Parker Foye is here today to introduce us to their new Dreamspun Beyond title, Mage of Inconvenience. There's an excerpt too!
Don't miss our 5 <3 review HERE!
Hello, and thanks to Boy Meets Boy Reviews for hosting me today!
Though I'm more of a reformed pantser these days, I usually still make a few false starts when beginning a new story. Setting, character backgrounds, how our love interests first meet; the big picture tends to form as intended, but details take a bit of hammering out. Sometimes diversions are great fun, and you learn a lot you didn't know about characters, but sometimes I meander wildly off course. As a result, I tend to have a few skeleton drafts loitering in the annals of My Documents.
When I was thinking about this post, I dredged the archives for an early draft of MAGE OF INCONVENIENCE to share—but there's nothing there. From first draft to completion, the story took shape as I first imagined it (except the final version is much, much better, thanks to beta readers and Dreamspinner's editing team!). There's definitely something special about this one for me.
With the idea of executing plans in mind, the extract I've chosen to share is from the first part of the book, where West and Julian (Colquhoun, here, in West's POV) are learning to live with each other. Julian has made it his mission to build their backstory, and West is swept up in the scheme by Julian's exuberant personality.
Why this scene? Well, the same way as this story took shape right out of the gate, so too does West and Julian's partnership. Even when—especially when—they both still think they're faking it.
I hope you enjoy this snippet, and the rest of the book!
Excerpt
Colquhoun beckoned West over to look at photographs on his tablet. There were more than West remembered being taken, more than he’d ever seen of himself. He itched with discomfort as he took a seat at the table, picking at a slice of toast. Though he couldn’t see it in the morning sky, the moon pressed on him, brooding with fullness.
“All of these already?”
Colquhoun nodded, scrolling through the images. “We need some of both of us, though. And not just selfies. But that’s a good place to start. Come here,” he said, moving until their shoulders touched. He opened the camera and stretched out his arm with the tablet, angling to position them both in the frame. “Pretend you’re in love!”
West rolled his eyes but did as ordered, trying to imagine what it would be like to be in love with Colquhoun. If they’d met at the diner, and they’d grown to know each other, and maybe one day West had dared to ask him out. He felt himself smile at the idea. Joe would tease them both forever.
“Like that. Perfect.”
No one in the pack had seen the need for photographs. They’d lived and worked in one another’s pockets, each day unfolding enough like the one before that no one needed document one from many. Or at least that’s what he’d thought. West had started to take photographs of sunrises and sunsets after buying his phone, with Joe’s help, and each of those seemed different from the last. Each one more beautiful. He had one picture of Joe, taken in the kitchen. One of the diner. His cabin. But he had none of the home he’d left. None of his family, for whatever that would’ve been worth.
West had never seen a photograph of himself until Colquhoun’s enthusiasms. He wasn’t certain the man on Colquhoun’s tablet, looking at the camera with such a soft expression, could be him. It barely seemed possible.
Can they find the magic in a practical union?West is on the run from his werewolf pack, but if he cannot renew his magical defenses, he won’t get far. What he needs is a mage….
Julian is part of a wealthy and ancient family, and one day, his legacy will include his mother’s vast library of spell books—and the knowledge he needs to correct his past mistakes. But his inheritance comes with a stipulation: he has to be married before he can collect. What he needs is a husband….
West and Julian can help each other, and at first they don’t want anything further. But as they dodge meddling cousins, jealous rivals, and an insidious drug, it becomes clear that their lives are entwined in ways they never imagined—and they’re in greater danger than they thought possible.
About the Author: Parker Foye writes speculative-flavored romance under the QUILTBAG umbrella and believes in happily ever after, although sometimes their characters make achieving this difficult.
An education in Classics nurtured a love of heroes, swords, monsters, and beautiful people doing stupid things while wearing only scraps of leather. You'll find those things in various guises in Parker's stories, along with kissing (very important) and explosions (very messy). And more shifters than you can shake a stick at.
Used to living out of a suitcase, Parker is currently of fixed abode in the UK but still travels regularly via planes, trains, and an ever-growing library.
No comments:
Post a Comment