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The mysterious happenings that occupy the first page of my soon for release novel: The Alewife.Excerpt Copyright © 2014 Jason T. Graves, all rights reserved.
Doug’s arms sliced through the water in powerful strokes, pulling him inexorably to his target. Old Soaker Island was only a deserted strip of rock, but today he would own it. He surged up through the surface and shook the Atlantic from his eyes. The smudge of island lay dead ahead—his bearing was right on.
Splashing drew his attention over his left shoulder. Thirty yards away, Brian was a machine, cleaving through the gray water. Mighty…but off target as usual, Doug thought and smirked. At this rate, Brian would miss Old Soaker by fifty yards or more. Without lane markings, Brian always had a hard time swimming a straight line.
“Swim with me.”
Unexpected, the sound made Doug jump and twist. The girl from the restaurant—Meeka—was pitching in the choppy waves a few body lengths away. How’d she swim up without me hearing? An enigmatic smile illuminated her face. He remembered those lips from last night, how cool and salty they were. How good they had felt on his.
His lips curled a bit in response. “What’re you doing out here?” Oh, that was brilliant!
“Swimming.”
“Oh. Do you…do you swim here a lot?”
A wave hit his face, flooding his nose with water. He hacked like an old smoker.
“Swim with me, Doug.”
An effusive smile cracked his face, twisted by a few straggling coughs. She remembers my name. “Was that you out on the bay last night?”
“Yes. Why didn’t you join me?”
Without thinking, he turned to check on Brian’s progress. “Um, ’cause swimming in the ocean in the middle of the night isn’t real safe, especially drunk.” Brian was still far off course. Doug swiveled his attention back to Meeka.
Her gaze flicked out to Brian and back. “Yes, I can see how male companionship and beer was so much more alluring than spending the evening with me.”
“Yeah, I, uh…” His decision last night had been the wrong one. Instead of staying with Meeka, he had followed Brian down to the beach to drink beer and vodka with some college guys. Well into the binge, he thought he had seen her swimming off shore, waving at him.
“Doug?”
But here she was now. Why live in the past?
“I’d like to make it up to you,” he said in a stroke of budding maturity.
“Sure. I’d like that.”
“Doug? Hey, Doug! D’you find a mermaid?” Brian’s voice crested the waves, and he laughed at his supposed humor. “Oh, it’s just your mattress from last night.”
Doug flinched in embarrassment. Why couldn’t you have kept swimming? “Sorry. He’s kinda stupid.”
“Who cares what he says,” Meeka said. “And, I do want to make love to you.”
He thought he had misheard her. “Um…”
“Swim with me.”
Okay, it has become something of a running joke about how many M-named characters there are in The Noctivagas Chronicle (TNC), but I confess... I didn't do it on purpose! My characters largely name themselves, and they generally get it right, so I don't argue with them overmuch.Anyway, here is a list of all the M-named characters and their book of first appearance (BR = Blood Roses, MS = Morning Stars):
Madeline Owen ~ One of the two central protagonists of the story, a super pale, 15-year-old girl and identical twin sister of... (BR)
Marissa Owen ~ Madeline's better half... younger, faster, stronger, not as nerdy, into butt kicking and snarky comments. (BR)
Marlena Morgenstern ~ Wife of Wilhelm Morgenstern; she takes a shine to Marissa Owen due to shared interest in martial arts. (BR)
Marcus Amacus ~ Jesuit priest and member of the Facis Sacrum corps; spies on the Morgensterns to prevent release of the Inmanitas Noctivagas book. (BR)
Maelcom Greene ~ Adamite apprentice to Wilhelm Morgenstern; becomes a good friend and ally of the twins. (BR)
Anna Magdalena Schull ~ Daughter of Gertrude "Trudie" Schull, nee Stenz. (BR)
Mauld ~ A spirit guardian of Ledane's estate in New York. (MS)
Maurice ~ Owner of The Kindest Slice pizzeria in State College, Pennsylvania and grandfather of Tonio. (MS)
I use several unique terms in The Noctivagas Chronicle to identify the various vampire and Adamite kith and kin. Here is a list of the ones that have been more vexatious for readers...Ludzie: a Polish-born vampire, means the People
Volk: a German-born vampire, means the People
Kindred: what the Roman Catholic church (fictionally) calls the vampires that are members of the clergy
Euvampire: a full vampire that possesses the genetic element
Quasi: a pre-vampire - genetically a vampire, but lacking in power; predisposed to becoming a euvampire if bitten by one.
