Lovely lady this one, I’m chatted with her quite a
bit and for longer than I ever should, lol
She’s a lovely lady but I’m saddened to admit that
I’ve only read one of her books, a free one.
She writes MM Science fiction, which isn’t my cup of
tea. I did, however read Caterpillar. What I liked most about the story, and
you can find my review here, was that even though, clearly they were alien’s,
it was more a romance than a fantasy world, which, for a romance reader, was
key to me liking it.
This one, the one up for the giveaway, I believe is
much more intently fantasy, which for sci-fi readers I believe is key to liking
the book more.
Anyway, enough about me here’s an excerpt so you can
make up your own mind, the reviews are awesome, by the way
Excerpt
Johann had heard that you
can’t change who you are. He’d never questioned that until today. Surely
everyone could change—even their basic nature—if they tried hard enough. Why
not? Times changed; places changed; so what made people the exception? People
can change if they want, he thought. And so could he.
Today, as he walked past the
tall gray pillars of the main hall, his footsteps echoing on the onyx floor, he
contemplated the changes taking place and what they would mean for him and his
family’s school of fine arts.
Despite the uncharacteristic
calm of his subterranean home, when he looked up at the three paintings at the
end of the hall, he was filled with dread. He’d come this way to see the
largest one in the center, but Johann’s eyes drifted from his father’s picture
on the left to study its superior quality of his own portrait, the one on the
right. Oil paintings weren’t common in the Colony anymore, but his grandfather
had insisted on it. Johann looked pleasant enough in the picture, his pale blue
eyes and narrow face innocent and hopeful last year when he’d posed.
Your face always stays slim,
at least. But you look strange there, Johann, like you don’t belong, he thought
to himself, forever focusing on his light blond hair. He was the only blond in
his family, and although he thought it suited him, just for today he wished he
looked more like his grandfather.
You can’t change who you
are…why the hell not?
The hand put on the small of
his back felt comforting until he saw that it was Marian, his mother. He
stepped back, checking to make sure she hadn’t stabbed him with something.
Today she too looked
different.
Eyes narrowed, he stared at
her, trying to determine what had changed about her. Surely it wasn’t her raven
hair, wound up in its usual neat bun, or the black dress on her slender frame.
Her seemingly plain clothes surprised him until he noticed the sequins and
detailing. As always, she had the proper dress for the proper occasion; she was
nothing if not proper.
Yet something was different
about her.
Finally, he focused on her
lean face and found the answer. Her face usually seemed mismatched—youthful
with weary eyes. Today was the first time she didn’t look haunted. Today she
looked young, something he’d never seen before. She was much older than her
thirty-something looks suggested, but without her usual scowl, she almost
pulled it off.
“I didn’t mean to startle
you. Are you all right?” she asked, uncharacteristically gentle.
Any idiot could have
answered, but surprise stole Johann’s will to talk. When she stepped closer as
if to hug him, he recoiled, and she raised her hands.
“I know this is hard for
you,” she said, “But just for today, let’s try. Let’s try to be a family.
Please, what’s wrong?”
He tried to place her
unfamiliar expression, but he ultimately gave up. When he focused on the center
painting again, she stepped beside him.
“I think you get your looks
from me,” she mused.
Yeah, along with my
inferiority complex.
“You look handsome there.
You always complain about that beauty mark under your eye, but it does look
good. Don’t you remember me telling you?”
I must have blacked out for
that part. ‘Cause all I remember is you screaming “Suck in your gut, suck in
your gut!” even though it was a fucking portrait.
When she put a hand on his
shoulder, he regarded it as if it was covered with poison. Johann took a chance
and decided to be candid. “Ma’am, this…is a bit…uncharacteristic.”
Relief rushed through him
when she nodded.
“We can start over today,”
she said, letting out a soft sigh. “Your grandfather is gone now; don’t you see
that we’re free? Things will be different now. No more fights, no more
arguments, no more being pitted against each other. We’re free.”
She took him into a half
hug, and even though he was taller, he felt frail in her strong embrace. He
didn’t mean to cringe.
“We should go. It’ll start
soon,” she said.
“I…” Johann shook his head,
his heart beating faster at the prospect of what the morning would entail. “I
can’t—I can’t look at the body. I can’t see him at his true age. I don’t
remember ever seeing him at his true age.” His gaze rose to the center portrait
again. “I want to remember Grandfather like I always knew him, with this face,
young and strong.”
“All right. I’ll instruct
Gulliver to keep the body covered. Is that enough?” He could hear the
displeasure in her voice, yet she still held him firmly.
Despite his unease and
suspicion, a part of him was genuinely thankful. “He had a good life, though;
he lived long,” Johann said.
