ROGUE DRAGON RISING (Outside the Veil, #1)
“Taming a dragon’s heart to protect a fragile future.”
BLURB
Twenty-three year old, AMARI HAWKE, is thrust into the world of two-soul shifters when she is injured and kidnapped by trackers outside the veil, beyond the safety of her homeland. Unable to remember her past, she trusts no one and relies on instinct to survive. As her awakening approaches, the first time she will transition into her animal, she must evade rogue shifters trying to capture her.
Now free from the King’s Army, powerful dragon lord, JAXON BLACKTHORN, seeks a peaceful life. Intent on building his lands into a viable plantation, away from war and bloodshed, he is reluctantly pulled back into the fight when he defends the mysterious shifter with no past against an unseen enemy.
As evil threatens to destroy the entire realm, can the battle-hardened warrior and coming-of-age noblewoman accept their differences to forge an alliance that will ultimately unite the shifter nations?
EXCERPT
“Deep in thought?”
His baritone voice rolled over Amari and soaked into her skin, fostering the hair on her arms to rise. She inhaled a breath to gather her thoughts and lifted her head. A small gasp slipped out before she could catch it, and any further attempt to draw air into her lungs ceased over the larger-than-life male consuming her vision.
Wearing tan pants and a white collared shirt, Lord Jaxon Blackthorn sat astride a magnificent black beast, his elbow resting on the saddle horn. His mount shifted, and his body compensated with an easy grace. The suns at his back cast him in a muted glow, accentuating his cheekbones and rugged jawline. A breeze kicked strands of black hair across his face in a wildness that pleased her. The man before her would never be mistaken for a sheep, and her body hummed in appreciation.
“Resting,” she gasped out, wondering when her lungs would start working again.
Lord Blackthorn glanced toward the others. “By yourself?”
“I like being alone,” she said with a small shrug. Fidgeting under his stare, she would have squirmed out of her skin and fled into the surrounding forest if possible. Running trembling fingers through her hair, she concentrated on keeping her heart from thumping out of her chest.
He followed her movements, and she sizzled inside. Her head wound must be more severe than she thought because no sane woman would be excited over the hungered focus of this predator.
AWARDS
- 2018 — Great Beginnings contest WINNER
- 2017 — TARA contest WINNER
- 2017 — Sheila contest WINNER
- 2017 — Rudy contest WINNER
- 2017 — Hook, Line, and Sinker second place contest finalist
- 2017 — Lone Star Writing Competition third place finalist
REVIEWS
“From the first page, I knew this was going to be a breathtaking fantasy romance. I fell in love with both Amari and Jaxson, their attraction immediate and made my heart flutter. As the story unfolds, the world Shaw creates comes to life.” N.N. LIGHT’S BOOK HEAVEN
“I found the story intriguing.” EDITOR MARY ALTMAN, SOURCEBOOKS
“I was immediately drawn into the story and anxious to learn more about the heroine and hero.” EDITOR EL FELDER, THE WILD ROSE PRESS
“The author shows a perfected skill with dialogue that moves the plot ahead and reveals character in ways narrative and description cannot. The compulsion to turn the page stays with the reader from start to finish.” TARA CONTEST JUDGE