Sandra Madera's Blog, page 5
June 28, 2014
Progress Report for Wicked Love
Hey, everyone!
My computer has been causing me some major issues. I have had to resort to wiping out everything and installing factory settings. However, that has not solved the issues that I am having. I wouldn't be surprised if my computer is on its last legs or if it has a virus that is effecting the keyboard. This old thing has served me for five good years which is about the longest lifespan of any laptop I ever had. So it is fine.
It has delayed me from continuing to write Wicked Love, but I am forging onward. I am almost ready to send the first few chapters to my editor, and start the second third of the book.
I have also been preparing July's newsletter. It contains a teaser about a special treat I have in store for those special readers who have reviewed my work. More details in the newletter which will be mailed out on the first of the month..
Thanks to everyone for all of your inquiries and support. Please be sure to leave a review for any of books and sign up for the newsletter.
My computer has been causing me some major issues. I have had to resort to wiping out everything and installing factory settings. However, that has not solved the issues that I am having. I wouldn't be surprised if my computer is on its last legs or if it has a virus that is effecting the keyboard. This old thing has served me for five good years which is about the longest lifespan of any laptop I ever had. So it is fine.
It has delayed me from continuing to write Wicked Love, but I am forging onward. I am almost ready to send the first few chapters to my editor, and start the second third of the book.
I have also been preparing July's newsletter. It contains a teaser about a special treat I have in store for those special readers who have reviewed my work. More details in the newletter which will be mailed out on the first of the month..
Thanks to everyone for all of your inquiries and support. Please be sure to leave a review for any of books and sign up for the newsletter.
May 28, 2014
Mailing List
Hello, everyone.
I added the mailing list feature on my website and my blog. It can be seen on the right-hand panel. All it takes is to enter your email and you are all set. Emails will be sent out no more than once a month with updates, promotions, freebies, etc. This will be a good way to keep track of new releases.
Those who sign up will get a FREE PDF version of Scattered. More freebies are planned for the future but these will only be offered to subscribers.
Please be sure to sign up!
I added the mailing list feature on my website and my blog. It can be seen on the right-hand panel. All it takes is to enter your email and you are all set. Emails will be sent out no more than once a month with updates, promotions, freebies, etc. This will be a good way to keep track of new releases.
Those who sign up will get a FREE PDF version of Scattered. More freebies are planned for the future but these will only be offered to subscribers.
Please be sure to sign up!
Unedited Wicked Love Prologue
This is the complete and unedited prologue for Wicked Love and cannot be reposted or copied without direct permission by the author. So, read and enjoy, but please do not repost.
Prologue:
On my Earth, there was a myth about willows. Curiously, my mother would often recount it to me before she tucked me in at night. When I learned my true name, I recalled it faintly as it bubbled up from the back of my mind, but I pushed it away, not wanting to face the truth. It took me a long while to realize that this story from my childhood would inexplicably shape the course of my life.
It was all in my name. It had the power to invoke the situation I currently found myself in. I could have stopped it... I could have taken steps to prevent it if I made the connection, but I didn’t.
As my entire existence flashed before my eyes, I remembered my early life in the Realm of Knowledge. I was four when we moved to a shabby plantation house in Louisiana; it was just one of many moves. Yet, this house stood out in my mind, because there was a large willow tree in the front garden.
I recalled lying beneath its umbrella of leaves as a breeze passed through its hanging branches. The leaves shook as the air brushed against them, creating the unique sound of weeping. In my young mind, this sound of broken-hearted despair was linked to Orpheus’ ballad.
In the myth, Orpheus, the son of a Muse and a Thracian prince, was given the gift of music by his mother, mastering it as he grew into adulthood. No one could resist his gift for song, and he gained the heart of a beautiful maiden named Eurydice, but their happiness was short-lived. Directly after their union, Eurydice was stung by a viper and died.
With her soul resting in the eternity of death, Orpheus became depressed, wanting nothing more than to reach the end of his life quickly so that he could be with Eurydice again in the afterlife. But instead of the days flying by, time seemed to slow to a snail’s pace, prolonging his suffering. Then he had an idea. Rather than wait on death, he would travel to the Underworld and retrieve his lost love, using his gift of song to put the ruler of Hades under a trance.
Without delay, he journeyed with only his lyre made from the wood of a willow tree. The gods looked down on him favorably, and his plan worked as no one could resist him when he sang. He was granted his wish of being united with Eurydice under one condition.... He was not to look back at her as she followed him out of the Underworld. He happily agreed.
His journey back out of the underworld was uneventful. He trekked to the surface in silence, but he could not resist the urge to look over his shoulder, needing confirmation that Eurydice was indeed following him. As he climbed out of the darkness and into the twilight of the surface, he turned around and gazed upon the face of his lost love, but it was too soon. Still in the cavern, Eurydice faded away, returning to Hades. Unable to journey back into the Underworld, Orpheus lived the rest of his days in agony over his mistake, singing mournful ballads about his lost love as he played his lyre. It was the same lyre which was made from the wood of a willow.
The willow tree will always be associated with the grief of a love lost. Did Nalin know that when he named me Willow? Did he know that he was setting the both of us up for failure and dooming us to be separated by the realms?
I fought until every muscle in my body burned for relief, quivering until I couldn’t bring myself to attempt once more. My breathing was ragged from my efforts, and as evidence, my brow was damp with droplets of sweat. Hell was hot, and I couldn’t continue to strain my body without fuel. It was becoming depleted of its electrolytes. My mouth was as dry as cotton ball by the time the effects of dehydration began to settle in.
My mind became clouded, making it increasingly difficult to form a solitary thought. Working twice as hard to concentrate, my eyes began to play tricks on me. I began to glimpse shadows which stood just beyond my peripheral vision. In my current state of exhaustion, I thought I saw a familiar silhouette which surprised me.
