But there are sinister forces at work in Animas. Teran’s attacked and his assistant is kidnapped. When Marika also disappears, Teran’s forced to confront the truth: someone is out to sabotage his mission and destroy anyone who tries to help. With an eccentric team of magical allies, Teran must rescue Marika and fight off those who want to destroy both him and the Folk. But can he find a way to confront the shadowy forces while keeping himself and his lover safe from harm?
Animas and Crested Butte
Unseen takes place in a Colorado mountain town, Animas, that’s having its annual Fall Festival. When my critique partner read the first chapter, she asked me where on earth I’d gotten the idea for the characters parading through town in outlandish outfits, along with stilt walkers and a hairy monster. I wish I could have told her it was all a product of my writerly imagination, but the first chapter of the book is actually a fairly accurate picture of the Vinotok Festival parade in Crested Butte, Colorado.
Vinotok is an imaginative recreation of a genuine European fertility festival, and Crested Butte puts it on more or less annually. I say “more or less” because some years the festival is more popular with the locals than others. One year a fight over parking led to the cancellation of all but a couple of events. The first time my hubs and I visited Crested Butte, we sort of stumbled on Vinotok by accident, but we’ve managed to visit it deliberately since then. At the end of the festival the town celebrates the “burning of the grump,” a symbolic burning of everybody’s peeves (or something—Crested Butte was always a little vague about what the grump actually meant). I worked both the parade and the grump into the book, but I made the latter a lot more sinister than it actually is.
If you’d like to go to Vinotok and want some details, you may have your work cut out for you. Vinotok usually takes place in September, but the locals can be cagey about just when. While they don’t mind you stumbling upon the parade and the “burning of the grump” without meaning to, as we did, they’ve become a little prickly about making it a tourist attraction. Some citizens now refuse to let anyone know when or if the festival happens
If you’d like to see some pictures of the festival, this site has some lovely shots. And having seen two or three Vinotoks, I’m a fan. It struck me as the perfect festival for some members of the Folk to wander into, and I had a great time making that happen.
Vinotok is an imaginative recreation of a genuine European fertility festival, and Crested Butte puts it on more or less annually. I say “more or less” because some years the festival is more popular with the locals than others. One year a fight over parking led to the cancellation of all but a couple of events. The first time my hubs and I visited Crested Butte, we sort of stumbled on Vinotok by accident, but we’ve managed to visit it deliberately since then. At the end of the festival the town celebrates the “burning of the grump,” a symbolic burning of everybody’s peeves (or something—Crested Butte was always a little vague about what the grump actually meant). I worked both the parade and the grump into the book, but I made the latter a lot more sinister than it actually is.
If you’d like to go to Vinotok and want some details, you may have your work cut out for you. Vinotok usually takes place in September, but the locals can be cagey about just when. While they don’t mind you stumbling upon the parade and the “burning of the grump” without meaning to, as we did, they’ve become a little prickly about making it a tourist attraction. Some citizens now refuse to let anyone know when or if the festival happens
If you’d like to see some pictures of the festival, this site has some lovely shots. And having seen two or three Vinotoks, I’m a fan. It struck me as the perfect festival for some members of the Folk to wander into, and I had a great time making that happen.
Marika stood silhouetted against the sunset outside the tent. The light danced around her like a nimbus, setting off the dark tints in her hair. Her startling eyes seemed to shift from green to gold.
His shoulders felt tight suddenly, heat sliding along his body to his groin. The rush of arousal hit him instantly, taking him to granite hard in the space of a breath. Holy crap, what’s happening to me? He wasn’t the kind of man who got turned on by every random woman he came across.
But this wasn’t a random woman. This was Marika, who’d already been stirring in his mind. He had an abrupt image of her sprawled among the sheets, her short hair feathered out around her face, her eyes sleepy with satisfaction, her body a combination of sugar and cream.
I’m drunk. I must be drunk. But he gulped more of his beer anyway, without thinking about it. It tasted good. Across the room, Reynard had wrapped an arm around his partner, even though the music stayed fast. She didn’t seem to mind.
Teran spun back to Marika. Her cheeks were flushed, a faint film of perspiration slicked across her forehead. Hot. Hot in here. It hadn’t been before, or anyway he hadn’t noticed it. But it was definitely hot now.
“Maybe we should leave,” he said. “It’s getting hot in here.”
She nodded, keeping her gaze on his face. “Right. Really hot. Really. We should . . .”
“Go,” he finished for her. “Away from here.”
She nodded again. “Away from here.”
His shoulders felt tight suddenly, heat sliding along his body to his groin. The rush of arousal hit him instantly, taking him to granite hard in the space of a breath. Holy crap, what’s happening to me? He wasn’t the kind of man who got turned on by every random woman he came across.
But this wasn’t a random woman. This was Marika, who’d already been stirring in his mind. He had an abrupt image of her sprawled among the sheets, her short hair feathered out around her face, her eyes sleepy with satisfaction, her body a combination of sugar and cream.
I’m drunk. I must be drunk. But he gulped more of his beer anyway, without thinking about it. It tasted good. Across the room, Reynard had wrapped an arm around his partner, even though the music stayed fast. She didn’t seem to mind.
Teran spun back to Marika. Her cheeks were flushed, a faint film of perspiration slicked across her forehead. Hot. Hot in here. It hadn’t been before, or anyway he hadn’t noticed it. But it was definitely hot now.
“Maybe we should leave,” he said. “It’s getting hot in here.”
She nodded, keeping her gaze on his face. “Right. Really hot. Really. We should . . .”
“Go,” he finished for her. “Away from here.”
She nodded again. “Away from here.”
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Enjoyed reading the post. Thanks for sharing the except, sounds like a good book.
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ReplyDeleteThanks, y'all. Hope you enjoy Unseen!
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ReplyDeleteLoved the excerpt, thanks for sharing .
ReplyDeleteWho is your favorite character in your book? Congrats on the release. Bernie Wallace BWallace1980(at)hotmail(d0t)com
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Sounds great!
ReplyDeleteI would like to give thanks for all your really great writings, including Unseen, and wishing the best in keeping up the good work in the future.
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