One of my fellow Evernight Teen authors is joining me on the blog today to introduce her new book, My Dark Fairytale.
Blurb:
Monster or hero?My name is Larkspur and I was born in the Colony, a labyrinth of tunnels and caves miles beneath the surface designed for prisoners. Being born among the criminals isn't an easy childhood. But I have a secret, my nails turn into sharp claws. That gives me the edge to survive down here. I learned early how to fight dirty, hide well and never trust. Here’s where I live, among the lawless.
All too soon, our world changes. Something happens to the prospering world above. The criminals desiring freedom and revenge push toward the surface. Me among them. I make it to the surface and find myself in the middle of a war. Treston is a shy guy that’s always staring at me and Rafe is my handsome friend from the prison. Together we fight back against a group called The Blood Brotherhood. What do they want? To take over the world, of course. You’d think the bad guys would get a new plan. Starting a resistance is hard enough then I discover what makes me the way I am. It all ties into this cult and the end of the freaking world.
Humanity needs a hero, now more than ever, but all they get is me, a monster from the darkness.
I have two books published with Evernight Teen, one of them is an editors pick! You can find me on the internet below:
My mom used to tell me about those things. Fairytales. The stories of an average person and their happily ever after. No matter the odds. The beautiful princess always found her prince. A handsome hero would come and whisk his heroine bravely from any danger. There were big dresses, shiny shoes and an ending that promised they’d be happy forever. Who wanted to be a princess anyway? They always needed rescuing. I grew out of that crap real quick. Down here, I had to.
I lived in the Colony.
I was named Larkspur seventeen years ago. My mother gave birth to me in a world of darkness and criminals. The Colony was deep underground, removed from upstanding citizens that followed strict rules about morality and the law. Blah, blah, blah. All I knew was that from the moment I drew my first breath, she cared for me. She didn’t leave me to the freaks. How bad could she possibly have been on the surface to be sent to the Colony pregnant?
It wasn’t easy being a kid when the sky was hard rock. The toys were sticks and there was no such thing as safe. I’m making it sound like a horrible place to live. Well, it was bad but at least I had my mom. Sometimes a new person would be sent down here and they weren’t so bad. Of course, over the years the good people were killed. That made it difficult to keep friends. I was a loner, although my mom liked to call me a survivor. Eh, you know, Moms.
The Colony was a labyrinth of tunnels. Most of them were all rock and dull lights. There were the deepest parts that no one ever tried to explore. Sometimes I’d hear screaming from in there. Not a great place to search. We all called it the Deep.
Anyway, today was meal day. I got up extra early. My dark hair was braided down my back. I wore all black clothes, sown together from rags so they weren’t all true black but damn close. Blending in with the shadows was a skill of mine. It saved me a time or two. My feet were bare but that’s how I liked it. Over the years down here, I learned to deal with the harsh rock walls.
Our home was this alcove in a tunnel. It was enough to fit both of us. Sure, it was dirty and dark but it kept us hidden from any predator that happened to roam. Mom still slept as I slipped out of the small opening that would be considered our front door. It was small so we had to crawl out. My hands sunk into the warm dirt that concealed the tunnel floors. I glanced to my right. The lackluster lights showed an empty path and a few feet down the tunnel was where the lights were swallowed up by complete darkness. That would be the part we didn’t get close to. I checked to my left, two men shuffled by and dipped into a shadow.
There’s one more peculiar thing about me. You see, I wasn’t exactly normal. I mean not in the complete sense in the word. I don’t know if I was some sort of new type of human or a mutation or what. I faced the wall and focused on my fingers. My nails elongated and hardened. They turned into a dark brown, almost black, like the rock around us. I did the same with my toenails and forced them to lengthen. I simply climbed up the wall. Okay so it wasn’t that straightforward but when I was younger, they just sort of formed. Like I said, I’m not sure what I was but it’s not as if I had some kind of freaky tail or anything.
I ascended. My claws sunk into the rock and kept me from falling. In only a few seconds, I hiked along the ceiling. The people that walked in the tunnel were oblivious to the freak crawling above. The movements were second nature to me now. It took a lot of practice. I couldn’t even count how many times I messed up and landed on the tunnel floor, crying out in pain.
I rounded the corner, hugged the rock and let the shadows hide my form. Meals were sent down a huge tube into the center chamber of the Colony. It was kind of like the main gathering place for all the criminals. It was also the most dangerous. Sometimes men formed groups, like gangs, and an entire tunnel could break out in fighting. There wasn’t much order. It was the biggest first because they usually fought their way to the food. The newbie’s would either learn to eat less, starve or try to prove how tough they were.
Me, I was the smart one. It must be a gene from my mom because she didn’t talk about my father much. Hell, she never talked about my father. Every time I asked she’d clam up. There was a story there and I’m not too sure I wanted to hear it. I crept along the ceiling as the tunnel opened up. This was where the lights were the brightest and the reason I came the earliest. I made my way to the hole in the rock and eased into the food chute. I concealed myself on a ledge here. All I had to do was hold my makeshift bag out and collect as much food as I could. No fighting, no blood and no problems. Although, the older I got, the smaller this damn ledge became. I felt like a huge beast trying to tuck myself away. Once I squished myself in there, it was a waiting game and watching.
And I always watched ... him.
No comments:
Post a Comment