Kim Cormack's Blog, page 21

Author Bernard Foong

         












       Time for an interview with one of the most interesting individuals that I have ever had the pleasure to get to know via the written word. His life has been an awe inspiring journey of love, lust and everything in between. An open mind can create an open heart. You must have an open mind to see the beauty in everything. Bernard Foong is one of those beautiful souls. He brings you along with him on this exotic ride of wonderment. I'll  definitely keep reading about his fascinating life and I'm looking forward to what comes next.  
        Kim Cormack



1.     Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
Young alias Bernard Foong is, first and foremost, a sensitivist. He finds nuance in everything. To experience the world he inhabits is an adventure which is mystical, childlike and refreshing. He has a rare ability to create beauty in a unique fashion. His palettes have been material, paint, words and human experiences. By Christine Maynard (screenwriter and novelist).
I was born into a privileged Malaysian Chinese family. Following my brothers' footsteps, I was sent to an exclusive boarding school in England. It is there that I was inducted into a clandestine organization, E.R.O.S. The Enlightened Royal Oracle Society. For four years, unbeknownst to my family, I was willingly and happily part of a Harem.

2.     What do you do when you are not writing?
My hobbies is Zumba, swimming, reading and doing creative projects. Although I’m a semi-retired fashion designer, I still keep in touch with the international fashion scene; especially Asian designers.

3.     Do you have a day job as well?
My day job is writing and promoting/marketing my memoirs/books.

4.     When did you first start writing and when did you finish your first book?
I first started writing in 2010. I had a nagging calling within to document my unique adolescent life and education.
I believe my geographical location (being in spiritual and beautiful Maui, Hawaii) inspired me to pen my seven book series.
Now that I’m semi-retired from my once very active fashion lifestyle, it is time for me to reflect upon my unique early experiences and to inform the world what my positiveexperiences in the Middle Eastern harems were like.
I believe my early experiences shaped my adult life to who I am today.
I finished A Harem Boy’s Saga – book I – Initiation; a memoir by Young a year later – in 2011.
5.     How did you choose the genre you write in?
I did not choose the genre. It chose me.
6.     Where do you get your ideas?
Remembrance of things past. Luckily I’ve an abundance of photographs, diaries, journals to spur me to remember what transpired during those early years of my Middle Eastern harem experiences.Although, I’ve taken creative liberties when it comes to the individual dialogues spoken by the various characters in my autobiography. I remember the gist of what transpired.I’ve also changed the names and places to protect the identities of those involve in the secret society and the unique school and Arab Households I was in service at.

7.     Do you ever experience writer’s block?

I seldom get writer’s block because I let my thoughts flow naturally out of me as I remember the events. Although I cannot remember the actual dialogues spoken – I remember the gist of what was being said.
I also have an abundance of old photographs taken during those early years, documenting my life then. I use these to trigger my memories to document the events in the books.
I do need complete silence when I write – which is 8 – 10 hours daily.


8.     Do you work with an outline, or just write?
I just write. I’m very discipline when it comes to setting time for my daily writing schedule.
9.     Is there any particular author or book that influenced you in any way either growing up or as an adult?
The Sleeping Beauty Trilogy by Anne Rice was one of the influences because I have a presage that Ms. Rice went through a similar harem experiences like I did.Anderson Cooper 360 documentary on the devastating treatment of effeminate boys also influence me to tell my story.The abundance of school bullying and shooting prompted me to tell of my unique  education.


10.                              Can you tell us about your challenges in getting your first book published?

The first two books in A Harem Boy’s Saga series were self-published. The easy part is the writing but when it comes to marketing books, it’s an entirely different ball game.
I’m lucky to my literary agent, Emerantia Antonia Parnall-Gilbert (Gilbert Literary Agency) after almost 6 months of non-stop searching for a publisher and agent. I wrote to close to 160 publishers/agents before I had a positive response from Gilbert Literary Agency.
I’m lucky to have Solstice Publishing interested in my autobiography to publish the entire 7 book series. It was Emerantia who hooked me with Solstice Publishing.
11.                              If you had to go back and do it all over, is there any aspect of your novel or getting it published that you would change?
I would have found myself a publisher and literary agent and not self-publish.

