Happy Monday, friends. What
a great start to the week. Please join me in my excitement as I share the cover
of His Princess, the third book in the Men of Valor historical romance series
set in West Africa. The ebook is out July 20, 2012 published by Breathless
Press.
As
always, I love what my cover artist has done here. While the cover for His
Treasure is still my favourite, this one comes a very close second. I just love
it. Don’t you?
Book Blurb:
With the weight of a kingdom on his shoulders and his honour at stake, can a Prince truly love a slave? Ezinne is dismayed when her mistress presents her to Prince Emeka as a concubine to cater for his every need for a few weeks. She’s a slave whose previous encounters with men make her fear their brutality.
Yet the more she gets to know the powerful yet honourable prince, the easier he breaks down the walls around her heart. She soon comes to want him more than she wants anything else, even freedom.
But Emeka is the heir to the throne and Ezinne is a woman with secrets that threaten not just their budding relationship but a kingdom.
Book Excerpt:
As if he’d conjured her up by thinking
about her, Nonye walked into Emeka’s obi
at that moment. A smile creased his lips as he watched her glide into the room.
Nonye was a consummate princess. She was born and bred as one. There was no
doubt as to her status and sophistication when she walked into a room. All eyes
gravitated toward her.
Except today it wasn’t entirely true.
There was another girl following closely behind Nonye. The moment, he glimpsed
the girl entering his outer chamber, his eyes focused on her.
His heart practically stopped in his
chest. Mentally he shook his head and berated himself for staring. A warm
sensation spread through him. His body’s response undeniable; the girl roused
him as only one other person had been able to.
Yet, it couldn’t possibly be her.
The girl was the most stunning woman
he’d ever seen. It occurred to him there was something familiar about her but
he couldn’t pinpoint it. He’d seen her somewhere but wasn’t sure where.
Was she one of the Ichies’ daughters? Perhaps a princess from another kingdom?
He noted that even Amobi was staring
appreciatively at the girl. A vice tightened Emeka's gut, jealousy spreading
through him.
Nonye curtsied in front of him. He
indicated for her to rise up, his stomach churning, spreading guilt through
him. What am I doing ogling another
woman? I’m a married man. I was raised by my father to value marriage.
Moreover he’d made a promise to work at keeping a good relationship with his
wife, Nonye. Yet here he was blatantly admiring another woman in her presence.
His disgust for his actions left the bitter taste of bile on his tongue.
Forcing himself to, he turned toward
Nonye and smiled, taking her hand to guide her to her chair next to his. When
she smiled back at him, his guilt eased a little. Yes, his marriage wasn’t
perfect but he was committed to it. Nonye was a beautiful woman, though there
were certain behaviors of hers he didn’t like. He’d already made a vow to
himself that they would work through whatever issues they had together.
Though every pore of his body was aware
of the other woman still standing in front of him, he decided to ignore her and
keep his eyes on Nonye. He needed the woman gone as soon as possible and
wondered why Nonye would bring her to his chamber.
He couldn’t keep his irritated nerves
from reflecting in his voice. “Nonye, I was in a meeting with Amobi. Is there
something you need from me?”
“Please forgive me, my prince, but I
need a private audience with you.” Nonye batted her doe eyes at him, her face
screwed up in a frown.
His guilt rose again. His grip tightened
on his chair armrest. He’d never raised his voice to Nonye, yet because of
another woman’s presence, he was so riled, he’d lost his temper.
That was no good. He needed to take back
control of his person. Loosening his grip, he extended his arm and took Nonye’s
hand in his.
Amobi said, “My prince, I think we’ve
concluded our discussion. If it pleases you, I’ll come back another time.”
Emeka nodded in agreement. His friend was
nothing if not diplomatic. Nonye knew better than to interrupt him when he was
in a meeting with his special adviser except if the reason was of utmost
important and urgency.
“Amobi, thank you for your time. I’ll
speak to you later.” Emeka waved his hand to dismiss Amobi and the personal
guards who always stood behind his chair.
