I am very pleased to have Terri Talley Venters as my guest blogger again with her new release, Copper Cauldron.
Author of Carbon
Copy, Tin Roof, Body Of Gold, and Copper Cauldron
Terri
received her Bachelor’s degree in Accounting and Master’s degree in Taxation
from the University of Florida. She is a licensed CPA and a Second Degree Black
Belt in Taekwondo. She lives in St. Augustine, Florida, with her husband,
Garrison, and their two sons.
Carbon Copy, currently
available from Wild Child Publishing,
is the 1st thrilling novel in the Elements of Mystery Series. The title
of each novel will contain an element from the Periodic Table of Elements. Tin Roof, the sequel to Carbon Copy, coming soon from Wild Child
Publishing. And Terri’s romantic/suspense
novel, Body of Gold, is coming soon from Freya’s Bower. Terri just
finished writing, Silver Lining, the
final book in the Carbon Copy
trilogy. For more about Terri’s upcoming releases, please visit her website http://www.elementsofmystery.com/ Terri is the daughter of Leslie
S. Talley, author of Make Old Bones
which is also available from Wild Child Publishing.
Blurb
Penelope
Manchester, a good witch with one green and one blue eye, awaits her destiny: a
warrior of God with the face of an angel, the heart of a saint, and eyes which
match her own. St. Michael the Archangel flies into her life and sweeps her off
her feet. Meanwhile, an evil sorcerer captures witches, steals their powers and
most of their nine lives, and shrinks them to the size of a doll--a Nürnberg,
doll. But when he turns two of the Manchester witches into dolls, the
Manchester clan fights back with St. Michael and divine intervention. Armed
with the legendary copper cauldron, a fire breathing dragon, and an arsenal of
spells, good battles evil.
Here is a short story featuring Terri's main characters from her new series.
SULFUR
“Thanks for traveling across the Atlantic Ocean to join me on this
excavation, Tommy,” Victoria Ventures said. She hugged her ruggedly handsome
colleague.
“When a beautiful woman calls and asks me to leave the harsh winter in
Scotland to play in the dirt with her in sunny Florida, I take the first flight
out of Edinburgh,” Tommy Garrison said.
“You came at the best time, we finally cut through all the bureaucratic
red tape so now we can start getting our hands dirty," Victoria said.
“How did you find this place?” Tommy asked.
“A condo developer demolished an old hotel near Disney World. When they dug the hole for the basement, they found an entrance to a cave,” Victoria said.
“Just a cave? I thought you
mentioned an excavation every archeologist dreams about,” Tommy asked.
“I promise you, Tommy, it will be! I haven't told you the best part yet,
come on,” Victoria said with a wink.
They walked the cave system for over an hour, covering the distance of
almost four miles. They barely spoke as they hiked through the spider web-like
tunnel system. Victoria's excellent physical condition made it easy to keep up
the intense pace. Her excitement to show Tommy her discovery motivated her to
practically run to the find of a lifetime.
“I'm glad you marked the path with ropes, if I got lost I’d never find
my way out again,” Tommy said.
“I’ve walked this tunnel so many times I don’t even need the rope
anymore. But it’s good to have just in case,” she said.
“Like the guy who killed the Minotaur in Crete, didn’t he use a rope to
find his way back out of the labyrinth?” Tommy asked.
“I forgot how nerdy you are,” Victoria said. She laughed, poking fun of her college
boyfriend.
“Yuk! Did something die down here?
It smells like rotten-eggs,” Tommy said, holding his nose to mitigate
the foul smell.
“We’re getting close now. You’re smelling the sulfur commonly found in
hot spring water,” Victoria said.
“This all reminds me of how they discovered the ancient roman baths, in
Bath, England. During the Victorian era, hot water started leaking in someone's
basement. They started digging and
uncovered the archeological find of the century,” Tommy said.
“Sorry I’m walking so fast, but I’m anxious to see the look on your face
when you see what I found,” Victoria said.
“You mean what your team found,” Tommy said correcting her.
“What I’m about to show you no one else has seen, at least no one still
living,” Victoria said. She grinned at the joy of teasing Tommy. His perplexed
look proved priceless.
“I’ve been in a holding pattern waiting for you to arrive. I need a diving partner, and no one will take the risk. The cave dead ends into a hot spring,” Victoria said.
“Sounds fascinating, but I imagine the fear of diving in an undiscovered
hot spring sounds intimidating,” Tommy said.
