Hey everyone! Carol here! I hope y’all had a great holiday season! I know we did! I’m up to my eyebrows in formatting and edits and even writing my next novel! But in the meantime, I wanted to make sure y’all know that Protecting the Prince, novella 2.5 in my Brides of Belles Montagnes series, is still FREEEEEEEEEE to newsletter subscribers! Newsletter subscribers will also get special preorder pricing on new releases! And, to whet your appetite for Protecting the Prince, here’s the first scene :D.
A little set up…Tony is head of security for Queen Christiana of Ravenzario. The queen’s family, along with her nanny, was killed in a car accident when she was only five, making her the youngest ruler in Ravenzarian history.
What the queen didn’t know until recently? The bodies of her brother and their nanny were never found…
Tony Browning stepped off the plane in Athmetica, the capital city of the Sovereign Commonwealth of Athmetis. The unseasonable weather caused heat to roil off the tarmac in visible waves and threatened to give Tony heat stroke. The suit he wore was suitable for the current weather in Ravenzario but much too warm for Athmetis. Why hadn’t he thought to check the temperature?
For this trip, he was on his own. No chauffeur would meet him at the airport. No car would whisk him away to his destination. In fact, no one official knew he was here. He’d used his position as Queen Christiana’s head of security to gain diplomatic status in the island nation, but only because it afforded him less hassle. If, as he suspected, he ended up in the United States, he’d travel even more conventionally.
Once through the airport, skipping baggage claim, he hailed a taxi and took it to the hotel, in a village a few kilometers away, where he’d stay for the next couple of days.
If he couldn’t find any sign of the young prince and his nanny here, he’d move on to the next location on his list.
“Sir?”
Tony blinked as the driver got his attention. “Yes?”
“We’ve arrived.”
He shook himself out of his stupor. “My apologies.” Tony started to open the door, but paused. “Are you familiar with this area?”
“Of course!” His chest puffed up, as though offended Tony would ask such a thing. “I rode my bike around the entire village as a child. You want to go somewhere, I know the best way to get there.”
“You grew up here?” Could this be the stroke of luck he needed?
“Two streets over. My Yaya worked at this very hotel.”
“What’s your name?”
“Rex Cromer, sir.”
“Rex, can I hire you for the next couple of days?” Confusion filled the other man’s face. “I need a guide who knows this area well. You would need to be on call twenty-four hours a day, but you will be well-compensated.” Tony named a figure he knew would entice the other man.
“What’s the catch?” Rex’s eyes narrowed.
“No catch. I’m doing research into some people I believe came here in late 1999 or very early 2000. I need to find them. They may or may not still be in the area, but if at all possible, I need to know where they went.”
Could Rex’s eyes narrow any further? “Why? Are you a hit man?”
Tony laughed. “Quite the opposite. They ran from a family member who was quite dangerous. He has finally been put in prison for life. It is safe for them to come home, but no one knows exactly where they are anymore. I know where their first destination, here in Athmetis was supposed to be, but beyond that, we don’t know.” Time to lay most of the cards on the table. “To be honest I’m not even completely sure what names they used, just that they didn’t use their real names.”
He could see Rex turn the proposal over in his head. “Very well. You were to have been my last fare for the day, and I have two days off. You should talk to my Yaya. She’s known everyone in this area for the last sixty years or longer.”
Within ten minutes, Tony had been ushered into Yaya’s home. After exchanging pleasantries, he got down to business, pulling photos out of his pocket. “Do you remember seeing either of these people around the turn of the century?”`
Yaya took the photos and examined them carefully with the help of a magnifying glass. “So young,” she murmured as she held the photo of Prince Nicklaus. “So sad.”
“So sad?” Tony’s heart constricted. Had something happened to the prince and his caretaker in the intervening years? They hadn’t even considered that possibility.
“So sad his parents died so young.” She looked up and stared Tony in the eyes. “His sister and he were the only remaining members of their immediate family, no?”
She knew? How?
Yaya must have seen the questions in his eyes. “Rex, please get our guest something to drink.”
“Of course, Yaya.” His gaze shifted between Tony and his grandmother, but he left.
“Who are you?” she demanded as soon as Rex was out of earshot. “Why do you want to know about these two people?”
Tony pulled out his credentials. “I am the head of Queen Christiana of Ravenzario’s security detail, ma’am.”
She took them and examined them closely. Satisfied, she returned them. “Very well. You may call me Yaya.”
He bowed his head slightly in acknowledgment.
“Do you believe in fate?” she asked.
Tony shook his head. “No, ma’am. But I do believe in divine guidance. I believe the Lord leads us places we need to be, when we need to be there.”
“It is why your queen is still alive.”
“Correct. She was sick when the car…”
Yaya waved a hand. “No. I read the papers, young man. I saw the stories about Henry Eit.” She spit into the planter next to her chair. “No good, that man. I know this for many years. But, if the papers are to be believed, the only reason you were finally able to arrest him was because Duke Alexander overheard something he should not have, correct?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Then you understand when I tell you I believe God brought you to the right taxi driver today.”
Tony blinked slowly. “What do you mean?”
“Come. I show you.” Yaya slowly stood. Tony reached for her to give her a hand, but she waved him off.
He followed her to the courtyard and toward a decorative door, covered with hanging plants. One of Yaya’s wrinkled hands reached through the greenery and did something Tony couldn’t see. The door swung open revealing a small room behind it. He looked at Yaya. “What is this?”
“This is the place Michaela and Nicklaus stayed when they fled Ravenzario.”
Want more? If you’re not already signed up for my newsletter, there’s a link in the welcome email with all the details! And if you are signed up and missed it somehow – shoot me an email at carolmoncadobooks at gmail dot com and we’ll get it sorted out!
