This week, we’re welcoming historical romance author Ginger Myrick, whose novel El REY, is a 16th century story of love set in the Iberian Peninsuala. Join us Sunday, when Ginger will be here to talk about the novel and offer a copy to a lucky winner. Here's the blurb:
Winner of the Rosetta Literary Contest 2012 from a field of worldwide
submissions, the soul-stirring novelette, The Converso: A Tale From Renaissance
Iberia, was adapted from a chapter in this stunning work of historical
fiction by Ginger Myrick. Written in the the tradition of classic
period romance from such authors as the Bronte
sisters, Anya Seton, and Jean Plaidy, and set against the
backdrop of 16th century Portugal and Spain at the dawn of the dynamic Age of
Exploration, EL REY boasts an inspiring cast of courageous characters that will
touch your heart and capture your imagination. At its core is the turbulent
love story between Inez García and El Rey.
Inez is the outspoken, independent daughter of a wealthy merchant who
fled the Spanish Inquisition and a domineering mother of English noble stock
with secrets of her own. At a dinner party in his honor, she falls in love with
El Rey, a dashing, charismatic sea captain with a golden voice who has spent his
life expanding the Portuguese empire. He is nephew of the King of Portugal with
blood ties to the illustrious royal houses of Castile’s Queen Isabella and
England’s King Henry VIII.
Inez and El Rey strike up an immediate friendship and discover that
they have much in common. Inez has spent her childhood in the shadow of her
beautiful elder sister, Serafina, so when El Rey befriends her based on her own
merits, she vows that she will never love another. Captivated by her spirited
charm and mesmerized by her bewitching silver and gold eyes, El Rey promises to
one day return and ask for Inez’s hand in marriage. Though misfortune, class
prejudice, and El Rey’s foolish pride conspire to keep them apart, life’s
disappointments only make Inez more determined to seek out the elusive
happiness in which she has never stopped believing.
But it is much, much more than just a love story.
EL REY is a sweeping family saga worthy of Colleen McCullough or James
Michener. Interwoven in the main body of the work are four meticulously
researched narratives representative of the time. Spanning three continents and
two centuries in the history of the warring kingdoms of medieval Portugal and
Castile, the vignettes chronicle the heroic struggles of three families to
overcome racial discrimination, murder, plague, war, and the Spanish
Inquisition. Filled with food and travel, and tempered with humor, tenderness,
and tragedy, this intriguing story tells the timeless tale of the triumph of
true love and the resilience of the human spirit.
EL REY has something in it for everyone. You will
laugh, and you will cry. No one who reads this book will remain unaffected.
**An Excerpt from EL REY**
As they
stepped outside, they saw El Rey swinging down from his mount. He casually
tossed the reins to a waiting groom, and as he flipped his hair back over his
shoulder, his face was revealed. Striding toward them in his cool, self-assured
manner was the most beautiful man Inez had ever seen. Her head swam, and she
found it difficult to breathe. In an attempt to keep her pounding heart a
secret, she dropped her gaze and inconspicuously inched behind her mother. From
there she peeked out to get a better look.
Inez had
expected ‘The King’ to be a giant of a man, but that was not the case. The
confidence that radiated from him added to his stature, but in reality he was
only slightly taller than the average man. His long tenure as a sea captain had
left him well-muscled and broad-shouldered yet still slender. His hair fell to
the middle of his back and was dark and glossy as a raven’s wing. The dark eyes
that peered from his sculpted face sparkled with intelligence and humor, and
their slight almond shape lent an exotic cast to his extraordinary visage. He
had a prominent Roman nose, which on another might have been a distraction but
on him was not uncomely and suited his face. As he drew closer, his face broke
into a smile showing strong white teeth, and Inez had to catch her breath.
“Senhor García,” began El Rey in
Portuguese, bending slightly at the waist. “At last we meet, and what a
pleasure it is. And this enchanting creature?” he asked, turning to Joanna.
“Your daughter I presume?”
She
giggled like a young girl as he bowed over her hand with a courtly flourish and
grazed it with his lips. “Por favor, Señor,”
she stressed in Castilian, “Your flattery is well-intended, but I am far past
the age to believe it. Welcome to our home. May I present our daughter,” she
said and pushed Inez to the fore.
Inez,
feeling completely exposed, kept her head down and dropped a curtsey. “Pleased
to meet you, Señor,” she mumbled. She tried but could not bring herself to look
him in the face, fearing that if she did, he would read her thoughts.
Finally,
to her relief her father said, “Well then, shall we go inside?”
Learn more about Ginger at:
