Character Sketch: Cosmas

Thought I’d do something a little different for today’s post. I recently got a graphics tablet and have been having great fun playing around with it.

I was inspired to draw a younger, care free version of Cosmas, who is a character from Prophecy of Stones.

Cosmas was one of my favourite characters to write, along with her bond mate Otto. There’s something really gentle but at the same time strong about her.

Excerpt:

“Will you not join us in celebration?” the man asked, spreading an arm behind him to gesture at the joyful crowd. “Will you dance?”

“Does she look like a woman who dances? Really?” Sindrin scoffed, leaning close to the man and jerking a thumb in Milana’s direction. She shot him a glare and put a hand on her hip. He took an instant step back, raising his hands before him in mock innocence.

“We will join you.” Cosmas’ soft voice flowed from Milana’s side, and she flicked her glance to her.

“Cosmas, we can’t-”

“Oh, come Milana, just for a moment,” Cosmas interrupted. She tugged Otto towards the crowd, the two of them spinning around, their laughter merging with the music that drifted over the area. Otto jigged on the spot whilst Cosmas’ agile, fluid moves made her the envy of the other dancers as she swirled and dipped with graceful ease around her bond mate.

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If you’d like to find out more about Cosmas, why not check out Prophecy of Stones?

Prophecy of Stones

The bond of love can conquer all, but only if it is accepted.

Prophecy states that three champions imbued with the best virtues of the mortal race: heart, strength and soul, will be the ones to save them all from an enemy which threatens to steal the life from their world and those who live upon it.

These three, along with their scribe, his bond mate, and an overly sarcastic oracle, must set off on a journey which will take them through forest, city, swamp and mountain. On this quest they activate the magical stones which charge the only weapon powerful enough to defeat Tildar and his cult of Dwell.

Yet the closer they draw to journey’s end, the more it seems that it is not the evil which will be their downfall, but the fear of a champion unwilling to accept the bond of their destiny.

Prophecy of Stones is a tale of adventure, love and magic.

Links:

Goodreads
Amazon.com
Amazon.co.uk
Barnes and Noble

*This is a scheduled post, I will be back on Monday to reply to comments and emails. Hope everyone has a brilliant weekend!* 🙂

The Magic Spark Cover Reveal!

Here it is! The title and cover reveal of my next book, The Magic Spark! 😀

Blurb:

Successful businesswoman Alex is content with her life in London, and any ideas of romance have been left on the back burner. But when her fairy godmother, FG, waltzes into her office one morning announcing she has come to help Alex rekindle a passion for life and love, she is about to check herself into therapy!

The fairy godmother’s incessant wand-flicking soon lands them in the isolation of the Scottish highlands, where Alex’s next client, Mal Ross, not only stirs her professional interest but her romantic ones too.

Tasked with the enormous challenge of turning a historic castle into a flourishing hotel, the pair must work closely together whilst attempting to avoid the awkward situations the rom-com obsessed fairy godmother keeps forcing them into.

But the path of love is never smooth, no matter how much magic you throw at it.

The Magic Spark is a light, enjoyable read, full of fun and romance.

Excerpt:

Forking over a flowerbed by the castle walls was Alex’s supposed perfect match, his plain grey t-shirt stained with mud and his ripped jeans just as dirty. His face was hidden behind a thick curtain of dark brown hair, layered and falling to the base of his neck.

“That’s him?” Her voice choked.

FG beamed a grin. “Look at him!” She spread her hands out in emphasis, apparently proud of the man she’d found for Alex. He stood up, running his muddied hands through his hair, excitement bubbling within Alex as the hint of a chiseled jaw line shadowed with heavy stubble became visible.

Alex rolled her eyes and folded her arms at FG’s enthusiasm. “He’s lovely, but that’s not the point-”

“Lovely? That’s all you’re going with?” FG cocked an eyebrow and they both turned back to the man who dug his hands into a pile of compost, the muscles of his arms flexing as he did so. When he leant his head back, his face became visible.

Alex wished he hadn’t been so damn handsome, it only made attempting a blasé attitude that much harder.

“He’s very nice.” Alex tightened her lips, but FG kept her brow raised, the expression battering against Alex. “Fine! He’s gorgeous.” It wasn’t a hard admittance to make.

“You got that right.” They both looked at him again, the man thankfully too far away from them to hear the conversation. Her only consolation was that he was the gardener and not the owner, at least he could be avoided.

