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Dancing Fire: Overture
In Gwrych Castle during the late nineteenth century, four lives collide in a battle of unrequited love, secrets, tragedy, and revenge.
Ballerina Sarah Ann performs every night when the bell tolls twelve. Ballroom doors slam, lights dim, and guests are transported to another world, one of mystery and enchantment.
Victor Foster travels to the fortress to escape his bloody past. An encounter with Sarah in the courtyard sparks a romance that could change his life. But his ex-lover, Marie Summers, soon interferes to reunite with him at any cost.
Doctor William Bennett has been close friends with Sarah ever since they were children. But a deadly chain of events force him to confront his true feelings and unearth everything Victor is hiding from her.
Dancing Overture is Volume One of a serial publication.
3,700 words (approximately 15 pages). An overture.
A mural of ballet dancers overlooked banquet tables. Meandering to the first table, Victor surveyed the range of crystal glasses. Beside them sat a bowl of red wine in which rosebuds floated, twirling whenever a glass was dipped and filled.
A nest of stems surrounded the bowl, thorns intact. While the rosebuds were mysteriously fresh for this time of year, the stems were dead and brittle. He bent low for a closer look. Blood coated the particularly vicious thorns.
On the second table lay an array of those of candy apples, lollipops, peanut brittle, and truffles. Among them was a detail most peculiar, however.
Old keys were strewn about the table, many dirty and consumed by rust. They rested not in a single layer, but in a sea of brass and iron.
Though this puzzled him, it enhanced his childlike wonder. He was content to allow the underlying orchestration to remain unknown to him.
A bell began to toll as he turned from the tables. The ballroom doors slammed shut.
Candles upon chandeliers ceased to burn, leaving the fires to glow. But two uniformed men emerged from the crowd. At each fire, they seized buckets of ash and doused the flames, placing the ballroom in utter darkness.
Guests whispered around Victor, hushing one another as the bell tolled twelve. The enthusiasm of viewing a new performance overcame him. It was the thrill of the unexpected, of wondering where and how the performers would appear.
A light materialized over the center of the ballroom, drawing stares of awe. The orb was no larger than a match tip, hovering high above the floor. It darkened to lavender before flaring to cerulean. Several guests, eyes entranced, reached for the light as the edges crept outward in waves.
A blinding flash triggered cries of alarm. In that instant, Victor felt engulfed by warmth.
When he lowered his arm, a sapphire glow saturated everything and everyone around him. He couldn’t be certain where it emanated from, though it remained brightest in the center of the room. The crowd pressed against the ballroom walls as if commanded.
Through the stillness, a piano melody began to echo off the walls. It was a dramatic composition, invoking his every emotion, note upon note. Glasses shattered when they fell from hands around him. Wine washed over wood in a torrent of blue-hued scarlet.
Ballerina Sarah Ann performs every night when the bell tolls twelve. Ballroom doors slam, lights dim, and guests are transported to another world, one of mystery and enchantment.
Victor Foster travels to the fortress to escape his bloody past. An encounter with Sarah in the courtyard sparks a romance that could change his life. But his ex-lover, Marie Summers, soon interferes to reunite with him at any cost.
Doctor William Bennett has been close friends with Sarah ever since they were children. But a deadly chain of events force him to confront his true feelings and unearth everything Victor is hiding from her.
Dancing Overture is Volume One of a serial publication.
3,700 words (approximately 15 pages). An overture.
A mural of ballet dancers overlooked banquet tables. Meandering to the first table, Victor surveyed the range of crystal glasses. Beside them sat a bowl of red wine in which rosebuds floated, twirling whenever a glass was dipped and filled.
A nest of stems surrounded the bowl, thorns intact. While the rosebuds were mysteriously fresh for this time of year, the stems were dead and brittle. He bent low for a closer look. Blood coated the particularly vicious thorns.
On the second table lay an array of those of candy apples, lollipops, peanut brittle, and truffles. Among them was a detail most peculiar, however.
Old keys were strewn about the table, many dirty and consumed by rust. They rested not in a single layer, but in a sea of brass and iron.
Though this puzzled him, it enhanced his childlike wonder. He was content to allow the underlying orchestration to remain unknown to him.
A bell began to toll as he turned from the tables. The ballroom doors slammed shut.
Candles upon chandeliers ceased to burn, leaving the fires to glow. But two uniformed men emerged from the crowd. At each fire, they seized buckets of ash and doused the flames, placing the ballroom in utter darkness.
Guests whispered around Victor, hushing one another as the bell tolled twelve. The enthusiasm of viewing a new performance overcame him. It was the thrill of the unexpected, of wondering where and how the performers would appear.
A light materialized over the center of the ballroom, drawing stares of awe. The orb was no larger than a match tip, hovering high above the floor. It darkened to lavender before flaring to cerulean. Several guests, eyes entranced, reached for the light as the edges crept outward in waves.
A blinding flash triggered cries of alarm. In that instant, Victor felt engulfed by warmth.
When he lowered his arm, a sapphire glow saturated everything and everyone around him. He couldn’t be certain where it emanated from, though it remained brightest in the center of the room. The crowd pressed against the ballroom walls as if commanded.
Through the stillness, a piano melody began to echo off the walls. It was a dramatic composition, invoking his every emotion, note upon note. Glasses shattered when they fell from hands around him. Wine washed over wood in a torrent of blue-hued scarlet.
17 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 8, 2014
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August 16, 2015
It started very well but I believe the entire book didn't download. Only 19 pages with no indication of any of the characters mentioned in the overview. What was there definitely left me wanting more.
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