Wendy Coles-Littlepage's Blog: The 'Disfigured Series'

Happy to announce that the third book in my Disfigured Series is now available on Amazon as an ebook or paperback, and on Nook as an ebook.



This book continues the adventures of Erik, former Phantom of the Opera, and his spunky wife, Sylvie. In "Spirit", they become embroiled in political intrigue and find themselves pursued by unknown enemies, both in Paris and at home.

Hope you will enjoy this latest outing, and please remember to leave a review!

Very excited to announce that the third book in my Disfigured Series, Spirit of Revenge, is now available for preorder at Amazon!

The official publication date is set for February 14th, Valentine's Day. It may be Gothic, but it is certainly romantic, so I thought that was an appropriate date.

Amazon offers the pre-order option for ebooks only, but the paperback will be available to purchase on Feb. 14th as well. So not long to wait.

To check out the new book, visit my books on Amazon.

In this brief excerpt, Sylvie is nursing Erik after he has been attacked and knocked unconscious, with serious injuries.


"I watched over him all night long. I kept a candle lit near the bed where he lay, so that I might see if there were any changes, but he never woke. He was not still, however. Now and then he would twitch and mumble unintelligibly before lapsing back into unconsciousness. Dr. Olivier was concerned he might fall into a coma, and this terrified me so much that every now and then I would pinch some part of his anatomy. This would cause him to rouse a bit and mutter crossly. I found this greatly reassuring.
As the night wore on, it brought with it a sense of dreamlike unreality. The flickering flame of the candle sent distorted shadows across the walls, and cast a weird light upon Erik’s form in the bed. The rest of the bedroom was dark, and I had pulled the curtains across the windows to shut out the blackness outside. Once a servant came with a hot cup of tea for me, and an armload of wood, and built the fire up again. I found the warm, gently crackling fire to be immensely comforting. Wrapped in my robe, my hair in a tumbled braid, face pale with worry, I found my own reflection disheveled and wan.
Once or twice I was able to prop Erik’s head up on my arm and get him to swallow a few spoons of now-cool broth. He needed fluids, according to Dr. Olivier. I had to exercise great caution in performing this maneuver, to avoid touching the bandaged part of his head. An ugly, green and purple bruise was forming on his temple, and it pained me just to look at it.
It was about five in the morning when the change I was hoping for came at last. Erik became increasingly restive, muttering and moving his arms. His eyelids flickered as though he were trying to open them. Finally I had to catch his arm to prevent his putting a hand to his head and pulling on the bandage.
“No, darling, do not do that,” I murmured gently. His arm abruptly flew out at me, catching me across my shoulder, and sending me flying to the floor. Fortunately, I landed on my derriere. When I clambered from my knees to my feet by the bed, Erik was awake.
He was staring blankly up into the canopy of the bed. His hand came up slowly this time, and gingerly touched the bandage on his head. He winced in pain.
“Erik,” I whispered, my heart pounding. He was awake at last!
At the sound of his name, he turned his head on the pillow to look at me. His eyes seemed to take a moment to focus, and then his gaze slid past me to look around the room, finally returning to me again. He stared at me silently, a bewildered expression on his face.
“Will you take some water?” I asked, fetching a glass from the bedside table. He nodded warily. Helping him to lift his head, I assisted him to take a few sips of water. Then he fell back, exhausted from the effort.
“How do you feel?” I asked worriedly, smoothing the hair back from his forehead.
“Like hell. Like I’ve been run over by a hansom.” His voice was raspy and thick. Suddenly he reached out and grasped my hand, pulling it away from his face almost roughly. “Do not touch me,” he muttered peevishly. I gaped at him in surprise.
“Where am I? Who are you, a servant? What the hell happened to me?”
His sharp words rapped out like blows. It was like being slapped in the face.
“What…Erik, it is me, Sylvie. You are home, safely in bed.” I said, trying to keep my voice calm. I wondered if the blow to his head had caused some sort of temporary confusion. I must speak to Dr. Olivier about that when he came tomorrow (no, today).
Erik closed his eyes and subsided onto his pillow. “My head hurts,” he muttered crossly. “What happened to me, whatever your name is?”
“My name is Sylvie, as you know perfectly well!” I exclaimed, beginning to feel real alarm. One eye cracked open, and he fixed me with an irritated scowl.
“Fine. Your name is Sylvie. It is of no matter to me what your name is. What does matter to me is that I am not where I should be, I am somewhere else, and my head feels like someone is pounding on it with a hammer.”
I sank slowly into my chair by the bed, gazing at him in consternation. Perhaps if I told him what little we knew of the attack, it might help his memory.
“You were set upon yesterday when you were riding back from seeing Monsieur Dubois. Someone hit you very hard on your head, and knocked you off your horse. It was a near thing – you were almost killed. The doctor says you have a bad concussion and a cracked rib, and must not move about.”
Erik opened both eyes and glared at me murderously. I had not seen that look in his eyes for a long time.
“You are talking madness, woman. What horse? I do not know anyone named Dubois. Where the hell am I? Are we still in Paris? I want to go home.”
Understanding was beginning to dawn on me, and I was horrorstruck. Had the blow been hard enough to cause amnesia? I had heard of such cases, but usually they were of short duration.
“Erik, you do not live in Paris any longer. This is your home, and has been for four years. I am your wife.” I said slowly, as though speaking to a child.
He started to sit up, but I reached for him quickly and tried to push him back down. He gripped my wrists with his hands in a painful grasp, holding me there balanced above him, so that I was looking down on his angry, frustrated face.
“You stupid woman!” He snarled into my face. “I do not have a wife, and if I did, she would certainly look better than you. How do you know my name? I never tell anyone my name.”
“How rude!” I exclaimed, beginning to feel rather angry myself. “I’ll have you know that I have been at your bedside, caring for you, for the entire time since you were found. I am sorry if my appearance does not please you, but I had more important things to worry about.”
My wrists were released. “You can go now, whoever you are. One thing is certain: you are a damned shrew.”
In spite of how aghast I was at this unexpected turn of events, I felt a hysterical bubble of laughter rising in my throat. I pressed the back of my hand over my mouth to hold it in. He used to always call me a shrew, but now he only did it to tease. Except he meant it this time. He did not know me. I was a stranger to my own husband."

