Book & Author Details:
Saving London by Taylor Dawn
Published by: Booktrope Publishing
Publication date: June 9th 2015
Genres: Adult, Urban Fantasy
Published by: Booktrope Publishing
Publication date: June 9th 2015
Genres: Adult, Urban Fantasy
Synopsis:
The Journey. That Would Span The Globe.
The Sacrifice. That Would Decide The Outcome.
The Choice. That Could Unleash Evil On Earth.
The End Is Only The Beginning…
“You have terminal cancer.”
London Patterson, a seemingly healthy young woman, had her entire life ahead of her. That was until four little words brought everything to a screeching halt. As the shock and grief begin to fade, London decides to map out her last year and embark on an epic journey to complete a bucket list. She wants to do the things she’s been afraid to do in her life, step out of her self-contained box, and see the world. What she didn’t expect was for a mysterious stranger named Adam to breeze into her life like a breath of fresh air.
Adam offers to help London complete her list on one condition…that she sees it through to the end. Agreeing on those terms, the two set out on an adventure of a lifetime. But London soon realizes that Adam isn’t quite…human. Along their journey odd occurrences happen that cause London to question who or what Adam is and why he’s helping her.
Follow London as she checks off her bucket list in this inspiring new Urban Fantasy novel from Taylor Dawn.
Purchase:
Prologue
I’d come to believe that we are privy to an overabundance of petrifying sounds in our lives. Noises that breeze through our ears enter our brain and cause chills to run down our spine. We attempt to shake off the feelings that these sounds illicit, but the sheer terror of them do nothing but brand our skin with gooseflesh and nervousness. I thought I’d heard most of them already. That I’d taken in the echoes that strike fear through most individuals. However, I was mistaken. I undoubtedly found myself absorbing the most chilling of them all. It was unexpected and I still have trouble convincing myself that what’d happened was tangible. No, it wasn’t the shrill scream of someone in grave danger. Or the fictitious screech of a science fiction creature with hefty teeth and an appetite for human flesh and blood. The one thing that I heard was something that stopped me dead in my tracks. It put my life at a stand-still, in only a fraction of a second. I developed tunnel vision when I grasped onto the spine-chilling noise, my entire body seized up as if I’d been taken over by another life form. The ability to control what I was thinking was gone, out the window it flew like a winged creature that’d been set free. What was it? It was the sound of fear in my own voice. There was an unstable quake when I’d open my lips to speak and nothing came out. The Words I’d tried to construct wouldn’t form themselves and I felt as if I’d lost the capacity to communicate. I’d never had a reason to be afraid of it…until now.
“That can’t be right. Maybe you need to check it again.” The wavering of my speech told me I was somewhere between disbelief and denial. Neither of which was welcome near me.
“We went over the results with a fine tooth comb, Miss. Patterson. Science doesn’t lie in this case.” The expression on the doctor’s face was dripping with subtle bleakness.
“Well, there must be some other explanation. Maybe you mixed the results up somewhere along the line.” I felt a tinge of hope color my weak words.
“Listen, I know this is hard. But I assure you, there is absolutely nothing wrong with the tests.” The salt and pepper haired man sat down behind his desk.
“Okay, fine. I’m assuming there’s some sort of treatment I should start soon?”
I didn’t much care for the grim look that fell over his face like a mask of doom. “I wish I could say yes. But unfortunately there isn’t anything we can do. The surgery is too risky. You could undergo Chemotherapy and Radiation treatment, but if I’m being honest, I don’t feel as though either would do much good.”
“So I don’t have any options. This is just…it?”
He slowly nodded. “At best, in a case such as this, I would say you have a year.”
“A year to do what exactly? Sit in my house and rot?” I felt my anger bubbling to the surface like an over baked pan of lasagna.
“I understand your indignation, I really do. I think maybe if there’re some things you’ve wanted to do, it’s time to start doing them.”
How could such few words have a blatant finality to them? How could I come down with a common cold and then find out my life had been reduced to a handful of months?
“I can prescribe some medication to get you through the general symptoms, but above that…” He trailed off. He was being somewhat compassionate I suppose. I wouldn’t want to tell someone they were dying either, what a crap job.
I’d thought medical professionals were supposed to heal you? They would diagnose the issue and bam you were handed a bottle of antibiotics and better within a week. But unless he had a freaking miracle stashed beneath that prescription pad, I was toast.
