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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