“Nalin!” I called out, keeping my tone low. Straining to hear the slightest sound, I was greeted with more silence. “Nalin, is that you?”
My heart was aflutter. I scanned the room, waiting anxiously for him. Yet, I was greeted with more silence. Disappointed, I slouched in my chair.
My mind replayed the tragic scene that occurred only a few hours before. Nalin would not be coming to my rescue. It was doubtful that he was even alive. He had been badly, perhaps fatally, wounded when he was cast off to another realm. Still, in my heart, I had hope. Picturing his handsome face in my head and holding him for that short moment, my hope was revitalized before our fortunes were turned once more, and he was ripped away from me. Now we are separated once again by realms and restraints as if I made no progress at all.
Forcing my head forward, I gritted my teeth and tried to shift myself off of my seat by sheer will power. However, the crown on my head was on its own a device of torture, squeezing my skull like a vice.
I cried out, collapsing in my seat once more.
My heart fluttered within my core, gently reminding me that it could not keep up with the elevation in heart rate for much longer. Instinct wanted to choose flight over fight, but since fleeing was not an option and fighting was useless, the only other option was to give in. Bound to the armrests and legs of the throne with golden shackles, I wept silently, but my body couldn’t afford to part with a single tear.
I conceded to defeat. I was dying. I knew it, and I couldn’t deny this fact to myself any longer. The Dark King’s spell was killing me. I could feel the poison in my veins as a paralyzing cold grabbed hold of my legs and slowly began to work its way up my torso. At first, the cold was tolerable, but as it rose from my limbs to my core, my heat reserves suddenly vanished, and my blood began to feel as frigid as ice water.
Shivering, I struggled to breathe as the cold worked its way up to my lungs. I could see my breath as it left my nostrils in a white cloud. “What is happening to me?” I asked myself, confused.
“Soon you will be ready to join me,” the Dark King’s voice echoed through the room, answering my question but choosing to remain hidden. “Soon the old Willow will fade away and be lost forever.”
I shook my head defiantly. “You are a liar, a deceiver,” I told him bitterly. “I will always be who I am. You can’t take that away from me. You can’t strip me of my spirit.”
His footsteps echoed through the perimeter of the hall, shaking the stone floors. “You are but half a being, half a soul,” he answered, his voice booming from the dark corners of the chamber. “Something which was never meant to be created, but yet, exists. You are something... strange.”
“But I am a person,” I shouted angrily, insulted that he was devaluing me. “I have a soul! I will not permit you to just discard it.”
“What choice do you have in the matter? You have stained it beyond measure,” he replied, his tone playful as if toying with me. “Souls are curious in that way. They hold no value until they are lost.”
I stared wide-eyed into the shadows, anxiously trying to catch a glimpse of my enemy as it stalked me.
As his footsteps grew distant, he laughed as he retreated further into the darkness. “When you brought that blood-stained horn to me, I knew I had a foothold,” he said, his voice fading as the distance grew between them. “In the simple act of killing something innocent, without stain, you forfeited yourself to me, body and soul.”
In a last stitch effort, I contemplated praying to the Creator, hoping that in his mercy he would grant me freedom, but I realized I had never invoked his help before, and I wasn’t sure how to at that moment.
Frustrated and scared, I leaned back in my seat and glanced up at the vaulted ceiling. There was so much that I did not get the chance to see... so many experiences that I did not live. I would die with many regrets but none as great as the loss of time. I had spent so many years on the human Earth that I could have spent beside my twin soul. I painfully thought of the life we could have had if attempts had not been made on my life, and I hadn’t been stolen away. Nalin and I could have formalized our union. We could have had children, but this life that I dreamed up for us was not meant to be.
As the cold overtook me, I relied on my connection with Nalin, and I spoke as if he could hear me... as if it were the last time.
“I love you more... than I have ever loved anyone... in my life,” I whispered, gasping for air as my lungs began to freeze, and my vision blurred over. “I can’t imagine dying. I am so... scared. Most of all... I am scared to be without you forever. Find me, Nalin. Find me in eternity.”
Prologue:
On my Earth, there was a myth about willows. Curiously, my mother would often recount it to me before she tucked me in at night. When I learned my true name, I recalled it faintly as it bubbled up from the back of my mind, but I pushed it away, not wanting to face the truth. It took me a long while to realize that this story from my childhood would inexplicably shape the course of my life.
It was all in my name. It had the power to invoke the situation I currently found myself in. I could have stopped it... I could have taken steps to prevent it if I made the connection, but I didn’t.
As my entire existence flashed before my eyes, I remembered my early life in the Realm of Knowledge. I was four when we moved to a shabby plantation house in Louisiana; it was just one of many moves. Yet, this house stood out in my mind, because there was a large willow tree in the front garden.
I recalled lying beneath its umbrella of leaves as a breeze passed through its hanging branches. The leaves shook as the air brushed against them, creating the unique sound of weeping. In my young mind, this sound of broken-hearted despair was linked to Orpheus’ ballad.
In the myth, Orpheus, the son of a Muse and a Thracian prince, was given the gift of music by his mother, mastering it as he grew into adulthood. No one could resist his gift for song, and he gained the heart of a beautiful maiden named Eurydice, but their happiness was short-lived. Directly after their union, Eurydice was stung by a viper and died.
With her soul resting in the eternity of death, Orpheus became depressed, wanting nothing more than to reach the end of his life quickly so that he could be with Eurydice again in the afterlife. But instead of the days flying by, time seemed to slow to a snail’s pace, prolonging his suffering. Then he had an idea. Rather than wait on death, he would travel to the Underworld and retrieve his lost love, using his gift of song to put the ruler of Hades under a trance.
