Snow in July by Kim Iverson Headlee Book Tour and Giveaway :)
Snow
in July
by
Kim Iverson Headlee
Genre:
Medieval Paranormal Romance
From
the award-winning pen of Kim Iverson Headlee comes the exciting,
poignant love story of a distressed damsel who wields a fierce
fireplace poker and the smoking hot knight she must save from
himself.
"Captivating!"
~ Kemberlee Lugo-Shortland, Heart of Fiction
Sir
Robert Alain de Bellencombre has been granted what every man wants: a
rich English estate in exchange for his valiant service at the Battle
of Hastings. To claim this reward, the Norman knight must wed the
estate's Saxon heiress. Most men would leap at such an opportunity,
but for Alain, who broke his vow to his dying mother by failing to
protect his youngest brother in battle, it means facing more easily
broken vows. But when rumors of rampant thievery, dangerous beasts,
and sorcery plaguing a neighboring estate reach his ears, nothing
will make him shirk duty to king and country when people's lives
stand at risk. He assumes the guise of a squire to scout the land,
its problems, and its lady.
Lady
Kendra of Edgarburh has been granted what no woman wants: a forced
marriage to an enemy who may be kith or kin to the man who murdered
her beloved brother. Compounding her anguish is her failure to awaken
the miraculous healing gift bequeathed by their late mother in time
to save his life. Although with his dying breath, he made her promise
to seek happiness above all, Kendra vows that she shall find neither
comfort nor love in the arms of a Norman… unless it snows in
July.
Alain
is smitten by Lady Kendra from the first moment of their meeting;
Kendra feels the forbidden allure of the handsome and courtly Norman
"squire." But a growing evil overshadows everyone, invoking
dark forces and ensnaring Kendra in a plot to overthrow the king
Alain is oath-bound to serve. Kendra and Alain face a battle unlike
any other as their honor, their love, their lives, and even their
very souls lie in the balance.
Ruaud
joined him, and they headed for the stables. The outlaws’ horses
were gone, even the animals the dead men had ridden, leaving a morass
of the imprints of boots and hooves in the dew-dampened dirt. Alain
studied the swath of tracks leading toward the crossroads and
released a sigh. “Any
idea where they might have gone?” Ruaud asked. “I
cannot be certain. On the road’s hard-packed surface, they can ride
anywhere without fear of being followed. But I do have a reasonable
guess.” Ruaud cocked his head as if inviting Alain to continue.
“West. Back to Glastonbury.” Staring
westward, Ruaud let out a low whistle. “For once, I hope you are
wrong. I would not like the implications if you are proven right.” The
implications that someone in Sarum knew who they were and the nature
of their mission, perhaps having been warned by a traitor in the
regent’s employ… Alain couldn’t agree more. As he
turned, an odd print caught his attention. He stooped to trace it. “Did
you find something?” Ruaud asked. “The
innkeeper must have a dog.” An extremely large dog, he surmised,
though he couldn’t recall having seen such an animal on the
premises. A howl pierced the gloom from afar. Alain stood and gazed
in the direction of the eerie sound. “Or perhaps a wolf passed
through.” “And
the mere sight of us convinced it to keep going, eh?” Ruaud’s
grin looked wan in the moonlight. Hellish
beasts… Alain shrugged. They
warily resumed their course toward the stables and discovered one of
the outlaws inside, lying facedown in a puddle of blood. Alain kicked
him in the side. The man didn’t move. With his foot he righted the
body. Ecgfrith.
Eyes bulging, his throat bore wide, jagged slashes as if he’d been
cut with a dull blade. Or a
predator’s teeth.
Kim
Headlee lives on a farm in southwestern Virginia with her family,
cats, goats, Great Pyrenees goat guards, and assorted wildlife.
People and creatures come and go, but the cave and the 250-year-old
house ruins--the latter having been occupied as recently as the
mid-twentieth century--seem to be sticking around for a while
yet.
Kim has been a published novelist since 1999 with the
first edition of Dawnflight (Sonnet Books, Simon & Schuster) and
has been studying the Arthurian legends for nigh on half a century.
4
Fun Facts about Snow
in July.
The
medieval-inspired interior art used as character glyphs for chapter
and scene headings was created by Kim Headlee’s daughter Jessica.
- The route that the hero Alain walks between St. Mary’s Church and the tavern in Chapter 2 was adapted straight off a map of medieval Winchester, England.
- Alain wanted to name his canine ally “Seigneur Noir” (“Black Lord”), but Noir decided that was too much of a mouthful.
- The story adapts the legend that the wounded King Harold survived the Battle of Hastings and lived out the remainder of his days as a monk, and Snow in July also references the legendary manner in which Joseph of Arimathea (a merchant and contemporary of Jesus) established the first Christian church in Britain, as well as the legends of King Arthur, Guinevere, Lancelot, and the Round Table.
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the tour HERE
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