Author: Milla V
Vivienne realises she is dying. All she wants to do is see her daughter Giselle one last time and apologise. But Giselle no longer exists and it is Crow, a gender-queer anarchist, who returns to a family home that is plagued by ghosts and violent memories. Crow unravels terrifying secrets, hoping to find closure at last. But can anyone survive the shadows that lurk behind the fairy tales?
Promo video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CJ_MXjDjeg&feature=share
I
struggled out of the bathroom, my arms full of what were once white bath towels
and were now covered in blood.
My
brother was shivering outside his bedroom door. His was face so pale and round
that he looked like the full moon as he stared up at me from his seated
position.
‘Sit
with her, Tommy,’ I said, trying to give him my most reassuring smile. ‘Try to
keep her calm while I get cleaned up.’
He
stared at me then slowly shook his head. I sighed. The bundle was getting heavy
and I didn’t know how much longer I could keep doing this. None of the other
girls at school had to take care of their mothers and their big brothers. The
limit of their responsibilities tended to be tidying their rooms once a week. Why me?
‘Please…’
I begged.
As
he stood up the smell of blood must have hit him full force and his white skin
turned green. He ran, away from me and away from the bathroom, out of the
apartment door, not waiting to close it behind him.
‘At
least let Nanny know what’s happened,’ I called after him, not certain whether
he heard or cared what I’d said.
I
tried to rearrange the bundle so I could shut the front door. I must have
tightened my hold on the sodden cotton; blood oozed onto the skin of my right
forearm. I swallowed hard and told my stomach to behave. Tears rolled down my
face as I made my way towards the kitchen and dropped the towels into the large
aluminium sink. I turned on the tap and water rose above the fabric, strings of
pink swirling through the fluid.
I
washed my arms, scrubbing them clean while Vivienne’s wails became louder. I
turned the tap off, grabbed fresh towels, dark ones this time, from the airing
cupboard and returned to the bathroom.
Beside
the bath, crouched Vivienne. The dressings I’d wrapped around her wrists had
already reddened. I sat beside her and firmly held clean towels over the
dressings. She stopped crying and stared at me.
‘It’s
okay, mummy,’ I assured her. ‘Tom’s gonna get Nanny.’
As I gently rocked her body back and
forth she stared at my face. Her eyes were blank and I wasn’t sure she knew who
I was. I could sympathise, half the time I didn’t feel like her seven year old
daughter, either. I guess I had to grow up fast.
About Milla V
Milla V is the more
gentle alter ego of Carmilla Voiez. Milla's YA and NA novels have more
universal appeal than her somewhat extreme form of horror writing. The
Ballerina and the Revolutionary, to be released on April 1st, is her first full
length novel that can be regarded as Magic-Realism rather than horror.
Carmilla Voiez, a
British horror writer, resides in Scotland and writes from her home in Banff,
where she lives with her daughters and cats. Carmilla sold her Gothic Clothing
business in 2012 and has been writing and releasing top selling books and short
stories since then. A Goth for over 20 years, her books are inspired by the
Gothic subculture, magic and dark desires, exploring sexual obsession and
violence in often hard-hitting ways.
The first book, Starblood, which has been nominated for the Commonwealth
Book Prize, is set partly in the beautiful Cairngorm mountains and partly in
the city where she grew up, in South West England, she finds inspiration in
local beauty, stately homes, the Moray Firth and woodlands around the Scottish
town where she has lived the past 10 years.
Carmilla Voiez won the title Horror Author of the Year 2013 from HFA and FearVenture Author of the Year 2014.
Carmilla Voiez won the title Horror Author of the Year 2013 from HFA and FearVenture Author of the Year 2014.
Links
http://smarturl.it/CarmillaOn
Amazon
Readings can be
heard on Room 13 Radio Podcast - https://soundcloud.com/carmillavoiez/carmilla-voiezs-room-13-radio
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