Another Tuesday, another Tale. This week's prompt is 'Life'. This excerpt is a continuation of last weeks prompt. To check out other brilliant stories from other authors: Tuesday Tales
Here is an excerpt from my WIP: Working Title name: Ties Unbound
My eyes snapped open. How had we gotten to the front of the church so fast? It felt as if time was against me, and was eager to unite me with my intended husband. My fingers gripped my father’s arm tighter. He winced, and tried to pry my fingers off his arm, murmuring comforting words that flew past my ears.
My eyes darted up and to my right. Andricalle stared back, his eyes pools of silver. There was no smile in sight.
Was this the man I’ll be spending forever with? The guy didn’t even bother to smile on his wedding day. I mean, what kind of man couldn’t afford a smile on such a special day? Unless…. Unless he was either being forced, or marrying out of necessity. Somehow, I sensed the latter was the case.
My life had just taken a whole new meaning to the word ‘hopeless’. A hopeless life, a hopeless marriage.
The soft rustling of the veil whispered around me, and I glanced up. My father lowered his face and kissed me on the cheek, his eyes gentle and kind and shining.
Don’t do it, papa I begged him silently. Please don’t. I might not be able to hold it together if I see a single tear from you.
As if he understood my plea, he smiled. Lines fanned out the corner of his brown eyes. He leaned forward and brushed a soft kiss on both my cheeks, and pulled back.
“I’m proud of you, sweetheart. You are strong and beautiful in every single way.” He squeezed my arm before looking up to Andricalle’s unreadable face.
Andricalle moved to my side, his eyes holding mine for just a second, then shifted to my father.
“I put my daughter’s life in your hands, Andricalle.” His voice was stern, and rippled with power, a representation of who he was. The King of Centuan.
Andricalle gave a curt nod, unperturbed. Damn! Was this guy carved from ice?
Right before the veil fell back in place over my face, and my father walked away, my soon-to-be husband swung his grey gaze lazily back to me. His eyes glided over my face, down my neck, skimming my dress – the dress he had chosen - to my toes poking through my slippered feet, and then back up.
Oh why don’t you just toss me into the pits of hell already?
Something flickered in his eyes, animating them. But his lips remained a unmoving. The veil finally settled over my face. I exhaled gustily. From the corner of my eye, I glimpsed Andricalle, all straight-backed, calm and impassive tilted his tall body forward. He gave the aged vicar – my uncle Theon a faint nod. Yes, a complete family affair.
The vicar cleared his throat, his eyes darted from Andricalle, then to mine, and winked. My jaw hit the floor. “We are gathered here to witness –“
My mind drifted, contemplating my life from here onwards. Uncle Theon’s voice became a monotonous noise in the background. A life over four hundred kilometres from my home, from my friends and family.
Thanks for taking time to stop by and reading. As always, comments/feedback on what to improve are welcome. (The story is still WIP. There are grammar, typos etcs :) )
Monday, 5 March 2012
Blind Sight Book Tour - How both Blind Sight books work
A blind girl drawing is abnormal even on the magical island of Edaion where leaves brush themselves into piles in the middle of the night. As an immigrant, Leocardo is not biased by accepted rules of magic and determines that Odette’s drawings are premonitions. Aniela grew up with magic and knows premonitions are impossible. She determines Odette is a medium channeling voiceless spirits.
In this volume: While Aniela tries to escape a lifestyle where obligations take priority over friendships, she befriends Odette, a blind girl with the ability to draw. Almost immediately, concerns and questions arise as Aniela suspects that Odette’s gift is far stronger than any seen before. In the middle of family turmoil and a complicated romantic relationship with Odette’s brother, Aniela faces the realization that helping her comatose friend means disobeying her mother, something she has never done before
A blind girl drawing is abnormal even on the magical island of Edaion where leaves brush themselves into piles in the middle of the night. As an immigrant, Leocardo is not biased by accepted rules of magic and determines that Odette’s drawings are premonitions. Aniela grew up with magic and knows premonitions are impossible. She determines Odette is a medium channeling voiceless spirits.
