It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare, it is because we do not dare that they are difficult. - Seneca

Monday, July 16, 2012

Featured Today- FIRE & SILK by Erin O'Quinn ...



Flann O'Conall, the gruff, redheaded son of a king in ancient Ireland, has for the past twenty years preferred the wilderness to the company of a woman. Then, one rainy night, he reluctantly opens his rainproof blanket to the innocent yet disdainful and taunting Mariana de la Castra del Oro.
What happens under his blanket? The encounter of his fire with her silk creates a maelstrom of conflict and raw passion that changes both their lives.
First, he teaches her some survival skills, while she tries to teach him the meaning of love. Finally, when Flann flees back to the security of his waterfall in the mountains, he is caught in a perilous trap and only Mariana can track him and save his life.
Flann is torn at last between the lonely but secure life on his chosen mountain—his symbolic mistress—and the torment of letting go of the willful, passionate Mariana, who he believes will sail back to Iberia when she grows weary of him.
 
What really happened under that blanket, on that rainy night?
 
The slight shift in wind told Flann that the rain would begin in a matter of minutes. He eyed the corner of the tarred cloth as he continued to play his bone whistle—more to confound and anger the woman than to extend the improvised melody. When he felt the first fine spray of rain on his face, he seized the corner of waterproof cloth nearest him and, in one sweeping motion, wrapped it around himself. Then he lay waiting for the real rain to fall.
 
He saw by the dancing fingers of fire that the woman was defenseless against the cold night—not a shawl, not a cloak or brat or any kind of wrap that might have kept her warm or dry. And yet she merely stepped closer to the fire, as though defying the heavens. Except for her last commanding words, she had apparently decided to stand there, soaked to the very bone, even after the rain had drowned his fire, cursing him and his peasant attitude.
 
Good! Tá go maith. Let her feel the cold arms of night and the loveless kiss of an autumn thunderstorm. He wrapped the cover tighter and pulled it over his head just as the rain began in earnest. From under the cloth, he clearly heard her anguished cry. “Oh, help me! ¡Ayúdame! Do something!”
 
Flann felt himself grinning in spite of his resolve to ignore her. He lifted the cloth and opened it wide like an eagle’s wing, inviting her inside.
 
The woman, to her credit, did not hesitate coyly, drawing back from touching the body of a stranger. She dived for him and the protective covering, and as soon as he felt her all along the length of his body, he closed the cloth around both of them, one wing-like arm drawing her against him. They lay there cocooned while he breathed evenly and she gasped in a kind of throaty cough. Shush, shush, he crooned to her in his mind, and after a while her spasms of cold ceased and she was silent.
 
They were lying face-to-face, close as lovers. In the darkness, he could not see her face, but he felt her uneven breath on his cheeks and mouth. And then, unbidden, his body betrayed the fact that he had not been near a woman in several months.
 
“Oh!” she exclaimed, and in spite of the tightness of the cloth around them, she tried to turn away from his adamantine groin.
 
Deeply amused, Flann spoke for the first time. “Volo vobis vesperum, O great lady. As ye can see, there is scant room to roll about like a cork in a barrel. Lie still.”
 
“You…you are a cad and a scoundrel! Touch me not!”
 
Flann lapsed again into silence, still grinning, his urgent groin pressing into her silken dress—not by design but by necessity of their unusual encounter. Completely encased by the tarred cloth, he could feel the insistent rain pummeling them, almost laughing at them, daring them to change position. And so, he merely lay stretched out, one arm around her shoulders, enjoying this last night under the vast sky of his beloved Éire.
 
Buy link: http://www.bookstrand.com/fire-silk

About the Author-  http://erinsromance.wordpress.com/about/

15 comments:

Eliza Knight said...

Great excerpt! Sounds like an adventurous read :)

Miriam Newman said...

C'mon, we ALL want to know what happened under the blanket! Good read, Erin.

Brenna Ash said...

Yep, definitely want to know what happened under that blanket. Great excerpt!

Erin OQuinn said...

Dear Eliza

Thanks very much. The whole book revolves around what happened under that blanket. His needs, her fears, their hidden passions--all that comes out and leads to a most unlikely pairing of two unusual characters.

The setting--the wildass lands of ancient northern Ireland--is almost a third character.

I'm grateful that you stopped by. :) Erin

Erin OQuinn said...

Dear Miriam,

Good to see you! I love these two characters so much that I'm a little embarrassed to say it. But that love made it easier for me to imagine how the two of them would get along out in the wilderness with no one else there to buffer their strong personalities.

Hope all is well...thanks for the visit...Slán, Erin

Erin OQuinn said...

Dear Brenna,

Oh, I'm pleased that you stopped and read the excerpt. The book has started to attract some readers, and I'm grateful to Andrea for giving me this chance to showcase it.

I hope you'll read more--both my stuff and Andrea's entertaining site. Slán, Erin

Morgann Roddy said...

This book sounds like a great read - I think I know what to get my sister for her birthday this year! - and the set up on the blog is just wonderful. Best of success to you, Erin and thank you for sharing your tale with us. Thank you, also, to Andrea and Corrina, for hosting it - and Erin! - for us to read!

A.W. McQueen said...

OH MAN!! Well! I can only imagine what happens under that blanket. Such a tease! And boy do I love a good tease.

Thanks Erin for sharing this sexy and tempting excerpt. ;-)

Erin OQuinn said...

Dear Lizzie,

You may be surprised at what really happened! He's cranky, and she's somewhat of a spitfire--and a virgin. But something qute tangible did happen, and both of them react to it for the rest of the book!

Glad you find it sexy...I love both these characters and find them sexy too. ;-) Erin

Erin OQuinn said...

Dear Mo,

So great of you to stop by!! I'm sure Andrea and the others will be pleased to know your reaction to their superb blogsite. As for your comments, you make me very glad I decided to write. Sharing is what it's all about.

Slán, warm regards, Erin

Sky Purington said...

Erin, this story sounds absolutely AMAZING!!! It's going to the top of my TBR pile! :-)

Erin OQuinn said...

Dear Sky

Well, you just made my week!

I'm always thrilled when someone likes a character I've created totally from the grey fluff in my brain. Thanks a million!

ps... I created a chartacter named SKY...short for the Latin Scaevus, meaning left-handed. You're not a leftie, are you?

Pat McDermott said...

Erin, if you love your characters, it will come across in the story and make your readers love them-and the blanket-too. Love it when the scenery is almost a character. I really like the sound of this one!

Erin OQuinn said...

Dear Pat,

It's more true in this book than any of my others--the land itself is truly a character. In fact, Flann thinks of Mt. Errigal as his mistress. But he meets a woman who begins to relate to the land as deeply as he, yet in a different way. The diference is what makes the novel happen.

Thanks for a great insight and for stopping by. xxErin

Erin OQuinn said...

Before my time is up, I want to publicly thank Andrea and Corrina for graciously allowing me to publish a blurb and an excerpt on their site.

What a really attractive setting for an author's works, ladies! I'm lucky and thrilled to have been invited.

Wishing you all success and happiness,

Erin O'Quinn

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...