Here is a sample reading for my published novel, Winter Rose. A book trailer is available on my page. Purchase the entire ebook by clicking on one of the links listed after the reading.
The immortals know no care, yet the lot they spin for man is full of sorrow; on the floor of Zeus' palace there stand two urns, the one filled with evil gifts, and the other with good ones.
He for whom Zeus the lord of thunder mixes the gifts he sends, will meet now with good and now with evil fortune; but he to whom Zeus sends none but evil gifts will be pointed at by the finger of scorn, the hand of famine will pursue him to the ends of the world, and he will go up and down the face of the earth, respected neither by gods nor men.[ Homer's Iliad:
Chapter One
I stood in the cold, dark forest, watching and waiting for any hint that I wasn’t dreaming. I had to be dreaming. The ground was green, the trees, the moss covered rocks; this was an alien planet. Everything was so peaceful and quiet. I had forgotten what it was like to not have a sea of white all around me. Standing ahead of me were two intertwined oak trees covered with moss and roses. It was beautiful, mystical. It felt like love and magic.
“Winter,” cold air carried the voice through the trees in a rainbow colored pattern. They swirled in the air in circular waves, caressing my face. I shivered as the wind picked up ferociously, tousling my hair and rustling the leaves all around. I looked frantically through the blackness of the dense forest, trying to locate the direction this mysterious voice was coming from. There was something beautiful about the way my name was whispered. It made me feel all fuzzy inside. The voice whispered my name again and again until the intertwined oak trees opened up with a loud crackling sound, a bright light shone through the darkness and an angel stepped out. He was tall, dark and very beautiful. His face was perfectly symmetrical, with two dimples the size of quarters, but his eyes…his eyes were a fiery black color that pierced through my body and burned the very pit of my stomach. I should have been frightened, every limb and bone in my body told me to run away, but I felt a pull that was more than emotional. It was physical; like something tugged on my heart with such intensity that it impelled…no, dragged me towards it. I felt like I knew him, like I wanted him and as I got closer my breath caught in my throat. My body jerked as he shoved his ghost-like hand in my chest. There was no pain, no fear as he pulled his hand out with a triumphant smile. He held something in his hand, at first I couldn’t see what it was. I looked closely through the mist that had suddenly clouded my vision. The angel had taken my heart. He smiled at me lovingly and walked away, back into the dark trees.
I woke with a start.
I’ve had more than my fair share of near-death experiences, though I’d escaped them as quickly as they came, they never stopped coming. I’ve always been a target since I could remember and it was for this very reason that my dad and I never stayed in one place for too long. The monsters kept coming so we kept running.
But that all ended when some motel clerk decided that minding his own business was non-existent. He called child services, alerting them that my dad was keeping me from school. They discovered all his weapons and clippings of ancient Greek creatures and sentient monsters. He explained to them in too much detail that this was what he protected me from. They didn’t believe his ramblings, understandable, but they should have. So, I was sent here to live with a new family two years ago in a town called, Black Rock; population 859. Next week was the end of my ‘summer’ vacation and the start of another school year. I had the crappiest summer anyone, anywhere could ever have. The snow battered us in early April and hasn’t stopped since. Every morning was the same continuous scene outside my bedroom window; daylight barely seeped through the dark clouds, the cars, roads, houses and trees were submerged in the white fluff. I hated snow…maybe more than I hated monsters. The minutes ticked by, until finally I decided that no matter how miserable I felt, Tony and Anna would be awake soon and I should start getting myself ready for another miserable day. Of lies.
