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

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

SWORDSONG Time Guardians Book 2 ...

He's arrived to help her create the perfect bride.



He's stuck in present-day Scotland with a bent time-travel key only she can repair. Duty requires he return to his time. His ticket home relies on a lonely woman haunted by more than apparitions. Her track record with men keeps her at a distance. And ghostly events keep pushing them closer together. Earning her trust will require the kind of patience only a valiant Time Guardian learns during his twenty years of apprenticeship. If time-travel duty, romance, and a bit of magic don't help them realize their destiny resonates in mysterious fairy SWORDSONG, all known history could change. 


Reviews:
"His forbearance, pure love, and finally his and Katie's "hand fasting" create an enchanting love story with a touch of magic... destiny sends them to a time and a life far removed from the lives they have known... a tale of future, present, and past with each of the time periods nurturing Katie and Murdo until the time is right for their union--their destiny. Skhye Moncrief creates a unique culture from which Murdo comes. She weaves it in with the present culture, making a compelling, sparkling love story with a unique twist near the end." ~Camilla, Long and Short Reviews
"Murdo requires the special skills of swordsmith Katie Innis to complete his duties as a time guardian. But Katie's past makes her distant around the man's charms. Who doesn't love a noble Scotsman that can quote Robert Burns? Murdo's wooing of Katie requires a bit of magic only a true soul-mate can deliver." 
~Victoria, posted at Amazon
"SWORDSONG will have you hooked from the beginning until the "happily ever after." And if you were trying to creep us out with Cousin John, you definitely succeeded, Ms. Moncrief. There was a glossary at the front of the book. It easy to pick up book three without reading the others." 
~Angelique, Happily Ever After Reviews


Excerpt:


"No," Katie yelled and sprang into motion, lunging for the doorway. Gods' jest. The lass pushed something over her head. Something invisible.

She flew back toward me and fell at my boots, arms scrabbling behind her for a handhold like the jointed legs of a crab. 


Guinevere screeched an ear-piercing wail of a banshee. 


If the ceilings held, it would be miraculous. I grabbed beneath Katie's arms and hoisted her upward as the blaring female's cacophony ricocheted off the stone walls.

I searched Katie's disturbed blue gaze focused on the doorway. "What is it?"

She shoved her heels around, trying to regain her footing. "Stop laughing, you bastard," she snarled. 

Not at me. There has to be an intruder. Or spirit. In the empty doorway. 

A sudden quiet moment consumed the mind-numbing reality of the dark subterranean world. 

"No," Katie screeched, reached out, seemingly blocking a blow with her forearm. 

What did she see? 

"What is it, Katie?" Pam shouted. 

Katie had to stop reacting. Trick the Seer. If she didn't look though, she won't react to the spirit. I grabbed the blonde's stiff shoulders and crushed her gaze into my chest. "There's naught there, lass." 

Katie squirmed, the hardness of her head fighting my grip. "He's got a knife." 

And that would matter? I scanned the doorway for a person or a hint of a glinting dirk. 

Why would I expect to suddenly see the apparition? The Seer had only come for Katie. 

She stilled in my arms. 

Yet, her thundering heart hammered. I could try to explain. Ease her fears. But a woman of her time isn't ready to believe in Post-Modern alchemical notions. Not with Truth hounding her in an astral projection. 

The air warmed about us. 

Probably more the heat from the fear in the chamber than an actual rise in temperature. But a rise in temperature would note the visitation's end. "Is he gone?" I scanned the doorway. 

"I couldn't possibly know. I can't see," she droned into my shirt. 

Of course she can't. But better to hang onto her with a spirit afoot given her reaction. I loosened my hold enough to permit her to peer over her shoulder. 

Katie scanned the whole room where I held her. 

Probably uncertain whether to sigh or grab a weapon. 

"He's gone," she announced.

The other females descended upon us. Their three crowns bobbed beneath my chin as the other maidens's arms grabbed Katie. 

"What was it?" Guinevere simpered. 

"Yes, tell us what you saw," Pam commanded. 

Out of the three, the masculine maiden had the most sensible way about her. All business. Very much a Brother in behavior. 

"A large man in big black boots," Katie gasped. "He laughed at us, shaking a knife over his shoulder. He was going to kill us." 

"I didn't see him," Guinevere finally managed to speak plainly. 

As if any of us had. "None of us did." I maintained my hold on the frightened blonde maiden. 

Katie shot me a bitter scowl. 

Not good. Her pinched glare of betrayal isn't the prize I expected. I'd have to salvage the little friendship we had, to gain access to her uncle's foundry. "I'm not saying you didn't, lass."

Purchase SWORDSONG  .99 Cents on KINDLE

Visit Skhye on the web- www.skhyemoncrief.com

Tomorrow we will feature Book 3 - He of the Fiery Sword

3 comments:

Vonda Sinclair said...

Wow fantastic excerpt! I look forward to reading this!

Miriam Newman said...

Always good to see something new by Skye and I love that this is in the first person. Seems to me there's far too little of that these days. Personally, I really enjoy it for a change of pace.

Skhye said...

Thanks, Vonda!

Miriam, it's what I call modified 3rd Person Limited Omnisicient Deep POV where I don't use italics to note the 1st Person Present Tense thoughts of the POV characters (hero/heroine). An editor really liked this the first time it was released. Since then, I was told by another editor to remove the italics from my stories and RAN WITH IT. The beginning of each story has a little bit of 3rd person starting each scene/chapter until the reader is familiar enough with each POV character's personality to allow me to ditch that crutch! I've been told by people who don't like to read 1st Person that they like mine! :)


Blah Blah Blah. Skhye doth talketh too much. ***But I don't want people to be confused about this writing style!***

HE OF THE FIERY SWORD is the most philosophical of my Time Guardian series. So, if you want to read something that seems a tad more serious, King Arthur, the time-traveling shape-shifting dragon is simply because he is finally human and trying to rationalize to maintain his sanity! LOL

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