Revisiting the Contemporary Romance: UNCOVERING CAMELOT (excerpt PG)


What is Merlin the Magician up to nowadays?

UNCOVERING CAMELOT

Author: Susanne Marie Knight

Genre: Contemporary Romance with a Fantasy Twist

Available electronically at Amazon.com and Smashwords.com

Price: $3.99

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Blurb:

A VACATION RUINED: Heather Woods suddenly learns her boyfriend, Connor, cancelled their summer plans. Determined to forget about him, she visits her flaky godmother, Nerissa, instead, for an impromptu vacation. Nerissa insists that Heather has a healing gift, something Heather doesn’t believe. But when she experiences visions... hallucinations... or whatever her jaunts back to Camelot are, she fears for her sanity. Meeting a man that might actually be Merlin the magician, and his very attractive nephew, Matthew, convince Heather that she’s in the middle of a strange, metaphysical phenomenon.

A VACATION CHANGED: Judge Matthew Limner also finds his vacation plans changed. He receives a call from a long-lost Uncle Mallory--so long-lost that he hadn’t even known Mallory existed. Mallory flies in from London, and expects to go sightseeing with Matthew. Resigned, Matthew plays the host. First stop: the Stonehenge Memorial in southern Washington. A chance encounter--or is it?--with Nerissa and Heather convince Matthew that something much more than coincidence is happening in this tiny corner of the world.

Scene Set-Up:

After just experiencing a vision featuring Merlin the Magician, Heather Woods can't believe her eyes when a man resembling Merlin introduces himself to her and her godmother, Nerissa. He calls himself Mallory Limner, and also introduces his nephew, Matthew.

Excerpt:

Nerissa clapped her hands, which caused her many bracelets to jingle from the movement. “I have an excellent idea. Why don’t we explore the monument with our new friends?”

Heather stared at her godmother. Friends?

“I’m certain Mallory can give us his prospective on the true Stonehenge,” Nerissa continued.

You can’t possibly be serious.

But Nerissa was serious. She kept fondling her beaded necklace, along with wetting her lips and darting glances at Mallory. Preening gestures.

Heather sighed. How Nerissa could be sexually interested in a man as old as Mallory was beyond her. Different strokes for different folks, obviously. But if this was important to her godmother, then she really should acquiesce.

She shrugged. “Sure. We’ll explore. Why not?”

Mallory didn’t waste time. He extended his arm to Nerissa. “Come, my lady. Let us peruse these sacred stones while I regale you with tales of the Druids.”

Off the two of them went, leaving Heather in the dust. But that was just as well. Being in that man’s company set her teeth on edge. Since she usually was so easygoing, it was hard to reconcile her abnormal behavior.

She flipped back hair. Perhaps it was she who should be sent to the time-out corner.

Turning to go back to the lawn chair and her sketchpad, she was stopped by a touch on her arm.

“I believe the idea is that you and I pair up as well.” Matthew Limner gazed down at her, looking less green than he had before. “Just for the duration of this visit, of course. Unless you have other plans?”

She flushed. She’d forgotten about him. Although on any other day, that would’ve been extremely difficult to do. Square-jawed, dark wavy hair, and peek-a-boo dimples, he was a very handsome man. From her height, she had an excellent view of his prominent Adam’s apple.

Her preferences in men were California types, though. Athletic, blond, devil-may-care. Like Connor, and that man she’d met yesterday--one of Nerissa’s new clients. A man with shoulder pain--Desmond Redmord. He certainly had been of the finger-licking-good variety.

If she’d been interested to taste. Right now, she wasn’t--not tasting any man.

And Matthew? She looked him up and down. There was something stuffy about him. Something patronizing. Something that made her stomach churn.

“Look, I’m not interested in--”

“In being polite?” He shifted his gaze away from her, and instead, concentrated on the ring of heavy blocks resting on top of the solid ones.

He was right. She was being rude. She had no call to take her anger out on him--a stranger.

“I’m sorry. Really. This has been quite a bizarre day. Actually it’s been a strange few days.”

Taking a technique she used on her students when they got into arguments, she took a deep breath, released it, then held out her hand. “Let’s start over. Hello, I’m Heather Woods.”

His gaze flickered over her. Then he smiled briefly, which dimpled his cheeks. “Nice to meet you, Heather. I’m Matthew. Matthew Limner.” He stressed his last name.

She grinned back. “Yeah, sorry. I was an ass about it, wasn’t I?”

He strolled forward at a leisurely pace, walking around the inside of the concrete slabs. “I wouldn’t phrase it in those words, Heather.”

Following alongside him, she walked in the shade. “No, I didn’t think you would.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hope you enjoy!

Susanne Marie Knight
Read outside the box: award-winning Romance Writing With A Twist! 

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