Beyond my wildest dreams! That was the result when I asked Dan Antion if he would be interested in doing a Thursday Doors post — using my fictional town of Atonement, TN. I told Dan just run with it — wherever his imagination took him, and I’m so glad he did. I’m still gawking at his post, I love it that much. The way he described everything made his post wonderful — I felt like I was living in a chapter of the book.
Some of the photos he chose look exactly as I imagine the town. I had hoped that I made Atonement an “any town” so people could relate to it. Dan made me think I got it right. I hope everyone else thinks so.
Dan, heartfelt thanks for this amazing Atonement, TN Doors post. I’m humbled and honored. I’ve disabled comments here, because I want you to visit Dan’s fabulous blog.
Think of this cover as the door to a wonderful book.
Today is a very special edition of Thursday Doors – I am sharing doors from Atonement, Tennessee, the charming and very mysterious town created by Teagan R. Geneviene in her series of novels. If you enjoy reading Teagan’s serial stories, you will love these novels. Horsefeathers, (as Teagan would say) get on with the news, boy!
Teagan has recently revealed the cover of “Atonement in Bloom” the long-awaited second book in the Atonement series. I had the pleasure of reading an early edition of this book, and I’ve been sitting here ever since, silently chanting “finish the edits, finish the edits…” Well, the edits are finished, Teagan is loading-up a party bus and you should join me in making plans to purchase a copy of this bloomin’ book, later this month.
Hello everyone. Thank you very much for visiting. I know you are not used to seeing daily posts from me. However, I wanted to show my gratitude to the people who have been so generous in supporting me this week. Yesterday, it was Chris, the Story Reading Ape. Today it is Sally. I promise to go back to my usual schedule at midnight Saturday (Eastern).
Sally G. Cronin
When the multi-talented Sally G. Cronin asked for holiday short stories to post at her wonderful blog, Smorgasboard, Variety Is the Spice of Life, I asked her if she’d use a story that had already been posted. She graciously agreed to use one of the stories from my “Atonement universe” called Adelle’s Teapot. It’s not really a holiday story, but the setting is at the right time of year.
As most of you know, for the longest I’ve been working on book-2 in the “Atonement” series that began with “Atonement, Tennessee.” The title is the name of my fictional town where supernaturals secretly live among the residents of this seemingly quaint town. (Book-2 will be called Atonement in Bloom.)
The characters in this story only play a small part in the novels, but I think it’s fun to get to know them as well. I hope you enjoy this tidbit. If you do, please click over to Sally’s blog to comment. (I’ve disabled comments here.)
Adelle’s Teapot — Features from Atonement TN
The inventory notes Annie recorded were part of an ancient list, passed down through the Metatron clan. For the most part, the older the item, the more power it held. The kind of power varied widely.
The Mirror of Truth and Justice Most Poetic could show one’s true self. The mirror could be playful, cryptic, devilishly mischievous, or brutally honest. It almost seemed to have a mind of its own. In age and in power, that mirror ranked about mid-way on the inventory list. Annie shuddered to think of the havoc she had known the mirror to wreak.
She kept many of the items hidden in plain sight in her antique shop. It had been easy enough to steer Ralda Lawton away from a special quilt. Ralda, the new owner of the Sunhold estate, did not need that star design quilt, but someone else would. However, the brass Bed of Dreams was meant for her. The bed wasn’t strong in power, but it was effective.
Annie looked down at the ancient list. Something glowed through several layers of paper. She knew the glow came from the script identifying a very old item. The glowing writing meant an item awakened. Her hands shook as she leafed through the pages to the very beginning of the catalogued inventory.
The teapot. Annie took a shuddering breath. It was simple and unassuming looking, but the teapot was the oldest item listed in Annie’s inventory notes. It was also arguably the most powerful. Because of its unique properties the teapot had always been kept separate from the other items. Adelle, Annie’s sister was the teapot’s custodian. It was safely tucked away in the attic of the Victorian house that was Adelle’s tearoom and home.
A brew had not been made from that teapot in living memory. But what else could awaken the pot but the alchemy of water, heat, and the right combination of herbs, flowers, and leaves?
“No Adelle,” Annie muttered as she put away the ancient ledger.
