Preface and Chapter 1 of Kindred (The Birthrite Series, #2)...

Hello all,

I hope you all are having a great holiday season! My 40% discount at my store is still going on until tomorrow. Simply visit http://officialtiffanyapanstore.bigcartel.com and enter the coupon code BLACKFOREST at check out!

Now I give you another preview of Kindred (The Birthrite Series, #2). There is a jump break after the Preface, as Chapter 1 does include spoilers (and some parts of the chapter might be NSFW). But if you've read Descent (The Birthrite Series, #1) or if you don't mind spoilers, read on! Enjoy the preview and stay tuned for a release date soon. :)

KINDRED (THE BIRTHRITE SERIES, #2) Preview:

PREFACE
Florence, Italy
1856

In the dim light of a small studio, an elderly artisan pondered his most recently completed work. He smiled slightly and decided to give the canvas a final brush stroke. This subtle addition was indeed what the new portrait needed to be complete and finished.
Satisfied, the old man rose from the chair he was seated in, knowing that his apprentice would arrive at any moment to travel it to a Tuscan seaport.
The artist knew of the ship on which this portrait was to board. La Suerte was a newly built vessel, having just been launched on her maiden voyage in that same year. She was no ordinary ship and this would be her only year carrying his paintings to where they needed to be. She had a destiny but for this time being, she was what he – along with the subjects of his paintings - needed. And she needed them, as the energy of her passengers was what fueled her (as though they were part of her).
With great care, he packaged the painting, taking a final moment to gaze into the eyes of the middle-aged man whose image was on the canvas. This particular work had not been commissioned, but he knew that the public figure in America would be most appreciative. In his mind's eye, he could see this new work hanging inside the main hall of a library, one located in a little town just outside the city of New York. It was the same small town for which he created a statue to be part of a fountain in the town’s park.
He smiled at the thought of that statue acting as a beacon of light for the town. Of all his highly sought after works, the seraph statue was among his very best, even if he had to say so himself.
As the elderly man was placing the final protective wrappings on his parcel, he heard a knock at the door. He turned, bidding his visitor to enter. The door opened, revealing the old man's young apprentice. No words were exchanged between the two, for there was no need. Both knew what had to be done and why.
The young man departed for the seaport, leaving the artisan alone again in the studio. The old man walked over to the other side of the modest room, regarding three other shrouded canvases, portraits that were unfinished. He was in no hurry to finish these and knew that when the time was right, they would be complete. He also knew well of the individuals whose images were being formed upon those canvases.
Three individuals that were not of his world.

Though, in a way, they are...


Lynn Riggs and The Cherokee Night...

More history that is almost never talked about (and this one is also for my theater friends):

Many are familiar with the musical Oklahoma as being one of Rogers & Hammerstein's more famous works. But did you know that they only adapted it from a musical written by a playwright of Native American descent by the name of Lynn Riggs?
Riggs - a man of Cherokee descent on his mother's side - wrote the original "Oklahoma" under the original title of "Green Grow the Lilacs." Lilacs went to Broadway in 1931 and starred Tex Ritter and June Walker. It was also nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.
Much of Riggs's plays involved characters of mixed Native and European descent as he was. This included Green Grow the Lilacs where many of the main characters were mixed.
Another of Riggs's more popular plays was one called The Cherokee Night, which followed the lives of Americans who were of Cherokee and European descent. This was also performed by several theater companies throughout the 1930s.
The sad part is that Green Grow the Lilacs has been long forgotten. Also if you google Cherokee Night, the first results you get is the Cherokee Night Jeep. And when I went to the Goodreads page for Lynn Riggs, I saw a comment from a young woman stating how disappointed she was to find out that Lynn Riggs was not a prolific 'woman playwright' from the early part of the 20th century, I replied along the lines of "well no, but he was a prolific early 20th century writer of acknowledged Native American descent who wrote of the lives of Natives during that time, particularly individuals of mixed Native and European descent." And...she still has yet to reply. -_-
But you still can buy Riggs's works and learn more about them, most notably in this compilation, The Cherokee Night and Other Plays:


The Cherokee Night and Other Plays at Amazon

More info on Lynn Riggs and a more recent production of Green Grow the Lilacs




*****



For first access to giveaways and other content not seen by the rest of the world, sign up for the free Messages from the Labyrinth Newsletter!

Paperback copies of Descent (The Birthrite Series, #1) are available for the low price of $17.00 at my Official Website

My store and product line, Antiquity & Illusion is now available online at my website's store and at Storevny. If your a first time visitor, enter the coupon code, ANTIQUITY for 15% off of your entire first order. Note that this discount is only available at the website store. I will be setting something up for the Storenvy site very soon. :)

My music projects are available at CDBaby
My filmwork is on IMDb
"The Birthrite Series" and other books at Smashwords and Barnes & Noble NOOK
 My books and music are also on Amazon and iTunes
Tiffany on Goodreads



Post-Halloween Q&A with Author, Ashley Nestler

Halloween is never quite over (for some of us, at least). Today, I do a little post-Halloween Q&A with author, Ashley Nestler. Be sure to check out her work as well!





TA:  Describe your typical Halloween.

AN: My typical Halloween is binge watching horror movies, handing out candy, and pigging out on candy myself!  I also love going for a nighttime walk.  The wind on Halloween is just the most interesting feeling.



TA: What about Halloween appeals you?

AN: I adore the lore around Halloween (Samhain).  I am Wiccan, so I do believe that souls come to visit us on Halloween.  I also set out food and drink for travelling souls, and I love how that day seems to connect life with death.


TA: Halloween all year round or one day a year?

AN: Halloween year round, absolutely!  I always leave some Halloween decorations up.  I am just a bit obsessed.

Links

Author Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amnestler






*****



For first access to giveaways and other content not seen by the rest of the world, sign up for the free Messages from the Labyrinth Newsletter!

Paperback copies of Descent (The Birthrite Series, #1) are available for the low price of $17.00 at my Official Website

My store and product line, Antiquity & Illusion is now available online at my website's store and at Storevny. If your a first time visitor, enter the coupon code, ANTIQUITY for 15% off of your entire first order. Note that this discount is only available at the website store. I will be setting something up for the Storenvy site very soon. :)

My music projects are available at CDBaby
My filmwork is on IMDb
"The Birthrite Series" and other books at Smashwords and Barnes & Noble NOOK
 My books and music are also on Amazon and iTunes
Tiffany on Goodreads

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