“For those who were born before or after their time…”
That described Pam. She’d always felt that she’d been born too late—there was no chivalry in the world anymore.
She’d only wanted to commune with the universe while reading a “moon rhyme” in the antique book she’d purchased from the local New Age shop. She had not expected guests—especially not Jasper and Margaret, summoned one hundred years into the future by the rhyme just as Jasper was proposing to Margaret.
Now the displaced visitors insist that they be returned to 1910, and Pam and her roommate Robin agree—an Internet check confirms that Margaret and Jasper were married by year end, 1910. But the rhyme won’t work until the next moon cycle, and in the intervening month, forbidden love blooms between Pam and Jasper, and Robin and Margaret.
They all know they can’t fight the inevitability of history. Margaret and Jasper must return to their proper time, and all must spend the rest of their lives dealing with the heartache of loving someone long since dead, or not yet born. At the appointed hour, Pam re-enacts the recital of the rhyme that brought the time-crossed couples together…but it doesn’t work exactly as planned.
She gave up everything to become a Salbine Sister, member of a religious order of powerful female mages. But when Maddy nearly dies while trying to draw forth elemental fire, she learns that Salbine has withdrawn from her the gifts every sister works to master. Feeling trapped in an order to which she no longer has any right to belong and believing herself unworthy of the love of Lillian, one of the most powerful mages in the sisterhood, Maddy begs the abbess to let her travel to another monastery to research her condition.
On her journey, Maddy’s faith in both herself and Salbine are tested to their limits. When she attempts to draw fire and fails horribly, frightened townsfolk throw Maddy into prison. Fearing that the abbess will never learn her fate and rescue her, Maddy resigns herself to a short and brutal life.
The only bright spot in Maddy’s existence is Emmey, the pickpocket with whom she shares a cell. Through her and the steadfast love of Lillian, Maddy learns that Salbine’s purpose is not always the same for everyone, and that love and compassion are more valuable than magic.
A contemporary romance novelette
University roommates Rachel and Barb met in their high school’s zodiac club, where they spent hours doing their Scorpio charts and became best friends. Now Rachel has fallen in love with Barb, but Barb is dating the sultry Carla. When Barb and Carla experience problems, Rachel is uncomfortable with being Barb’s confidante, especially since Barb’s relationship issues involve sex. Finding it more and more difficult to hide her feelings and remain impartial, Rachel reaches her breaking point and makes an agonizing decision.
Available now at:
Torquere Books
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The Rymellan Series (science fiction)