Without delay, he journeyed with only his lyre made from the wood of a willow tree. The gods looked down on him favorably, and his plan worked as no one could resist him when he sang. He was granted his wish of being united with Eurydice under one condition.... He was not to look back at her as she followed him out of the Underworld. He happily agreed.
His journey back out of the underworld was uneventful. He trekked to the surface in silence, but he could not resist the urge to look over his shoulder, needing confirmation that Eurydice was indeed following him. As he climbed out of the darkness and into the twilight of the surface, he turned around and gazed upon the face of his lost love, but it was too soon. Still in the cavern, Eurydice faded away, returning to Hades. Unable to journey back into the Underworld, Orpheus lived the rest of his days in agony over his mistake, singing mournful ballads about his lost love as he played his lyre. It was the same lyre which was made from the wood of a willow.
The willow tree will always be associated with the grief of a love lost. Did Nalin know that when he named me Willow? Did he know that he was setting the both of us up for failure and dooming us to be separated by the realms?
I fought until every muscle in my body burned for relief, quivering until I couldn’t bring myself to attempt once more. My breathing was ragged from my efforts, and as evidence, my brow was damp with droplets of sweat. Hell was hot, and I couldn’t continue to strain my body without fuel. It was becoming depleted of its electrolytes. My mouth was as dry as cotton ball by the time the effects of dehydration began to settle in.
My mind became clouded, making it increasingly difficult to form a solitary thought. Working twice as hard to concentrate, my eyes began to play tricks on me. I began to glimpse shadows which stood just beyond my peripheral vision. In my current state of exhaustion, I thought I saw a familiar silhouette which surprised me.
“Nalin!” I called out, keeping my tone low. Straining to hear the slightest sound, I was greeted with more silence. “Nalin, is that you?”
My heart was aflutter. I scanned the room, waiting anxiously for him. Yet, I was greeted with more silence. Disappointed, I slouched in my chair.
My mind replayed the tragic scene that occurred only a few hours before. Nalin would not be coming to my rescue. It was doubtful that he was even alive. He had been badly, perhaps fatally, wounded when he was cast off to another realm. Still, in my heart, I had hope. Picturing his handsome face in my head and holding him for that short moment, my hope was revitalized before our fortunes were turned once more, and he was ripped away from me. Now we are separated once again by realms and restraints as if I made no progress at all.
Forcing my head forward, I gritted my teeth and tried to shift myself off of my seat by sheer will power. However, the crown on my head was on its own a device of torture, squeezing my skull like a vice.
I cried out, collapsing in my seat once more.
My heart fluttered within my core, gently reminding me that it could not keep up with the elevation in heart rate for much longer. Instinct wanted to choose flight over fight, but since fleeing was not an option and fighting was useless, the only other option was to give in. Bound to the armrests and legs of the throne with golden shackles, I wept silently, but my body couldn’t afford to part with a single tear.
I conceded to defeat. I was dying. I knew it, and I couldn’t deny this fact to myself any longer. The Dark King’s spell was killing me. I could feel the poison in my veins as a paralyzing cold grabbed hold of my legs and slowly began to work its way up my torso. At first, the cold was tolerable, but as it rose from my limbs to my core, my heat reserves suddenly vanished, and my blood began to feel as frigid as ice water.
Shivering, I struggled to breathe as the cold worked its way up to my lungs. I could see my breath as it left my nostrils in a white cloud. “What is happening to me?” I asked myself, confused.
“Soon you will be ready to join me,” the Dark King’s voice echoed through the room, answering my question but choosing to remain hidden. “Soon the old Willow will fade away and be lost forever.”
I shook my head defiantly. “You are a liar, a deceiver,” I told him bitterly. “I will always be who I am. You can’t take that away from me. You can’t strip me of my spirit.”
His footsteps echoed through the perimeter of the hall, shaking the stone floors. “You are but half a being, half a soul,” he answered, his voice booming from the dark corners of the chamber. “Something which was never meant to be created, but yet, exists. You are something... strange.”
“But I am a person,” I shouted angrily, insulted that he was devaluing me. “I have a soul! I will not permit you to just discard it.”
“What choice do you have in the matter? You have stained it beyond measure,” he replied, his tone playful as if toying with me. “Souls are curious in that way. They hold no value until they are lost.”
I stared wide-eyed into the shadows, anxiously trying to catch a glimpse of my enemy as it stalked me.
As his footsteps grew distant, he laughed as he retreated further into the darkness. “When you brought that blood-stained horn to me, I knew I had a foothold,” he said, his voice fading as the distance grew between them. “In the simple act of killing something innocent, without stain, you forfeited yourself to me, body and soul.”
In a last stitch effort, I contemplated praying to the Creator, hoping that in his mercy he would grant me freedom, but I realized I had never invoked his help before, and I wasn’t sure how to at that moment.
Frustrated and scared, I leaned back in my seat and glanced up at the vaulted ceiling. There was so much that I did not get the chance to see... so many experiences that I did not live. I would die with many regrets but none as great as the loss of time. I had spent so many years on the human Earth that I could have spent beside my twin soul. I painfully thought of the life we could have had if attempts had not been made on my life, and I hadn’t been stolen away. Nalin and I could have formalized our union. We could have had children, but this life that I dreamed up for us was not meant to be.
As the cold overtook me, I relied on my connection with Nalin, and I spoke as if he could hear me... as if it were the last time.
“I love you more... than I have ever loved anyone... in my life,” I whispered, gasping for air as my lungs began to freeze, and my vision blurred over. “I can’t imagine dying. I am so... scared. Most of all... I am scared to be without you forever. Find me, Nalin. Find me in eternity.”
May 24, 2014
What's Up Now
Hello, everyone in cyberspace! I hope all is well. Things have been getting better as far as internet connection and such...so I am able to post again.