12.                              How do you market your work? What avenues have you found to work best for your genre?
Through the usual channels: Tweeter, Facebook, Authors/Books promotional organizations. Enter book award competitions and joining international book fairs. Connecting with book clubs, etc.13.                              Have you written a book you love that you have not been able to get published?
No! The books/series I’m currently writing is what I love doing and it’s an inner calling form a higher power to tell my story to the world.

14.                              Can you tell us about your upcoming book?

I’ve 2 upcoming books:
·       No Distance Between Us is a coming-of-age gay true love story (base on my sexual experience). It is a provocative story is about a young man (me) who was initiated into a clandestine sexual society. He was spirited to the Middle East, from his UK boarding school. He attended the Bahriji School (Oasis,) in The United Arab Emirates in preparation for serving in Harems for the wealthy and elite.
It is also a love story between the young man (me) and his ‘Valet’ who served as his chaperone and mentor during the boy’s Harem service.
·       A Harem Boy’s Saga – IV – Turpitude; a memoir by Young is the continual saga of A Harem Boy’s Saga – I – Initiation, II – Unbridled and III – Debauchery .


15.                              Is anything in your book based on real life experiences or purely all imagination?
My memoirs are based on my own experiences. Although, I’ve taken creative liberties when it comes to the individual dialogues spoken by the various characters in my autobiography. I remember the gist of what transpired.I’ve also changed the names and places to protect the identities of those involve in the secret society and the unique school and Arab Households I was in service at.




16.                              What was your favorite chapter (or part) to write and why?
The erotic scenes because I remember the situations very clearly and am able to express my emotions and feelings I felt at the time with all my sexual partners and lovers.


17.                              How did you come up with the title?
It comes to me through a higher source. I just having this knowing what the title for each book is going to be either before, during or after the book is completed. It’s my guardian angel whispering in my ear on what to write and the names for each chapter and books. I listen to my inner voice and heed its messages.

    18.                              What project are you working on now?
I’m currently working A Harem Boy’s Saga – IV – Turpitude; a memoir by Young. My Yuletide short story book No Distance Between Us (a true to life coming-of-age gay love story) is schedule for release on Nov. 21st 2014.I’m also working with Solstice Publishing on having A Harem Boy’s Saga series made into audio books.I’m also working on book II – Unbridled screen treatment and overview for Emerantia, my agent to submit to producers to consider A harem Boy’s Saga series being made into films/TV mini-series and Stage Musical productions.


19.                              Will you have a new book coming out soon?
Already answered this question See above answers.

20.                              Are there certain characters you would like to go back to, or is there a theme or idea you’d love to work with?
I’m continuously doing that with A Harem Boy’s Saga series.

21.                              What has been the toughest criticism given to you as an author?
I don’t dwell on negatively only positivity. Therefore the best compliment would be:5.0 out of 5 stars OMG, OMG, OMG - I can't believe this is a real story!, September 22, 2014By  Wendy Acosta  - See all my reviews
This review is from: Initiation (A Harem Boy's Saga Book 1) (Kindle Edition)Never have I read a story that has me exclaiming "OMG, OMG, OMG" every few chapters. This autobiographical story shares the intensely personal journey of a young boy as he comes of age in the midst of a male harem in the Middle East. He experiences all the things that forbidden and taboo...you know those "unmentionable elephants in the room" that we are warned about from an early age. I had to read this real life adventure to find out how messed up and damaged he must be. Imagine my surprise to meet an emotionally healthy young man who successfully grabs all life has to offer and does it with an innocence that is simply beautiful.

Don't read this book if you aren't ready for your ingrained beliefs and values to be challenged. Don't read this book if you are not ready to delve into a side of our global society that is well hidden from most. Don't read this book unless you too are ready to step into a new adventure. Initiation will change how you view the world.

Well done Bernard.
          Wendy had summed up my series excellently and this is exactly what I like to say to my readers.
22.                              Do you have any advice to give to aspiring writers?
Stay focus. My modus operandi: the 3Ps: Perseverance, Persistence & Patience. Be diligent about setting a time frame/goal to finish your manuscript.Not to worry about what you are planning to write. Once you begin with the 1st word, you’ll know what the next word is going to be. When I write, it’s like channeling a separate spirit/entity within my person. Thoughts flows automatically through me and I write what comes naturally out of my hand.

