Review Shadows of the Past

Review: Shadows of the Past

   Shadows of the Past

Publish date: 4^th December 2012

Publisher: Wild Child Publishing

Genre: paranormal/light romance/light horror.

 Blurb 

Anne's relationship with her boyfriend Neil has disintegrated. After a two-year separation, they pack for a week vacation in hopes of reconciling. But fate has other plans for them.
The discovery of a bejeweled cross and ancient human bones opens a door to a new and frightening world--one where the ghost of a medieval nun named Genevieve will not let Anne rest. This new world threatens not only to ruin Anne and Neil's vacation but to end all hopes of reconciliation as Anne feels compelled to help free Genevieve's soul from its torment.
Can Anne save her relationship and help Genevieve find her eternal rest?
The twists and turns in this paranormal tale keep the reader guessing up to the end and weave themselves together into a quest to rekindle love.

My Review:

The book is exactly what the blurb promises to be: a beautiful and touching paranormal love story that plays on the idea that love transcends time and soul mates will always search for each other.

First, I loved the premise of the book: the restless soul of a young nun from the XVth century leads Anne, its present day reincarnation, towards the place where the nun's body has been abandoned centuries ago without being aloud to find peace.

Secondly, I loved the shift between present and past, between Anne's and Genevive's stories and the way their stories are woven together. Carmen plays the visions/apparitions/dreams card and the fact that in spite of telling the story of two different female protags, she manages to create background for both Genevive and Anne.

Thirdly, I liked the descriptions the author used to put everything in place - I'm not usually a big fan of thorough descriptions, but this book is one of the few exceptions.

I'd say Carmen managed to write a beautiful, touching love story that transcends time, about overcoming adversity and one's learning, personal growth and transformation and a second love story about choices.

The end of the book is a happy one if just a little gloomy, which is understandable for such a tragic story (promising more, maybe? - I hope so). 

I felt for Genevive's lack of luck, I loved Anne for her strenght and I loved the  book.

Author bio:

            Carmen Stefanescu was born in Romania, the native country of the infamous vampire Count Dracula, but where, for about 50 years of communist dictatorship, just speaking about God, faith, reincarnation or paranormal phenomena could have led someone to great trouble - the psychiatric hospital if not to prison.
            Teacher of English and German in her native country and mother of two daughters, Carmen Stefanescu survived the grim years of oppression, by escaping in a parallel world, that of the books. 

            She has dreamed all her life to become a writer, but many of the things she wrote during those years remained just drawer projects. The fall of the Ceausescu’s regime in 1989 and the opening of the country to the world meant a new beginning for her. She started publishing. Poems first, and then prose. Both in English.

Find her on:

Goodreads

Amazon

Google+

Blog

 

Carpe Diem

April 15th - The Wheel of Fortune

silent mid-spring clouds -

young gypsy reading the cards

near an acacia ***

foretold destiny -

a May rain washes away

all my misfortune

my fate's dual coin -

tossing up the dry  branches,

down they go again

my faith and my fate -

walking by a water stream

searching direction

karma comes and goes -

in Mother Earth's ancient laws

I find my justice

NaHaiWriMo

April 15th - odour and ornaments

robed in small sharp thornes,

perfuming my green garden,

roses' pale blossoms

tasting like spring day -

red poppies smile at the sun 

in wheat fields odour

*** I'm not a racist I'm just playing on stereotypes

Stopping by my blog today, Carmen Stefanescu

 Teaser Tuedays: Carmen Stefanescu - Shadows of the Past
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Here's my teaser:

Had his folks talked him into giving her up, made him see reason? Helping her out of her predicament meant a huge risk for him - loosing his family, his friends and his position among his peers. 

 


 Shadows of the Past

Publish date: 4^th December 2012

Publisher: Wild Child Publishing

Genre: paranormal/light romance/light horror.

