Fabulous and Brunette: Marian by Gayle Feyrer - Book Tour - Guest Post - Giveaway

Hi, lovelies!! It gives me great pleasure today to host Gayle Fyrer and her new book, “Marian,” here on FAB!! For other stops on her Goddess Fish Promotions Book Tour, please click on the banner above or any of the images in this post.

Be sure to make it to the end of this post to enter to win a $20 Amazon OR Barnes and Noble Gift Card!! Also, come back daily to interact with Gayle and to increase your chances of winning!!

Thanks for stopping by!! Wishing you all lots of good luck in this fabulous giveaway!!

Marian

by Gayle Feyrer

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GENRE: Historical Romance

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BOOK BLURB:

Warrior. Spy. Marian Montrose dons silk or chain mail with equal aplomb. Sent by Queen Eleanor on a mission to Nottingham, Marian is waylaid in Sherwood Forest by the infamous Robin Hood. Her companions are stripped of their riches, but from her, Robin steals only one brazen kiss.

Seething with anger at the thief’s presumption and the haunting memory of his searing embrace, Marian arrives at the castle to find the sophisticated and seductive Sir Guy of Guisbourne a welcome distraction. Guisbourne would be the perfect ally against the Sheriff and Prince John but he believes he’s already picked the winning side. Deft at games of intrigue, Marian discovers Guisbourne’s involved in plans to steal the ransom meant to free King Richard the Lionheart.

Conquering her misgivings, Marian returns to Sherwood and recruits Robin with the promise of a pardon for him and his men. Now they are allies in the fight to return the king, but Robin wants far more from Marian. First she resists his almost magical allure, then succumbs, then resists again, distrusting the elemental power he has over her. Guisbourne may be lethally dangerous, but Robin threatens to consume both her body and her soul.

Danger surrounds them. Betrayal separates them. But desire—and fate—will not be denied.

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EXCERPT ONE:

Simon of Vitry was a dead man. His rush was telling on him. In his eagerness for the kill, Vitry had expended too much energy. As he thrust at her again, he stumbled over a root. He recouped before she could counterattack, but Marian regained her balance and her surety. She saw that the great sword had grown heavy for him, showing its weight in his faltering backhand. Deliberately she edged around him, letting him follow with his strongest cuts, then quickly reversed direction, playing to his weakest maneuver. The backslash came at her, aiming to open her chest. She brought her own sword under his blade and turned it, then instantly drove her point home, taking him deep in the belly. Vitry screamed, surprise and outrage rising to a shrilling agony as she pulled her weapon free. With a surge of cold triumph she saw him fall to the ground. He lay at her feet, clutching the wound and thrashing. She did not answer when he begged her for his death.

Implacable as fate, Marian sat by the edge of the pool and watched Vitry die, wondering if her father had taken as long. After an hour it was over. Rising, she went to stand over his corpse. Though all around the bright May greenery fluttered in the breeze, looking down on him she felt encompassed by winter.

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GUEST POST:

Describe Your Book Cover and How it Came About:

I wanted a warrior Marian on the cover. I’d have settled for a gowned woman with a sword but a woman in battle gear was my first choice. I found photos women in armor too late for the period, and women in garb that was too fantastical. I liked the woman in the series of photos from which I picked the one I used. She had a simpler costume, rather Viking, but I decided that was as close as I was going to get, and my Marian has Viking ancestors. She also didn’t look totally incompetent, as many of the models did! She was a bit too pretty, but my original actress choice for Marian, Glynis Barber who played Soolin in Blakes 7, was also very pretty pretty. It was part of the point that Marian looked very feminine but was totally fierce. Peta Wilson would also have been a fabulous Marian. Or Jennifer Lawrence up until recently. I don’t have a current younger actress I can picture wielding those weapons.

So, I picked out a pose for Marian that suggested a forest backdrop and added a beautiful lush Sherwood like forest with a waterfall (sexy scene in the book). I wanted the two men she has to chose between. I needed them on the cover because it is central to the story, but also to warn the reader that there were two men. I didn’t set out to write a rule breaking romance—I came into the genre rather sideways, loving historical fiction and writing erotic fanfiction. I just wanted to write an exciting, sexy story with fascinating characters. But the heroine isn’t a virgin (sort of a rule). She has to choose between not just two men but two lovers (most definitely breaking a rule). So, I ended up with a love it or hate it romance. I hope your readers will at least be curious about which side they might land on. One reader declared it an abomination and said she spit on it! Really. Another wrote me a huge, long review about how she hunted for it forever after reading just a page and finally found it and it was as wonderful as she imagined, she loved all those broken rules, and it’s her favorite romance ever. Woo!

So, both men on the cover, portraits floating like memories. I found a reasonable Guy fairly easily. Both men’s faces are set into the forest greenery, but I made Guy’s surroundings darker, suggesting the entrance to the cave he visits with Marian. Robin was a huge problem. Most of the blond guys looked like goofy surfers. I finally picked the face you see on the cover and worked on intensifying his expression. The thing is, the face shot I preferred had him with wet hair. I had another that I didn’t like as well, but with loose long hair. So I spent, weeks, literally, pasting new hair bits onto the face I liked, over and over and over, trying to merge the flow, match the colors, get it to look real. It’s still a bit Art Nouveau! I also surrounded him with lighter greenery and tried to give him more of a magical golden aura.

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AUTHOR BIO:

Gayle Feyrer began drawing as soon as she could hold a crayon and writing when she was twelve. She holds a Bachelor's in Pictorial Arts from UCLA, and MFA from the University of Oregon in Creative Writing. In her varied career, she has been a tie dye artist, go-go dancer, baker, creator of ceramic beasties, illustrator, fiction teacher, and finally, novelist. A Libra with Scorpio Rising, Gayle’s romantic nature takes on a darker edge. She hopes these shadows bring depth to her romances.

A world traveler, Gayle has visited Paris, England and Italy numerous times. She lived for two years in Jakarta, Indonesia, with many trips around Asia. She currently resides across the bridge from San Francisco, with her husband and their two rescue cats, Charlotte and Emily, the Flying Bronte sisters, half Siamese and half tabby.

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CONNECT WITH GAYLE:

Website:

https://YvesFey.com

Email:

Yves@YvesFey.com

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/YvesFey

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/yves_fey

Marian Book Trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFi8uI8UZM8

Troubadour Song:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWiwFccrehs

Goodreads Author Page:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6836429.Gayle_Feyrer

Goodreads Book Page:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/138365379-marian

Amazon Author Page:

https://amzn.to/3P5248E

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AMAZON BOOK BUY LINKS:

Amazon US Kindle eBook:

https://amzn.to/3PBhAu4

Amazon US Paperback:

https://amzn.to/3PCQ9As

Amazon CA Kindle eBook:

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B0C39LRNP5

Amazon CA Paperback:

https://www.amazon.ca/Marian-Gayle-Feyrer/dp/B0CH22NHFD

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GIVEAWAY INFO:

Gayle will be awarding a $20 Amazon OR Barnes and Noble Gift Card (Winner’s Choice!!!) to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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This contest is sponsored by a third party. Fabulous and Brunette is a registered host of Goddess Fish Promotions. Prizes are given away by the sponsors and not Fabulous and Brunette. The featured author and Goddess Fish Promotions are solely responsible for the giveaway prize.