Saturday, May 5, 2012

An Excerpt: Meet Morgana le Fay

Only a few more days before To Hell In A Handbasket, Book 3 in the "Halos & Horns" series is published! We saw a lot of Mordred in the first two books, but his mother, Morgana le Fay (Sorceress Supreme and lifelong foe of Merlin), figures prominently in Book 3. Fans of Arthurian legend know Mordred grows up to kill his father, King Arthur. Perhaps I should have retitled this excerpt "The Origin of Mordred".

An Excerpt: Morgana le Fay


Morgana’s grimoire grew over the next decade. She studied her spells and incantations, becoming adept with sorcery, and biding her time. She saw Uther Pendragon die, yet hid her ebullience, content to play the grieving stepsister to the newly crowned 15-year-old king. Morgana realized Nimue had been right: as a Fae, time was on her side. She would have her revenge, in one form or another, sooner or later.

And so, she waited. Patient, like a predator stalking her prey, poised for the opportune moment to strike. When it arrived, Morgana was ready. On that night, Arthur had retired to his bedchamber with only a flagon of ale for companionship. Heavy weighed the crown on one so young and still mourning the loss of the only parent he had ever known. Yet, as sovereign, he could ill afford the luxury of showing weakness, so instead he sought succor through the dulling effect of alcohol, in the opulent but lonely chamber. This Morgana knew, as she knocked upon its door.

The sheets were soft and the bed enormous, befitting a monarch. Was it loneliness or alcohol that had seduced him? Morgana wondered. Perhaps the young king had wanted to add an older woman to his conquests, or maybe he had been attracted to her all along. It didn’t matter. Morgana closed her eyes, as Arthur planted the seed of his own destruction.

- an excerpt from To Hell In A Handbasket to be published in May 2012. "Halos & Horns" Book 3 -- Third time's the charm!

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