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| BEST Young Adult Book 2016, P&E Award The Twisted Climb |
I have three book signings this month and the thought of each one brings on the fears - what if no one comes - what if no one buys my book - what if my tongue turns to mush and gibberish pops out in the middle of a conversation. Oh boy, I hate it when I get a case of the 'what-ifs.' Gah!
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| Me before a book signing |
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| Me putting on a bit of sass during a book signing |
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| Me after every book signing :) |
The Twisted Climb sequel: Darkness Descends
I've been busy working on the sequel to my book and enjoying the story as it unfolds in the playground that is my mind. Here's a sneak preview:DRAFT IN PROGRESS:
The darkness descended around her, its blackness sliding against her bare arms like the cold clammy fingers of a corpse. Georgia shivered with fear, her lips trembling.
“CONNOR,” her mind screamed. “I NEED YOU.”
But her big brother was not in this frightening, unfamiliar
place. Six-year-old Georgia was alone in the darkness, surrounded by giant pine
trees on one side and a grassy meadow on the other. A yellowish full moon shone
brightly from the heavens, ghoulishly displaying its pock-marked face while illuminating
a narrow path between the pines. Georgia squinted ahead.
Where am I?
She crossed one arm over the other and gave herself a hug.
She was not only missing her big brother, she was craving the solace that
Foleydota, her stuffed-toy baby pangolin, brought her during the night. She
whimpered as a sob built up in her throat. She gulped it down. The prospect of
being alone in the dark was making her panic.
“I’m a big girl n-n-now,”
Georgia said with feigned confidence, pushing her tongue in the space where
two baby teeth used to be. A moment later, the sound of an owl hooting
in the distance made her screech in terror.
“Please,” she whispered to the darkness, crouching low to
the grassy earth. “Why am I here? I don’t want to be here… is this a dream?” Georgia
turned her face to the glowing moon. A single, hot salty tear trickled down her
right cheek and she buried her face on her knees.
“Wake up,” she told herself.
A light wind rustled the trees and bushes. They rubbed and
shifted together, creaking and moaning, first in soprano notes, then bass. The
high-to-low-to-high notes continued, like a wind instrument tuning up and down
the musical scale. It was an eerie, whistling sound and Georgia’s terror escalated
in keeping with the amplified volume. She was breathing in shallow pants. The
intensity and number of high-low notes slowly changed – from a duet to a multi-instrument,
full-blown orchestra. Every tree and every bush surrounding Georgia joined the thrashing,
whistling, wailing band. The soprano pitch descended just as the bass note
moved up the scale. Georgia covered her ears but it did not reduce the
cacophony of notes as they raged in opposite directions. It sounded like dozens
of cats simultaneously and ferociously brawling as they slid, claws out, down
an old school blackboard. Suddenly, the high-low screeches met in the middle of
the scale, howling and hissing with an urgency that made Georgia’s skin crawl. Then,
in a thunderous clash much like the slam of cymbals coming together, the notes
spoke in unison, screeching a single-syllable command.
“Climb.”
Georgia fainted.
Stay tuned for more previews of the sequel to The Twisted Climb: Darkness Descends
J.C. Kavanagh
The Twisted Climb
A novel for teens, young adults and adults young at heart.
VOTED Best Young Adult Book, P&E Award, 2016
Twitter @JCKavanagh1 (Author J.C. Kavanagh)
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