 Blurb 

Anne's relationship with her boyfriend Neil has disintegrated. After a two-year separation, they pack for a week vacation in hopes of reconciling. But fate has other plans for them.
The discovery of a bejeweled cross and ancient human bones opens a door to a new and frightening world--one where the ghost of a medieval nun named Genevieve will not let Anne rest. This new world threatens not only to ruin Anne and Neil's vacation but to end all hopes of reconciliation as Anne feels compelled to help free Genevieve's soul from its torment.
Can Anne save her relationship and help Genevieve find her eternal rest?
The twists and turns in this paranormal tale keep the reader guessing up to the end and weave themselves together into a quest to rekindle love.

And... surprise, surprise... here is a short interview with the author of the book, Carmen Stefanescu, if you'd like to know more about her writing.

Share 3 teasers from your book, each consisting of 2 sentences.

            1.  Genevieve wrapped the dark mantle covering her shoulders more tightly around her and swallowed her fears as they began the cautious ride through the silent forest. They rode on through the silent night, enveloped by their own silent guilt.

2. "Oh, God. Please forgive me," Andrew muttered under his breath when he bowed his head to kiss her and their lips met in a passionate first kiss.

Genevieve's spirits fell and her heart skipped a beat when, a couple of seconds later, she opened her eyes and her gaze fell on a knot strangers.

3. Anne shivered; why the deep feeling of having seen this place, this forest before and the eerie sensation of being present here only in the body, while her mind was far away? Away from Neil, the man who'd betrayed her trust and her love.

 Share 3 pieces of advice for beginning writers like myself.

1. Follow your dream! Read, write. Read and write.
2. Be civil, good-mannered even towards editors who reject your manuscript. If they take the time to write you an explanation, be courteous and thank them.
3. Swallow the bitter tears of rejection and go on querying. Never give up! In the end your dream will come true. It's what happened to me!

Why historical fantasy?
 I have a fascination for Medieval Times.  As the events in Shadows of the Past take place during Medieval England, I read as much historical info as I could. Especially details regarding life in monasteries. I had to do a thorough research. I found out quite interesting things. The same I did for Wicca. What Wicca means and what do Wiccans do and what their view on existence is. My next novel Dracula's Mistress, you know the fascination this name creates, is again a historical novel. Historical paranormal. Medieval Romania/Walachia.
 

You started with poetry, like myself. Share a short poem.

Well, a difficult decision. I will give you the poem whose first lines are a motto for Shadows of the Past. By the way, I even have a poem with the same title.

ETERNITY

In the quiet solitude of a small, remote convent,

Only prayers seem alive on the lips of holy sisters.

Candles flicker in their hands like lost souls in search of light,

And the yellowish, faint glimmer makes a halo' round their whispers.

Era is eternity. Garments, litany unchanged.

Just a film of smoke on walls clings mute witness to new faces,

To the passing-by of time, to deathlessness of love and hope,

To this monolith of faith heaving over age and spaces!

TORPOR

I learned to love my empty days

While waiting for the sleep to come.

Old-fashioned, silly, paper flowers

      float above my head,

  flooding the stifling silence;

without questioning myself

I fall asleep in the moonlight.

  Plans, about tomorrow, are

        supremely

       unimportant !

Author bio:

            Carmen Stefanescu was born in Romania, the native country of the infamous vampire Count Dracula, but where, for about 50 years of communist dictatorship, just speaking about God, faith, reincarnation or paranormal phenomena could have led someone to great trouble - the psychiatric hospital if not to prison.
            Teacher of English and German in her native country and mother of two daughters, Carmen Stefanescu survived the grim years of oppression, by escaping in a parallel world, that of the books. 

            She has dreamed all her life to become a writer, but many of the things she wrote during those years remained just drawer projects. The fall of the Ceausescu’s regime in 1989 and the opening of the country to the world meant a new beginning for her. She started publishing. Poems first, and then prose. Both in English.

Find her on:

Goodreads

Amazon

Google+

Blog

Trailer: Shadows of the Past

And my haiku for today:

Carpe Diem 

March 26th, #154 - Spring Lanterns

after the sunset,

writing a spring night haiku -

just candle lanterns

after the sunset

inspiration rivalry:

spring lanterns or moon?

NaHaiWriMo

March 26th - key

spring lanterns turned on -

old man's key to happiness:

chess game with loved ones