“It’s not exactly undiscovered. In fact someone discovered it thousands of years ago. They left markings. The Ancient Egyptians discovered it before the Spanish did 500 years ago.
“Okay, now you just gave me the biggest hard on. Did you say the Ancient Egyptians were here?” Tommy asked.
“Yes, but I’m not an expert in hieroglyphics, that’s one of the reasons
I called you. I merely possess the most basic knowledge, and I don't recognize
much,” Victoria said.
“No one has ever found evidence of the Ancient Egyptians in the new world. But we studied Egyptian hieroglyphs together in graduate school. I’m surprised you’re so rusty. I recall feeling furious when you earned an ‘A’ when I got stuck with a ‘B+’,” Tommy said.
“Do you regret turning down your fellowship at Harvard to be with your
father in Scotland after his heart attack?” Victoria asked.
“Not as much as I regret not staying in the States to be with you,”
Tommy said, feeling his heart ache for the missed opportunity with his college
sweetheart.
“You’re here with me now,” Victoria said, smiling through her bashful
feelings.
“So if the Spanish found this cave in the 1500s, why haven’t we heard anything about the discovery?” Tommy asked.
“I think I know why this place is still a secret. Look here. Our predecessors left warnings,” Victoria said. She shined a light on the cave wall a few yards away from the start of the hot springs. She and Tommy stared at the engravings.
“Don’t feel bad for not recognizing the hieroglyphics, they’re not
Ancient Egyptian,” he said.
“What are they?” she asked.
“Something older, Sumerian perhaps,” he said.
“The one below it is written in Spanish,” she said as she translated.
Do not touch the water, or you will watch everyone you
love die
Ponce De Leon
“Come on, We’re almost there,”
Victoria said.
She grabbed Tommy’s hand and led him to the start of the hot
springs. She pulled out her lighter and
ignited the incense to mask the pungent smell of sulfur. She shined her
flashlights on the control box for the lights she recently installed. She placed her finger above the “on” switch
and looked at Tommy.
“Ready? 3, 2, 1,” she said, as
she pressed the switch and the lights shone brightly on the hot water
springs. A layer of steam hovered
several inches above the milky water.
“Oh my God, the only thing stopping me from diving in is Ponce De Leon’s
warning,” Tommy said.
“I have a confession to make,” Victoria said, grinning up at Tommy.
“No, please don’t tell me you risked your life by touching the water?”
Tommy asked.
“Only by accident. The other day when I installed the lights, I tripped
and stumbled. My hand automatically reacted by going down to brace my
fall. It accidentally landed in the
water,” Victoria said. She held her right hand up to show Tommy.
Tommy gently took her hand in his and examined it. He enjoyed the
intimate moment of caressing Victoria’s hand. He ran the tips of his fingers
over her soft skin as he admired her youthful hand. He instinctively pulled her hand to his lips
and kissed it.
“Your hand is as beautiful as I remember. It’s like you never dug in the
dirt in your life,” Tommy said, still holding her hand as his strong feelings
for Victoria came rushing back, filling his heart with love again.
“I know. That’s just it, until
the other day, my right hand looked as rugged and aged as my left. Here, look,” she said, holding her left hand
next to her right to allow Tommy to compare the astounding difference between
the two.
Tommy looked at her hands and he jerked his head back, shocked at the
sight before him. While Victoria’s right hand appeared youthful and
unblemished, her left resembled his own--wrinkled, rugged, and covered with
tiny scars from digging in the dirt for a living.
“When I noticed the change, I initially thought it healed from the
medicinal powers of the hot, sulfur spring water. But then I did an experiment, and I realized
this is something much more,” she said.
“Victoria, no, what are you saying?
It can’t be,” Tommy said.
“My cat is fifteen years old and ready to be put to sleep, but I can’t
muster the courage to say goodbye,” Victoria said.
“You still have that calico cat from college, Amaretto?” Tommy asked.
“Yes, I brought her down here,
carried her in one of those papoose things mothers use to tote their
infants around. I submerged her in the
water for only a second, and now she’s as good as new,” she said.
Tommy stared at Victoria incredulously, his eyes bulged from his head as
the shock settled in. “Do you mean you
discovered…”
“The Fountain Of Youth.”
Find Terri's books at these sites:
Thank you for hosting me Carol! Hope everyone also stops by my new website at www.ElementsOfMystery.com
ReplyDeleteIt's a pleasure to have you, Terri, and it's a great website. Good luck with your new novel.
ReplyDelete