This fort-night it is my pleasure to welcome Janni Nell, with an excerpt of her book Night of the Dark Horse.
Can you, in less than five words describe Night of the Dark Horse?
Humorous, angels, fairies, Ireland, mystery.
Who is your favourite character in this book?
Casper, a warrior, who died fighting the Romans and now ‘works’ as a guardian angel for paranormal investigator, Allegra Fairweather. Wouldn’t the world be a great place if we all had tall, built, hot guardian angels?
What inspired you to write it?
I wanted to finish the Allegra Fairweather series with a book that tied up all the loose ends and gave readers the ending they’d been asking for.
At a store in the Jervis Centre, I picked out several pairs of jeans, some shirts and a jacket for him to try on. Angels aren’t vain, so Casper wasn’t influenced by fashion. Refusing my offer to help him change, he took the clothes and headed for the fitting room. Not only did I miss out on getting a sneak peak at his butt, I had to endure the sales clerk’s endless small talk. I managed some monosyllabic replies until Radha—that was the name on her badge—suddenly asked, “What’s in your pocket?”
I hadn’t realized I’d been playing with the leprechaun’s pebbles, but there I was clicking them together like worry beads.
“Just some pebbles I picked up.”
“Seriously? Pebbles? Do you collect them or something?”
“Or something,” I said as Casper emerged from the fitting room looking...well, let’s say it was definitely worth the wait. The skinny-leg jeans showed off every muscle of his butt and thighs.
Even Radha was impressed.
“Hhhhot,” she breathed.
But Casper wasn’t too thrilled with skinny leg jeans. He claimed they were uncomfortable.
“You sure about that?” I asked.
When he nodded, Radha and I exchanged a disappointed glance. There was nothing we could do to stop Casper heading back to the fitting room to try a looser pair. He pulled the curtain closed again.
I sighed. “I wish I was a fly on the wall.”
Too late, I realized I was holding a wish-pebble.
The store ballooned around me, stadium-huge. Visual images bombarded me, as though I had a hundred eyes. I could see parts of the store I hadn’t even realized were there. Far below me, Radha’s head whipped back and forth, looking right and left as though she’d lost something. Since I was no longer standing beside her, I figured it was me.
Holy crap, the wishes did work.
Radha’s mouth moved, but I couldn’t hear a word she said. What the—? Flies didn’t have ears? Being a fly on the wall wasn’t going to be much fun if I couldn’t eavesdrop on conversations. Actually being a fly wouldn’t be much fun at all. And didn’t they have a seriously short lifespan? Like about a month max?
Returning to human form became a priority, but here was the kicker; now that I knew the wishes worked, I was reluctant to waste one to reverse the stupid wish I should never have made in the first place. Still, it wasn’t like I had many other options, and believe me I considered them all. Funny that although I had a fly’s body, I still thought like a human. Go figure. Anyway since I didn’t want to hang around in the fly’s body any longer than necessary, I reached into my pocket, intending to use a wish-pebble to get me out of this mess. Uh-oh. I didn’t have pockets! Oh, bugger.
Was I stuck in this stupid body with only a month to live? Even worse, Radha was reaching for the fly spray. I zoomed off the wall, and headed straight for Casper’s fitting room. Having a limited lifespan made me realize what was really important. I landed on the wall of the fitting room. Multiple images of Casper hit me like a drug. Oh yeah, I was in heaven. A fly on the wall might not be able to eavesdrop but it sure as heck could appreciate the sight of a hunky angel in his jocks.
Casper tensed. He looked up, a pair of jeans dangling from his hand. When he caught sight of fly-me, he rolled his eyes. He waggled a finger at me, his mouth moving. I think he was saying, Naughty, naughty. Then he scrambled into his clothes like a virgin bride. When he was dressed, he extended his hand to me as though I was a runaway bird. He didn’t need to offer twice. I flew down and settled on his finger. He transferred me to his shoulder and I sat there like a parrot on a pirate. He left the fitting room and returned the clothes to Radha. When she caught sight of me, she reached for the fly spray again.
Can you, in less than five words describe Night of the Dark Horse?
Humorous, angels, fairies, Ireland, mystery.
