreams of heroic valor are destroyed by the realities of war—the atrocities visited by fellow soldiers on the very people he is sworn to protect. Three years in a French prison for a crime he did not commit leave Kinnon longing for the one thing of beauty in his war-torn life—a young woman of great kindness and wisdom named Melisende.
Melisende de la Roche struggles to stay one step ahead of soldiers who would imprison her for helping an injured Scotsman wrongly accused of treason. She finds refuge in her uncle’s shop—until a chance encounter sends her fleeing into the unknown once again, haunted by the beguiling friendship with the troubled young Scotsman she is certain she will never see again.
Determined to find the woman of his dreams, Kinnon returns to France, only to discover nothing more than a trail of clues to Melisende’s whereabouts. Their reunion will open the doors to passion, but half-truths and lies from the past could destroy the one thing they both are willing to fight for—each other.
***
Continuing from last week –
Sometimes betrayal is closer than you think
“She is not muette, she is shy,” Lucienne declared, irritation coloring her voice. “Say bonjour to Tante Melisende, Arielle.”
“Bonjour,” the little girl whispered with a quick glance to her mother.
“Bonjour, Arielle,” Melisende replied. “Comment vas-tu?”
“She speaks Italian more fluently than French,” Lucienne informed her. She rifled through the pile of clothes, snatching a tiny gown from the jumble.
“Oh, I see,” Melisende said, thoughtfully. She gave Arielle a kind smile. “I suppose if I’d been born in Italy, I would, too.”
Arielle’s gaze slid away and Melisende stepped closer to the bed and picked up a small gown to fold. “How bad is it, Lucienne?” she murmured.
* * *
Follow along for the next excerpt on Barbara Bettis’ Medieval Monday blog Feb. 20!
Authors work hard to bring you these wonderful stories. Please don’t forget to leave a review!
Laurel O'Donnell - Medieval Romance Novels, Paranormal Romance Novels and Urban Fantasy
February 5, 2017
Medieval Monday! Join the Journey – Villains!
Happy February! We have a new theme for you for Medieval Monday…villains. Delicious, right? This is a new format. Here’s how it will work…each author has an excerpt centering around a villain in one of her books. The excerpt is divided into short installments that will post each week on separate author’s blogs. Don’t worry! We’ll leave links at the bottom of the blogs so you can follow along.
I’ll be featuring a great excerpt from my award-winning, bestselling novel, Angel’s Assassin. Here’s a quick blurb to refresh your memory –
Damien is an assassin, a man with no home and a tortured past. Sold into slavery as a young boy, he is trained to kill with cold calculation, without remorse. As a reward for his ruthless success, he is given a chance to earn his freedom from his cruel master. One last mission. One final person to slay…
Lady Aurora of Acquitaine is the epitome of purity and goodness, beloved by all her people. She lives her life trying to atone for her mother’s cruelty by being a fair and just ruler. Secretly she fears that one day her mother’s murderer will return for her.
When Damien enters Aurora’s life, tempting her with promises of dark passion and forbidden lust, he threatens to tear her peaceful world apart with shadowy secrets of his own.
Can Aurora’s light heal Damien’s dark spirit or will his evil consume her? The eternal battle of good versus evil, love versus hate, dark versus light, all come to a shattering climax in this historical romance set in medieval England.
Here’s the beginning of the excerpt –
Damien eased the door open. Every one of his senses screamed at him not to enter that room. But he had to. If he didn’t, if he even hesitated, the elite guards would be on him.
He entered the solar, scanning it as he moved into the center. The well-lit room surprised Damien. Roke lived in darkness. He thrived in the blackness of the night. To have this much light was unlike him. Candles lined every surface of the room. Even the hearth blazed behind Roke where he lounged in a rich, blood-red velvet chair. His legs were crossed; his hand rested over one of his knees. His dark hair fell in straight locks to his shoulders. His eyes burned into Damien, hotter than the fire from the hearth.
With one glance, Damien took in the rest of the room. A square table at Roke’s side held all types of instruments of torture. Roke used these tools to punish those who failed. Damien’s gaze moved on, passed the windows framed with thick red velvet curtains. The curtains were closed. Every time Damien was in the solar at night those had been open. The only light Roke loved was the moonlight. It was the only light that belonged to the night. What was hidden behind those closed curtains? An archer? More men?
Damien continued his quick perusal of the room, moving to Roke’s elaborately engraved wooden bed. The thick black curtains were pulled closed around it, hiding its interior.
Behind him, Damien heard the footfalls of Cyclops and Mother as they entered the room, closing the door behind them.
Damien stopped before Roke. His face betrayed none of the anxiety he was feeling. This entire situation was wrong. Damien couldn’t help feeling it was a trap.
What will happen next? Is Damien in trouble? Find out next Monday on Medieval Monday on Barbara Bettis’s blog!
Can’t wait to find out? Buy Angel’s Assassin here –
Thanks for reading! And, don’t forget, authors work hard to bring you these wonderful stories. Please don’t forget to leave a review!
