Title: Sol's Solstice (New
Beginnings #1)
Author: Leona Windwalker
Publisher: Rune Tree Press
Publication date: 18 Dec.
2014
Word Count: 40,510
Blurb:
Sol
is used to flying under his family's radar, unless focusing unwanted
attention away from his more outgoing, older twin. The day comes when
he pays a steep price for attempting to shield his brother. Running
for his life, he is nearly run down by a car driven by Seth. Can Seth
help Sol find his way back from the darkness?
HERE IS THE EXPERT :
Sol wasn't sure if he was
awake. He seemed to be trapped in that zone, the one where you think
you're awake but are actually asleep and the next parts of your day
are nothing but dream constructs, which you discover only when you
actually wake up from them. He waited patiently. Usually this
in-the-dark lucid part had him opening his eyes to the part of his
dream where he dreamt he had awakened. Nothing. He tried to will his
eyes to open, but found something had covered them and was keeping
them shut.
He
frowned, then tried to move his arms. He could feel his arms twitch,
but again, something held him fast. The fog began to clear from his
mind as he realized he was in fact not
sleeping, but had woken somewhere apparently blindfolded and bound.
Memories began to assail him, the delivery van, the gun, being taken
prisoner with Martha, her being abandoned outside city limits, the
homophobic red necks. He remembered the pain blossoming, sure he was
about to die as they kicked him.
He could feel the pressure
from the bonds that held him, and his body ached, but it was nowhere
near the level of pain he'd expect after a beat-down like the one he
remembered. He listened intently. He could hear the soft beeping of a
monitor if he turned his head just so. If he strained really hard, he
could just make out soft voices further off. A hospital? He sniffed
to make sure, searching for that unmistakable disinfectant tang but
was met with nothing. Strange. Surely he should be able to scent
something?
The sound of rubber soled
feet padding across tile.
“Can
you hear me? No, don't move. You're restrained so you don't hurt
yourself or anyone else while you recover enough before being moved
back to your facility.”
Facility? He tried to grab
onto that thought, to figure out why that word terrified him, but his
thoughts began to scatter. Where was he? He'd been with...who? A face
came to him. Such kind eyes the man had. Ah, yes, he was in the
hospital. He'd stepped out in front of a car, met that man. Had the
man hit him with his car?
He felt a cold burning in
the veins of one arm, pondered at it, then became dimly aware that
this must be medication making its way through an IV.
“You
just rest. You were pretty banged up. Doctor will be along later and
see if he can assess any residual damage from you hitting your head.”
The
car had knocked him down and he'd hit his head? Sol frowned.
Something was not right about that. He tried to gather all the loose
memories to himself to sort them, but they fluttered out of his grasp
as full darkness claimed him once more and he slept.
HERE IS THE LINK TO MY REVIEW AND THE BUY LINKS FOR THE BOOK!
YAY! NOW WE HAVE THE INTERVIEW, THEN AN AWESOME AUTHOR BIO, AND EVEN A LINK TO GET AN AUTHOR-GRAPH FOR YOUR BOOK! :)
Thanks so much for being here with us Sol, I can't wait to get started, so let's do just that!
- Sol, knowing all you have been through with your family, what is the biggest regret you have where they are concerned?
I've
talked about this a lot with my therapist and with Seth. I think my
single most regret is that I never spoke up as a child and let anyone
know what was going on at home. That I never told a teacher or a
pastor or anyone. I wish I'd spoken up about Mama and even about
Uncle Shane or any of the others in the family. Maybe then Social
Services would have stepped in much sooner and Mama would have gotten
proper help. Then maybe we could have been a proper family.
Bec- I can't even begin to say I understand why your family is the way they are, all I will say that it is a miracle you turned out as good as you did!
- You have always sort of protected Ben, was it hard when suddenly it was just you?
It
was. I knew Ben had always taken me sorta for granted though, so we
weren't as close as people would think. People always think twins are super
close, or that siblings in crisis situations will form this tight
bond. It was never like that for us. Ben was always the bright shiny
one, and I was his tag along shadow. It really hurt me that he was so
ready to move on without me though. I felt unrooted, not knowing
really what to do next because I'd always quietly just done whatever
he did, hung out with the people he did, and so on. The scariest bit
was knowing that if anything happened to me, nobody might ever know
about it.
