The House of Gold by Joni Parker
She’s done playing by the rules.
Lady Alexin Dumwalt—Alex to those who know better—just got booted from her mortal-world job. Her response? Return to Eledon, reclaim her title as Keeper of the Keys, and dive headfirst into a mission that reeks of politics and secrets.
Her task: escort Lord Quasar of the Star Elves to Nimbus. Her reality: arrested at Moonbase, locked up by a power-hungry Lord Governor, and caught in a prison break that exposes a gold-smuggling operation buried beneath the surface.
The gold? Stolen from Eledon. The ship? Not what it seems. The Fire Elves? Gone—taken by someone who wasn’t supposed to be watching.
Now Alex is under guard, headed to Nimbus, and neck-deep in a conspiracy that could shatter the fragile balance between Elf factions. She’s got questions, she’s got enemies, and she’s got zero patience for anyone standing in her way.
Magic. Betrayal. One Elf with nothing left to lose.
What Inspired You to Write Your Book?
This is the culmination of the Golden Harvest Series. Every four thousand years, the Elves must pay a tribute to their Mentors in the form of gold. This Harvest was scheduled to begin in the Elf year 12,000 but the Mentors came two hundred years too early. Although it raised suspicion, the Harvest was completed in the first three books. In this book, the main character, Alex, finds out the truth and who was behind the ruse.
How Did You Come up With Your Characters?
I loved the Elves in "The Lord of the Rings" so I wanted to continue their story. In LOTR, the Elves left Earth for the Undying Lands, never to return. In my books, the Elves were forced to migrate from Earth to Eledon. The characters in my book are either Elf or mortal, while the main character, Alex, is both.
Excerpt from the Book
By the time Claudine and I arrived, everybody was already there. On the telly, they replayed the fashion show, so we could watch it together. We cheered as each new dress was modeled on the runway, and we raised our glasses in a toast for a job well done. At the end, they raised their glasses to me to thank me for modeling their clothes so well.
I blushed and thanked them in French, “Merci beaucoup.”
“Ah now, she speaks French,” Claudine said in English with a smirk.
I laughed because those were some of the only words in French that I knew. For some reason, I couldn’t get the hang of the language. It wasn’t because I only spoke English. In fact, I spoke five languages, English, Elf (both new and old), Dwarf (Doogan), and Scinthian (ancient Greek). Almost every woman here had tried to help me learn French, but I had yet to get beyond the most rudimentary phrases.
Because of that, they called me the ‘American.’ Most French people knew that most Americans only spoke English and resented the idea they didn’t even try. When I explained to them that I wasn’t from America, but was from Eledon, they thought I meant El Paso because my foster father was from Texas. And when I mentioned I lived in a city called Meridian, they found it on a map in Texas. Dang it! It was really there.
So, they attributed my lack of ability to speak French and the blue hair in my ears to being an American rather than an Elf. I stopped trying to explain it to them and let them believe what they wanted. And they insisted on introducing me to their sons, or nephews, or even grandsons because at my age, I should be thinking of marriage and having babies, not my career. But like them, I loved my job.
After the second replay of tonight’s show, we drank another toast to something, and someone turned on the music. It made us want to dance. We were happy and upbeat about the success of the fall collection. The reviews had been outstanding, and we were the smash hit of the fall season. The fashion shows of September would set the trends for the next year, sometimes even longer.
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