Just a quick note to say that I finally managed to get my second novel in the Disfigured Series published in paperback in addition to the eBook version. This took some time as I had to upload it about 3 times, and when I got my proof copy, saw that there were some spacing issues. Happily, its in good shape now.

'About-Face', as I may have mentioned previously, presents as somewhat of a trial by fire for my main characters. Neither of them (Sylvie and Erik) can really accept that the other truly loves them, and this leads to much self-doubt and doubt of the other. Outside threats they face drive them apart, but once they come together again and clear the air, they learn they can trust each other at last. No small feat for these complicated characters!
Here is the link to my website so you can read more about the new book, and see a peek into Book Three:

www.disfiguredseries.com

First of all, I am very happy to announce that my second novel has just been published on Amazon and Barnes and Noble as an eBook and soon a paperback. This book was a real challenge for me, because my story and my characters have moved past the original Phantom story line and into adventures that are completely new. I had to decide how my characters would behave in their new situation, and create a compelling story to propel them along. And of course to set the stage for Book Three!

In the latest installment of my ‘Disfigured’ Series, called ‘About-Face’, I had a fine time creating a really evil villain to pit against Erik and Sylvie. Villains are never bound by society’s norms, never have to worry about being politically correct. While the good guys in your story have to navigate their problems in the ‘right’ way, villains never have to worry about things like that. They just go ahead and do what they want. And usually, they do not feel the least atom of guilt about their misdeeds. Many times, villains also have mental issues, and I have to say I think the villain in my new book is pretty twisted.

I really wanted my uber-villain to be a woman. It does seem as though when a female villain behaves very badly it carries more shock value than if a man were doing the same things. Women are generally expected to be the gentler sex, after all! I created Edythe Arlington to be somewhat of a mirror image of Erik, the Phantom, as he was when we first encounter him. Edythe becomes obsessed with him rather in the same way he was obsessed with Christine Daaé in the Phantom of the Opera story. And she is capable of wreaking just as much havoc in her own way as he ever could.

