Amy Jarecki is celebrating the successful launch of Beauty and the Barbarian (Highland Force
Book 3) by giving away three signed print copies! In addition, the first entry
of the rafflecopter is her invitation to join the Return of the Highland Liard (Highland Force book 4) cover reveal
event on Facebook. Amy loves connecting with readers and hopes you will sign up
and join the fun!
Beauty and the Barbarian back cover copy:
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Born with the mark of the devil, Merrin has been hidden on the islet
of Eilean Fladda for near twenty years. Warm.When the body of a Highlander washes ashore, the innocent lass presumes him dead. Brushing the hair from the rugged warrior’s face, her fingers connect with warm flesh.
Ian MacLeod wakes to a woman so radiant, he believes her an angel.
But when the lass recoils from him, he fears she knows of his evil deeds. While
he heals, Ian is stunned when he exposes her witch’s mark, yet he’s spellbound
by Merrin’s allure. He’d do anything to erase his haunting past and earn her love.
But there’s a henchman after Ian’s head, and when that man learns
the Highlander is still alive, the couple is forced to flee Merrin’s sheltered
world. Fighting for survival, destiny demands they each face their demons, but
doing so may forever ruin them both.
Excerpt of Beauty and the Barbarian:
Chapter One
Sprinting onto a
thin strip of beach, Ian raced for the shore. Rain pelted his face as he
skidded to a stop. Gasping for air, he sucked in deep breaths and peered
through the dark night—north, then south. Thank God. A lone skiff sat askew,
poorly camouflaged at the tree-line edge.
His side cramping
from his frantic escape, he darted to the tiny boat with a pained hitch to his
step. The deerhounds’ barks grew closer. If he hesitated, they’d be upon him in
a blink of an eye.
Ian’s heart
hammered his chest as he bore down on the skiff and shoved it into the angry
swells. He jumped over the bow and snatched an oar. With every muscle, every
sinew, he paddled against the surf and ignored his fatigue. A single oar made
the boat fishtail, but there was no time to set them in their locks. Ian
gritted his teeth and slammed the oar into the white swells in a hurried
rhythm, side to side.
Over the roar of
the surf and the driving rain, dogs yelped in an excited frenzy. Men shouted.
Ian didn’t turn around—he needed more distance. As sure as he breathed, they
were ramming lead balls down their muskets. With luck, the rain had soaked
their slow matches, rendering the guns useless.
Ian sped his determined
paddling and squinted through the pelting rain—across to his home, the Isle of
Raasay. He hadn’t set foot there since he was four and ten, but the sight of
the island enlivened him. He could barely make out the black outline of Dùn
Caan, the flat-topped peak that forever identified the isle as Clan MacLeod
land.
A sharp jab
struck him from behind. Ian’s body propelled forward. His nose slammed into the
wooden hull. An ear-shattering musket clap followed, piercing through the wind.
Something stung, burned his back. Ian slid his hand over the screaming pain.
Hot blood oozed through his fingers.
More claps
blasted from the beach, thudding into the tiny skiff. Ian rolled to his side.
Icy water spurted over him. Frantically, he worked to hug both wooden oars
against his chest. A thousand knives attacked his skin as salt water swallowed
his lifeline to Raasay. The last thing he saw was the looming outline of Dùn
Caan.
Blackness
engulfed him.
Bio:
Amy’s novels, Captured by the Pirate Laird, and The Highland Henchman and Beauty and the Barbarian are bestsellers
on Amazon's Scottish Historical Romance genre list. Her debut novel, now
titled Boy Man Chief, won the League of Utah Writers award for Best
Manuscript, and the St. George Spark Book Award. Since then, she has won many
other writing awards.
She loves to interact with readers and writers on Facebook and
Twitter or visit her website and sign up for her newsletter: www.amyjarecki.com
Twitter: @amyjarecki https://twitter.com/amyjarecki
Purchase Beauty and
the Barbarian:
Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/beauty-and-the-barbarian-amy-jarecki/1119459450?ean=9780692208175
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/434430
I ADORE your blog! Thank you so much for hosting me today!
ReplyDelete~Amy