So, one thing I have been working on is a post about character building based on a quote I read by Stephen King. So that might be published on Blog Critics before my actual blog. Eventually, I will post it on here so look out for that.
Everyone knows I am writing Wicked Love right now, but I was thinking of starting an email list so that I can communicate with readers about what is new, freebies, release dates, cover reveals, etc. I am going to be working on adding that to my blog. If you would like yo be added to my emailing list, you can waiting until I install the tool or email me personally at smadera23@yahoo.com. Each person who signs up will save themselves $0.99 by receiving a FREE copy of Scattered.
I updated my wallpapers on my website, www.sandramadera.com, so that is a fun thing to check out. I have one of my wallpapers on my computer as a desktop and it looks lovely...I must say. :)
Another thing is that since I posted the initial preview of Wicked Love, I finished the prologue so it is longer and more detailed than the version put up on the last posting. I will add the whole prologue as apart of a future post.
Remember to keep posting reviews and spreading the good reading on to friends. Your review or referral could be the difference between someone reading my work or missing out entirely!
So, one thing I have been working on is a post about character building based on a quote I read by Stephen King. So that might be published on Blog Critics before my actual blog. Eventually, I will post it on here so look out for that.
Everyone knows I am writing Wicked Love right now, but I was thinking of starting an email list so that I can communicate with readers about what is new, freebies, release dates, cover reveals, etc. I am going to be working on adding that to my blog. If you would like yo be added to my emailing list, you can waiting until I install the tool or email me personally at smadera23@yahoo.com. Each person who signs up will save themselves $0.99 by receiving a FREE copy of Scattered.
I updated my wallpapers on my website, www.sandramadera.com, so that is a fun thing to check out. I have one of my wallpapers on my computer as a desktop and it looks lovely...I must say. :)
Another thing is that since I posted the initial preview of Wicked Love, I finished the prologue so it is longer and more detailed than the version put up on the last posting. I will add the whole prologue as apart of a future post.
Remember to keep posting reviews and spreading the good reading on to friends. Your review or referral could be the difference between someone reading my work or missing out entirely!
May 20, 2014
Uhhh.... Time Warner Cable kills me!
Hi, everyone.
If you haven't guessed, air have Time Warner Cable which has been experiencing some technical difficulties with their WiFi in my area. So I haven't had internet since yesterday morning. I am stuck using my phone data as I write this.
This outage came in the middle of updating my website and zazzle account. It drives me crazy! This comes as results of the ranking of cable providers were announced. Time Warner was ranked dead last.
Once the internet is up, I will update some images (wallpapers and bookmarks) and some things on my blog. Malcontent has been published as a softcover and I will update the links on my website. Right now, it is available on Amazon.
If you haven't guessed, air have Time Warner Cable which has been experiencing some technical difficulties with their WiFi in my area. So I haven't had internet since yesterday morning. I am stuck using my phone data as I write this.
This outage came in the middle of updating my website and zazzle account. It drives me crazy! This comes as results of the ranking of cable providers were announced. Time Warner was ranked dead last.
Once the internet is up, I will update some images (wallpapers and bookmarks) and some things on my blog. Malcontent has been published as a softcover and I will update the links on my website. Right now, it is available on Amazon.
April 18, 2014
Smashwords Sale Codes
Today is the first day of Smashwords Sale, and in order to add the books of the Restraint Trilogy in your cart for $0.99, you will need a coupon code.
Buy Lament: A Restraint Novel for $0.99 at Smashwords.
Coupon Code: PT72G
Buy Malcontent: A Restraint Novel for $0.99 at Smashwords.
Coupon Code: ED73R
With these coupons, the entire Restraint Trilogy will be under $3.00 US which is less than you would spend buying Malcontent at its regular price of $3.99. Take advantage of sale this weekend and remember to leave a review after you have read the books. Thanks!
Buy Lament: A Restraint Novel for $0.99 at Smashwords.
Coupon Code: PT72G
Buy Malcontent: A Restraint Novel for $0.99 at Smashwords.
Coupon Code: ED73R
With these coupons, the entire Restraint Trilogy will be under $3.00 US which is less than you would spend buying Malcontent at its regular price of $3.99. Take advantage of sale this weekend and remember to leave a review after you have read the books. Thanks!
April 15, 2014
Smashwords Sale!
Hello, everyone.
As a special treat to honor the release of Malcontent, I will be putting Lament and Malcontent on sale for $0.99. That means that each book will be less than a dollar each for a whole weekend. If you have not read this series, I invite you to while it is on sale. Smashwords, for those that don't have an account, is great because it offers all formats, including .epub for Nooks and .mobi for Kindles. The sale will take place this weekend, from Friday the 18th to Sunday the 20th.
As for finding out about upcoming sales and releases, there is a way to follow all of my blog posts by entering your email on the right of the screen. Please be sure to use that option, because I plan to announce a sale before the release of Wicked Love.
Have a happy holiday weekend filled with many blessings! Thanks!
My Smashwords Page
As a special treat to honor the release of Malcontent, I will be putting Lament and Malcontent on sale for $0.99. That means that each book will be less than a dollar each for a whole weekend. If you have not read this series, I invite you to while it is on sale. Smashwords, for those that don't have an account, is great because it offers all formats, including .epub for Nooks and .mobi for Kindles. The sale will take place this weekend, from Friday the 18th to Sunday the 20th.
As for finding out about upcoming sales and releases, there is a way to follow all of my blog posts by entering your email on the right of the screen. Please be sure to use that option, because I plan to announce a sale before the release of Wicked Love.
Have a happy holiday weekend filled with many blessings! Thanks!
My Smashwords Page
March 30, 2014
Download Scattered Free!
Hi, everyone.
