A Snippet of Dancing on Air

Hi everyone,

As you may know, Dancing on Air will be released by Escape Publishing on the 1^st of November. Yay!!!

So today, I thought I would share the opening scene with you all. 

I hope you like it and find Lisette’s tyrannical aunt, Madame Devoré as hateful as I do!


It’s available for pre-order on Amazon -   http://goo.gl/a8jlMD




Blurb

Cinderella meets Swan Lake in this Victorian-era set story about a ballet dancer, an aristocrat, and their class-crossing romance...

Lisette yearns for freedom, security and love, but none are offered on the run-down stage of The Imperial Theatre. Instead she has hard work, a tyrannical aunt, and the hope of one day becoming a prima ballerina. Dancing on the stage she catches the attention of two powerful men: Lord Gainsworth and Lord De Vale.

Lord Evander Gainswith never expected to fall in love, let alone with a woman so wholly unacceptable to his family and his peers. The sinister Lord De Vale covets Lisette's youth and strength, and is willing to pay well for it. Lisette may dance roles in fairy tales and fantasies, but the real world is about to intrude, bringing with it the harsh realities of life for a young girl with dreams of rising above the demimonde.

 

Dancing on Air

London, 1884

Lisette was weightless as she leapt into a grand jeté across the stage. She was free and in that moment her heart soared past the walls of The Imperial Theatre. She landed lightly and began the fouetté en tournant, whipping her leg from fourth position to behind her knee; she created impetus to spin on pointe. After the eight revolutions, she planted her feet and lifted her hand in the air, stopping in front of her aunt. There was a slight wobble in her legs and she tried not to wince. Fixing a smile on her face she prayed that her aunt had not noticed. Lisette had wanted perfection but had fallen short. A trickle of sweat slid its way down the middle of her back, her heart beat rapidly and she tried to catch her breath as her aunt stepped forward. 

 Marie Devoré regarded her niece for a second. Her eyes bore into Lisette’s before she raised her hand and slapped her across the face.

   Lisette’s head jerked to the side as the burning sting radiated over her cheek.

  ‘What was that? A farce...? A comedy perhaps?’

 ‘No, Aunt Marie, I am sorry that I wobbled,’ she said as she looked at the well-worn wooden floor and resisted the urge to cradle her cheek.

    ‘When you finish, the movement must be sleek, clean and set in stone, without any trace of a tremble.’

 ‘Yes, Aunt.’

 ‘Go, out of my sight. Prepare the costumes for tonight’s performance,’ Marie said with a wave of her thin hand. ‘You will practice again tomorrow. Without the wobble.’

 Lisette bowed her head before running off into the wings of the stage. She ran as fast as she could past the burgundy velvet curtains, beneath the scenery fly and the rigging, down the narrow flight of stairs that ran beneath the stage, until she was in the cool and narrow corridor, which led deeper into the bowels of the theatre.

Her cheek burned but it was the sting of failure that hurt all the more. 

 

As always, thanks for dropping by.

Nicóle  xx

www.nicolehurley-moore.com

Images
Bigstock
Stockxchng

 

Dancing on Air Cover Reveal

Hi everyone.

It's here! It's here! Here is the cover for my Victorian period romance 'Dancing on Air'.

It will be released on the 1st of November by Escape Publishing but it's available now for pre-order.

 Amazon -        http://goo.gl/a8jlMD



Here's the blurb -

Cinderella meets Swan Lake in this Victorian-era set story about a ballet dancer, an aristocrat, and their class-crossing romance...

Lisette yearns for freedom, security and love, but none are offered on the run-down stage of The Imperial Theatre. Instead she has hard work, a tyrannical aunt, and the hope of one day becoming a prima ballerina. Dancing on the stage she catches the attention of two powerful men: Lord Gainsworth and Lord De Vale.

Lord Evander Gainswith never expected to fall in love, let alone with a woman so wholly unacceptable to his family and his peers. The sinister Lord De Vale covets Lisette's youth and strength, and is willing to pay well for it. Lisette may dance roles in fairy tales and fantasies, but the real world is about to intrude, bringing with it the harsh realities of life for a young girl with dreams of rising above the demimonde.

 

 

Thanks for dropping by.

 

 

 

Nicóle  xx

 

www.nicolehurley-moore.com

 

 

 

 

Hi everyone,

Sorry... sorry... sorry. Yes, I missed a post... sorry.

