Sneak Peek At DRAGON'S BANE

Coming July 1st to Whiskey Creek Press Torrid:


What happened after Cinderella married Prince Charming? Dragon's Bane is the story of Adara Tremeirchion, youngest fairy godmother in the guild, and Ruarc of Melthione.

After she did her job and got Cinderella together with her Prince Charming, Adara was considered the best in the guild. She also had made an enemy of Cinderella’s stepmother, a devious, powerful witch. When Adara sees Ruarc for the first time, her heart recognizes him as her One True Love. But the wicked stepmother has other plans for both of them. Ruarc is cursed to be dragon by night, man by day. Adara is stripped of her magic, and both of them are sent to the Hinterlands, where the dragons rule. In order to return to his life, Ruarc needs the blood of a virgin. For Adara to regain her magic and once again save Cinderella, she needs the blood and scales of a dragon.

Magic, dragons, wicked witches and True Love. What more do you need?

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“Really, I don’t want…” Adara Tremeirchion slapped away her companion’s roving hands yet again. What had Francesca been thinking, to set her up on this date?

A hand slid up her thigh and she picked it up by the thumb and thrust it away. “No! I mean it.”

“Aw, come on, Adara. You know you want me.” Her companion pushed his chair closer, blocking the view of the other patrons in the busy pub. He tilted his head so the light caught and danced across the golden blond strands of his hair. When she saw him glancing at his reflection in the mirror over the bar, she rolled her eyes. She’d admit that he was a handsome rogue. But he knew it and that was a turn-off for her.

She was twenty-six years old and still a virgin. She wanted to find a man who would love her with a passionate, endless love. A man who was strong and brave and had a body to die for, but wasn’t vain. A man who would please his woman because he wanted to, not because he wanted something from her.

This guy wasn’t it.

“I don’t want you,” she said, batting at his hands.

One big hand grabbed both her wrists and held them. His other hand fondled her breasts. “Francesca said you’d play hard to get. Said I’d have to cajole you.”

“You call this cajoling?” Adara shook her head. Men. Why couldn’t she find just one who knew the difference between seduction and mauling?

“Yes, well, I’d say this is far more than playing hard to get. Darling, you’re the most frigid woman I’ve ever met. A real ice queen.”

That was just downright mean. She knew the Ice Queen, and she wasn’t a pleasant person. Enough was enough. She’d tried to be nice, but he wasn’t listening. Fine. She’d show him exactly why she was the youngest fairy godmother in the realm.

With the blink of one eye, she summoned her magic and threw him across the room. Everyone quieted and looked at the big man lying unconscious against the back wall, then looked back at her. She smiled and stood, standing as tall as her five foot four inch frame would allow, and gathered her handbag. “No means no,” she said loudly enough for everyone to hear.

The men in the pub raised their eyebrows and then, almost as one person, they turned back to their dinners, shoulders hunched. The women smiled at her, giving her an unvoiced approval. Adara felt like she’d scored one for womankind everywhere.

Now, she had a job to finish. She just needed to dust off her “old lady” outfit and finish her matchmaking with Cinderella and her handsome prince.

Copyright ©2006 Sherrill Quinn. All Rights Reserved.

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Update on one of my works-in-progress: I've finished Obsidian's Flame and it's now in the hands of my critique partners. Phew! This was an interesting journey. I started out planning the story to be about 20,000 words, then as I neared what I thought was the end, I adjusted that to 18,000. In the end, it's just over 20,600, so my first estimate was right all along!

I'm participating in a BIAW (Book In A Week) this week with some writers in my local RWA group. Starting this morning, I'll be head-down and back into Beyond the Beast. Wish me luck!

"Men reach their sexual peak at eighteen. Women reach theirs at thirty-five. Do you get the feeling that God is playing a practical joke?" ~Rita Rudner