Book Blitz: Inspired (book #1 of the Firefly Tribe) by Susan Schaefer Bernardo + Giveaway!

Hello everyone and welcome 

to the BOOK BLITZ for

Inspired (book #1 of the Firefly Tribe) 

by Susan Schaefer Bernardo!

Inspired
by Susan Schaefer Bernardo
Genre: MG/YA Fantasy/Mythology
Release Date: May 2018
Inner Flower Child Books

Rocket Malone is not thrilled with the direction her life is taking. Her mom has just remarried, and they are moving from their hip cottage in Venice Beach to her stepfather’s home in Hollywood. Her best friend, Gillian, has a new friend and a new boyfriend, and Rocket feels left behind. When she finds out that her mother is pregnant with twins, she is furious. 

All of these problems are quickly overshadowed when Rocket discovers that she is descended from the Greek muses, and is therefore obligated to serve as an apprentice to the nine mythological sisters. Rocket sees herself as smart but not creative, and apprenticing to the muses does not come naturally to her. She tries to help several people, but just cannot find the right person to aid. 

Along with the fun, intelligent story about Greek gods, muses, and other mythological figures, Inspired captures the trials and tribulations of discovering oneself while dealing with the challenges of middle school. Rocket does not want her life to change, but she must adapt, learning to share her mom and her best friend while finding new ways to create her own joy. 

Rocket and her friends have some very serious problems. Rocket’s father committed suicide; her mother is in the midst of a high-risk pregnancy. Her friend Ryan lost his sister in a car accident and then was abandoned by his father; the home he shares with his mother is destroyed in a fire. These issues are thoughtfully addressed in the story as the adolescents learn not to blame themselves, to accept what is, and to help one another through the hardest parts. 

Inspired is delightful, insightful, and charming as it encourages kids to face their obstacles and chase their own passions.

Grab yourselves a copy of Inspired HERE!

Advance Praise

From Publisher's Weekly Booklife Prize
Bernardo's fast-paced novel takes readers through the emotional roller coaster of being a teenager trying to find her identity...Bernardo draws upon classical and contemporary literature and mythology to present the perfect blend of history, fantasy and entertainment.

From Foreword Reviews, May/June 2018 issue
Rocket Malone is not thrilled with the direction her life is taking. Her mom has just remarried, and they are moving from their hip cottage in Venice Beach to her stepfather s home in Hollywood. Her best friend, Gillian, has a new friend and a new boyfriend, and Rocket feels left behind. When she finds out that her mother is pregnant with twins, she is furious. All of these problems are quickly overshadowed when Rocket discovers that she is descended from the Greek muses,and is therefore obligated to serve as an apprentice to the nine mythological sisters. Rocket sees herself as smart but not creative, and apprenticing to the muses does not come naturally to her. She tries to help several people, but just cannot find the right person to aid.

Along with the fun, intelligent story about Greek gods, muses, and other mythological figures, Inspired captures the trials and tribulations of discovering oneself while dealing with the challenges of middle school. Rocket does not want her life to change, but she must adapt, learning to share her mom and her best friend while finding new ways to create her own joy.

Rocket and her friends have some very serious problems. Rocket s father committed suicide; her mother is in the midst of a high-risk pregnancy. Her friend Ryan lost his sister in a car accident and then was abandoned by his father; the home he shares with his mother is destroyed in a fire. These issues are thoughtfully addressed in the story as the adolescents learn not to blame themselves, to accept what is, and to help one another through the hardest parts.

Inspired is delightful, insightful, and charming as it encourages kids to face their obstacles and chase their own passions.

Hello! My name is Susan Schaefer Bernardo, and I’ve been writing poetry and stories since I could hold a crayon! I am a big believer in the power of creativity. The process of writing poetry or making art allows me to express and understand my emotions. Through our imagination, we find ways to move through painful experiences and transform them into something very beautiful and healing.

