SPARK
is the first book in my Clan of Dragons
series. My readers will let their imagination take them to the
paranormal world where dragons live within the very real Black Cuillin Hills on
the island off the Scottish coast called Skye. Using a harsh yet beautiful
location gives my characters the perfect setting for dealing with humans,
pirates, and even a nasty wild boar. I should mention that my love of horses
played a major role in inserting them into the story. The next book in the series is SMOKE and will soon also be available for pre-order. It will be followed by SMOLDER, giving my readers more characters, more intimate scenes of romantic love and of course, more pirates and wild beasts.
Here is an excerpt from SPARK, Book #1, Clan of Dragons:
CHAPTER 1
Evan
stared into the heavens while a gust of
bitter wind ruffled the scales along his tail. The morning sun was making its
way slowly upward, forcing the stars to disappear, while a heavy fog hid the
earth, far below his perch. A heaviness filled his scale-covered chest, as well,
because the news hurt. The future of their kind was in jeopardy.
Days
earlier, Cliona had died. When in the form of a red doe, a human hunter had
brought her down with his deadly arrow, ending Dougal’s chance at happiness. Dougal
and Cliona were lovers, and his oldest brother had only recently realized that
she carried their unborn dragon offspring.
Two
lives lost.
Two
very important lives.
Cliona
was the last breeding female of their kind, and their offspring would have
meant that the dragon clan of the Scottish island of Skye would endure.
From
a peak somewhere above Evan, Dougal roared. The deep mournful howl reminded him
of rolling thunder, which was probably what villagers would assume caused the
sound. Evan and his remaining brothers hid from humans in the stony perches of Skye’s
Black Cuillin Hills. They lived in caves beneath the sharp peaks that rose west
of the Scottish Highlands surrounded by the sea, and across the narrow channel
of the bay. The hills were home for more years than Evan could recall. Their
numbers had dwindled due to the weather, accidents, and the occasional hunter.
To his knowledge, no humans knew they shared this area of Skye, but they
crossed paths when in their other forms.
The
freedom to shape-shift into forest animals meant a lot to his brothers. Dougal
enjoyed shifting into a red stag, and running free though the trees and
meadows. Wynn was partial to wolves, whose numbers had decreased as steadily as
their dragon clan. Their environment was changing too fast, and dragons faced
an uneasy future. “We be on the brink of extinction.”
As
Dougal landed beside him, his talons scraped along the bare rock surface, and
the mountain shook. Large pebbles rained down on their middle brother, Wynn,
who growled but did not move from his lower perch. Dougal sighed, and Evan kept
silent. Letting his brother talk first was safer. Dougal’s eyes glowed like
angry flames, as red as his scales. His mood was as black as the wings he
slowly folded over his back. Dougal’s newfound hatred toward humans was
teetering on all-out war. Evan didn’t feel he was in the wrong, but talking
with his brother while Dougal was in pain was dangerous.
SPARK is now available for pre-order
exclusively from:
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