The Witches of Wimberley, #1
by Victoria Danann
Date of
Publication: June 24th 2016
Publisher:
dba 7th House, Imprint of Andromeda LLC
Cover
Artist: Victoria Danann
Genre: Paranormal
Romance
BLURB
He took the card for the sake of being
polite and planned to throw it away. But he didn’t throw it away. He called the
number, entered the annual competition to win a witch, and won. To his
amazement, he got everything he’d ever wanted from life, but in the end would
have to make a choice. What’s more important? Being happy or being free of
commitment?
“Lyra, this is
Willem.”
“Oh, yes. Willem. Are
you having fun?”
“I, ah, yes. I just
got here.”
“Have you had
something to eat? We wouldn’t want you to be hungry and there’s so much food!”
“I’ll never forget
the food.”
She barked out a
laugh. “You hope!”
It took me a second
to catch up and remember about the memory wipe thing.
“Well, yeah, I guess
I do hope I remember.”
Her grin resolved
into a smile. “So tell me what you’re going to do with your life if you win,
Willem.”
“You know, that still
sounds like one of those what-would-you-do-if-you-got-a-million-dollars questions.
It feels too unreal to take seriously.”
She nodded. “A good
solid honest answer. I like that.” After studying me for a few seconds, she
said, “Okay. You passed my test. Let me introduce you to Lilith.”
She turned me around
when she took my arm and, as she did, I happened to catch a heated look
exchanged between Harmony and Raider. It was an, “Ah hah,” moment immediately
followed by an, “Oh, crap,” moment when I realized that, if I won Harmony’s
sister, Raider would be my brother-in-law. I understood why he was happy enough
to star in the Orientation video and babysit inexperienced canoers on the
river. She was a catch and he knew it.
I decided there are
worse things than being in Raider’s family. He didn’t actually finish drowning
me in the river, but at the time it felt like he was trying. On the other hand,
he insisted on showing me to the ballroom. And he called me ‘hero’. Who
couldn’t get used to that?
I was ushered from
one beautiful woman to the next and each took measure of me in her own way. It
was an interview, or audition, but it was the most pleasant I’d ever
experienced. Or ever would, I was sure.
Still, after an hour
or so, I was getting hungry. When Bless tried to walk me to another chat, I
balked.
“Hey, could you maybe
give me a couple of minutes to partake of some of the amazing feast stations? I
haven’t eaten and that guy in the other part of the house carving that prime
rib really spoke to me.”
Bless had a laugh
that didn’t exactly sound like tinkling bells, but reminded me of them just the
same. “Certainly, Willem. Would you like me to accompany you?”
“That would be…” I
happened to look away and notice that most of the conversational groups in the
room consisted of clusters of contestants, not a witch in sight. I realized
that’s what I’d been seeing the whole time whenever I looked away from the
woman I was talking with. “Bless, I hope this isn’t an inappropriate question,
but am I getting special treatment?”
Bless treated me to
an extra big helping of her tinkling bells laugh. “Willem, you’re quite
perceptive. And you’ve passed my test.”
“You know, you’re the
sixth or seventh person to say that to me. Is this a gauntlet of gorgeous women
in sexy red dresses?”
Again the laugh. “I
love that description. You’re quite a character, Willem. You would fit in
around here.” As she smiled at me, she grabbed the elbow of another beauty
passing by. “Glory, this is Willem.”
When Glory smiled, I
knew how she was named. “Hi, Willem.”
“He’s hungry and
headed in the direction of prime rib.”
“Of course he is. I
don’t see a man like this eating watercress.”
“Yes, well, perhaps
you’d like to accompany him while he dines.”
Glory seemed as
ecstatic as if she’d won the prize herself. “Of course! Willem. I’d be
honored.”
She slipped her arm
in mind and walked me to the prime rib. “What would you like with that?” she
asked. “While Raleigh is slicing your rib just the way you want it, I’ll gather
up something to go with.”
“You sure?”
“Idle hands are the
devil’s workshop.”
“Okay, then. Caesar
salad. And did I see au gratin potatoes?” She nodded. “That should do.”
She pointed to a
table at the rear of the room. “I’ll meet you right there.”
She was there with
salad and spuds before I arrived with a hunk of prime rib that smelled so good
it was all I could do to not face plant into the plate and tear into it with my
teeth. Somehow I managed to preserve enough dignity to sit and take a few bites
of salad before digging into my current reason for living with fork and knife.
Out of nowhere a
waiter appeared on my right pouring red wine into my glass. That was followed
with a delivery of ice water seconds later.
“You’ve eaten?” I
asked Glory, who sat smiling with her legs crossed as if there’s nothing in the
universe she’d rather be doing than watching me eat.
“Much earlier.”
Someone appeared with
a mint garnished drink that I hadn’t heard Glory order.
“I’ve decided that
Wimberley must have the best service in the world. I’m certain the queen of
England is envious.”
She smiled. “Don’t
you know you get what you pay for, Willem?”
“So I’ve heard. I’m
just a middle class boy from Alabama so I wouldn’t have much personal
experience in that department.”
“You don’t strike me
as someone who thinks of Golden Bull Buffet as a special occasion.”
“I had some nice
times courtesy of my agent.”
“Your agent? Oh,
that’s right. You were an actor.”
“How is it that
everyone seems to know me by name? And, obviously, some know more than just my
name. Have you memorized bios on all fifty contestants? And come to think of
it, why did you say ‘were an actor’?”
“First, yes. We look
over incoming guests. Second, some of us just learn names, some of us read more
and have good recall. Third, you told our people in L.A. that you’re done with
acting. That puts it in the past tense, right?”
“Right. So, should I
be asking questions about you?”
She grinned. “You’re
funny, Willem.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because you have
been asking questions.”
Hearing her say it
out loud, I realized that was true.
“This prime rib is
indescribable. And the wine, he didn’t ask me for a preference, but I’ve gotta
tell you. It’s amazing.”
“If you win, you’ll
eat whatever you want when you want it. As far as the staff goes, they’re very
skilled at reading people and anticipating needs.”
“Or desires.”
New York Times and USA Today
bestselling author of eleven romances. Victoria's Knights of Black Swan series
won BEST PARANORMAL ROMANCE SERIES THREE YEARS IN A ROW. Reviewers Choice
Awards, The Paranormal Romance Guild.
Her paranormal romances come with
uniquely fresh perspectives on "imaginary" creatures, characters, and
themes. She adds a dash of scifi, a flourish of fantasy, enough humor to make
you laugh out loud, and enough steam to make you squirm in your chair. Her
heroines are independent femmes with flaws and minds of their own whether they
are aliens, witches, demonologists, psychics, past life therapists. Her heroes
are hot and hunky, but they also have brains, character, and good manners.
**Usually.
Victoria lives in The Woodlands, Texas
with her husband and a very smart, mostly black German Shepherd dog.
Author Links:
GIVEAWAY
- 3
signed paperbacks of WILLEM. Must be a subscriber of Victoria’s mailing list to
be entered to win - Subscribe here: http://bit.ly/1IfByBg
PRESENTED BY
No comments:
Post a Comment