With: Anne Cleeland
Congratulations to "Liz", and "LibraryPat", the winners in Anne's giveaway. Liz, please contact us. We were unable to reach you via the email address provided. Thank you to all who participated!

Fortunately, the
Dey’s mysterious necromancer appears willing to come to her aid, and what
follows is a cat-and-mouse game of deception, attraction, and above all,
redemption.
Excerpt from Chapter One
Nonie stood, bedraggled—and certainly
bedeviled—as she tried to avoid looking into the flames of the two fire-trays
that illuminated the chamber, one on either side of the dais. Likes the dramatic, she concluded, as she
gazed upon the Dey of Algiers, seated on his elaborate peacock chair. The Mughals were a superstitious bunch; perhaps
it could be used to her advantage—if she managed to survive the night’s events,
that was.
The crackling flames illuminated the
faces of the men who stood on either side of their leader; ruthless men, who
served at the Dey’s pleasure in this particular circle of hell. One appeared to be minor official, and the
other—the one who’d spoken to the Dey—was undoubtedly the Agha, who handled the
Dey’s slave trade. A hard-eyed,
dissipated man as befit his trade; and fleshy besides—that type were always
wont to bleed overmuch, in her experience.
And the tall gentleman who stood behind him would appear to be the famed
necromancer—although she couldn’t be certain, having little experience with men
of that stripe. He was dressed in a
dark, long-sleeved djellaba and was
smoking a thin pipe, looking mysterious and very much the part. Rather handsome, if you liked your men lean,
and hawkish. He hadn’t spoken, but only observed dispassionately as the Agha
took the lead in questioning her.
“I will give you
one last chance to tell me; where did you find these?”
With unmistakable
menace, the Agha approached her, lifting a long, double strand of large pearls,
which glistened in the flickering firelight. Through their loops, she could see
the necromancer, watching her with his unreadable dark gaze, as the smoke from
his pipe curled around his head. “The
pearls were given to me by the ship’s captain—although ‘given’ is perhaps not
the right word; ‘lent’ is more apt, being as how there was no question but that
I would have to give them back.”
As she recited the
story, she considered her options; she’d never pass muster as a concubine—her
hair must look like she’d been pulled through a bush backwards. Instead she’d have to convince them she was
too valuable to execute outright, and tell a tale of sunken treasure. “There are plenty more pearls where that came
from,” she disclosed in an artless manner, pausing to wring the sea water from
her skirts. “There was an entire chest, brimful of them.”
At this, the Agha
glanced over at the Dey with a significant look, and then continued his pacing.
“You are English?”
“Good God,” Nonie
exclaimed, horrified. “Bite your tongue; I’m as Irish as the day is long.”
“What were you
doing on a Dutch merchant ship?”
“Sinking,
mostly.” She paused, then added fairly,
“And drinking a great deal of wine, before that. I confess it has occurred to me that the two
events are not unrelated.”
“What happened to
the captain—and the crew?”
She spread her
hands. “I’ve no idea—and is it fair that they left me to fend for my poor self,
I ask you? No, it is not; not a twinge of chivalry amongst them.” Indignant,
she tossed her head, which was not well-advised; when wet, her fiery hair fell
nearly to her waist, but as it dried, it gathered into a tangled mass of thick
curls that now sprang from her head as though it had a life of its own—not to
mention it was stiff and salty, from its recent immersion into the Bay of
Algiers.
Giveaway:
Anne is giving away an ecopy of THE BARBARY MARK to two lucky readers leaving a comment or email entry.
Giveaway ends 11:59pm EST July 22nd. Please supply your email in the post. You may use spaces or full text for security. (ex. jsmith at gmail dot com) If you do not wish to supply your email, or have trouble posting, please email maureen@justromanticsuspense.com with a subject title of JRS GIVEAWAY to be entered in the current giveaway.
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ReplyDeleteI love your Acton and Doyle series...it's one of my favorites! This new book sound really good too, I look forward to reading it. vandine3atmsn.com
ReplyDeleteI look forward to reading this book! azilemouaatgmail.com
ReplyDeletenice cover
ReplyDeletebn100candg at hotmail dot com
Thanks so much for having me, Maureen!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a good read.
ReplyDeleteThe first historical novel I read dealt with the Barbary Pirates. It was a good way for my high school American history teacher to get us interested in History. I am curious to follow the approach you have taken. Obviously it will be a bit different since yours is a romance, but details of time anyplace could compare. It will be interesting to watch the game play out between Nonie and her captors.
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