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'Tis the season...For Cupid, that is, and I thought to myself, "Self, you have a book out called Cupid on a Mission. You should blatantly and shamelessly promo that."
So here I am.
Scrolling through my publication document, looking for an excerpt to share. And then it occurred to me that maybe, I should do something akin to a character study. Cupid does figure rather prominently in this novel, so why not share some of his scenes? Here goes.
(c)2007
Assorted Excerpts
Cupid smoothed the parchment flat with his hand. Glittery hearts floated skyward with each stroke. The fancy calligraphy letter grew more legible with each pass of his hand. Oh, how he loved receiving new mandates.
The fresh scent of Christmas snow tickled his nose, and he inhaled deeply. Cupid loved Christmas almost as much as he loved Valentine’s Day. Pine trees, gingerbread, presents, hot toddies, candy canes, Christmas dinner, and all the delicious treats that abounded astounded him. Fudge. Mmmm. So much fudge. Chocolate. It rivaled his favorite chocolate treat: M & M’s. Ah. Bliss
But back to the mandate.
Separated by a yawning chasm, these lovers need to bridge their differences to discover their destiny as soul mates. And, as we know you can’t help yourself, Cupid, you may chose another couple to nudge along on the Path to True Love. Hugs and Kisses, the Cupid Council...
Hmmm... He must make sure his quiver was well-stocked with the appropriate arrows. Love was all well and good, but often nudging a couple required more than a shot with love. There needed to be Trust, Truth, Communication, Forgiveness, Remembrance, Patience, Understanding, along with Love, Chance Meeting and Romance.
Given what he’d read about his assigned couple, Cupid decided to let that particular matter percolate as he opted to use a Chance Meeting arrow...
Because he just couldn’t help himself.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Cupid tilted his head to one side. “Hmmmm,” he murmured. “That’s very interesting indeed. There’s more to do here than I thought. Huzzah!” Obviously, the Chance Meeting arrow had found its target. He wouldn’t have become aware of them otherwise. They weren’t his assignment, but Cupid couldn’t resist giving true love an assist when it stepped up and introduced itself.
Cupid couldn’t help it— it was simply a natural, inbred reaction. Okay, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Sure. Rick Hartley and Coralie Elgin weren’t why he was here. He’d been assigned to Nathaniel Phillips and Gail Harmon— those two would take some serious work. The hurt there ran so deep that not only was it ingrained on Gail’s heart, it impaired her ability to love anyone.
He paced the length of the room, searching for the bag of M & M’s he’d opened not five minutes before. When he found the bag, he held it up to his eye, disbelieving it was already empty. He sighed and held his hand out. A large bag of M & M’s shimmered into being.
“Much better.”
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Cupid felt a tingle of power through his fingertips, and hid the grin the sensation prompted. It didn’t happen very often, maybe once every two to three hundred years, but it caused him unending joy when it did.
One of his charges had tapped into his power. Unknowingly, of course. Someone who didn’t necessarily have the required confidence to pursue the heart’s desire on necessarily have the required confidence to pursue the heart’s desire on their own— someone who had, on some level, felt the vestiges of the magic Cupid wrought, and tuned into it heart and soul. Someone who wanted to love and be loved in return. Someone who had no greater desire in life.
Cupid gave the power with willing generosity. It didn’t detract anything from the task currently on hand. He had plenty to spare, for the power of love was endless— limitless.
The screaming match between Gail and Nathaniel continued. Obviously, some desk-bound Cupid with too much time on his or her hands had decided Gail and Nathaniel were perfect for each other. Something had to explain how this couple kept taking one teensy step forward, only to go backwards by ten large steps. He could hear the water cooler conversation in his mind.
“Hey, yanno, Cupid’s never failed, unlike a few Cupids we could mention, but won’t.”
“How do you think I wound up behind this freakin’ desk? Boy, you mess up three or four hundred times over a thousand years, and They hold it against you for Eternity.”
“Cupid’s had it too easy. He’s never had a problem couple before. Not one single failure in his twenty-five hundred year career.”
“Someone ought to really sock it to him a time or two.”
“Yeah, let’s give him a couple from hell. That’ll teach him. Swaggering around here like he’s hot stuff.”
“I have just the couple in mind. And, to sweeten the deal, it’s in a podunk little town called Chadwick. That’s in Kansas. He won’t find anything redeeming about this place. It’ll drive him nuts.”
The bored Cupid committee ended the conversation with taunting laughter.
Enough was more than enough. Gail and Nathaniel were going to fall in love. Whether they wanted to or not.
After all, Cupid wasn’t Cupid for nothing.
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