TITLE: BECKA'S AWAKENING BOOK ONE - THE WINSTONS SERIES AUTHOR: ROWENA DAWN GENRE: NEW ADULT CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE Becka is a witch and not a very good one. With her great-grandmother's curse hanging over her she has no idea how to escape her fate. When she suddenly spills her coffee on a stranger she finds out there's more to life than what she thought. But is she ready for what that means? AUTHOR BIO: Rowena writes romance, reads thrillers and watches comedies. She likes walking through the woods but insanely loves the sea. She has a love - hate relationship with her writing and drives her dog crazy whenever she doesn't stop writing to take him out. And yes, she bakes,bread and cakes. Apparently good ones - they're always in demand. TO BUY THE BOOK: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M0WKJHD Other titles by Rowena Dawn: Leap of Faith: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01IJ6XIHI Double-Edged: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01JBTNT2G Press Release link:
http://www.briefingwire.com/pr/how-to-get-the-power-and-the-money-or-how-to-get-the-guy
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Title: Hyperearth Author: Marco Marek Genre: Fantasy A castle within the city of Lubena holds a secret: a portal to the alternate world of Hyperearth. Mary and Martina encounter beings that range from the curious to the dangerous. They must save their newfound friends and defeat the evil Sathon. Will they solve the quest and make it out in time? Or will they remain in Hyperearth forever?
Links Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/1marcomarek/ Facebook: http://fb.me/MarcoMarekAuthor Twitter: https://twitter.com/1MarcoMarek Google Plus: https://plus.google.com/116954194305653353049/posts Good Reads https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23942444-hyperearth Youtube http://youtu.be/Rp89rPAdBco Tumblr http://marcomarekauthor.tumblr.com/ Blog http://marcomarekauthor.blogspot.it/ Buy the Book: Hyperearth Angels are with me
INTERVIEW WITH ROBIN WYATT DUNN Bio: Robin Wyatt Dunn lives in a state of desperation engineered by late capitalism, within which his mind is a mere subset of a much larger hallucination wherein men are machines, machines are men, and the world and everything in it are mere dreams whose eddies and currents poets can channel briefly but cannot control. Perhaps it goes without saying that he lives in Los Angeles. Reading at Roar Shack in Los Angeles, my poem “Hollywood Men”, May 15, 2016 https://www.facebook.com/settdigger/videos/10156926897705174/ Hollywood men has been published here: https://cactifur.com/2016/07/17/poetry-hollywood-men-robin-wyatt-dunn/ Reading “Man and Woman” which was published in Garbanzo Literary Journal #3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7T3m-7sTk-I http://www.garbanzoliteraryjournal.org/Home.html They also made a trailer for that book here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpKLJ3dtOro Welcome to Roxana's Blog! Q: Tell us a little about yourself and your background. I was born in Wyoming in 1979, so I’m 37. I’ve had about one address for every year of my life. Favorite cities I’ve lived in include Los Angeles, California, Austin, Texas, Bronx, New York, and Oxford, England. Q: Do you think that your school years have had an impact in your writing career? If so, what were you like at school? I was fortunate to be a public school student in Texas as a kid when the state was still investing a lot of its oil money in public schools, so I actually had a PhD teach me third grade math. But I always liked learning so I didn’t need much encouragement. I got my BA from Fordham University where they had a great honors program with an old fashioned ‘great books’ curriculum: read tons of literature, history, philosophy and art of the ancient, medieval, early modern and modern worlds. Q: Were you good at English or like Einstein you excel now in a field that was a nightmare for you as a student? I was always good at English. Q: What are your future ambitions for your writing career? It would be great to make some money but the kind of things I most enjoy writing don’t seem to have enormous commercial appeal. Money aside, I’d like to develop my poetry so that it is more transformative; so that it can do things I don’t quite have the words for now. I’d like to improve my prose too; I don’t know quite how. Q: Which poets have inspired you and how? What was their impact on your work or your literary perspective? Walt Whitman is like a nuclear bomb; the blast sort of clears out your mind of vegetation so you can see the world like he does, immense. Emily Dickenson is like a spelunker; dragging you down into terrifying caves. E.E. Cummings I read very young and was always amazed at what he did; I didn’t know you could do that with poetry. Keats writes love better than anybody else. Ginsberg is like a good sergeant, showing you where to march, and not letting you stop. T.S. Eliot is a dreamer, like me. And I always liked his nightmarish landscapes, and how they intersected with the “normal” world. Q: So, would you mind telling us what you have written so far? I’ve written 16 books to date. 9 already published, 4 to be published this year, and 3 in 2017. They are listed below, some with links: Forthcoming, Wine Country, poetry. Forthcoming, 2DEE, a novel. Forthcoming, Sunsborne, poetry. Forthcoming, Black Dove, a novel. Forthcoming, November 4, 2016, City, Psychonaut. Forthcoming, September 