Edythe knows Erik is married, but she doesn’t care. She wants what she wants, and she wants Erik. She believes he is a kindred spirit to her, that they are soul mates. And why wouldn’t she want him? He is brilliant, talented, full of animal magnetism, mysterious and much more interesting than other men.

By chance only, not by design, Edythe is American. She is young and very spoiled, beautiful, and possessed of complete confidence in herself. She also has a fiery temper. She thinks on her feet and can make plans to carry out her nefarious schemes at the drop of a hatpin. She is fearless. She can use both mental and physical forms of attack depending on the situation. If she were a man, she would be like Moriarty.

But she is not without a tender side; in this case she is devoted to her younger brother, Matthew, and quite protective of him. She cares for her father, but knows how to manipulate him to serve her own ends. And in spite of the fact that she doesn’t really know Erik, she believes herself in love with him. But when he spurns her advances, things take a decidedly deadly and dangerous turn.

When Sylvie, my heroine, comes up against Edythe Arlington, she has no idea how to deal with her. Sylvie has never in her life encountered someone like Edythe, so bold and determined, and so casually cruel. Bound by her upbringing to be a nice person, Sylvie is rendered speechless when Edythe says something horrid to her. But Edythe’s arrival on the scene provides the catalyst that pulls Sylvie out of a terrible depression. She begins to feel again. And what she feels is jealousy.

If, when you read ‘About-Face’, you feel frustrated that Erik doesn’t have a chance to deal with her as she deserves, don’t worry. Just wait for the next book! I can promise you this: there will be trapdoors!

I am happy to share with you that 'About-Face', second book in my Phantom of the Opera related series, is now here! For the moment only on Kindle as an ebook, but very soon it will be in paperback and also on Nook. This book picks up where 'Disfigured' leaves off, creating entirely new adventures and dangers for Erik and Sylvie. And of course, it wouldn't be a Gothic Romance without a little romance, and a little Gothic!

I also wanted to mention that the striking cover design was created for me by Sharon Robertson, an amazing Photoshop Wizard. The spooky aura, mask and the rose petals all symbolize things that happen in the book.

I hope you will enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing 'About-Face'!

"Taking up where 'Disfigured' left off, 'About-Face' continues the adventures of Erik, the former Phantom of the Opera, and his new wife, Sylvie. From the depths of the Paris Opera House to the wilds of America, they encounter new challenges and new villains, including a woman determined to have Erik for herself at all costs! Follow Erik and Sylvie as they experience personal tragedy, unexpected dangers, and a difficult choice that threatens to destroy their fragile new union. Separated by an ocean and an enemy, what will it take to bring them together again?"

That is the teaser for Book II in my Disfigured Series. I'm excited because I have just sent the manuscript off for formatting as an eBook! This book is somewhat shorter than the first one, but has a lot of action. Stay tuned, and as soon as it is available for purchase on Amazon I will make an announcement.

Hi,
just a quick post to say that I am seeing light at the end of the tunnel with my revisions for Book Two in my disfigured series. 'About-Face' will be going out for e-book formatting very soon! I am excited but I still have to write up my author notes with explanations about some things that happen in the book. I love doing research; that is one of the pleasures of writing books that take place in the past.

If you visit my Facebook Author Page (Wendy Coles-Littlepage, Author), and click on the tab for 'About-Face', you can see my prototype book cover and read the prologue and first chapter. I've copied a link here, but I can't say for certain that it will work!
https://www.facebook.com/wendycolesli...

This book takes up where 'Disfigured, a Gothic Romance' leaves off. what mischief will Erik and his new bride, Sylvie, get into next???

‘The last motive in the world for acquiring vocabulary should be to impress. Words should be acquired because we urgently need them -- to convey, to reach, to express something within us, and to understand others.’
Vanna Bonta


When I was a child, my father worked as a custodian at the grade school I attended. We lived only about a mile away. My mother worked also, so in the summer when school was out, my father would take me to work with him – to school, in other words.