I wrote my first book Sun Kisses, Moon Hugs because I wanted to reassure my kids (and myself!) that we are always connected to the people we love. Writing my poem “Tonic Waters” helped me cope with grief over my mother-in-law’s death. I was so honored when “Tonic Waters” was published in an anthology and read aloud at the 2014 World Cancer Day Concert – because it meant my words might console others experiencing similar pain. I’m currently finishing my first YA novel for girls, and I've just finished collaborating on a wonderful new book to support children who have suffered a traumatic event.

I love to learn just as much as I love to teach, and I hold a B.A. in English (UCLA), M.A. in English Literature (Yale) and elementary/secondary teaching credentials (Pepperdine). I keep my inner flower child happy and inspired by sculpting, dancing, exploring tide pools, raising chickens in the city, traveling to cool new places (and attempting to speak the language, even if it's just please and thank you), and taking long nature walks with my sons and our rescue terrier Poppy. I'm happiest when I'm barefoot and surrounded by beauty.

Author Links:

Website│Goodreads│Twitter

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Interview with Susan McDuffie, author of The Death of a Falcon, a mystery of 14th-century Scotland, plus US giveaway

Susan McDuffie's entertaining latest Muirteach MacPhee mystery, The Death of a Falcon, brings readers to Scotland in 1375, as our protagonist and his wife, Mariota, a talented healer, pay a visit to Edinburgh Castle. While helping his superior with political negotiations, Muirteach finds himself enmeshed in a murder mystery as well as unexpected court drama which affects him personally. I was glad to get the opportunity to ask Susan some questions about her book... please read on!

What appeals to you about writing historical mysteries?

Thanks so much for hosting me on Reading the Past, Sarah. It’s such a treat to be here with you today!

I’d always been a voracious reader of historical fiction but never thought much about writing until my thirties, when I made a trip to the paperback book exchange to de-stress after a difficult day of work. I found some Harlequin romances (this was back in the 80s) and thought how easy it would be to write a book and get rich and famous! Was I ever mistaken. I first tried a historical romance (still unpublished) and also wrote a couple of Regencies, which were great fun. I guess I thought romance would be easier to write than mysteries. Eventually, however, I realized that the old chestnut is true, “You must write what you love to read.” I am not an avid romance reader, but I do love historical mysteries.

I think the sense of justice restored at the end of a mystery is comforting, while the historical aspect of it cushions it a bit, and takes the same old tired motives we hear about each night in the evening news—greed, anger, revenge, lust—back into the past bit, somehow cushioning things. It’s a little easier to deal with the cruelty of humanity when they are wearing historic costumes, and it all happened 600 years ago. Long ago and far away.

Another thing that fascinates me about historical fiction is trying to really get into the heads and psyches and attitudes of people in the past. How was medieval justice different? How did people view justice differently?

The Death of a Falcon takes place during a fascinating but less familiar time in Scottish history, with its bustling trade routes to southern Europe and the Norse lands, the Orkneys under Norway’s control, and Robert II’s lively, multilingual court. How did you choose 14th-century Scotland, or how did the era choose you?

The era pretty much chose me. When I was initially developing the idea for this mystery series, I realized I wanted to set it during the Lordship of the Isles, which lasted from about 1350 to 1498. It was a fairly settled time in western Scotland, less chaotic that the couple of hundred years afterwards, when the power vacuum caused by the end of the Lordship contributed to all the horrible clan feuding of that era. I thought, it would be fun era to visit in my fiction, and an opportunity to explore that less well-known period.

The McDuffies, or MacFies, were the Keepers of the Records for the Lordship, which was a confederation of Scottish clans in the Highlands and Western Isles headed by the MacDonald. “Keeper of the Records” sounded very exotic and mysterious to me when I heard about it from my great-uncle and my father as a child. Actually, it might have been less exotic and more an accounting of who owed whom how many cattle, but I thought a role as the Keeper of the Records would give my sleuth plenty of leeway to travel and investigate things on behalf of the Lord of the Isles. The final result is Muirteach. So far he’s investigated in the Hebrides, and in Oxford. Now he and Mariota are in Edinburgh, at the Royal Court. I think he’s had enough of court life, though, by the end of The Death of a Falcon.

author Susan McDuffie

Muirteach and his wife, Mariota, go through some marital difficulties, and while Muirteach is the protagonist, I often found myself sympathizing with and rooting for Mariota. What was the experience like, writing from his viewpoint during this challenging time?