Bec- I tried to understand Bens reasoning while I was reading your story, and I really couldn't. I know he never meant you any harm, but he never considered your feelings much. I get the feeling he is gonna regret that, if he doesn't already.
- Seth is an amazing man, we find that out pretty fast, what struck you the first time you saw him? (besides almost his car )
His
eyes. His eyes are the most amazing golden amber color, reminds me of
a wolf almost, but gentle. I could see the compassion in them and
that made me not try to run anymore and get in his car instead.
Bec- I could sit and listen to you talk about him all day, he saved you for sure, but when you think about it, you really saved each other! He would still be lonely, and searching for something, but he really had no idea what would complete him, it turned out that it was you!
- Was it an adjustment for you to stay at Seth's where you were safe, from always being worried about your parents?
It
was. I had no idea how'd they'd even found me to begin with, back
when I had an apartment in Atlanta. During the trial, I found out that
someone working for Social Services was a member of their Atlanta
congregation and had passed along that information. Once you're in
the system, it's not hard for you to be tracked down if someone is
looking, especially if you were a foster kid and in a transitioning
benefits program like I was.
Bec- I don't know how you got through that with your sanity intact, that really says something about how strong you are as a person! Thanks goodness the last time you had Seth to comfort, and encourage you. If you didn't I really don't know what would have happened!
- I know Ben gave away your location to your parents, have you two really worked that out, seeing as he didn't do it to be mean?
At
first I was really mad with him, especially when Mama and Daddy
showed up like that and did that to Seth. I was angry and I was
scared and I didn't know what to think. Then when I saw him again at
The Magdalene Center, I was too out of it to even recall why I was
really there. It all seemed like a dream, especially with being told
different to what I thought I knew. Hearing him say he was going to
get me out felt right. He's not a mean guy, and him saying he'd make
it right made me believe him.
Bec- I got that vibe too, that Ben would never hurt you intentionally, I think he has more growing up to do than he thinks he does, and I can't wait to follow his journey!
- True love isn't something that comes along everyday, what was the one thing that Seth did that convinced you this was it? You were in love forever?
He
treated me as if I was someone truly special and precious, reassuring
me with basic human contact as much as I needed, and boy, I really
needed it especially then. He could have really taken advantage of me
but he didn't. The day he talked with me about getting the tree? And
the day in his study, when he realized I simply needed touch to be
reassured, and let me sit so I could lean on him while he worked. I
knew then he was one man in a million and I knew if I didn't grab
this chance, I would probably never get such uncondtiional care and
love ever again.
Bec- You are truly treasured, that is for sure. That is something that must feel so good to have, considering your upbringing, I am so glad you two have each other!
- Last one Sol, What is the one piece of advise you would give your brother about truly being happy?
Don't
get hung up on trying to be everyone's friend, hoping to be loved and
accepted. Instead look at each person and see their worth, treat them
as valued persons for who they are and not what they can offer you.
Just be yourself and not lock it away and pretend to be someone
you're not. That doesn't work and you'll never find happiness that
way.
Bec- I think that is excellent advice for anyone, not just Ben! This has been so enlightening, I have enjoyed it so much! Thank you Sol, for answering these questions for us!
I SO ENJOYED DOING THAT INTERVIEW, AND I HOPE YOU ENJOYED READING IT! NOW WE HAVE OUR AUTHOR BIO, AND AUTHOR-GRAPH LINK!
Leona
is a longtime staunch supporter of human rights and environmental
causes. Her favorite genre to read is M/M fiction and she
particularly enjoys science fiction, fantasy, and action/suspense
sub-genres—especially
if they have a nice seasoning of romance. She has far too many books
on her Kindle, has overloaded her phone with even more and, when not
reading, writing, being driven to distraction by her children, or
being overlorded by her three cats, can be found trying to locate the
portal that the sock monster uses to steal socks from her dryer.
THANKS SO MUCH FOR JOINING US FOR OUR SPOTLIGHT OF THIS WONDERFUL BOOK! I CAN'T WAIT FOR BEN'S STORY IN BOOK 2! :)
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