Blog Tour, Exclusive Excerpt & Giveaway:
Red Heir by Lisa Henry & Sarah Honey
Imprisoned pickpocket Loth isn’t sure why a bunch of idiots just broke into his cell claiming they’re here to rescue the lost prince of Aguillon, and he doesn’t really care. They’re looking for a redheaded prince, and he’s more than happy to play along if it means freedom. Then his cranky cellmate Grub complicates things by claiming to be the prince as well.
Now they’re fleeing across the country and Loth’s stuck sharing a horse and a bedroll with Grub while imitating royalty, eating eel porridge, and dodging swamp monsters and bandits.
Along the way, Loth discovers that there’s more to Grub than meets the eye. Under the dirt and bad attitude, Grub’s not completely awful. He might even be attractive. In fact, Loth has a terrible suspicion that he’s developing feelings, and he’s not sure what to do about that. He’d probably have more luck figuring it out if people would just stop trying to kill them.
Still, at least they’ve got a dragon, right?
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Hi everyone! This is Lisa and Sarah, and we’d like to thank you for joining us on our blog tour for our new release, Red Heir. We hope you have as much fun reading it as we had writing it! Today we’d like to share with you an excerpt from Red Heir. In this scene, Loth wakes up to a fingerdragon licking his face, and then his morning gets worse: Loth woke to something wet dragging across his face. “Gah!” He swatted blindly, and his hand touched scaly skin. Pie chirruped in his ear, far too cheerful for this early in the day. Loth sat up with a scowl. His sleep had been fitful, broken up with strange dreams of sitting on a throne while a crowd chanted imposter! imposter! Followed by a delightful episode of being chased through the Swamp of Death by a pack of wolves. Random jabs from Grub’s elbows had woken him as the boy had tossed and whined in the grip of his own dreams. Loth had ended up rolling over and wrapping himself firmly around Grub’s back, hoping it meant the boy would stop flailing for five minutes. Grub had grizzled and squirmed without ever waking, but eventually he’d settled and they’d both managed a few hours’ rest. It wasn’t enough. The bedroll next to him was empty, although there was a trace of body heat lingering there. Loth rubbed his eyes with the heel of his hand, attempting to wake up properly, and peered around the camp. It appeared he was the last to wake. The smell of the Swamp of Death was tempered slightly by the smell of something cooking, possibly eggs, and Loth nodded in unconscious approval. He hauled himself out of the bedroll and wandered off to the far edge of the campsite to relieve himself and was back just in time for Scott to thrust a plate at him. Loth was too tired for this. He peered at the contents. “What’s this?” Because it certainly wasn’t eggs. “Royal porridge, your Lordiness.” Loth supposed the lumpy mess might be called porridge, if porridge was having a very bad day. He prodded at it with a finger. It jiggled in a way food shouldn’t and smelled distinctly fishy. Loth hated fish. “I think I’ll pass.” Scott’s earnest-but-stupid face fell. “But I made it to the special recipe.” “Special recipe?” Scott nodded. “It’s the kind of porridge from the palace. Grub said it’s what you’d expect. It was just lucky we had everything in the cart.” Loth smelled a rat. A stinky, fishy rat. “Remind me what’s in here again? Just so I can be sure it’s proper Royal Porridge.” “Oats, honey, cinnamon…” Scott recited, as Loth nodded along. “And of course, the dried eel,” he added, and Loth’s stomach dropped. “He said it’s what royalty is raised on, your Princiness, and that you’d love every bite.” Loth noticed Grub watching them, smirking, and it fell into place. He should have known the little shit would try and get him back for the horse jokes. Loth sniffed the gooey, salty mixture. Oh, he was going to make the boy pay for this. “And so I shall,” he declared, and scooped up a huge bite, shoving it in his mouth before he could think better of it. He gulped convulsively in an effort to get it down his throat before his tastebuds noticed what he was doing. He failed. His mouth was filled with the conflicting taste of cinnamon and seawater, warm and thick and utterly gag-worthy. Normally Loth had no problem swallowing a salty treat, but the overriding flavour of eel ruined it somewhat. Still, he managed to get it down and keep it down, much to his relief. Ada was watching him far too closely for his liking, so he was