Shadows In A Timeless Myth Presents A Six Sentence Sunday Excerpt

The following is an excerpt from A Tryst in Time, my complimentary short story featuring characters from my historical fantasy/paranormal romance, Shadows in a Timeless Myth. You can download the complete complimentary short story here, sample chapters from Shadows here, and a musical jigsaw puzzle of the cover here.

The night was cool, dark and quiet. Looking down at the snug little house in the woods with its cheerful fire casting warmth and light into the night, one might even say peaceful and serene. But that was just an illusion, and they would be wrong. Dank, dreary and fraught with danger and death would better fit.

His rank breath played an eerie game of hide and seek in the fog-laden shadows. The rising moon was full of bright promise—but the night, pregnant with unshed tears, obscured her beauty and dimmed her light. The swollen clouds—black and heavy—transformed the forest beyond the small cottage into a dark haven for those who contemplated evil deeds—concealing him as he watched and waited for his treasured moment to come....

Shadows In A Timeless Myth Excerpt

Teresa Thomas Bohannon

Full Novel Available From Amazon

Kindle 

Large Print Paperback.

Smiles & Good Fortune,
Teresa
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 It is not wealth one asks for, but just enough to preserve one’s dignity, to work unhampered, to be generous, frank and independent. W. Somerset Maugham (1874-1965) Of Human Bondage, 1915

Shadows In A Timeless Myth Presents Six Sentence Sunday Excerpt Ten

 Shadows In A Timeless Myth

Six Sentence Sunday Excerpt 

For the barest of moments silence ruled as completely as if the house itself held its breath in anticipation.

The housekeeper had once been a tall, full-masted sailing ship of a big woman. Born of the large-boned peasant stock produced by generations of hard labor; she now stood stoop-shouldered and withered, heavily beset with a myriad frailties of old age. Her faded blue eyes were brightly lit with courage, and her bearing spoke of all the will in the world; but still her hands trembled with the weight of the Weatherby Express she held braced against her shoulder and trained on the etched glass panels of the French doors.

Bellina moved quickly to take the gun—but not quickly enough. Glistening shards of glass imploded into the room, driven before the body of a horrifying beast as he crashed through the doors with a raging force that shattered both lock and hinges. 

 

 

Shadows In A Timeless Myth Excerpt

Teresa Thomas Bohannon

Full Novel Available From Amazon

Kindle 

Large Print Paperback.

Smiles & Good Fortune, 

Teresa

************************************ 

It is not wealth one asks for, but just enough to preserve one’s dignity, to work unhampered, to be generous, frank and independent. W. Somerset Maugham (1874-1965) Of Human Bondage, 1915

Shadows In A Timeless Myth Presents Six Sentence Sunday Excerpt Nine

 Shadows In A Timeless Myth

Six Sentence Sunday Excerpt 

Mark held his ground without so much as a flinch, but before he could reply, Bellina stepped quickly forward and cut between them like a seasoned diplomat.

The blonde towered over her, but Bellina managed by perching on lifted toe-tips to clasp the newcomer’s swan-like neck in a warm bear-hug greeting. “Thank you for coming so quickly. I knew my AraBestla would never let me down.”

A thousand memories of past rescues flitted across AraBestla’s mind with all the combined frenzy of a low-budget slasher film and punk rock video combined—rescues where more often than not, she had been on the receiving end. “Just so you understand, I’m here because I owe you more than I can ever repay; but Bellina, I do not believe any,” she emphasized the word with a disdainful glance at Mark, “of your assumptions are true.”

“You owe me nothing, Bestla—least of all belief, so believe as you will...I’m still delighted, you’re here.”

 

Shadows In A Timeless Myth Excerpt

Teresa Thomas Bohannon

Full Novel Available From Amazon

Kindle 

Large Print Paperback.

Smiles & Good Fortune, 

Teresa

************************************ 

It is not wealth one asks for, but just enough to preserve one’s dignity, to work unhampered, to be generous, frank and independent. W. Somerset Maugham (1874-1965) Of Human Bondage, 1915

Shadows In A Timeless Myth Presents - The Mythological Nymphs

 NYMPHS.

Ques. Who were the Nymphs?