As an added bonus? One lucky commenter will get an ebook from the Brides of Belles Montagnes series – winner’s choice, including the upcoming Prince from her Past!
When she's not writing about her imaginary friends, Carol Moncado is hanging out with her husband and four kids in the big yard of their southwest Missouri home, teaching American Government at a community college, reading, or watching NCIS. She's a member of ACFW and RWA, President and founding member for the MozArks ACFW group, and a category coordinator for ACFW's First Impressions.
I love winning the Queens heart and Protecting the prince. So I look forward to reading series.
I have enjoyed this series and can’t wait for the next book!
I just love your take on the modern monarchy! Thanks for the giveaway!
Enjoyed Protecting the Prince! Looking forward to Prince from her Past!
I’m hooked, Carol. :)
Sounds great! I love royalty stories!
I have not heard of this series and it sounds great. I’ll be looking into it this afternoon.
“You may call me Yaya.” <- love it!
Wonderful excerpt, Carol!
Love your books, Carol!! Can hardly wait for Prince from Her Past!!!
This sounds great!
Hey all! I, um, went back to bed after getting the kids out the door ;). I’ve been so exhausted this week! But I’m here now and off to respond!!! Thanks to all of you for your lovely comments already!!!
Hi Kaleen! I’m so glad to hear that! Hugs!
Hi, Julianne! That’s so great to hear! I really hope PRINCE FROM HER PAST lives up to your (and my!) expectations!
Hey Beth! I’m so glad to hear that! I love all these peeps!!!! I’m sad that the royalty storylines have (mostly) come to an end at the moment! I’m out of siblings!!! (Except Prince William (but not THAT Prince William, you know ;)), but his story won’t come for a bit.) I’m already dreaming of new countries set somewhere else (Caribbean? Not sure yet.) that I can come back to royalty series soon!
Thanks. I tried to find the novella 2.5 a while ago. I’ll have to try again. I really enjoyed the series and am looking forward to the next book. Thanks for all your hard work!!
Hi Katy! I’m so glad to hear that!!!! :D
Good to hear, Kimberly!!! :D
Hi, Beth! Me too! I love them!!!! (And ( love writing them!)
Hi, Karen! That’s so good to hear! I hope you enjoy it!
I love Yaya! I don’t know when or how she might come back, but I’m gonna have to figure out a way for her to!
Thanks, Jill!
Hi, Margaret! Me too! I’m working on the first round of edits today! Eek!
Thanks, Jennifer! I kinda love this one :D. It surprised me how much when I wrote it ;).
Hi, Diana!!!! If you have any trouble, let me know and we’ll get it figured out! carolmoncadobooks at gmail dot com :). Thank you!
My wife and I are dying waiting for Prince from her Past. Can’t wait to get our digital hands on it. We both love the whole series (both of them). Hope you’re over your winter cold bug.
Sounds very intriguing! Would love to win copies of the series for my kindle.
Pete! I know y’all are! I’m working on formatting Winning the Queen’s Heart for paperback today and editing Prince from her Past! I hope it’s worth the wait!
I’m feeling BETTER, like 90% better, but still not quite 100%. Thank you for asking!
I love all your books .Give copies to someone else if I win because I always receive ARC copies from you.
Look forward to the next book.
How have I missed this series? lol :)
Protecting the Prince was great and I can’t wait for Prince from her Past. We got tantalizing bits of Yvette in the last book – can’t wait to see how this plays out for her!
I love this series so much, Carol. Cannot wait for Prince from her Past. I will be so sorry to see this series end.
Thanks, Patty! You’re in the drawing!
Thank you for your support, Linda! I appreciate you!
Carrie – LOL! I dunno! But it’s really kind of two series combined. The Montevaro Monarchy series deals with the Crown Princess of Montevaro and her younger siblings. This series picks up a couple weeks later with one of the princes from their sister country of Mevendia. Book 2 is the queen of their other sister country of Ravenzario. Book 3 is a princess of Mevendia who is SUPPOSED to marry Prince Nicklaus…but he died years ago…didn’t he? ;) I hope to have that one out next month :). GOOD ENOUGH FOR A PRINCESS is the first book in the Montevaro series – and it’s FREE for all ereaders! There should be a link to it in the News section of the website…I’m not sure how to add links here… :p
Thanks, Jennie! I hope it lives up to your expectations! (And mine! EEEE!)
Me too Sharon! I’m going to be so sad too! I’m excited about this next series because it’s Jonathan, Christopher Bayfield, and Conner (who we met briefly in HMDP), but after that it’s something different – at least for a few months! I’m plotting how to get back to something that goes with these peeps – and had a flash of (potential) brilliance in that regard a couple days ago…but it’ll be later this year or early next most likely…:/
Ack!!! So I’m TWO series behind?!? Lol. I need more time in my day :)
Congrats Carol! I enjoy royal romance stories and I have your series in my TBR list. Just need more time to get stuck into that list! :)
You are a new author to me so I would love to win! Thanks for the chance!
I have the rest of the series and would LOVE to win Prince from her Past!
Great excerpt Carol! I have all of your books in my TBR pile & I’m so excited for your “Prince from Her Past”. All the covers are gorgeous and the stories sound wonderful! LOL…so many books, so little time :-)
Hello Carol! I loved reading your books the past 2 weeks. I think I read most of them ; ) I am in love with these characters! It would be amazing to get this novella!!! I can’t see a place to sign up for the newsletter. Help! Sarah
Sarah, you may have gotten a reply privately, but if not, Carol’s website is carolmoncado dot com. If you scroll down on the home page there is a newsletter sign up. Hope that helps!