Muirteach is a somewhat flawed character, perhaps more so in this book. When I first began writing the series I envisioned a fairly simple character arc over time with increasing wisdom and maturity, less drinking (he’s a bit of a lush in A Mass for the Dead, the first in the series). However, this book represents three steps backwards for him. When I was writing this I was reading Game of Thrones, and thinking, “Oh I really need to work on my plotting; my plots are far too predictable,” so maybe perhaps some of the credit, or blame, goes to George R. R. Martin. I wanted to break out from the typical predictable hero and ending.

In this book Muirteach also winds up repeating some of the less functional patterns of his father. Don’t we see that in families all the time? We’re all pretty flawed, really, and I like reading and writing complex characters. Although I do believe one of the reasons people like to read mysteries is that sense of justice restored at the end. I grew a bit worried, writing this book, that people would get so frustrated with Muirteach they would throw the book at the wall.

Have you gotten to travel to the places you write about in Scotland?

I have been to most of the places I’ve written about. I particularly loved the Western Isles. I need to go back soon; it’s been far too long!

Muirteach is amused and befuddled by the royal court at Edinburgh, especially the fashions. How did you research this aspect of Scottish culture?

It can be tricky researching Scottish dress before the 1600s. I’ve gone with the assumption that the Highlands and Islands had much in common with Irish fashion and culture of that era. One great resource for clothing is Old Irish and Highland Dress by H.F. McClintock. For the Lowlands, and the royal court, I’ve relied more on general medieval sources for fashion, style, and cuisine.

In the acknowledgments, you’d mentioned visiting the Santa Fe Raptor Center. What did you learn there about birds (and from Gandalf the hawk) that you might not have known otherwise?

Actually, the birds visited me, or visited my day job at a gallery in Santa Fe. During Indian Market the Raptor Center sometimes comes and sets up a display with a few of their friendlier birds in front of the shop. It’s always amazing to be in the presence of these other beings we humans share the planet with. Gandalf was a wonderful inspiration!

The idea of a lost medieval book is compelling, and a bit frustrating that it no longer exists! How did you first come across mention of the Inventio Fortunatae, and then decide to use it in your story?

I got so wonderfully sidetracked by research when writing this book. Initially I knew I wanted to include something about Prince Henry Sinclair, who may have visited North America around 1398 with the Venetian Zeno brothers. That led me to the book Irresistible North: From Venice to Greenland on the Trail of the Zen Brothers by Andrea di Robilant. But di Robilant’s view was that Henry Sinclair had only travelled to Iceland and Greenland. That led me down the Norse in Greenland rabbit-hole and I grew fascinated by their story. Where did they go?

One book that was a great reference was Erikson, Eskimos and Columbus: Medieval European Knowledge of America by James Robert Interline, and that particular book has a lot of information on the Inventio Fortunatae. The description of the giant lodestone at the North Pole, where indwelling currents sucked ships in and dashed them against the rocks, was incredibly compelling. Just imagining early exploration in this region is compelling, actually. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to find a copy of the Inventio someplace? Or even a bit of old parchment from it tucked into another binding? Or something! I guess we can always hope!

~

The Death of a Falcon by Susan McDuffie was published by Liafinn Press in paperback and ebook in March. This interview forms part of the author's blog tour, during which we will be giving away 5 paperback copies & 5 eBooks of The Death of a Falcon! To enter, please enter via the Gleam form below.

Giveaway Rules 

– Giveaway ends at 11:59pm EST on May 11th. You must be 18 or older to enter.
– Giveaway is open to US residents only.
– Only one entry per household.
– All giveaway entrants agree to be honest and not cheat the systems; any suspect of fraud is decided upon by blog/site owner and the sponsor, and entrants may be disqualified at our discretion.
– Winner has 48 hours to claim prize or new winner is chosen.

