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The Masque
"The Masque" Available through Amazon.com (Kindle & paperback) and Barnes&Noble (Nook and paperback)
ADULT LANGUAGE, MATURE SUBJECT
Two Lovers disdain boundaries and are carried into a world they never imagined.
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New Orleans, 1970: Meet Ginny and Nathan Ecklund: two lovers who disdain boundaries are unwittingly thrust into the 1890's and a masqued ball whose decadence they could never have foreseen. Their host, Azrae, plies them with exotic foods and aphrodisiacs in the hope of claiming Ginny for himself, and the two eventually dissolve in a haze and are removed to a vault beneath the Ballroom. Remembering little of what happened during their confinement, they wake only to the revels above them and summon enough strength to ascend to the Ballroom and escape their host.
The following day, they return to the mansion to retrieve a string of lost pearls and are astonished to learn that it had burnt to the ground more than a hundred years ago.
They spend the remainder of the year in an orgy of self-destruction, hoping they can obliterate the memories of that fateful night, but they come to nothing but pain.
They eventually realize that they must stop running and accept themselves and each other for what they are, regardless of the past and the flashes and memories. Only then can they begin anew and find their way into the future with renewed certainty and hope.
ADULT LANGUAGE, MATURE SUBJECT
Two Lovers disdain boundaries and are carried into a world they never imagined.
-------------------------
New Orleans, 1970: Meet Ginny and Nathan Ecklund: two lovers who disdain boundaries are unwittingly thrust into the 1890's and a masqued ball whose decadence they could never have foreseen. Their host, Azrae, plies them with exotic foods and aphrodisiacs in the hope of claiming Ginny for himself, and the two eventually dissolve in a haze and are removed to a vault beneath the Ballroom. Remembering little of what happened during their confinement, they wake only to the revels above them and summon enough strength to ascend to the Ballroom and escape their host.
The following day, they return to the mansion to retrieve a string of lost pearls and are astonished to learn that it had burnt to the ground more than a hundred years ago.
They spend the remainder of the year in an orgy of self-destruction, hoping they can obliterate the memories of that fateful night, but they come to nothing but pain.
They eventually realize that they must stop running and accept themselves and each other for what they are, regardless of the past and the flashes and memories. Only then can they begin anew and find their way into the future with renewed certainty and hope.
272 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 2, 2020
About the author
Matts G. Djos
11 books21 followers About the Author:
Matts Djos was born in Seattle, Washington, the setting for much of the narrative. He married his wife, Jeanine (the template for Ginny), in 1959. Three years later, he graduated from the University of Washington with a secondary teaching certificate and a B.A. in English. He was awarded an M.A. in English from the University of Idaho in 1967 and a Ph.D. in English from Texas A&M University in 1975.
In the fall of 1975, after fourteen years as an English teacher in north Seattle, he accepted an invitation as an assistant professor of American Literature at what is now Colorado Mesa University. In 2006, after forty-five years as a scholar, writer, and teacher, he retired with honors as a professor of English, emeritus. Later that year, he and Jeanine moved to an alpine paradise in the high country of western Colorado.
Jeanine and Matts have three daughters and a bundle of grandchildren. They will be celebrated their fifty-fifth anniversary in 2014.
Matts has published extensively, both as a scholar and as a freelance writer. He has written more than fifty scholarly, contracted, and freelance articles during the past twenty years alone. His book, Writing Under the Influence: Alcoholism and the Alcoholic Perception from Hemingway to Berryman (Palgrave/MacMillan, 2010) is nationally regarded as something of a breakthrough in the study of the connection between creativity and addiction. It has been the cornerstone of a number of graduate courses and papers, both in the States and abroad and is available in almost every graduate library in both the States and UK .
His nautical books, Sailing Out of Retirement, Fixing Positions, and The Sacrament of Sail, have been singled out for special recognition and editorial praise among the major, international sailing magazines. His editors at Sail, Cruising World, Sailing, Natique, and 48 North have said they will be happy to provide recommendations.
The alcoholic references in Secrets are based on Matts’ professional knowledge of addiction and his personal experience. The novel is the first in a trilogy about love, addiction, and marriage in the second half of the Twentieth Century.
Matts continues to teach classes on writing from time to time and has been a presenter at numerous literary and writing forums and workshops.
--------------------------
Matts Djos was born in Seattle, Washington, the setting for much of the narrative. He married his wife, Jeanine (the template for Ginny), in 1959. Three years later, he graduated from the University of Washington with a secondary teaching certificate and a B.A. in English. He was awarded an M.A. in English from the University of Idaho in 1967 and a Ph.D. in English from Texas A&M University in 1975.
In the fall of 1975, after fourteen years as an English teacher in north Seattle, he accepted an invitation as an assistant professor of American Literature at what is now Colorado Mesa University. In 2006, after forty-five years as a scholar, writer, and teacher, he retired with honors as a professor of English, emeritus. Later that year, he and Jeanine moved to an alpine paradise in the high country of western Colorado.
