King's Raven, the second book in the Harper Errant historical fantasy series, comes out next Friday, 12-21-12--Mayans or no Mayans!
Every day this week I'm posting a short excerpt with an illustrative cover picture on my Facebook author page. Please drop by every day to see what's new. Like and comment on any daily picture and you could win a copy!
from Chapter 1:
It was getting dark. It was already
cold. Two weeks before Christmas under troubled skies and a kissing snow,
Sunday slipped across Dartmoor and into the west. At the new recording studio
on top of Hobbs Hill, a timer kicked over with a low snap sending a swarm of
fairy lights chasing over the windows, the thatched roof, and a discreet new
sign: Diamond Hall. At once, a
chorus of whistling cheers went up from an unseen and largely unseeable
audience.
Ben Harper, who could see them perfectly well, just grinned
and ignored them. He still had work to do getting the last of the Faerie Reel
equipment out of the cars and put away before the band went home.
With Planxty Irwin still bouncing in his head from
last night’s gig, he reached into the van, grabbed a box, and pulled it
squealing across the ridged metal floor.
Lift with your knees!
Don’t wheeze!
More cheese!!
The little voices that were not, he was happy to say, in his
head were “helping” as usual with high pitched, chiming advice, and not much
else. He had gotten used to that, living on Dartmoor. He’d also learned to
appreciate his special relationship with Faerie without being distracted by it,
except when they moved his tools. On whimsical occasion, they could also be
exceptionally helpful, but the chatter was constant, which is why it took him a
moment to notice when they stopped.
Then a lone munchkin voice squeaked, Uh-oh.
Two seconds later, an unmistakable ripple of force rolled
Devonshire under his feet like a wave of the sea. He straightened,
automatically putting up a hand to steady himself for what was coming. The
familiar shaking, the almost subliminal rumble, the sensation that not just the
earth rippled and flowed but the buildings, too—it had been a long time, but
he’d know it anywhere.
A low exclamation burst from him, and he grinned.
Earthquake. Cool. Just like home.
No comments:
Post a Comment