His Master's Bride by Claudia Herring - Exclusive Excerpt and Giveaway

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Claudia will be awarding a $15 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

A troubled djinni seduces his master’s young wife, forcing her to make a fateful choice.

The djinni Yasir, imprisoned in an urn by a jealous magician, searches the centuries for his lost love. He finds Lavinia reborn in 1811 England, only to discover she’s his new master’s bride.

Desperate to have her, Yasir spell-casts Lavinia’s husband to forget he is master and give her the urn. When she opens the ancient vessel, Yasir emerges, terrifying in his magnificence yet somehow familiar, but she fails to recognize him. She distrusts this djinni even though his very presence enchants her.

Yasir’s spell is fading. Lavinia’s husband has changed. Now he’s violent as he struggles with returning memories of when he possessed the urn. Lavinia strives to keep the two from encountering one another, while torn between fidelity for her husband and her increasing attraction to the djinni.

Impatient to win Lavinia’s confidence, Yasir must convince her of her true identity so they can reclaim their life together. He dare not reveal a deeper reason: Only with Lavinia can he regain his freedom and exact revenge on the magician who confined him to the urn—

If she does not go mad from the spell to awaken her memories.
If her husband does not escape the djinni’s magic and discover her secret.
If the magician does not find them first.

Enjoy an exclusive excerpt:

With a piercing cry, green eyes unblinking, the black cat crept from the shadows and spiraled around Saddani’s legs. He followed the animal into the arbor. As he ducked under the arch of tangled vines, he nodded, “Xiphilinos.”

The cat’s green eyes shone in the gloom of the dense ivy and vanished, to reappear a good five feet higher, accompanied by a wide grin. “Greetings to you, Eustathios.” The man, his complexion so dark as to almost vanish in the deep shade, rounded his slanted eyes. “Or should I speak greetings to Hafique Al Saddani, or perhaps the Egyptian Bedouin, or the lovely succuba’s pimp?” He laughed, a low vibration ending in a strangled snarl.

“Saddani, yes.” Saddani looked Xiphilinos up and down and scowled. “Clothe yourself, fool. You have no fur now.”

“What do you care?” A glossy black tunic and leggings obscured his flesh and Xiphilinos adjusted his arms into the tight sleeves.

Saddani inhaled sharply and shot him a withering look. “I am rather pleased you have followed my long mission to keep the djinni under my watch. But we are all Rakhshan’s emissaries, even such a lowly creature as you. And know this. Our mission should end soon.”

He held up his hand and Xiphilinos drew back at a flare of red from the small black talisman that glinted in Saddani’s fingers.

“Lord Bramley has an extensive gun collection, yes?”

The man blinked, his green eyes narrowed with suspicion, then gave a slow nod.

“This lethal charm is for a pistol I will buy. A pistol that will be used soon.” Saddani gazed at him with hooded eyes and sat on the cold iron bench. “I need what more you found about Lord Peter Bramley, his wife, and most of all, the djinni.”

Xiphilinos stretched and folded his body onto the bench next to Saddani. “Ahhhh, what I know.” He held his palm up to his face, thin fingers stretched out wide, lustrous black sleeves creeping over his wrists.

“None of your feline dawdling, Xiphilinos. I had to deal with that conniving peasant Ne’bi. Do not try my patience.” Saddani narrowed his reptilian eyes and Xiphilinos hunched his back, exhaling a hiss. “I have an appointment with Lord Bramley soon and must make a grand entrance in my carriage.”

About the Author: Claudia Herring aspired to be a baton twirler when she was five and an archaeologist at thirteen. When she became a graphic designer and an author of fantasy, she decided she'd hit upon the perfect compromise.

As a designer and illustrator she formats the written word around visual art. As a writer she weaves words into stories that form worlds. Her novel, "His Master's Bride," a historical fantasy with romantic elements set in Regency England, won first prize in the Houston Writer's Guild Novel Competition. "Ties of Smoke," next in "The Djinn Chronicles" series, is in its second draft.

When she's not delving into the world of the Djinn, Claudia is practicing yoga to go to that hushed space where she imagines and plots her next fantasy novel.

If you like Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series, or Carol Berg, you'll love His Master's Bride.

Website: http://www.claudiaherring.com
Blog: http://www.claudiaherring.com/blog
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/claudiakherring
Facebook: http:www.facebook.com/claudia.herring.writer
Amazon author: http://www.amazon.com/author/claudiaherring

The Book is on sale for $0.99 during the tour at Amazon.

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