10, 2016, Colonel Stierlitz, a novella. Forthcoming, August 25, 2016, White Man Book. December 30, 2015, Conquistador of the Night Lands. December 7, 2015, Poems from the War, narrative poetry. October 1, 2015, Julia, Skydaughter, a novella. June 5, 2015, Last Freedom, a collection of short plays. December 30, 2014, A Map of Kex's Face. June 5, 2014, Fighting Down into the Kingdom of Dreams. March 7, 2014, Line to Night Island, a novella. August 28, 2013, My Name is Dee. December 29, 2011, Los Angeles, or American Pharaohs. I’ve also written 7 chapbooks of poetry: April 24, 2016, Koreatown. Gypsy Daughter. April 22, 2016, Mary. Rinky Dink Press. December 30, 2015, Hanblečeya. White Knuckle Press. January 20, 2015, Be Closer for my Burn. Crisis Chronicles Press. October 21, 2014, Telegrams from X County. White Knuckle Press. August 31, 2014, A Picnic in England. Gypsy Daughter. November 13, 2013, Drive Thru Poems. White Knuckle Press. I’m also fortunate to have had published a few hundred short stories, poems and essays. They are listed with links here: http://robindunn.com/writing.html Q: What are you working on at the minute? What’s it about? I am working (slowly!) on a story about a man living in London who spends much of his time in a simulated version of his city. In the simulated version, war has destroyed the city and he lives in apartment he cannot leave, because of the fires and pollution. He is a scientist, trying to find out the connection between waking life and dreams. Q: What genre are your books and what draws you to this genre? They’re a mix of literary, science fiction, magical realism. But I just write whatever I find fun! Q: When did you decide to become a poet? What was the decisive factor or you just took a pen and starting writing poems? I’ve always written poetry. But I didn’t start writing books until after the Wall Street crash of 2008. Like many people I had a hard time of it, and books, for me, have been some of the best therapy. Q: What makes you write? What’s the force behind taking your pen (or your keyboard) and put verses down? Language infiltrates as well as reflects reality; we are always in a feedback loop with the world but language, and its precise control, gives us more influence over the world. Writing allows us to control our own destiny, as well as giving us a fuller understanding of all those areas of our lives over which we will never have any control at all. Q: Do you write full-time or part-time? Do you have a special time to write or do you write every day, 5 days a week or as and when? I teach much of the year and write most summers. I do manage to write at other times too. I wrote a great deal when I was an MFA student but all good things come to an end! Q: Where do your ideas come from? Or is it just the spur of the moment, a special feeling you experience or a specific conjuncture that offers you inspiration? Like many writers, especially with poems and short stories, I am trying to capture a specific feeling, often one I experience when listening to music. Novels are about feelings too, but more about ideas, for me, and trying to work them out on a large scale. Q: How do you think you’ve evolved creatively? I really have no idea; I think I’ve gotten better and others seem to agree with that. So cheers to me! Q: In your opinion, what is the hardest thing about writing? Beginning. Q: Now, what about the easiest thing about writing? Finishing! Q: Do you ever get writer’s Block and if so do you have any tips on how to get through the dreaded writer’s block? I’ve never had a serious case of it but minor cases I’ve had I’ve often managed to beat simply through self-discipline, like going to work even when it’s the last thing you want to do. Q: Do you read much and if so who are your favorite authors? For your own reading, do you prefer eBooks or traditional paper/hard back books? I do prefer physical books. Reading many pages on a screen makes me tired, and I like turning pages. Some of my favorite writers are Gene Wolfe, Peter Hoeg, Sheri S Tepper, James Joyce, William Faulkner, China Mieville, Bruce Sterling, William Gibson, Nicole Krauss, Michael Chabon. I am very fond of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, whoever its medieval author may have been, as well as The Epic of Gilgamesh. Q: What book/s are you reading at present? I am reading The Elephant Keeper’s Children, by Peter Hoeg. Q: Do you proofread/edit all your own books or do you get someone to do that for you? I do proofread all of them myself. Getting someone else to help is great, which I have done with books I have published in the small press. A good editor is worth twice their weight in salt! Q: Do you let the book stew – leave it for a month and then come back to it to edit? Sometimes I will let the book stew mid-writing. But once I finish it I tend to try to edit it quickly. Q: Tell us about the covers of your books. How did it/they come about? I am very fortunate to work with Barbara Sobczyńska, who I met through the web site Deviant Art. She is a very talented artist living in Krakow. Q: Do you think that the cover plays an important part in the buying process? Absolutely. We all judge books by their covers! Q: How do you market your books, if you do the marketing yourself? Sites/ companies I have found helpful: Publishers Weekly, LibraryThing, Foreword Reviews, Goodreads, as well as our old friend Google, for hunting down reviewers. Q: Would you or do you use a PR agency? I