“May I kiss you now?” he asked, his eyes clear, present, locked onto her own.
“Yes,” she replied.
And he did.
They came together and the colors became brighter, wilder, like to one of the canvases of his gallery, a place beyond past or future. A thousand undreamed possibilities opened before them—and Lily knew that she had come home.
A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR
Thank you for reading. If you enjoyed The Fire in the Glass, consider helping other readers discover it by writing a review at your favorite online retailer. Your word-of-mouth is how independent writer-publishers like myself can keep producing books that break the mold.
Want more? Join the email list at jacquelynbenson.com or follow me on Amazon or Goodreads to receive notifications of new releases. (Yes, that includes plans for further adventures for Lily and Strangford.) You can also stay in touch @jbensonink on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.
You might also like my debut novel, The Smoke Hunter, a swashbuckling feminist historical adventure nominated for Best Historical Fiction of 2016 by RT Book Reviews.
THE SMOKE HUNTER
Frustrated suffragette and would-be archaeologist Ellie Mallory stumbles across a map to a city that shouldn’t exist, a jungle metropolis alive and flourishing centuries after the Mayan civilization mysteriously collapsed. Discovering it would make her career, but Ellie isn’t the only one after the prize. A disgraced professor and his ruthless handler are hot on her heels, willing to go any extreme to acquire the map for themselves.
To race them through the uncharted jungle, Ellie needs a guide. The only one with the expertise is maverick surveyor Adam Bates. But with his determination to nose his way into Ellie’s many secrets, Bates is a dangerous partner.
As Ellie gets closer to her goal, she realizes it’s not just her ambitions at stake. A powerful secret lies hidden in the heart of the city-and if it falls into the wrong hands, it could shake the very fate of the world.
Sound delicious? Get your copy here.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
There are many who need to be thanked for their part in this book. Howard Morhaim gave straight-talk and sage edits. Anna “Bruiser” Brown offered great advice on realistically getting your butt kicked—any remaining implausibilities in the fight scenes of this book are my own choice, not her lack of razor-sharp battle skills. My readers provided invaluable feedback on earlier drafts of this novel. This story is greater because of their contribution—so extend your gratitude to Chris Mornick, Sheri-Lynne Hinton, Mike Dunbar, Cathie Plante, Jasmin Hunter and Danica Carlson.
Cathie Plante gets additional props for her careful and elegant layout of the print and e-book editions of this work. With her brilliant eye and boundless creativity, Sara Argue is the only person I could imagine conceiving of the cover.
Of course, the greatest thanks goes to my wonderful Dan, whose patience with many late nights spent rattling a keyboard or talking his ear off over some tangle in the plot cannot be measured. Additional appreciation is extended to Tula and Henry for refraining from spilling juice on my laptop.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jacquelyn Benson writes smart historical thrillers where strong women wrangle with bold men and confront the stranger things that occupy the borders of our world. She once lived in a museum, wrote a master’s thesis on the cultural anthropology of paranormal investigation, and received a gold medal for being clever. She owes a great deal to her elementary school librarian for sagely choosing to acquire the entire Time-Life Mysteries of the Unknown series.
Her debut novel, The Smoke Hunter, was nominated for Best Historical Fiction by RT Times. When not writing, she enjoys the company of a tall, dark and handsome English teacher and practices unintentional magic.
If you’d like to be friends:
Join the email list on her website
Follow her on Goodreads
Find her on social media: Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
A Note from the Author
The Smoke Hunter
Acknowledgments
About the Author
The Fire in the Glass Page 50
