A few chapter into Below the Mountain, we finally get a glimpse of Dylan’s perspective in the first moments he discovers that Emelyn of the Mountain is not alone. It’s a flashback to one of the first scenes of Beyond the Valley, but one we’ve only known Lydia’s perspective until now.
This excerpt may contain spoilers if you haven’t read Beyond the Valley
Excerpt from BELOW THE MOUNTAIN…
At first glance, she had looked like an ordinary farm girl, probably just a year or two younger than his eighteen years. Then Dylan noticed she was anything but ordinary.
Bits of fading sunlight reflected off large eyes mostly shaded by long, light-brown eyelashes. Her cheeks, though hallowed and pale, stood firm on either side of her straight nose and supple lips. Thin lines of grime streaked her slender neck, revealing an obviously malnourished winter. Her worn, undersized dress fit snugly at the top and hardly covered her legs.
She wrapped bony arms around the skirt that reached just above pink knees. Bare feet with purple toes curled naturally over the uneven ground.
She had to be freezing, but she didn’t seem to care. It was more than beauty that emanated from her. Something about her pulled at Dylan and plucked at his heart.
Mesmerized by her intense focus on the plant she examined, Dylan tried to find a word to describe the feelings stirring within him. Then the girl shot up and began walking back toward Emelyn, a fistful of dandelions in her hand.
Dylan jerked and his horse shuffled its hooves before he could tighten his grip on the reigns again.
Then the young woman twisted her head back and looked directly toward him, eyes wide with what he could only define as complete terror. But her blind stare told him she didn’t see him—she had only heard his horse…
Below the Mountain includes Dylan as a point-of-view character. This was a challenging yet necessary element given the events throughout the story–but one I hope readers enjoy as they learn to love Dylan despite his trial and error and naïve husband’s heart.