would if I could afford it! Q: Do you have any advice for other authors on how to market their books? Never tell a reviewer to kill themselves, even if they deserve it! J Q: What part of your writing time do you devote to marketing your book? Very little! Submitting already takes a fair amount of time. Q: How successful has your quest for reviews been so far? Some reviews I’ve enjoyed of my writing (both good and bad): https://www.forewordreviews.com/reviews/my-name-is-dee/ http://www.amazon.com/review/R333YB4P22RIJG/ref=cm_cr_pr_viewpnt#R333YB4P22RIJG www.shimmerzine.com/2013/09/12/trampoline-novels/ www.thegeekgirlproject.com/2014/02/01/fighting-down-in-the-kingdom-of-dreams/ https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1093357914?book_show_action=true (best negative review ever!) http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-940830-10-0 http://maroonedoffvesta.blogspot.com/2015/08/dreamboat-by-robin-wyatt-dunn.html Q: What are your thoughts on good/bad reviews? Try to ignore both! Q: Do you think that giving books away free works and why? Yes, especially when you’re an unknown. People don’t often buy books by people they’ve never heard of, and if you have no reviews on the web. Q: How do you relax? Hiking. And sleeping! Q: What is your favorite motivational phrase? What is your favorite positive saying? I like the quote often attributed to Goethe, though I it might not be his words: “Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now.” Q: What is your favorite book and why? The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe (a series of 5 books) In addition to describing a beautiful near-apocalypse landscape (the sun is dying), these books pose powerful moral questions about the nature of violence and our understanding of heroism in relation to violence. Q: What advice would you give to aspiring writers? Keep writing! Q: Where do you see publishing going in the future? Lots of it will become stupider and more garish. At the same time, I believe an opposing movement will gain steam, of intelligent books for intelligent people, with improved distribution. Q: How can readers discover more about you and you work? Website: robindunn.com Facebook: fb.com/settdigger Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Robin-Wyatt-Dunn/e/B006RL8CPG Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/settdigger Thank you very much for taking the time out of your busy schedule to take part in this interview. Hello Dear Readers, I am running a free promotion on Amazon: PROMPT: "PLEASE," SHE BEGGED THE BIKER “Please,” she begged trying to convince him to let her go. He just laughed and squeezed her arm harder to make her understand he was the boss. His laughter died on his lips when he felt her knee goring him in his groin and turned into a whoosh. He bent breathless and she pulled herself out of his reach. “That would teach you some manners, mister,” she threw sternly over her shoulder and ran to the corner of the building looking for the entrance of the bar. She was in a strange neighborhood and she cursed the lack of thought when she agreed to go for a ride with Tyler. Mara had told her he wasn’t to be trusted but she’d thought it was her jealousy talking. Tyler was one of the best looking guys on the campus and she’d been trying to make him notice her for a long time. She fancied his blond hair and blue eyes, as well as his built. He was a walking dream. When he finally came to her that afternoon and invited her for a ride in the evening, she thought she’d struck gold. Now she saw that the gold was tarnished. Tyler brought her in a seedy neighborhood and parked his bike behind a bar that might have seen better times. He persuaded her to go inside for drinks but once they got to the side of the building he simply pushed her to the wall and tore her shirt. Buttons flew everywhere and for a few moments she froze in place. Her brain refused to process what was going on. When she felt his hand on her bra, then her brain started functioning again and she tried to talk to Tyler and make him let her go. He wouldn’t listen. He was very clear that he considered she knew why he invited her out and he was waiting for her to respect her part of the deal. She rushed to find the door to the bar afraid that Tyler would recover soon and come after her. She wanted to find someone else to protect her although she had her doubts that she’d find someone in that forgotten place. It didn’t seem the place where good guys would go for a good time. She heard Tyler’s steps crunching on the pebbles of the alley and she rushed to get inside the bar. When she opened the door, a fog of smoke hit her in the face and her stomach protested at the strong smell of stale beer. Only the fear that Tyler would catch up with her made her go in looking around to see if she could see anyone that would side with her. Her hopes dies one by one when she took in the people around. There was a crowd, that was true, but not the crowd she’d usually associate with. For a moment there, she was sure she fell out of the frying pan into the fire. There was a bunch of huge guys sporting tattoos on their thick arms at the bar and all of them were eying her as if she were the entertainment of the evening. She hesitated and tried to find a solution to her predicament. When she heard the door behind her opening, she jumped and looked back. Tyler was standing in the open door looking at her with mean and red eyes. She was in real trouble now. When he reached