Jeanine and Matts have three daughters and a bundle of grandchildren. They will be celebrated their fifty-fifth anniversary in 2014.
Matts has published extensively, both as a scholar and as a freelance writer. He has written more than fifty scholarly, contracted, and freelance articles during the past twenty years alone. His book, Writing Under the Influence: Alcoholism and the Alcoholic Perception from Hemingway to Berryman (Palgrave/MacMillan, 2010) is nationally regarded as something of a breakthrough in the study of the connection between creativity and addiction. It has been the cornerstone of a number of graduate courses and papers, both in the States and abroad and is available in almost every graduate library in both the States and UK .
His nautical books, Sailing Out of Retirement, Fixing Positions, and The Sacrament of Sail, have been singled out for special recognition and editorial praise among the major, international sailing magazines. His editors at Sail, Cruising World, Sailing, Natique, and 48 North have said they will be happy to provide recommendations.
The alcoholic references in Secrets are based on Matts’ professional knowledge of addiction and his personal experience. The novel is the first in a trilogy about love, addiction, and marriage in the second half of the Twentieth Century.
Matts continues to teach classes on writing from time to time and has been a presenter at numerous literary and writing forums and workshops.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
August 7, 2020
Thanks to the author for providing a reading copy of this book. A trusted friend asked me to read and review it.
My first inclination on receiving THE MASQUE by author MATTS DJOS was to put it aside because it was not “my type” of book. Instead, I read the book right to the end and found it to be compelling. It is a love story and a paranormal story. I recommend it to readers of those genres.
Ginny and Nathan had known each other for about twelve years and have been married for for ten. The story begins in 1970 when they are going through trying times in their relationship. They have both “cheated” with other people. Ginny is a paralegal in a small law office. Nathan is a college professor. They live in Seattle. Both are recovering alcoholics. The marriage is in trouble.
They decide to spend a long weekend in New Orleans to celebrate their tenth anniversary. After checking into their hotel, they decide to go out on the town. After all, it is New Orleans home of great food and great music. They hail a horse drawn cab outside the hotel entrance to go sightseeing and dining. Maybe a drink or two. The driver’s name is Angel and he speaks with a heavy New Orleans/Cajun accent that the author captures. They get exceedingly drunk. Not good when you are an alcoholic.
The next day, the hotel manager gives them a note. It is from Angel. It is an invitation to a Masque (masked ball). That night, Angel is waiting for them with his horse drawn cab to take them to the “Masque”. This is where, in my mind, I could hear the theme music from The Twilight Zone begin to play. After a very strange evening, Ginny and Nathan return to their hotel where Ginny realizes she is missing a pearl necklace. They return to mansion the next morning to see if the necklace had been found. The mansion is not there. Apparently, it had burned to the ground over 70 years ago with a horrific loss of life.
This memory haunts the couple for the rest of the story. The couple embarks on a series of spooky trips including a bizarre skication at Crystal Mountain near Mount Rainier in Washington State and a sailboating trip to Lake Powell on the Colorado River near Utah, Arizona and Colorado during which Ginny almost dies. They move to Colorado.
GO! BUY! READ!
My first inclination on receiving THE MASQUE by author MATTS DJOS was to put it aside because it was not “my type” of book. Instead, I read the book right to the end and found it to be compelling. It is a love story and a paranormal story. I recommend it to readers of those genres.
Ginny and Nathan had known each other for about twelve years and have been married for for ten. The story begins in 1970 when they are going through trying times in their relationship. They have both “cheated” with other people. Ginny is a paralegal in a small law office. Nathan is a college professor. They live in Seattle. Both are recovering alcoholics. The marriage is in trouble.
They decide to spend a long weekend in New Orleans to celebrate their tenth anniversary. After checking into their hotel, they decide to go out on the town. After all, it is New Orleans home of great food and great music. They hail a horse drawn cab outside the hotel entrance to go sightseeing and dining. Maybe a drink or two. The driver’s name is Angel and he speaks with a heavy New Orleans/Cajun accent that the author captures. They get exceedingly drunk. Not good when you are an alcoholic.
The next day, the hotel manager gives them a note. It is from Angel. It is an invitation to a Masque (masked ball). That night, Angel is waiting for them with his horse drawn cab to take them to the “Masque”. This is where, in my mind, I could hear the theme music from The Twilight Zone begin to play. After a very strange evening, Ginny and Nathan return to their hotel where Ginny realizes she is missing a pearl necklace. They return to mansion the next morning to see if the necklace had been found. The mansion is not there. Apparently, it had burned to the ground over 70 years ago with a horrific loss of life.
This memory haunts the couple for the rest of the story. The couple embarks on a series of spooky trips including a bizarre skication at Crystal Mountain near Mount Rainier in Washington State and a sailboating trip to Lake Powell on the Colorado River near Utah, Arizona and Colorado during which Ginny almost dies. They move to Colorado.
GO! BUY! READ!
Displaying 1 of 1 review