23.                              Is there anything that you would like to say to your readers and fans?
Historical accuracy is an important factor to consider when I’m writing memoirs/autobiographies and biographies. I like spending time doing research and learning/discovering new techniques in photo-shop/enhancements.
Traveling broadens my mind. My life partner and I are planning an up-coming road trip to the S. of France.These are some of the goals I hope to achieve throughA Harem Boy Saga:
·                    Provide Tolerance to Sissy Boys by understanding parents/peers and the community. Anderson Cooper 360 documentary on the devastating treatment of effeminate boys influence me to tell my story.
·                    Bullying can be avoided through Big Brother/Big Sister volunteer programs in school or outside school system. Older students acting as mentors to younger students.
·                    Gay Adolescent Tolerance – parents/child/siblings relationship issues.Support/mentorship program to all parties involved to foster understanding and acceptance of Gay kids.
·                    Provide an Alternative Educational System;Understanding Big Brother/adolescent mentorship programs in schools, BB as protector to keep younger kids from being bullied.
·                    Human Relationship Building Program;Between parents/teachers and young students on sexual topics/issues, especially when adolescent are just discovering their sexuality. They can be guided on a healthy and honest sexual journey instead of “don’t ask, don’t tell” hide it behind the closet policy.







Author’s Bio


Young alias Bernard Foong is, first and foremost, a sensitivist. He finds nuance in everything. To experience the world he inhabits is an adventure which is mystical, childlike and refreshing. He has a rare ability to create beauty in a unique fashion. His palettes have been material, paint, words and human experiences.By Christine Maynard (screenwriter and novelist).
Bernard Foong (designer) – A brief history
Born in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. At the age of 8, he was assisting his aunt and cousin, learning the art of sewing and fabrics/colors matching. He attended an exclusive private boarding school in the United Kingdom before obtaining his Diploma in Fashion Design at the Harrow College of Art & Technology in London, England.  He went on to complete his Master of Design at the Royal College of Art & Design, London, England. During his college years he won several international fashion awards and was already retailing bridal and evening dresses to several well known department stores in England. Liberty of London, Selfridges, Harrods and Harvey Nichols to name a few that carried his designs. His Royal College of Art graduation wedding/evening wear collection was sold to Liberty of London and displayed in their store windows for the entire month of June that year.
For four years, he worked for Liberty’s bridal department as their in-house designer until a trip to Hong Kong, while working on a freelance project for ‘Bird’s’(casual wear) company, he was recruited by the Hong Kong Polytechnic University as their Fashion professor for the next 6 years. During his stay in Hong Kong, he freelanced for numerous fashion companies. From designing casual wear, swimwear, lingerie, and fur garments, men’s wear, bridal and evening fashions to accessories (bags, shoes, and head-wear). He also participated and organized numerous fashion shows, events, functions, and presentations in the Asia Pacific region.
Working for Keys Far East Hong Kong as chief lingerie designer - travelling extensively to the United States, he was soon  recruited as an Associate Fashion Design/Illustration Professor to the University of Wisconsin, Madison and also lectured at the Minneapolis College of Art & Design for a couple of years.
Foong was then appointed as the Fashion Development Manager by an established department store – Parkson Grand (22 stores in Malaysia and one in Shanghai, China). Producing under the label, Natural Life by Bernard Foong, he designed casual-wear collections for the Parkson Grand’s flagship store in Kuala Lumpur. After a couple of years later, he was invited by the Temasek Polytechnic, Singapore to join their design school to establish a Fashion Design department. For two years, he assisted several founding members of the design school - working on the fashion department’s teaching curriculum.
The Fitzgerald Theatre Department, University of Hawaii, Manoa, Oahu, Hawaii awarded a full scholarship for Foong to complete his second Master of Art in Theatre Costuming. Now a resident on the Island of Maui, he has assisted many charity organizations in their fund raising events with his extravagant fashion and performance shows/presentations. In 2005, he and his partner, Mr. Walter Jay Bissett opened Fire Dragon Bistro Orient & Design Shop. He also designs costumes/fashions for numerous theatrical productions in Hawaii and abroad.
 Appointed as chief lingerie designer for Cerie International Limited – Hong Kong, his lingerie designs can be found in major department stores in Canada and the United Kingdom.
He showcased the BERNARD FOONG R-T-W collections and BERNARD FOONG @ Modern Classic Ltd. (an established – Hong Kong bridal & evening wear company) collections in Hong Kong. His 2008 & 2009 bridal/evening/bridal lingerie fashion show, “Grace” & “Coming Up Roses” were premiered at Hong Kong Fashion Week in July 2007 and January 2008 respectively at the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Center, garnering positive interest in many Asian press reviews, including a China nationwide television broadcast of his latest collection. Aika (International Opera Singer) wore several Bernard Foong special occasion dresses at her Japan & European tour in September & October 2009.
Foong was the chief Creative Director for Official (Special Occasion fashion manufacturing company) Guangzhou, China  producing – BERNARD FOONG Couture (specialty one-of-a-kind creations), White (RTW - Wedding/Special Occasion wear), Foxy Cute (Smart Casual/Cocktail wear), SexZ  (decorative bustier) & Diva Bitch (sexual lingerie inner/outer-wear) collections.
Besides working on his regular haute couture, R-T-W and lingerie collections he is a visiting consultant/advisor for:Pivot Point fashion college, Chengdu, China.Hong Kong Design Institute (fashion department), Hong Kong, SAR.Hong Kong Poly/U, Hong Kong (School of Apparel Design & Merchandising), SAR.Hong Kong Fashion Designers Association, Hong Kong.Singapore Temasek Polytechnic – School of Apparel Design & Merchandising (ADM), Singapore.
Bernard is also writing his autobiography, a seven book series of Mr. Foong’s young life: A Harem Boy’s Saga: A Memoir by Young. This provocative story spanning 4 decades and 3 continents is about a boy who was sent to a very exclusive English boarding school in the 1960s where he was initiated into a clandestine sexual society and then spirited away to serve in wealthy and elite Middle Eastern harems ." A Harem Boy’s Saga series is published by Solstice Publishing and is available in print and E-books internationally.
Out of his busy schedule, Bernard is also working on a mini series of three contemporary paintings for the Rathe Galleries in Dallas, Houston and soon to open gallery in Austin, Texas.