out to take her arm she ran to the bar blindly and she bumped into a giant. The giant’s beer spilled everywhere and he stared her down. She felt like she was melting inside. That was the worse night of her life and no one would help her. She whimpered and tears fell on her cheeks. She felt Tyler’s strong fingers on her arm and she tried to pull away but he wouldn’t let go. The giant stood and put the empty glass on the counter and then turned to her and pulled her out of Tyler’s grip. “Hey, man,” Tyler snapped, “she’s with me.” She started shaking her head but the giant didn’t seem to pay any attention to her. His icy eyes were trained on Tyler and didn’t show any benevolence. “I doubt it,” he said with an unnatural calm and pulled her on his side. “You’re with me, sweetheart, aren’t you?” She didn’t know what to do. She knew what Tyler wanted and she definitely didn’t want to go with him but she didn’t know this guy either. He didn’t seem the gentle type who would listen to her sorry tale and let her go. Nonetheless, she didn’t feel his fingers digging in her flesh as Tyler’s did and she thought that choosing the evil you knew might not be the smartest move. “Yes, I’m with you,” she said, although her answer wasn’t loud enough to go further than the two guys. “So, beat it,” the giant pushed Tyler away. He leaned forward and on a low tone he added “Never come to her again or I’ll have to rearrange your pretty face, got it?” Tyler swallowed hard and nodded and then left the bar banging the door behind him. She relaxed for a moment but when she looked up to the giant’s eyes she froze. His eyes were cold as a winter night. “Do you want a drink or do you want to be on our way?” he asked. She didn’t know what she wanted. She wanted a drink. Actually, she needed a drink. At the same time, she wanted the night to end and put it behind her. “Okay, let’s go,” he said and put a banknote on the counter. He took her hand and she followed him meekly to the door. She was at a loss of words. Outside, he led her to the parking lot and took the only hamlet he had and gave it to her. “Put it on and tell me where I should drive you.” She looked at him, the hamlet dangling from her fingers and couldn’t utter a sound. “You need to go home,” he continued. “You seem to have had a bad night and you need to go home and forget about it.” As she didn’t seem to be able to do anything, he took the hamlet from her hand and put it on her head fastening it under her chin. “Where do you live?” he tried again. “You… you... you mean you’ll drive me home?” “Yes, of course… You don’t think I’ll take advantage of your situation,” he scoffed at her. She shook her head fast and told him she was living on the campus. He mounted his bike and waited for her to do the same and then drove his bike to the campus. When he got in front of her dorm, he dismounted, helped her dismount as well and unfastened her hamlet. “I… I don’t know how to thank you,” she said. “I didn’t expect…” He looked at her, touched the lock of hair that had fallen on her face, and after a few moments, he leaned towards her and kissed the corner of her mouth. “Maybe you can go on a date with me. Not at that bar, of course, here in town, where there are lots of people and you could feel safe…” She nodded. “Tomorrow, at six?” “Okay, tomorrow at six,” he said and went back to his bike and drove away. INTERVIEW WITH ALLISON GRAYHURSTBIO: Allison Grayhurst is a member of the League of Canadian Poets. Three times nominated for Sundress Publications “Best of the Net” 2015, she has over 850 poems published in over 380 international journals. She lives in Toronto with her husband, two children, a dog, two cats, two rats and a bird. She is a vegan for the animals. She also sculpts, working with clay;www.allisongrayhurst.com Link to an old TV interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJtJd7VaS-0 Link to reading a poem and accompanying video by Ava Harness: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqqX7e7OlBg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqqX7e7OlBg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJtJd7VaS-0 Welcome to Roxana's blog! Q: Tell us a little about yourself and your background. I grew up mostly in Montreal by the St. Lawrence River. My parents were both journalists, and my father and mother moved my brother and I to Spain when we were young so my father could write a mystery novel. My father read often, his favorite was Shakespeare, who he would read to us over the dinner table. My mother and I would write short stories together. She was the first person I shared my poems with. Q: So, would you mind telling us what you have written so far? In 1995 my book Somewhere Falling was published by Beach Holme Publishers, a Porcepic Book, in Vancouver in 1995. Since then I have published twelve other books of poetry and seven collections with Edge Unlimited Publishing. Before the publication of Somewhere Falling I had a poetry book published, Common Dream, and four chapbooks published by The Plowman. My poetry chapbook The River is Blind was published by Ottawa publisher above/ground press December 2012. In 2014 my chapbook Surrogate Dharma was published by Kind of a Hurricane Press, Barometric Pressures Author Series. Then in 2015, my book No Raft – No Ocean was published by Scars Publications. More recently, my book Make the Wind was published in 2016 by Scars Publications. As well, my book Trial and Witness – selected poems, was published in 2016 by Creative Talents Unleashed (CTU Publishing Group). Q: Where can we buy or see them? Most of my books are available to buy in paperback and kindle on amazon: US Amazon Author Page: amazon.com/author/allisongrayhurst UK Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.co.uk/-/e/B001KIWQUS Amazon.ca: http://www.amazon.ca/s?