“If you’d like someone to talk to, I can recommend someone.” He began to extend some sort of business card across the desk toward me.
I abruptly raised myself from the chair that felt as if it were squeezing the life from me. “Thanks, but no thanks. I’d rather not waste the time I have left lying on a sofa and spilling my problems to a stranger.”
It was difficult holding my anger at bay. Counting to ten while I exited the medical facility helped but the urge to hit something was a fierce impulse to fight off. Did I cry? For some reason, I didn’t at that moment. I can’t say why either. I wanted to, but the tears wouldn’t come. They stayed hidden in their little duct homes while I walked around seeing red.
Cancer of the Liver is what they called it. Yeah, he’d given me some mumbo jumbo scientific name for it, but all I heard was the ‘C’ word. The word that no one wants to hear in their lives. The word that rips hope away from the person being diagnosed, and replaces it with desperation and depression. With a disease like that, you’d think I was a raging alcoholic who did nothing but fill her days by holding down a bar stool while finding the bottom of a bottle. But I wasn’t. I didn’t touch the stuff. So how was it I became strapped with a terminal disease such as that? Why was this happening to me of all people?
I know life isn’t some kind of tranquil state that we float through without a care in the world. I would be utterly stupefied if I honestly believed that. No, life is a series of unfortunate circumstances that lead us to make decisions we don’t really want to make. What to have for breakfast, what to wear, and even what to say to the person occupying the seat next to us on the city bus. We don’t really put much thought into it all, but what are we really doing here? Why were we put on this planet for only a miniscule amount of time? Is there some grand plan that we aren’t seeing, like a big picture that has our entire life mapped out already?
Up until the dreaded news, I’d thought life was something to take for granted. That I could wake up every day and be guaranteed tomorrow. It’s hard to believe that everything can be changed in the course of a few ounces of blood and a doctor’s visit. I continued to shake my head wondering what really happened, was I dreaming of all of this? I wish I was. Things would be easier that way. But such as life, nothing is easy. We’re screwed no matter which way we go, and end up paying the consequences for it every day of our lives.
I made a decision. I wasn’t going to sit around and watch myself waste away like a banana rotting slowly on a counter. Nope, I was going to live my life like I just didn’t give a crap anymore…well, not in a negative way. I was going to throw caution to the wind, balls to the wall, take no prisoners and do the things I’ve always wanted to do. You could call it my bucket list, or my death list, whatever you feel comfortable with is alright by me.
My life is timed; I have an expiration date stamped on my rear like a yogurt container in the dairy section. After my time is up, that’s it. I don’t get a free pass. I’m okay with it now. I have to be. If I weren’t, I’d be that banana…I am not a banana.
But in the end I’ll get to laugh and smile at the things I’ve accomplished with my time on this earth. I can’t wish my fate away, I can’t find a genie in a bottle on a desolate stretch of beach to grant me more time. I’m accepting it like you’d accept a second place trophy in a one-legged man’s butt kicking contest.
At least I was given a year. To some it might seem like a small amount of time, and truly it is. But when you’re given only that long to live, it can in a way, seem like an eternity. I’ll do the things I’ve wanted to do because in the end…no one can save London Patterson.
AUTHOR BIO:
C.D. Taylor/Taylor Dawn began writing as an item to check off her bucket list. She resides in the southernmost part of Illinois, right on the mighty Mississippi river. She enjoys the quiet country life with her husband, son and the many farm animals that make up the rest of the family. She. decided that farm life was just a little too mundane, so she started writing erotica and fantasy to liventhings up, so far so good. C.D./Taylor entered cosmetology school right out of High School and practiced the art of hair styling for 12 years. When she isn't writing, she can usually be found sitting around a table making people laugh. She has always wanted to be a standup comic. She loves pulling practical jokes, dresses up in a costume every Halloween and believes that dancing is the key to a happy life (even if you aren't a good dancer). She believes that life shouldn't be taken too seriously, we will never get out alive anyway. More than anything, she is a kid at heart, she doesn't believe in bedtimes, eating everything on her plate, or having ice cream only for dessert. Her favorite quote is by Dr. Seuss..."Why fit in, when you were born to stand out."
Author Links:
Author Links:
Taylor Dawn
How are you using your time on this earth?