It’s been an odd sort of month and I was snowed under with edits for one story and trying to finish another. Added to that, I’ve been doing a little study and research.  My latest acquisition is a book called ‘The History of Underclothes’ by C. Willet & Phillis Cunnington . I figured if I was going to write a wickedly naughty love scene, I had better get the historical detail right. There is also another tiny book called ‘The Victorian Domestic Servant’ by Trevor May.

On the study front I have been attending the ‘Writing Romance 2013’ course which is run by the fabulous Anne Gracie. I can honestly say that it has helped me as a writer. Anne is a great teacher, she’s warm and approachable and the classes have been a lot of fun. But fun aside, she’s shared some wonderful insights and tips on craft – such as thinking about where we should start our stories and giving our character more depth. My fellow classmates are all so friendly, encouraging and supportive.

Next month is our last class and once it is over, I shall miss it.

I’ve also been doing an online course called ‘Norse Scotland’ which is presented by Cindy Vallar and run through the Hearts through History group. I have a Norse story bubbling at the back of my mind but at the moment I have a long list of books to write before I can indulge in it. However the course came along and I thought it was too good to pass up. So, I signed up and I’m very glad I did.

I enjoy these online classes. I find that they give you great historical details and get the inspirational juices flowing. Next month I’ve joined up to ‘Herbs & Medicine on the British Isles’ (Celtic Hearts) and the ‘British Royal Navy’(Hearts through History). There are lots of different classes offered by the different writing chapters, however, I tend to sign up for the historical ones. Well, it would make sense since I write historical romances. J

If you are looking for a bit of inspiration or to brush up on the craft... why not check out the online line classes.

So, it’s been a month of writing, thinking, reading and studying. Midnight’s Masque is almost finished. Hopefully I will have the whole first draft completed by the end of the month.

 The spanner in the works? I’ve just received a copy of ‘Indochine : Baguettes and Báhn mi : Finding France in Vietnam’ by Luke Nguyen. It’s a beautiful cookbook which explores the French influence in Vietnamese cuisine. The problem is, all I want to do is drop everything to run off to the kitchen and try out the recipes.

 

 

Thanks for dropping by.

 

Nicóle  xx *who has an overwhelming desire for a croissant*

www.nicolehurley-moore.com

 

Image - Bigstock

A Snippet of Rain

Hi everyone.

As I mentioned in my last post, Dancing on Air will be released on the 1^st November by Escape Publishing. And as you all know (because I’ve mentioned it enough!) it’s a Victorian period romance which is set in the world of ballet.

It’s getting so close I can almost taste it! I can’t wait to see the cover art.

However, I thought I would talk a little bit about my other novel – Rain.

Rain is a medieval paranormal romance which has been contracted by Jupiter Gardens Press.

It is set in the fictitious village of Farran in 1216 AD.

On the mountain, high above the village of Farran – Nuri is caught between heaven and hell. Two men fight for her love and her soul. The first is Maras, an elemental being that follows the storms. Nuri knows that he is not human, he’s something more. She believes he is her beautiful fallen angel. But he is transient and is bound to the elements and their love may be as fleeting as the storm itself. And Brother Erebus, a pious monk whose tortured soul is twisted by his desire for her, will do anything to protect her soul from the silver haired devil, even if he has to crush her body to do it.

It’s a love triangle set against the backdrop of medieval village life, but with a paranormal twist. I love this story and its characters Nuri and Maras. I even have a soft spot for the dark and twisty Brother Erebus. Anyway, I thought I would share one of favourite scenes.

I don’t have a release date quite yet but it is coming J

    Nuri couldn’t sleep; the straw mattress was hard and lumpy. She had kept a candle burning, an extravagance, but she needed the dim light to stop the stark stone walls of the cell from crowding in on her. She turned and she tossed, but it was her mind that would not allow her to sleep.

Thoughts of Maras kept turning in her brain. She had seen his pale eyes warm when he looked at her, and her skin burned at his touch. He would leave her when the season changed and the storms blew over the mountain, but until then he was hers. With a sigh, she threw back the blankets and got off the narrow bed. She shivered as her feet touched the chilly stone floor of the cell. These small rooms were the guest accommodation for Farran Chapel, but they felt more like prison cells. There was one high window that was closed with a wooden shutter, the gray walls, and the floor – everything stark and hard, especially the bed.

Mayhap Erebus was right. Perhaps he could see her more clearly than she could see herself. For at that moment, she would have given nearly anything to have the courage to walk into Maras’s room. The more she thought about it, the more she came to believe she and Maras were destined to be together – not forever, but until the rain came. 

