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: 4th 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.
Here's the premise: What would you do or where
would you go if you could traverse a wormhole through space or time just
once? One safe round trip passage. Would you go back in time and talk
some sense into a younger you? Go five years into the future and bring
back the Wall Street Journal? See just how the heck the Great Pyramids
of Giza were really built? View what the other side of the universe
looks like? Kill Hitler?
So... a safe trip... I'd take that chance to be transported to the TARDIS and have many more adventures back and forth through time with The Doctor - that would mean more adventures and a safe trip home whenever I want. And I'd ask him to take to the beginning of time to witness it. Smart, huh?
OR, respecting the rule - just a safe trip I'd go attend my parents' wedding after putting together a crazy clever desguise. Like that, they'd remind me later like the insane, strange woman who no one knew at their wedding. Of course, I'd take my camera with me - there's always room for more pics at such an event! I'd return just after having a piece of cake - no point in leaving without enjoying dessert, is it?
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB. 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!
He was creepy and dark and liked to set people on fire, true. On the
other hand, he was smart and funny - in a twisted way - and somehow had a
calming effect on Lissa.
I love these books because of the writing style, the funny approach on important teen topics.
I've also joined Blog Blitz, a blog hop hosted by DL Hammons, a great initiative to help gain exposure as a new blogger. See the list below!
A
collection of seventy moving and uplifting original pieces - real life,
flash fiction, and poetry - about battling against the odds and the
ultimate triumph of the human spirit. The contributors include Amazon
bestselling authors Alex J. Cavanaugh and Kyra Lennon, and the cream of
upcoming talent.
The
anthology is part of a fundraising effort to send the editor's stepson,
Andrew McNaughton, to a specialist college in England. Andrew has
cerebral palsy, and is a remarkable young man with a promising future.
However, the free further education options offered in his own country
of Scotland will not challenge him and allow him to progress. In order
to access the education he deserves, Andrew will have to pay exorbitant
fees, thus creating a situation of discrimination.
Help
us get Andrew to college by buying a book that runs the full gamut of
human emotions, ultimately leaving you inspired and glad to be alive.
Whatever struggles you are going through, our sincere hope is that this
book will help.
Editor Bio:Nick
Wilford is a writer and stay-at-home dad. Once a journalist, he now
makes use of those rare times when the house is quiet to explore the
realms of fiction. When not writing he can usually be found spending
time with his family or cleaning something. He has four short stories
published in Writer’s Muse magazine. Nick is also co-running a campaign
to get a dedicated specialist college built in Scotland. Visit him at http://nickwilford.blogspot.co.uk/.
NaHaiWriMo
March 4th prompt - fire
southern winds bringing
a burning sun on the sky
once again in spring
Carpe Diem
March 4th, #212 prompt - first gust of spring
awaking the trees
from their winter coma state,
just the southern wind
Nick Wilford's anthology, Overcoming Adveristy, is online. Buy it to discover 70 inspired pieces of flash fiction and poetry from established and new authors, trying to help a sweet boy continue his education. The
anthology is part of a fundraising effort to send the editor's stepson,
Andrew McNaughton, to a specialist college in England. Andrew has
cerebral palsy, and is a remarkable young man with a promising future.
However, the free further education options offered in his own country
of Scotland will not challenge him and allow him to progress. In order
to access the education he deserves, Andrew will have to pay exorbitant
fees, thus creating a situation of discrimination. Help
us get Andrew to college by buying a book that runs the full gamut of
human emotions, ultimately leaving you inspired and glad to be alive.
Whatever struggles you are going through, our sincere hope is that this
book will help.
.jpg)
.jpg)
