I’m excited to share a cover and an excerpt from Gemini Rising II, Louann Carroll’s upcoming release. It’s beautiful! And if you like this one, you should also check out the first book in the series, Gemini Rising.
Blurb:
Ripped from her deathbed, Noah transports Kate to the Olam Yetzirah, the dimension where universes form. They seek the advice of the archangel, Michael, in how best to get back to Earth and their children. Kate’s son and their newborn daughter, Lucia, the one spoken of in the prophecy Gemini Rising, await their return.
Trouble arises and concern ripples through the Olam. Kate is unable to make the transition from human to bond mate and her dreams of returning to Earth with Noah are crushed. Uriel will become Kate’s mentor while Noah is dispatched to Naresh, his home planet and to his people to whom the Light no longer speaks.
Will Kate become the bond mate she is meant to be? Will Noah find welcome with his people or will they despise him for taking the Light from their souls. Most important of all, will the prophecy of Lucia be fulfilled, or will Belial, demon of Hades, murder her in a fit of jealous rage.
Excerpt
True love keeps no track of wrongdoing.
Memory flooding back, Belial lay with Saddash on the banks of the river, wishing he could make his mind a blank for all eternity. After a time, listening to the water’s ebb and flow, his anxiety eased.
While in the river, Saddash had taken him into her arms. Together they melded, but as usual, the joining was not complete. Since Saddash was not his bond mate the ritual left him empty, and instead of building flame the act brought him sorrow even as it provided physical relief. A part of him would always be with Sheren no matter where the Light had taken her.
“You think of that woman.” Saddash’s eyes were spiteful as she brushed back a lock of blue-black hair.
Her burnished body gleamed in the misty twilight, catching rays from the setting shoshrana sun above. Starlight glanced off the contours of her skin, adding to her lustrous beauty.
He answered her, “I do.”
“Why did you let her go?”
“It was not of my choosing.”
Saddash circled one nipple with a nail. “Am I not as good as her?”
“You are better.”
A pleased expression crossed her face and he wondered that she could not detect his lie. She should have. He had given her the power to do so, but it was always this way. Incomplete and alone he faced the world, his bond mate forever separated from his side, her clone unable or unwilling to share his life completely.
The day of his bond mate’s betrayal had dawned with each of them entwined within the other’s arms. He had a surprise for her, something to celebrate their years together. A golden dragon sculpted by the finest artist in the universe. He couldn’t wait to see her face. He thought a moment, thinking of when he’d first laid eyes on her, the raven-haired beauty of Beriah.
He had stolen Sheren from the world of creation. There, only souls of the highest luminosity could live and Sheren was the loveliest. Fair of face, dark of hair and eye, lithe of body, her arms had held him close, providing comfort to one of the Light’s rejected.
“Belial?”
“Quiet, Saddash.” He gazed across the river, his memory fading into the past.
On the day of Sheren’s disloyalty, they had been abed for hours, each of them enjoying the other in a dance of lovemaking that would make the Light blush—until she said the unthinkable.
“I want another child.”
“You what?” Her request had shaken him to the core, thinking this subject had been put to rest. Taking a sip of memosky, he searched for the right words to answer her demand. The thought of a child was anathema. No one would come between him and his bond mate, least of all a newly created soul.
“A child, Belial. I want—no I need a child.”
“Whatever for? You can create one if you will. Just think of one by Hades!”
Her eyes burned bright with tears. “Remember Haon? He came from my loins and did us both proud. Until you murdered him and our grandchild.” She sat up, her eyes bright with tears. “You and that prophecy. You fear it, don’t you. You really believe a child will take you from your rightful place in the universe.”
“Why now?” He rose from bed, dragging the sheet across the floor. “We have everything! Why must you have a child?” He would never forget her answer.
“The Light told me to ask.”
Fury exploding within, he morphed into demon-hood and staggered toward her, one hand ready to rip the soul from her body. “How dare you consult that insipient Being, that, that…!”
Sheren did not cringe. She had never been afraid of him and that had won his respect. She said again, “I want a child.”
Towering over her, his hand bent into a reptilian claw, he cried, “I’ll see you dead first.”
Instead of meeting his anger with fear she smiled, the light from her inner being shining on her face. He stood down, instantly morphing into personhood, the pain encompassing his soul not easily forgiven. He hissed, “I cannot believe you would ask such a thing.”
Ebony eyes looked back, the agony of her request filling him, letting him know that once again he would accede to her wishes.
She finished, “Still, I want a child.”
Biography
Louann Carroll is a Native Californian living in the Sierra Nevada foothills with her husband, Dennis.
Mother to three children, she is an avid rock, fossil, and gem hunter who enjoys sharing her finds with family and friends. She is a student of alternative religion, archaeology, anthropology, and paleontology.
After leaving her position as C.E.O. in the Bay Area, she has pursued her writing career with much success. Winner of the 2010 Crescent Moon Press award for best novel, she has added numerous titles to her resume. She is the author of the Gemini series, A Shadow of Time, a paranormal romance, Journeys, The Adventure of Leaf, and other children’s stories.
You can reach her at:
Twitter: @LouannCarroll
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorLouannCarroll
E-mail carroll.louann@yahoo.com
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1426100.Louann_Carroll
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Louann-Carroll/e/B001K838AK/ref=ntt_dp_epwb
And if you really want to know Louann…
- I have Crohn’s disease but it does not define me.
- Chocolate defines me, but because of Crohn’s I can rarely eat it. Although I do blog about it often enough. Wishful thinking, I guess.
- I have three kids, but they are grown, thank heavens. I could NOT do it over again.
- I have seven grandchildren but I’m still very young. Just ask them.
- I married my childhood sweetheart and after forty-four years he is still my sweetheart, but don’t tell him, he has a big enough head already.
- My three dogs, Chelsea, Bella, and Aggie sleep in our bed. I just can’t see kicking them out at their age.
- Moving to the Sierra Nevada foothills was the best decision I ever made. Aside from marrying my husband.
Sixteen-year-old genius Matty Ducayn is the son of The Hill’s commandant. As such, he’s expected to conform to a strict, unspoken code of conduct. Small acts of defiance over years—such as walking on the grass—have earned him a reputation for being unruly. When sarcastic test answers finally get Matty expelled from school, King Hadrian offers him a diploma if he can answer a deceptively simple question, and then dismisses the only answer.
Cindy Young-Turner 