Dancing With Fate - final excerpt and Discount coupon.

DANCING WITH FATE

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You can enjoy a 25% discount if you purchase my book today or tomorrow, by quoting Code  QK76J at the checkout

Terpsichore, Greek muse of Dance has been assigned by Apollo to protect Myrddin, a mysterious stranger from a danger which is not revealed to her. The situation is complicated further when they fall deeply in love.

EXCERPT:

"...I will ask my father to help us," she said, her voice low and heavy with emotion. "It would not be the first time a mortal loved a god and was allowed to enter Olympus and live among us..."

A glimmer of hope flickered across his face. Before he could answer, however, the blue sky turned black, and then glowed with a lurid orange tinge, like the flames of a distant forest fire. A wind sprang up from nowhere and whipped the branches of the trees. Some would have believed it a summer storm. Terpsichore knew otherwise, glancing at Myrddin's face she realized he knew it was not a natural force as well. Fear gripped her heart.

"Run, my love," she yelled above the howl of the wind, "Run!" Terpsichore leaned forward over Sal's neck, and the animal leapt into a swift gallop.Harri needed no urging to take off after her.

Myrddin risked a quick look over his shoulder. In the sky, a quadriga, drawn by four horses snorting fire, bore down on them. He dropped the reins, standing up in his stirrups and turning, in an archer's stance. This was no earthly enemy.

His hand strayed to the bow slung in its baldric across his shoulder. Perhaps he could kill the charioteer with an arrow. Immediately, he realized this was unlikely, for he flew high above them. Myrddin was an expert bowman but his arrows would not reach that far, even though their pursuer was drawing ever closer. If only there were some way to stop him. Terpsichore, he must protect her. He concentrated his mind. A wave of water rose, higher than the trees. At the same time, a narrow chasm opened up before them. The two horses leapt simultaneously to land, safe, on the other side. As they galloped on, Myrddin looked back again. The chariot and horses burst through the torrent of water, the jets of fire from the horses' nostrils caused it to vaporize with a fierce hissing sound.

"What enchantment did you use?" Cora asked, turning her head toward him as they sped onwards. "Never mind," she said, the wind whipping her words back to her. "Nothing will stop Ares, he's closing in on us."

Myrddin risked another look back. The chariot had touched the earth on their side of the chasm. He caught the glint of gold on the horses' bridles, the charioteer standing tall and dark, the sun's rays striking his bronze helmet and breastplate.

"Ares?"

"The god of war!"

"What? Why is he after us?"

"He isn't...not us…he's after you." 

If you've read this far, thank you, and if you've been following my postings, I hope you enjoyed the excerpts. 

Don't forget, you will receive a 25% discount if you purchase my book today or tomorrow, by quoting Code  QK76J at the checkout.


I'll also be drawing a name to win a download from all the comments received on any of my posts.  Please remember to leave a means of contact if you wish to be included.


(It's late here in the UK now, but I'll pop back tomorrow to pick a winner!)

www.hywelalyn.co.uk

www.hywelalyn.blogspot.com

How I featured my horses in Dancing With Fate

As a horse lover, I had to include a couple of horses in Dancing with Fate. One is Harri, my black Welsh cob and the other is my much loved little endurance mare Sal, who sadly passed away three years ago at the grand old age of 34.

A fellow Muse Author Masha Holl made this lovely picture of Terpsichore and Sal.  I have another horse, T'pau, who I will probably feature in another book under her pet name of 'TipTop'.

How about another excerpt? I hear you ask - OK, here it is:  This actually takes place before the first excerpt I posted, and has a little bit of interaction with Merddyn and Harri, before he comes upon Terpsichore.

EXCERPT #2 From DANCING WITH FATE

Myrddin glanced around; unable to shake off the feeling he was not alone. Far above the outstretched arms of the nearby forest, beneath the slate cliff, a red kite hovered, its haunting cry sounding eerie and forlorn. He raised his arm in greeting. "Good afternoon, my friend, would that I could join you."

Mist drifted across the valley and the rays of the afternoon sun stained the sky in vivid shades of vermilion and orange. A doe, her fawn at her heels, touched his hand with her nose and a family of squirrels played around his feet. He moved forward slowly, gathering twigs for his fire pit, and glanced around every few moments. He must have imagined it, this sense of someone nearby. No sound disturbed the silence except the twittering of the birds, and the buzzing of tiny insects. 

He turned to the doe. "Time to take your baby home now, little one. You too, squirrels." The doe gave him one last affectionate nuzzle, then trotted into the forest, and the squirrels scampered up a nearby oak.

Myrddin walked over to his horse, a sturdy beast, black as a starless, moonless night; its long mane fell in waves, nearly to its knees. Surely, Harri would know if a stranger was nearby, and would have warned him? The handsome horse snorted, nodding his head, and pawed the ground. 

