Can
you, in less than five words describe your book BETRAYED?
Enslaved heroine, conflicted hero,
manipulative gods
What
inspired you to write it?
While I was writing CAPTIVE, book #2 of my
fantasy historical romance series, I didn’t have a clue if there would be a
third book. Towards the end of CAPTIVE an acolyte of the Moon Goddess Arianrhod
walked onto the page and I was immediately intrigued by her. The last we saw of
her in CAPTIVE was when she ran off to do the bidding of the Briton king,
Caratacus, and I was itching to find out what happened to her. Did she complete
her mission? Did she evade capture from the Roman Legions? I couldn’t wait to
find out her story. As it happened, it took me a lot longer to find out how
Nimue finally reached her Happily-Ever-After than I imagined!
And here's the excerpt (from the beginning of chapter 3)...
Nimue was back in the forest of her childhood, in the sacred oak grove,
watching her mother give sacrifice to the most powerful Goddess of them all.
She looked up into
the night sky. The full moon, as bright as if it was illuminated by a thousand
candles, dominated her vision and awe filled her soul at the breathtaking
beauty.
Arianrhod, let her be worthy.
Her mother beckoned
her to join her in the center of the glade where all the women of their clan
waited. Heart pounding with a combination of fear and pride, Nimue obeyed.
Instantly the other women encircled her and removed her gown until she was as
naked as them.
They raised their
arms, chanted the ancient rites to their foremothers and gave thanks for the
Goddess’s blessing upon Nimue.
Today, her first
moon-time had occurred. A great blessing indeed, to take the first step on the
path of womanhood when the full moon glowed in a cloudless sky. A sign that
Nimue had, without doubt, been accepted and chosen by the Goddess she adored.
This was the
happiest day of her life. The proudest moment she had yet experienced. But
something—something was wrong. Something had happened that had taken this
moment and shattered it, destroyed it, tarnished its beauty and wonder
forevermore.
Something that had
changed the course of her life and twisted the future she had always believed
her birthright. Just as surely as her
destined path had been irrevocably altered today.
Jagged pain lanced
through her body and the sacred grove shimmered, as if it had been plunged into
a bottomless pool of glimmering water. She struggled for air, clawing through
the grasping tendrils of fog that wrapped around her. For one tangled moment
she thought she saw a tough warrior above her, his hypnotic eyes gazing at her intently,
trying to infuse her with additional strength.
Without knowing why
she tried to reach for him but her limbs were heavy and uncoordinated.
Desperately she thrashed her head from side to side, trying to escape from
unseen restraints. Then, from the dark corners in her mind, a shadow walked
unerringly toward her. And then it was no longer a shadow as from nowhere a
shaft of sunlight surrounded the figure. Disbelief speared through her as,
without knowing how she knew, she recognized him as one of the most powerful
gods of her people.
Gwydion, warrior
magician, in all his youthful glory, smiled down at her. Terror froze her to
the spot, but the god did not appear to mind her lack of reverence.
What did Gwydion
want with her? She had always given him due reverence when she worshipped
the gods of Annwyn on their sacred days. But he had never shown her any
preference before. She had never experienced any special affinity with him, the
Greatest of the Enchanters. To her knowledge, Gwydion had never bestowed his
benevolence to a female Druid nor taken one as his blessed acolyte. That he had
appeared to her now was utterly terrifying.
“Nimue, acolyte of
my sister goddess Arianrhod, you are truly a chosen one.” His voice echoed in
her mind, vibrating with power. She fell to her knees, holding her head,
fearful her mind might collapse under the unwanted invasion. “The High Druid
Aeron comes to you. Return what you have taken.”
Nimue forced her eyes open and peered up at the
magnificent, glowing god. He extended his hand toward her, uncurled his fingers
and showed her what he held.
Mesmerized, she
stared at his palm. He held the shard of sacred bluestone she had taken from
the magical enclave.
Thank you for sharing Christina!
If you want to find out more about Christina Phillips and her awesome books, check out these links;
Website
– http://www.christinaphillips.com
Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/ChristinaPh_Ash
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For the month of April All Romance Ebooks has a sale on all Ellora’s Cave titles, including a 50% discount off BETRAYED – now only $4.38 at ARe!
I am soooo looking forward to reading this!
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