I can now stay up as late as I want to read this amazing book I have been working on all week. I was privy to a preview of the soon to be released Jewel of Ramstone by author JM Powers and let me tell you, it has kept me up nights. I can't put it down. I was up until after midnight most nights this week and if I didn't have to go to work I probably wouldn't even have slept until I finished it.
If you are a fan of historical romance you can't miss with this book. I tend to prefer contemporary romance and I'm telling you I was drawn in from the first page. Remember, this amazing story will be available in its entirety on November 14, 2014 from www.breathlesspress.com
I'm sure you are dying to know what it's about so here's a little teaser:
"Ask me anything. Mayhap I can help." His deep voice broke the silence.
How was he to help? "Pray tell, how did
we come to share the forest?"
"I shall explain." He bent and picked up a twig, then proceeded to peel the bark off. With each curl he tossed aside, she grew more frustrated.
Oh, but she did know one thing that might. Tasting the nectar on his lips would certainly qualify. She sensed his tension when she took a bite. Mayhap he had the same thought? He grunted and crunched into the apple, mumbling something about a damn green-eyed mystery.
Were her eyes green? Damnation. Her mind was truly addled.
J.M. Powers harbors an alter ego of a normal woman named Jeannie. (Her editor is still on the fence about the whole 'normal' thing.) Jeannie's proficient at research, gluten-free cooking and embarrassing her teenagers by wearing her skinny jeans to the grocery store. J.M., the author-ego, plunges so deep into her writing; she forgets life outside her creations still goes on. More often than not, J.M. answers with a glassy stare when her family asks what's for dinner. Despite the craziness between reality and the world of writing, life falls together without broken bones or hearts.
"I shall explain." He bent and picked up a twig, then proceeded to peel the bark off. With each curl he tossed aside, she grew more frustrated.
'Twas
better to allow mistrust. Stand strong.
She gasped. Unexpected, the thought rang with such clarity, it seemed someone
else had spoken. "Perchance you should be honest. Did you drug me? Spell
me?"
He tossed the twig aside. Though his eyes remained on
her face, her whole body felt his scrutiny. "'Twould do you well to hold
your tongue."
"I
am beginning to dislike you," she said, knowing full well the opposite was
true. She truly wished her insides would cease…prickling? And her head. Damn,
it ached so. Tingles and pain aside, she tried to focus. "Do you intend to
explain or not?"
"I
seek a means to tell you gently."
With a
slight shrug, she said, "No need for gentleness. You already tossed me
about." She grinned despite the truth in her statement.
He
sighed. "It appears you are lost."
"God's
eyes, knight!" She shook her head. "You must be a great sorcerer to
possess such insight."
"Your
tongue shall be your undoing. Best you still it."
Twice he
attempted to stifle her. She clenched her teeth. "Still it?"
Galeron's
jaw twitched and she wondered if he were quelling a smile. "I found you
here in the woodlands. I did not hold you captive, drug you, or harm you."
He blinked slowly. "Hold to that."
She
nodded. "Forgive—"
"Nay
need. I understand. You now stand a day's ride from Ramstone. Have you heard of
it?"
He
pushed off the tree and came to sit beside her, his thigh nearly touching her
own. Nearly. It took a moment for her answer. "Nay, I do not recall
Ramstone." The fact she did not recall much of anything choked off the
rest of her response.
"Odd,"
he said, more to himself than her.
Sighing,
she realized how badly her masquerade of bravery was faltering. Out of the
corner of her eye, she saw his hand come toward her. Surprised at the urge to
lean into his touch, she remained still and allowed him to brush back the wisps
of hair from her brow. His hand lowered in a fist, yet his voice was laced with
tenderness.
"It
pains me that I cannot give you answers." His gaze strayed from her face,
lowering to her neck.
Covering
the neckline of her tunic with both hands, she glared at him. "Focus
elsewhere." He sees me as a woman
after all. She dashed the thought away. Almost.
"I
intend nay disrespect. The bruising on your neck concerns me." Gently
brushing her hand aside, he took a closer look. "Fingerprints."
It took
all she had not to cry out. Who harmed her?
"When
we discovered you, there was nay sign of anyone else."
She
glanced around. "We?"
"I sent
my men home."
She
blinked. Then blinked again. "Your men."
"My
brother, a healer, assured me your wounds were not serious, so I decided to
wait—"
She put
up her hand. "Why not leave me under the care of your healer? Or leave me
in the nearest village?"
He
swallowed hard. "It matters not! Are you always so…so…inquisitive?"
Ah, this
man was not used to being questioned. She tried to ease his surly mood. "A
shame your men were sent on their way. No one laid witness when I kicked you
and bashed your comely face before you so unceremoniously dropped a maiden to
the ground."
He blew
a long breath. "You insist on repeating that. Had you dressed
appropriately, I would not have thought you a lad." His chuckle made her
grin. "Although you certainly fight like a maiden."
She
swiped her hand through the air. "Carry on."
"Carry
on," he muttered. "I fear you shall interrupt again." He looked
up through the trees, ignoring her huff. "We still had several days before
reaching our destination when we found you. With that in mind, I postponed the
journey and sent my men back to Ramstone."
"I
see." She studied the frayed edge of her tunic. "How long have I been
here?"
"I
watched over you a single night. How long you were here remains a mystery. I
was only gone a short time for I needed to boil meat into a broth to sustain
you. Had I known you were a maiden, I never would have left you alone."
Her head
snapped up. "Yet you would a lad? I am not defenseless simply because I am
a female."
Galeron's
eyes hardened. "Aye, 'tis so. I returned to find you brandishing a dagger.
I left it in case you awoke and felt unsafe, not to use against me."
She ran
her hands through the leaves and shrugged a silent apology, too stubborn to
utter it out loud.