_encoding=UTF8&field-author=Allison%20Grayhurst&search-alias=books-ca People can also read most of them for free on Issuu at: https://issuu.com/allisongrayhurst Q: What are you working on at the minute? What’s it about? I am not working on anything right now. I am in a bit of a stasis right now. I am just writing poems or pieces of poems. I write longhand with a pen and tuck the paper in a drawer. I have about six months of writing, which I will eventually type in, and most of it I will throw out. I am not sure if any of it will amount to anything at this point. Q: When did you decide to become a writer and why? What was the principal reason for taking up a pen (metaphorical speaking) and write that first sentence? I never decided to be a writer/poet. It was actually one of the last things I wanted to be. For me, it wasn’t a choice, but an acceptance, which at almost 50 years old, I have mostly come to terms with. Q: Do you write full-time or part-time? Do you have a special time to write or do you write every day, 5 days a week or as and when? When and how I write has changed over the years. I use to write in donut shops, then when walking. The early mornings have always been the most sacred and creative times for me. I am a full-time poet, because for me being a poet isn’t a career or job, it is just part of who I am, something I carry with me always. Q: Where do your ideas come from? Or is it just the spur of the moment, a special feeling you experience or a specific conjuncture that offers you inspiration? My inspiration comes from animals, children, people, trees, love, inner dread, spiritual longing – all of it ultimately, if it is worth anything, comes from God. Q: How do you think you’ve evolved creatively? I don’t know, because it seems to always be evolving or changing. There are times when I feel very confident with creating and other times I feel like an amateur with no ability whatsoever. Writing poetry for me is not an intellectual endeavor and it is not purely emotional either. Those aspects are involved, but only secondary. It has always been for me an act of surrender - clearing myself to receive, trusting what I receive, and then recording it. Q: Do you proofread/edit all your own books or do you get someone to do that for you? I proof read and edit all of my writing many times over. When I feel done, my husband Kyp Harness, singer/songwriter, author, and cartoonist reads it over, whose artist opinion I trust implicitly. Q: Tell us about the covers of your books. How did it/they come about? The first nine books I put out in 2012 were very clear visions I had for fifteen years before putting them out. I knew I wanted my sculptures on the covers and I knew which one I wanted on which book. The books I self-published since then were the same. They have all of my work in them that I want to share. I wouldn’t do it any other way. Q: What would you say are the main advantages and disadvantages of self-publishing against being published or the other way around? I like self-publishing books with createspace as it gives me absolutely control over the look and content, as well as any changes I want to make at a later date. I also love that I can do it at my own pace, which is usually very quick. I have been published by publishers and often (not always) I have been at the mercy of their time-frame. The first book I got published took two years from when I started sending it out – a year to be accepted and another year before it was in print. The main drawback with self-publishing is that a larger publisher has the machinery in place to promote the book, get reviews and interviews which is lacking when self-publishing. As well, having a book published by an established publisher gives the author respect and credibility. Q: Which famous persons, living or dead would you like to meet and why? Jesus, first, although he is alive now and I have met him. Dostoyevsky, second, because he is my mentor. Jane Goodall, third, because she is my hero. Q: How can readers discover more about you and you work? Website: www.allisongrayhurst.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/allison.grayhurst Twitter: https://twitter.com/agrayhurst Lnkedin: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/allison-grayhurst-39b1b67b Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Allison-Grayhurst/e/B001KIWQUS/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1343255960&sr=8-1 Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1937690.Allison_Grayhurst Issuu: https://issuu.com/allisongrayhurst https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9WZmOvTHbw Thank you very much for taking the time out of your busy schedule to take part in this interview. I've decided to post the prologue of the novel that will be published of the end of September. I hope I will get your feed-back. PROLOGUE