He would unlock one or two of the classrooms, or the small library, and I would spend hours alone there, happily absorbed in the books. Meanwhile, my father would carry on with his summertime tasks of painting the walls, re-striping the sports field, and so forth. We would have lunch together, and then part ways again.

It may sound lonely, but I was never lonely. I liked nothing better than to be surrounded by books. I have always been that reader who, when surrounded by people, can hear nothing going on around me; I am in my own private bubble.

I have read all sorts of books during my lifetime, but I must admit that I always keep a place in my heart for the books of the past. Give me a Jane Austen novel, or the Complete Sherlock Holmes, and I am in heaven. It is primarily the language that I love, the old-fashioned words and phrases that no one ever uses any more. That is one of the reasons I have always loved reading Elizabeth Peters’ Amelia Peabody series of mysteries. The books in that series are set in the 1880s and forward, the characters are English, and the language is exactly right for the time and place, as well as for the temperament of the main character.

In fact, I am not sure that people actually talk in words and phrases anymore; rather, they converse in emojis and strange abbreviations. But that is another story.

I collect words that I particularly like, and I expect many writers do that as well. Here are a few words that have fallen out of favor these days, but that charm the socks off me:

Felicity Mortification Vexatious

Make haste Perplexing Cogitate

Forbidding Contemptuous Exceedingly

Impertinent Inveigle Countenance

I could go on, but I don’t wish to bore you.

I suppose it was only natural that when I embarked on writing a novel, it would be set in the past, giving me the happy task of using all my favorite old-fashioned words. For example, this sentence from ‘Disfigured, a Gothic Romance’:

‘Somehow it was difficult to imagine a new bride experiencing domestic felicity in such a cold, dreary environment.’

I found it both amusing and satisfying to create a language style that would fit the 1870s, the time my story takes place, and also make it feel that the story really takes place in France, which it does. It can be challenging to sustain a style like that for an entire novel, but eventually it became second nature to me. I began to think that way, and even speak that way some times. My friends probably thought I was getting weird. Weirder than usual I mean. The other challenge was not to go overboard – not to go full-on Jane Austen, that is to say. That could prove off-putting to a reader not familiar with the more elaborate writing styles of the past.

I have just completed the first draft of my second novel, which is a sequel to the first. I realized when I was working on it that because of the gap in time when I was busy preparing ‘Disfigured’ for publication and getting my website going, that I was no longer immersed in the words of the past. It took some time for me to recover my ‘voice’. I actually reread my first book in order to return to that style.

Mind you, I must have read the Lord of the Rings Trilogy twenty times if I’ve read it once, but I certainly do not want to write that way. There are some really fine words, though. I always thought of myself as a shire-ey sort of person. Well, I made that word up but you know of what I speak.

I hope that no matter what happens to the human race in the future, we do not give up reading books. Even if we only read them on our tablets or devices. What is your favorite genre? Favorite author? Send me an e-mail and tell me, and I’ll make a list and publish it on my blog.

Hi all,
I recently posted what I hope will be the cover of my next book, on my Facebook Author page. Here is the link which hopefully will work, if you want to see it.
https://www.facebook.com/wendycolesli...

I was really trying to find a certain type of photo for the cover, which would feature a spooky set of stairs. Spooky stairs feature in the book! I happened to be looking at something on the internet, and here was this old photo. It was really grainy, probably only a picture from a newspaper at the time. I have been unsuccessful at locating a better copy. But the thing is, it is supposed to be a photo of a real ghost. It was taken in England in the 1960s by a tourist. I knew that if at all possible, this was the photo I wanted for the cover. I don't know if the poor quality will end up causing me to have to ditch it, but I hope not.

Also on this link you will find the prologue and first chapter of 'About-Face'. I am deep in the throes of my rewrites, but I plan of sharing a bit more here and there.

Thanks and please let me know what you think of the cover idea!
Cheers,
Wendy