Excerpt & Giveaway: Mages and Mysteries by Victoria Kincaid
Today's guest is Victoria Kincaid with her latest release, Mages and Mysteries: A Fantasy Pride and Prejudice Variation.
We'd love for you to check out the fantasy book and the excerpt below. Of course, there's a giveaway of 1 ebook, so don't forget to enter.
Book Synopsis:
In Regency England, women are expected to confine their magical acts to mending dresses or enhancing their beauty, but Elizabeth Bennet insists on crafting her own spells to fight goblins and protect the people of Meryton. She even caused a scandal by applying for admission to the magical Academy. When Hertfordshire is beset with a series of unexplained goblin attacks, Elizabeth is quite ready to protect her family and friends. If only she didn’t have to deal with the attitude of the arrogant mage, Fitzwilliam Darcy.
Mr. Darcy doesn’t need to be associated with a scandalous woman like Elizabeth Bennet—no matter how attractive she is. But as the goblin attacks accelerate and grow more dangerous, Darcy realizes that he could use her help in identifying the cause—and is forced to recognize her magical ability. Unfortunately, continued proximity to Elizabeth only heightens his attraction to her—which is particularly inconvenient in light of his engagement to Caroline Bingley.
Can Elizabeth and Darcy unravel the mystery of the goblin attacks before more people are hurt? And how can they manage their growing mutual attraction? It’s sure to be interesting…because when Darcy and Elizabeth come together, magic happens. Please give Victoria a warm welcome:
Thank you for welcoming me back to your blog! I am pleased to introduce my newest book, Mages and Mysteries, a fantasy Pride and Prejudice variation. It’s been a while since I released a book. It turns out that pandemic conditions aren’t conducive to productive writing. But I am very pleased with how the book — my first fantasy variation — turned out.
The scene below takes place after a goblin attack that interrupted the Meryton assembly. Darcy and Bingley are paladins, a kind of fighting mage, so they raced outside to confront the goblin that was trying to enter the assembly hall. Darcy dispatched the goblin (with Elizabeth’s help). But after her departure, he and Bingley are approached by Hurst and Miss Bingley, who stayed safe within the hall during the attack.
I hope you enjoy it!
Hurst sauntered out of the assembly hall, having taken the time to don his greatcoat. Typical of him to emerge well after any danger was past. He was issuing orders to the footman at his elbow — also typical. As his father had served as the archmage before Darcy’s uncle had taken the position, Hurst keenly felt the importance of his family name in Convocation history.
He still believed that he should have been elected archmage after his father’s death — even though his powers were meager, and the Earl of Matlock was far better qualified. The footman scurried back into the hall to do Hurst’s bidding, but the man himself approached Bingley and Darcy. His languid gaze made Darcy even more self-conscious of the mud coating his breeches. “I heard the attack was by a hobgoblin, but that is impossible of course….”
“It was a hobgoblin,” Bingley said.
“Impossible,” Hurst said in a disdainful voice. “Who in Hertfordshire would possess the power to summon—?”
Darcy interrupted. “It was unmistakably a hobgoblin. Six arms, dense blue fur, and quite powerful. It was the largest hobgoblin I have ever encountered.”
“But why would someone send a hobgoblin to attack a ball? It makes no sense. Perhaps you mistook a hogboon for a—”
“I assure you, I did not,” Darcy said in icy tones. “And it is a mystery as to why any goblin would attack a ball.” He gave Hurst his haughtiest stare until the man averted his eyes. He tried to tolerate the other man since he was married to Bingley’s sister Louisa and Darcy’s fiancée did seem to like him. But there were times when Hurst’s arrogance was simply too much to bear. “If you had been out here, you would have observed—”
“I remained in the ballroom so I could protect the others,” Hurst said in portentous tones. “I cast a shielding spell.”
Darcy would have been more impressed if Hurst’s shielding spells were worth anything.
“Charles, what are you—? Your suit! It is ruined!” The shrill, slightly nasal voice emanated from behind Darcy, but he did not need to turn around to identify its owner.
Caroline approached the three men with rapid strides, a pinched, disapproving expression on her face. “And Fitzwilliam!” she exclaimed as she drew closer. “You are quite disheveled!”
Her disdainful gaze raked over both of them. She pulled her shawl around her shoulders. “And goodness knows why we must all stand about in the frigid air!”
Bingley heaved a sigh. “We were fighting a hobgoblin, Caroline.”
“That is no excuse!” she snapped. “You can fight a goblin and still take care with your appearance! You are a gentleman, after all.”
“Caroline—” Bingley started, but he was no match for his sister.
“I was in the ladies’ retiring room. When I emerged everything was in an uproar and you two had disappeared, leaving me alone in the ballroom!”
“We are paladins,” Darcy said sharply. “Our first duty is to protect the people of England.”
Caroline sniffed. “Of course. I am only your fiancée.”
“Hurst was there,” Bingley pointed out reasonably.
Darcy was exhausted and his forbearance was wearing thin. If he remained with Caroline, he would say something he regretted. “Bingley needs to visit the healer,” he said hastily before she could raise another objection. “I must take him there at once.” Pulling his friend’s elbow, he drew them both back toward the hall. Thank you, Victoria, for a fun post. I can see the tension here already.
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December 6: Babblings of a Bookworm December 7: So Little time December 8: Savvy Verse and Wit December 9: My Jane Austen Book Club December 10: Probably at the Library December 13: My Vices and Weaknesses December 16: From Pemberley to Milton December 28: My Love for Jane Austen January 10: Austenesque Reviews