Laurel O'Donnell - Medieval Romance Novels, Paranormal Romance Novels and Urban Fantasy
January 31, 2017
What a Deal!
Check this out! From Love Historicals! 10 fantastic historical romances from USA Today and Amazon Bestselling authors. Stories from Roman times to the Old West all in one box set. Something for every taste all in one place.
For only 99 cents!
Available on –
This great deal won’t last forever!
Laurel O'Donnell - Medieval Romance Novels, Paranormal Romance Novels and Urban Fantasy
January 29, 2017
Medieval Monday! Marek by Bambi Lynn
For Medieval Monday, I am featuring excerpts about celebration! Today, I have Marek by the amazing Bambi Lynn! Enjoy!
Here’s the blurb so you get an idea of what the story is about –
Boring accountant, Kitty Petty, struggles to get through each day one at a time since the brutal murder of her husband. She spends every free moment caring for her young daughter, until the night she wakes to find her bed on fire.
Kitty doesn’t know how she got to the year 1196, much less how to get back. But if she doesn’t, her daughter will be institutionalized. Having failed to save her child from the clutches of a madman. Kitty vows to protect her future. But going back to her time means risking her own life and separating her from the knight she has grown to love.
Marek Stone wants to protect his wife from the people of Stonebridge. Katherine has been declared a demon after her miraculous rise from the funeral pyre, and the villagers want justice.
Kitty doesn’t know how she got to the year 1196, much less how to get back. But she must if she has any hope of saving her daughter. However, the knight who loves her will do anything to make her stay.
Sounds great! Can’t wait to read the excerpt!
Excerpt –
Marek’s family sat with them, although Bryn sat at one of the trestle tables, a better vantage point for grabbing the backside of every passing serving girl. As she looked around the great hall, Kitty thought every villager in Stonebridge must be in attendance. Many had never been to a feast as grand as this.
There was no corn or sweet potatoes, but Vale and Bryn had managed to hunt down a flock of birds remarkably like turkeys. There was no end to the bread stuffing, gravy, even stewed cranberries. Kitty herself had been guiding the cooks for a week to prepare enough food for everyone. They had even baked over one hundred pumpkin pies for dessert.
“My lady,” Bryn called from the floor below. “Tell me again the name you have given this feast.”
“Thanksgiving,” Kitty shouted back to him. “While you’re eating, you have to go around the table and tell about something you’re thankful for.”
Marek reached over and squeezed her hand.
Thane, who sat next to Bria, leaned behind his niece to speak to her. “Sister,” he said with a lowered voice only she could hear. “I have been forced to contend with talk of you among many of the villagers. It is not wise for you to suddenly appear out of a fire. I can only do so much to protect you. I beg you not do it again.”
Kitty smiled at him. “I promise.” She reached beneath the table and pulled out one of the carpet bags she’d brought with her. “I have something for you.”
When she handed him the portable Play Station, he looked at her like she might indeed be from the devil. Kitty smiled. “It’s a game. Watch.” She pushed the little machine beneath the table and away from prying eyes.
Thane nearly dropped the PSP when it lit up. “Shh. You’ll have to keep it secret. This is an easy game called PacMan. You have to move him through the path and eat as many of these little dots as possible. But don’t get caught.”
Kitty left Thane to the wonder of electronic video games and moved to sit next to Remi. He looked at her skeptically, but over the last few days, his animosity towards her had dimmed some. She reached into her bag and pulled out a portable DVD player. She had already loaded the Robin Hood movie.
Remi barely breathed as the credits started. “Don’t watch it now. If you’re caught, we might all be burned at the stake. But pay particular attention to the parts about Prince John.”
She caught Bryn’s attention as he was in between wenches and motioned for him to join her. She pulled a handful of Legos from her bag and spread them out on the table, hoping no one nearby was paying them any attention. “Look…you can snap them together, pull them apart. I have a whole box of them for you in my room. They come in all sizes and colors and you can build anything out of them.”
Adin and Vale were enveloped in ladies, so Kitty decided their gifts could wait. Vale would not need his bullet-proof vest for several months yet. Adin would have years to perfect his technique with help from the pristine copy of The Karma Sutra she’d gotten him.
By midnight, Bria had crawled into Thane’s lap and fallen asleep. Kitty would have to give her the Barbie doll later. Vanesa, however, was having the time of her life. She leaned forward to peer around the massive form of her stepfather. “Mom!” When Kitty looked across at her, Vanesa held up her goblet of weak ale. “Huzzah!” They both laughed as Kitty toasted with her. “This is so much better than the Renaissance Festival.”
“What is this ‘renaissance’?” Marek asked.
Kitty smiled and shook her head. “Come carry Bria up to bed. I have a gift for you.”
Buy Links – Amazon
Authors work hard to bring you these wonderful stories. Please don’t forget to leave a review!
Laurel O'Donnell - Medieval Romance Novels, Paranormal Romance Novels and Urban Fantasy
January 22, 2017
Medieval Monday! The Druid Knight Tales by Ruth A. Casie
For Medieval Monday, I am featuring excerpts about celebration! Today, I have The Druid Knight Tales by the amazing Ruth A. Casie! Enjoy!
