On a limb with Claudia

In the middle of the chaos of finishing the third Alex the Fey book, I received this fortune. Wow, talk about the right words at the right time.

Darren Hardy says we have a Microwave mentality. We all expect everything to happen overnight. We’ve forgotten the real key to making things happen – hard work.

Honestly, I needed to see this. I needed the reminder that it will take more time and more hard work to get where I want to go. There’s no express ride to success.

At the same time, Michael Bungay Stanier suggested I take a look at Chris Brogan’s video series on Overnight Success. If you can, follow the link. It’s helpful to see other people bust their asses to get their dream. At least it’s helpful for me.

There’s only one way to get where we’re going – time, hard work, and a belief that we will get there. Let’s get going!

Happy Monday!

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I’m thrilled to give you a sneak peak at the cover art for Learning to Stand. This cover, like the Fey cover, was created by Anthony Ream.

Learning to Stand will be released on February 1, 2010.

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As promised, here is a free digital copy of The Fey by Claudia Hall Christian

When you download the book, you own it. Feel free to send a link to this post to your friends and family. Don’t be shy, pass it around. Bring it to your bookclub. Talk to your friends on line. Tweet about it.

We want The Fey to be read and enjoyed.

Why are we doing this?

We believe there are a lot of stories to be told. We believe that clutching onto stories keeps them from growing and being enjoyed. Claudia spent three years working to get this book right. There was an additional year editing and massaging The Fey. This book deserves to be read by as many people as possible.

So download the book, read it and enjoy.

What do we want in return?

Read the book. Write a review at Amazon or Goodreads or Barnes and Noble. Talk to your friends about it. Pass it along to your family members. Call your local library and request The Fey for their collection. Request The Fey at your local bookstore.

If you’d like a copy of the book, feel free to buy one for yourself or forty of your close personal friends.

If you convert The Fey into your favorite format, please send them to us at cookstreetpublishing at gmail dot com. Please only one conversion per format. If we get them, we’ll post them here.

Download the book – Enjoy!

The Fey by Claudia Hall Christian is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License. Based on a work at alexthefey.com.

Special Thanks to Corey Doctorow for leading the way!

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The Fey (plain text) .59 Mb
The Fey (.pdf) Letter 2.9 Mb
The Fey (.pdf) A4 3.3 Mb

Versions created by friends and fans

The Fey (Mobi Reader) .32 Mb (Thanks Cha0tic!)

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CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

October 22 –  2:45 P.M.
Northern Scotland

“Yes Father. We will be there right away,” Rita Kelly Drayson said into the telephone. “Thank you, Father.”

Setting the phone down, she turned to her sons.

“Get ready for church. Tomás?”

“Yes Rita, I’m going,” he said from the other room.

John sat in the living area reading a novel. He had been in a foul temper all day. Today, he was supposed to get married again. Today was his thirteenth wedding anniversary. Today, he was sitting on this couch reading some moronic adventure novel. Alone.

Why wasn’t he with Alex?

“It’s not safe.” Alex said that twice a day when they spoke on the phone. “Wait until we can come and get you.”

Protected like a Goddamn child. He tried to leave twice but was blocked at every turn. Tom just shook his head at him.

“John, you know that we are needed at church this afternoon. Father Callum called to say that we are needed earlier than he thought.”

“Have a great time,” John said.

“John Kelly, you get up and get ready for church.” Rita’s face was bright red and her finger pointed like a dagger at his chest. “I don’t know where you have been or who you think you are, but our priest called and asked specifically for our help. You get your arse up and into the shower. Johnny, you smell like a tramp.”

“But Rita! God damn it. I can’t do it… Not today.”

“You will not take the Lord’s name in vain in this house.”

“Get ready, boy,” Tom said coming out in his Sunday best.

“If Johnny doesn’t have to go,” Will, the youngest boy, whined, “why do I have to go?”

“John has to go,” Tom said. He pushed Will back to his bedroom. “John, get off that couch and into the shower. NOW.”

With a sideways smile, Fionn, the second son, scooted into the bathroom.

“It’s occupied,” John said.

“Use our bathroom,” Rita said. “GO NOW! You are worse than a four year old.”

[...]

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CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

October 14 – 6:07 P.M.
Pike’s Peak National Forest

“You will get on your knees,” Sumit said. He pointed her gun in Alex’s direction.

Eleazar arrived at the cabin with two machine gun welding guards. After making certain Alex’s hands were handcuffed, Eleazar punched her to the ground. Alex lay face first on the ground with Eleazar’s Gucci shoe on her back. Sumit gave an embellished report on the valiant efforts of the men and Alex’s trickery. He exaggerated her easy capture. Eleazar laughed at Sumit’s elaborate description of ‘raping the infidel.’

Alex bided her time. She heard Trece’s whistle about ten minutes before Eleazar arrived. Her friends were close. They would intervene when she gave them the signal or they knew she was in danger. Right now, she was listening.

“Alex,” Jesse’s face materialized next to hers. “We still don’t know about Sumit.”

Eleazar mashed his foot against the wound on her left arm.

“I don’t like him.”

Alex blinked to indicate that she understood.

With his hands clamped around the knife wound, Eleazar pulled Alex to standing. She wobbled on sore battered legs and knocked into Eleazar. He stepped back to keep from falling. His guard slapped Alex’s face but caught the edge of the niqab instead. The scarf and head covering slipped from her head. Sumit moved forward, pressing himself between the guard and Alex, to replace the niqab.

