Happy #TeaserTuesday!!
Since no one knows too much about my new release Gathering Frost, other than the awesome fact that it's a dystopian retelling of Sleeping Beauty (and let's be honest, need I say more?!), I've decided to not only share a mini-teaser, but to also host a first chapter reveal!!
Here's the mini teaser to start!
Already dying to read it? Gathering Frost goes on-sale February 17th! BUT it's available to pre-order on Amazon now :)
Okay...Okay...enough stalling!
Are you ready for the full first chapter reveal?! I know I am!
~~~
The world ended on a Saturday in spring. Beautiful.
Sunny. The sort of afternoon that pulled New Yorkers from their hibernation,
urging them to shed their floor-length coats and stiletto boots, to let the sun
kiss their pale skin once more.
When the earthquake began, my mother and I were in Central
Park. "Pedal!" I remember her shouting. "Pedal!" And I did.
My little legs pumped in circles, my heart lifted as I felt her fingers release
the bike, and suddenly I was riding on my own. For the first time. The breeze
whipped against my grinning cheeks, stinging my eyes.
But then the ground shook. The earth began to tremble. And I
had no hope. In a flash, I was on the ground, sandwiched against the concrete
as screams rose around me. Darkness stole my vision as my mother's arms
encircled me, hugged me closer. Teeth chattering, I tried to be strong. But
tears leaked from my eyes, the cries of a baby. Shame burned my chest.
Time passed but my young mind had lost count. Minutes.
Hours. I still don't really know. But when the ground stilled, I woke to a new
world.
My mother was frozen with shock, so I had to pull against
her hold, straining to see. Over her shoulder, south, I saw smoke and ash
rising like clouds over my skyline. The trees looked gray, the sky washed out.
Faint outlines of buildings were only just visible through the fog, a mix of
skyscrapers still standing or leveled to the ground.
I looked at my mother. Her arms had fallen mutely to her
side. I'll never forget her green eyes, pulled so taut I swore they were about
to snap. Her lips were just slightly open.
"Mommy?"
But she didn’t hear. Something behind me had her so
transfixed that even her only child, her little girl, could not shake the
alarm.
So I turned.
New York was gone.
Like a line driven through the ground, we stood on one side
with the past while our future rested a few feet away. A future that was
backward in time.
Atop a hill, a giant castle rose from the ground, surrounded
by green lawns where apartments used to stand. At its base were stone houses,
smoking from fires. Horses. Carriages. Carts. And people. People dressed in
dull brown clothes looked at us just as we looked at them—confused and
terrified.
And then she appeared.
Her gown sparkled in the sun, brilliant red popping against
a dull backdrop, cinching in at the waist and then expanding into a magnificent
skirt billowing in the breeze. Silky white gloves encased her hands. Jewels
dripped around her thin neck. Pins held her hair so that it curled elegantly
down her back, and resting right above her forehead was a golden crown.
My eyes went straight to her.
A princess. I knew she would save us. I had seen it before,
so many times, so many princesses saving the day.
I ran to her, crossing the threshold without hesitation as
my mother screamed at me to come back. My mom was an adult. And adults didn’t
believe in these things. I knew she would see my side if I could just get the
princess to help us.
She knelt as I approached. A wide inviting smile spread
across her face. Her arms caught me.
"What is your name child?" Her voice was warm. It
soothed me, relaxed me, filled me with hope.
"Jade."
She brushed my bangs from my forehead, kissed it softly.
"Would you like me to help you? To make all of your
fears go away?"
"Yes!" I wanted to run to my mom, to show her she
didn’t need to be afraid. The princess would help us. But I couldn't. Something
stopped me.
A hand pressed against my chest, pricked my skin.
I looked up at the princess, struggling to break free of her
hold, when a freeze snatched my heart, so cold that it burned. I tried to
speak, but I was frozen. My limbs grew heavy, my lips felt fat, my vision
started to spot.
"Don't worry, little Jade. I'm just putting you to
sleep for a little while. You'll wake up soon."
I did. In a cell with other frightened girls. But I never
felt the same. Icy. That's what some of us started calling it, this feeling
like our hearts won't thaw. Even a fire doesn't warm me. I am hard. Frigid.
Emotionless. Sometimes I think I must still be caught in a long dream.
But time has only made me tougher.
Now I know the princess by another name, Queen Deirdre, the
Ice Queen.
And I wish I could say I was the hero of the story. A
resister. A rebel. Someone who lived to bring an end to the queen who stole my
childhood—my mother, my life, my very world.
But I'm not.
I'm not the good guy.
I'm the one who puts the good guys in their graves.
~~~
As always, sign up for my New Release Newsletter to receive an email notification the morning Gathering Frost goes on-sale! If you sign up for the newsletter, you are also automatically entered to win a free signed paperback of any of my books! Winners are chosen every four months :)
No comments:
Post a Comment