From today until the 3rd of April, Scattered will be FREE on Amazon.com to download. This opportunity comes around once every few months where I am able to put it up on Amazon for free. It is not something they offer for more than five days at a time. There have been people who work around it. I have, personally, not figured out a way how I can do that for a work I want to post exclusively on Amazon. If you have any suggestions, please post or forward them to me.
Scattered is a psychological thriller/murder mystery. I am so proud of it. I really believe it is one of my best works. Give it a try and please share your thoughts by adding a review to Amazon.
Thank you!
Download Scattered here.
Rebecca Ardsley was a witness to a traumatic event that she cannot remember. All she knows is she was found wandering in the woods in the early morning hours, suffering from shock. She hasn’t seen her friends and family in months. When she is released from a recovery facility, she finds it hard to adapt and return to the friends she has known her whole life. Feeling like a stranger in a foreign land, Rebecca realizes the only way to settle what happened is to release the memories that are trapped in her own mind. Even at risk of her own life.
Word Count: 14,087
From today until the 3rd of April, Scattered will be FREE on Amazon.com to download. This opportunity comes around once every few months where I am able to put it up on Amazon for free. It is not something they offer for more than five days at a time. There have been people who work around it. I have, personally, not figured out a way how I can do that for a work I want to post exclusively on Amazon. If you have any suggestions, please post or forward them to me.
Scattered is a psychological thriller/murder mystery. I am so proud of it. I really believe it is one of my best works. Give it a try and please share your thoughts by adding a review to Amazon.
Thank you!
Download Scattered here.
Rebecca Ardsley was a witness to a traumatic event that she cannot remember. All she knows is she was found wandering in the woods in the early morning hours, suffering from shock. She hasn’t seen her friends and family in months. When she is released from a recovery facility, she finds it hard to adapt and return to the friends she has known her whole life. Feeling like a stranger in a foreign land, Rebecca realizes the only way to settle what happened is to release the memories that are trapped in her own mind. Even at risk of her own life.Word Count: 14,087
March 18, 2014
Wicked Love Preview
Hello, everyone.
Now that Malcontent is out of the way, I decided to start working on Wicked Love last night, and I have already written the prologue. I decided that I wanted to offer the readers that have been waiting for the next installment a tease of what is to come. I know you guys have been foaming at the mouth after waiting so long for this next book, but I promise that it will be worth the wait.
I decided to post the prologue on my blog rather than put it up on Feedbooks as I have in previous years, because others take that work and put it on other sites, conning people into believing it is the full book. These secondary sites cannot be trusted as some actually promote books for download but actually cause you to download a virus. So, hopefully, posting it here is a better option. Let me know what you think about the prologue or the post.
Thanks!
PROLOGUE
WILLOW:
I fought until every muscle in my body burned for relief, quivering until I couldn’t bring myself to attempt once more. My breathing was ragged from my efforts, and as evidence of my efforts, my brow was damp with droplets of sweat. Hell was hot, and I couldn’t continue to strain my body without fuel. It was becoming depleted of its electrolytes. My mouth was as dry as cotton ball by the time the effects of dehydration began to settle in.
My mind became clouded, making it increasingly difficult to form a solitary thought. Working twice as hard to concentrate, my eyes began to play tricks on me. I began to glimpse shadows which stood just beyond my peripheral vision. In my current state of exhaustion, I thought I saw a familiar silhouette which surprised me.
“Nalin!” I called out, keeping my tone low. Straining to hear the slightest sound, I was greeted with more silence. “Nalin, is that you?”
Disappointed, I slouched in my chair.
My mind replayed the tragic scene that occurred only a few hours before. Nalin would not be coming to my rescue. It was doubtful that he was even alive. He had been badly, perhaps fatally, wounded when he was cast off to another realm. Still, in my heart, I had hope. Picturing his handsome face in my head and holding him for that short moment, my hope was revitalized before our fortunes were turned once more, and he was ripped away from me. Now we are separated once again by realms and restraints as if I made no progress at all.
Forcing my head forward, I gritted my teeth and tried to move myself off of my seat by sheer will power. However, the crown on my head was on its own a device of torture, squeezing my head like a vice.
I cried out, collapsing in my seat once more.
My heart fluttered within my core, gently reminding me that it could not keep up with the elevation in heart rate for much longer. Instinct wanted to choose flight over fight, but since fleeing was not an option and fighting was useless, the only other option was to give in. Bound to the armrests and legs of the throne with golden shackles, I wept silently, but my body couldn’t afford to part with a single tear.
I conceded to defeat. I was dying. I knew it, and I couldn’t deny this fact to myself any longer. The Dark King’s spell was killing me. I could feel the poison in my veins as a paralyzing cold grabbed hold of my legs and slowly began to work its way up my torso. At first, the cold was tolerable, but as it rose from my limbs to my core, my heat reserves suddenly vanished, and my blood began to feel as frigid as ice water.
Shivering, I struggled to breathe as the cold worked its way up to my lungs. I could see my breath as it left my nostrils in a white cloud. “What is happening to me?” I asked myself, confused.
“Soon you will be ready to join me,” the Dark King’s voice echoed through the room, answering my question but choosing to remain hidden. “Soon the old Willow will fade away and be lost forever.”
I shook my head defiantly. “You are a liar, a deceiver,” I told him bitterly. “I will always be who I am. You can’t take that away from me. You can’t strip me of my spirit.”
His footsteps echoed through the perimeter of the hall, shaking the stone floors. “You are but half a being, half a soul,” he answered, his voice booming from the dark corners of the chamber. “Something which was never meant to be created, but yet, exists. You are something... strange.”
“But I am a person,” I shouted angrily, insulted that he was devaluing me. “I have a soul! I will not permit you to just discard it.”
“What choice do you have in the matter? You have stained it beyond measure,” he replied, his tone playful as if toying with me. “Souls are curious in that way. They hold no value until they are lost.”
