Revitalizing an Old Trope
One of the things I’ve come across as an author and reader
is the number of books that read pretty much the same. Some of these deal with
a particular genre. Some are just another version of a well-used trope. Coming
up with something totally original and previously unheard of is difficult, but
it’s not impossible.
One common trope has been around since the Bible. It’s the
battle between Good and Evil. God versus Satan. Angels against demons.
Countless television shows and movies have dealt with this theme, and some
quite successfully. But in most cases, the Good has been represented by males,
the hero. Which was why I wanted my pivotal character, my Good, to be female.
And not a hardened, trained assassin. A young woman, an innocent who was
plucked from death fifty years ago and resurrected to be the answer to a
prophesy regarding the End of Times.
This how The Miracle Trilogy came to be.
Coming September 20th!
And Now Available for Pre-Order!
And Now Available for Pre-Order!
MIRACLE
Above All, Book 1
Paranormal/Contemporary Fantasy Romance
Word Count: 41K
$2.99 e
Above All, Book 1
Paranormal/Contemporary Fantasy Romance
Word Count: 41K
$2.99 e
My
name is Casi Clarity. I was 26 years old when I died in 1969. Then I woke up in
the 21st century—whole, sane, and unblemished. And at the same age I was when I
died.
What's more, when I came back, I brought a friend with me. His name is Coheed. He's a corporeal spirit, and he is also my protector. Against what, you ask? Well, it seems that ever since my return, I've been chased by ghosts. Demons. Ancient evil. Monsters. You name it.
What's more, when I came back, I brought a friend with me. His name is Coheed. He's a corporeal spirit, and he is also my protector. Against what, you ask? Well, it seems that ever since my return, I've been chased by ghosts. Demons. Ancient evil. Monsters. You name it.
Why
are they after me? Because they want to know my secret. They want to wreak
havoc on mankind and bring about our ultimate destruction, and the only way
they can accomplish that is by being fleshy beings again. To inhabit as many
bodies as they can to cause untold horror. They are determined to discover how
I returned from the dead, even if it means trapping me, torturing me, and
ultimately killing me again to see if I'm resurrected a second time.
My
name is Casi.
The
undead call me Mouse.
Coheed
calls me Miracle.
(PG Excerpt)
Chapter 1
Awake
Reality
exploded with a roar and squeal of throttled lightning. Casi jolted awake,
adrenaline pumping through her body with the force of a fire hose, tried to
focus on the rush of metal flying past her mere feet away. Seconds later the
metallic monster disappeared, leaving her quaking in its wake.
It
was dark, with the exception of one lone, poorly lit wall sconce on the other
side of wherever the hell she was. She glanced around at her surroundings to
find nothing but brick and mortar, and remnants of old tiles falling off the
graffiti-covered walls. The place reeked of exhaust and mildew, and it was cold.
Cold and damp, and damned uncomfortable.
She
tried to move and ignore the fact that her body felt like it was encased in
ice. She could barely feel her hands and fingers. Worse, there was no sensation
in her feet. Cautiously, she flexed her hands, her arms, and then her legs.
When she felt no pain or anything else out of the ordinary, she tried to turn
her head.
She
was lying on her right side inside what appeared to be some kind of cul-de-sac
or alley. Getting up on one elbow, she tried to figure out where she was.
Another squeal distantly sounded, and she would swear the ground trembled
beneath her.
The
scent of something rotten flowed into her lungs. A brisk wind blew over her,
making her tremble even more, and a glance down at herself explained why she
felt so cold. She was wearing her favorite sundress. It was a bright red crepe
with spaghetti straps. Pantyhose covered her legs, and her red pumps she often
referred to as her ruby slippers were on her feet. But other than that, she had
nothing else to cover herself with. No coat, no umbrella. Not even a sweater or
shawl.
The
ground vibrated again. She managed to sit up where she could get a better look
around. Now that her eyes were adjusted to the dimness, she noticed the debris,
the garbage, the filth.
Where am I? Am I in an alley somewhere?
Where is here? How did I get here? How did I…
Her teeth started
chattering. It was an effort to reach up and clutch her arms for warmth. One
thing was certain. She couldn’t stay here. Prolonged exposure to this kind of
cold would kill her. Not to mention what diseases she could pick up from the
crap floating around.
Using
the wall to help support herself, she managed to get to her feet. A wave of
dizziness passed through her, forcing her to dig her fingers into the mortar to
keep from falling.
Hunger.
She was hungry. Her stomach was squeezing itself into a hard knot to let her
know. It was probably why she felt so weak. How long had it been since she’d
last eaten? And she was thirsty. Her throat felt dry, clogged, and she coughed
to clear it.