Annie ran out of her shop, the door banging shut behind her. Her platinum hair shone in the moonlight. She skidded around the corner and ran down the town square. Annie stumbled to a stop. She gazed at the night sky in open mouthed astonishment.
Above Adelle’s tearoom the sky shimmered in a golden aura. When Annie looked farther up into the sky, she saw an even more astonishing sight. The entire town of Atonement rested unaware beneath five columns of light pillars. The columns of light pulsed through the clouds.
“Adelle,” Annie gasped. “What have you done?”
With a hand to her chest, Annie continued toward her sister’s home. She fell going up the front porch stairs. As she righted herself, Annie saw that the front door stood open. Then she realized that every door and window in the Victorian house was wide open.
“My God, Annie! Are you all right?” Adelle exclaimed as she helped her sister to her feet and guided her inside.
Annie allowed her sister to guide her, gasping for breath and shaking with fright, to the kitchen table. There Adelle poured a cup of tea. Annie turned horrified eyes from the teacup to her sister.
“Oh don’t be silly,” Adelle chastised. “It’s not from that teapot.”
Annie took a sip of the tea her sister pressed upon her. She took a bite of cake or scone or some baked treat that would ordinarily have been delicious. However it might as well have been cardboard in her mouth. Without even realizing what she was doing Annie crumbled the rest between her fingers never looking at it. She stared blindly out the kitchen window into the darkness, too stunned to process the thousand thoughts in her mind.
“Why in heaven’s name would you let the teapot awaken?” Annie finally asked.
“It couldn’t be helped. I needed to talk to our grandfather,” Adelle replied.
“That wouldn’t be difficult for you,” Annie said. “Why would you use the teapot for that?”
Her sister’s mouth curved to that self-satisfied, cat-with-a-bowl-of-cream smile that Annie knew all too well.
“Which grandfather,” Annie asked, closing her eyes and bracing herself for the answer she already knew was coming.
Adelle pursed her lips then made a reluctant, sardonic grimace. “The one quite a few times removed. Maybe a few hundred times.”
Annie groaned and dropped her head to the kitchen table, her pale hair falling to cover her face. Forehead against the polished wood, she rocked her head side to side. Finally she looked up at her raven haired sister.
“Tell me this is not happening,” Annie pleaded hoarsely.
“It really couldn’t be helped, Annie. I had to consult Enoch,” Adelle said apologetically.
“What could possibly be that important?” Annie demanded.
The sardonic twist left Adelle’s mouth. She looked into her sister’s eyes, coldly serious.
“Cailleach Bheur,” Adelle said. “Beira the Crone.”
***
As you can see, my odd little imaginary town has its quirks. (And when I finally finish Atonement in Bloom, you will meet Beira the Crone.) I hope you enjoyed this visit to Atonement, Tennessee. Be sure to visit Sally too. I’m grateful for her ever generous support.
No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights.
All images are either the property of the author or from Pinterest unless stated otherwise.
The second day of December marked the third anniversary of this blog. Like some other things, to me it doesn’t seem nearly that long — yet it also feels like something I’ve always done.
To many bloggers and readers three years and 295 posts truly is not much at all. I recognize that it’s not exactly a great achievement. However, great or small, it feels pretty good to me. So cheers!
At Once Great and Small — and the Challenges
When an urban fantasy story becomes a series, usually new characters are added with each volume. As the story-line for Atonement in Bloom took shape, a few new supernatural characters came along.
(I don’t mean to be a tease… Who knew it would be such a challenge to share about a novel in progress without giving spoilers?)
One of the new supernatural characters is Meadow. Her existence helps give the story a whimsical tone. In describing Atonement, Tennessee I often say that it doesn’t take itself seriously. The same is true of the sequel. Atonement in Bloom has the same kind of humor. Not a laugh-out-loud kind of funny, but an eyebrow-raising “Did she really say that?” funny.
Meadow’s character doesn’t actually do a lot (at least not at this point but who knows how that might change). Yet despite the fact that she doesn’t shoot lightning bolts or save the day, Meadow is central to the story of Atonement in Bloom. She is at once great and small.
One challenge ahead of me is to better develop Meadow’s character. I’ll describe this character as an “inactive” cause of some events in the story. She doesn’t take actions that cause events, but without her presence, they would never have happened.