Synopsis: A Harem Boy Saga; A Memoir. Book 1 - INITIATION.
This provocative story is about a young man who was initiated into a clandestine sexual society. He was spirited to the Middle East, from his UK boarding school. He attended the Bahriji School (Oasis,) in The United Arab Emirates in preparation for serving in Harems for the wealthy and elite.
It is also a love story between the young man and his ‘Valet’ who served as his chaperone and mentor during the boy’s Harem service.
Author’s note:I had a privileged and unique upbringing in Malaysia, where I was known as a "sissy boy." Following in my brothers' footsteps, I was sent to an exclusive boarding school in England. It is there that I was inducted into a clandestine organization, E.R.O.S. The Enlightened Royal Oracle Society. For four years, unbeknownst to my family, I was willingly and happily part of a Harem.
My story has been kept under wraps for close to 45 years. The correct moment has arrived for me to make known my unique education.
young@aharemboysaga.comwww.aharemboysaga.com








Unbridled is the sequel to Initiation - A provocative story about a young man who was initiated into a clandestine sexual society. He was spirited to the Middle East, from his UK boarding school. He attended the Bahriji School (Oasis,) in The United Arab Emirates in preparation for serving in Harems for the wealthy and elite.
It is also a love story between the young man, his ‘Big Brother’ and his ‘Valet’ who served as his chaperones and mentors during the boy’s Harem services.
This book follows the teenagers’ erotic and exotic adventures and experiences at their 2nd Arab Household Harem, the Sekham. They were apprentices and models, for the household patriarch’s controversial photography project, “Sacred Sex in Sacred Places”.
The author's experiences present facts that are truthful. Through these truths, which are often demonized by contemporary societies that deem such behaviors inappropriate, the author hopes to dispel condemnations and negativity which relate to his experiences. 
There are 5 - 7 volumes in A Harem Boy’s Saga series.

