Avelynn is #LOLHop Blogging

From sweet to dark, divas of romance work their fingers to the bone for your reading pleasure in the Labor of Love Bloghop from 9/4-9/6. Come join me and enter to win a Kindle with new, heart-pounding titles just for you!

2015_8 Labor of Love hop_D2 copy

Happily ever afters only come after heart-breaking work, and this Labor Day weekend, we are celebrating our written labors of love by giving our readers a chance to win a brand-spankin’ new Kindle with our personal bests. That’s right, you could win all of our books! (There are 28 authors taking part in this blog hop! That’s one loaded Kindle!)
Aren’t you excited? We are! So here’s your chance, just click the link below to enter our giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

When you’re done reading all about Avelynn, keep scrolling down and ‘HOP’ over to the other participating blogs for more chances to win!

Avelynn is my debut historical romance novel, and it’s releasing this week! On September 8th, my book baby hits the world. I’m so excited to share this labor of love with you!

One extraordinary Saxon noblewoman and her fearless Viking warrior find passion and danger in this dazzling and sensuous debut

Avelynn

Coming September 8th, 2015, St. Martin’s Press:

869. For eighteen years, Avelynn, the beautiful and secretly pagan daughter of the Ealdorman of Somerset, has lived in an environment of love, acceptance, and equality. Somerset has flourished under twenty years of peace. But with whispers of war threatening their security, Avelynn’s father makes an uncompromising decision that changes her life forever.

Forced into a betrothal with Demas, a man who only covets her wealth and status, Avelynn’s perception of independence is shattered. With marriage looming, she turns to her faith, searching for answers in an ancient ritual along the coast, only to find Alrik The Blood-Axe and sixty Viking berserkers have landed.

In a year of uncertainty that sees Avelynn discover hidden powers, stumble into a passionate love affair with Alrik, and lead men into battle, Avelynn must walk a fine line as her deceptions mount and Demas’ tactics to possess her become more desperate and increasingly brutal.

Avelynn and Alrik are caught in the throes of fate as they struggle to find the way back to themselves and onwards to each other.

Avelynn-Whims-2[3][1]

A Tantalizing Excerpt

A coarse, bloodcurdling shout reverberated through the mist. The drum silenced. I froze. My heart took up a thunderous beat as if a thousand starlings’ wings beat in my chest. Something was terribly wrong. I turned my gaze to the sea, frantically scanning the swirling, ebbing mass of gray, willing the mist to lift.

Shades and shadows melted away. The outline of a Viking ship materialized before my eyes. A blood-red sail pierced the gloom, a black bird emblazed upon the fabric. A beast of a man ran toward me, a painted shield in one hand, an axe in the other. He stepped over the circle and grabbed my arms. I could smell the fetid reek of his breath, the unwashed sweat and sea spray on his filthy clothes. I screamed. He snarled, covered my mouth, and thrust me to the ground. I kicked and thrashed as he fumbled one-handed with the drawstring on his trousers.
Then he stopped, a look of surprise etched in his wide eyes. Blood sputtered out of his mouth, and he fell sideways. I scrambled back as his body twitched, my breath ragged. An axe was stuck fast in his spine.

I screamed again as another Viking appeared before me. Taller than Glastonbury Tor, he wore a silver helmet with nose and cheek guards and full mail. The same black bird as on the ship’s sail stretched its wings across the battered wooden surface of his shield. A sword and a knife, cradled in their scabbards, hung from a leather belt on his waist. He grabbed one of the dead Viking’s feet and hauled him out of the circle. He jerked the axe free of the body and tucked the weapon into a sling that hung on his back.

I found my feet, spinning to discover the extent of my trouble. Were there more invaders? Did the Viking know I was alone with no chance of aid? Were his men scoping the surrounding area even now? Did they find our campsite with only two horses and two bedrolls? Where was Bertram?

The Viking looked down at the circle drawn in the sand and bowed. With his body still bent, he raised his head, blue eyes regarding me. “I apologize for the disruption to your ritual, Seiðkana,” he said, speaking in the Norse tongue.

I narrowed my eyes at him. Seiðkana? I wasn’t sure of the translation of the word, but I thought it meant witch.

“Who are you?” I asked in Norse, earning a look of shock.

“I am Alrik the Bloodaxe, your servant.”

If I’ve whetted your appetite for more, you can pre-order Avelynn today!

BARNES AND NOBLE

AMAZON

CHAPTERS INDIGO

BONUS: Comment on the post below and answer me this: If you had a time machine, where would you go and why?

Coolest answer (picked by moi) will win a $5.00 Amazon gift card! 

I’ll announce the winner on 9/7.

2015_8 Labor of Love hop_D2 copy

Thank you for join joining our Labor of Love Blog Hop. To see who’s participating, click the link below and work your way through our participating authors for more chances to win!

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9 thoughts on “Avelynn is #LOLHop Blogging”

  1. If I had a time machine I would travel back to the 1600’s to witness the witch trials. Thank you
    Happy Labor Day Weekend Marissa!

  2. to see Alexader Graham Bell make his first phone call and hear what he says and how he reacted

    bn100candg at hotmail dot com

  3. Cool question, let’s see…I’d want to go back to the Library of Alexandria, months ahead of when it went up in flames. Think of the stories!
    Thank you for joining the hop, Marissa and wishing you a wonderful holiday weekend!

  4. I would go back to the Classic Hollywood era in the 1930s/40s… and meet and work in the industry with Myrna Loy, Marlene Dietrich, Clark Gable and more! 🙂 Love classic films.
    *My name really is Marissa with 2 s’s 🙂 Hope you have a great holiday weekend!

    butterflypetals7(at)gmail(dot)com

  5. If I had a time machine, I would use it to trace my family back through time, and see how they met their mates and how everyday life really was. Happy Hop!

  6. Congrats on your upcoming release! It sounds fantastic!
    I would love to go Egypt in the time right before the pyramids were built. Seeing the culture in that era would be so fascinating in my opinion. And, I may be able to solve the “mystery” behind them. 🙂

  7. OMG I can’t believe I’m just getting over here today! I LOVE Alrik! And that’s some kind of impressive meet-cute. 🙂
    Hmm…now where would I time-machine myself to? I think the Victorian Era, to a big city – Boston or New York or London.

  8. I would go back to two weeks before my 16th birthday and tell my self not to get into a relationship with that boy!!!! Wait….please wait….he will TOTALLY mess up your future. RUN

  9. I couldn’t decide! Everyone had such awesome answers, so I had to get some help with List Randomizer.

    Here then is the winner of a $5.00 Amazon Gift Card…
    Marissa!

    List Randomizer
    There were 8 items in your list. Here they are in random order:

    1.Marissa (Butterfly)
    Timestamp: 2015-09-07 22:39:43 UTC, IP: 70.27.189.202

    Congratulations name buddy!
    In gratitude,
    Marissa

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