It is blizzardy and deliciously wintery here today, so I thought you might like reading Lucien’s Fall, available now at Amazon Kindle. Lucien is one of my all time favorite heroes, reckless and beautiful and very nearly unredeemable.
A taste, if you’re so inclined:
The riders raced up the road madly. The gleaming, sporty phaeton rocked dangerously in the rain-rutted course. The other man rode on a beautiful, lean black horse; beast and man were illuminated with the bars of hazy light falling through thick tree branches. They were young men, London rakes, a breed of man beneath Madeline’s contempt. She found their arrogance and idleness a bore.
And yet, as they laughed and shouted, each goading the other to a faster pace, Madeline felt her blood rise in a strange excitement. It was in particular the man on the horse who caught her eye. He wore no powder or wig, and his thick dark hair was drawn back into a queue with a black ribbon. His body was long and sinuously made, and he rode as if he and the horse were one being. From where she stood, his face gave the impression of exotic tilts and powerful bones.
But it was the hedonism Madeline ordinarily found so distasteful in such men that drew her now, made her take up her skirts and run toward the opening of the maze so she would not lose sight of him behind the hedge.
She broke through to the open stretch of lawn between the maze and the Elizabethan house of Whitethorn just as the man urged his horse into a full run. Light dappled faster and faster over his dark hair, his dark horse, his long legs. Next to him, only a little behind, the phaeton rocked noisily.
As they neared the end of the drive, Madeline burst into a run. The man on the horse left the road and bolted across the same lawn. His speed was almost dizzying, and he headed with purpose for a shoulder-high hedge that edged the house garden.
Madeline froze. They would both be killed.
But even as she clamped a hand over her mouth, watching in horror, the black beast leaped with stunning grace over the squared hedge. Horse and man hung—haloed and gilded by the afternoon light—for an endless time against the sky.
As he hung there, suspended in midair, looking like Pan, like some untamed beast come in from the wild, the man laughed. The sound rang with robust defiance into the day, and Madeline felt her heart catch with a sharp pang.
To be so free!
No related posts.
Sold!! What a great excerpt!!! I LOVE YOUR WRITING!! Thanks Barbara for yet another story to look forward to reading!
I just finished this book this morning. I could not put it down. I began it Saturday night, stayed up way too late Sunday reading (and my children suffered my sleep deprived impatience yesterday), and finally finished this morning while my 3 year old daughter watched her cartoons. I initially ‘borrowed for free’ with amazon prime, but promptly purchased the book. This is one I want to save and read again…. and again. To return to it when the artist soul in me needs refreshment. I do not know that I’ve ever read something that spoke to both my inner need for romance AND my inner artist, so very, very deeply. That you used both known poetry and the references to music… My heart is too raw at this moment to even begin to wrap my head around words to express how this book touched me. I read a review on Amazon that was unhappy with the book and did not understand Madeline’s attraction to Lucien. It makes me sad, because obviously this person is not someone who understands music and the emotion that is involved. It is that very part that swells in my heart and makes this book an all time favorite to me. I thank you for writing it. I thank you for making it available on kindle (I adore my kindle and it makes reading in this land of stay at home mommyhood so much easier). And I am thankful it was available to borrow for free on kindle – otherwise I probably wouldn’t have purchased it and would have forfeit something that will be with me always. I will most certainly be reading more of your work.
Barbara, thanks for starting my day off with your poetry. I’ve owned this book for a year, thank you.
Deanna, thank you!
C, that is such a great post! Thank you so much for writing it–because yes, this book seems to polarize readers, and some people absolutely HATE it, and post all over GoodReads and Amazon and Nook, saying that loudly.
Luckily, there is another camp of readers who deeply love it, as much as I loved writing it–for all the reasons you listed. Music and art and the recklessness of falling in love and poetry, and all those things. It’s not a politically correct romance at all, but I love it anyway. I’m so glad to hear that it spoke to you on that same wavelength.
Guessing you might really love Night of Fire, too, but don’t read it right way.
Ah, DeNise, what a rich compliment. Thank you.