I stared wide-eyed into the shadows, anxiously trying to catch a glimpse of my enemy as it stalked me.
As his footsteps grew distant, he laughed as he retreated further into the darkness. “When you brought that blood-stained horn to me, I knew I had a foothold,” he said, his voice fading as the distance grew between them. “In the simple act of killing something innocent, without stain, you forfeited yourself to me, body and soul.”
In a last stitch effort, I contemplated praying to the Creator, hoping that in his mercy he would grant me freedom, but I realized I had never invoked his help before, and I wasn’t sure how to at that moment.
Frustrated and scared, I leaned back in my seat and glanced up at the vaulted ceiling. There was so much that I did not get the chance to see. So many experiences that I did not live. I would die with many regrets but none as great as the loss of time. I had spent so many years on the human Earth that I could have spent beside my twin soul. I painfully thought of the life we could have had if attempts had not been made on my life, and I hadn’t been stolen away. Nalin and I could have formalized our union. We could have had children, but this life that I dreamed up for us was not meant to be.
As the cold overtook me, I relied on my connection with Nalin, and I spoke as if he could hear me... as if it were the last time.
“I love you more... than I have ever loved anyone... in my life,” I whispered, gasping for air as my lung began to freeze, and my vision blurred. “I can’t imagine dying. I am so... scared. Most of all... I am scared to be without you forever. Find me, Nalin. Find me in eternity.”
***
This is copyrighted material. Please do not repost without permission from the author.
Now that Malcontent is out of the way, I decided to start working on Wicked Love last night, and I have already written the prologue. I decided that I wanted to offer the readers that have been waiting for the next installment a tease of what is to come. I know you guys have been foaming at the mouth after waiting so long for this next book, but I promise that it will be worth the wait.
I decided to post the prologue on my blog rather than put it up on Feedbooks as I have in previous years, because others take that work and put it on other sites, conning people into believing it is the full book. These secondary sites cannot be trusted as some actually promote books for download but actually cause you to download a virus. So, hopefully, posting it here is a better option. Let me know what you think about the prologue or the post.
Thanks!
PROLOGUE
WILLOW:
I fought until every muscle in my body burned for relief, quivering until I couldn’t bring myself to attempt once more. My breathing was ragged from my efforts, and as evidence of my efforts, my brow was damp with droplets of sweat. Hell was hot, and I couldn’t continue to strain my body without fuel. It was becoming depleted of its electrolytes. My mouth was as dry as cotton ball by the time the effects of dehydration began to settle in.
My mind became clouded, making it increasingly difficult to form a solitary thought. Working twice as hard to concentrate, my eyes began to play tricks on me. I began to glimpse shadows which stood just beyond my peripheral vision. In my current state of exhaustion, I thought I saw a familiar silhouette which surprised me.
“Nalin!” I called out, keeping my tone low. Straining to hear the slightest sound, I was greeted with more silence. “Nalin, is that you?”
Disappointed, I slouched in my chair.
My mind replayed the tragic scene that occurred only a few hours before. Nalin would not be coming to my rescue. It was doubtful that he was even alive. He had been badly, perhaps fatally, wounded when he was cast off to another realm. Still, in my heart, I had hope. Picturing his handsome face in my head and holding him for that short moment, my hope was revitalized before our fortunes were turned once more, and he was ripped away from me. Now we are separated once again by realms and restraints as if I made no progress at all.
Forcing my head forward, I gritted my teeth and tried to move myself off of my seat by sheer will power. However, the crown on my head was on its own a device of torture, squeezing my head like a vice.
I cried out, collapsing in my seat once more.
My heart fluttered within my core, gently reminding me that it could not keep up with the elevation in heart rate for much longer. Instinct wanted to choose flight over fight, but since fleeing was not an option and fighting was useless, the only other option was to give in. Bound to the armrests and legs of the throne with golden shackles, I wept silently, but my body couldn’t afford to part with a single tear.
I conceded to defeat. I was dying. I knew it, and I couldn’t deny this fact to myself any longer. The Dark King’s spell was killing me. I could feel the poison in my veins as a paralyzing cold grabbed hold of my legs and slowly began to work its way up my torso. At first, the cold was tolerable, but as it rose from my limbs to my core, my heat reserves suddenly vanished, and my blood began to feel as frigid as ice water.
Shivering, I struggled to breathe as the cold worked its way up to my lungs. I could see my breath as it left my nostrils in a white cloud. “What is happening to me?” I asked myself, confused.
“Soon you will be ready to join me,” the Dark King’s voice echoed through the room, answering my question but choosing to remain hidden. “Soon the old Willow will fade away and be lost forever.”
I shook my head defiantly. “You are a liar, a deceiver,” I told him bitterly. “I will always be who I am. You can’t take that away from me. You can’t strip me of my spirit.”
His footsteps echoed through the perimeter of the hall, shaking the stone floors. “You are but half a being, half a soul,” he answered, his voice booming from the dark corners of the chamber. “Something which was never meant to be created, but yet, exists. You are something... strange.”
“But I am a person,” I shouted angrily, insulted that he was devaluing me. “I have a soul! I will not permit you to just discard it.”
“What choice do you have in the matter? You have stained it beyond measure,” he replied, his tone playful as if toying with me. “Souls are curious in that way. They hold no value until they are lost.”
I stared wide-eyed into the shadows, anxiously trying to catch a glimpse of my enemy as it stalked me.
As his footsteps grew distant, he laughed as he retreated further into the darkness. “When you brought that blood-stained horn to me, I knew I had a foothold,” he said, his voice fading as the distance grew between them. “In the simple act of killing something innocent, without stain, you forfeited yourself to me, body and soul.”
In a last stitch effort, I contemplated praying to the Creator, hoping that in his mercy he would grant me freedom, but I realized I had never invoked his help before, and I wasn’t sure how to at that moment.
