Cyn

CAPA Nominated, EPPIE Finalist BLIND DEVOTION is the story of a woman living in jeopardy and a man chosen to protect her. Can a fighting priest save a woman once she's wakened, not one, but two mythical monsters?

Reviewers say:

A beautifully written tale of love, magic and faith, Ms. Storey has created a rich fantasy world that appeals to all of her reader's senses and tugs at the heartstrings. The conflict between Azari and Tor's feelings and the restrictions placed on them by society creates a gripping story that is sure to please anyone who loves a little magic mixed with their romance. Jennie, Enchanted Ramblings


Azari is a great character. She is confident and unwilling to sacrifice her strong will just to have a man. She would rather just remain a virgin until she finds a man who accepts her as she is. Tor is a strong man but he is unwilling to open himself to love since that would be sacrilegious towards his Goddess. Plus he has seen the suffering love can cause. When they first meet they are like oil and vinegar but Azari piques Tor’s interest because she doesn’t bow down and kiss his feet. Julie Esparza, Just Erotic Romance Reviews

Ms. Lucynda Storey has written an exciting story with all the romance, danger, and suspense you could ask for. I admired Azari for her hard-headed determination to stand by her man against impossible odds. Tor’s inner struggles between his growing love for Azari and his vows as a priest will keep every reader second guessing the ending.        Kathy, Coffeetime Romance

'Blind Devotion,' is appropriately named because of Tor's love of the goddess. The setting is a world where magic exists…. The story tells how people can misinterpret ideas, changing the original beliefs. Tor is dedicated and willing to sacrifice what he desires for his beliefs. Azari understands Tor and although she would like to be with him, loves him enough to let go. The romance is passionate and beautifully expressed. Anita, The Romance Studio



Blurb:

When Azari runs from a wild animal, she has no idea her life is about to change irrevocably. Unwittingly, she has awakened two mythical beings intent on possessing her. Escaping to an isolated cabin, Azari meets an unlikely protector, Tor, the High Priest of Eiliki. Together, Azari and Tor face the greatest challenges of their lives – survival. Will Tor’s blind devotion to the Goddess prevent him from accepting the greatest gift he’s ever been given, or will the dogma of his religion and his own past keep him from making the right decision?


Excerpt:

Dear Goddess, when had his needs ever overtaken his senses before? Anger with himself propelled him through the trees along the rough trail he chose. Long ago, he’d made a vow that he would not develop an attachment to any woman yet here he was lusting after Azari like some sort of proprietary animal. A beast led by carnal desire.

He’d have her to her home soon. They’d warn the village of the impending danger and then he’d be done with her. Despite the visions he’d seen in the globe, Tor would walk away from her. Before his emotions followed his rod. Before he buried himself in her sweet, hot wetness again. And again. And again.

Dear Goddess. No. This was not happening. Abruptly he stopped and leaned against a siasma tree. The stringy bark peeled easily beneath his fingers. How could he serve the Goddess when his thoughts continually returned to making love to Azari?

“Are you alright?”

Her voice blanketed him with softness. He stared at the hand that touched his arm. The longing he’d been trying to bank leapt to full flame again. He snapped, “How can I be when you touch me?”

At that, she dropped her hand and resumed her trek through the woods. It was only when Tor saw her run that he realized the wound he’d dealt.

Tor gave chase. Pain lanced his heart when he caught her and saw the tears on her face. “Azari. I’m not worthy of your tears. I cannot give you what you desire.”

Defiantly, she lifted her gaze to meet his eyes. “What do I desire?”

Wiping away a tear with the pad of his thumb, he answered. “I know what you think. A home, family, love. I can give you none of those.”

“Don’t you want them?”

“I cannot want them.”

“Tor, the man, or Tor, the High Priest?”

“It’s not that simple, Azari. To want you for more than a vessel to spill my seed is sacrilege.”

“It didn’t stop you earlier.”

Around them, the sounds of the forest diminished, as if the animals prepared for a coming storm. “You used me, Azari. I willingly allowed it. Even after I told you the loss of your virginity would not alter, for reasons I don’t comprehend, the course of the dragon and cevere. Even after you saw for yourself the truth in the crystal.”

“And what if I want more?”

The truth tore through him. She did, indeed, want more. She wanted his love, something he’d given no other human since Salmond’s death. Her innocence and trust in him called to him, but he couldn’t allow himself to fall into dream she created. “It changes nothing.”

“I don’t care about the High Priest.”

“You must,” he replied, agony in his simple words.

She stroked her hand down his chest, down to his inner thigh. “I want Tor the man.”

If she fell in love with him, it would make it too easy to love her back, and that he would not do to either of them. He grabbed her wrist and wrenched her hand away. He had to stop this madness. “You have Tor, the High Priest. It’s time you remembered that.”

“You don’t think that way, I know it.”

Through lips held tight, he ground out, “You know nothing, Azari. The Goddess is my companion, not you.” He had to make her see that a relationship with him was not possible. He belonged to another, and his burgeoning feelings for the spitfire had to be dampened. He had to drive her emotionally away from him if either of them would live. “You are nothing but a vessel to be used for the conception of my child.”

