Awesome Excerpt Thursday ~ Tuscan Enchantment by Kate Zarrelli

TUSCAN ENCHANTMENT

This was no cold marble—this was a man! Antonia goes to Tuscany to rebuild her life. The last thing she wants to do is fall in love, least of all with rich, arrogant, aristocratic Lorenzo.


Librarian Antonia Gray has fled England for northern Tuscany after an unhappy love affair to work on the archive of a 17th century Italian explorer, a member of a centuries-old aristocratic family. There she meets his descendent, Lorenzo Quattromani, rich, arrogant, handsome—and engaged to the beautiful and ruthless Giselle. The last thing Antonia wants is to fall in love, least of all with someone so dangerous. His engagement, though, is not what it seems, and Lorenzo breaks down Antonia’s resistance. But Giselle has other ideas.


…she caught sight of him, lithe as an eel, gliding along under the surface of the water and she felt herself flame with longing for him. From what she could see as he sped through the water he was wearing just a pair of white trunks, which offset his bronzed flesh. Then he flipped over onto his back and she saw with surprise and shock not unmixed with pleasure that he was wearing nothing at all. Instinct made her look away just as he realised she was there. He turned over again and swam with an easy stroke towards her.

"Antonia! I didn't mean to startle you. It's just a habit I've got into up here on my own."

He stood in the water at the side of the pool, the lower half of his body concealed, the water dripping from his raven black hair and running in rivulets down his chest.

"I thought you'd be ages yet - women so often are," he said.

"Not this one!" she retorted, wishing he had not reminded her of his experience of other women, bust she did not have it in her heart to be angry for long. He did seem sincere in his explanation, and after all, she was a guest here.

"Please avert your eyes, and I'll make myself decent," he instructed her.

Antonia half wanted to say it's too late now and throw caution to the winds, but instead she did as she was told. She heard the slap of his wet feet along the side of the pool as he went to get his trunks from over a chair, and then his voice calling, "All right, it's safe to look now. The lion is muzzled!"

He approached her, smiling, and once more Antonia felt as overwhelmed by his beauty as she had been when they had first met. Now she could observe him more closely than ever, the broadness of his muscular shoulders, the taut hardness of his stomach, the strong sinews of his muscled, hairy legs. His hard work under Alessio's guidance had honed his body until it was even more desirable than she had remembered it in the moonlight. Yet there was something naturally proportioned about his muscles--he looked that good because he worked hard, not because he worked out.

"Antonia," he exclaimed, shattering her thoughts, "you're looking at me as if you've never seen a man before!"

"Well, that is, I haven't...well not exactly... I don't mean..." she stuttered in embarrassment, aware she had gone very red.

Lorenzo looked at her with a serious expression now, as understanding slowly dawned on him. Then to her surprise it was his turn to flush gently, and when he spoke it was with a voice low and trembling with emotion and desire.

"Ah, Antonia, what a rare prize you are!" Then he turned abruptly away from her and slid back into the water.

"Well, aren't you coming in, then?" he asked, his head bobbing up again, sleek and gleaming as an otter's.

Links 

Devine Destinies // Amazon // Smashwords // TRSparties 

About the Author:

Kate Zarrelli is the Devine Destinies pen name of Katherine Mezzacappa. Kate is Irish but now lives in Carrara in Northern Tuscany, between the Apuan Alps and the Tyrrhenian Sea, with her Italian husband and two teenage sons. She writes historical, erotic, feel-good and paranormal fiction, set all over Europe, and in her spare time volunteers with a used book charity of which she is a founder member. As Katherine Mezzacappa, you can find her short fiction on-line published by Erotic Review Magazine, Copperfield Review, and Henshaw Press.







Kate was inspired to write Tuscan Enchantment, her début novel with Devine Destinies, by the landscape of the Lunigiana area of northern Tuscany, between the Apuan Alps and the Tyrhennian Sea. It’s not as well-known to tourists as the Chianti area, but in World War II apparently suffered proportionately the highest civilian casualties of anywhere in Europe. That history seeps into the book, as do the castles and villas of a local noble dynasty, the Malaspina family, who inspired the Quattromani family of the story.



You can follow Kate on Facebook at Kate Zarrelli books or on Twitter @katmezzacappa.

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Writing Warrior Wednesday! ~ The Almighty Crush (Character Analysis)

One of my favorite things in the editing phase is character analysis. Most people do this before they start writing and then forget about it once complete. I started it before, add to it during and review it in the editing stages to ensure the character I see in my mind is that character coming out on the page. One of those items that is so important for reader connecting and general depth are the silly inane things that make us unique as individuals. One of these is, of course, the crush.

Crushes are something teenage girls have on movie stars, the local football jock, or the boy she sits next to in history with the dreamy smile.  The almighty crush is something of legend and by the time we age and become adults the crush shouldn’t be a word in our vocab right? When we think of a crush, it is defined as unrequited feelings for another.   In the world of adults it takes on a different tone, I believe Ross Geller from Friends called it his top five. It is perfectly normal for all of us, single or committed to be attracted in one form or another to other people. We are in fact human. It is also healthy to share these ‘crushes’ with your partner as they probably have them as well.

So here is my question, who does my character have a crush on? Who makes her giggle or him smile wide and bright. It's not necessarily a sexual crush, there are all kinds of crushes. Personally I have several.

Physical – Their body makes your body…uh huh… you are happy to have the movie on mute is just to see the rippling abs.