I will add more as they occur to me, or list your most vexatious word and I will explain it.
I am participating in another Read 4 Review, and you can join in:http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...
Read the complete On the Bridge novella in e-book (FREE!) in exchange for a review on Goodreads and Amazon/B&N.
Cheers!
Jason
Yes, I have you gmail address. Let me send you a test e-mail soon.
Purpinkrose,I will send you the latest pic, blurb, etc. for reveal (still interested?). Also, I would love to be interviewed on your blog :)
88,619 and DONE!
Cover Reveal for Morning Stars! After feedback from critique partners, family, friends, and total strangers, I have arrived at the final cover. See the progression of cover designs on my Facebook author page, or just the finished product with blurb at my website.
purpinkrosesbookcorner@gmail.com?
Oh... 85,225And a completely random snippet from Morning Stars:
“Oh, look at this! Forest green and plum are the big color combo for this fall,” Cassie said.
“Been winter for three days, Cas. Time to change your palette,” Marissa said.
Cassie looked askance at Marissa’s black-on-black tee shirt and trousers outfit. “Thanks for the fashion advice.”
Marissa shrugged and wandered away.
“Why is your sister such a drag? I swear I’d shoot myself if I had to live with her. Oh, look at this dress! Isn’t it fapulous?” Cassie asked.
“She’s going through a lot,” Madeline replied. “I try not to judge her behavior most of the time.”
“Still. Partykiller, I swear!” Cassie said and put two fingers, like a gun, to the side of her head. “Little sibs are a pain. I want to kill my little brother like half the time.”
Cassie pushed through a selection of blouses in a shade of purple that Madeline assumed was plum. Madeline found it a horrible color; it looked like a fresh bruise. She would have picked that color to paint a tortured sky, if she still had the time to paint.
Copyright © 2013 Jason T. Graves, all rights reserved.
Hi, Purpinkrose!Yes, I saw your blog and it looks great! Thanks for putting your review of Blood Roses on there :)
Morning Stars will be released this summer, but I can't be any more definite than that (view spoiler). Regardless, the cover reveal can happen at any time, and you all who sent requests will receive an eARC approximately 4-6 weeks prior to publication to help boost the buzz (and taunt people who didn't get one--haha!). I will provide you with the most recent cover/back cover blurb in the next few days, okay?
Thanks for your interest and enthusiasm!
The word count for Morning Stars continues to fluctuate as I write new passages and edit older ones, but at this moment it stands at:82,039
An earlier version is out for critique at the moment and I think (hope, pray) that the full version will be ready to be sent to the editor next week.
❀Rose☯ wrote: "Awesome! Looking forward to reading more about her, she seems like a good contrast to Marissa- good to balance her out."Rose,
I just wrote the new scene with Jaz this morning (she's batting cleanup, as it were). My daughter read the passage and likes it.
I hope you have them, so please, ask your questions.
My pleasure and thank you!Jaz actually makes a re-appearance in Morning Stars... just fyi :)
PrzystańPrzystań is Polish for 'harbor' or 'haven' and is pronounced pris-STEIN. I was fortunate to have a Polish student about a year ago, who helped me with pronunciations.
As I alluded to earlier, Blood Roses is only the first part of a complex story arc--The Noctivagas Chronicle. As such, events will occur in this book that are enigmatic and are not resolved. Similarly, topics will be introduced in Blood Roses that seem to have no resolution, but these topics will bear on events in the sequel and subsequent books. Think of the story arc as a flower... when you peel back a petal, there is another one below it and on and on.The behavior of the characters is no different. Some of the things that they do seem to make no sense--and there is no explanation in the novel--but there is a reason: these are elements that contribute to the arc of the story and cannot be resolved in only one book. Have patience with the story; it cannot be rushed.
The Noctivagas Chronicle was conceived as a story arc spanning several books and several years of the characters' lives. As such, multiple plot elements--including Maris, her dairy, and the ancient book of fearsome night-wanderers--will span multiple books. If something does not seem to make sense, keep reading and questions will be answered.
This is a short prequel piece that I wrote for my blog about a year-and-a-half ago. It is rough and only lightly edited, but I wanted to re-post it here for new readers' benefit. Enjoy!This passage is set in the same narrative thread as the novel that I am writing. It is a short snippet of a pivotal event that occurs about six weeks before the novel's narrative begins and it introduces one of the central characters, a teenager named Marissa. She is a nice girl, more or less, but she is also tough and likes to fight—mixed martial arts style. In this snippet, we find Marissa and two of her friends from the dojo doing a Guardian Angels-like walk through of a rougher neighborhood in Austin, Texas. If her parents knew what she was doing, they would not approve.
