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Archive for 'Free Read'



Lizzie Ashworth: The Dane’s Bride (Free Read)
Wednesday, January 11th, 2017

January 2017! A new year and new adventures, hopefully good ones, await us. Best of all, for the not so good days, we’ve got books! Reading takes us away from the present moment and immerses us in pleasure. My mission today is to provide a time of reading pleasure for you.

One of my personal favorites in writing and reading romance is a steamy historical. Men wielding swords, their warrior bodies muscled and scarred—whew, what’s not to like? More than the allure of warriors, though, I enjoy being transported to another time and place. Plus there’s the actual glimpse of history—what did our ancestors face in their struggle to survive? How did the relationship between a man and woman differ from what we experience now?

All those ideas and more course through a writer’s thoughts as she creates a historical romance. For myself, reading actual history or other works of historical fiction helps put me in the mood as well as instructs me on details I need to make my story rich and factual. In the story below, for example, I had read Bernard Cornwell’s Saxon series, which I highly recommend. This series is popular, so you can usually find it in your local library.

Here’s the opening scene to my story, “The Dane’s Bride.” And here’s a coupon code WQ54S you can use to get the rest of the story FREE at Smashwords. (https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/610250)

Aetherlin stared at the man through the leaping flames of the firepit. Hrald, Jarl of Dunholm. Her hands clenched in want of a weapon. Taut muscle quivered in her legs, eager for escape. Breath hitched in her throat.

Fire cast his shadow to the far wall as if he were a denizen of Hell itself, his tall frame looming and pale eyes glittering in the orange-red reflection. He wore fitted leather leggings and an open vest over his muscled chest. Lengths of dark hair brushed his wide shoulders. Gold bands wrapped his biceps and forearms, badges of his prowess in battle and the respect of his tribesmen. His forehead creased in his determined expression, although the quirk of his cruel mouth bespoke lascivious thoughts. About her. And what he would do to her.

In spite of the message of anger and resistance she sent with her glare, he did not relent in his survey of her. His gaze lingered over her red marriage dress with its scrolling needlework and golden thread. Her attending lady had wept as she dressed her in the clothing ordered by her father Aetherwulf, Earldorman of Gloucestershire. These were not garments Aetherlin would have chosen, cut low to reveal the curve of her breasts to present her body as if a fattened goose. But then, she would not have chosen this day, this man. Or perhaps any man at all.

“Loose your hair, maid,” Hrald commanded, his deep voice echoing through the empty hall.

Her body stiffened. Again she thought to refuse, to turn and run. But the great hall had been emptied and the door barred. She had been given to him, to be his chattel just as the hall itself, the trenchers and tables, the servants moving in the adjacent kitchens and storerooms, his pledged warriors and lesser vassals going about their evening tasks in the courtyard, the stables. Who was she, a mere woman, to fight off this hardened warrior?

In a fury, she yanked off the narrow silver band holding the linen scarf and flung them to the floor. Her thick braid took more time as her numb fingers combed through the long wavy strands, separating and spreading them over her shoulders and chest. Golden glints of firelight reflected on the red-blonde hair. Aetherlin could not look at him, but she knew his gaze stayed on her—it burned like coals on her skin.

He said nothing for a time. The fire’s crackle barely matched the noise of her heart thudding in her ears. Did he mean to possess her here, in the public hall?

“Now the dress,” he demanded.

His voice had taken a husky tone. That recognition startled her. She wished it did not matter whether he cared about what she did. Surely he did not want her, but rather embraced the power, lands, and wealth that came with the marriage. Still, his reaction caused her to flush.

Her glance flew to his face. What did he intend, forcing her to undress in the main hall? Anyone could enter, even though he had dismissed them all. Would he shame her? What man treated his bride so coarsely?

A fiend, that’s who, she answered her own question. A filthy, bloodthirsty Dane.

His eyes had narrowed and his body leaned slightly forward so that the spiraling patterns carved into his leather vest picked up more of the fire’s light and seemed to move of their own accord. Likewise, the inked design of dragons rippled over his muscled arms as if alive. His dark hair brushed at his wide shoulders, casting his clean-shaven jaw in shadow.

Why did he not simply rip down her clothes like the ravening beast he was?  The sudden thought of such an act caused her heart to leap against her ribs. Her fingers stumbled at the clasps. The heavy woolen dress fell to the floor around her ankles. She stood in the linen shift, waiting, her breath shallow and fast.

“Do you think I wish only to see your undergarments?” he questioned in a hard voice.

