As an Author, What Scares Me the Most by Miriam Newman – Guest Blog and Giveaway

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Or I could try to walk three dogs simultaneously, getting pulled over and tearing an ankle ligament. That one was particularly painful, although it did force me to sit down and write, since I couldn’t walk.

But I have a muse named Persephone (after the Queen of Hell) who regularly goes AWOL, leaving me to cope with her absence as best I can. And as you see from the above, that’s not very well.

Those who survived the Battle of Grandfather Mountain are said to be in the Hand of the Gods. No one will need that more than Sange, sister of Arak clan chieftain Javrik. Drawn to Arman Garimandi, the Omani cavalry officer who saved her people during the siege, she shocks her family by marrying him despite her brother’s caution that someday he will break her heart. Blindly in love, she follows Arman to two different forts where he is ordered. At the first, danger comes unexpectedly in the form of another woman And at the second, she finds herself an unwitting pawn–possibly even a prisoner–between two powerful nations.

Enjoy an Excerpt

Sunny Omana had felt strangely like home to Arman, probably because he had heard about it all his life. And then, when their army had defeated the Domidian hordes that had conquered it and sent him to scout the upper portions, inhabited by nomadic Arak tribes, finally he knew life had given him another chance, probably undeserved after the things he had done, but a chance all the same.

He was looking at her now, sitting on her small Arak horse, framed against vast green plains below them where wind moved in circles and waves through wild grasses. Low purple and tan foothills rose from them, shadowed by clouds, and beyond those were mountains so steep that snowcapped them even in the midst of summer. Domidians on the other side had never crossed them in force. That was why the eastern portion of Arak lands, where Sange had never been, was spared the slaughter those in the center faced as Domidians who had occupied southern Omana fled forces drawn from the compact of nations who freed it from them. Now those mountains harbored their remnants, swelling ranks of brigands who had been there for years. It was a dangerous place, but she had packed up and taken horse with him when his orders sent him there. Just as his father’s Emperator had sent him to exile in a foreign land, the one in Arman’s time had done the same. The difference was that in his, Arman had found the last woman he would ever love.

Wisps of hair had escaped her headscarf, strands of gold flying in the wind, occasionally touching her sculpted cheeks. She had a mouth made for kissing and eyes as green as gems, oddly ringed with a darker shade outlining the iris like some elfin creature. Every feature was delicate, her body a wonder and a pleasure to him. She was young and she was hope, when he had lost all of his.

About the Author:I fell in love long ago with fantasy poetry driven by myths and legends, as well as stories of heroes and battles. Ancient Celtic writings were my special passion, along with the Roman Empire, Roman Britain, the Norman invasion of England, and tales of the Vikings. My first book emerged when I was an…ahem…youthful 52. Well, I’m not 52 any more and up to 34 books and it’s been a great run.

Retired from many years in social work, now I pass my days writing, researching and living with a pack of highly demanding rescue dogs. I write in every genre I please and you can see my books at my website.

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