She wanted him. She wanted him to hold, kiss, and touch her. She wanted him in every way, even if it put her on the path that Erebus feared so much. Maras made her feel alive. Galfridus wanted her to marry, but she knew she would not, as no other man could measure up to her angel.

She stood next to the wall that adjoined their rooms, and placed her flattened hand against it. Her courage had failed her. What if she went to him and he turned her away?

~* * *~

Maras stood by the gray stone wall and placed his hand on it. He could hear Nuri moving about the room, restless. It took all his determination to stop himself from going to her. He knew that he was leaving, and that he had no right to complicate her life, as he would never be able to share his own with her. But with each passing day, he was drawn more and more to her beauty and her quiet, gentle spirit. He treasured the moments when she would lift her head and smile at him, the way her hands would glide over his skin and make it tingle. From the moment he had seen her, he had tried to fight the overwhelming desire to feel her arms about him, to taste her lips, to take her.

Nuri made him feel wanted and needed. It was a feeling that he had long forgotten. She made him feel...human.

He stood in his dark cell and wondered what she would do if he went to her, even though he didn’t have the right. Would she welcome him to her embrace, to her bed, or would she turn him away?

If she did, wouldn’t that destroy him?

~* * *~

Erebus had waited until the lonely hours after midnight before he silently crept into the guesthouse. Without a sound, he let himself into the cell next to Nuri. He leaned his body flat against the adjoining wall, and listened to the girl toss and turn in her bed. Pressing his smooth cheek against the rough stone, he wished he had the ability to melt through the wall so he could watch her every movement. He told himself that he would endure this vigil to make sure that Maras would not take advantage...not take her purity. It was his duty to keep her safe from the devil with the silver hair and pale eyes. He knew in his soul that there was something different, something wrong about Maras – something not human. He was a demon among his fold, preying on the innocent, preying on Nuri.

He heard her get out of bed and cross the floor. He pictured in his head her slim form, dressed in a long white shift.  Did the shift cover her shapely ankles? Did it slide innocently off her soft shoulder, exposing her creamy skin? The images tormented and fascinated him. He wondered what it would feel like to run his fingers across her shoulder, to kiss her perfect mouth.

He took a deep breath and shook the images from his head. The pictures in his mind were sent to torment him. The demon was at work.

He would be strong; he would not fail. It was his duty to protect Nuri from temptation. He would protect her soul, even if he had to crush her body to do it.

 

Thanks for visiting!

Nicóle  xx

www.nicolehurley-moore.com

 Image - Bigstock

 

 

Hmmm...

Hi everyone!

Well, so much for my grand plan of finishing my current work in progress  by the end of August. Unfortunately, things got in the way. Midnight's Masque is close but still not finished. The word count is slowly creeping up but I still have one chapter to write. Hopefully, I'll be able to finish it soon as I have a heap of other stories which are all crying out to be written.

Dancing on Air will be released by Escape Publishing on the 1st of November. I'm so excited, I can't put it into words.

Dancing on Air is the story of  Lisette and her love, Lord Evander Gainswith.

A Victorian ballerina yearns for freedom, security and love. Three men offer her aspects of what she desires, but only one holds her heart. Lord Evander Gainswith has a colourful past – he has never fallen in love before. He wants a mistress. However, just like in the ballet, Lisette wants a fairytale ending. But the sinister Lord De Vale, who is confidante and paramour to Lisette’s Aunt and guardian, covets her. To survive Lisette discovers she needs more than a lover  – she may need a saviour.

It was pointed out to me that Evander has an older brother who doesn't recognise love - even when it's standing right in front of him. And perhaps Lord Alistair Gainswith was in need of his own story. As did Evander's friend, Lord Harry Tollworth. Harry has already caused a scandal in Dancing on Air with his ardent pursuit of Lizzy (Lady Eliza Beckworth). He has  kissed Lizzy publicly in front of her fiancée, been responsible for causing a duchess to faint and  been challenged to a duel - how could I not write about him? 

So my head is spinning with new plots and stories, none of which I can start until I manage to resolve Mathias and Sophia's little problem in Midnight's Masque.

Sophia’s life is a lie. With a sham marriage and the need to produce an heir, Sophia uses a masquerade to find a mate. She wants a night of passion, anonymity and no ties, but Lord Mathias Eldridge spins her senses and makes her wish for the impossible – love.

 Hmmm... better lock myself in the turret and get writing.

Thanks for stopping by.

 

 

Nicóle  xx

www.nicolehurley-moore.com

 

Image - Bigstock.