“Come on, man, this is so not right!” Josh exploded throwing his fork back on the plate, which made his aunt, Marjorie, frown. “You’re complaining, huh?” Maggie mocked him waving her fork at him, and rolled her eyes. “You’re still fairly young and you have enough time ahead of you, so you shouldn’t be the one complaining!” she retorted angrily. “He has the right to complain, Maggie, as well as any one of you!” Becka replied in support of her cousin. “So what if we are younger? We’re all in the same boat!” she continued punching the table with her little fist. “Auntie, can’t we do something about this?” “I know you want to do, pumpkin, but you can’t,” Aunt Marjorie replied gently stroking her arm. “What has to be done, has to be done!” “So, we have to pay for something that happened a hundred years before? How does that make any sense at all?” Alex snapped and joined the others in voicing his outrage, and then forked another piece of pie. “It’s been less than a hundred, nitwit!” Lily replied with disdain and punched his arm. “Who the hell cares?” Alex retorted with his mouth full. He’d never learned not to talk with his mouth full, try as his parents might, and, anyway, he wouldn’t give a rat’s ass on such things, especially at home. “One hundred, two hundred, same shit, pardon my French. You know what? I don’t feel like paying for some jackass’s mistakes!” he ended his heated speech by pointing his finger at Lily. “So, what do you propose to do, then?” Matt, who’d kept his mouth shut until then, asked with nonchalance. He had been sipping from his whiskey glass quietly, with a detached expression on his face suggesting that nothing they discussed would affect him. “Don’t tell me you’re okay with this!” Alex answered back showing him his disbelief. “Come on, Matt! You’re the oldest, man and you’ve only got one year left. You’ve got to be as angry as I am, if not more! Don’t pretend it doesn’t bother you because that’s not possible!” Matt took a few moments, sipped more from his glass and then looked at Alex and shook his head. “Angry? Maybe. Can I do something about it? I don’t think so,” he replied to his cousin with his usual coolness, his eyes gazing steadily at Alex. “So why should I bother?” No one had anything to say to that. All of them were aware that there was one stipulation that they had to fulfill and only then they could get their trust funds and also reach their full potential. The worst part was that they had to do that before turning thirty-five because once one of them turned thirty-five without fulfilling that condition, their fund was divided among the remaining younger ones who still had time ahead of them. “You know what? … I don’t really care about unlocking my powers,” Ariel said pensively, without addressing anyone in particular, “although, it would be nice to see what you can do if you use your full potential…” she continued, lost in her thoughts as always and her cousins gave her the time to get to the point. They knew she had the bad habit of rambling, getting lost in her own thoughts and leaving everyone hanging, but sometimes, if not most of the time, she could come up with very interesting solutions if they had the patience to listen to her. “But I do care about making something for myself. I’d like to open a little business…” Ariel finally said longingly. “Keep dreaming, girl,” Maggie snapped already bored with the way Ariel always liked to drag things out. She wasn’t one for patience and, unfortunately, that trait had some unpleasant results in her daily life. “Till you take care of your part of business, Ariel, girl, you won’t be able to open a shed.” “Why are you always so mean to her?” Alex snapped at Maggie. “If she wants to dream, let her dream away. What else can she do? What else is there for any of us, huh?” he asked looking at each of them pointedly, as he wanted to see each one’s reactions. “Beat the curse?” Marjorie said softly trying to defuse a potentially explosive situation. “Not so easy, auntie,” Ariel said sorrowfully. “I tried, you know… Do you remember? I thought that guy, Eric, the one I met two years ago, would be the one. It wasn’t meant to be, you know… It’s not so easy, and you know it very well. You see how things are. There’s no real romance left in this world, I’m afraid, and if there’s no romance left, where can one find love?” Marjorie nodded. She did know it. Finding true love wasn’t easy-peasy. She’d been in the same situation when it was her turn and she’d almost lost everything because of stubbornness and the family’s meddling. “It’s never easy, dear, I know,” she answered Ariel and stroked her arm with love again. “But, Ariel, sweetheart, you have to keep trying. You can’t simply give up. Think about it! You will be able to use your powers and get your money, only once you find your true love and commit to it. You’ll be happy then!” Ariel turned her eyes to her plate on the table. She knew that her eyes would show everyone that she’d already resigned herself to never doing that and she was sick of hearing platitudes and encouragements. Everyone kept silent for a few moments. Jay helped himself to some more of his mother’s amazing. Marjorie was the best cook in their family and that’s why they’d always choose to meet at her house. Everything was easier to swallow if there was a good pie or cake on the table. At least, that’s what Jay thought. “I think we should see if there’s any legal way to get out of this, guys! We need the money now, don’t we? It’s not like we can wait around forever!” Alex interrupted the silence, as the idea came to him suddenly, looking at each one of them and they nodded their assent. “Look here!” he continued. “I’m already thirty-two. I don’t have time for stupid things and games and all sorts of idiotic tries! I want to do something for myself as Ariel