The Bridges Trilogy, Book Two
Ruth Fox
Genre: Fantasy,
YA
Publisher: Hague Publishing
Date of Publication: 31 January 2015
ISBN: 9780987265296
ASIN: B00Q20I4YQ
Number of pages: 175 pages
Word Count: 55,000
Cover Artist: Ruth Fox
Book Description:
In 'The City of
Silver Light', Keira Leichman spent the night lost in a wild snowstorm that
struck Cassidy Heights. But what really happened that night? Not even Keira can
be sure. What she does know is that she's been having strange dreams since the
accident, and now she's stuck with a broken ankle and the possibility of never
playing soccer again. That is, until she finds Jake's telescope, and is drawn
across the Bridge of Ice to Shar.
Now Keira is
marooned in the City of Silver Light with Daniel, Jake’s younger brother, with
no way to get home. But that is the least of their worries, for the secrets
they discover in Shar are more dangerous than Kiera could ever have imagined.
And the fate of both their worlds are in their hands.
Excerpt
The Worst Thing in the Word
There’s a doctor in Outpatients who looks
like Count Dracula. Pale skin and black hair pulled back into a bun so tight
she can’t even blink. I swear all she needs is a black cloak and a pair of
bloodstained fangs.
‘You need to take things more slowly,
Keira,’ she says to me every time I go in to see her. I think it’s a threat.
See, I’m not a good patient. I’m impatient. I find it hard to sit still,
which is not good when you’ve got a broken ankle. Most of the time I’m doing
stuff I’m not supposed to, like, you know, walking.
And … well, falling down the front steps.
‘I am taking things slowly,’ I tell her.
I resist the urge to pick at the neatly
folded sheet covering the bed underneath me. Being in this room, with all the
neatly arranged equipment and dark furniture, always makes me feel antsy. It
probably doesn’t help that I haven’t slept properly in ages. I keep having
dreams about ice. It crackles all over the house, and into the trees, and across
the grass and the streets before everything turns white. But as much as I hate
seeing doctors, I definitely don’t
want to be sent to a psychologist, so I’ll keep those dreams to myself.
‘I didn’t fall on purpose.’
Mum speaks up. ‘I keep telling her she
needs to take it easy. But every time I turn my back, she’s out of bed making
cereal or playing with the dog. And now this …’
I feel sorry for my mum. She works long
hours running the Cassidy Heights Bakery, and has to be up at four o’clock most
mornings. Not to mention the accounts, bills, sales targets, and production
quotas she has to meet. Having me home from school has only given her more to
worry about.
When a blizzard hit our little suburb of
Cassidy Heights two weeks ago, I kind of got lost walking back from my friend
Jake’s place. I tripped on a kerb and went for a slide on my butt. Yeah, it
wasn’t exactly my shining moment. Volunteer rescue workers from the State
Emergency Service found me eventually, but by the time they called my mum, she
was already beyond panic.
The weather system that caused the freak
snowstorm has broken up now – according to Chanel Seven News and Weather, that
is. Of course, there still haven’t been any satisfactory explanations about
what exactly caused it. I can just picture the meteorologists at the Weather
Bureau scratching their heads. And me, I was kind of planning to get an A+ on
my science project about predicting the effects of an arctic winter in a desert
country, but I’ve kind of left my partner, Jake, in the lurch while I’m
spending all this time recovering.
‘Well, we’ll see what these new x-rays show
us.’ Doctor Dracula waves a sealed yellow envelope. ‘Then we’ll know whether
you’ll be able to head back to school. Bet you’ll be excited to see your
friends again.’ She rips open the envelope, tipping a couple of plastic sheets
into her hands.
I give her a withering stare. Why do adults
assume that school is some fun place where you get to hang out with your
friends? It’s totally not like that. Teachers spend all their time getting you
not to talk, not to sit next to your friends, and not to waste time
socialising. I hate school. I hate the rules and regulations.
‘All I really want to do is get back to
soccer practice.’
‘Hm,’ says Doctor Dracula. She sticks the
x-ray pictures on a lighted board. It’s an ominous ‘hm’, a sound that means there’s something bad here.
I look at my bones. The inside of people’s
bodies is pretty interesting. I mean, all those little bits and pieces that
join together to make us work. It’s kind of fascinating what living beings are
made up of.
Author Bio
Ruth completed a Bachelor of Arts/Diploma of Arts in Professional Writing and Editing in 2006. Her other published works include “Monster-boy: The Lair of the Grelgoroth”, Book 1 of the Monster-boy Series, and “Sand Dog”, an illustrated picture book for younger readers. Both are available from Amazon.com.
Ruth has been an avid reader her entire life and, inspired by the books that engrossed her as she was growing up, she aims to create stories that can draw readers in and enthral them for days or weeks. She writes every day and lives in Ballarat, Victoria, with her partner, her cat, and an ever-expanding library of books.
Facebook Twitter Website
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Interview
Please welcome Across the Bridge of Ice author Ruth Fox to Diane’s Book Blog.
What is your favorite part of the story, Across the Bridge of Ice?
I love the part where
Keira is crossing the bridge of ice. That’s my favourite part of the book – it
was so clear in my mind, even before I started to write it!
How long did it take you to write Across the Bridge of Ice?
The first draft took a
few months, but the editing took much longer. While the first book in the
series, The City of Silver Light, seemed
to flow together easily and quickly, this one took much more work to get it
right.
What is your typical day
like?
Just like everyone
else, I have a day job that is nowhere near as exciting or interesting as my
‘true job’ (which is, of course, writing!) Since it’s freelance, I get to work
from home most of the time, which is brilliant. I have a studio set up in my
house, containing my desk, art supplies and two rather large bookcases which I
turn to when I’m in need of a pick-me-up. Generally I start work at 9am, break
for lunch, then work until 5pm, working on illustrations and graphic elements,
colourising and adapting images in preparation for use on websites.
However, every spare
minute I have I spend writing. And when I’m not writing, I’m thinking about
writing!
How do you overcome writer’s block?
Keep writing J I usually take a break from whatever I’m
currently working on and start something new, or do some editing, or
illustrations, or something like that. For me, writer’s block is only ever a
temporary state of mind, and always passes fairly quickly, because I truly
can’t imagine my life without writing!
Can you share a little of your current work
with us?
I’ve got a few
projects on the go! Currently I’m working with my husband on a comic book
series, ‘Outbreak’. You can read it for free here: http://www.sinars-studios.com/outbreak.php
You
can stay up-to-date with my various projects on my Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/RuthFoxAuthorandArtist
What do you prefer paperback, hardcover, or
ebooks?
Ebooks are great for
portability, and I love that they don’t take up so much space on a shelf! (When
you have as many books as I do, this is a serious consideration!) But if I like
a book, I will always buy the print version.
Do you have anything specific that you want to
say to your readers?
Thank you for reading!
You guys are awesome, and I hope you’ll stay tuned for the exciting conclusion
to The Bridges Trilogy!
Giveaway
No comments:
Post a Comment