It’s time for Snippet Sunday and the summer has arrived. It’s been really warm here in Cheyenne that it feels more like July even though it’s June. We broke out the shorts and tank tops ASAP.
This year I’m hoping to finish my serial and that means I have to get the last two installments rewritten and show off the covers. Stop by this week for the cover reveals of the last three installments. But in the meantime, you get this one’s new cover.
Today I’m showcasing IVORY ROAD: A WALK IN THE SAND and it’s available with the old cover. In this snippet, we’re in Iliana Rory’s (AKA Ivory) POV and she’s realizing things aren’t going the way she’s planned on her solo hike in the White Sands Desert.
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What the hell?
Iliana’s hand banged on the hilt of a sword hanging from a thick black leather belt around her waist. She froze. What the—? She drew the sword carefully out of its scabbard, the light from the blazing sun etching the blade. It stretched as long as her arm from shoulder to fingertips in a gently curved line with scrolling runes carved into the metal. Worn leather wrapped the hilt and chips marked the straight guard. The question was how did she get it?
A low rumble across the sandy wastes caught her attention. She squinted against the glare and focused on a growing plume of dust. People on horseback raced toward her over the dunes, dressed in the same clothing style as her own costume. They whipped their horses into a full gallop even though it was the hottest part of the day.
“Oh, shit.”
None of the riders looked particularly friendly and their path would take them right over the top of her. Unless she got out of the way. There’s an idea.
Iliana spun and tripped over something at her feet. She landed hard in an undignified heap next to the large object on the ground. She scanned the yielding lump and her stomach sank. A body lay staring at the sky, the lower face covered in black silk.
“Oh, my God!” She scrambled to her knees and bent over him, feeling for a pulse or a puff of air from his mouth. Nothing. He had darker skin than she, though he wore similar clothes. His sword lay on the ground next to him and blood stained the sand beneath him with a deep red splash. She jerked to her feet and backed away.
My sword was clean, right? I didn’t kill him, right?
~~~~~~~
She’s talking to someone beyond his reckoning. 😉 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, Jessica Subject, Kathy Griffith Karysa Faire, and Iris Blobel.
Here’s the blurb for A WALK IN THE SAND – With a New cover coming soon!:
Available Wide in eBook
The adventure of Ivory’s lifetime might just be the death of her…
When it comes to make believe, A-list actress Ivory is a professional. But when a desert hike takes her across a dimensional rift, her real-life self, Iliana Rory, must separate fantasy from reality. The man she swears is the costar in her next movie might share the same surname and appearance, but there are no sets in this Mr. Crowe’s world, no props, and no director to yell “cut” before blood is spilled.
With a fortune in stolen treasure and the forces of the Knalish army hot on their trail, Brandon Crowe and his partner, Ahmad, must cross a desert neither of them knows well. Mistaken for their guide, Iliana seizes any chance to stay ahead of the army and survive in this new world.
Adventure straight out of a Hollywood blockbuster might be on Iliana’s bucket-list, but she never dreamed there’d be the real possibility of death when the end credits roll. A Walk in the Sand is the first story in the four part serial recounting Iliana’s journey along the Ivory Road.