When they left the room, Nonye indicated
for the girl to approach. The moment he turned to look at the girl again, his
sight was riveted to her. She was indeed the most beautiful maiden he’d seen.
She had very long braided black hair, twisted and decorated with beads in a
pile on her head.
Her face was heart-shaped with
almond-shaped beguiling brown eyes, a small nose and full sumptuous lips. Her
skin glowed like polished ebony wood and the decorative uli on her body
enhanced her beauty. Several rows of elephant tusk beads hung around her neck
partly covering her full breasts, indicating she was an unwed maiden.
More beads hung around her waist,
accentuating her slim midriff. Her wrapped ornate thick-woven skirt flared over
her round hips and stopped just above her knees. There were more beads on her
lower legs and ankles. She was dressed almost similar to a young bride on her
wedding day.
Emeka wondered what she was doing here. Does she come to seek my blessing?
Somehow the thought of the girl marrying some unknown man had his heart
constricting again in jealous rage.
Who is she?
***
So what do you think? Do you love the cover/excerpt?
Share your thoughts, please. Me, I can’t wait for the 20th. J
Fabulous cover. Love the strong profile of your heroine and as usual he is hot!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Yazmin. Ezinne is a strong heroine and well represented in the image.
ReplyDeleteYou're a busy woman. Sounds like another good story, and I love the cover!
ReplyDelete*screams*
ReplyDeleteI can't wait for July 20!
Wow!
ReplyDeleteDelaney, you're funny. You're one of the hardest working authors I know. I'm trying to keep up with you. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteCosmicyoruba and Henza, thank you.
Great cover! Sounds wonderful too. Can't wait to read it. :-)
ReplyDeleteRhonda, thank you! :)
DeleteIt is a gorgeous cover! And that man has a massive chest! Ooh, baby!
ReplyDeleteLOL. You can say that again. Thanks for stopping by, Lara.
DeleteLovely cover, intruiging excerpt. Can't wait!
ReplyDeleteMyne, thank you. :)
DeleteGreat cover, and this sounds a fab story!
ReplyDeleteThank you, D.
DeleteI love the cover! I think it's the best yet! Good luck on the launch! :D
ReplyDeleteThank you. I think it's the best too. But I love His Treasure more cause it was my first ever book. :)
DeleteWow, I love the cover and am sure looking forward to the 20th
ReplyDeleteRoll on 20th! Thank you. :)
DeleteWell done Kiru. Just like Myne Whitman, you are my inspiration.
ReplyDeleteI'm humbled. Thank you so much for the vote of confidence. I wish you all the best with your writing. :)
DeleteWhy oh why did I just murder sleep till the 20th of July? Kiru, are you absolutely sure we can't move the date forward? Its my doctor asking! Well done chica!
ReplyDeleteThank you, ma'am. Please try to get some sleep o. The 20th soon comes. :)
DeleteKiru--great cover! But...I just peaked at His Treasure--wowza! Yum! Best of luck with all your books. Wishing you many sales. :)
ReplyDeleteLOL. Exactly. Now you know why I love that cover too. Thanks for stopping by, Stacey.
DeleteWoh, gorgeous cover Kiru. What lies between those pages?
ReplyDeleteDenise
Thank you, Denise!
DeleteI really like the cover too, Kiru. At first, I was a bit ambivalent about it. But the more I look at it, I find stuff I like. For instance, they aren't facing each other and gazing dreamily into eachother's eyes lol (at least, not yet) because their feelings for each other have to be concealed, initially. Right? She has to act aloof, and he has to pretend he doesn't feel anything deeper for her, and that the whole thing is just a tryst.
ReplyDeleteMaybe, I'm getting ahead of myself :-/
Argh! I can't wait for this one missy! July 20th, you say? So far away. :-(
LOL. You got it on one, Geri.
DeleteI love your cover and blurb, Kiru. Looks like another gorgeous love story coming.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Kathleen!
DeleteA beautiful cover and the images go well with the secret love story of a prince and the slave girl.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Rek!
Delete