Three reason why you should read: Beyond the Gate by Terri-Lynne DeFino
I’m thrilled to have author Terri-Lynne Defino here today to tell us about her romantic fantasy novel Beyond the Gate, part of a series published by Hadley-Rille Books. I read Finder, the first in the series and found myself caught up in an amazing world created by this wonderful author. But I’ll let Terri tell you why you should take a peek at her work:
Hello, all! Thank you, Sharon, for inviting me to share moments from my romantic fantasy novel, Beyond the Gate, with your readers. In a book full of moments, it’s hard to pick three! First, a blurb:
Blurb
Returning to the Vale after university, Linhare is thrust into the long-standing grudges and precarious alliances that maintain her realm. But there is more to the peace than political intrigue: Ambition. Secrets. And a terrible deed, recorded in a scarred, red journal, that should have remained forever secret.
Wait’s secret.
Unearthing his past was an accident; keeping it to herself was not. Then the damning journal vanishes, heralding a spiral of betrayal and dark magic that casts Linhare from Vales Gate and into a world of bolleys and Drümbul Lords, of gobbets and ghasty-haints. A world from which Linhare has little hope of returning—until Wait falls into Fae to pursue her, bringing with him hope, love, and more truth than she can bear.
Truth cannot remain entombed forever. Only long enough…
Let’s see if any of these tickle some fancies. Three moments from Beyond the Gate:
Princess Linhare keeps a secret—a terrible secret. Having found an
old journal tucked into a rotting windowsill in the university library, she reads it without qualm, until she realizes it was written by Queensguard Wait, her late-father’s friend and protégé. Reading of his darkest moments becomes betrayal, but she cannot bring herself to give it back. Then the journal goes missing, and she loses her chance to make things right, as well all ability to look him in the eye again, despite all she feels.Wait has sworn an oath to protect the royal family for as long as he draws breath. Being Queensguard to a royal house in safe, prosperous Vales Gate is nothing like it was back when he traveled the archipelago with King Bennis, mending ancient rifts and rivalries, but his oath keeps him castlebound—and far too close to Linhare. His heart betrays his duty, even as he keeps his distance. When Linhare vanishes under violent circumstances, heart and duty combine to send him hurtling Beyond, into the fae world after her.
Jinna is finally reunited with her beloved friend, Linhare after six years separation. The two quickly fall into old ways, steal a pony and
cart and escape to Lower Dockside, a seaside town of fish, sailors, and anonymous indulgence. When Jinna accepts the invitation of fire-eater Egalfo to meet him at the Vulgar Raven after his show, she doesn’t think further than a cup too many and a quick tumble; but Egalfo asks her to leave the Vale behind and join his troupe. Can she leave Linhare and the luxurious life as the heir apparent’s best friend? Will she even get the chance?Thanks for reading!
Excerpt
Too soon, the sweeping lawns surrounding the timber and stone castle appeared through the trees. Linhare tucked the reins under her chin to unbraid her hair. Thick and wavy and the color of roasted chestnuts, it reached her knees. The mass of it was close to torture as Linhare could imagine during these hot summer months. She’d taken to braiding it at university, but her stepfather was having none of that now that she was back in the Vale.
“For mercy’s sake, Linny, if you’re not allowed to braid it then cut it and be done!” Jinna had stood, a hand on her hip and shears snapping the air. “Your father never meant for you to take that silly promise this seriously.”
Tendrils floated like milkweed around her face. She licked her fingers and smoothed them down. A promise was a promise, and she would not break it to appease her stepfather’s sense of fashionable propriety. Catching up the sides, she wound them loosely around the rest of the mass and bound the ends together at the nape of her neck, just as she had seen other young women do in Upper Dockside.
“We’ll go around to the back,” Wait reined in beside her to say. “Through the kitchens.”
“And up the servants’ passageway. I know, Wait. We’ve done this before.”
“So we have.”
Linhare laughed softly. “I imagine you did not think you’d still be doing so once I was a grown woman.”
“No, I didn’t. But I have to admit, I’d have been disappointed to be right. ” No ghost of one this time; Wait’s smile lit his face like sunlight on waves. That old, familiar shiver prickled henhairs all over her body; and sent her hand to her pocket, and the secret that ruined everything.
Give it to him. Give it to him now!
But Linhare’s hand came out empty.
Bio
Terri-Lynne DeFino is a fantasy writer living in rural Connecticut. Her first novel, Finder was published by Hadley Rille Books in 2010. Her second novel, A Time Never Lived, released in May, 2012. Beyond the Gate is her third. Her original fairy tale, Jingle, was published as an ebook in February, 2013.
When she is not writing, Terri-Lynne wields her red pen like a ninja, editing for Hadley Rille Books since 2011. She has edited several novels to date; and though her authors curse her ninja-editor skills now and then, they always thank her in the end.
Website: http://bogwitch64.livejournal.com/