Romantic -  Not necessarily hot bodies but definitely dreamy, these crushes are more romantic fantasy than physical hotness.

Intellectual – Their brains get you riled up and you are just in love with their brilliance!

Same Sex – Someone of the same gender that we just drool over because they are so amazing.

As we all have these types of admiration for people so should our characters. I

discovered that my heroine has an intellectual crush on Anderson Cooper. I have an intellectual crush on Seth McFarlane, Physical crush on Bruce Willis and Romantic crushes on Daniel Craig, and George Clooney. My Female crush is on Ellen DeGeneres, I am just so enamored by her spirit. If you look at my choices and think about them you can probably discover a lot about me.

So who are your crushes? Too many to name? Spread them around a bit, share with your characters and weave it into what makes them unique! This is also another way to make your characters relatable, grounded and more real. You think this might be a wasted detail but you never know how something so buried could pop up in the end.

*And yes, I did this topic just so I could look up fabulous pictures of hot guys!! LOL!

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Teaser Tuesday ~ Trust Me Series ~ Jaded Promises Excerpt

Eric Stiles has everything to lose and no matter how hard he fights he can feel his life slipping away.

Rebecca Gailen thinks that the love of her life is dead and only the vigor of revenge keeps her fighting to survive.

When a secret reveals more than anyone expected, it changes Eric and Rebecca’s lives forever. The devastating truth puts the couple at odds. Can they overcome their clashing conclusions and learn to trust each other again? Or will they let it rip them apart?

Excerpt

The stairs creaked with each step as he looked into the dimness below. The wet, musty area was cold and damp. He swallowed hard. Gray concrete, jagged walls and dust surrounded them and a chill raked up his spine.

"We found it over there." The same officer descended the stairs behind them. The beam of his flashlight landed to the right of where they stood. Eric reached for a flashlight, and his eyes fell on Charlie who scanned the room. An officer offered his and Eric stepped toward the area. His hand brushed against the cold concrete, but his mind still refused to accept it.

Not here…not like this…

Eric’s eyes fell on a spatter of blood and his chest flooded with an unrecognized pain.

She was here

Unable to push the image away, all the air left the room as his entire body clenched at the suffocation. He ascended the stairs into the sunlight, fighting for control. He began to unhinge, mindlessly entered one of the side rooms

They didn't find her which means she's still…

Keep it together Stiles…falling apart isn't going to help anyone

The sewn seam around his emotions threatened to tear, and he couldn't move. The paralyzing agony that spiked from the core of his body was relentless. He fought back in vain. He knew it wouldn't stop until she was in his arms, safe.

"Eric, what’s going on?"

Eric wiped unexpected wetness from his eyes. He leaned against the wall to face his brother. Pure disbelief stared back at him.

"I've never seen you like this."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, you never…"

"Yeah well, things change." Eric moved to exit the room.

He found the front door and pushed through it hearing Charlie just behind him.

"Since when?"

"You still don't get it do you?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Have you really convinced yourself that all of this…what happened, was just some kind of joke?” He stopped to face him. “That Rebecca and I didn’t mean anything we said when we told you that we never wanted to hurt you?"

"I don't know what the hell you meant to do and to be honest, I don’t really care."

"Charlie…whether or not you choose to believe it, we did try to walk away.” Charlie’s eyes diverted in anger. "Jesus, Charlie she went through hell, and all she could think about was how she couldn't hurt you!"

"So once again this is my fault!"

"No…I am just…" Eric’s chest turned to stone, unwilling to allow him to hide. "As your brother, your friend, I tried to forget about…everything. But that night. That first night in Dallas, everything changed. We did everything we could to ignore it, make disappear, but it didn't. It only got stronger…can you try to understand that?"

"You really expect me to…"

"I expect you to believe that I tried! I expect you to realize that this had nothing to do with you. To remember that until that moment, I've never betrayed you."

"So because you’ve always tried to be the good big brother you want me to be okay with this? To just accept what you did and move on?"

"Yes."

'Why?"

"Because you’re my brother and I need you to." Eric’s watering despite his continued battle against it. "Charlie, I'm in love with her."

"I loved her too!"

"Okay Charlie,” Eric clenched his jaw. “Where did you see things heading with her? Let's say we never met, what then?"

"I don't know. I never got the chance thanks to you!"

"That’s the difference!" Eric’s fists balled in frustration. "Six weeks ago, and the two months before that, hell even in Dallas. I knew this was different. I knew she changed everything. Even when she left without a word, and I didn’t even know her name, I couldn’t get her out of my head! I look at her and see everything I never knew I wanted. She's woken up this person inside me that I didn’t even know was there! The one who wants a house and a family. The person who needs to see her every morning and hold her every night, because when I don't something is missing, and the world doesn't make sense. "

"Eric…"

"The difference is that the moment I met her, she became my whole world," Eric explained as he struggled to keep his furious heart under control. "I know that you loved her. That was one of the reason's I stayed away as long as I did. It might not seem like much but…she needed me, and I couldn’t turn my back anymore. Now she's gone and I can't…If we don't…if I can't find her..."

"We're going to find her, Eric.” He saw the first glimpse of understanding in his brother's eyes.

~

We are on Tour again this time for the exciting Dead Air Chronicles! Click here for all of the locations and dates. Random lucky commentors will win the series and there is a $25 Amazon Gift card Grand Prize! Hope to see you there!

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