Ans. They were graceful young women who attended on Diana and the greater goddesses. Some, also, had charge of certain fountains and rivers, and were called Na´iades; the nymphs of Ocean were Nere´ides and Ocean´ides. The Ore´ades were mountain nymphs, and others presided over groves and even single trees.

Ques. What were the woodland nymphs called?

Ans. Those who watched over the forests, and always lived among the trees, were called Dry´ades, from a Greek word which means an oak; the Hamadry´ades were so called because they were attached, each to some particular oak. The Hamadryad was born with the tree, flourished and died with it. This belief lingered for a long time amid the German forests, as also the superstition about water spirits.

Ques. What was the story of Arethusa?

Ans. This nymph was the daughter of Ocean´us, and an attendant of Diana. She was admired by the god of the river Alphe´us, but refused to listen to his addresses. As she fled from his presence, he pursued. The terrified nymph had sped through all Arcadia; the shades of evening were gathering, and Alphe´us pressed close upon her fainting steps. In this extremity, Arethusa prayed to Diana for relief, and was immediately dissolved into a fountain. Alphe´us resumed his watery form, and sought to mingle his current with hers, but Diana opened for her a passage under the sea, and she rose in the island of Ortygia, in Sicily, still followed by the stream of the Alphe´us. In proof of this fable, and of the Grecian origin of this famous fount, it was asserted that a cup which fell into the river Alphe´us in Greece, rose in the fountain of Arethusa, and that its clear waters were reddened with the blood of the victims slain at the Olympic games.

Ques. Who was Echo?

Ans. Echo was a nymph, the daughter of Air and Tellus; she was one of Juno’s attendants, but offended that goddess by her talkativeness. She was so far deprived of speech, that she could only repeat the last words of every sentence which she heard. Echo loved the youth Narcissus, and seeing that he despised her affection, she pined away till nothing remained of her but her voice and bones. The latter were changed into stones, but the voice is still heard among rocks and in solitary places, repeating always the last words that are spoken.

Ques. What was the fate of Narcissus?

Please Like Shadows In A Timeless Myth On Amazon

Ans. One legend is that he saw his image reflected in a fountain, and, not perceiving that it was but his own shadow, gazed at it, lost in admiration, until he was changed into the flower that bears his name. According to another version, Narcissus had a twin-sister who resembled him closely in form and feature, and was his constant companion. This sister died young, and Narcissus, deeply lamenting her death, used to go to a neighboring fountain, and try to recall the image of his sister by gazing at his own reflection in the waters.

Ques. Were there many rural divinities?

Ans. Yes, a great number; but only a few were well known. Among those we may mention Pomona, the goddess of orchards, and Flora, the goddess of flowers. Pales was the goddess of shepherds and pastures. The Romans celebrated feasts, called Pallia, in her honor. They offered milk, and cakes of millet, that she might drive away the wolves, and prevent diseases among the cattle.


Compiled From Sources In The Public Domain.

Smiles & Good Fortune,
Teresa
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It is not wealth one asks for, but just enough to preserve one’s dignity, to work unhampered, to be generous, frank and independent. W. Somerset Maugham (1874-1965) Of Human Bondage, 1915

Shadows In A Timeless Myth

On Christmas Eve 2011, after 26 years--off and on--of writing, and one full year of editing and re-editing and trying to convince myself it was finally finished, I published my historical fantasy romance, paranormal horror novel, Shadows In A Timeless Myth. I categorize it as such somewhat tongue in cheek, but the truth of the matter is, it would fit easily in any of those categories.

Here is the story behind the story.

Hello, welcome, and thank you for your interest in reading about my newest novel Shadows In A Timeless Myth, and joining me on a strange sort of journey that took nearly 26 years to complete. I always dreamed of being a writer, and spent most of my early twenties writing books, short stories, fairy tales and just about everything else you could possibly imagine. Then I had children, and had to figure out a way to give my two sons the best life I could manage, and so my writing ambitions took their place on one of life's more haphazardly accessed back-burners.

