Authors here at Untethered Realms write speculative fiction. It encompasses science fiction, fantasy, horror, paranormal and anything that pushes the boundaries of fictional belief. For most of us, including creatures in our writing is a must. It adds that suspension of disbelief flavor that so many specfic readers enjoy.
You name it, and we probably got it here at the Realms!
In my Afterlife novella series, I include ghosts, demons, shapeshifters, gardengoyles, shadow people and Doppelgangers. Of course, it wouldn't be fun or interesting if they didn't misbehave.
Take Doppelgangers for instance.
A doppelganger is your double. Someone who looks like you, but isn't you. Every
culture has a different twist on what it means to see your double. But whatever the
culture, it is never a good sign and is often the harbinger of death.
In Second Death, their own doppelgangers tease and test
the mettle of Indigo and Badger, intent on getting a rise out of them. They’re pros at mimicry. They took deeply seated desires and taunted the pair by turning something innocent into something...other than innocent.
It’s even said that doppelgangers have demonic qualities. So using them
in Second Death was a bit of
foreshadowing.
It should be clear by now that you do
not want to see your own doppelganger. Or mine!
To set the scene for the following excerpt, here's what happened to Indigo and Badger. Indigo is drafted onto the Missing Paranormal Committee, which leads the gang to the Gertrude's Garden cotillion, the social center nightclub for paranormals. While following a trail of shadow people, they meet their trouble-making doppelgangers in a mirror. Now
this is the real meaning of in through the
looking glass…
We smiled at our reflections.
Our reflections smiled back.
We laughed.
Our reflections laughed back.
Our reflections waved…
Wait.
I did not wave…so how…
I turned to Badger—he turned to me.
“What…did you…I
didn’t…” Badger looked as freaked out as I felt.
We looked back at the mirror. Although no sound reached us, they were laughing at us! Having a good
laugh, too, hanging on each other’s shoulders.
She stuck her tongue out at us.
He made an obscene hand gesture.
I sucked in a breath. My fists went to my hips. “Stop
that!”
Badger, the real one, frowned. “What are they?”
“Right off hand I’d say they’re doppelgangers. Our doubles.”
An electrical current zipped up my spine and lodged at the base of my skull.
Weren’t doppelgangers harbingers of death? And they were our doppelgangers, so
did that mean they were harbingers of our own deaths? I shook my head. It was
no time for fanciful imaginings. Gertrude’s Garden and the attached cemetery
was nothing but death. That made more sense.
“Well, what are they doing here? What do they want with us?”
“Good question.” I ignored the thoughts that persistently
tapped me on the shoulder. “Or more importantly, why are they purposely
antagonizing us?”
“They are
deliberately trying to get a rise out of us. I wonder why?” said Badger.
“Who are you?” I don’t know what her game was, but someone
else wearing my face and body wasn’t cool.
She turned and kissed the Badger reflection right on the
lips. A long, sensuous, face-sucking, tongue-wrangling kiss.
I gasped and took a step closer, a brief flicker of
something like jealousy momentarily sparking my temper. Was he enjoying kissing
her, er, me? I didn’t see him
struggling...
Then she turned back to me and winked.
“Why you little…” The moment I touched the mirror, I fell
through, Badger’s voice ringing in my ears. I face-planted on the other side,
only seconds before Badger. I sat up, slightly in shock. What the heck just happened?
Badger sat up and rested his forearms on his knees. He
cocked his head and raised his eyebrows at me. “I don’t suppose you have an
explanation?”
I gazed around the hall, no sign of our doppelgangers. A
mirror image of the hall we just left, only bone-chillingly cold, looked back.
I shivered. “Right off hand I’d say we fell through the rabbit hole.” And I sat spread eagle on the floor like a
bumbling Alice.
Second Death
Book I
The Afterlife Novella Series
The Afterlife Novella Series
 |
| Cover by Corona Zschusschen Tweetable Character Quotes from this excerpt: |
I don’t know what her game was, but someone else wearing my face and body wasn’t cool. ~Indigo Eady
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00N6TYPOE @UnRealms #YA
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00N6TYPOE @UnRealms #YA
“Why you little…” The moment I touched the mirror, I fell through...~Indigo Eady http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00N6TYPOE @UnRealms #paranormal #ebook
Blurb:
Second Death:
The Sabrina Shores spirit community is in crisis.
