First Kiss Friday with Fil
Welcome to my First Kiss Friday blog. Today my guest is a new author to me. Please help me welcome Fil Reid who has an excerpt from her novel Guinevere: The Dragon Ring. We hope you enjoy this excerpt. Happy reading, my lovelies.
(Arthur, whom Gwen married the night before but has not seen since, and his half brother have just been fighting within the city walls of Viroconium for supremacy after the death of their father. Gwen has had to hide with Arthur’s heavily pregnant younger sister, whose baby she helped deliver. Arthur, victorious, has come to claim her and take her to safety)
Excerpt:
In the street, we came upon the rest of Arthur’s force, which by now was considerable in number and filled the roadway. All of them were on foot: the warriors from Din Cadan whom I vaguely knew, Eudaf’s City Guard, recognizable by their red cloaks, and a number of other supporters from Viroconium, mainly men of Arthur’s age or younger. Some of them just boys.
When the men saw Theodoric cradling Morgawse and the baby in his arms, a great cheer went up, as though this event was the icing on the cake to their success. The baby began to cry lustily, and Theodoric’s face was a grin of pride from ear to ear.
Arthur raised the hand that was holding mine into the air. “The Lady of the Ring!” he shouted. “The Queen of Dumnonia, as the prophecy foretold!” Another great cheer went up, and before I could stop him, Arthur swung me deftly into his arms, pressing my body against his chainmail shirt, and his mouth came down on mine.
For a second, I froze with surprise. Then anger took over, and I struggled in his arms, but there was nothing I could do to escape. His mouth was hard on mine, the smell of his masculinity all about me. A treacherous hot feeling slithered through my body and my knees felt weak. Just as I’d decided it was actually very nice to be kissed like this by an undeniably attractive king, after a bloody battle, he released me. The cheer was deafening.
He didn’t seem to notice that he’d left me flustered and breathless.
“To Domus Albus!” Arthur shouted above the din.
I was swept up in the victorious march, bowled along like a piece of driftwood on the tide of men, the only woman there but for Morgawse.
After the triumph of the baby’s safe delivery – and that kiss – I was seized by an impulse to shout and wave my arms in the air in jubilation, which wasn’t at all like me. The excitement got into my very soul, exposing a long-hidden side I’d never known existed. An inner, more primitive side that the Dark Ages were bringing to life. I wasn’t the same woman who’d climbed Glastonbury Tor to scatter her father’s ashes just a week ago.
Guinevere: The Dragon RingBy Fil Reid
Welcome to Book One in Guinevere, an exciting series steeped in Arthurian legends, history, and time travel – from award-winning author Fil Reid.
Gwen goes to scatter her Arthurian scholar father’s ashes on Glastonbury Tor, and in the ruined church tower, she picks up a gold ring embossed with a dragon emblem. This snatches her back 1500 years into the dangerous world of the Dark Ages.
The Merlin tells her she’s destined to become the Guinevere – of the legends her father devoted his life to studying – and fulfill a prophecy by marrying Prince Arthur. Only with her help can he become the famous King Arthur.
If anyone is less enthused about this idea than Gwen, it’s him. Tall, handsome, and ruthless, he doesn’t truly believe any prophecy can decide his future. Son of the ailing King Uthyr Pendragon, he’s ruled the hilltop fortress of Din Cadan for his father since he was sixteen. But his jealous older brother is set to inherit both the kingdom and the High Kingship – so when news comes that Uthyr is dying in far-off Viroconium, Arthur sets off to stake his own claim.
He takes Gwen with him, putting more and more distance between her and the Tor, where she believes she can return home. But as time passes, her intention to leave wanes. While the lure of modern comforts and familiar faces is strong, the pull between her and Arthur grows ever more enticing…
And a kingdom’s future will be decided by her choice.
Buy Link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09MR7F2RP
About the Author:
Fil Reid has loved King Arthur and horses for as long as she can remember. She could talk about both all day long, but she keeps that under control so as not to bore her husband and family too much. She has late-diagnosed Asperger’s syndrome and thinks her obsessions are far more interesting than those of her two Aspie sons – the Titanic and bellringing. There’s such a thing as hearing enough of bells.
She’s owned horses most of her life, just not now. But if she still had horses, her books would probably never have been written as she’d have been too busy riding every day. One of her favourite things to do is to visit the places in her books so she can describe them better. A certain amount of imagination is required, as of course they’ve changed a lot in 1500 years, but she loves visualising them as they were in the past.
With her Guinevere series finished this year, she’s got some Regency romances out next year from June onwards – The Cornish Ladies series – and she’s just begun work on the books to follow them.
Fil Reid has loved King Arthur and horses for as long as she can remember. She could talk about both all day long, but she keeps that under control so as not to bore her husband and family too much. She has late-diagnosed Asperger’s syndrome and thinks her obsessions are far more interesting than those of her two Aspie sons – the Titanic and bellringing. There’s such a thing as hearing enough of bells.
She’s owned horses most of her life, just not now. But if she still had horses, her books would probably never have been written as she’d have been too busy riding every day. One of her favourite things to do is to visit the places in her books so she can describe them better. A certain amount of imagination is required, as of course they’ve changed a lot in 1500 years, but she loves visualising them as they were in the past.
With her Guinevere series finished this year, she’s got some Regency romances out next year from June onwards – The Cornish Ladies series – and she’s just begun work on the books to follow them.
https://www.facebook.com/filreidauthor/