Frustrated and scared, I leaned back in my seat and glanced up at the vaulted ceiling. There was so much that I did not get the chance to see. So many experiences that I did not live. I would die with many regrets but none as great as the loss of time. I had spent so many years on the human Earth that I could have spent beside my twin soul. I painfully thought of the life we could have had if attempts had not been made on my life, and I hadn’t been stolen away. Nalin and I could have formalized our union. We could have had children, but this life that I dreamed up for us was not meant to be.
As the cold overtook me, I relied on my connection with Nalin, and I spoke as if he could hear me... as if it were the last time.
“I love you more... than I have ever loved anyone... in my life,” I whispered, gasping for air as my lung began to freeze, and my vision blurred. “I can’t imagine dying. I am so... scared. Most of all... I am scared to be without you forever. Find me, Nalin. Find me in eternity.”
***
This is copyrighted material. Please do not repost without permission from the author.
WIcked Love Preview
Hello, everyone.
Now that Malcontent is out of the way, I decided to start working on Wicked Love last night, and I have already written the prologue. I decided that I wanted to offer the readers that have been waiting for the next installment a tease of what is to come. I know you guys have been foaming at the mouth after waiting so long for this next book, but I promise that it will be worth the wait.
I decided to post the prologue on my blog rather than put it up on Feedbooks as I have in previous years, because others take that work and put it on other sites, conning people into believing it is the full book. These secondary sites cannot be trusted as some actually promote books for download but actually cause you to download a virus. So, hopefully, posting it here is a better option. Let me know what you think about the prologue or the post.
Thanks!
PROLOGUE
WILLOW:
I fought until every muscle in my body burned for relief, quivering until I couldn’t bring myself to attempt once more. My breathing was ragged from my efforts, and as evidence of my efforts, my brow was damp with droplets of sweat. Hell was hot, and I couldn’t continue to strain my body without fuel. It was becoming depleted of its electrolytes. My mouth was as dry as cotton ball by the time the effects of dehydration began to settle in.
My mind became clouded, making it increasingly difficult to form a solitary thought. Working twice as hard to concentrate, my eyes began to play tricks on me. I began to glimpse shadows which stood just beyond my peripheral vision. In my current state of exhaustion, I thought I saw a familiar silhouette which surprised me.
“Nalin!” I called out, keeping my tone low. Straining to hear the slightest sound, I was greeted with more silence. “Nalin, is that you?”
Disappointed, I slouched in my chair.
My mind replayed the tragic scene that occurred only a few hours before. Nalin would not be coming to my rescue. It was doubtful that he was even alive. He had been badly, perhaps fatally, wounded when he was cast off to another realm. Still, in my heart, I had hope. Picturing his handsome face in my head and holding him for that short moment, my hope was revitalized before our fortunes were turned once more, and he was ripped away from me. Now we are separated once again by realms and restraints as if I made no progress at all.
Forcing my head forward, I gritted my teeth and tried to force myself off of my seat by sheer force. However, the crown on my head was on its own a device of torture, squeezing my head like a vice.
I cried out, collapsing in my seat once more.
My heart fluttered within my core, gently reminding me that it could not keep up with the elevation in heart rate for much longer. Instinct wanted to choose flight over fight, but since fleeing was not an option and fighting was useless, the only other option was to give in. Bound to the armrests and legs of the throne with golden shackles, I wept silently, but my body couldn’t afford to part with a single tear.
I conceded to defeat. I was dying. I knew it, and I couldn’t deny this fact to myself any longer. The Dark King’s spell was killing me. I could feel the poison in my veins as a paralyzing cold grabbed hold of my legs and slowly began to work its way up my torso. At first, the cold was tolerable, but as it rose from my limbs to my core, my heat reserves suddenly vanished, and my blood began to feel as frigid as ice water.
Shivering, I struggled to breathe as the cold worked its way up to my lungs. I could see my breath as it left my nostrils in a white cloud. “What is happening to me?” I asked myself, confused.
“Soon you will be ready to join me,” the Dark King’s voice echoed through the room, answering my question but choosing to remain hidden. “Soon the old Willow will fade away and be lost forever.”
I shook my head defiantly. “You are a liar, a deceiver,” she told him bitterly. “I will always be who I am. You can’t take that away from me. You can’t strip me of my spirit.”
His footsteps echoed through the perimeter of the hall, shaking the stone floors. “You are but half a being, half a soul,” he answered, his voice booming from the dark corners of the chamber. “Something which was never meant to be created, but yet, exists. You are something... strange.”
“But I am a person,” I shouted angrily, insulted that he was devaluing me. “I have a soul! I will not permit you to just discard it.”
“What choice do you have in the matter? You have stained it beyond measure,” he replied, his tone playful as if toying with me. “Souls are curious in that way. They hold no value until they are lost.”
I stared wide-eyed into the shadows, anxiously trying to catch a glimpse of my enemy as it stalked me.
As his footsteps grew distant, he laughed as he retreated further into the darkness. “When you brought that blood-stained horn to me, I knew I had a foothold,” he said, his voice fading as the distance grew between them. “In the simple act of killing something innocent, without stain, you forfeited yourself to me, body and soul.”
In a last stitch effort, I contemplated praying to the Creator, hoping that in his mercy he would grant me freedom, but I realized I had never invoked his help before, and I wasn’t sure how to at that moment.
Frustrated and scared, I leaned back in my seat and glanced up at the vaulted ceiling. There was so much that I did not get the chance to see. So many experiences that I did not live. I would die with many regrets but none as great as the loss of time. I had spent so many years on the human Earth that I could have spent beside my twin soul. I painfully thought of the life we could have had if attempts had not been made on my life, and I hadn’t been stolen away. Nalin and I could have formalized our union. We could have had children, but this life that I dreamed up for us was not meant to be.
