It’s time for Snippet Sunday. And it’s my Anniversary with Mr. SM. We’re celebrating so I’ll leave you with my newest release. FLIP THE TROPE: ROMANCE GONE WILD is a new anthology with 12 tales the flip a romance trope on its ear. My story is A TIMELESS HEART and it’s the second story in the ELEMENTAL HEARTS series.
A TIMELESS HEART is Captain Śandor Halmi’s story and he’s the captain of the Cloudburst Hot Shots, the local wildland firefighters in Cloudburst, Colorado. In this snippet, we’re in Śandor’s POV and he’s speaking with Lt. Henry Fitzroy, the local police lieutenant and Morukai Shaman. Fitzroy is the first to speak.
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“I wanted to let you know I asked Alex MacLaren to get in touch with you. I have him keeping an eye on someone for me and I didn’t want his continued presence in the forest to be a surprise.”
Śandor raised his eyebrows. “Thanks for the heads-up, but I’m off duty this weekend.”
“It might run longer than that.”
“Oh? What’s going on?” He leaned his hip against the railing of the balcony.
“An old acquaintance moved back to town, but it sounds like she has an ex who isn’t so keen on her striking out on her own.”
“She?” Oh ho, did old Fitzroy have a mystery love interest?
“Yeah, Bianca Pearce, a professional clock repairwoman, who lives in the Crafter’s Croft.”
Śandor froze. What were the odds Fitzroy would call about the woman he’d been fantasizing about? Slim to none, and Slim went home. He took a deep, slow breath to keep his voice even.
“She has a dangerous ex?” He hoped he sounded only professionally interested.
“I don’t know if he’s dangerous or not, but she was tense when I talked to her this afternoon about it. I try not to ignore the subtle messages from the Goddess when it comes to stuff like this. MacLaren will be hanging out in the woods a lot in wolf form.”
“Why are you calling me? As I said, I’m off duty this weekend, and I’m just a Hot Shot captain.”
Fitzroy snorted and Śandor could hear him roll his eyes. “You’re also a Zomok and, like I said, I have a feeling this will go longer than a weekend. Hell, the ex might not even show up until later. Plus…” Fitzroy let that word sit for a few moments. “Something tells me you might have a vested interest in Bianca.”
“Why would you say that?”
“She has a thing for firefighters. MacLaren should be in touch soon.”
~~~~~~~
Yup, a thing for firefighters. Good thing he has a thing for her, too. 😉 There are several great authors on the Weekend Writer Warriors list, the Snippet Sunday Facebook group, and the Rainbow Snippets Facebook group. A few of my favorites are, P.T. Wyant, Karen Michelle Nutt, Veronica Scott, Karysa Faire, and Iris Blobel.
Blurb for A TIMELESS HEART:
When Bianca Pearce left Cloudburst, Colorado at eighteen, she swore she’d never come back. She moved to L.A., got married, and created a successful antique and modern clock repair business. But time mellowed the hurts of the past, and with a divorce and two kids in college under her belt, Bianca is ready to move back to the small town to have a quiet life in a familiar place. At her age, she knows who she is and what she wants, and figures love is better left to the young.
Captain Śandor Halmi is the commander of the local Hot Shots squad—and a Zomok, a Hungarian Forest spirit that most often takes the shape of a dragon. His main goal is to take the whole weekend off to relax, ignore his phone as much as possible, and generally disappear now that the Colorado fire season has ended. Love is not on the agenda…until he sees Bianca at the local farmer’s market. He’s struck dumb by her beauty, bearing, and experience, and now he can’t get her out of his mind.
Despite growing up in Cloudburst, Bianca doesn’t believe the stories about the town having non-human residents, and she definitely doesn’t believe in love at first sight. But something about the silver fox firefighter sets her desire ablaze, and she can’t seem to stop thinking about him. Not even when he shows her his true form.
Ooh this amps up the tension all right. Enjoyed the snippet!
I’m intrigued to know more. Loved the snippet.
It sounds like a well-rounded selection of stories, and at 725 pages, it should keep readers busy for a while!
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