“I think you wish to lower me, so that I am the least of all possible things,” she snapped back. “Expose me to your savage acts, like a village girl at the hands of your men.”

Today I sit in the snow-clad wilds of the Ozark Mountains watching the woods with my cats and hound dogs snuggled near the wood stove. I’ve been writing my entire life and can’t express how wonderful it is to share stories with readers like you. Nab more of my exciting romance short stories, novellas, and novels at your favorite bookseller.

Sign up for my free monthly e-newsletter, Liz’s Hot News. It’s a free monthly newsletter with excerpts, freebies, pre-release deals, and much more. No obligation, unsubscribe at any time. Sign up at http://eepurl.com/bHOyS9

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And please—like my Facebook author page for updates on other nice and naughty works https://www.facebook.com/AuthorLizzieAshworth/

**FREE STORY** Making a Madam
Saturday, December 17th, 2016
‘Tis the season, and all that… 🙂

I’ll be giving away a story to my newsletter subscribers as a Christmas gift, very very soon. Pretty cover, isn’t it? If you’d like a free copy and ARE NOT already one of my newsletter subscribers, head to this URL to sign up: Newsletter Sign-Up

It’s a 12,000-word novelette. Very spicy. If you want your friends to get this gift too, share the link! The story will go up on Amazon very soon as well. So, if you are a Kindle Unlimited subscriber, you can pick up your free copy there, too. Soon.

New topic. Are you finished with your holiday shopping? I think I am. My dd ran to the store to get me a bunch of gift bags because I know I’m not going to have the time to wrap everything. Wouldn’t it be crazy to have all the shopping done early and not get the gifts looking pretty in time?!  That would be me. Of course, I wouldn’t have everything already bought if not for the miracle of the internet and my dd. In the past, I was that harried shopper hitting the mall on Christmas Eve with my entire list. Yeah, that was me, red-faced, sweating, arguing over the last Cabbage Patch doll left on the shelf with another last-minute shopper! But no more. I think it, I surf for it, I buy it. Magic!

Desire’s Slave is here…with a little hiccup! (Giveaway)
Tuesday, April 12th, 2016

UPDATE: Amazon completed publishing the corrected version of the book! 

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Dear Readers and Friends,

You know when you have so many balls you’re juggling in the air that something has to drop. Well…I dropped a ball. First, my apologies. Next, let me explain.

I accidentally uploaded an in-progress version of Desire’s Slave to Kindle. I didn’t notice it was the wrong version, which still had some errors, until it was too late to fix. Amazon is on it, but they could take days! I uploaded the corrected, final version late last night, and am waiting for it to go live, but again, that could take a while, too!

In the meantime, I’d like to fix this for you. If you pre-ordered the book, or even if you want to order it now, take a look at your story. You will know you have the unfinished version if there is nothing past the last sentence of the story–NOT the About the Author page, NOT a pic of the story that is coming, Planet Desire, and NOT promo for my Cowboys on the Edge series. If you don’t see any of that, you know you have the bad version!

Send me a copy of your receipt for purchase, and I will email you the correct version. Problem solved. And for your trouble, you can choose a short story from my short stories page, and I will send that along as well–my gift to you.

And if you do happen to get the right version, send me a receipt and your free short story choice anyway, because hey, you had to read this!

So, don’t let my snafu stop you from picking up your own copy of the story. Be warned! Desire’s Slave is a sex-fest! So, if you’re not into gratuitous, copious sex between two very highly sexual people, you can skip it! But if you like pure fantasy, set on a planet far, far away, you might just have a blast with this one!

Desire’s Slave

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Love on the edge of the galaxy…

After a fellow convict is murdered on her watch, Calandra Jones escapes the ship of the pirates who liberated the convicts, determined to make it on her own. She doesn’t need anyone and doesn’t want anyone depending her ever again. Just as she’s attempting to arrange passage on another ship headed for a mining colony, she’s abducted by a handsome trader bent on offering her for sale at a potentate’s auction.

Drago Chavez doesn’t understand Calandra’s opposition to his plan. As a concubine or wife to a powerful man, she would be pampered and influential. No woman he’s ever placed has complained about being sold into the arms of a caring owner. Besides, his acquisition of the rebellious beauty is his entrée into a lucrative and exclusive market.

Calandra considers Drago’s goal nothing short of sexual slavery and vows to seduce the trader into changing his mind about offering her for sale. A sensual storm erupts during their desert odyssey that culminates when Calandra is sold, and Drago must decide whether he trusts their love enough to launch a rescue.

Purchase your copy here!