In this volume: Snatched out of their life in Spain, Leocardo and his blind sister Odette find themselves on an island with no recollection of the trip. After foiled attempts to escape, Odette’s strange behavior gets worse. Even after learning the island has bestowed magic upon them both, Leocardo faces the possibility his sister is having a mental break down. Just as he thinks he is settled in, job and romantic life stable, Odette disappears.
My Review:
When I started reading the book, I thought and still think that Blind Sight is a very original idea (I can't remember reading any book with such a concept) about an island (Edaion) hosting people with different gifts.
Story begins with a prologue introducing the Dawsons, the royal family in Edaion. Being the youngest of three children, Princess Aniela struggles to find her place in the family, and as she gets older we see how her mother favours her over her older sister, Tatiana, which creates tension between Aniela and her sister. She goes around her daily chores, doing what her mother demands of her, at the same time trying to find who she is.
She meets Odette and Leocardo, new arrivals at the island. Odette, who is blind, has an unusual gift that has both Leo and Aniela researching, uniting them in finding what kind of gift Odette possess.
There were times some things happened and I had to go back and reread to actually see if I missed anything, enough to pull me out of the story. I would really have loved to know more about Aniela though.
On Leocardo's story:
He and his sister Odette are transported to Edaion. Unable to understand how they got to the island, he tries to look for means for them to leave but in the end, he grudgingly accepts they can't leave. In the meantime he is puzzled by what is happening to his sister, and in the process of investigating what is causing her behaviour he meets Aniela. He also finds more about the royal family, and some events which happened many years back.
I enjoyed the mysterious feel around Leocardo's story. Hopefully we can get Odette's POv, learn more about her.
I would recommend these books to fans of fantasy stories.
How the two books work together:
I read Aniela's story first. It introduces the reader to Edaion, an island where gifted people inhabitate. It also gave us a glimpse of Aniela's royal family, and what part they play in the story.
Leonardo's story introduces him and his sister Odette arriving to the Edaion. He tries to adjust this his new home, meeting different characters who live in this island. Eventually while still looking for a way to take him and his sister out of the island he meets Aniela, and they unite to research about Odette mysterious gift.
I think reading I'd advice readers to begin with Leocardo's story ,that way the suspense will be maintained all through as we follow Leocardo, discovering all about the wonderous island.
Learn more about Blind Sight: A blind girl drawing is abnormal even on the magical island of Edaion where leaves brush themselves into piles in the middle of the night. So when Odette Reyes, a girl blind from birth, begins to experience ominous side effects of the island's "gift," her brother Leocardo and best friend Aniela must figure out what 
the doctors cannot. As an immigrant, Leocardo is not biased by accepted rules of magic and determines that Odette's drawings are premonitions. Aniela grew up with magic and knows premonitions are impossible. She determines Odette is a medium channeling voiceless spirits.Who is right? Whose eyes will you read through?
Both books are "volume one" you can read one without the other and still get a complete story, but you won't see how the characters interpret the same situation differently.
Buy the book! Both volumes are available as an e-book for Kindle (Aniela's vol. / Leocardo's vol.) and Nook (Aniela's vol. / Leocardo's vol.) Don't have an e-reader, pick up a PDF on Smashwords (Aniela's vol. / Leocardo's vol.)
The paperback special edition will be available in the fall (northern hemisphere).
The authors:
Eliabeth wrote her first mini-series in second grade when the teacher told her she was not old enough to write a chapter book. Regrettably, for fear of turning into a starving artist, Eliabeth played it safe in college and is now a recent William Jewell graduate with a BA in International Business and Japanese. She now returns to what she truly loves, creating worlds for people to escape to and characters for them to fall in love with. 
Ermisenda began writing Harry Potter fan-fiction at the age of twelve and started developing her own writing at fourteen when she joined play sites and completed her first crime novel at fifteen. Although her favorite genres were crime and fantasy, she reads a bit of everything. Driven by the desire to evoke the kaleidoscope of emotions her favorite authors are able to, she kept writing. Growing up bilingual amongst her Spanish family in Australia, she found a love and deep appreciation for language and the power it wielded. She is now a Psychology major at the University of Newcastle. Together, they write as Ermilia.Connect with us! We love to talk to our readers.
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