Ghosties are mysteriously disappearing at an alarming rate.
They’re simply…gone. A second death.
The clues are limited, but it’s clear that the one common factor is Gertrude’s Garden, the nightclub social center of the spirit community which just happens to adjoin the Sabrina Shores cemetery: the one place Indigo makes a point of not going. Ever. She has her reasons.
Indigo Eady:
Much to her chagrin, Indigo Eady is a celebrity among spirits. She’s the girl who can see and speak with them. She has a proven track record in helping spirits find their murderers, so it’s no surprise when she’s drafted onto the Missing Paranormal Committee. Who better to help them than the experienced teenage ghost whisperer- investigator and her friends?
***
Blog Tour Stops:
(Book I)
(Yeah, I rub elbows with some awesome peeps!)
Ghostly Gallows available October 6th!
Secret Keepers available October 20th!
Giveaways!
- Everyone who comments here or at any of the stops during my Afterlife Blog Tour will be put into a drawing for FREE ebooks of Second Death, Ghostly Gallows and Secret Keepers. Five copies will be given away during the two week release period of each book.
- Everyone who leaves a review of any book in the Afterlife series by October 31, 2014 will be put in a drawing for a $25 Amazon gift card.
- Everyone who purchases the complete ebook set or boxed ebook collection set by the end of the Afterlife blog tour (by October 31, 2014) will be put in a drawing for a $25 Amazon gift card (boxed ebook set available October).
- A print book giveaway of the series will also be up for grabs - stay tuned for more details!
Send your purchase links with the heading "AFTERLIFE" in the subject line to GwenMGardner@cox.net to be entered into the drawings.
Buy now:
Amazon / B&N / iTunes / Google Play
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Wow, wow and wow. I think it was River Fairchild who first led me here. And my greedy bookaholic ways and the talent of all the contributors (and visitors) here keeps me coming back. Drat you and thank you.
ReplyDeleteAwww, thanks, EC. That is so flattering <3
DeleteNo way I could take on a doppleganger! But I'm looking forward to reading about yours.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't take one on either, Ellie. They're okay in books, but... ;)
DeleteThis is an exciting series. Can't wait till the next.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Miranda. I'm looking forward to your upcoming new release as well :)
DeleteI loved that scene! And nope, I don't ever want to see my doppleganger or anyone else's either!
ReplyDeleteImagine how confusing that'd be!
DeleteI think I could take on my doppleganger. Other people have seen mine, but I haven't come across her yet. I keep waiting to find a time machine to explain why so many different people have seen her and thought it was me. LOL!
ReplyDeleteI want you on my side, Cherie! LOL.
DeleteWow, Gwen, that was rather creepy. Made my skin crawl. Now I don't want to look into the mirror. lol When I was younger folks used to think I was somebody else. I was even asked for my autograph more than once. We're both still alive and kicking, but I suppose we're not true dopplegangers.
ReplyDeleteIt would be creepy, wouldn't it? LOL, your autograph? Sell it ;)
DeleteThat would be creepy but I am a Gemini so i already fight with my doppelganger:)
ReplyDeleteHaHa! That's funny, Birgit :)
DeleteCoincidence or great minds? I started on a short story on Monday called "Doppelganger" in which an Indian guy is influenced by his double - a double he learns might be an Etiäinen, the Finnish version of a doppleganger. To the Finnish this is a spirit sent forth by a shaman or by a person in great distress in order to receive information. In this case with an inevitable twist. (Still researching as write!!)
ReplyDeleteRoland, it's so funny how every culture has their own version. Makes you wonder....
DeleteI read a great story featuring a doppelganger called "Blackwood Farms" by Anne Rice. It, and the notion of doppelgangers, left a chilling impression.
ReplyDeleteStephanie, it is a bit creepy. And steeped in superstition.
Delete"Unthered Realms" has been included in our Sites To See #398. Be assured that we hope this helps to point many new visitors in your direction.
ReplyDeletehttp://asthecrackerheadcrumbles.blogspot.com/2014/09/sites-to-see-398.html
Ooh, the doppelganger concept is such a potent one. As Jung said, everyone has a shadow side, and the "double" element allows an author to study that in a concrete way using fantasy.
ReplyDeleteI used to play Werewolf back in the day and there I learned about doppelgangers. Very interesting approach here. That excerpt is very appealing. And I must add this site looks really awesome!
ReplyDelete