It’s Curved Horizon’s release day!!! I can’t wait to dive into this one. So to celebrate the book being finally out in the world I come baring a lovely teaser excerpt 😉
Series: The Camellia Clock Cycle, Book Two
Publisher: Interlude Press
Subgenre: Romance: LGBT, Contemporary, Science Fiction
Content Warnings: Interlude Press posts content warnings for new books on its web site at interludepress.com/content-warnings
Blurb:
Curved Horizon picks up a few weeks after the conclusion of Fortitude Smashed with Daisy Yuen and Chelsea Cavanaugh, whose Camellia Clocks are drawing close to timing out. Navigating the ins-and-outs of love is hard enough as strangers destined to be soul mates and proves even more complicated when Daisy shares dark, ugly secrets that linger in her and Aiden’s pasts.
Meanwhile, Shannon and Aiden continue to explore their own, new relationship. Fall brings them an unforgettable one-year anniversary, but when Shannon suffers a life-threatening accident on the job, Chelsea, Daisy, and Aiden must find a way to let go of the past to make room for their future.
Dive deeper into the world of the Camellia Clock—a world of soulmates, secrets, and the healing power of love.
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~Excerpt~
They walked into chilly midnight air. Frost clung to car windshields and glass windows. A storm danced on the horizon: black clouds obstructed by strikes of lightening and beachside fog. Chelsea watched the whirl of rain and wind. It looked closer than it was, hovering far out on the top of the ocean in front of Catalina Island. She wondered if it would make its way toward shore, if in minutes or days it would cover them in rich, dark clouds and heavy, quarter-sized raindrops.
“You coming?” Daisy waited at the crosswalk. She had her arms wrapped tight around herself and her long black coat was buttoned up to her chin.
Chelsea decided that she liked these storms better than the ones back in Georgia. These were violent from afar, distant and surreal, a painting stretched wide along the black water. Chelsea decided that this was home.
It seemed as if history had its eyes on them, as if the storm raging far out on the open sea had tipped the world on its side. Here, it said, look at these two.
Chelsea looked at Daisy.
Here, the storm whispered, something as violent and turbulent and terrifying as what you’ve left behind. It’s yours for the taking. Here it is, made for you to love.
Daisy Yuen was every storm she’d danced in. She was every late-night prayer said through clenched teeth, every dared, miniscule rebellion, every yes ma’am slathered in sarcasm, every practiced smile broken, and every rule bent.
Fate had looked at Chelsea Cavanaugh and said, ah, yes, that one needs this one.
Fate had been right.
“Do you know Halloween is supposedly the devil’s holiday? That this is the only night when the living and the dead can coexist?” Chelsea asked.
Daisy nodded. “Perfect night for a séance,” she cooed, “or ice cream.”
“One time I used one of those talking boards at a party. Shannon was there, but I don’t know if he remembers. I asked it—I said, ‘Whoever’s listenin’, can you tell me if the love of my life is in this room?’ And it went to no.” Chelsea paused, watching Daisy as she straightened her back and shoved her hands in her coat pockets. “I asked another question, I said ‘Spirit, will I ever love myself again?’ And it said yes. My last question was, ‘When will I love myself?’ And it spelled out, someone will make you see it. I’ve thought about it every Halloween since then. I didn’t understand until I met you.”
“What do you understand now that you know me?”
“I don’t have to be what everyone expects me to be. I can be this,” she picked up the fabric of her long, velvet dress—the color of blood and desire, a dress she only wore when she knew no one would see her. “Just this, and I’m still worthy of it.”
“Worthy of what?”
“Love,” Chelsea said. She hadn’t said outside of her own head in a long time the confession that haunted her, that she could not possibly be worthy of a love like this. She had been ready for her Clock to time out, ready to fall in love the way she fell into everything else—purposefully. But this, Daisy, them, her, was an accident, a surprise, and Chelsea hadn’t been ready for it. Maybe tonight was the night to recognize everything she hadn’t been prepared for. “I’m worthy of love and everything that comes with it.”
~Author Bio~
After fleshing out a multitude of fantastical creatures as a special effects makeup artist, Taylor Brooke turned her imagination back to her true love—books. When she’s not nestled in a blanket typing away on her laptop, she’s traveling, hiking or reading. She writes Queer books for teens and adults. She is the author of Fortitude Smashed (Interlude Press ’17) and is represented by Saba Sulaiman at Talcott Notch Literary Services.
Connect with Taylor Brooke: Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Author Website