said. Now, when I still can.” Almost everybody nodded in agreement with him and then looked to Matt. He was known to be the smartest guy in the family and they knew that any kind of solution should have come from him. Matt looked around as well feeling their expecting gazes on him and shook his head. “There’s no way out of that, buddy,” Matt finally replied, at the same time putting his glass on the wooden table and standing up from the bench. “If you called this meeting only for this, then I’m out of here. I’ve got real things to do, places to see…” “You don’t even want to try,” Becka cried out jumping out her seat. “You’ve just given up because you have a little over a year left and you don’t care anymore.” “I tried, sweetie,” Matt replied to her with a sad smile. Becka was his favorite cousin. Maybe because she was the youngest or maybe because she was unspoilt and funny and had a very big heart. He stroked the side of her face with the tips of his fingers and then kissed her forehead. “Becka, I tried hard to find any kind of loophole in the wording of the trust funds papers. Believe me, there’s none. If I couldn’t find one, sweetie, then no one can, and you know it. There’s a reason I’m one of the best attorneys in the country, and all of you know that this isn’t just my vanity talking. Anyway, honey, these days, I content myself with making my money the hard way and enjoying as much as possible of the little spare time I have left. I’ve stopped chasing such dreams. It’s not in the cards for me and that’s it.” All of his cousins looked at him in shock. Only his sister, Maggie, understood him very well. She didn’t have any patience, especially with fools, but Matt was something special. She’d always looked up to him and she knew he wasn’t the kind of guy to give up on anything. Hearing him saying that he’d resigned himself made her understand the depth of his anger, even though he wouldn’t let his anger be seen. She felt like she wanted to take him in her arms and never let go. Nonetheless, she knew that he wouldn’t like that – not very big on affection displays, her brother - so she just petted his hand and left it at that. “Matt, you should try to use that spare time you have to find a girl,” his mother said reproachfully and all eyes turned to Marjorie, who continued: “You still have a chance, son, and I’m not talking about the money here, you know it. I know that sad affair with Velma’s left you afraid to commit again and I don’t like that in the least. That’s not Matty I know. That wasn’t love, son, and you know it very well. Had it been true love, you’d have had your full powers by now even if you hadn’t gotten the money.” “Mother, Velma’s been out of the picture for a decade already. She’s in the past. What’s the point in bringing her back into the conversation?” Matt retorted curtly, shaking his head as if he couldn’t understand his mother’s reasons. “Because she was the reason you stopped looking at women with hope,” Marjorie pointed out waving her finger to her first born. “You’re thinking that all women are like her and that’s why you just take everything you can take from them and then you move on. Another woman on the list! It’s like you’re keeping a score: how many women can Matt score?” she said acidly, which wasn’t something that they’d witnessed before. Everyone’s eyes were riveted on her. “It’s not good for you, Matt! Even if you’ve already given up on the trust money, which is stupid, by the way, you’re still alive and you still need a reliable woman in your life, as I’ve already said. You’ll grow old and alone and bitter!” Marjorie ended her unusual tirade by hitting her son in his chest with her finger. “Thanks for the heads up, mom. It’s always good to know how your future will look like!” Matt replied sarcastically and removed himself from the path of her pointy finger. Marjorie shook her head bitterly but chose not to continue that line of discussion. She knew her son quite well and she knew that when he was like that, there was no way to make him change his mind. It was like talking to a stone. The silence stretched for a few minutes. Everyone was busy eating their pie or with their drinks. But mostly they were busy avoiding each other’s eyes for fear that someone might say something hurtful. In the end, Alex, the most outspoken of all, couldn’t stand the awkward silence anymore and looked around, shrugged his shoulders and decided to try a new thread of conversation. “You know, you are the old lady’s favorite great-grandson, Matt. Can’t you persuade her to finish with this foolishness? She can change the papers if she wants to. It’s not like the words are carved in stone!” Alex asked Matt, anxiously waiting for his answer. “Tried that too, Alex!” Matt replied shaking his head. “She said she did it for our own good, whatever she means by that. So… I can say I’ve tried everything and it’s time to limit my losses.” Again no one said anything for a few moments and again they couldn’t bring themselves to look each other in the eye and the silence stretched. Encouraged by the unusual silence, as such meetings were normally a very chatty and loud affair, Matt took his leave with a simple wave of his hand and started down the path to the kitchen door, whistling softly to himself. Ariel, pensive as always, looked after him until he got inside the house to take his car keys and leave, and then she said dolefully: “It’s sad… It’s really sad. He’s the oldest and he’s already given up.” For a few moments, everyone