Please make welcome, author, Xavier Axelson. Leave a comment so he'll know you dropped by. I must apologize to my guest. For some weird reason this morning, my computer has some kind of hiccup and it will not attach the author's picture or his book cover, but I have the blurb to his new release and a great excerpt. Enjoy!
Good Morning Readers,
First, let me say "Thank You," to Tabitha for having me for her guest today.
While I was thinking about what I would write about for this blog post I began to realize I have written a lot about wolves (were and regular) in my work.
Why? I asked myself.
I don’t necessarily have a werewolf fascination, but do feel wolves are unfairly prejudiced against because of exaggerated, and often fictionalized accounts of their behaviors. I am a wolf supporter, but never saw myself as a writer with a wolfish bend in my creative flow.
Or, do I?
Lily is based in reality. Sort of. I remember reading a news story about a little girl who was snatched from her backyard and dragged into the woods by a coyote; fear not, she was returned to her family alive and well. I found myself wondering; how does a parent deal with such a horrific act? I can’t even begin to understand the things that must go through a parents mind knowing their kid has been dragged into the woods by a big bad wolf…or coyote. All I can think is horror, sheer and utter horror. Oddly, just yesterday I read an article about a little girl who was swallowed whole by an alligator while her father stood by unable to do anything to save her. Or, did you read the article about the girl who was eaten alive by a bear and called her mother several times while it was happening? HORRIBLE. All of these stories haunt me. Now, are animals attacking with horror movie aspirations? I doubt it. It seems in most cases we have somehow encroached or pushed ourselves into the habitat of wild animals and, being they are wild, they do what animals do. This does not mean I do not bleed for parents or children who have suffered these attacks. Writing Lily was my way of somehow managing to get my head around such a terrible act, but also to explore what a parent must have to endure in the wake of such an event.
You will forever be, as in Lily’s father’s case, “the man whose kid got eaten by a wolf.”
His grief is only what I can imagine, his anger; only what I can assume. Lily also started out as a Father’s Day story. It is a celebration of a father’s strength and courage in not only losing his daughter but regaining her and then having to make another, even more painful decision later. One reader said the story is mainly about Pryor’s grief and I agree, sort of. I think it is about nature and the pall we can live under when something extraordinary happens to us.
I recently interviewed Heather Donahue, the star of The Blair Witch Project and what I found most interesting was how she still struggles to not only be identified as “the girl from The Blair Witch Project.” Do we have the capacity to see beyond the obvious? Be it fame, a one time incident, or are we marked forever? Is there room for reinvention? Moving on? I interviewed her specifically because I believe we are absolutely capable of MORE and seeing past the obvious. I am hopeful.
BLURB: LILY by Xavier Axelson:
First, let me say "Thank You," to Tabitha for having me for her guest today.
While I was thinking about what I would write about for this blog post I began to realize I have written a lot about wolves (were and regular) in my work.
Why? I asked myself.
I don’t necessarily have a werewolf fascination, but do feel wolves are unfairly prejudiced against because of exaggerated, and often fictionalized accounts of their behaviors. I am a wolf supporter, but never saw myself as a writer with a wolfish bend in my creative flow.
Or, do I?
Lily is based in reality. Sort of. I remember reading a news story about a little girl who was snatched from her backyard and dragged into the woods by a coyote; fear not, she was returned to her family alive and well. I found myself wondering; how does a parent deal with such a horrific act? I can’t even begin to understand the things that must go through a parents mind knowing their kid has been dragged into the woods by a big bad wolf…or coyote. All I can think is horror, sheer and utter horror. Oddly, just yesterday I read an article about a little girl who was swallowed whole by an alligator while her father stood by unable to do anything to save her. Or, did you read the article about the girl who was eaten alive by a bear and called her mother several times while it was happening? HORRIBLE. All of these stories haunt me. Now, are animals attacking with horror movie aspirations? I doubt it. It seems in most cases we have somehow encroached or pushed ourselves into the habitat of wild animals and, being they are wild, they do what animals do. This does not mean I do not bleed for parents or children who have suffered these attacks. Writing Lily was my way of somehow managing to get my head around such a terrible act, but also to explore what a parent must have to endure in the wake of such an event.
You will forever be, as in Lily’s father’s case, “the man whose kid got eaten by a wolf.”
His grief is only what I can imagine, his anger; only what I can assume. Lily also started out as a Father’s Day story. It is a celebration of a father’s strength and courage in not only losing his daughter but regaining her and then having to make another, even more painful decision later. One reader said the story is mainly about Pryor’s grief and I agree, sort of. I think it is about nature and the pall we can live under when something extraordinary happens to us.
I recently interviewed Heather Donahue, the star of The Blair Witch Project and what I found most interesting was how she still struggles to not only be identified as “the girl from The Blair Witch Project.” Do we have the capacity to see beyond the obvious? Be it fame, a one time incident, or are we marked forever? Is there room for reinvention? Moving on? I interviewed her specifically because I believe we are absolutely capable of MORE and seeing past the obvious. I am hopeful.
When Pryor's daughter Lily is taken by a wolf, Pryor is convinced she has turned into the creature he sees lurking in his woods. He swears she promises to return to him. But is it his despair and desperation making him see things or is there something more lurking in the shadows of the forest? When he meets Ned, a silversmith who helps him with a plan to bring his daughter back into his life, he begins to live again. But can his newfound love help ease the horror that may be waiting? What if the ultimate horror isn’t when Lily was taken but it’s when Lily returns and he realizes his nightmare has only just begun...