 Synopsis
“Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.”Lao Tzu





Debauchery is the triquel to A Harem Boy’s Saga , a provocative story about a young man who was initiated into a clandestine sexual society through his UK boarding school. From there, he was spirited to the Middle East to attend the Bahriji (Oasis) School in The United Arab Emirates in preparation for Harem services for the wealthy elite.
It is also a love story between the young man, his ‘Big Brother,’ and his ‘Valet,’ who served as his chaperones and mentors.
This book follows the teenagers’ erotic and exotic adventures and experiences at their third Arabian Household Harem, the Quwah. There, they became confidants to a prince, assistants in an international dance club venture, “Carousel,” and apprentices and models in a controversial photography project, “Sacred Sex in Sacred Places.”
This story is an account of the author’s experiences. Through these truths, often demonized by contemporary societies that deem such behaviors inappropriate, the author hopes to dispel condemnation and negativity related to sexuality, love, and personal freedom. 
A Harem Boy’s Saga is a series of seven volumes.
For further information please visit or contact:Bernard Foong (a.k.a. Young)www.aharemboysaga.comyoung@aharemboysaga.com Emerantia Antonia Parnall-Gilbert: Gilbert Literary Agency)hawkspurrproductions@gmail.comMelissa Miller: Solstice Publishingsolsticepublishing@live.com


 A Harem Boy’s Saga amazon sales site (E-books and Print book a for Initiation, Unbridled and Debauchery) links shorten:US amazon: http://amzn.to/1qmL75W
UK amazon:   http://amzn.to/1tUUU7Y
No Distance Between Us amazon sales link:E-book:US amazon: http://amzn.to/1Asn0fO
Website: http://www.aharemboysaga.com
Blog: http://bernardfoong.typepad.com/in_the_harem
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bfoong1
https://www.facebook.com/aharemboysaga
Twitter @aharemboysaga
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/haremboysaga/a-harem-boys-saga/ (contains adult contents)
Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/trisf2013 (contents adult contents)Amazon Author's Page:  http://www.amazon.com/A-Memoir-by-Young/e/B00CENKJKM
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2992700.Young 
Video trailer for all the 3 books in  A Harem Boy's Saga  series (conservative version): http://youtu.be/F0Lv80yhhq0 
Video trailer for INITIATION (sensual version): http://youtu.be/db3bTrN1v3IVideo trailer for UNBRIDLED (sensual version): http://youtu.be/6J4ewXGxl-U Video trailer for DEBAUCHERY (sensual version): http://youtu.be/y8g-hLjRJr8

Review for Jack Strong and The Red Giant

Jack Strong and the Red Giant by Heys Wolfenden
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

So Awesome. This book is incredibly awesome. I am a huge geeky fan of this genre. I'm also now an enormously nerdy fan of, "Jack Strong and The Red Giant." What an identifiable main character. It was well written, with just the right amount of scene building.  My son also loved it. He says, "He can't wait for the movie to come out." I told him,"I don't doubt that it will."


I can't wait for the rest of this series. I'm so glad we read this book. There just isn't enough out there that is perfect for my sons age group. I really enjoyed reading this book.    


View all my reviews

Book Review: Sweet Sleep by: Kim Cormack

Book Review: Sweet Sleep by: Kim Cormack

Fantasy Boys XXX: Guest Post: Author Kim Cormack - Sweet Sleep & The...

Fantasy Boys XXX: Guest Post: Author Kim Cormack - Sweet Sleep & The...: Today, we're welcoming Kim Cormack  to talk about herself, her book, Sweet Sleep , and her YA Paranormal Fantasy Series, The Children of...

Fun little teasers for Book two, "Enlightenment"

 Zach said, “I think I accidentally killed the doctor.”
    “He was the Coroner,” Lily stated. She walked over and knelt down to check his pulse.
      “Well, that explains his reaction to me waking up. Now doesn't it?”He chuckled. “If I was dead, and nobody healed me, how did I wake up?”
Lexy walked out of the bathroom. She said, “Am I bad? I got rid of the cameras. I thought I could have you out of here before the others made it downstairs. I even had time to switch Zach’s toe tag with a John Doe. I would've had plenty of time, but the coroner showed up. I had to improvise a tiny bit.”
    “Show me which drawer?”Frost said.
      “This one,” she opened the drawer and pulled the body out.
A body of a damn near Albino white guy with flaming red hair. Zach stared at the man with his mouth agape.
      He shook his head and said, “Lexy, just in case you haven't noticed… I'm brown. I'm not an albino, red headed white guy.”
    “Oh come on. Nobody is even going to look at the paperwork. The coroner’s dead on the floor. He had a heart attack. Someone’s going to come in and say, “Oh no...” she bent down to look at his name tag. “Phil had a heart attack.”