Death of a Falcon

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Review: There's Someone Inside Your House by Stephanie Perkins

There's Someone Inside Your House by Stephanie Perkins

Publisher: Pan Macmillan
Released: 5th October 2017
My Rating: 2 stars out of 5
Find it on Goodreads

Love hurts...

Makani Young thought she'd left her dark past behind her in Hawaii, settling in with her grandmother in landlocked Nebraska. She's found new friends and has even started to fall for mysterious outsider Ollie Larsson. But her past isn't far behind.

Then, one by one, the students of Osborne Hugh begin to die in a series of gruesome murders, each with increasingly grotesque flair. As the terror grows closer and her feelings for Ollie intensify, Makani is forced to confront her own dark secrets. (from Goodreads)

I loved Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins so when I found out she was writing a YA horror novel, I was a bit confused but also pretty intrigued. Being a squeamish scaredy cat who hides behind pillows whenever scary movies are on, I’m not usually one for horror, but I thought I’d give it a go since it was Stephanie Perkins and I’d liked her writing style before.

Unfortunately, I was pretty disappointed with this book. It was just a bit all over the place, but I think my main issue was that I didn’t really connect to any of the characters. For me, characters are the most important part of a book, and I felt like we didn’t really know anything about them.

Makani was our protagonist, and while I think she had great potential, I feel like her character wasn’t really explored as much as it could have been. For example, Makani kept mentioning how her parents hated her or didn’t care about her, which could have been really interesting to delve into deeper. However, nothing more was really said about it. We never found out why Makani’s parents felt this why, we never really got an insight into how this treatment made Makani feel - I mean, why bother mentioning it if it’s never going to be explored? Similarly, this “terrible secret” Makani seemed to have again had no point - it didn’t really tie in with the story and then when we found out what the secret was, I was more underwhelmed than anything else.

Ollie, the love interest, was a bit boring to be honest. I didn’t get why Makani liked him. I understand this book was inspired by teen slasher movies, which aren’t known for their character development, but I just didn’t care for their relationship and was skipping past the romance scenes. Honestly, I’m all for romance usually, but I guess I was expecting less romance, and a bit more tension and suspense.

I did like how diverse this book was and it was quite funny at times, but overall, the characters were lacklustre, and it wasn’t really scary. The murders were somewhat gruesome, but because none of the characters (especially the side characters) were very fleshed out, there was no real tension when someone died. The killer was also pretty disappointing - I won’t reveal who it was, but in the end, I still couldn’t understand their motive.

Overall, I didn’t much enjoy this book. I’ll still read whatever Perkins writes next, but I’ll try to avoid having such high expectations.

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Fun with Bubble Soccer - BlueInflatable.com

A bubble soccer is one of the funniest inflatable gadgets that are widely used across the world. It is very popular in Europe, Asia, Australia and the United States of America. It is used in playing football where participants from two opposing teams clash with each member wearing a bubble soccer suit. This bubble encases the head, neck, shoulders, chest, stomach, waist, buttocks, thighs, arms, and the knees, except the legs. And from a spectator's view, the field is filled with a bunch of bubbles running and knocking one another, which leads to instant falling and rolling of members on the ground. In addition, team members are completely safe from injuries due to the round bubble soccer. This is further because, in circumstances where you would expect a player to be injured, angry and furious at the opponent, he or she instead explodes out laughing as the ball rolls. This is, in fact, one of the leading features that make bubble soccers amazing. This ball is indeed safe when it gets in contact with the surface of the playing field. This is due to the resilient and durable materials used in its construction. That is to say, PVC - Polyvinyl Chloride and TPU - Thermoplastic Polyurethane.

  
 Bubble soccer is also an indoor and outdoor inflatable as it can be used on grassy fields, artificial turf, carpets, and gym surfaces. It is actually very familiar in recreation centers, sports arenas, public parks, gyms, courts, football fields and can also be used in open fields. However; these playing fields should be maintained clean and clear of sticks, rocks, shells, and obstacles to prevent puncturing and hurting the ball and the participant respectively. 

And last but not least, a bubble soccer can be used by anyone aged 11 years old and above. And any minor should have a signed waiver agreement from his/her parent/guardian permitting him/her to use the bubble suit. BlueInflatable is a professional online shop of selling bubble soccers.