The ramifications of their relationship were agonizingly simple. He had to make her see what loving him would do to her.

With deliberate coldness in his voice he continued, “A child that will be taken from you at birth and raised by another. An infant you will not be allowed to see once you’ve given birth. This is what you will receive for your union with me.”

He grabbed her shoulder and forced himself to look her directly in the eyes. He enunciated each word. “Nothing more.”

He watched her face. The confidence of a moment ago disappeared, replaced by a fresh injury.

“I do not believe this,” she whispered.

Neither do I, his heart ached to confess. In one short day, Azari had shown him the possibility of life with a real flesh and blood woman.

Tears glistened in her green eyes. His heart twisted, but he had to be as hard as the rocks that weakened the bottom of the canoe they’d left behind. The pain she’d endure now would be nothing compared to what she’d suffer if she persisted in the delusion of a mutual love they’d never share.

“It matters not what you believe. My life is what it is, given in service to Eiliki.” He delivered his final blow. “Don’t touch me, Azari, ever again, without my leave.”

www.lucyndastorey.com

BLIND DEVOTION available TODAY

Life takes strange twists sometimes.  Sometimes, well actually a lot of the time, you can't choose where you live as a kid, what school you attend, who your neighbors are.  And sometimes, those lack of choices influence who you grow up to be.

That's what happens in Birdman by Jack Teeter.   The anti-hero and his family have problems with the neighbors.  Problems that extend throughout Dante Coalson's high school and college career.  Problems that leave Dante with an unsatisfied thirst for revenge, a revenge that lasts his entire life.

Birdman isn't for everyone (like young kids or people looking for a romance).  Dante is a dangerous man who lives a violent life in the world of drugs.  He inspires little sympathy past the opening scenes because Dante is the bad guy.  But how did he get that way?  Why can't he let go of the past?

Dante Coalson, in my humble opinion represents the dark side of all of us.   All of us who can't figure out why the system has let us down again.  Why the rich get richer, why the airlines can steal employee pensions, why those who commit insider trading get a slap on the wrist. All of us who can' t understand that the rain falls and the good and the wicked equally; who resent the neighbor who gets all the breaks when we get all the crap.  You know the ones who live the fairy tale life that we think is so ideal, that we think they took from us somehow.

That's what Birdman is about.  How all the repressed anger expresses itself in the revenge we wish we could carry out sometimes, but our humanity and morals refuse to allow.

I don't know if I've posted my new cover here for The Captive's Release, but let me tell you it is SMOKIN'!

Take a look for yourself!

When I was first lured into erotica by Lena Austin, she told me to write a fantasy.  Having always been enamoured of knights in shining armor and castles, deciding on a location was easy.  But the fantasy?  I've long had fantasies about being rescued in dire circumstances and then rewarding the rescuer by showing my appreciation!

The result was The Captive's Release now available at www.AspenMountainPress.com

Aspen Mountain Press is launching a new paranormal series and is asking for submissions.


Word count: 15K–100K
Format: eBooks
Editor: Nikita Gordyn
Genre: Contemporary Paranormal Romance
Can be a heterosexual couple, GBLT, ménage, etc.
Mainstream with romantic elements will be considered.
Very sexy/sensual is what we’re looking for. Both graphic and non-graphic will be considered.


Story Guideline:

The main characters have to do something at the bar to tie it together. They know the proprietor, who is a vampire (Cody Warren was turned while in the military serving in Afganistan). Humans can go in to see the paranormals or two (or three) paranormal characters, meet outside the bar, etc, but at some point both the bar and Cody must be in a scene.


Bartending Tales

Stories from Del Fantasma in Vista Loma, California


Bible

Del Fantasma is a bar just north of Point Loma, California, known for its ghosts and other-worldly experiences. The owner and bartender, Cody Warren knows a thing or two about the supernatural. While stationed in Afghanistan, Cody was rescued and later turned into a vampire.

Not that he minds. He is the sole owner of Del Fantasma and the hours suit him just fine. He has both human and other-worldly clients, and a knack for matchmaking that would rival any bona fide yenta. After ten years of bringing couples together, not much surprises Cody. He’s certainly heard every tale of love gone right and wrong over the years. In fact, he can recall a tale for nearly every drink he mixes.


Examples: Sex on the Beach: a mermaid and her true love (general idea only), Kentucky Tornado: the city meets the country in a tale of horse-trading (general idea only), Harvey Wallbanger, White Russian, Kiss in the Dark, Fuzzy Navel, Tequila Sunrise, Three Wise Men, Stormy Weather, Sea Breeze, Long Island Iced Tea, Pain Killer, Singapore Sling, Alabama Slammer, Aztec Punch, or any other drink that the author would like to do.

Please submit complete stories or a synopsis with the first three chapters electronically only. Be sure to include your name, mailing address and contact information to Dragoness@cogeco.ca or submissions@AspenMountainPress.com with Del Fantasma in the subject line of the email.


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