Saturday Sampler - An Uncommon Love by M.J. Schiller

Blurb for AN UNCOMMON LOVE~

Princess Adriana had her life all figured out.  Or, to be more precise, she had her life all figured out for her.  Before she was even born she was betrothed to Garin, and that was perfectly acceptable as he became her childhood friend, and then, eventually, the person she would swap kisses with inside the palace gardens.  She never questioned it, never had a reason to, until the day a commoner was brought before her father, the King, to be punished.

As soon as Adriana’s eyes connect with Seth’s across the stone courtyard, she begins to question everything in her life.  For his part, Seth Hobbes is confused about his feelings for the beautiful princess who refuses to match any of his preconceived notions of what a princess should be like, starting when Adriana begs her father to release him.  When Seth creeps into the castle at night to thank her, they begin to build a relationship with one another that is often as explosive as it is endearing.  When fate ends up separating the two, they must undertake a long and arduous journey to be reunited and then overcome the objections Adriana’s father has to their relationship.  Will Adriana be able to make Seth see her for herself and not as the princess that he imagines?  And if she does, will she ever be able to convince her father that, despite his objections, there is nothing “common” about Seth at all?

 Excerpt~

               “Wait!” Adriana shouted, her voice ringing out across the expanse. Without even realizing she was doing it, she had stepped out of the shadows and into the open courtyard.

               “Adriana!” The king gave Garin a hard stare. “What are you doing here?”

               “Father.” She caught her breath. “You asked me what I wanted this morning for my birthday—” She thought quickly, chancing a glance at the prisoner, who was peering at her now with wide eyes, his mouth hanging open a bit. 

               “Ana—” The king responded affectionately, and, while dismissive, his voice sounded more like what the princess was used to, “—we can discuss this at dinner.” He turned to go inside.

               Angered by his condescension, she struggled to contain her voice. “Nay, Father!”

He turned and stared at her, eyebrows lifted.

               She stepped forward so as not to be heard by the crowd. “Papa,” she cajoled, switching gears, “I want you to free this man, please!”

               “What?” He took another look at the commoner bound before him. “What is this man to you, Ana?”

               Her cheeks blazed as if she had been sitting by the fire for hours. She purposefully did not look at the others, only peering into her father’s eyes. “Nothing, Father. Nothing.  I just… I do not wish to see him hurt.”

               “Ana, this is none of your business—” he began.

               “Father, this is my business,” Adriana stated firmly, but softened her voice, noting the anger spark in her father’s eyes. “This is your business, and so it is mine.” She stepped closer, almost within the shadow of the balcony. “I do not wish to anger you.” Now she chanced a glance backward and saw Derrick glaring at her with conspicuous irritation. “But, if I am to celebrate my birthday this evening, I cannot do it knowing this man is suffering.”

               “He will not be suffering long,” she heard Derrick murmur under his breath.

               “Are you sure this is what you want, my Ana? I had picked out something very special for you, a piece of jewelry from your mother’s collection.”

               “I am grateful, Father, as always, for your generosity. But I know all the work you have put into making this evening special for me, and I only wish to enjoy it as you meant for me to. I cannot do that knowing this man is to be tortured.” She gestured in his direction and then paused, holding her breath.

M.J. Schiller~

MJ is a lunch lady in the heart of Central Illinois. My gosh, can you get more folksy than that? She met her husband at the University of Missouri-Columbia and now she has an eighteen-year-old (how did that happen?) and sixteen year old triplets! She loves to read, karaoke (where she can pretend she is a rock star) and spends WAY too much time on Facebook. She grew up in St. Louis and still has family there.

You can find MJ Schiller at www.mjschillerauthor.blogspot.com, MJ on FB, twitter, Pinterest, and Goodreads.

You can find AN UNCOMMON LOVE at Amazon and BN.com.

 MJ is giving away 2 copies of her 4 books on this tour. That means there will be 8 winners. To enter, use the Rafflecopter below:

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