Artist: Cheryl Rose Hall
Meadow is not alone in the “great but small” category. Beira the Crone, also known as Cailleach Bheur, is a new character inspired by Celtic mythology. Her presence in the story is very small, yet her part is great; integral to the story-line. My challenge with Beira is sewing her thread throughout the story, so it doesn’t seem contrived when she makes an appearance.
A Snippet from Atonement in Bloom
You already know I’m concerned about giving away any part of the story, so I won’t say when this tidbit takes place. It’s part of a scene with Beira the Crone. I hope you’ll enjoy it.
“And now to restore the balance,” Beira said but then hesitated. “But those two tricksters have definitely earned a lesson,” she said fiercely.
Beira looked at the calico and her expression softened. “I see you are fond of him. So be it then, for your sake little heart. But there must be at least a small lesson. The balance must be kept,” she added with a wink to Lilith.
Her dark green velvet cloak fell back as she extended both arms. With the staff still grasped in her right hand she turned in a circle three times clockwise. As she moved, the velvet cloak swirled about her ankles as if the wind moved it. Her long lapis-blue braid lifted on the same invisible currents. Her eyes shone brightly in the moonlight. On the third circle Beira tilted her head back exultantly and smiled.
The temperature plummeted. Snowflakes floated to the ground. Snow began to accumulate on the nearby stone wall. Beira walked over to it and tilted her head as if considering. “So it has grown here before, and spontaneously. Ah, recently too. This place is more interesting than I knew. Perhaps it bears further investigation,” Beira commented, rousing Lilith’s curiosity.
She gave the wall a light tap with her age darkened wooden staff. Then she nodded once more.
Lilith’s feline ears heard an odd vibration within the stone wall, which a human would never have noticed. In the light of the moon, the cat watched as a single rose sprouted from the top of the rock wall. A single blue rose.
***
Coconut Snowballs Recipe
In keeping with the setting of the story snippet, I searched the WordPress countryside for a recipe with “snow” in the title. I found a blog called Whisk Away Your Worries. The delightful Meaghan shared a recipe for Coconut Snowballs. Click on the picture or the link for the recipe.
Thanks for visiting Atonement, TN. Say hello by leaving a comment.
No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights.
All images are either the property of the author or from Pinterest unless stated otherwise.
In celebration, rather than taking you to the Victorian Era on our usual steam locomotive, this time we’ll bring all our picnic paraphernalia and get on board a red, white, and blue decorated dirigible and soar into our story.
Steering the airship is Kathryn, aka KR Bigfish from Another Foodie Blogger, who gave us the “three things” for this episode. As sometimes happens, a comment also made its way into the episode. Kathryn mentioned a particular purple critter, and I couldn’t resist. But I’ll leave that for a surprise.
Remember to check for fun and informative links in the text and images.
The dirigible is tugging at its ropes — ready to sail through the air, through time and realities. So… All aboard!
From last time…
“It’s an amethyst world!” Copper exclaimed when she saw the strange place where the magically whirling submarine went aground.
A purple ape wearing a three piece suit with a starched collar and a bowler hat came into view. It seems strange to say, but the hat and the suit made me think of Ignatius Belle. However, I was also reminded in an odd way of the portrait of Copper’s father, Calvin Hixon, who turned out to be Belle’s father as well.
The amethyst colored ape moved his hands in sign language.
Copper, the alchemist, and I spoke in chorus. “Daddy?”
***
23. Broken Knife, Sea Urchin, Potable Water
“Oh! You can speak. How wondrous!” was the delighted exclamation of the purple ape who wore a man’s suit, hat, and spectacles. “And what remarkable coloring you have!”
“Of course we can talk. But it’s amazing that you can!” Copper called out in reply as she clambered down from the submarine hatch, too quick for me to stop her.
The alchemist stood in gaping astonishment. I pushed past him and hurried after the girl, although I didn’t know how I could protect her from something as strong as the ape. I had no weapon on me, not so much as a little muff pistol.
Abruptly I remembered my pearl handled pen knife. It wasn’t much use as a weapon, but I reached quickly into my pocket. However, the pen knife seemed to have been damaged during the chaos of the spinning submarine. When I tried to open it, the broken knife fell apart in my hands.
The creature seemed genial enough, but who could say? I had no idea into what sort of place we had been cast by the accident of alchemy that sent Cornelis Drebbel’s submarine off course with rogue magic.