stared at her without reply. It was like she’d grown a second head during the last hour. “Well, we’re close to that too, Ariel,” her brother Alex retorted angrily after a moment of disbelief. “It’s not like we have too much time left, is it? Just about three years, dimwit! When we turn thirty-five, everything will be gone: the money, the powers, everything. And we can’t do a single thing to stop this!” “And we can’t even cheat,” Jay intervened bitterly for the first time and the others burst into laughter. “Oh, yeah, I remember,” Lily said. “When you tried to pose as a fool in love and came with that simpleton. Camilla, I think her name was.” Jay nodded smiling. He had already forgotten the ridicule he’d suffered at the time. His easy-going nature didn’t allow him to keep a grudge for long. “Yep, but it didn’t work, did it?” Josh said very matter of fact. “Those two fossils sniffed you out.” “Well, they can read minds, so it was a piece of cake to sniff him out,” Aunt Marjorie pointed out with an enigmatic smile on her lips. “That’s why they’ve been appointed trustees, you know. No one can fool them. You shouldn’t have tried to cheat, Jay. The old lady hasn’t forgiven you for that yet.” Jay nodded that he knew very well where he stood with his grandma. He didn’t think that she’d ever forgive him. The old bat was a real piece of work: resentful and bitter. Just a few of them could steal a smile from her and lately he hadn’t been part of that group. After the stunt he pulled with that woman, grandma didn’t even acknowledge him at the family dinners anymore. He looked around and noticed that all the others had gone quiet, each of them thinking about the implications of what had happened to him. He truly hoped that he wouldn’t go through a new period of veiled mean jokes or even innocent teasing. At which Becka was a master. He even flinched when she started speaking. “So, we only have to wait for them to pass away…,” Becka tentatively began to say, her gaze passing from one to the other. “Not so fast,” Marjorie interrupted her hastily. “The rule says that if they pass away, two others will take their place. Same type of power, pumpkin, so no way to fool them either. You have to understand that there is no way around this. You have to play by the rules.” “Damn it!” Alex swore. “All this drama only because great-grandpa had the nerve to abandon great-grandma for another woman and then another idiot left aunt Evelyn to stand alone at the altar and she killed herself!” he shook his head as if everything was unconceivable for him. “So, now, generation after generation has to pay for those two idiots! Where the hell is the fairness in that?” “Well, I think that it was a radical conclusion from my grandmother, as well,” Marjorie replied conciliatorily, “but there’s never been a way to change grandma’s mind, unfortunately. I know my father tried hard at the time, but she wouldn’t listen to him. He tried again when my happiness was at stake and still nothing. He didn’t have any success. She wouldn’t give in. Since the money was still hers, she had the right to decide what she wanted to do with it.” “But why the curse about our powers? I really don’t understand that,” Becka wondered. “The same reason. Great-grandpa was a witch himself and he used those powers to entice a very young woman and leave grandma. And the man who left Evelyn at the altar was also enticed by a witch. She didn’t want any other witch to misuse their powers.” “I wouldn’t!” Becka cried out. “I know that you wouldn’t pumpkin,” Marjorie patted her hand tenderly. “Not all apples are rotten, I know that much. However, grandma didn’t want to hear a thing, so… Here we are: now, everyone in my generation paid for that and yours has to pay, as well. However, if you succeed to find your true love and get your trust funds, then at least the money problem will end and the next generations will have only the curse to defeat,” Marjorie tried to lift their moods but with little success. “Oh,” Lily sighed and put her chin in her right hand, and fixed her dreamy gaze somewhere in the distance. “I really wanted to open that nursery,” Ariel whispered inconsolably and her brother stroked her fingers, his eyes shining with deep concern for his sister’s dreams. “Nothing is lost, sweetheart,” Marjorie said and stroke Ariel’s hand again. “You’ll see, you’ll find your soul mate. Everything will be fine.” “Where? Where could I find my soul mate, auntie? The people that I deal with every day are not even lover material, believe me. I wouldn’t let them touch me with a ten-foot pole so finding a soul mate is quite out of question. There’s no chance for me out there! I’ve looked around for years and nothing!” she said this time with tears in her eyes. “Wait and see, things have a way of finding their way,” Marjorie whispered to her and then she started picking up the plates and forks to show that the conversation ended. There wasn’t anything more to add and whining wouldn’t help. She knew that well: whining never helped. You had to roll up your sleeves and do something. Although the others jumped out of their seats to help her, they were all still thinking of what they’d discussed and a none-too-rosy future that looked pretty hopeless for them that very moment. |
ROXANA NASTASEBorn sometime in the past century, living in the 21st century. https://www.ebookstage.com/welcome/NTYyNzY=/
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January 2022
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