EXCERPT:
LILY
I am Lily's father, my name is Pryor. It was a year ago last Father's Day when she was taken from me. I still believe being Lily's father is the most important thing in this world.
Unfortunately, my daughter dwells in another world.
* * * * *
* * * * *
I glanced at the necklace. Ned's pressed close to me, but the necklace I hoped would bring Lily back to me felt closer. Ned was soft in his sleep; not the bull of a man he was when he's awake. I loved him soft and I loved him hard. It was his hardness that grounded me, that brought me in from the darkness. The necklace caught the light of the fading moon and I wondered where Lily was tonight.
The old clock on the nightstand hummed quietly; its vintage florescent glow a pale mockery of the necklace that lay beside it and yet I heard the clock, it won in that department. Time always does.
Ned moved against me, I could feel his arms pull me close, felt the bulge of his muscles, his arms thick and powerful. He had never loved a man before me. I had only loved Lily. Once she changed, I had little left to love; in fact, I was certain love had disappeared from my life all together.
The clock still hummed, never quiet; it's old and made noise as if time itself wanted us all to know that it was passing and with each minute Lily fell farther and farther into the darkness. The tears came then and at the same time Ned's cock pushed more firmly against my back. He grumbled, pulled me even tighter so that I could truly feel his penis--not hard, not entirely soft--on the edge of wanting. A tear fell and I gasped a little. Seeing the necklace; hearing the clock, feeling Ned's cock, his muscles, I fell away into him and closed my eyes.
"Why aren't you sleeping?"
"I was," I replied softly.
"No you weren't," his voice was sleepy; distant and yet he knew things, he knew I was awake, thinking about my lost daughter.
"It's Father's Day," I answered, skipping over my lie. "Do you think she will come?" I felt him nod and nodded in return against my pillow. Another tear fell.
"Come closer," he whispered.
"How much closer could I get?"
"Closer," he said again, a growl, a grunt; there was the bull I knew.
His lips brushed on my neck, a hand on my thigh stroking, touching, pulling a sigh from my mouth. I wiped a hand across my face.
"I never get sick of touching you," he whispered wetly, his tongue tracing my ear.
Smiling, I turned in his big arms and I could feel my thoughts ease. Ned had that way about him. 'Magic arms' I called him because he had this way of holding me that made me feel completely safe and for one man to be able to do that for another was amazing.
I kissed him and was happy to discover his breath was not bad but sweet, the trace of his toothpaste before bed still there and I smiled even as I kissed him. Ned sighed gently, his cock fully hard now, urgent, pressing. I reached down and stroked him through his boxers; he was already wet. I tried to pull my tongue from his mouth but he only pulled me closer, deeper; at one point I was almost certain one of us was going to stop breathing.
He finally relented but only because I jokingly squeezed his balls a little too tightly.
"Fuck, you make me nuts," he grumbled, we both laughed at his joke.
His hand reached for my cock; I slept naked so there was no flimsy cotton between his rough hands and my skin.
"You like that?"
I nodded, I did like it, I'd thought I wouldn't ever be able to like sex again, or any intimacy after Lily disappeared.
His hands were rough but I relished his edges; he touched me as if he knew me and, after a year, I guess he kind of did.
"You want me to suck it?" His voice was hoarse with his question; there was still a shy embarrassment behind it, as if he couldn't really believe he was going to suck cock.
"What do you think?"
My response excited him. I could see it in his eyes, even in the dark; the fading moon told me just enough.
When you had a daughter like mine, you learned a lot from the moon.
Where to find Xavier Axelson:
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7 comments:
Welcome Xavier,
I am so sorry your picture and book cover wouldn't go up on the blog. Your cover is simply beautiful! I enjoyed both your blurb and excerpt. Best of luck with your new release...Tabs
Bonnie Randall Schutzman commented on your status.
Bonnie wrote: "Hi Tabs, I tried to comment on Xavier's book -- what an interesting story that sounds like! -- but Blogger kept saying that what I typed didn't match their security word."
Xavier has a way of writing that incorporates almost TOO MANY THEMES, but after a moment of reflection, we realize that our lives aren't one dimensional. I appreciate the fact that Xavier can blend grief,sorrow,hope, and excitement with lust, yearning, nature, and even the supernatural and actually TELL A STORY that people can relate to! Some writers only touch upon a MAIN theme- either SEX or Vampires or loss- but Xavier has managed to put a plethura of subjects into one story and succeed!
Thanks for all the comments! ;)and to my host Tabitha.
It's very interest to learn the true story that inspired your book. I'm not into werewolves, but I've put Lily on my TBR list because of the dynamite excerpt.
Now I a %100 wolf lover. I love everything about them, and it's because of that love that my love for all wildlife has grown throughout my life. That's part of the reason for living in the interior of Alaska. *s*
I've read this excerpt a few times now, and find it sweeter each time. It carries depth of emotion.
I also cringe when I read true life stories about human & wildlife tragedies as it leaves everyone in pain and agony.
We have people that move to Alaska from the lower 48 every year, and with it comes their ignorance about wild animals. I'm talking about those that believe that the animals have to be removed or slaughtered to make their own human lives move enjoyable and easier. Human's who just don't get it that these animals are just what they are being wild and wanderers that they are.
But loving the excerpt and I have this one on my gotta have list, and looking forward to reading it soon. *s*
Darcy
pommawolf @hotmail.com
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