    “He does look like a Phil, doesn't he?” Melody comically observed.

        Lexy smiled and said, “Wait a minute. I know we missed something.”
He’d been recording the autopsy when he died. They always recorded the autopsy. Lexy patted him down and found it. She took the recording device out of his pocket. It was still recording. She erased everything and placed the device back in his pocket.
      “You just left fingerprints on everything Einstein,” Zach said.
      “I don’t have fingerprints, Zach,” Lexy said.
      He looked down at his hands and said, “Holy crap, I don’t think I have any finger prints either.”

    Lexy laughed, “Glad to know you’re still following along. We should get out of here.”

They all walked out the door and separated as they walked down the hall.

      Zach strolled beside Lexy and whispered, “I bet he thought I was a Zombie?”

      “Nowadays, when you wake up during your autopsy. They always think you're a Zombie,” Lexy chuckled

Book one Sweet Sleep. Book two Enlightenment.

Interview With the Geek Girl: Interview: Author Kim Cormack

Interview With the Geek Girl: Interview: Author Kim Cormack:   Q: So, tell the readers a bit about you. A: Well, I’m a single mom. I live on Vancouver Island. My daughter is in College. My s...

Ankh Quotes

Sweet Sleep

In every lifetime, there is a moment. A moment so clear, so profoundly unique that it stands out against billions of other moments. When you find a moment such as this one, you pay extra close attention to it. It will usually contain something that defines you in the future.              

Work in Progress (WIP) Blog Tour

           

The incredibly talented Author Heidi Chandler invited me to participate in the Work in Progress (WIP) Blog Tour. I’m happy to take part. Here is the link to Heidi Chandler’s latest work in progress right Here.  Heidi Chandler’s first book looks so heart breaking. The second has me intrigued with only a few snippets. I can’t wait to read the finished product. You have a fan in me, Heidi.
    Now…here are the rules for the tour:   Provide the link back to the post by the person who nominated you (see above). Write a little about and give the first sentences of the first three chapters of your current WIP, then nominate four other writers to do the same.

Sweet Sleep was released on August 5th 2014. This is the first book in the Children of Ankh series. The second book I will post some snippets for, hopefully without any obvious spoilers. I’m still trying to decide between three names for the second book in the series.


     
   

     The silken texture of the grass beneath her body along with the warmth of the sunlight that seductively caressed the length of her bare legs was magic. She lay next to him in the grass as they quietly observed the sky above. His hand seemed to be always just out of reach.  Kayn wanted to hold his hand so badly it was torturous. It was just about touching his but not quite. His fingers brushed a path across her fingertips as if to say in the exquisite beauty of the moment, “I will always be right here.”  She would open her eyes long enough to know it was not reality and then close them again. For her desire to live there in that moment with him was so strong. She had to at least make an attempt to slip back into the dream.
The days that passed had begun to melt together into weeks and months, creating a twisted mosaic of memories in her mind.  Her dreams traveled a tortuous path between what had actually happened, and what could have been.                                                                          
                   
                                                                 Chapter 1


      Grey grinned raised his glass and said, “To the newest of the Ankh.” They all raised their glasses and then awkwardly attempted to clink their exceptionally classy pink flamingo plastic wine glasses.
     Kayn took a big gulp of the peach cider. She was surprised, it was delicious. She said, “May I ask who picked out these delightful pink flamingo wine glasses? They are absolutely amazing.”
     Grey chuckled, “That would be me. Do not mock my flamingo wine glasses.”
     Kayn said, “How can one mock these flamingo wine glasses. When, they are so obviously awesome.”
     Grey said, “And this is why me and Miss Brighton are going to be best friends.”


