PUMP UP YOUR BOOK
invites you to
Carole Waterhouse's
SHADOWS OF AN EMPRESS
Book Blast
July 5-29,2016
Inside the Book:
Title: Shadows of an Empress
Author: Carole Waterhouse
Publisher: Anaphora Literary Press
Pages: 310
Genre: Literary Fiction
After the death of her mother, Sylvia is sent to live with her grandmother on an isolated piece of farmland, where she and a nymph-like companion run through the woods creating an imaginary world where her mother is still alive. When Sylvia marries Dan, everyone sees her life moving from tragic to fairy tale. But when a recurring dream about a city she can’t identify leaves Sylvia feeling especially unsettled, she goes into her living room on a sleepless night and finds the Empress Elisabeth of Austria waiting for her.Author: Carole Waterhouse
Publisher: Anaphora Literary Press
Pages: 310
Genre: Literary Fiction
Suspecting their lives are somehow linked, the empress helps Sylvia sort through her past and question her present. She and Sissi, Elisabeth’s younger version, embark on a whirlwind tour of places related to the empress’s past where the Archduchess Sophie tries to arrange a courtship between Sylvia and Franz Joseph, a heart-broken Heinrich Heine laments the empress’s tendency to credit him as the inspiration for her awful poetry, and Sigmund Freud offers commentary on their journey. As they travel, Sylvia becomes more aware of the empress’s faults. As their paths begin to separate, Sylvia learns from Elisabeth’s mistakes and comes to realize that the answers she has been searching for need to come from within. In a mock ceremony in Vienna, Sylvia is crowned the empress of herself and returns home to start a new life with Dan. She understands then that the city she has been haunted by all this time is the life the two of them built, the one they are finally ready to enter together.
Shadows of an Empress is available at Amazon.
Book Excerpt:
Chapter 1
2002
Sylvia turned up the radios in all three rooms—the kitchen, the bedroom, the workshop—the different locations making it sound as though there were three people talking, one an echo of the other. Still, it was his voice surrounding her completely, a sound that always gave her comfort. Dan, Dan, the music man. Her husband never realized the most intimate words he ever spoke to her had nothing to do with love.
The radios were turned up so high, she wondered how far his voice actually carried, for miles maybe, certainly as far as Zoe’s house. She came down once, laughing, turning them off, one after the other, diminishing the last to a faint whisper. “Why do you make him shout so?”
When Sylvia told her the reason, that she loved surrounding herself with the sound of his voice, wanted not to just listen but to be able to feel it in her bones, Zoe stopped and looked at her. “Don’t tell me after all these years you’re still in love.”
Sylvia could hear the envy in her voice. She suspected that Zoe, too, listened to Dan’s voice, knew what it was like to have it pulsate through her veins.
Dan, Dan the Music Man.
They had laughed at the name he was given, the repetition meant to sound lyrical, like one of the tunes circling in his head. Neither of them had ever expected that a radio show about music boxes would become nationally syndicated, even in a niche area like NPR. He was a celebrity
in some circles, even if most people had no idea who he was. Zoe called him the most famous man no one had ever heard of, and, given the way Dan laughed when she said it, Sylvia wished
it had been her comment instead.
in some circles, even if most people had no idea who he was. Zoe called him the most famous man no one had ever heard of, and, given the way Dan laughed when she said it, Sylvia wished
it had been her comment instead.
“Music boxes can change lives. There’s no doubt. I’ve witnessed it many times.”
It was the voice she listened to more than the words, although she sometimes felt his comments we re a secret code meant only for her. At the moment he was describing one of their own antiques, a real treasure they had acquired just a few weeks ago, the one Dan called the music box of his dreams.
It was actually a large automaton with rows of horses that would race across the front as the music played, the device designed so that the winning horse was randomly selected. She knew why he prized it, that it wasn’t just the box itself, as exquisite as it was, but the way it represented their lives together, fitting in perfectly with the Victorian farmhouse, the real horses she loved so, a true home where husband and friend were never far away.
Giveaway
Carole Waterhouse is giving away an
autographed copy of THE TAPESTRY BABY!
Terms &
Conditions:
Conditions:
- By entering
the giveaway, you are confirming you are at least 18 years old. - One winner
will be chosen via Rafflecopter to receive one autographed copy of The
Tapestry Baby by Carole Waterhouse - This
giveaway begins July 5 and ends on July 29. - Winners
will be contacted via email on July 30. - Winner has
48 hours to reply.
Good luck everyone!
ENTER TO WIN!
Meet the Author
For More Information
Participating Blogs
Tuesday, July 5 – I’m Shelf-ish
Wednesday, July 6 – Rainy Day Reviews
Thursday, July 7 – The Reading Queen
Friday, July 8 – The Writer’s Life
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Monday, July 11 – Bound 2 Escape
Tuesday, July 12 – Readsalot
Wednesday, July 13 – A Title Wave
Thursday, July 14 – Ashley’s Bookshelf
Friday, July 15 – The Bookworm Lodge
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Monday, July 18 – Cafinated Reads
Monday, July 18 – As the Page Turns
Tuesday, July 19 – Dreaming Big
Tuesday, July 19 – The Literary Nook
Wednesday, July 20 – The Review From Here
Thursday, July 21 – Confessions of an Eccentric Bookaholic
Friday, July 22 – My Bookish Pleasures
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Monday, July 25 – The Dark Phantom Review
Tuesday, July 26 – StoreyBook Reviews
Wednesday, July 27 – Mello & June, It’s a Book Thang!
Thursday, July 28 – Books, Reviews, ETC.
Friday, July 29 – Deal Sharing Aunt
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