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Review: The City of Brass by S. A. Chakraborty

The City of Brass (The Daevabad Trilogy #1) by S. A. Chakraborty
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Released: 8th March 2018
My Rating: 4.25 stars out 5
Find it on Goodreads

Nahri has never believed in magic. Certainly, she has power; on the streets of 18th century Cairo, she’s a con woman of unsurpassed talent. But she knows better than anyone that the trade she uses to get by—palm readings, zars, healings—are all tricks, sleights of hand, learned skills; a means to the delightful end of swindling Ottoman nobles.

But when Nahri accidentally summons an equally sly, darkly mysterious djinn warrior to her side during one of her cons, she’s forced to accept that the magical world she thought only existed in childhood stories is real. For the warrior tells her a new tale: across hot, windswept sands teeming with creatures of fire, and rivers where the mythical marid sleep; past ruins of once-magnificent human metropolises, and mountains where the circling hawks are not what they seem, lies Daevabad, the legendary city of brass, a city to which Nahri is irrevocably bound.

In that city, behind gilded brass walls laced with enchantments, behind the six gates of the six djinn tribes, old resentments are simmering. And when Nahri decides to enter this world, she learns that true power is fierce and brutal. That magic cannot shield her from the dangerous web of court politics. That even the cleverest of schemes can have deadly consequences.

After all, there is a reason they say be careful what you wish for... (from Goodreads)

The City of Brass was a fantastic start to a new series. Hats off to S. A. Chakraborty, I haven’t been this excited about a new series in a while!

So first of all, let’s talk about the setting. This was world building at its finest. I could so easily picture the streets Nahri walked through in Cairo, the sand-filled desert as she and Dara made their way to Daevabad, the library she and Ali frequented, the clothes, the food – everything. I loved exploring the world and all of the rich details, and honestly, one of the reasons I’m looking forward to the sequel is to get back to it and explore more of Daevabad.

Speaking of Nahri, her chapters were my favourite. I loved how sceptical of everything she was; she’d had a hard life, and didn’t trust very many people. She was a top-notch thief and con artist, and used to living life looking out for a gullible mark. Even when she was exposed to a completely different, much more luxurious environment, she didn’t lose her shrewdness or her pragmatism and that’s what made her such a stand out character in my opinion. I also really liked seeing Nahri use her healing powers and discovering her limitations, and I’m excited to find out more her abilities in book two.

Dara…I had many opinions about. I was just intrigued by his background; he kept revealing tiny bits of his (very long) history to Nahri but there was so much more he was hiding, which Nahri could tell and frequently argued with him about. At the same time, she didn’t push hard on the topics she knew would be contentious; it’s almost like she didn’t want to know certain things. Their relationship was so complex and only got more so as they settled in Daevabad and it was interesting to see how the dynamic between them changed as time went on.

Ali was another character I had many feelings about. He had very strong beliefs on his family, his history and how Daevabad should be governed – he and Dara were total opposites in their beliefs but both were strangely drawn to Nahri who was a sort of neutral ground. At first I found his chapters a bit less exciting then Nahri’s, and was in more of a rush to get through them. When their storylines joined up, however, his POV grew on me and I became a lot more interested in his struggles and seeing what decisions he would make.

In terms of pacing, the first half of this book was a little slow, but once we got to Daevabad, things really started to pick up. This was also quite a character-driven book, which meant parts of the plot were a bit obvious at times, though the characters were so enjoyable that this didn’t really bother me, and there were still a lot of great revelations and reveals that I’m sure will continue in the next book. One of my favourite parts of the book was definitely learning about djinn and daevas and all the lore – it was nice that we got to learn alongside Nahri throughout. I also liked how much of a role the supporting characters played - there were no throwaway, there for the sake of it, characters, everyone was weaved really well into the story. And of course, the ending was as expected for a first book in a series – it definitely left me wanting more!

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and can’t wait for the next one!

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Blog Tour: Of Sea and Stone by Kate Avery Ellison!

Welcome everyone to the blog tour for:

Of Sea and Stone by Kate Avery Ellison!

