Thursday, February 25, 2016

Enchanted Warrior by Sharon Ashwood


ENCHANTED WARRIOR (CAMELOT REBORN, BOOK 1) BY SHARON ASHWOOD


Writing seduction

It goes without saying that romance writers learn the art of writing love scenes. Mastering that skill is every bit as delicious and imaginative as it sounds, but it is also a technical craft that requires patience and a critical eye for detail. To do the job well means making the scene flow so smoothly that the reader is unaware of the work behind a transparent reading experience.

But the love/sex scene is just one aspect of writing about seduction. As compelling as those steamy moments are, they can’t come out of nowhere. A story needs the buildup of romantic tension, all the flirtatious games and teasing that go on before the big payoff. Part of an author’s job is to find fresh and interesting ways for characters to do that dance. As the old saying goes, good writers show far more than they tell. The character has to BE attractive as well as LOOK that way for us to care about their happiness.

What does “attractive” mean? That has as many answers as there are lovers. Each set of partners enters into their romance with a unique combination of skills and attributes. They demonstrate who they are in ways that go beyond lovemaking but also greatly inform the sexual dance.  Is it a mercurial personality—that push and pull that leaves a love interest guessing—that catches our interest? Brute physical power? A gentle heart? Untold generosity? A gift for storytelling? This is where writing about seduction becomes highly individual and endlessly varied. This is where wit and emotion play their part, because hearts are healed—or easily broken—during this dangerous passage where trust is built and masks shed. We need to see deep into a character before we surrender.

It’s not just the lovers that enter the sex scene with explosive expectations. The reader has also committed to the unique personalities and challenges of the characters. She has let the writer and the story into her heart and mind, building trust right along with the writers. After that, if the author knows her business, how can the final climax fail to be good?

*


Review:

A blend of Arthurian legend and witchery, this modern day improvisation lends itself well to the world of the Knights of the Round table. Tamsin is the perfect heroine and Gawain a swoonworthy hero. I enjoyed the updated twist to this legend and the idea that knights could be frozen in time until they were needed to be of service. Combustible scenes between the two MC's rocked it. This was the first book I've read by Sharon Ashwood, but it won't be my last. 

5/5


Giveaway:  I’ll give away one signed paperback copy of ENCHANTED WARRIOR to a commenter.

Short Excerpt:

Huge hands grabbed her from behind, pulling her backward until she collided with a rock-hard chest. Tamsin inhaled, about to scream, but a palm clamped over her mouth. A moment later, the man’s free arm grasped her middle. Tamsin lunged forward, but his grip was an iron bar. Her next move was to kick back, aiming for the man’s knee. She missed, catching only his shin with the soft sole of her boot. He grunted and pulled her against him so tightly she could barely breathe.
“Don’t,” he said, the word clipped and cold.
Tamsin froze, going utterly still. Whoever this was, his psychic shields were so powerful he’d been completely hidden from her scan. After fretting about evil creatures stalking witches, she was too scared to reach for her magic. Every instinct warned her this stranger would not tolerate further defiance. This was a professional. A predator. A true threat. She knew it on a level so primitive it was coded into her DNA.
Her obedience seemed to work, because the hand clamped over her mouth slowly moved away. He tasted of salt, sweat and man. He hadn’t used weapons to overpower her, just brute strength. That show of confidence made him seem all the more deadly.
“You will not cry out.” His words had traces of a brogue—Scottish, perhaps. His deep, masculine voice vibrated through the line where their bodies touched and sank into her bones.
“Please,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. “What do you want?”
“Turn around.”
The arm locked about her loosened, allowing her to move but not to escape. Tamsin shrank away as far as she could, the heat of his body a sharp contrast to the cool November air.
“Turn,” he repeated. “I want to see your face when I question you.”
Tamsin obeyed, sliding within the circle of his arm. It put their faces barely twelve inches apart, and that was only because he was so tall. Her first instinct was to avoid eye contact, to rebel at least in that small way, but curiosity won. She snatched a glance from under her lashes.
She froze all over again as he nailed her in place with a brilliant blue gaze. He was younger than she’d expected—maybe in his late twenties—and handsome enough that she forgot to breathe. His face had strong bones, the features bold and almost sensual. Heat rose to her cheeks as her insides curled into a protective ball. He was far too magnetic, far too there for comfort.
He studied her face a moment longer, his gaze filled with bold assessment. It finally broke when the corners of his mouth quirked. “You are the historian who is supposed to explain this place to visitors, Tamsin Greene?”

For a longer excerpt, click here:  http://www.sharonashwood.com/camelot-reborn/


Book Blurb:

An ancient evil rises. An ancient warrior awakens. 

In an age clouded by legend, Gawain was one of King Arthur’s greatest knights. When he awakens centuries after the fall of Camelot, he faces his most daunting quest yet-the search for his missing companions. His hope is that Tamsin Greene, the alluring historian at Medievaland Theme Park, can help him. Then he senses the magic within her Gawain will now have to trust a witch-and his own heart-to rouse the knights of the Round Table and save humanity from a faery onslaught.





Author Bio:

Sharon Ashwood is a novelist, desk jockey and enthusiast for the weird and spooky. She has an English literature degree but works as a finance geek. Interests include growing her to-be-read pile and playing with the toy graveyard on her desk. As a vegetarian, she freely admits the whole vampire/werewolf lifestyle would never work out, so she writes her adventures instead.
Sharon is the winner of the RITA® Award for Paranormal Romance. She lives in the Pacific Northwest and is owned by the Demon Lord of Kitty Badness.


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1 comment:

  1. I enjoy reading your books of romance,mystery and more... :)

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