“Have a care, Felicity,” Cornelis hissed, as though he’d finally come back to himself.
“Of course I’ll be careful. Why didn’t you stop her?” I said through my teeth, trying to hide my anger with the Dutchman from the strange primate on the shore.
I turned back toward the quickly moving girl. “Copper stop right there and wait until I catch up with you,” I demanded and for once she complied.
“But Felicity! I like him. He’s funny,” the girl pleaded. “I’m sure it’s perfectly safe,” Copper added in a rather good imitation of an adult.
“How can you think a purple ape — in a suit no less, is perfectly safe?” I whispered as I caught up to the girl and took her hand.
Cornelis cleared his throat loudly. “That’s not what I meant. I wasn’t talking about the ape when I told you to be careful,” the alchemist said urgently. “Doppelgängers!” he exclaimed, using his trick of casting his voice directly to my ear.
“What’s a doppelgänger?” Copper wanted to know as she looked from Cornelis to me and then back over her shoulder at the very large purple chimpanzee.
“It’s a sort of lookalike,” I told her.
As I gazed into the shallows of the sparkling amethyst water I noticed a violet colored sea urchin. Here even fishes and such are one color of purple or another, I thought. The water itself took on the hue of lavender from the sky it reflected. That alone was enough to make it a stranger place than anything I had ever imagined.
Cornelis seemed to be permanently adhered to his surely uncomfortable position, halfway out of the submarine’s hatch. I could hear Absinthe inside chirping excitedly, but I couldn’t tell if the Green Fairy was anxious, angry, or simply feeling chatty. Then a bottle levitated up from within the submarine. Cornelis snatched it out of the air and thanked the Green Fairy in a droll tone.
“Absinthe thinks you should take this potable water with you, as it might not be safe to drink anything here,” the Dutchman commented. “I think it’s a bad idea for you to leave this vessel at all.”
Amethyst Walking Stick by Fabergé
At the shore, the chimpanzee shifted his bowler hat and placed his walking stick in front of himself with both hands propped on its crystal top. Naturally the crystal was an amethyst cabochon. He looked curious, but quite patient and relaxed.
“Whatever are you talking about, Dutchman?” I looked up at Cornelis and asked while Copper stood staring at the chimp in a suit.
“If you meet your doppelgänger it could be dangerous,” the alchemist said.
“Why on earth would I meet my double?” I asked feeling piqued, with Copper pulling me forward and the alchemist holding me back.
“I think it’s the nature of this world, this place,” Cornelis explained with exaggerated patience. “It probably has its own versions of all of us. Purple versions, but still…” he added with a shrug.
“Why is it purple?” Copper interrupted. “Is there a purple fairy, like Absinthe is the Green Fairy?” she asked, eyes widening in anticipation.
The Green Fairy stuck his tiny nose out of the hatch and bit onto the alchemist’s sleeve, pulling it as if he wanted Cornelis to get back inside.
Cornelis Drebbel
“Alright, alright,” he told Absinthe. “Copper, I suspect there is a good reason for the purple coloring, but the important thing you need to understand is that everything around us could become — well you could say the place may get unstable, just because of our presence. If any of us met our doubles it could be,” he paused, probably looking for words a young girl would understand. “Bad. It could be very bad,” he finished, but looked dissatisfied with his choice of words.
“Cornelis, aren’t you coming with us?” I asked with an uneasy eye on the large, strong chimpanzee, who had moved forward to the very edge of the water.
“No, Felicity. Were I to meet my doppelgänger it wouldn’t be dangerous,” he replied, and closing his eyes he took a deep breath. “It would be catastrophic.”
Seldom had I seen the Dutchman so serious. I don’t pretend that I fully understood his vague explanation, but I knew it had something to do with alchemy. So I didn’t press.
“Do I have a doppelgänger?” a giggling Copper wanted to know, and I realized she’d found a new favorite word. “The monkey might be Daddy’s doppelgänger,” she added, giggling even harder.
When I looked at Cornelis he curled his lips inward in a rueful grimace and raised his bushy blonde eyebrows. Then he pursed his lips and inclined his head pointedly toward the purple primate. The ape shifted his stance. Suddenly he reminded me very much of the portrait of Calvin Hixon.