Today you can learn all about the book in the book spotlight below. 

Enjoy!

Of Sea and Stone 
by Kate Avery Ellison 
Genre: YA Fantasy 
Release Date: February 2014 

Aemi lives in a village carved from stones and surrounded by sea. She wins spear-throwing competitions in disguise and earns slaps from her spoiled mistress by talking back. She hates being a slave. She survives by remembering her mother's tales of home, a paradise called Perilous.

Aemi intends to find it.

But then, black ships rise from the sea in the night. Aemi is captured and taken to Itlantis, an underwater world of cities and gardens encased in glass, dazzling technology. and a centuries-long war.

She is determined to escape, even if it means conspiring with fellow prisoner Nol, who fills her with equal parts anger and desire. Even if it means impersonating her mistress. Even if it means fleeing into the territory of the Dron, the bloodthirsty barbarians of the deep.

But when Aemi witnesses firsthand an attack by the Dron, she realizes not all is as it seems below the sea.

And Perilous might be closer than she thinks.

Purchase at: Amazon / Nook / KoBo / Google Play

I'm the author of the Frost Chronicles, an Amazon bestselling series and source material for the adventure app game Frost by Delight Games, as well as numerous other fantasy and science fiction novels. I love putting a dash of mystery in everything I write, an ode to a childhood spent reading Nancy Drew, Agatha Christie, and Sherlock Holmes. I can’t resist adding a good twist in the story wherever I can.

I wish I could live in a place where it’s always October, but until that’s possible, I make my home in humid Atlanta with my husband, children, and two spoiled cats.

Author Links:

    

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Book Blitz: The Torc by J.E. Hunter + Giveaway!

Hello and welcome to the 

BOOK BLITZ for The Torc by J.E. Hunter!

The Torc
by J.E. Hunter
Genre: NA Fantasy Romance
Release Date: December 13th 2017

Forgotten Treasures Hold Forbidden Dangers...

Aurora Daniels has just finished her first year of university and is ready for summer fun when she meets Garret, the mysterious older brother of her best friend, Ivy. Garret isn't what Aurora expected, yet her connection to him is undeniable. But something lurks beneath Garret's charming exterior, a danger that Rory isn't prepared for.

As Rory spends more time with Ivy and her brother, she grows closer to Garret, until the undeniable attraction turns into something more. But a relationship with a cursed soul isn't simple. As Garret's mysteries are slowly revealed, Rory learns that she isn't all that Garret wants. He wants something else, too. Something that would mean giving up her family and her future to undertake a dangerous journey through a land lost in mist and fog. A journey that will change her life forever. A journey that might lead her to her grave.

Buy Links: 
Amazon (for ebook and paperback)
Amazon.ca | iBooks | Nook  | Smashwords  | Kobo  

My iPhone directed me to Ivy's place. There was a long gravel drive leading off the highway in the direction of the river. Just as I spotted the house in the distance, I came upon a gate. The gate was made from black wrought iron, affixed on both sides by short brick walls. The gate and wall wouldn’t have stopped anyone from gaining access to the property if they really wanted to, but it looked nice. Official.

The gate was open and I drove straight through, past rows of small hedges. Beyond the hedges were fields of green wheat. I knew that Ivy and her brother weren’t farmers, but they owned all of the land surrounding the estate and rented it out to farmers, keeping only the house for themselves. The house was built well away from the river valley—which I could see curving off in the distance—to ensure that it was built on a solid foundation. As I approached the house, I sucked in a deep breath.  Two stories, bricked exterior—which was practically unheard of in the prairies—and lots of large, bright windows. The brick was grey and the shingles were black, and the porch was small and held up by two columns bricked in the same material as the rest of the house. I pulled up in front, driving around a small, circular roundabout of baby pine trees that weren’t even close to the giants they would be one day. There were a few groups of bushes in the distance, and a bright green, manicured lawn around the house. 

Ivy ran out the front door—a broad, black thing—with a gorgeous smile on her face. "Welcome to Chateau Creepsville!" she said as I stepped out of the car. 

