Title: The
Gifted Ones: The Fairytale
Author: P. G.
Shriver
Publisher:
Gean Penny
Pages: 274
Thrown together by the cruelties of a modern day world in which genuine compassion is rare, evil abounds, and goodness is often tainted by the fight to survive, two unusually gifted teenagers discover they are linked by a fairytale told them repeatedly throughout their youth by their late mothers.
Destiny awaits them, but first they must locate the others, as the fairytale foretells, to defeat the evil monster who waits and change the lonely world in which they live. Only then will they find peace... and family.
Destiny awaits them, but first they must locate the others, as the fairytale foretells, to defeat the evil monster who waits and change the lonely world in which they live. Only then will they find peace... and family.
About
P. G. Shriver
Born in
California, and raised in Minnesota and Texas, P.G. spent her early years
writing poetry and winning poetry contests, while escaping the drama in her own
childhood by reading great books for children. Ever since her earliest days,
she loved story telling. She wrote numerous short stories in High School and
her early college years, continually trying to relive that first experience at
the age of seven of seeing her name in print in the local newspaper.
P.G. sought her education at the
University of Texas, where she studied English, literature, and Education.
During the entire process of earning her BA and M.Ed, she never stopped writing
and trying to be published. It was
during this time that her first children's book
No More
Stinkbugs! was accepted for publication by Castle Keep
Press. Many of her stories develop from nature.
P.G. graduated college and began her
career in education, another great world that offered real experiences to humor
and delight through children's books. She watched children interact, bringing
to surface her own experiences as a child and yet more events to write about.
While teaching, she discovered many great books for young people, such as The
Watsons Go to Birmingham-1963, Maniac Magee, So. B. It and many more. She is a
fan of Dean Koontz novels, too, and loves reading fantasy and paranormal books.
P.G. was married 20 years in March
2012 and has a bright, young daughter who has begun her own college career. She
lives on a small farm in Texas with her family and animals. P.G. has
experienced great love and loss throughout her life. Those her family has lost
have dedications in her books.
P.G. has two young adult books
published, Dead Perfect and The Gifted Ones: The Fairytale
the first book in The Gifted Ones Trilogy. She also has several children's
books written under Gean Penny, her pseudonym.
P. G. has since dissolved her contract for her first book with Castle
Keep Press and moved the title to her own imprint, Gean Penny Books.
Author
Links:
Excerpt
The cold, dim room saddened the visitor upon entry. Immediately,
with a slap, he flipped the light switch up, drew the shades back, and placed
the cheerful pot of daisies in the center of the shelf. In that location, the
daisies sat in view of the shallowly breathing patient, should she awaken. He
knew better, though.
He seated himself
next to the hospital bed, in the uncomfortable wooden chair, the seat cushion
so well used little padding remained, lumps forming beneath the green plastic
coating. Reaching out, he took a slender, limp, dark hand in his own, and then
gently began stroking the forehead and hair of the sleeping beauty before him
with his free hand. Tears pooled in his dark eyes while guilt flooded his heart.
"Momma, I'm
here. I know you already know that, and I realize I haven't been here in a
while. I haven't exactly been doin' things that would make you proud the past
few months, either, and I'm sorry.
“I hope you don't
know too much about that, but I've just been so angry. Just be glad I ain't in
jail," he paused, waited, hoped that her eyes would flutter and he would
see that disappointing look she would always give him when he transgressed. Her
silence pushed him onward in the one-sided discussion.
"You'll never
guess what happened to me this morning," excitement shook his voice,
muffled only slightly by a guilty tone, and flowed on hopefully, making him
sound almost chipper. "I was doin' somethin' I shouldn'ta been doin', one
of them things you wouldn't be proud of? And this girl walked up, ya'
know?" he paused again, this time not for a response from the comatose
woman before him, but out of fear that what he was about to tell her would be
overheard, as well as a little disbelief over what had happened.
Anyone listening
outside might think him crazy when they heard the description of what he saw
that morning, what he wanted his mother to know. After raising his eyes to the
open door and the shuttered window looking out on an empty hall, he leaned
forward, close to her left ear, her light, slow breath slightly warming his
cool forehead, "I saw Bree this morning, Momma. Really! I saw her, and she
told me I had to come see you. She made it sound really important, Momma... you
know... like you might wake up today or somethin'. She knew I hadn't been here
in a while, too. Her smile, Momma, man I surely miss her smile. Remember how
pretty she smiled, Momma? Remember the sparkle in her eyes? I saw her today,
Momma, and it made me so happy, but it made me feel guilty, too." He
stopped, stood for a second, leaned forward again, and gripped the slender,
brown hand firmer, a sense of urgency filling his heart.
"Wake up,
Momma. You can wake up now; you can come back to me; it's safe, really. I
really need you, especially now. At least give me a sign you can hear me,
Momma, please?" a tear rolled down his soft, plum cheek, but her eyes were
dry, motionless and tightly closed. When no sign came, he scooted back in the
chair, folded his hands together, set his elbows on the edge of the bed and
bowed his head in silent prayer, something he hadn't done in months, since he
had given up on her… on life.
Thanks for hosting The Fairytale on your blog! NaNoWriMo has taken up much of time this month, but I'm taking a break to catch up on the tour...
ReplyDeleteHave a wonderful week!
P. G. Shriver