Ali Katz.- Passion in Spades The Highwayman at AmberQuill Press Category:  Historical Fiction Publisher: Amber Quill Press Type: Fiction Pages: 80 Copyright: 05/10/2009 ISBN-13: 9781602725171 Hungary, 1750: A thief. A soldier. A robbery gone bad. When Stefan’s constant love cannot save Janos from his own demons, what can?  Hungary, 1750 Janos Vesh is a man on the edge. He’s spent all of his adult life fighting his past. Now he roams the highways of the southern Carpathian Mountains chasing what little vengeance fate has to offer for the wrongs done to him and to his family. But satisfaction eludes him, and his only comfort comes in the arms of his lover, Stefan.   The soldier's constant love is no longer enough to rein in the highwayman's growing recklessness. Stefan doesn’t know what drives Janos along the path to self-destruction. He knows only that trying to save the man he loves from himself is fast becoming a losing battle. He’s not ready to give up, but ideas are running short.   A robbery gone bad, a descent into darkness, and Janos’s fragile hold on sanity begins to crumble. Stefan has one last hope. Will it succeed where all else failed? Excerpt They’d chosen a straight stretch through a narrow part of the canyon. The travelers would have no option but to stop on their downhill journey. Tomas stayed with the wagon while the others positioned themselves among the trees on either side of the road. At the sound of horses approaching, he snapped the reigns and began his slow descent. The coach-and-four drew into the long stretch at a brisk pace. Enough light bled through the trees that the driver could not help but notice the cart with plenty of time to slow down. His loud cries of, “Make way,” began soon after he came into sight. Tomas feigned urgency, flicking the reigns and cursing as though trying to get a stubborn animal to obey. The driver was forced to pull up and slow to meet the wagon’s lumbering pace. As the coach passed Pavol’s position, he broke from the woods and leaped onto the boot, quickly scrambling up the back of the vehicle and over the roof. A blow to the head knocked the coachman out before he knew what was happening. He slumped in his perch. Pavol snatched the reigns from his hand and drew up with a jerk. Janos lifted the wide collar of his greatcoat to hide any remnant of the bruises he’d worn for the past few weeks. Weapons drawn, he nudged Hera onto the road and placed himself in the coach’s path as it came to a stop. He approached the cab cautiously. “Out!” Not surprising, no one appeared. From the opposite side came a loud crash and Murat’s guttural voice, threatening. The door opened. Three exited with their hands in the air. The first, Janos knew. Rákóczi, a Hungarian noble whose family held vast tracts of land on the southern slope, a man of somewhat sordid tastes, had been a frequent guest at Farkas’s soirees. Janos didn’t fear he’d be recognized, not clothed, at any rate. The arrogant prick turned to offer his hand to a young woman, his daughter perhaps, or wife. Last to exit was a black-bearded priest wearing a traveling cassock and holding an ornate wooden casket. Murat followed through the cab. His gun aimed at Rákóczi’s face, he reached into the aristocrat’s waistcoat and removed an ivory-stocked fowling pistol. With a broad grin, he checked the load and tucked the beautiful piece into his pants, then slipped the knot from the man’s purse string. He tossed the heavy leather sack into the air. It landed against his palm with a satisfying thump. When he reached for the woman, Rákóczi stepped between, his eyes sparking with menace. “Don’t touch my wife!” A wash of sympathy flooded Janos. The girl was little more than Nici’s sixteen years while the deviant who claimed her for a wife was easily forty. He raised a hand and Murat backed away with a nod. “If you’ll present the firearm from your muff, Lady,” Janos said. “We won’t trouble you.” Her eyes widened. She looked to her husband for permission before pulling a small derringer from her sleeve and passing it by the barrel into Murat’s greedy hand. “Search the carriage.”

~~Satyr Vael, Literary Nymphs
5 Nymphs - The Highwayman is a riveting historical set in Hungary in the middle of the eighteenth century. The opening scene jerks the reader into a world of danger and a love affair that defies the odds – and the laws.

Janos is the type of man who commands attention, even when he’s trying to avoid it. His heartache is palpable and his love for Stefan is undeniable. Stefan is equally as entrancing; his care for Janos strong as he watches the man he loves slowly lose his grip on control...The love scenes remained perfectly true to the time period and the story, as a whole, kept me on the edge of my seat.

If The Highwayman is anything to go by, I’ll be hunting down more from this author in the future."



~~Kassa, Manic Readers
"The chemistry between Janos and Stefan was incredibly hot, resulting in sizzling sex scenes... The interesting characters and well-crafted setting will entice readers in this quick read."


~~Paul G. Bens, Jr, Uniquely Pleasurable
"Katz sets the historical tone believably and well... The characters in this story are fascinating... both lead males engaging and refreshingly masculine without being relegated to top and bottom stereotypes... The Highwayman works well, not only as a romance piece, but also as a believable action-adventure. It is charming and believable and I was very entertained as I read it."