Alex ripped her focus from the man back towards FG as she pulled her wand out of thin air. The woman flicked the star end towards the gardener and a sudden ray of sunshine burst through the heavy cloud cover and lit the man in a spotlight.

Again FG flicked her wand, but this time directly at the man. A stream of gold glitter smashed against him, but he didn’t seem to notice it. Instead, he blew out a heavy breath as though growing hot under the beam of sun that shone only on him.

He gripped the edge of his shirt and yanked it up to wipe the sweat forming on his brow, revealing a lithe, well-toned body beneath that Alex couldn’t seem to rip her gaze away from.

It took quite a bit of mental strength to finally tear her attention away and avert it to the grass beneath her boots. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” she groaned. “Stop it!” She slapped FG’s hand, the wand now directed at the ground.

The sun disappeared and the man went back to working, instead of posing like a model in a Diet Coke ad.

“Don’t tell me you didn’t enjoy it,” FG said with a sly smile and a wiggle of her brows.

Alex gritted her teeth. “Let’s just find the owner and get this business over with.” She turned away, ignoring FG who was staring at the gardener once again with a dreamy gaze. “Shall we find our rooms?”

“Only if I can take him to mine,” FG replied and Alex rolled her eyes, nudging the woman back to the front of the castle.

–

I was pretty pleased with how the cover turned out, which once again I did myself, including drawing out the silhouettes!

The Magic Spark is out on Tuesday 30th September!

Hope you enjoyed the preview!

Have a great weekend everyone 🙂

And it’s done! With bonus teaser!

Photo by Oliver Hammond on Flickr

Yesterday I wrote, ‘The End’ on my first draft of my fifth book!

I have to say, considering it was supposed to be a light novella at under 30,000 words to give me a bit of a break, it kind of took on a life of it’s own!

I did skip a week at the beginning of August where I didn’t write at all (naughty, I know!), so when I realised I managed to pump out over 45,000 words in 3 weeks I was revelling in quite a lot of triumph!

I’m really starting to get my writing routine down and sticking to it 🙂

It’s always a rather exhilarating moment to finish a first draft, but it does tend to be only for a moment, because then I get the sinking feeling of knowing how much editing there is to do next 😀

And I have to say, I was worried about going back and reading this one. For some reason I got it into my head that the writing was terrible and I was going to practically be changing everything.

So, when I started reading through and looking at editing, I was pleasantly surprised it wasn’t anywhere near as bad as I had told myself it would be! In fact, some parts were pretty darn good, if I do say so myself 😀

There is still plenty of editing to be done, but I have to say I’m enjoying the editing a lot more now I realise it’s much better than I thought, especially considering it’s a first draft.

And now, I am going to brave and post an unedited teaser/excerpt from my new book!

–

“And now, it’s time to get physical,” she said.

“Huh?” Alex asked, broken from her thoughts.

“What you like in a man, in his looks. But I think that’s pretty easy to determine.” FG slapped her wand against the desk’s surface, the bottom drawer flinging open and making Alex almost topple from her chair in surprise. From the drawer floated a dog-eared, well-read romance novel that Alex only brought out when she was certain she was alone.

“No, you can’t have that!” Alex yelled, trying to clamber over the desk to retrieve it. But it was nestled in the fairy godmother’s lap before she even had the chance.

The front cover was a vivid purple, the title, ‘Love of the Best Kind’, emblazoned in hot red, curling front across it.
“See? There is a romantic buried beneath that professional exterior of yours.” FG chuckled but Alex flushed red, sinking back into her chair and hoping it would swallow her whole.

FG flicked open the book, the crumpled pages falling open with ease. Her brows raised as she scanned the words and her eyes slowly widened.

She snapped the book shut. “Well, maybe not so romantic, but certainly passionate.”

Alex sunk further into her chair with a groan, covering her eyes with her hand.

–

Hope you enjoyed it!

How are you guys doing with your writing projects? Do you dread the editing phase? Have you ever been pleasantly surprised by your own work when going back and reading it over?

*As usual, I will be away over the weekend and back on Monday to reply to comments and emails 🙂 Have a brilliant weekend everyone!*

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Progress Report:

Status of fifth manuscript: Editing first draft.

Books read: 5/4

Mid September Book Review: Currently reading.