Who is your favourite character in this book?
Casper, a warrior, who died fighting the Romans and now ‘works’ as a guardian angel for paranormal investigator, Allegra Fairweather. Wouldn’t the world be a great place if we all had tall, built, hot guardian angels?
What inspired you to write it?
I wanted to finish the Allegra Fairweather series with a book that tied up all the loose ends and gave readers the ending they’d been asking for.
And here's the excerpt!
At a store in the Jervis Centre, I picked out several pairs of jeans, some shirts and a jacket for him to try on. Angels aren’t vain, so Casper wasn’t influenced by fashion. Refusing my offer to help him change, he took the clothes and headed for the fitting room. Not only did I miss out on getting a sneak peak at his butt, I had to endure the sales clerk’s endless small talk. I managed some monosyllabic replies until Radha—that was the name on her badge—suddenly asked, “What’s in your pocket?”
I hadn’t realized I’d been playing with the leprechaun’s pebbles, but there I was clicking them together like worry beads.
“Just some pebbles I picked up.”
“Seriously? Pebbles? Do you collect them or something?”
“Or something,” I said as Casper emerged from the fitting room looking...well, let’s say it was definitely worth the wait. The skinny-leg jeans showed off every muscle of his butt and thighs.
Even Radha was impressed.
“Hhhhot,” she breathed.
But Casper wasn’t too thrilled with skinny leg jeans. He claimed they were uncomfortable.
“You sure about that?” I asked.
When he nodded, Radha and I exchanged a disappointed glance. There was nothing we could do to stop Casper heading back to the fitting room to try a looser pair. He pulled the curtain closed again.
I sighed. “I wish I was a fly on the wall.”
Too late, I realized I was holding a wish-pebble.
The store ballooned around me, stadium-huge. Visual images bombarded me, as though I had a hundred eyes. I could see parts of the store I hadn’t even realized were there. Far below me, Radha’s head whipped back and forth, looking right and left as though she’d lost something. Since I was no longer standing beside her, I figured it was me.
Holy crap, the wishes did work.
Radha’s mouth moved, but I couldn’t hear a word she said. What the—? Flies didn’t have ears? Being a fly on the wall wasn’t going to be much fun if I couldn’t eavesdrop on conversations. Actually being a fly wouldn’t be much fun at all. And didn’t they have a seriously short lifespan? Like about a month max?
Returning to human form became a priority, but here was the kicker; now that I knew the wishes worked, I was reluctant to waste one to reverse the stupid wish I should never have made in the first place. Still, it wasn’t like I had many other options, and believe me I considered them all. Funny that although I had a fly’s body, I still thought like a human. Go figure. Anyway since I didn’t want to hang around in the fly’s body any longer than necessary, I reached into my pocket, intending to use a wish-pebble to get me out of this mess. Uh-oh. I didn’t have pockets! Oh, bugger.
Was I stuck in this stupid body with only a month to live? Even worse, Radha was reaching for the fly spray. I zoomed off the wall, and headed straight for Casper’s fitting room. Having a limited lifespan made me realize what was really important. I landed on the wall of the fitting room. Multiple images of Casper hit me like a drug. Oh yeah, I was in heaven. A fly on the wall might not be able to eavesdrop but it sure as heck could appreciate the sight of a hunky angel in his jocks.
Casper tensed. He looked up, a pair of jeans dangling from his hand. When he caught sight of fly-me, he rolled his eyes. He waggled a finger at me, his mouth moving. I think he was saying, Naughty, naughty. Then he scrambled into his clothes like a virgin bride. When he was dressed, he extended his hand to me as though I was a runaway bird. He didn’t need to offer twice. I flew down and settled on his finger. He transferred me to his shoulder and I sat there like a parrot on a pirate. He left the fitting room and returned the clothes to Radha. When she caught sight of me, she reached for the fly spray again.
If you liked the sound of this, you can find more about Janni Nell and her books at the links below. Thank you for sharing Janni!
Looks like a fun read, Janni. Will have to get it!
ReplyDeleteBest fun read ever. Not that I'm biased or anything. ;-)
ReplyDelete