Bond of Fire - Diane Whiteside
I always knew my Texas vampires had to represent Texas’s original foundations, one way or another. Surprisingly, a hero has always stepped forward in this saga, bringing his own story to incorporate a key element of Texas’s past. Don Rafael carries Spain’s ancient glories, both glamorous and bittersweet, while Gray Wolf adds Native Americans’ rich wisdom. Ethan Templeton – well, you’ll learn about him in BOND OF DARKNESS.
But other ethnic groups arrived long ago. For example, the flag of France once flew over part of Texas. That’s right: seventeenth-century France, the land of the Sun King, Versailles with its Hall of Mirrors, creator of impregnable fortresses, once set claim to Texas. Being French, they even named their ship La Belle, or The Beautiful One, rather than giving her a more bloodthirsty or religious name. Wonder what LaSalle and his men thought when they arrived on the southeastern coast to find a landscape infested by alligators?
On the other hand, perhaps Frenchmen were the best equipped to cope with alligators. After all, those amphibians are silent killers who lurk in the dark to ambush their prey with razor-sharp blades, dragging them down into the depths never to be seen again. It almost sounded like what the worst sort of gossipmonger or social climber would do at the deadliest court in Europe.
But other ethnic groups arrived long ago. For example, the flag of France once flew over part of Texas. That’s right: seventeenth-century France, the land of the Sun King, Versailles with its Hall of Mirrors, creator of impregnable fortresses, once set claim to Texas. Being French, they even named their ship La Belle, or The Beautiful One, rather than giving her a more bloodthirsty or religious name. Wonder what LaSalle and his men thought when they arrived on the southeastern coast to find a landscape infested by alligators?
On the other hand, perhaps Frenchmen were the best equipped to cope with alligators. After all, those amphibians are silent killers who lurk in the dark to ambush their prey with razor-sharp blades, dragging them down into the depths never to be seen again. It almost sounded like what the worst sort of gossipmonger or social climber would do at the deadliest court in Europe.
Suddenly Jean-Marie appeared in my head, as if he’d walked out of the
Versailles swamp to make a better life in Texas. Silver tongued, handsome survivor of that deadly court. Superb spy and assassin. Haunted eyes and unbelievably loyal to his few friends.Above all else, always in love with one woman – and only one. No matter how long it took or how many trials, he’d wrestle the Devil himself to win her: Hélène d’Agelet, named for the woman whose face launched a thousand ships and the French astronomer who witnessed a star going nova. The most beautiful woman in his world and the light in his darkness.
BOND OF FIRE explores the silky tensions, knife-edged danger, and bedrock fidelity, found in both French history and today’s Texas. I hope you enjoy its world as much as I do!
You can read excerpts from BOND OF FIRE here.
http://dianewhiteside.com/books/texas-vampires/bond-of-fire/
Diane Whiteside
http://www.dianewhiteside.com/
posted by Heather Waters at 8:57 AM
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