Marian

 

MARIAN

by Gayle Feyrer

 

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GENRE:  Historical Romance

 

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BLURB:

 

Warrior. Spy. Marian Montrose dons silk or chain mail with equal aplomb. Sent by Queen Eleanor on a mission to Nottingham, Marian is waylaid in Sherwood Forest by the infamous Robin Hood. Her companions are stripped of their riches, but from her, Robin steals only one brazen kiss.

 

Seething with anger at the thief’s presumption and the haunting memory of his searing embrace, Marian arrives at the castle to find the sophisticated and seductive Sir Guy of Guisbourne a welcome distraction. Guisbourne would be the perfect ally against the Sheriff and Prince John but he believes he’s already picked the winning side. Deft at games of intrigue, Marian discovers Guisbourne’s involved in plans to steal the ransom meant to free King Richard the Lionheart.

 

Conquering her misgivings, Marian returns to Sherwood and recruits Robin with the promise of a pardon for him and his men. Now they are allies in the fight to return the king, but Robin wants far more from Marian. First she resists his almost magical allure, then succumbs, then resists again, distrusting the elemental power he has over her. Guisbourne may be lethally dangerous, but Robin threatens to consume both her body and her soul.

 

Danger surrounds them. Betrayal separates them. But desire—and fate—will not be denied.

 

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EXCERPT

 

Simon of Vitry was a dead man. His rush was telling on him. In his eagerness for the kill, Vitry had expended too much energy. As he thrust at her again, he stumbled over a root. He recouped before she could counterattack, but Marian regained her balance and her surety. She saw that the great sword had grown heavy for him, showing its weight in his faltering backhand. Deliberately she edged around him, letting him follow with his strongest cuts, then quickly reversed direction, playing to his weakest maneuver. The backslash came at her, aiming to open her chest. She brought her own sword under his blade and turned it, then instantly drove her point home, taking him deep in the belly. Vitry screamed, surprise and outrage rising to a shrilling agony as she pulled her weapon free. With a surge of cold triumph she saw him fall to the ground. He lay at her feet, clutching the wound and thrashing. She did not answer when he begged her for his death.

 

Implacable as fate, Marian sat by the edge of the pool and watched Vitry die, wondering if her father had taken as long. After an hour it was over. Rising, she went to stand over his corpse. Though all around the bright May greenery fluttered in the breeze, looking down on him she felt encompassed by winter.

 

A Word With the Author

Did you always want to be an author?

No. I wanted to be a ballerina, with a brief foray into wanting to be a trapeze artist (after seeing The Greatest Show on Earth at about six). Then I wanted to be an actress for most of my youth and young adulthood. I still enjoy performing, doing readings, but I decided that my ego couldn’t take the battering of the world of theatre. All along I did artwork for pleasure and for most of that time I did some writing as well, poetry and short stories. It was at the end of college that I focused on wanting to be a writer. I spent about a decade writing The Great American Novel, which was so exquisitely obscure even I didn’t understand it. In the midst of getting my MFA for said novel, I discovered fanfiction (early days of Star Trek fanfic, when it was a secret underground phenomenon—now it’s the subject of PHD dissertations). I spent another decade having fun and being famous in a tiny way for writing erotic fanfic and doing illustrations. Then some friends said I should try to break into romance, that it was the easiest genre to sell. I thought, I love history, I write excellent erotica, why not give it a try?

Tell us about the publication of your first book.

Although Paris is my favorite city, I’m also in love with Venice and wanted to set my incipient historical romance there. I couldn’t find a historical peg to hang the story on in that setting, but I discovered that Florence had the dramatic conflict between the priest Savonarola with his bonfire of the vanities, and the Borgias. So, The Prince of Cups became my first romance. Fortunately, I found an agent who believed in my writing, and who knew the editors who would also like it. Unfortunately, most of my professional writing career was being bought by an editor who loved my work and wanted to make me a star, who then quit and was replaced by one or more other editors who wanted fluff. And, while I had readers who loved my work because it was something different, my sales weren’t great because I was never really intrigued by the most popular periods. And I’m a snail. I really wasn’t comfortable with the ever increasing pace at which I was supposed to write. So now I’m republishing the romances on my own, as well as the historical mysteries I write as Yves Fey.

Besides yourself, who is your favorite author in the genre you write in?

My favorite m/f historical romance writers were Judith Ivory and Laura Kinsale. Ivory did exquisitely written, elegant, witty romances. The Proposition, a charming, very sexy twist on the Pygmalion myth—a feminist My Fair Lady, is a favorite, and the earlier Black Silk, when she wrote as Judy Cuevas. Kinsale’s work is similar to my own darker style. I loved her intense, passionate tales, usually with a strong heroine and often with a flawed hero. Her duo, For My Lady’s Heart and Shadowheart are favorites. I wrote a lot of m/m fanfic and read a lot of m/m romance. My favorite is K. J. Charles’ Regency trilogy, A Society of Gentlemen. Fabulous writer, great characters.

In historical mystery—M.J. Rose’s thrillers, definitely. The Paris Winter by Imogen Robertson has a cadre of women artists and is set around the time of my Paris Trilogy. I really like Karen Odden’s books, and Alexandra Sokoloff is going to do a historical, which I’m really looking forward to reading.

What's the best part of being an author? The worst?

The best part of being an author is the writing—when the writing is going well. It’s magical having the story move through you, being one with the characters and the world, and having the vision emerge as a book.

There are two worst parts. One is the opposite of the above, drying up and not being able to write a word and wondering if you ever will again. The other worst part is not being read, not getting a response to being read. I’d like to be more successful of course, and have more people read my books, but at least I’ve gotten a few reviews that showed the reader entered the world I’d created and loved it.

What are you working on now?

I’m trying to finish the third book of my Paris trilogy, A Harmony of Hells, which is more of a romantic suspense novel. My poet, Averill, is searching with his lover, the crime lord, Blaise Dancier, to find Averill’s sister, who’s been locked away in an asylum by their evil father. It’s very Gothic! And I’m editing Heart of Night, the second of my Elizabethan romances for republication next year. It needs a new cover, as does The Prince of Cups, which I’ll also put out in 2024. Plus, I love creating book trailers and poem videos for my books. I wrote troubadour poems for Marian and made a poem video for one of them. Very romantic.

 

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

Gayle Feyrer began drawing as soon as she could hold a crayon and writing when she was twelve. She holds a Bachelor's in Pictorial Arts from UCLA, and MFA from the University of Oregon in Creative Writing. In her varied career, she has been a tie dye artist, go-go dancer, baker, creator of ceramic beasties, illustrator, fiction teacher, and finally, novelist. A Libra with Scorpio Rising, Gayle’s romantic nature takes on a darker edge.  She hopes these shadows bring depth to her romances.

 

A world traveler, Gayle has visited Paris, England and Italy numerous times.  She lived for two years in Jakarta, Indonesia, with many trips around Asia. She currently resides across the bridge from San Francisco, with her husband and their two rescue cats, Charlotte and Emily, the Flying Bronte sisters, half Siamese and half tabby.

 

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Gayle-Feyrer/author/B000APGOU0?

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6836429.Gayle_Feyrer

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/YvesFey

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yves_fey/

 

Marian book trailer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFi8uI8UZM8

 

Troubadour song - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWiwFccrehs

 

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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION 

 

The author will award a $20 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn host.

 

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway