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Wednesday, January 4, 2017

Concordant Vibrancy 3: Carol Cassada




Hello Readers, Writers, and Precious Patrons and thank you for visiting All Authors Blog. For the next two weeks, we will be meeting the participants of the third installment of the Concordant Vibrancy collection, entitled “Lustrate”.


Today, we present Carol Cassada who will discuss why she decided to participate in Lustrate, along with a small excerpt from her work.




What inspired you to be a part of Lustrate?

I’ve known the All Authors family for years and I’m their work, especially the Concordant Vibrancy stories. To be included in the new volume with a group of authors I admire is an exciting opportunity.
For me, the theme of fluidity represents freewill. In Exiled, I wanted to explore how our freewill can be affected by society’s pressure to live a certain way.



Excerpt from Exiled

Hayley admitted the dress looked good on her. Yet, the idea of wearing the dress to marry a man she didn’t love, depressed her.

“What’s wrong, sweetie?” Susan’s concern increased over Hayley’s solemn mood. “Is it the sleeves? I can take them up on the sewing machine.”

“Mom, it’s not that.” Hayley delicately handed the dress to Susan. “I’m—I’m—I don’t know about the wedding.”

“Oh, honey, don’t worry.” Susan waved her hand dismissively. “We’ve got plenty of money saved for the big day. Nothing’s too good for our little girl.” She pinched Hayley’s cheek.

“No, mom.” Hayley pursed her lips, for a moment she hesitated saying anything else. But she needed to express her feelings. “I don’t know if I want to get married.”

Susan pressed a hand to her forehead at Hayley’s declaration. With Susan’s legs wobbly, she nearly fainted.

Hayley caught Susan before she could drop to the floor. Ushering Susan to the dresser bench, Hayley made sure her mother was fine.

“Are you okay?”

Susan needed a moment to compose herself. “Hayley, where is this nonsense coming from?”

“I’ve been thinking a lot lately.” Hayley paced the carpeted floor. “Mom, it’s unfair what The Council does.”

“Is this about Calvin Brody?”

“He made a good point, mom.” Hayley settled on the bed, keeping her attention on Susan. “Shouldn’t we be able to make our own decisions? Why does The Council have to do it?”

“It’s the rules,” Susan said in a stern tone.

“Rules can be broken.”

“No, they can’t.” Susan became annoyed with Hayley’s stubborness . “Listen, this is the way things are here. We have to accept it.”

“No, we don’t.” Hayley shot up. “Times are changing. It’s time we moved on from this stupid ritual.”

“You will never talk that way ever again,” Susan’s slightly raised her voice. “This is the way of life around here. Everyone’s accepted it, so should you.”

“Mom, let me ask you something.” Seeing Susan’s outburst, Hayley cautiously broached the subject. 

“Are you happy with dad?”

“We’ve been married twenty years. We have two beautiful children. Live in this big house with everything you need.” Susan carefully folded the dress, placing it back in the box.

“Yes, but mom are you happy?”

Susan’s hands froze in mid air as she replaced the box’s top. “Go to bed, Hayley.” Susan snatched the box, then marched out of the room.






For more of Exiled and other contributions in Concordant Vibrancy 3: Lustrate, rush and acquire on January 17th.


 
 
 

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