Today I am so pleased to welcome Elric Shaw to Joyfully Jay. Elric has come to talk to us about his latest release, The Necromancer’s Prisoner. He has also brought along a great giveaway. Please join me in giving him a big welcome!
Exclusive Excerpt
Desperate to ignore the flutter in his gut at Alistair’s golden-eyed appraisal, Iggie focused on the paladin’s untouched dinner platter. “You really should eat something. If you think going on a hunger strike proves anything beyond your own stubbornness, then you’re sorely mistaken.”
“Thanks, but I’m good.” Right on cue, Alistair’s stomach rumbled. At least, he had the decency to look abashed.
Iggie rolled his eyes. “You act like you think I’m trying to poison you.” When Alistair didn’t respond, shock rippled through him. “Shadow and shade, you actually believe I would do that?”
“The thought crossed my mind,” Alistair muttered. “But—”
Iggie strode across the room, grabbed a hunk of meat from Alistair’s platter, and bit savagely into it. He glared at Alistair as he chewed.
The paladin huffed and crossed his arms. “Fine. I know you’re not trying to poison me.”
Swallowing the too-big bite of meat with a grimace, Iggie asked, “Then, what is it?”
Alistair hesitated. Instead of answering Iggie’s question, he said quietly, “What happened to your parents? Does it have something to do with why you’re hiding out here?”
Iggie’s mouth fell open. He stared at the paladin for a lengthy beat, too surprised to respond. Then, he put two and two together. “That was you at my door, wasn’t it?”
Alastair’s guilty expression was all the confirmation he needed.
“How dare you! I save your life, give you a place in my home, and you spy on me?”
“Can you blame me for being curious?” Alistair retorted. “I was planning to confront you about my missing gear until I heard you talking.” He raised an eyebrow. “Besides, isn’t that why you’re down here—to scout out the enemy?”
“I don’t know why I came down here anymore.” Iggie stalked past the paladin toward the stairs leading to the great hall, struggling to keep a firm grip on his embarrassment. Shadow and shade, just how much of my recent monologue did he hear? “Not that I owe you any explanation for my actions. This is my tower, not yours. I don’t need a reason to move about it.”
“My parents are both dead, too.”
The lingering sadness in Alistair’s voice froze Iggie in place. His heartbeat thrummed in his throat, begging him to keep moving—to get away from the Dark-cursed paladin so he could rein in his jumbled thoughts. But Alistair didn’t give him the chance.
“I never knew my mother. She died giving birth to me. I’m told she was beautiful though—always smiling and laughing. My father was never the same after that, or so I heard. They said it was like the joy in him died along with her.”
Iggie slowly turned to face Alistair. They locked eyes, and for once, those amber orbs felt wholly mortal, the emotion within them as raw as the tension stifling Iggie’s own chest.
Blurb
Hearts of Allaria, Book 1
When Light meets Dark, the resulting conflagration may burn bright…or fizzle to ash.
Alistair became a paladin to honor his father’s legacy. While he’s never been particularly devout, he’s determined to live up to the responsibility of his station. His first solo mission sounded simple enough: purge the undead terrorizing a remote mountain village and bring the wicked necromancer controlling them to justice. But when he winds up captured, he begins to suspect that the village faces a far greater threat than a few skeletons…and that his strange captor might need protecting just as badly.
Paladins have hunted Ignatius his entire life. His crime—daring to be born with the wrong kind of magic. Ostracized from society, he has spent years on the run with only his undead for company. The mountains seemed like the perfect place to seek refuge for the winter…until an obnoxiously handsome paladin arrives on his doorstep. Ignatius expects to loathe Alistair like the rest of his arrogant kin; however, when a harsh winter storm forces them together, he finds himself opening up to the paladin in ways he’d never dreamed possible.
Alistair and Ignatius both have every reason not to trust the other. Alistair is a paladin of the Light while Ignatius is a necromancer of the Dark. Yet, as mysterious magic threatens to eradicate the nearby village, they have little choice except to combine forces if they hope to survive. But can a paladin and a necromancer really set aside their differences for the greater good…or will the rift between them prove impossible to ever bridge?
The Necromancer’s Prisoner is a standalone M/M fantasy romance novel set in the Hearts of Allaria shared universe.
Bio
Florida refugee living in upstate New York with his longtime boyfriend. World of Warcraft survivor. Dungeons & Dragons/Pathfinder aficionado. Lover of tea, Star Trek, all things fantasy, and sappy gay love stories (also Titanic).
Website: https://www.elricshaw.com/
Mailing List Signup: https://www.elricshaw.com/signup
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elricshaw
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Giveaway
To celebrate the release of The Necromancer’s Prisoner, Elric is giving away a Signed Paperback, and an e-copy of the release! Enter the Rafflecopter giveaway for your chance to win!
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Welcome, Elric, and congratulation on the release of The Necromancer’s Prisoner. Best wishes for its success!