Author Cheri Schmidt: YA Indie Carnival ~ Thanksgiving

Hi everyone! Thanks for visiting my blog! I was going to put my YA Indie Carnival post up on Wednesday due to the holiday--however, I got too busy baking pies, visiting with friends and family, Black Friday shopping and other fun Thanksgivingish type stuff. Sorry about that... I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving!!!

This week our theme is anything to do with Thanksgiving. I had to think hard about this one because I haven't put any specifically Thanksgiving-themed scenes in any of my books, but there is a feast. So, I decided to share an excerpt from Forever (bk3 in The Fateful Trilogy) describing a feast put on by fairies... Enjoy!

(Of course this is only the end part of Chapter 4 in Forever, so if you haven't read the previous books, this might not make sense to you. This is a hint for you to take some of your time off for the holiday and go read, or re-read, books 1 and 2. ;) If you didn't catch the other excerpts of Forever posted here on my blog, check them out here, here, here, and here.... Happy reading!

Forever, Chapter 4

Return to The Fey

She blinked and refocused on Ethan’s face, somewhat. Her eyes still swam with unshed tears. But when he smiled and she saw many colored lights dance across the reflection of the glasses shielding his sapphire eyes, she turned around.

A procession of fairies had filled the clearing. As they bent over the grass, they twirled their wands in the air. A shower of sparks fell and twisted like tendrils of glittering smoke, and by magic a table appeared. It was laden with plates, each one piled high with food. The fare looked like it was proportioned for humans, as did the table, but it was embellished and decorated more like it was fit only for fey. A three-tiered cake towered above everything else in the center. The frosting was white and it was embellished with sugar-coated apple blossoms that glittered in the waning sunlight.

After wiping her cheeks dry, she took Ethan’s hand into hers and drew closer to the table as the fairies conjured moss-cushioned chairs and three candelabra, each one holding six long candles. A lone fairy zigzagged up the table lighting each one with a strange green flame.

Slightly awestruck and more than slightly relieved they’d distracted her from their grief, Danielle stepped around the ring of mushrooms used for marking the fairy dance floor. On her past visits, the fairies had been extremely strict about making sure they never stepped within the ring. She didn’t know why but she suspected it had to do with the fact that the ring was probably enchanted in some way.

The fairies had thrown them a party before. They’d danced into the late hours of the night around the mushrooms she was moving past at the moment. They’d usually brought their own food too, only eating the fresh berries that had been offered and nothing more. Except for when she’d fainted and they’d given her the magical berry juice to heal her.

“Why the big feast?” she asked because this was different from their past visits.

Ethan halted their momentum and she swung her gaze to his face. Her pony tail swatted her against the cheek with the action. When he didn’t speak right away, and because he looked just as awestruck as she felt, she asked, “What is it?”

“We always brought food with us because their food is laden with magic.”

“But we ate the berries.”

“That’s because those had been picked fresh from a plant and not prepared by them.”

She thought about that a moment. “But the juice that healed me had been prepared by them, hadn’t it?”

“Yes, but you needed it then, and only then,” he said. “That juice in large and continued quantities could’ve done something strange to you.”

“Oh,” she said, now understanding. “So could it hurt us to eat so much, then?” As she asked this, Danielle eyed something that looked like strawberry tarts. Her mouth was practically watering with how delectable they looked. She swallowed.

“I don’t think so,” he said slowly, before adding, “But there could be side effects.”

“Like what? Could we sprout wings or something?”

“I honestly don’t know.”

“Why did they prepare it for us then?”

“Did you not say you needed our help against magic?” The words came in a soft but fairy-like voice at her ear. Danielle whirled around and was surprised to find Alora apparently eavesdropping. The tiny sprite was hovering at eyelevel to her and smirking like she knew a secret she wasn’t going to share.

“Yes, but won’t this food have an adverse affect on us?” asked Ethan.

Alora tapped one finger against her little pink mouth for a moment. Her hip was cocked to the side as her petal-beslippered feet dangled in the air. “I suppose there could be some side effects to consuming our feast but I don’t think you’ll regret it. It will not make you sick, if that’s what concerns you.”

Danielle looked at the spread again and decided she wasn’t worried about it making her sick except for maybe eating too much of it. It just looked so good, and smelled so good, she decided, dragging in a deep breath of the aromas wafting from the long table.

“Please, sit down and join us,” urged Alora.

Only a few more steps brought Danielle up to the end chair where Alora encouraged her to sit. Danielle slid it back and sat down. Her fingers sank into the spongy texture of the moss-covered arms and she noticed the organic piece of furniture was actually in bloom with little white flowers. Many of the fairies joined them by conjuring miniature tables along with six chairs each right on top of the table she sat at.

Ethan sat to her left and the guards took up the remainder of chairs surrounding the table. “But, um...” she began, meaning to point out the obvious by saying the vampires don’t usually bother to eat food since it doesn’t taste good to them anymore.

“This is one meal they’ll actually enjoy,” said Alora.

Cedric tossed a surprised look Alora’s way. “Truly?”

“This feast will be able to tantalize your broken taste buds in a way nothing else can.”

At that, Cedric snatched up a little cake with a single pansy flower on the top and popped it into his mouth. While chewing, his eyes rounded and he quickly selected another item. The other guards did the same. They looked like a bunch of boys who’d been given permission to indulge in something they’d normally be forbidden. Manners were soon discarded by all except for Richard. Of course the prince would maintain his cool, but he was sampling food just like the rest of them.

Reaching for one of the tarts she’d been eyeing earlier, Danielle studied it. It looked ordinary enough, but she couldn’t help but think of the candies Lilith had given them, and paused with the morsel held in her fingertips. “Are you certain this won’t turn us into ... er ... something?”

All of the fairies giggled at that. The sound was like several little bells tinkling along the table from where they sat.

“I’ll confess, my dear, it could influence your dreams,” admitted Alora.

“That’s all?”

“Yes.”

“But how will it help us against the pixies and werewolves?” Does it work like the fairy-healing-juice? she wondered as Ethan downed what they’d just brought to him.

“This is only part of what will help you,” said Alora.

When she realized Ethan was already reaching for a slice of the big cake she sank back into her chair and again considered the tart she was still holding. With a shrug of her shoulders, she popped it into her mouth. She didn’t feel energy surge through her body like she had with the fairy juice. The flavors of crust and a burst of berry filled her mouth, and that was all. “Hmm,” Danielle murmured now reaching for a little bowl full of mixed fruit that had been drizzled with a pink sauce of some kind.

~Of course there are side effects to consuming the magically-prepared food they're eating but you'll have to read the book to find out how. I am probably as frustrated as you that book 3 isn't out yet. I'm trying to make sure that what I release is as well-polished as possible for you but, unfortunately, that takes time. The good news is that I am getting closer to announcing a date for the release of Forever, so if you haven't read Fateful and Fractured, I suggest you do that now!~

eBooks:
For Kindle:

Fateful

Fractured (Book #2 in the Fateful Series)

Fair Maiden

For Nook

(Keep in mind that both Amazon and Barne's & Noble have free apps so the eBooks can be read on iPad, iPhone, iPod, etc. So if you don't have either of those readers, you can still read my books on other devices. My husband will soon have my eBooks available on Kobo for those of you who need ePub.)