Please note that this is not a complete story but a teaser for you and a character-development exercise for me. I hope that you enjoy it for what it is.It was the first week of July and the night air was unsurprisingly sultry. The traffic on Rundberg Lane was unusually light for a Friday, a situation that Marissa normally liked because car headlights ruined her night vision. Tonight, however, she was feeling anxious and was actually happy to see a car come by every so often. She spared a moment to wonder how a four-lane road with a center divider qualified as a ‘Lane,’ a word that in her minds eye evoked images of a narrow cobbled pathway winding its way in front of quaint English cottages. She was being distracted by mental images of stately wisteria vines when Jaz—short for Yasmin—started singing again. Yasmin was tall and lithe, fast of foot and quick of mind. Her skin was the color of dark chocolate and she loved to sing almost as much as she loved to fight. In contrast, Marissa was of average height and athletically built to the point of being muscular, and she had skin the color of fresh milk. It was a joke among her friends, not entirely funny—living, as she was, in Texas—that Marissa could not tan even if her life depended on it.
“Jaz,” she said quietly, “you’re doing it again.”
Jaz stopped singing abruptly and briefly ducked her head. “I can’t help it, girl,” she replied, “I always sing when I’m happy.”
Earlier that day, a boy who Jaz had admired for months had plucked up the courage to ask her out on a date on Saturday afternoon; she had been radiating like a lamp ever since. Ordinarily, Marissa would be happy for Jaz and let her sing, but right now Marissa’s unease was mounting. Discretely, she looked behind them and saw nothing, but she still felt like they were being followed—like someone was hovering back there, just out of view.
“I know,” Marissa said, “I just have a bad feeling.”
Jaz shot her a concerned look. She did not lightly dismiss Marissa’s feelings. “Joe,” she said to the third member of their group, “we’ve gone far enough. Let’s turn back.”
Joe stopped and turned to look at them in the dim light, a weak breeze tousled his dark hair, “What’s the problem? We’re gonna go north on Dessau and loop back, like usual.”
“Marissa’s got a feeling—.”
“Aw, dang! No, I’m not gettin’ stirred up in that mess. She ain’t some voodoo priestess; she can’t see the future.” He turned and continued walking east, moving his linebacker’s build with surprising grace. Marissa regretted ever having mentioned the impressions that she got—her feelings—to anyone, because no one, except for her twin sister Madeline, was ever neutral about them. She had been right often enough that everyone either thought that she was a seer or a lucky fraud. It had become a running joke among the latter group to such a degree that she now kept her feelings to herself most of the time. Out of habit, she looked behind them again and was mildly shocked to see, three, no, four figures crossing to their side of the street. “They were behind the school,” she whispered. She felt her heart rate picking up.
“Maris,” Jaz said with growing concern, “what’s going on?”
“There are four people behind us now. They just crossed the street from behind the middle school.”
Jaz looked a little startled and then spoke quickly, “Hey, the fire station’s getting close. Do you want to go over there until they pass?”
Marissa looked east and realized that Joe was now well ahead of them. Jaz followed her line of sight and hissed, “What’s he doing? He’s breaking formation.”
Marissa glanced over at the fire station and saw three more figures coming across the school’s athletic fields, effectively blocking their way to the well-lit building. “We might not make it, Jaz,” she whispered and gestured to the newcomers. “We’ve got to follow Joe,” she said. Grabbing her friend’s elbow, she began trotting after him.
Joe, conveniently, had stopped walking. As the girls came up to where he was, he turned and said, “we got comp’ny.” Marissa looked around him and saw four more figures moving toward them up their side of Rundberg. “Oh, we’ve got more than that,” she said quietly and gestured to the other two groups, “we’ve got four in front, three on the left, four behind us,” Joe whistled appreciatively as she spoke, “and a dark, empty field to the right. I feel like we’re being herded.”
“Well I ain’t feelin’ too cow like,” he said and laughed with a hint of nervousness.
“Me either,” Jaz said defiantly. “Do we stand?”
“Heck, ya! Guard up, girls.”
They all turned their backs to each other and assumed loose, waiting stances.
“Whatever happens,” Marissa said, “stay close to the road.”
“Stay close to each other,” Jaz quietly added.
©2011-2013 Jason T. Graves, all rights reserved