Marian didn’t answer at
first. She looked up at the painting again and muttered, “Too long.”
Johann pretended not to
hear. Instead he broke her hold; she gave no protest. When she turned to walk
down the hall, he followed. In a short time the open space of the underground
courtyard came into view.
“What do you want to do now,
Johann?” She chuckled, “And don’t say get an E; that’s what you always want.
But for you, your dream, anything is possible now that you’re not under
anyone’s rule. What is it you want?”
He didn’t dare answer, but
she gave him a pleasant enough smile, her blue eyes twinkling when he met her
gaze.
“Don’t worry. You can have
everything you want now. Nothing’s holding you back,” she assured him.
Instinctively, Johann walked
closer to the wall, away from her. You can’t change who you are—that was what
he’d heard—but this woman, a woman he’d known his entire life, was different.
At this moment, she was so different that she was a stranger to him.
The courtyard seemed eerie
and empty due to the low attendance, and the sight of it saddened Johann to no
limit. Even the servants weren’t there. He knew his grandfather didn’t have
many friends, but he had expected at least one.
“Nobody came,” he lamented
under his breath.
“He was well into his
nineties, darling.” His mother soothed. “His friends hadn’t kept their youth.
They’re long gone now. You cannot be so surprised by the turnout.”
Now he really wanted to be
rid of her.
For so many years, he would
have killed for a mother like this—a woman who had a pleasant word to offer,
who’d comfort him in time of need. Now, at his grandfather’s funeral, she was
everything he envisioned a good mother would be. Yet he couldn’t say why he
disliked the sudden transformation.
Only three other people were
there: his mother’s servant, Gulliver, a man in his early forties; Johann’s
fifteen-year-old brother, Dominic; and a man he knew well, the Elemental,
Kobal.
Kobal’s tall, toned frame
was a magnificent sight, even at a funeral, and his tasteful black suit made
him stand out all the more. Today he had tied back his discolored wine-red
hair, and his piercing blue eyes were heavy with sympathy and compassion.
Johann calmed upon seeing
him. “Kobal,” he said.
“Master Johann.” Kobal bowed
low. “My condolences.”
Marian focused on the body
hidden under a white sheet in the center of the circular yard and said, “Let’s
get on with it.”
Johann turned and took in
the area, his eyes scanning the stone fence that bordered the wide, open space.
“Master Johann, is something
wrong?”
Kobal’s voice brought Johann
back to his senses, and he shook his head. “No, no. I just…I just wish we had
sprung for at least one flower. Never mind the cost.” He scoffed. “Some
courtyard. All concrete. Not even one flower for the man of the house upon his
death.”
A sudden gasp from the small
crowd prompted Johann to look about the courtyard again. He was touched by the
sight of countless stone flowers rising from the ground, blanketing the
concrete like a storybook meadow.
“It is only stone, and for
that I’m sorry,” Kobal said gently. “To make it organic would require a lot
more power, and I might not have enough energy for the burial.”
“That doesn’t matter.”
Marian interjected and offered, “We can bury him with the System; a burial by
that computer is fine. That’s all the rest of us will ever get.”
“It’s just one day,” Johann said, his blood
boiling. “It’s just one day, Mother. For the love of the Colony, can’t we just
be cordial for one damn day?”
Kobal looked embarrassed for
them as he waited for the family to step back and stand against the stone
barrier encompassing the courtyard.
When the Elemental clapped
his hands together and closed his eyes, Johann relaxed. He felt more at ease
than ever, and although his gut ached at seeing his grandfather go, he felt
proud that they’d given him a proper send-off. His father wasn’t there, but he
decided to ignore that fact.
Johann hadn’t had enough
saved up to afford a funeral conducted by an E—an Elemental—but when he’d asked
his mother, she had shocked him by agreeing. He looked at her now, Gulliver by
her side; she was so calm.
This isn’t how it’s supposed
to go. Shouldn’t she be down on the ground, banging on the old man’s chest?
Crying? He stifled a snort because he didn’t think she was capable of tears.
Kobal was ready, so Johann
stood up straight. His own black suit had been freshly tailored, and he was
proud that he at least looked the part of someone paying their honest respects.
Tears didn’t come to Johann easily, but he wished he could cry for the man now.
Somebody should. Maybe that was what his father was doing.
A gentle gust of air flowed
around them, and Kobal took on the stance of an archer.
“From the Colony you’ve
come.” Kobal stood to his full height, and the concrete below the Elemental’s
feet liquefied. “To the Colony you shall return.” He stomped once and then
punched forward.
A loud pop echoed in the
courtyard as the body sunk into the ground so quickly that the white sheet
rose. Once the fluttering fabric landed, the ground was solid once more. Kobal
bowed low. “Be at peace, Johann Andreas the First.”