                                                                   Chapter 2


Kayn sat on the shore and wiggled her toes back and forth slowly.  She had always enjoyed the warm calming feeling of the sand. It slipped as a silken scarf of liquid sunshine across the surface of her skin. Kayn took one hand and ran it over the surface of the sand. It shifted as though it had been moved by a light breeze without her hand making contact. Her life now had no room for feet being firmly planted on the ground. She had to allow her mind to take off in flight and except the impossible. She had to embrace life as a toddler. In a child's world, every breath of life is a mystery; everything has the possibility of being magic. She smiled as she imagined that the suns last rays were flames from a distant dragon. Kayn understood that she was an immortal toddler of sorts. She stared at a crab as it tickled a path in the palm of her hand.
      The shade of the sky changed ever so slightly in her peripheral vision. She raised her eyes from her toes to the horizon. To witness the suns last dance in the daylight as it began to descend slowly...Magically into the distant sea. Exotic pastel hues of orange and fuchsia were now painted across the fading expression of the day.  A calm yet isolating vision to take into her heart for it made her feel exceedingly small in the grand scheme of things.


                                                             
                                                                      Chapter 3




     Moments… there are always moments where a decision has to be made. In mortal life there is a choice to be made. One road, or another? The ultimate chose your own adventure story. In the clans, there is only one option, and that is to do whatever your clan’s oracle tells you to do.
     Kayn's steps crunched through the icy snow. She smiled as she watched her breath escape into the crisp evening air. She sat down on the cold wooden bench outside the clinic. Gentle flakes of white powdery snow began to float from the heavens above them.  Kayn loved to watch Grey's face in moments such as this one. He never forgot to enjoy the simplest of things. He practiced what he preached. It made them all want to enjoy those moments with him. He smiled and kept his eyes open as the flakes caught in his eyelashes. He blinked as they melted instantaneously from the warmth of his breath as the twirling waves of his moist heat traveled up from his parted lips towards his eyes. Kayn found herself trying to emulate him.  She went one step further and stuck out her tongue. The flakes melted instantaneously it wasn't quite cold enough outside for them to remain. She had now been to places where her bubble gum froze inside of her mouth as she tried to chew it. Places where when your nose ran it froze solid on her skin in seconds. It was a place like that where Zach learned that peeing in the snow was an incredibly inept idea. She smiled at the memory. Kayn stuck her tongue out as far as it she could in an attempt to see the flakes that rested on its tip. Realizing she was cross eyed as she attempted to look at the tip of her tongue and she probably looked hilarious. She slipped her tongue back in between her lips.    



                                                                Chapter 4



          A large part of their training for the testing seemed to revolve around just that. Understanding that they could not die, this was a surprisingly difficult thing to wrap your mind around.  There was only one of the clan members that had no fear. This was Lexy. Lexy ran head on into situations that most sane people ran away from. She never flinched. There was never a moment of hesitation for her. They met up with Markus, Arrianna and a girl named Flora. They needed Arrianna to run the tombs so they could take a trip to the in-between with Lexy. Kayn loved this part of the training.
Lily had borrowed a storage unit. They walked inside and Frost pulled the rope on the door and closed it. Grey created a small flame in the palm of his hand for light. Grey, Lily, Lexy, and Frost nonchalantly threw down their Ankh stones on the floor. They made a hollow sound as they landed on the cement. In the dimly lit storage unit, four stone Ankh tombs appeared as a hologram and then solidified.
 
     Zach said, “That is always so cool.”

     Kayn looked at him and said, “Ditto.”

     Grey climbed into tomb and glanced at Arrianna. She chucked Grey's tunes at him. He caught them mid air and said, “Thanks babe” Everyone hopped into their tombs. Kayn wondered, Which Ankh would she be sharing a tomb with?

     Grey teased, “Melody, come hop in mine. There’s plenty of room."

     Arrianna shook her head at Grey and sparred,” Oh, just lay off the poor girl, Romeo.”She directed Melody to Lily’s tomb and said, “That one doesn't bite.”

     Grey winked and said, “Just in case you three haven’t figured it out. I’m being mocked and ridiculed because Arrianna is my ex girlfriend. She thinks she can get away with it. I’ll have you know that I haven’t bitten anyone in a very long time.”

     Arrianna teased, “Is that the true Lily?”





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