Her Cree
grandmother called it the gift of seeing, but for Petra “Pete” Orvatch, knowing
things in ways that defy explanation has made reality and fantasy blur in a
world where the clocks literally go backward. Her fascinating and clairvoyant
mind is a riddle that many doctors have tried to solve with medication. Love
comes her way unexpectedly when she meets Fiona Angeli, a stunningly beautiful
single mother. A risk-taker by nature, Fiona is not scared off by her new
lover’s psychic abilities and eccentricities.
The two
of them share passion and secrets on a magical and surprising journey, and
their torrid love affair takes them to thrilling new places until betrayal
divides them. Both these women fight battles within themselves; Fiona must gain
control of her dangerous compulsions, and Pete’s onerous gift ultimately puts
her at risk of losing herself in the gap between delusions and the real world.
Excerpt:
All
Rights Reserved
Pete
looked up from the mystery she was reading and scanned the faces in the waiting
room. There was Tired Pinched Mom, with faded blond ponytail and dark roots
coming in. She had one kid under control and was now quietly negotiating with
the other. Next to this trio sat Man Too Large for His Seat, who seemed to be
staring at his shoes or sleeping with his eyes open. In the corner was someone
so nondescript she couldn’t instantly name her—then it came to her: Any Woman.
This woman was neither thin nor large, short nor tall, and had a slightly
exotic yet familiar face. She looked as if she could be from many different
places, like Greece, Morocco, Central America, or New Jersey. She was
text-messaging so quickly, Pete half expected her thumbs to spark and set fire
to her phone.
Doesn’t
anyone people-watch anymore? Was she the only person left who liked to read
faces and create narratives? Maybe so. She’d never stop doing it. She’d been
spinning this stuff since she was little—much to the annoyance of her mother.
Instead of acknowledging the creative gifts of her child, or at the very least
being entertained by them, she’d say, “God will punish you, Petra Marie, for
thinking bad thoughts about people and making up lies.”
Some
traits must skip generations, because Grandma Sweets had the right attitude.
She’d join right in and embellish her granddaughter’s rough outlines of
strangers’ lives with additions that could only come from a seasoned mind. If
Pete said a passenger on the bus looked guilty, Gram Sweets would say, “Of
course he looks guilty, he ought to! Instead of cooking a turkey for
Thanksgiving, he cooked his wife!”
Her
reminiscing was perforated by the staccato ring of a telephone.
“Cambridge
Holistic Health and Wellness Center, please hold.”
Please
hold? No one else is on the line; is this receptionista just fucking with the
caller? Pete dog-eared the page in her paperback, closed it, slipped it into
her bag, and decided to devote all of her energy to observing. She was just
about to make up a story about the receptionist when her eyes landed on
something strange. She hadn’t noticed the cheap plastic clock on the
wallpapered wall before, but now she couldn’t take her eyes off it because the
second hand was moving backward.
At first
she thought she was seeing things, since her imagination was such a
well-developed muscle. So she did something that made her feel seven instead of
thirty-seven. She closed her eyes to reset, inhaled a long, slow breath, and
then opened them, hoping this simple act could alter what she saw, or make
things feel right again. She didn’t return her gaze to the clock right away,
but rather avoided its face like you would dodge direct eye contact in a volley
of flirt-and-stare with a stranger who’d caught you looking.
She
panned her eyes evenly over all she had just taken in. Now the previously
obedient child of the two was acting petulant, Man Too Large for His Seat
actually was asleep, and Any Woman had stopped texting and was staring back at
Pete. This startled her a bit. She looked away and then forced herself to look
at the clock again. The red second hand was still moving backward and now
instead of 2:27, it was 2:26, and the room seemed brighter to her than it had
been just a minute ago.
“Petra
Orvatch?”
She heard
the automaton call her but she couldn’t move—she felt obligated to monitor the
clock and confirm that it was in fact going backward, but knew she shouldn’t
say anything about it. It was one of those times when she couldn’t expect
people to understand her. These occurrences had happened ever since she could
remember and could be confusing, amusing, or even downright dangerous.
Purchase Links:
What's the one thing you can't live without?
There’s never truly just one
thing, is there? ;) I suppose if I’m being totally honest, I couldn’t live the
life I crave without my own creativity in all the forms it takes. I don’t know
any other way to be except to express honestly what’s in my heart, mind, and
soul through words, music, and visual art.
What internet site do you surf to the most?
Admittedly, this response sounds
the most boring to me of all the ones I’ve given so far, but that would have to
be Google. It is the gateway to just about everything else. Hell – Google headquarters is in the San Francisco Bay Area, so we’ve
been Googling a lot longer than other places…
If you had your own talk show, who would your first three
author guests be and why?
I’d want to interview Tig Notaro because
she made me laugh hard and think deeply when I first saw her on a small stage
in San Francisco years ago, and because her show “One Mississippi” is
brilliant. I’d be honored to have Ellen DeGeneres as a guest because she’s
amazing. I just wouldn’t mention the college affair I had with one of her
former lovers… and lastly, I’d like to interview Michelle Obama because she’s
Michelle Obama. Also, with these three courageous and articulate women on the
show, my inexperience as a host might be overlooked!
When you got your very first manuscript acceptance letter,
what was your initial reaction and who was the first person you told?
I read it slowly three times to
make sure it was not another tactfully worded rejection. Then I said, “Holy
fuck!” to myself. I shuffled in stupefied disbelief into the office where my
spouse was and shared my exciting news.
Meet the Author:
Medella
Kingston fell in love with writing at an early age and published articles,
poems, and stories when she was growing up. She wrote, performed, and sold
songs for movie soundtracks, and continued writing short stories for her own
pleasure. She currently sings in the band Omnesia, which has aired locally on
UC Berkeley’s radio station and been heard as far east as Goa and the Mumbai
University. She lives with her partner and their two dogs in the East Bay.
PeopleFish is Medella’s first novel, and she is currently working on a new
book.
Tour Schedule
1/23 - On
Top Down Under - http://ontopdownunderbookreviews.com/
1/23 - Scattered
Thoughts And Rogue Words - https://scatteredthoughtsandroguewords.com/
1/24 - Molly
Lolly; Reader, Reviewer, Lover of Words - https://mollylollyauthor.wordpress.com
1/24 - Stories
That Make You Smile - https://authoraddisonalbright.com
1/25 - Erotica
For All http://eroticaforall.co.uk
1/25 - Divine
Magazine - http://divinemagazine.biz
1/26 - MM
Good Book Reviews - https://mmgoodbookreviews.wordpress.com/
1/26 - Fangirl
Moments and My Two Cents - http://fangirlmomentsandmytwocents.blogspot.com
1/26 - Wicked
Faerie's Tales and Reviews - http://wickedfaeriesreviews.blogspot.com
1/26 - Boy
Meets Boy Reviews - boymeetsboyreviews.blogspot.com
1/27 - Happily
Ever Chapter - https://www.facebook.com/happilyeverchapter
1/27 - Sharing
Links and Wisdom
1/27 - Love
Bytes - www.lovebytesreviews.com
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