Historical Romance / Fantasy Romance
Publisher: DCL Publications
Date Published:10-22-2021
Son of an impoverished, dying chieftain, Ari raided for booty and slaves so he could feed his people. He was a heathen, probably a murderer, and it was a sin to lie with him.
EXCERPT:
Ari closed
and bolted the door behind them as he usually did when they slept, but Maeve
knew they would not be sleeping in the broad light of day, such as it ever was
in the longhouse. By the light of the lamp, she watched him draw a square white
cloth and a rare, expensive silk pouch from the cubbyhole where he kept
clothes. It reminded her of the sunstone he had used on the ship, but she knew
this was something entirely different.
Ari looked
distant, hardly aware of her. Unfolding the cloth before the hearth, he laid it
in a square, then shook the contents of the pouch gingerly onto it. A handful
of fired clay tablets tumbled out with a tiny clinking noise. They bore
markings that reminded her of chicken legs—scratchy, scrawling marks nothing
like the figures Brother Ambrose had shown her on a manuscript.
The tablets
that fell face down he ignored. From the others, he selected three, leaving
others scattered randomly below them.
“This I
cannot well explain to you,” he said, finally acknowledging her silent
presence. “My father was many years teaching me to read the runes.” He frowned
at the tablets. “These three show the past, the present and the future, but
incompletely. The others help to show the wyrd—the
path.”
“Path?”
He smiled,
a little grimly. “My fate, perhaps. Only the Norns can say.”
II
Not one
person attended their departure the next morning. It was as if the life of the
keep would go on uninterrupted, in no way altered by their absence when Ari had
given so many years of his life to it. Once more aboard Stormwind, wondering if
sailing would be just the fact of her life with Vikings, Maeve watched the
coast of heathen Norway retreating in the distance, shrouded in semi-darkness
and mist.
“Come,” Ari
said, gently, with an arm around her waist. To her other side, Birgitta stood,
watching silently as Maeve had done. Maeve could not imagine what she must be
feeling, watching the place that had been her home for so many years disappear
forever.
“We have
prepared a small place on the deck for you and Mother and the other women and
children,” he explained. “You can take shelter there when you are too cold.”
Maeve
suspected she would not be much warmer anywhere and she feared for Orm, cradled
in her arms beneath her cloak. Fortunately, he was sleepy and did not appear
much interested in the momentous events taking place around him.
Sealskin-clad
men rowed from two sets of benches before setting sail, with heavily-swathed
women and a few children huddled between them. Elsewhere, aside from crude
privies that were essentially buckets, every space was crammed with sea trunks
and goods lashed to the deck. Maeve knew from experience that those would break
free nonetheless on heavy seas, some of them lost and others crushing the
unwary or unfortunate. She realized Ari had given them shelter from those more
than from the weather. From that, brooding and blowing, there was no escape.
But she turned without a word, accompanying Birgitta and Orm into a wooden lair
below the sail that she greatly feared would be her watery grave.
About the Author
Hailing from Pennsylvania, Miriam Newman has developed a prolific writing career that began in her twenties, although she published her very first novel some time later in 2009. She was published in poetry before catching the romance writing bug. Fantasy poetry driven by myths and legends has been her passion for as long as she can remember and she brings that background to her writing, along with a lifelong addiction to horses, an 18 year career in various areas of psychiatric social services, and many trips to Ireland, where she nurtures her muse. Her published works range from contemporary fantasy romance to fantasy historical, futuristic, science fiction and historical romance. It was in Ireland that she wrote The King’s Daughter. Ireland is her favorite place in this world. “I connect there with something I can’t even explain,” she says fondly.
Miriam spent many years working in Social Services, and after retirement, she found herself working part-time in local government. Currently, she lives in rural Pennsylvania with a “motley crew” of rescue animals. Her passion for animal rescue and fostering has included a number of fur babies, from horses to dogs to a pig that appeared on her porch one morning. Also a lover of great books, the one that she finds most responsible for her venture into fantasy and recommends is The Once and Future King by T.H. White.
Fans of Ms. Newman can follow her online at the following locations:
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Great excerpt, sexy Viking, very nice cover and a great sounding book - Sounds like a perfect read for me! Thanks for sharing it with me and have a magical holiday season!
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