I love writers who can paint a picture with such clarity that you can step into the story, connecting completely with the characters & situation. Reads like a winner that I’ll want to keep!
howdy amazing post – “They were London rakes, a breed of man beneath Madeline’s contempt….” A Writer Afoot ,If you want more visitors to your blog you should check this out – http://snurl.com/23fqpax , bye Orville Guinther
I’ve read a few good stuff here. Certainly worth bookmarking for revisiting. I wonder how much effort you put to make such a wonderful informative web site.
My husband and I arrived for that initial time final year and prepare on returning the fall. Bought some terrific unusual xmas gifts. See you there.
I’ve thought for awhile now that bloggers from Commentary, NRO and also the Weekly Standard and other conservative resources are much far too respectful to and solicitous in the left-wing media. n Romney has been well-positioned to win for months and however is, Bill Kristol notwithstanding. Commentary magazine bloggers appeared during the primaries to drop in adore serially with fringe candidates who in no way experienced any chance of election, but disdained Romney all along. n Romney alone of well-knoiwn prospective candidates actualy had the guts to operate though the Kristols and Hayeses of conservative media pined for some others who chose to sit out the race. Kristol wrote the other day (he’d likely say tongue-in-cheek) that probably Romney will drop out and make way to get a potential Ryan-Rubio ticket.) These persons are fools and do not deserve to get taken seriously. n Romney is leading or within striking distance in every single ”battleground” state and needs only a strong debate performance to win this election´despite the naysayers. n
Furniture is an important addition to any home. For instance if you want to accomplish a modern day stylish look, then including black furniture pieces to a excellent white bathroom would be ideal. Coupled with the amount of money you save on your drinking water bill and the less upkeep, the dual flush toilet could be significantly different in terms of both the price and technology when compared to a traditional toilet. You have options to add to the contents of your shopping cart, or to delete items from this. Bathroom furniture should make the bathroom feel as more of a room, rather than a cold or clinical space.
Hi. Neat post. There’s an issue with the site in firefox, and you may want to test this… The browser is the market chief and a large section of other folks will leave out your excellent writing because of this problem.
Hi there this is kind of of off topic but I was wanting to know if blogs use WYSIWYG editors or if you have to manually code with HTML. I’m starting a blog soon but have no coding knowledge so I wanted to get guidance from someone with experience. Any help would be enormously appreciated!
Trying to get ahead to learning added from you afterward!…
It’s truly a nice and helpful piece of info. I’m glad that you shared this helpful info with us. Please stay us up to date like this. Thank you for sharing.
Hello there. I discovered your web site by means of Google while looking for a related subject, your web site got here up. It seems to be great. I’ve bookmarked it in my google bookmarks to come back later.
Amongst me and my husband we have owned extra MP3 players over time than I can count, which includes Sansas, iRivers, iPods (basic & touch), the Ibiza Rhapsody, etc. But, the last few a long time I’ve settled down to one line of players.
Very nice post and straight to the point. I am not sure if this is actually the best place to ask but do you guys have any ideea where to hire some professional writers? Thanks
Have you ever considered creating an ebook or guest authoring on other blogs? I have a blog centered on the same subjects you discuss and would really like to have you share some stories/information. I know my audience would value your work. If you’re even remotely interested, feel free to shoot me an email.
Thank you, I have just been searching for information about this subject for a long time and yours is the greatest I have came upon so far. But, what about the conclusion? Are you positive about the source?
I have been gone for some time, but now I remember why I used to love this website. Thanks, I’ll try and check back more frequently. How frequently do you update your site?
It’s actually a nice and helpful piece of info. I’m happy that you just shared this useful info with us. Please stay us informed like this. Thank you for sharing.
Howdy this is kinda of off topic but I was wanting to know if blogs use WYSIWYG editors or if you
have to manually code with HTML. I’m starting a blog soon but have no coding expertise so I wanted to get guidance from someone with experience. Any help would be enormously appreciated!
I really love your site.. Very nice colors & theme. Did you create this amazing site yourself? Please reply back as I’m planning to create my very own site and would like to learn where you got this from or exactly what the theme is named. Cheers!