Title:
A Valentine's Anthology
Author:
C.L. Kraemer,Genene Valleau,Christine Young
ISBN:
978-0-9842211-2-7
Email:
Genre:
Excerpt
Heat Level: 1
Book
Heat Level: 1
BLURB
The Lending Library-a fantasy. By
C. L. Kraemer
Faeries try to fit into the human
world when the forest where they make their home is destroyed by a mysterious
enemy.
Chasing Rainbows-a contemporary
romance. By Genene Valleau
An eccentric aunt, an inventive
uncle, a mother who wears poodle skirts, and a brother who wears pearls provide
a hilarious backdrop for the courtship of a young woman who yearns for a
"normal" family.
The Gift-a historical romance. By
Christine Young
A man and a woman on opposite
sides of the Civil War get a second chance at love after one final battle
returns soldiers to their war-torn homes to rebuild their lives.
EXCERPTS:
The
Lending Library:
Ailidh
wobbled precariously on her high heels.
Kayne
smirked. "Having problems, dear?"
"Shut
up!" she snapped. "I need to practice this until I get it right. We
don’t really have many options left open to us, Kayne. You had better practice,
too."
He
stopped and steadied himself on the railing of the porch. He wriggled his feet
out of the closed leather shoes that encased them.
"I
don’t know why you insist we wear these ridiculous articles of clothing. This
long-sleeved shirt cuts off the circulation to my hands not to mention the lack
of space for my wings and these long pants chap my legs.
"Worst
of all, are these horrendous leather shoes. They pinch and make my feet swell.
Why do we have to go through all of this? I don’t understand." Kayne
grumbled.
Ailidh
sighed and slowly, patiently
explained to him, once again, why they were practicing.
Chasing Rainbows:
Ka-boom! The blast shattered the settling peace of
dusk as Marissa Madison pulled into the circular drive. Rissa threw open the
car door and sprinted toward the gray stone house.
"Please, no blood this time," she
whispered as her feet hit the rough-hewn steps leading up to the broad double
doors.
A bespectacled man stepped through the doorway amid
a confetti shower of envelopes and leaflets. His silvery hair stood in startled
spikes around a balding pate as if it too had been a victim of the explosion.
"Too much torque in the mail conveyor,"
he muttered with a frown.
"Please turn it off, Uncle Horace!"
"Right." The old man disappeared back
into the house. Within moments, the clanking stopped and silence fell over the
rolling hills once again.
Just another
normal day, Rissa thought, as she surveyed the day's mail scattered in gay abandon
across the landscape.
The Gift:
"Get
in the house, now!"
"Mama?"
Elice
Weld shielded her eyes and watched the ground fog rising in the distance. She
didn't know what was coming her way, but she could guess. The rumors that a
Union cavalry unit was in the vicinity had spread like a wildfire on a Kansas
prairie.
Rain
had fallen all morning. Now the clouds had separated, and the sun heated the
earth, causing the evaporation of the water-soaked ground. The cavalry rode
through the mist like dark, avenging wraiths bent on the destruction of all
mankind. She could see seven men silhouetted on the horizon.
"Izzy,
go." Elice didn't want to frighten her daughter but the urgency of the
moment could not be denied.
"But
mama?"
"Go
to the cellar. Now."
"It's
dark."
Izzy's
voice echoed in Elice's head, filling her with a wild panic she didn't know how
to stop. Every time soldiers approached she was terrified. The last four years
had been the longest years of her life. "Do as I say, quickly." Elice
hugged her daughter, turning her at the same moment and with a gentle shove
sent her through the open door of her house.
"Izzy."
Elice
knew the panic in her voice would mobilize her young daughter. She despised the
fear and the terror. She loathed the war. She looked up. The fog was
dissipating, and she could see the dark blue of the Union coats. She didn't
have anything left for the soldiers to take. Good God, they'd taken everything
already--everything save her daughter and her hope for the future.
She
inhaled a quick breath then stood on the steps, hands folded together in front
of her, watching the dark wraiths inch closer. She knew from experience she
couldn't fight these men. She would do as they said and when they left, she
would put the pieces of her life back together.
Until
the next time…
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