"It does have a certain gothic air about it.” I rested my arm on top of the car and glanced up at the exterior. “But it’s gorgeous. And huge!”

The sun was bright and hot, but the house was like a dark spot in the middle of a spotlight. I'd never seen a house like it before, except maybe the one time my parents had taken me to the United Kingdom. The house was entirely out of place on the prairie, and would have fit in much better somewhere near York—the city I’d visited with my parents. 

“Yeah, some crazy old guy built it. Garret got it on sale. I don't think anyone else wanted it on account of the ghost." Ivy laughed when I looked her. "Don't worry," she said with a wink, "I'm sure it's a friendly ghost. Leave your car here, Gil can move it later." Ivy pulled opened the back door of my car and loaded her arms up with my stuff. 

I opened the other side and grabbed my suitcase while nursing my latte. "Who's Gil?"

Ivy frowned. "I haven't mentioned him? Well, he's our butler, for lack of a better word. Though maybe you would consider him Garret's personal assistant?"

“Your brother has an assistant?" I glanced up at the house again, looking for a face in one of the many windows, but there were none. The house could have been entirely empty for all I knew. "I mean, I’ve never met your brother, and now I find out he has an assistant? He must be pretty important.” 

Ivy ah-hummed as she stepped into the house. The entrance was grand. A black and white checkered floor filled the space between two staircases, one running up each side of the foyer. A chandelier hung from the double height ceiling above. There was a decorative table to my right with a mirror hung above it and fake plants set on top. Not the tacky kind, but the expensive kind that you had to touch in order to know if they were real or not.

"Let's go put this stuff in your room and then I’ll give you the grand tour,” Ivy said. “Garret's still sleeping so we'll have to be quiet. He works with the other side of the world so his schedule’s completely backward.”

 Ivy led me up the staircase to my left. It was covered in plush, heavy carpet that was so clean I thought it might never have been stepped on. It had a Persian rug-type design of deep red and golds, which complimented the white walls with their black trim. It was the kind of house you'd see in a designer magazine. The decorations were slightly eccentric but came off as totally stylish. Not that it was a house, really, but more of a mansion, or an estate. Was there really any difference? No matter what word I used, the house would still be enormous. Up the stairs, the air was crisp and smelled like tropical waterfalls. Plenty of natural light poured in from the open windows. On the second floor, Ivy again turned left. We passed two open rooms, one on each side. The first was a library, filled wall to wall with books. A solitary writing desk was placed directly under the window and in the centre of the room were two armchairs facing each other. The second room was a home gym complete with a pilates machine. At the end of the hall was a large bathroom, with a glittering, white marble floor. 

"This is my room," Ivy said, indicating to the left. Her door was open, displaying a perfect room complete with canopy bed and lilac purple carpet. There were deep purple curtains and a leather chaise in the far corner facing a wall-mounted television. "I've decided you should be in this room," Ivy said, opening the door on the other side. It swung open, revealing a space so blue that I felt like I was underwater. All the walls were a deep, royal navy colour, but the bed was so white and soft looking that it could have been a cloud. There was a papasan chair tucked into the corner, and a small dresser, also white, under the window. 

"It's gorgeous!" I said, rolling my suitcase into the room. "I feel like I'm staying in a hotel, not at my best friend’s house."

"I hope it feels a bit more homey than that!" Ivy said, a touch of sadness in her voice. 

"Definitely homier," I said with a smile. 

Ivy walked over to the bed and sat down, crossing her legs underneath her. Her jean shorts and blue t-shirt matched the room, but the pink streaks she must have painted in her hair that morning did not. 

"Thanks again for inviting me," I said. "I didn't realize how it would feel to drop my parents off at the airport. I thought I would be more excited but..."

"You felt a bit abandoned?" Ivy suggested when I didn't finish my sentence. 

I nodded. 

"I get it," Ivy said. "Come on. Leave your stuff here. I want to show you the garden."