The purple primate saw us looking at him and raised his voice to make sure it carried to us. “I’m sure it’s most unsettling, having your vessel run aground. And clearly you aren’t from here,” the ape began. “Or from any place of which I’ve ever heard…” his voice trailed off as he shook his head wonderingly. “But I assure you it really is perfectly safe, just as the young err… the young lady said.”
Had the ape hesitated to call Copper a young lady? Could it be that he perceived us as we saw him — as strange animals? Profound thoughts crowded my mind.
The ape looked remarkably like the portrait of Copper’s father. With of course the exception him of being an ape.
The suit-wearing creature bumped his palm to his forehead as if something obvious had just occurred to him. “Oh! If you are concerned that you don’t see people like yourselves, please don’t fear. We thought your species was extinct. I can’t tell you how delighted I am to know that is not the case! And that extraordinary coloring you have. This is so exciting! But pardon me. I digress,” he said in a gracious apologetic voice.
“As I was saying, there’s no need to fear. The one eyed one horned flying purple people eater is surely dead. None have been seen for a hundred years!” the ape said, adjusting his spectacles.
At the primate’s comment Absinthe fluttered up and out of the submarine. He chirped and grunted excitedly. The Green Fairy hovered around Copper’s head briefly. Then he darted toward the purple ape. Absinthe made several passes around the primate to inspect him, grunting the while.
“How delightful!” the very large chimpanzee exclaimed, taking off his spectacles since Absinthe was mere inches from his face. “What a colorful little chap. Why you’re like a very tiny, very green version of the purple people eater,” he said and Absinthe gave a disagreeable chirp. “Well no, I suppose that’s not true at all. But you seem to be the same sort of fae being.”
I couldn’t sense any animosity from the ape… and judging by the crash landing of the submarine we were going to need some kind of help. So I allowed Copper to lead me to the shore where he stood. The suited primate bowed politely to us, doffing his bowler hat.
Absinthe settled in his protective position atop Copper’s head. However, the ape’s attention wandered to the submarine. He was so intrigued that he waded out into the shallows for a better look. “You know,” he said in a self-deprecating tone. “I’m something of an inventor myself. What sort of vessel is that? It looks almost as though it’s meant to sail under the water,” the ape marveled.
Cornelis never could resist showing off one of his inventions and the ape was clearly a willing and eager audience. Abruptly the alchemist appeared at his elbow. The purple primate jumped with a start.
“Allow me to introduce myself,” the Dutchman said. “I’m Cornelis Drebbel and I’d be delighted to show you the submarine.”
The ape gasped. His eyes grew large and his mouth opened silently. The primate’s eyes narrowed and he looked intently at Cronelis. “With this outlandish coloring, how could I suspect,” he murmured. Then he bowed extravagantly to Cornelis.
“Cornelis Drebbel, Lord of Alchemy, I welcome you to these shores. Please accept my humble apology for not recognizing you. No one has seen you for over a hundred years. It was feared that the purple people eater had… well… But how foolish of us to think you would have been bested by any beast, no matter how fearsome.”
***
Will this newfound status go to the alchemist’s head? Will a doppelgänger of one of the characters show up and wreak havoc? How will they get back home so they can find Copper’s daddy? And what about that one eyed one horned flying purple people eater? Be at the train station next time to find out what happens to Copper, the Alchemist, and the Woman in Trousers!
Don’t forget this episode’s recipe! Since the food related thing, or ingredient, was “potable water” I chose one of Kathryn’s seafood recipes. I really appreciate that she often shares simple recipes made from things I might have on hand. I know you’ll enjoy this one.
No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights.
All images are either the property of the author or from Pinterest unless stated otherwise.
Think of this cover as the door to a wonderful book. 
Annie looked down at the ancient list. Something glowed through several layers of paper. She knew the glow came from the script identifying a very old item. The glowing writing meant an item awakened. Her hands shook as she leafed through the pages to the very beginning of the catalogued inventory.
“Oh don’t be silly,” Adelle chastised. “It’s not from that teapot.”
When an urban fantasy story becomes a series, usually new characters are added with each volume. As the story-line for Atonement in Bloom took shape, a few new supernatural characters came along.
“Oh! You can speak. How wondrous!” was the delighted exclamation of the purple ape who wore a man’s suit, hat, and spectacles. “And what remarkable coloring you have!”