In the giant picture that we call life, many of us tend to forget what all of this is really about. We are so caught up with trying to find success and happiness, that we miss the things that are right there in front of us. We fail to do the things we’ve always wanted to do because they become daunting tasks that might involve some sort of pain, or even sponge too much of our time. But what if you found out today that you only had a certain amount of time left? What if you were able to look at your life’s clock and see the remaining minutes tick by? Would that make you stop and think about the things you haven’t done? Would it make you kick it into high gear and get to it? I choose not to wait until I hear the tick of the clock hands as they pass by each number. So much so, that this entire premise inspired a book. A book that took on a new life and morphed into so much more than I could’ve ever imagined. So I ask you…what’s on your list?
I’ve had a bucket list for quite some time now. On it are items that some would say are completely out of reach for someone like me. What type of person am I? Well, I’m the person whose spine is partially made up of rods and screws. I’m the person who shouldn’t be able to do much, but I refuse to cave to the fact that I am not the same as I was years ago. My body may be broken, but my spirit burns bright. For my character, London, in Saving London, the same holds true. She was diagnosed with terminal cancer. She was handed a death sentence and expected to go home and wait for the end to find her. But London is a lot like myself. She refuses to rot away and compares herself to a banana. Sitting on a counter and rotting away like a banana won’t do. Embarking on an adventure for her last year is the only way she wants to live for the rest of her time. Would you do that? Would you sell off your worldly possessions to fund the adventures on your bucket list? Me? I most likely would. Like I said before, London and I have a lot in common. We also share some of the items on our lists. Funny how that happened. She was supposed to have her own list, but when you write a character, sometimes they turn out more like you than you expected. And I know the question burning in your mind right now, I can practically see it spinning so fast that smoke is barreling out of your ears. You can slow down that thought process because I’m going to put you out of your misery. Yes, I will tell you what my bucket list consists of. Not the entire thing, but some of the items.
The first thing on my list is to fly a plane. London and I have this one in common. Now, I’m not looking to get behind the wheel of an American Airlines Jet, we have enough issues with crazy pilots as it is. For me, a crop duster plane will do. I don’t want to do the whole takeoff and landing part either. I’d just like to hold the controls for a bit while I’m in the air. I want to feel like it’s me keeping the bird in the air. Wouldn’t that be amazing?
Secondly I wanted to visit what I consider one of the most beautiful places on this earth. A place where I could stand and just take in the environment around me and appreciate it for what it was. I was able to actually check this item off my list in 2010. My family and I visited a tiny island off the coast of Belize called Goff’s Cay. Now, mind you, this miniature island was literally no bigger than a football field. White sand beaches, crystal blue waters and breathtaking scenery below the water. The amount of life bustling beneath the surface was a sight to behold. I can still remember standing on the edge of the sand, letting the clear water lap over my toes, thinking “this is it, this is my most beautiful place on this earth.” When the realization hit me, it was difficult to hold my tears at bay. Checking this item off my list was a spiritual experience that I shall not soon forget.
Number three on my bucket list could be comical to some and confusing to others. Here goes…I wanted to make and decorate a three tiered cake. Yes, you heard me right, a cake. I still giggle when I think about it. I’m still not sure why I threw that on my list but there it was. Did I get to do it? Yes I did. It took hours of my time but by the end, I had a slightly lop-sided three tiered cake. But to me, it was beautiful. And hey, topsy-turvy cakes seem to be in style lately. Since I completed it several years ago, I consider myself a trendsetter.
London and I also have “climb a mountain” in common on our bucket lists. In Saving London, she gets to complete this one. And I’ve been able to do so as well. Traveling to Colorado I took on a chunk of rock that was a little over 12,000 feet above sea level. Talk about tiring. But I made it to the peak. I stood there looking down at the tiny town below me thinking “I feel so big, but yet so small.” It was an eye opening experience. You stand at the bottom thinking there’s no way you’ll make it to the top but when you get there, you let out a sigh of relief. I learned a valuable lesson when I climbed. It’s not about the view from the top. It’s the view from the bottom because from the bottom, there’s only one way to go. Up. I took a lot away from that experience that I hold with me to this day. And yes, when I found myself on the top of my mountain, I cried tears of joy. How could you not?
I think I’ll round this out by telling you just one more thing on my bucket list. I don’t want to share the entire thing that somehow doesn’t seem right. But the 5th item is to dance with my son at his wedding. He’s only 10 right now, and I truly hope I get to have him lead me around the dance floor on his big day. But as with everything, we will never know what the future holds.