I followed Ivy back downstairs. We didn't go to the west side of the second story, since Ivy said that was where Garret was sleeping. I bit my lip, wanting to meet this mysterious older brother. The one who had raised Ivy since the death of their parents when Garret was seven and Ivy was a baby. Someone must have looked after them before Garret was of age, though it had never occurred to me before. Ivy might understand my current emotional state, because her past had been much worse. My parents were just going on vacation. I couldn't imagine how I would feel if they never made it back. 

From the foyer, we headed to the back of the house and into a bright, spacious kitchen. Cast iron pots hung from the ceiling and deep wooden counters stretched along the walls. I was startled to see an older gentleman cutting up a flank of meat. He looked up and caught me with two sharp, dark eyes. 

“Ah, our guest has finally arrived.” He spoke with a slight accent that sounded upper class—surprising for an assistant. The man placed the long, sharp knife he was holding down beside the raw flesh, and slipped off a blood-splattered glove to hold a hand out to me. He was much taller than I was, which was surprising since I was nearly five-foot-nine. He only smiled with one side of his face, and his eyes remained dark, assessing.

“Aurora, this is Gil, Garret’s assistant. He does most of the cooking.” Ivy indicated the man who could have been anywhere between the age of fifty and seventy-five. She didn’t look at him, however, but stared past him at the set of French doors at the back of the kitchen. 

I was frozen, a little appalled at the idea of taking the hand that had been so recently butchering meat. I reminded myself that he’d been wearing gloves, and shook hands with him to be polite. “It’s nice to meet you,” I said. 

Gil tilted his head down toward me. He was thin, but rigid with sinuous muscle. He had shallow cheeks and short grey hair. “It’s a pleasure, of course.” He spoke slowly, his voice was deep. 

“We’re just going out to the garden.” Suddenly, Ivy was at my side, pulling me toward the sunlight streaming in through the open doors. When had that happened? I felt strangely disjointed, like I’d been staring too long out a window, lost in thought, when I’d only just spent a second shaking Gil’s hand. 

“I’ve put the recliners out by the fountain for you and your guest.” Gil half-smiled at me again. I looked away, a unsettled tingling in my lungs. “There’s a carafe of sangria out there, too, and some snacks, since supper won’t be served until nine o’clock, as per your brother’s instructions.” Gil slipped the glove back on and went back to chopping the meat. 

I stepped out of the kitchen and into the sun, but still I shivered. It was warm enough that I would need a generous layer of sunscreen to keep from burning, but I felt chilled, and decided to forget the lotion for the moment. 

I warmed up quickly enough as Ivy led me through a waist-high maze of hedges, back toward a large, circular fountain. There were rose bushes around the edges of a small gravelled area, a few choice sculptures of cherubs, and two lounge chairs, just as Gil had said there would be. There was also a pitcher of sangria. 

“Gil mixes drinks for you?” I settled into the chair furthest from the house. Out in the country, it was quiet. The prairie sky was blue and peaceful. A few birds chirped from the hedges, and there was the slight burble from the fountain, but that was it for noise. The sounds succeeded in chasing away any lingering feelings of uneasiness.

Ivy laughed and gave me a naughty look. “Of course. Gil does everything. Personally, I could have gone for margaritas, but sangria will do. Before my brother forced me to move here, I was living in Spain. Everyone drinks sangria in Spain. At least, everyone I know does.” Ivy poured me a goblet full of the deep red liquid, and I took a generous sip to steady my nerves. I’d expected Ivy to come from money, she’d never hid that, not exactly. But I hadn’t expected her house to be an amazingly decorated gothic mansion. I laid back in my chair and looked up at the house. I could only see the western half, and the window I imagined was Garret’s. He was six years older than Ivy and a complete mystery. I couldn’t wait to meet him.

J.E. Hunter lives in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and began writing as an excuse to stay inside during the cold winters. Her favorite season is the fall, and her favorite hot beverage is currently a peppermint mocha. Most recently, J.E. Hunter released The Torc, the first book in the Artifacts of Avalum romantic adventure series. She is also the author of the Black Depths Series, which consists of five books, beginning with Sea-Witch. When not writing, J. E. Hunter can be found reading, walking through spooky woods, drinking coffee and coloring books, or listening to audiobooks at the gym.

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