Her
mind continued to whirl, keeping her disoriented and off-balance. Rounding the
corner, she was hit with a blast of frigid air, followed immediately by a wave
of warm air. Placing her free hand to her forehead, she concentrated on trying
to place one foot in front of the other as she followed the narrow, barely
six-inch ledge.
Train
tracks. She saw and recognized train tracks, but she was inside a tunnel. Casi
frowned. She was from a small town in Texas. The railroads she knew ran outside
of town, but she couldn’t think of anywhere where they would have to go through
a tunnel.
She
continued moving parallel to the tracks. Sooner or later she had to reach the
end. Once she got there, hopefully she’d find some kind of landmark that would
lead her into town where she could find something to eat. At this point, she
even settle for a glass of water. Anything that would help relieve the cramping
in her stomach.
“Hey,
you! Lady! Hey!”
Casi
came to a wobbly stop and glanced up to see a flashlight aimed at her. Behind
it was a dark figure that appeared to be someone wearing a hardhat.
“Hey,
Lady, what are you doing down here?”
“I’m
lost! Can you show me the way out of this tunnel?”
“Tunnel?
Lady, this is no tunnel. It’s the E Line.”
“A
what?”
“The
subway. Hey, are you okay?” The figure drew closer, but the flashlight
continued to shine directly in her eyes. Casi held a hand up to shield her
face.
“What
subway? What are you talking about?”
The
man advanced toward her until she finally was able to see the faint coloration
of his orange vest and yellow hardhat. He stood on the opposite side of the
tunnel and pointed to the tracks.
“How
did you get to other side?” he asked.
She
shook her head. “I don’t know. I woke up there. Where did you say I was?”
“On
the E Line.”
“Is
that near a town?”
The
guy snorted. “Lady, you’re in Manhattan.”
“Where’s
Manhattan?”
“New
York City.”
She
stared at the shadowy figure in disbelief. Had she heard the man correctly?
“New York, New York City?”
“Yeah.”
A
rattling swept through the tunnel. It sent the rancid smell wafting over them,
which forced Casi to place her hand over her nose. “Can you tell me how to get
out of here?”
The
guy pointed his light behind him. “The next station is about two hundred yards
that way, but you’re gonna have to cross over the tracks to this side first.”
Something
about the man’s tone of voice instantly rankled her, but she couldn’t figure
out why. “Can I reach it from this side?”
“There’s
no walkway on that side,” he explained. “Plus the platform will be on this
side.”
She
saw him wave for her to join him. At the same time, she caught the sound of
rumbling coming from behind her.
“Let’s
go, Lady. The next train’s coming.”
“Casi,
stay where you are!”
She
froze. Someone else was in the tunnel with them. Someone who knew her well
enough to call her by name, but she didn’t recognize the voice. Much less know
anyone with a British accent.
“Lady,
hurry up!”
“Casi,
don’t move! Press up against the wall as close as possible or the train will
hit you!”
The
rumbling grew louder. The bricks beneath her feet vibrated so violently, the
slick soles of her shoes threatened to give way beneath her, and there was
nothing she could cling to to prevent herself from falling onto the tracks.
The
guy in the hardhat shined the light directly into her eyes, blinding her. The
rumble became a roar, the same kind of roar that had awakened her a few minutes
earlier. Throwing herself face-first against the bricks, she dug her fingers
into the loose mortar and pressed herself as tightly as possible against the
wall.
The
train raced by like stampeding horses. It pulled a hurricane wind along with
it, making her dress and hair whip viciously across her face and legs. Dirt and
debris swirled around her, tugging at her, trying to pull her off the narrow
ledge.
The sound was
horrendous, high-pitched and hurtful to her ears. Casi closed her eyes to keep
the grit from blinding her and prayed the train would soon pass. As if in
answer, the mechanical beast vanished down the mouth of the tunnel, and
everything grew quiet once more.
“Casi, are you all
right?”
The guy who knew
her name was nearby. Closer than the man in the hardhat, but also on the other
side of the tracks. Neither did he have a flashlight.
“Hey,
Lady! You still with us?” The light played over her. “Come on, Lady. You can’t
stay here. Come with me. I’ll show you the way out.”
“Don’t
go with him, Casi!”
She
stared into the darkness, in the direction where the train had emerged. She
could barely detect a figure coming toward her, but the blackness swallowed him
up.
The
man in the hardhat crawled down on the tracks and started coming toward her.
“Come on, Lady. I ain’t got all day.”
“Casi,
no!”
The
worker kept the flashlight shining directly in her eyes, preventing her from
getting a better look at him. He paused almost at her feet and held out a hand.