"Do you sense danger—has someone followed us?" 

The horse merely gazed at him, with large, dark brown eyes. 

"Well, you're don't seem worried, but I suppose you're hungry," he said aloud. "Then we'd better both have something to eat. This will be a good place to camp for the night. I think I must be in need of food and rest, myself, for I seem to be imagining things." 

Myrddin put down his bundle of twigs and slipped a halter over the animal's head. He led him into the clearing where lush grass grew green and tender, before turning him loose. Returning to his fire, he checked it was not burning too fiercely and then rummaged under a small crop of rocks. His saddle and meager possessions lay in a hollow. He removed a tightly woven bag, from which he produced two fat trout. He made short work of preparing and gutting them. Next, he looked around for some large, flat leaves. Before long, he had the two fish tightly wrapped into a neat package, which he laid on the glowing embers. Then he carefully added the twigs to build the fire over them. 

When he was sure the trout would cook through without burning, he removed his bow and quiver from his saddle pommel. The feeling he was not alone still troubled him. While his supper cooked, it would not do any harm to take a look around. He followed the stream that flowed through the little clearing. The area was new to him and he proceeded with some caution. Myrddin loved and respected all the creatures of the forests and mountains; he knew their ways and feared none of them. Likewise, no terrain, however difficult, caused him concern. Nothing in nature held any fears for him; people posed far more danger. There was someone close, a stranger. What were they doing here in the wilderness? Perhaps one of Madog's men lay in wait. 

He had not walked far when he heard the sound of rushing water. Rounding the rocky promontory, he came upon a vast wall of water spilling down the cliff, feeding a deep pool of sparkling water below.

It was not that, however, which made him stop and stare in amazement.

Dancing With Fate - Romantic Fantasy

Good Morning everyone. First of all I would like to thank Judy and Marianne for hosting the Goddess Fish Release Party, and for inviting me to be here. I hope everyone has a wonderful day.

A bit about me:  I'm a Welsh writer currently living in a small village in England.  I love the outdoors, all animals, especially horses, and write Fantasy and Futuristic Romance, with a 'sweet to spicy' rating.

I have just re-released my fantasy 'Dancing With Fate' through Smashwords.  The  novella was originally published by The Wild Rose Press as part of their 'Song Of The Muses' series.  The landscape and legends of my native Wales helped inspire the story, although I needed to do quite a lot of research into Greek mythology as well.  I featured two of my horses, Hari and Sal in the story.


 Here's the blurb:

When Terpsichore, the Greek Muse of Dance, is assigned to revisit 5th Century Wales, and help the people regain their love of dancing, her task seems simple enough. She is unaware there is a hidden agenda. Before she can return to Olympus her path crosses that of the mysterious Myrddin, and her heart is lost.

But Myrddin is promised to another. His mind is set on the dangerous task that lies before him, and the woman he has sworn to save. Nevertheless, he cannot deny the growing attraction between him and the beautiful stranger he meets along the way.

Terpsichore and Myrddin face a deadly force that threatens to part them forever. Is she destined to lose the only man she has ever truly loved? Is there nothing she can do to save him? Finally, when all seems lost, in desperation she finds herself DANCING WITH FATE.

Excerpt:

She was the loveliest woman Myrddin had ever seen. Spellbound, he watched her step from the falls. He should have turned away but he found it impossible not to watch her as she dried herself. When she started to dance, he was captivated by her grace and the eloquence of her movements. 

She seemed unconcerned about her nakedness. Not that she had anything to be ashamed of; such exquisite beauty should not be covered. Long, dark red-brown hair fell like a veil of silk to below her knees. Her skin was smooth and flawless; her breasts were firm and high, full but not heavy, above a tiny waist.  Her rounded hips undulated sensuously in time to her singing, while her upper body remained perfectly still, apart from the expressive movements of her arms. Her legs were slim and very long and she moved on tiptoe, her small feet scarcely seeming to touch the ground. Between her fingers, she held a long piece of silky material, which she swirled around her, until it seemed almost like a living thing.

Myrddin watched, enthralled. He'd never known anyone to dance as she did. The way she swivelled her hips had him mesmerised. Her voice was soft and clear, with a haunting quality. It reminded him of the musical bells of Maes Gwyddno, the civilization that now lay drowned beneath the sea. At times of danger, if one listened hard enough, one could hear the bells ringing from beneath the waves. Moreover, it may have been a trick of the light, but she seemed to radiate a soft glow, pure and shimmering. He shook his head in disbelief. He must be imagining it. He'd eaten nothing since dawn, this was surely a vision brought on by weakness from hunger.

Myrddin crept closer and a twig cracked underfoot. Before he could take cover, the beautiful dancer stood motionless. Her eyes, green as the depths of the ocean, looked directly into his.

I will be giving away a copy of Dancing With Fate
--so leave a comment and be entered to win!

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