The
House
Sebastiana
Randone
Genre: Adult fairy tale, regency
romance, past-life romance, paranormal/fantasy, time-travel
ISBN: 978-1-4836-1371-0
ASIN: B00DAMPQ8Q
Number of pages: 148
Word Count: 50,000
The House is the tale of a woman,
who is so absorbed with historical novels
that her own reality ceases to offer any hope of romance and beauty.
One day this dreamy idealist
finds herself in a mysterious forest. How she arrived there is unknown. She
encounters a ramshackle house, wherein magical rooms that transport to parallel
worlds lay in wait. She is transported
to historical England, where she interacts with a collection of character's
whose dysfunctional lives become apparent immediately.
The first tribulation involves a
nefarious lord, an archetypal embodiment of the monstrous creatures that often
haunt fairy tales. The ramification of this confrontation sets the tone for the
narrative.
Before long, the folly of
disdaining her mundane reality is realized, and she desires desperately to
return to her former predictable life.
A hidden portal finally enables
escape from the austere Georgian dwelling. She is spirited back to the
enigmatic house, where a journey to Regency London ensues. A large cast of
eccentric identities present themselves.
One day a handsome, despondent
poet arrives, following a period in Florence. His introduction to the time
traveler offers promise of restoration and love. But upon the face of it, and
much to his chagrin, this union cannot be consummated. There are a few more
obstacles ahead before her destiny in this strange adventure is made apparent.
In the end a past life connection starts to reveal itself. And like all good fairy tales, the ending is
pleasing, even though the means of getting there are dark and at times,
sinister.
Excerpt:
Page 93
The intellectual prowess of Artemisia overwhelmed and excited the
young
poet, whose engrossment with the workings of her mind was such,
that any enquiry as to her domestic arrangements was quite
overlooked.
It is true to say however, that during their parting hours he did
wonder
about her private life, but whenever the two met, these curiosities
were
often usurped by matters more engaging and fascinating. Her beauty
was matched by an incisive and far reaching mind that would often wax
lyrically on a numerous range of topics, which rendered the absorbed
poet helpless to enquire about more mundane matters.
As with all developed intellects, an inquisitive nature was handed to
Artemisia from an early age, this set in motion a life time appetite
for
knowledge. Amongst her many virtues, was that of a linguist, which
meant that she was able to communicate to David in his native tongue.
It
appeared that life had only just started when they met, and that all
other
experiences had become unimportant. Therefore, it was of no great
surprise to learn, notwithstanding the immeasurable anguish
generated,
that she was in fact already married.
The Contessa de Luce resided with her substantially older husband,
the Count Giacomo de Luce in the opulent confines of Palazzo del Oro.
The couple met in Venice, Artemisia’s birth place, five years prior
to her
encounter with David. The sixty-one year old count met his future
wife
at one of the many lavish balls hosted by the doge, where Artemisia
cut a fine and graceful figure as she danced sinuously around the
grand
Venetian hall. Instantly struck by her beauty and carriage, the count
assumed her to be from a noble family, which was very much not the
case,
as this exemplary figure of refinement was in reality a courtesan. A
fact
well obscured by a personality that combined gentility and
forbearance,
the latter trait being quite unfounded in the typical coquettish
concubine.
Thus it was not due to naiveté that had led the Count de Luce to
believe
otherwise, it was the innate aura of elegance that Artemisia exuded,
that
belied any hint of the licentiousness that one invariably connects to
this
ancient profession.
She had been introduced to this work early in her years. A distant
aunt had taken the adolescent to meet with her destiny in a house
famed
for its training of young women. She was given the name Artemisia and
was placed under the auspices of a ‘signora’, who in time tutored the
young lady in the art of giving pleasure.
About
the Author:
Sebastiana Randone lives in
Melbourne, Australia, and is from a dance background.
From an early age, Sebastiana
developed a passion for reading, and from that moment has never been without a
book.
The desire to write ‘one day’ had
been pursuing for a long while. Finally that goal was realized with the debut
release of “The House”; an adult fairy tale set in the Regency era.
Sebastiana is presently writing
her second book; a paranormal romance novel based in New York late 1980’s.
Images provided by Bewitching Book Tours.
thanks for having me. sebastiana
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