A Look at June and an Excerpt from LORD OF BLAKELEY

Good morning, Gentle Readers!

June has been an incredible month on Vision and Verse.  Our numbers have skyrocketed passed 27,500 pageviews. We have had some fantastic interviews and cover reveals.  Some of our favorites, like Lacey Dearie, Mindy Haig, Loretta Laird, and Cherime MacFarlane, have revisited us with their exciting new books.  Our own very talented Parker Kaufman brought us some terrific pieces from his latest line of artwork, and we introduced you to the fabulous Reina Cottier and her beautiful artwork.  We met the delightful Tim Kenney and heard about his amazing journey to paint 50 paintings in 50 states in 50 days.  And we hosted the amazing RaeAnne Thayne in a lovely interview. 
I am so pleased to be able to bring these creative dynamos to you. And with many of them, what began as simply an invitation to interview on Vision and Verse has become a deep and meaningful friendship.  I am grateful to you, Gentle Readers, for adding us to your daily reading list.  Without you, Vision and Verse would not be "the place for art and authors."  I thank you.  I leave you today with an excerpt from LORD OF BLAKELEY, my romantic time-travel adventure.

Hugs,
Carol 

Chapter Five  

Heartbroken and Miserable on Remus   

Location: Stronghold, the Castle of King Aaron, Year 1022 Planet of Remus

“Where in the hell am I?” Aleese snapped at a young red-haired girl who walked into the room.

“You’re in the castle, Princess.”

“What castle?  Where?  And I am not a princess.”

“Yes, you are.  You are Princess Aleese.  This is King Aaron’s Castle, The Stronghold.  You are King Aaron’s ward.  This is the high country, Princess, the most beautiful part of Remus.”

“Beautiful?  This place is a miserable, cold, gloomy, deserted rock,” said Aleese, looking out the window at nothing but rocks; big boulders, medium-sized rocks, pebbles, and gravel.  “Not a living thing in sight.  Grey castle, grey stone, grey sky.  I shudder to think what the bad part of Remus must look like.  How the hell did I get here?  How long have I been here?  And who came with me?”

“Mistress, you have been here for three days now, in and out of a very deep, very strange, disturbing sleep.  You’ve been screaming, crying, and calling out for someone.  I don’t know for sure, but we think maybe your family sent you here to recuperate from some horrible experience, a loss, a… death, we think.”

“Here?  They sent me HERE to feel better?  Do they hate me?”

“No one saw you come, so I can’t tell you how you got here, but no one’s been here with you so we think you traveled alone.”

“So.  I am… all alone?”

“Well, not exactly, you have me!  Glenna,” she curtsied, “Glenna Flannery.  I work here in the castle with my five brothers, Cliff, Dean, Neil, Paddy, and Ryan.  You’ll be able to recognize them because they look just like me!  Shock of red hair!  And I’ve been assigned to…help you.  Princess, what do you remember?”

“Not a damn thing!  Nothing coherent anyway.”