forced to make a show of humming and licking the spoon. He peered into the bowl, fighting the frown at how much of it was left. He managed another three gut-churning spoons full before he begged off. “After all my time locked away, I fear my appetite has decreased,” he sighed. “Still, it’s a shame for it to go to waste. Perhaps Grub can have the rest, as thanks for remembering the recipe? I’ll wager you’ve never tasted anything like this before.” He thrust the bowl into Grub’s face and was rewarded with a scowl as the boy sniffed and went slightly green around the gills. “Come on now, eat up—it’s a treat!” he said, holding the spoon to Grub’s thinly pressed lips, an unspoken challenge. There was sheer murder in Grub’s eyes as he reluctantly took a bite, and then another, Loth shovelling the disgusting mess down his throat as fast as he could. Loth didn’t give him time to protest, pressing the spoon to his mouth like a determined mother forcing vegetables on an unhappy toddler. He wasn’t a complete monster though—he relented after four or five mouthfuls and dropped the spoon into the bowl. “Shame,” he sighed. “It’s gone cold, and it can’t be eaten cold. Still,” he said, giving Grub a particularly obnoxious smile. “I don’t expect this every morning Grub, but if you do make it again, I’ll be more than happy to share with you, as a thank you for this taste of home.” “It was a one-time thing. I don’t think there’s any more dried eel,” Grub gritted out through clenched teeth. “Oh well, in that case, I shall eat what everyone else has, like a commoner,” Loth said breezily. “Right. Like a commoner,” Grub said, still sullen, and stalked over to the other side of the camp, arms wrapped around himself. Loth followed and sidled up close to him because he hadn’t quite had the last word. “It was a good attempt, I’ll give you that,” he murmured out the side of his mouth, “but don’t try and play a player, my little equine eroticist.” Grub snorted at that one, and the corners of his mouth twitched up in what might have been a smile. He turned to Loth and unwrapped one arm from his body just enough to extend a hand. “Fair enough. Truce?” Loth looked down at the thin wrist, the delicate fingers, the pale skin still marred with ingrained dirt. Clearly Grub had been through a lot. Maybe, Loth pondered, just this once, he could try not being an absolute arse. He’d heard people managed it all the time. “Truce,” he decided, giving the hand a shake, “although I’ll have you know, I’ll be tasting eel for weeks. Special royal porridge, my eye.” “Oh, there is a special royal porridge,” Grub offered, smirking, “but it has fresh berries and cream, and it’s topped with hazelnuts, not fish.” What an odd thing for him to know.
To celebrate Lisa & Sarah’s release, we are giving 2 lucky winners the chance to win an e-copy of Red Heir!
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About Lisa:
Lisa likes to tell stories, mostly with hot guys and happily ever afters.
Lisa lives in tropical North Queensland, Australia. She doesn’t know why, because she hates the heat, but she suspects she’s too lazy to move. She spends half her time slaving away as a government minion, and the other half plotting her escape.
She attended university at sixteen, not because she was a child prodigy or anything, but because of a mix-up between international school systems early in life. She studied History and English, neither of them very thoroughly.
She shares her house with too many cats, a dog, a green tree frog that swims in the toilet, and as many possums as can break in every night. This is not how she imagined life as a grown-up.
Lisa has been published since 2012, and was a LAMBDA finalist for her quirky, awkward coming-of-age romance Adulting 101, and a Rainbow Awards finalist for 2019’s Anhaga.
To connect with Lisa on social media, you can find her here:
Website Facebook Instagram Goodreads Bookbub Twitter
She also has a Facebook group where you’ll be kept in the loop with updates on releases, have a chance to win prizes, and probably see lots of lots of pictures of her dog and cats. You can find it here: Lisa Henry’s Hangout.
About Sarah:
Sarah lives in Western Australia with her partner, two cats, two dogs and a TARDIS.
A teacher once told her life’s not a joke.
She begs to differ.
Her proudest achievements include having kids who will still be seen with her in public, and knowing all the words to Bohemian Rhapsody.
Red Heir is her first published novel.
You can connect with Sarah on Facebook, or send her an email at sarahhoneywriting@gmail.com.
