Note: I often agonize over what to include in an excerpt. For traditionally published books, this is even more important as there are often limits as to how much you can include. Self-publishing lightens this requirement as I often give myself permission to publish as many excerpts as needed to let readers know this is a book worth reading. However, though I want to give you a real taste of what the book is about through an excerpt, I don’t want to give you everything. So, rest assured, though I plan to publish several excerpts of different lengths between now and OUT OF TIME’s birthdate of June 15, you aren’t going to get anywhere near all of the “good parts”.
Enjoy!
My God, is he really holding a sword? The wonder of it drowned out the horror of what was actually happening. Kaelyn wanted to believe it was all cosplay, but her instincts screamed that the danger was very real. The hard metallic clang reverberated through her bones and then something hit her…hard…and she sprawled on the floor, rolling to all fours to see it was Jack of the expensive costume—not a costume at all—his sword drawn and fighting back to back with Todd as they both shielded her. Todd, the guy she’d met in a bar and made out with and was thinking about sleeping with because they’d been on six dates and he was perfect.
Jesus Christ.
Kaelyn scooted far enough away to be out from under the feet of her protectors, the shock beginning to change to an emotion she had never felt before. A white-hot fury. This was her house and her family. She looked for a weapon, cursing her inability to find anything more than a cardboard box to shield herself with, and knew she was lost if these two couldn’t defeat those who had attacked her. She’d have to trust the guard and her brother to do what they could to defend her home. And her father.
A feeling that it shouldn’t be happening at all overwhelmed everything. It couldn’t be real. She was just a girl. Just a girl who grew up the daughter of a king and went to college for a degree in advertising and marketing. Just a girl with an apartment in downtown Asheville, and a boyfriend and a brother…
An image of her father in his royal robes lying on the kitchen floor with her brother standing above him—defending—rose in her mind, and the world swayed beneath her. There’d been blood there. The blood on the sword of her attacker… This was no game, but what was real? She couldn’t be certain anymore.
Something heavy and metal swished through the air bare inches from her face, bringing her forcibly out of a cloud. Jack grabbed her arm and propelled her none-too-gently to her feet and behind him, backing toward the corner of the office. She tripped and stumbled, but refused to fall, catching herself on the back of Jack’s coat and falling against him just as his sword found its home in his enemy’s breastplate, squealing a metallic protest. A few feet away Todd had just finished off his opponent. He swung around as the metal-clad monster fell away from Jack’s sword. “Kaelyn!” Todd’s voice cut through the air between the two men.
Jack faced Todd. His sword out, he crouched ready to spring, and only then did Kaelyn realize she still clung to him, her breasts squished against his back. Releasing him and moving cautiously away, Kaelyn thought she’d never seen anyone look more menacing. His eyes gleamed with that otherworldly light she’d glimpsed before. Would he attack Todd? Had they really been fighting on the same side? Todd lowered his sword just a little. “You’re scaring her.”
BREATHE: Michelle Garren-Flye 
Great excerpt! Sounds like a wonderful story!