Here’s the blurb so you get an idea of what the story is about –
Maximilian, the druid Grand Master, was given a year to find his soul mate. On the final day, the sacred mistletoe has shriveled and died—proclaiming his failure. He must do what no other Grand Master has done before and journey to meet with the Ancestors formally relinquish his title.
Ellyn of Brodgar has the gift of healing. But each use of her magick, through a kiss, depletes her energy and brings her closer to death. Time is running out as she searches for a way to continue saving lives—especially her own.
Max and Ellyn are tossed into the Otherworld together—a place filled with magick and wonder, it’s also fraught with danger, traps, and death. They have only until the third sunset to find the Ancestors, or be lost to the world forever. The domineering druid must work with the stubborn healer, not only for survival, but for the promise of the future—a future together.
Included an epilogue fifteen years later. See how the man destined for Max and Ellyn’s daughter takes the first steps in becoming a druid knight.
Arik, son of Fendrel and Dimia, prepares for training with his adopted brother, Bran, setting into motion a ripple effect that will carry love, betrayal, and death across the centuries.
Sounds great! Can’t wait to read the excerpt!
Excerpt –
She woke before sunrise refreshed by a good night’s sleep. After her morning routine she picked up her staff and joined the others at the standing stones. Today, the shortest day of the year, they would welcome the day and celebrate the sacred marriage between Father Sky and Mother Earth. She waited while Doward finished cleansing and purifying the area for the Grand Master.
Ellyn and the people from all the clans proceeded through the outer circle to the Cove and its three standing stones. Doward came up to her. “Another year. They seem to hurry by.”
A wave of unease washed over her. She hardly made out what Doward said. She was too busy trying to control her rising apprehension.
The clans formed a large circle around the stones and waited. The Grand Master walked down the wide avenue and took his place. He stood beside her. She had imagined his tall, commanding presence quite correctly.
Everyone in the large circle faced east and waited for the sun to peek over the horizon. Slowly sunlight crept up and bathed the central Cove stone with its first rays of light.
“Hail and welcome,” declared Max.
“Hail and welcome,” the clans around him responded.
In unison they faced the center of the large circle.
“Hail this new day and year. We remember those who have left us. And we welcome those who have joined us by marriage, birth, or simply by choice.” He nodded toward Ellyn. “Ellyn of Brodgar, we welcome you into Fendrel’s clan.”
“Thank you, Grand Master.” Ellyn’s voice carried loud and clear. She faced Fendrel. “Thank you for making a place for me at your hearth.”
The first part of the morning ritual completed, the circle broke. She followed Max and the others as they made their way to the great oak in the nearby grove.
“Are you familiar with this part of the ritual?” Doward asked.
“Yes. The Grand Master will enter the Otherworld and meet with the Ancestors.”
“There is more to the ritual,” Doward said. “To ensure a good year and banish evil, when the Grand Master returns with the message from the Ancestors, the women will cut down and collect springs of mistletoe from the sacred oak tree. The Grand Master will give the sprigs to the families in the clan for them to hang in their house.”
Everyone gathered around the ancient oak. Once again she and Doward stood in the great circle next to the Grand Master.
Max waited for quiet before he faced the east and raised his arms. “Hail, Guardians of the East. I summon the power of air.” His voice echoed through the grove.
“By the air in her breath, be with us now,” the congregation replied.
He turned to the south. “Hail, Guardians of the South. I summon the power of fire.”
“By the fire in her spirit, be with us now,” came the reply.
He faced the west. “Hail, Guardians of the West. I summon the power of water.”
“By the waters of her womb, be with us now.”
Turning north he said, “Hail, Guardians of the North. I summon the power of earth.”
“By the earth that is her body, be with us now.” Every eye turned to Max when he faced the ancient oak, mistletoe hanging in great bunches from its mighty branches.
“As above, so below.
As within, so without.
Four stars in this place be
To open the door to the Ancestors to me.”
The cold air chilled even more and the sky turned an array of colors. Every muscle in Ellyn’s body tensed. This was magick she was not supposed to see. She must be too close to the Grand Master. She struggled to move away but was fixed to the spot. Slowly the world began to spin. She took a few deep breaths to steady herself, planted her staff deep into the ground, and held on. She peered through a hazy filter and witnessed Doward’s nod. She studied his lips silently mouthing, Safe journey.
Buy Links – Amazon
Authors work hard to bring you these wonderful stories. Please don’t forget to leave a review!
Laurel O'Donnell - Medieval Romance Novels, Paranormal Romance Novels and Urban Fantasy
January 21, 2017
FREE!
Free for 2 more days! Resurrection, Episode 1 in the Lost Souls series.
Do you believe in ghosts? Do you believe they have a secret society? Neither did Christian Thompson…until he died!
Laurel O'Donnell - Medieval Romance Novels, Paranormal Romance Novels and Urban Fantasy
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Perhaps it was ridiculous, Ryen thought. Men never seemed to have a problem with taking what, ...more
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