Life doesn’t offer guarantees. Its rules aren’t written in black and white somewhere for us to find. I believe that we must live each day as if we may not wake tomorrow. Smile plenty, love with all your heart and take stock in the little things that life has to offer. Someday you’ll look back and realize those small things were actually the big things.
Peace, Love and Pages
Taylor Dawn
Taylor Dawn Personal Interview
What motivated you to start writing?
The main motivation that pushed me to write was my bucket list. The top item on it was to write a book. I wrote one and couldn’t stop writing. I honestly never thought that I’d have the opportunity to present my work to a larger audience than close friends and family. But I am blessed every single day because I get to do what I love and get paid for it.
Where does your character inspiration come from?
The majority of my characters are based on some aspect of my own personality. I try to make myself vulnerable enough that I can dig deep inside and pull out a character that anyone can relate to. Sometimes it works, others it doesn’t. But either way, all of my characters are like me somehow.
What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
When I’m not writing, I’m most likely thinking about writing. I’m a dreamer. I’m always trying to think up new characters, plots and scenarios for future books.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to write?
For someone who wants to write I say this…Start writing. Shut off all fear, and just do it. Don’t write to please others, write what makes you happy. Throw yourself onto the pages and people will feel that when they read your work.
What’s something personal that you’ve went through that has impacted your writing?
In my opinion everything an author writes was impacted by something that happened in their personal life. For me it would have to be my back injury. Having constant pain causes you to look for an escape in life. Writing did that for me. I was able to forget about my pain and focus my energy on something positive, writing. I chose not to surrender to my injury, I picked myself up and transferred my strength into the pages of my books.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
In 10 years, I hope I’m still around. If I am, I see myself still doing what I do, writing. I don’t have to be a huge booming success. As long as I still love and have a passion for what I do, I will be happy.
How do you react to negative reviews of your books?
When I was self-published I literally went off the rails when negative reviews came in. It hurt me that someone would attack me like that. But I soon realized that they weren’t attacking me personally. It was just business. Not every reader will love what you put out. Some love it and some hate it. Now, I take it in stride. I use the negative reviews to better myself. I pull myself up and think ‘how can I improve?’ If you don’t think positively about it, those reviews will eat you alive and you’ll find yourself in despair while questioning if you should be doing this at all.
Is it hard to balance family and writing?
Gosh, yes it is! I write full time which means I am home with my family. That’s a good and bad thing. When I write, my entire attention span is focused on the screen of my computer. I fail to see what’s going on around be because I’m sucked into my story. It’s hard to put the computer down and focus on being a good wife and mother. My house tends to lean to the hoarder side on occasion. It’s an ongoing learning process for me. I don’t know if I’ll ever truly learn balance.
Tell us a little about your creative process?
My creative process is all over the place. I don’t outline my stories, if I do any bit of outlining, the pieces are written in notebooks. I literally sit down and begin to write. I like to let the stories come from my heart and spill onto the pages.
What types of books do you enjoy reading?
My favorite genre would have to be romance. In the harsh world we live in, the escape to somewhere with an overabundance of love is always welcome.
If you could meet any person (living or deceased) who would it be and why?
This might sound crazy, but I think I’d want to step out of my body and meet myself. I want to see what others see when they look at me.
In your opinion, what is writers block and how do you overcome it?
To me, writers block is boredom with writing. You sit in front of a screen, typing away and sometimes it’s extremely boring. I find that overcoming it is either a matter of changing the direction of the story or stepping away for a while to find new inspiration.
Fun Questions
Weird habits?
I don’t use both ends of a Q-tip. I use one end and toss it in the garbage.
Heels or flats?
Love heels, but I’m not allowed to wear them since my back surgery. So I will go with flats. Love my Chucks and I own several pair in different colors.
Dresses or pants?
Dresses for sure. I love looking like a lady.
Favorite cocktail?
I don’t drink.
Favorite animal?
Birds. The freedom of being able to fly is awe inspiring.
How do you take your coffee?
With enough flavored creamer to turn it light tan, then I put whipped cream on top.
What else should readers know about you?
I am tough as nails on the outside, but my insides are made of marshmallows. I love to help others and I think the key to happiness is first and foremost, being happy with who you are.
• A paperback of Saving London
a Rafflecopter giveaway
No comments:
Post a Comment