The Link: Colette's Beginning

by Makala Thomas

The sequel to The Link: Matthew's Beginning is here! Colette's blissful life with her father crumbles before her eyes when she takes a frightening dare in the meadow of her home island, just to prove that she isn’t ‘chicken’. Her father Steven, unable to believe what she had done, leaves home and disowns Colette, breaking his little girl's heart and replacing his fun self with her strict mother, Brenda. When it all becomes too much she runs away from home. Colette has a secret... she can do magic. Brilliant magic. Those who know love and fear her at the same time; Colette learns she is very talented and will become even more skilled at magic, extremely powerful, with guidance from her magical guardians. This sequel continues the story about the mysterious boy Colette meets dead at night in the meadow, Matthew James. Colette and Matthew have an intense connection and are unable to forget each other, even when Matthew vanishes from Colette's life. This is a juicy read full of fun, crime, romance and magic!

447 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

All my life, from the age of six onwards, I have enjoyed writing. I remember writing a story about a magical football at the back of my school book in primary school, I was aged eight or nine. It was a story about a boy who purchased a football, and when he got home from playing with it in the park, the ball began complaining about being kicked about the place, frightening the boy, but also interesting him as he then asked what it was like being a ball, and a friendship was formed. The boy became very protective of his ball after that.

My teacher found the story while marking work and encouraged me to keep writing as she was very interested in what would happen next.



I also wrote a few other stories, one I remember clearly was about life under the sea, and I created many mermaid characters (inspired by the Disney classic The Little Mermaid). The mermaid children had to go to an underwater school and I even created some kind of underwater Scouts for them. I enjoyed writing this story very much. Regrettably the book I wrote and drew the characters in was lost when I moved house. I was aged twelve at this time, and from other stories I had written involving magic, I knew fantasy was one of my strong points.



At fifteen I started a project titled The Link, which I named so because I planned to write at least thirteen stories in this project, which were all linked to one another somehow. For example, third story may have absolutely nothing to do with the second or first, or the ninth would have nothing to do with the previous eight, but instead be linked to the twelfth story.



Since 2005 (age fifteen) I have been writing for this project, and am pleased to say I have now completed the entire series of The Link and have begun publishing them online. Aside from The Link series I have also written other stories which should eventually be published.



Also I like to write poetry or small pages slash posts of thoughts and feelings aside from stories. Feel free to view anything you like.

Since a small age I have always had “itchy fingers” and have always needed to write to express myself. Regrettably most of my work from a younger age was deleted or thrown away because of my embarrassment and self consciousness. Now, today, I am more confident.


I am glad to share my work with you and hope you will enjoy it.



Writers are born, not made.



Makala. V. P. Thomas

Reviews

[Benjamin Sweeney · Rating 5 out of 5]

I stumbled upon this author on Amazon UK and I'm glad I took a chance on her work. I was initially drawn to the author's description of the project's concept so I gave the book a shot. At first I was a little worried that the book's young female protagonist wouldn't hold my interest but Thomas' skills as a character-crafter kept my attention. Then the story did the rest.

First person can be tough to pull off but Thomas pulls it off skillfully, artfully, and with snappy dialogue. The story has a smooth progression that keeps you turning pages (or swiping in the case of the Kindle edition) and when the reveal happens it's both unexpected and direct.

The setting is idyllic and it compliments the characters well. They live and breathe in a world that is carefully and meticulously created by the author. Their interaction is genuine and believable; even when there is pixies and magic in the air. I've said too much about that though, no spoilers here. Character development and dialogue are Thomas' strengths. Together they propel the story and shape the world in which the characters inhabit, perhaps even more so than descriptions provided by the author.

All in all, I thought it was a fantastic read. This is not the only book in this story arc; be sure that I will be picking up other work by this author.

[Cassie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great read. It takes you on a wild ride where everything is possible. The characters are sometimes adorable, sometimes obnoxious, and just really easy to fall in love with. The book has a lot of great dialogue that really tells you the story of each character. My favorite parts are the poems and sing songs that are written throughout the story. Makala Thomas doesn't just write books, she literally creates an artistic piece that enables you to visualize each little portion of her story. She does not miss a single detail. I definitely recommend this to all readers.

[Justin Hooper · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was given this and the previous book Mathew’s Beginning as a gift. I recommend that you read Mathew’s Beginning before this one, because the story follows on. This sequel is just as good, if not better than the first book. The writer has a very unique style and her main characters are well developed and you can identify with both Mathew and Collette. The stories are masterfully intertwined to produce a first class read. If you enjoy a good read that tugs at your emotional strings and is slightly ‘off-beat’, then this is for you.

[Niki Livingston · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading Matthew's Beginning, I had to read this one as well, and I was not disappointed. The author has a talent that grips the reader. I was pulled into Colette's story and was anxious every time I had to pause, to attend to my daily life, constantly thinking of what was going to happen next! The way Makala Thomas intertwines Matthew's and Colette's lives is genius and the excitement of their story kept me on the edge of my seat. It was done so well, that I have to know what happens in the next book. Brilliant story-telling! I highly recommend this book!