As the cold overtook me, I relied on my connection with Nalin, and I spoke as if he could hear me... as if it were the last time.
“I love you more... than I have ever loved anyone... in my life,” I whispered, gasping for air as my lung began to freeze, and my vision blurred. “I can’t imagine dying. I am so... scared. Most of all... I am scared to be without you forever. Find me, Nalin. Find me in eternity.”
***
This is copyrighted material. Please do not repost without permission from the author.
Now that Malcontent is out of the way, I decided to start working on Wicked Love last night, and I have already written the prologue. I decided that I wanted to offer the readers that have been waiting for the next installment a tease of what is to come. I know you guys have been foaming at the mouth after waiting so long for this next book, but I promise that it will be worth the wait.
I decided to post the prologue on my blog rather than put it up on Feedbooks as I have in previous years, because others take that work and put it on other sites, conning people into believing it is the full book. These secondary sites cannot be trusted as some actually promote books for download but actually cause you to download a virus. So, hopefully, posting it here is a better option. Let me know what you think about the prologue or the post.
Thanks!
PROLOGUE
WILLOW:
I fought until every muscle in my body burned for relief, quivering until I couldn’t bring myself to attempt once more. My breathing was ragged from my efforts, and as evidence of my efforts, my brow was damp with droplets of sweat. Hell was hot, and I couldn’t continue to strain my body without fuel. It was becoming depleted of its electrolytes. My mouth was as dry as cotton ball by the time the effects of dehydration began to settle in.
My mind became clouded, making it increasingly difficult to form a solitary thought. Working twice as hard to concentrate, my eyes began to play tricks on me. I began to glimpse shadows which stood just beyond my peripheral vision. In my current state of exhaustion, I thought I saw a familiar silhouette which surprised me.
“Nalin!” I called out, keeping my tone low. Straining to hear the slightest sound, I was greeted with more silence. “Nalin, is that you?”
Disappointed, I slouched in my chair.
My mind replayed the tragic scene that occurred only a few hours before. Nalin would not be coming to my rescue. It was doubtful that he was even alive. He had been badly, perhaps fatally, wounded when he was cast off to another realm. Still, in my heart, I had hope. Picturing his handsome face in my head and holding him for that short moment, my hope was revitalized before our fortunes were turned once more, and he was ripped away from me. Now we are separated once again by realms and restraints as if I made no progress at all.
Forcing my head forward, I gritted my teeth and tried to force myself off of my seat by sheer force. However, the crown on my head was on its own a device of torture, squeezing my head like a vice.
I cried out, collapsing in my seat once more.
My heart fluttered within my core, gently reminding me that it could not keep up with the elevation in heart rate for much longer. Instinct wanted to choose flight over fight, but since fleeing was not an option and fighting was useless, the only other option was to give in. Bound to the armrests and legs of the throne with golden shackles, I wept silently, but my body couldn’t afford to part with a single tear.
I conceded to defeat. I was dying. I knew it, and I couldn’t deny this fact to myself any longer. The Dark King’s spell was killing me. I could feel the poison in my veins as a paralyzing cold grabbed hold of my legs and slowly began to work its way up my torso. At first, the cold was tolerable, but as it rose from my limbs to my core, my heat reserves suddenly vanished, and my blood began to feel as frigid as ice water.
Shivering, I struggled to breathe as the cold worked its way up to my lungs. I could see my breath as it left my nostrils in a white cloud. “What is happening to me?” I asked myself, confused.
“Soon you will be ready to join me,” the Dark King’s voice echoed through the room, answering my question but choosing to remain hidden. “Soon the old Willow will fade away and be lost forever.”
I shook my head defiantly. “You are a liar, a deceiver,” she told him bitterly. “I will always be who I am. You can’t take that away from me. You can’t strip me of my spirit.”
His footsteps echoed through the perimeter of the hall, shaking the stone floors. “You are but half a being, half a soul,” he answered, his voice booming from the dark corners of the chamber. “Something which was never meant to be created, but yet, exists. You are something... strange.”
“But I am a person,” I shouted angrily, insulted that he was devaluing me. “I have a soul! I will not permit you to just discard it.”
“What choice do you have in the matter? You have stained it beyond measure,” he replied, his tone playful as if toying with me. “Souls are curious in that way. They hold no value until they are lost.”
I stared wide-eyed into the shadows, anxiously trying to catch a glimpse of my enemy as it stalked me.
As his footsteps grew distant, he laughed as he retreated further into the darkness. “When you brought that blood-stained horn to me, I knew I had a foothold,” he said, his voice fading as the distance grew between them. “In the simple act of killing something innocent, without stain, you forfeited yourself to me, body and soul.”
In a last stitch effort, I contemplated praying to the Creator, hoping that in his mercy he would grant me freedom, but I realized I had never invoked his help before, and I wasn’t sure how to at that moment.
Frustrated and scared, I leaned back in my seat and glanced up at the vaulted ceiling. There was so much that I did not get the chance to see. So many experiences that I did not live. I would die with many regrets but none as great as the loss of time. I had spent so many years on the human Earth that I could have spent beside my twin soul. I painfully thought of the life we could have had if attempts had not been made on my life, and I hadn’t been stolen away. Nalin and I could have formalized our union. We could have had children, but this life that I dreamed up for us was not meant to be.
As the cold overtook me, I relied on my connection with Nalin, and I spoke as if he could hear me... as if it were the last time.
“I love you more... than I have ever loved anyone... in my life,” I whispered, gasping for air as my lung began to freeze, and my vision blurred. “I can’t imagine dying. I am so... scared. Most of all... I am scared to be without you forever. Find me, Nalin. Find me in eternity.”
***
This is copyrighted material. Please do not repost without permission from the author.