Anyway, as ridiculous as it may sound, 26 years later, I know almost to the exact minute when this story was begun...because of the letter x. You see, in June of 1986 my darling mother made my wildest dreams come true, by giving me a wonderful birthday present–a Tandy 1000 computer to replace the electric typewriter that I had been using to write my stories. That computer arrived on the week of my birthday (June 28th). Deliriously excited, I unpacked it, and immediately sat down to write a horror novel, that had been rambling around in my head. So where does the mythical “x” come in? Well, before I could type my first word, my youngest son Shawn, a few days shy of his 1st birthday (June 3oth), toddled over and poked at the keyboard, producing—you guessed it—an “x” before wandering off to play with something more interesting.

Call it superstition or sentiment, but that “x” is still there, in exactly the same spot where he typed it. I've added chapters in front of it, and chapters behind it, and upgraded computer and software nearly a dozen times, but his “x” remains still. Over the years, I even managed to work it seamlessly into the story by using old-fashioned Chapter Titles—with his “x” forming the basis for the chapter entitled, “Ta da!” x Marks the Spot.

Now, all maternal sentiment aside, I originally envisioned these characters as the people behind many of the myths, legends and fairy tales that have been passed down through time. That's why Bellina is not your run-of-the-mill Vampire, AraBestla isn't just an ordinary Witch, and FenMaric is not a Werewolf, as such. My Immortal trinity had to be outside the realm of our known mythology, in order for my envisioned line of pseudo-legends to play out correctly. This particular story was originally conceived as a horror novel that incorporated modern-day incarnations of my wandering trio of Immortals. However, it didn't exactly work out that way since my original historical-fantasy short stories quickly wove their way into the novel as memories and dreams.

As you will notice, the book is filled with a plethora of strong (and some not so strong) female characters, women who, in one way or another, reflect many of my own thoughts and feelings, hopes, dreams, aspirations and frustrations over the years as I aged and went from a stifling marriage, to single mom, to adult college student, to gemstone show host, to working executive and internet entrepreneur just trying to find enough hours to make it through each day and pay for the kids and the college—both mine and eventually theirs, as well.

To be honest, I love the women in this book. Good, bad, admirable, courageous, caring, ambitious, out-spoken, slightly incompetent, mature, immature, delusional, loving, arrogant, hard-headed, combative, loyal, generous or selfish, each faces adversity, taking whatever I've chosen to throw at them and, in their own way, makes the best of it. And I guess, when all is said and done, that is what Bellina and AraBestla's story and this tale in particular, in its own odd and quirky little way, is really all about—women making it through life as best they can.

So why, finally publish after all these years? The answer to that is complicated, but basically, it comes down to the fact that over time I developed both Rheumatoid and Osteoarthritis, lost my superhuman, supermom strength, and realized that time was running out for my someday dreams of becoming a published author of fiction. And with that realization, I made publishing my stories a personal priority. I began by publishing A Very Merry Chase, my very first novel, a Regency Romance that I had originally written 35 years ago, and then I moved onto finally completing my second novel, Shadows In A Timeless Myth. Written in bits and pieces over the past 26 years as time, circumstance and the muse struck, the final three chapters were completed just last December. This past year, I've spent reading and re-reading, editing and re-editing, as always, trying to convince myself that the story is finished and give myself permission to let it go.

I'm not sure where I will go from here. I have a collection of short stories I want to release, and I have another Appalachian-based, fantasy horror novel that is half-written, and a 30 year old screenplay about a lady pirate that I would like to novelize.... Or maybe, I'll just cast fortune to the winds and go back and finally explain just what in the world Bellina, AraBestla and FenMaric were doing standing with the Knights St. John and Templar at the battle of Acre, and how the aftermath of that battle developed into the basis for one of today's most well-known and beloved fairy tales.

Either way, I sincerely thank you for joining me. I do hope you've enjoyed your visit to my little corner of the world, and will decide to visit again as my journey continues.

Smiles, and Good Reading,
Teresa

As my gift to you, to thank you for joining me, download a Shadows In A Timeless Myth complimentary musical jigsaw puzzle featuring the cover art and the lovely ballad Greensleeves.

Plus...there is a complimentary short story available that introduces my two main characters. 
A Tryst In Time

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It is not wealth one asks for, but just enough to preserve one’s dignity, to work unhampered, to be generous, frank and independent. W. Somerset Maugham (1874-1965) Of Human Bondage, 1915