“Let’s go.”
She
hesitated. “Please turn off your flashlight. I can’t see with you shining it in
my eyes.”
The
man acted as if he didn’t hear her. “Come on! You want me to call the cops?” He
came up behind her and reached for her ankle. “Get down from there!”
“Casi!”
She
kicked outward to keep the man from grabbing her foot. Instead, she hit the
flashlight and sent it flying across the tracks. The man in the hardhat growled
and reached for her again. Another kick, and this time she knocked off his hat.
A
face that was nothing human stared up at her. Its oval mouth was lined in
hundreds of tiny, needle-shaped teeth. White bands crisscrossed where its nose
should be, and its two eyes were huge black holes.
Casi
screamed and kicked at it again, but it managed to snag her foot and held on.
A
dark figure raced in, tackling the man creature. They fell sideways onto the
track, when suddenly the man shrieked in pain, or anger, or both. The dark
figure rolled away, leaving the man creature to writhe on the rails, sparks
snapping in the air around him.
Casi
watched, unable to move or speak as the man creature shriveled, grew smaller,
and eventually disappeared, leaving nothing but his clothes and hardhat to show
he’d been there. It became harder to breathe, and she gasped for air when the
dark figure bent to pick up the flashlight. But instead of shining it at her,
it shone it on itself.
It
was a man. A young man. A black man, with tight curly rings for hair. He grinned
at her, and his brilliantly white teeth reminded her of a beacon on a
lighthouse.
“You
okay?” he casually asked.
She
could only manage a quick nod in answer.
Another
rumbling sound echoed down the tunnel. The stranger glanced in its direction,
then back at her.
“It’s
not safe to stay here, Casi. We need to get out of here, and now.”
“H-how
do you know my name?”
“It’s
a long story. By the way, my name is Coheed.”
Unconsciously,
her eyes returned to the flat pile of clothing left on the tracks. “What was
that thing?”
“It
was a demon. It meant to kill you. It’s gone now, but there will be more, and
they’re coming after you.”
She
blinked at him in disbelief. “Me?
Why?”
Coheed
took a deep breath. “It’s a long story. Listen, I need for you to come with
me.”
“Why?
H-how do I know you’re not one of those…things?”
The
smile disappeared. He pointed to his face. “Look at me. Do I look anything like
that thing?”
She
studied his expression. The wide, deep-set eyes. The strong chin. She shook her
head. “No.”
He
pointed to the clothes. “Those demons, each one is unique in the way they look,
but none of them look human. At least, not to you. That’s how you’ll be able to
tell them from normal people.”
The
rumbling grew louder, signaling the fast approaching train. Coheed gestured to
her.
“We
can’t stay here, ducky. We have to keep moving. Are you hungry?”
“Wh-who
are you? Why are you here? How do you know my name?” she continued to insist.
She remained undecided whether or not to trust him, but she knew her options
were quickly running out.
Coheed
tossed the flashlight to his other hand, twirling the object as he did so. “I
promise to answer all your questions as soon as we get you out of here. But,
for the sake of brevity, let’s just say I’m here to protect you from those
demons.”
A
faint brightness appeared down the tunnel’s throat. She shuddered and stared at
Coheed’s outstretched hand. Reluctantly, she reached out and grasped it, and a
warmth flowed into her as if she’d been wrapped in a flannel blanket. He tugged
on her arm.
“Quick,
quick. Step where I step, or else you might accidentally hit one of the
electrified rails.”
He
helped her get down from the ledge, then across the tracks to the wider
walkway. By the time the next train reached them, they were close enough to the
platform to keep from being blown away. A couple of people who stood waiting to
board stared at them but didn’t offer any assistance.
Once they were
on the platform, Coheed led her through the turnstiles and up two flights of
steps to the city sidewalks above.
A wife, mother,
grandmother, and retired Kindergarten and music teacher, she lives in a small south Texas town near the Gulf coast where she
delves into other worlds filled with daring exploits, adventure, and intense
love.
She has numerous best sellers, including 10 consecutive
#1s. In 2009, she was named Whiskey Creek Press Torrid's Author of the Year,
and her book My Strength, My Power, My
Love was named the 2009 WCPT Book of the Year. In 2011, her book Lord of Thunder was named the Epic
Ebook "Eppie" Award Winner for Best Erotic Sci-Fi Romance.
She also writes naughty humorous romances under the name
of Carolyn Gregg, horror under the pseudonym of Gail Smith, and elementary
teacher workbooks as L. G. Mooney.
For more information about Linda Mooney books and titles,
and to sign up for her newsletter, please visit her website.
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