"Fair
one?"
Damnation,
she hated when he addressed her with those words, and yet it awoke something in
her, for he said it with tenderness. She glared at his smiling face. "Why
are you calling me that?" To her chagrin, what she'd meant as snide came
out as quite curious.
He splayed his hands in question, "Would
you prefer I call you lad?" Two furrows appeared on his brow at her silent
glare. "Because, you have yet to give your name."
Disarmed,
she swallowed her spiteful attitude. "If I only could." She locked
away her tears, her dismay, and did her best to keep her voice steady. "I
hoped you would know…would say it by now. Sir Galeron, I…I recall naught before
I saw you standing before me."
Seeming
to battle with her revelation, Galeron's expression flitted from stunned to
confused. Then his gaze bore into her with such tenderness it nearly undid her.
"Nay memory?" he finally whispered.
She
shook her head. He guided her head to his shoulder. Barely a moment passed
before he released her, rose to his feet, and strode away. Unsure of why he left
so abruptly, she frowned when he looked back.
"I
regret I cannot ease your uncertainty." He stooped to gather twigs.
"However, I am able to ease your hunger. After breaking our fast, we shall
take leave."
She
dabbed her impending tears as soon as his back was turned.
"We
should arrive at Ramstone by nightfall."
"I
am to stay at your home? What shall your wife think?"
"There
is nay wife." He grabbed a branch and added it to his arms. "But
there is plentiful family about."
Holding
the tree for support, she stood, waiting for the dizziness to subside before
she followed. When he turned, she picked up a branch, embarrassed at how silly
she looked traipsing on his heels. Gathering an armload of kindling, she stole
glances at him, each time wondering how it would feel to remain in his arms.
She piled the branches then watched him arrange them.
"Building
a fire?" Hark, she was a fool.
"Nay,
I am building an abode." And he solidified the fact.
"I
want my own chamber then." Several paces away, she sat. Sunlight peeked
through the forest canopy. She closed her eyes and raised her face to the
warmth. Like a constant itch, she felt his gaze. She slowly peered through her
lashes. Aye, he was staring—no—studying her face. Her gash. Her ugly face. She
sighed and looked to the sky instead.
"God's
eyes," he muttered.
She
turned to him. Very well, if he finds a
need to gawk, I shall give him a full view of my battered face. "Sir
Galeron, what worries you so? Has my plight delayed your duties?"
"Nay."
He jammed the skinned carcasses on a sharpened branch.
"I
heard your curse. Was it in frustration of not reaching your destination?"
Oh, how she wished to smirk at his rudeness, but she kept her poise.
"I
was not delayed from anything that could not wait." Keeping his eyes
shielded, he placed the meat across the spit before offering a weak smile.
"I pray forgiveness for my curse reaching your ears."
Wrapping
her arms around her legs, she rested her unscathed cheek on her knees.
"Curses are naught. I am simply thankful you helped me, Sir Galeron."
Apparently he was too kind to mention her affliction. She hated the pity.
Seemingly
distracted, he arranged kindling then retrieved a piece of hammered steel and flint
from a pouch on his belt.
"I
pray you can forgive my initial rudeness." When he didn't respond, she
added, "Ah, I gather forgiveness shall come with time."
Galeron
struck the steel with a bit of flint. "I never held ill will. I understood
the reason you lashed out." He blew on the kindling until it caught.
"You are forgiven for bashing your head into mine as well."
"Ha!"
She rose and strode to the fire. Her gaze flitted over his body. He looked up,
catching her stare, and alas, stared back. Heat crept up her neck, spreading to
her face. Surely, 'twas the fire's heat causing her flush—she hoped he believed
the same lie.
Galeron grinned. His demeanor was infuriating.
And endearing. And more confusing than her loss of memory.
"Sit."
He continued to tend the fire.
She paid
no heed to his demand, and thrust her hands toward the fire. To her dismay, the
sharp smell of the rabbit caused her stomach to roar with hunger.
Galeron's
blue eyes sparked with mischievousness. "I gather 'tis been some time
since you ate?"
"Apparently."
She plunked down on a fallen log, certain her face turned countless shades of
crimson.
Taking a
seat beside her, Galeron chuckled and poked at the fire. He was so close she
could smell the woodsy scent on his skin. She inhaled deeper, tucking the
fragrance into her mind to savor when she was left to her own.
He
cleared his throat. "Allow me to tend to that cut."
Inwardly
cringing, she changed the subject. "How long before we eat?"
With a
quick wink, he leaned back and rummaged in his saddle pack. Taking her hand, he
placed an apple in it, keeping one for himself. His smile highlighted the
dimple in his chin and she found herself offering a genuine smile in return.
"Ah,
glorious," she said, grateful he didn't see how his touch affected her. Waving
his offer to use his dagger, she bit heartily into the fruit, and moaned,
relishing the explosion of juice across her tongue. "Naught could taste
sweeter in this moment."Oh, but she did know one thing that might. Tasting the nectar on his lips would certainly qualify. She sensed his tension when she took a bite. Mayhap he had the same thought? He grunted and crunched into the apple, mumbling something about a damn green-eyed mystery.
Were her eyes green? Damnation. Her mind was truly addled.
J.M. Powers harbors an alter ego of a normal woman named Jeannie. (Her editor is still on the fence about the whole 'normal' thing.) Jeannie's proficient at research, gluten-free cooking and embarrassing her teenagers by wearing her skinny jeans to the grocery store. J.M., the author-ego, plunges so deep into her writing; she forgets life outside her creations still goes on. More often than not, J.M. answers with a glassy stare when her family asks what's for dinner. Despite the craziness between reality and the world of writing, life falls together without broken bones or hearts.
Thank you for hosting this cover reveal! :)
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