Eleazar sneered at Alex.

[...]

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CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

October 14 – 3:53 P.M.
Pike’s Peak National Forest

Alex stumbled on a branch covered by a layer of snow . Her captor pushed her forward under the trees. They arrived at a small cabin. Rather than taking her inside, he pushed her around the cabin. Stumbling and walking, they reached the river about two hundred yards from the cabin. He pushed her against a pine tree.

“Turn around,” he said. “I’ll unlock them.”

Alex jumped through the handcuffs so that her hands were in front. He laughed and unlocked them.

“The entire house is monitored with video and audio by everyone including British Intelligence. No one can see or hear you here.” He pointed to the trees. “No satellite either. We can speak freely here.”

“Thanks Sumit.” Alex smiled.

“I’m sorry Alexandra,” Dr. Sumit Roy said. “You are at risk for clotting from your injuries. You need an ice bath and I cannot give you one in that monitored bathroom. The river will have to suffice. I’m sorry.”

“Sumit, what is the plan?” Alex asked.

“Eleazar will be here in two, maybe two and a half hours. In the meantime, we will dress you like a proper woman. Of course, I’m going to rape you first.”

Alex raised her eyebrows indicating that she’d like to see him try. He laughed.

“We will pretend,” he said. “I know you find me irresistible but I am married.”

Alex laughed. “How is Dalal?”

“Very well. Excited to lose a child. My eldest boy was admitted early to Harvard. He will attend next fall.”

“I can’t believe he’s old enough for college.”

“They grow up fast,” he said. “Alex, I have to stay with you while you clean up. Do you mind?”

“No.”

“You were so kind with me.” Sumit stopped talking for a moment as the memory came to him. “You gave me a warm bath, warm clothing, even held me while I shook… I cannot repay the favor.”

“I’d be grateful for some food.”

“We’ll eat a proper meal when we go inside. Rice for you. You will throw up anything else.”

[...]

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CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

October 14 – 12:53 P.M.
Olde Town Arvada, Colorado

“They’re coming,” Jesse said. “Three men, guns.”

Alex stopped running in place. She was warm and loose or as warm and loose as her battered and bruised body could be in this frigid room. Sitting with her back to the camera, she had made leather shoes out of bottom of her leather jacket then set to work on the slit glasses. Cutting a long strip, she sliced a thin slit down the middle of the leather. These slit glasses would act like dark sunglasses and shade her eyes from the worst of the light. She left the arms, shoulders and chest of the jacket intact for warmth and protection. Trying to gauge space in the absolute dark, she positioned herself where she thought the men would stand after coming in the door.

She also had no idea if the British Intelligence agent was working in her favor. No matter. She was prepared for any possibility.

Closing her eyes in preparation for the blinding light, she heard the men move down the hallway. Her heart pounded in anticipation when the key scratched into the lock. With a click, the dead bolt moved. Light blazed from every light fixture. Even shaded by the slit glasses, her eyelids flashed bright red.

The door moved open a crack then stopped. The bottom of the door caught on the dirty bandage set there to make them force the door. As precious seconds passed, her eyes adjusted to the light behind her eyelids.

One man rammed against the door.

Alex waited.

[...]

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CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

October 14 – 9 A.M.
Olde Town Arvada, Colorado

Alex opened her eyes in the dark room and wondered where she was. Remembering the hotel room, she looked for the light under the door. Seeing nothing, she puzzled. She patted the space next to her to see if John was there. Nope.

Her face pinched instinctively against the odor of urine, vomit, sweat, stale cigarettes and garlic. Pushing her greasy hair out of her face, she realized that she was the smell.

“Heya Jesse.” Alex smiled at the apparition of her best friend.

“Shh, Alexandra. They are monitoring you,” Jesse said. His apparition moved to sit down next to her. “Use sign language.”

“Lucky you’re a ghost because I smell pretty bad,” she signed. “Where am I?”

“You were taken hostage, beaten up then stuck in this room,” Jesse said.

“Ah shit. That sucks. I thought the whole beat up and stuck in a dark room thing was a dream. Did you use the Captain’s voice last night?”

[...]

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CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

Thirteen years earlier

Intelligence officer in training, Sergeant Alexandra Hargreaves, walked down a dim hall in the bowels of Fort Bragg. After shaking her awake at two in the morning, the two Military Police officers, one on either side of her, kept a clipped pace through the halls. She had no idea what was going on. She only knew that they wanted her to come with them.

They reached a door at the end of the hall. Unlocking the door, they held the door open and instructed Alex to enter the room. Alex stepped inside the small room and turned just in time to see the MPs close the door. She was locked in this room.

There was a battered table in the middle of the room with a chair on either side of it. Alex dropped into a chair at the table while she looked around the room. A white board filled one wall and the other walls were bare cinder block. The room was more like an austere closet than an actual meeting or training room.

Hearing a sound, she turned to see the door open.

“I was lying in my hospital bed,” Ben said. He leaned against the closed door. “They told me that some Sergeant aced the intelligence exam. What should they do? I said, ’Give the Sergeant the test again’. How stupid can they be?”

Using a cane, he moved with obvious pain. Alex rushed to his side.

“What did you expect? They gave me situations I could have solved when I was a child,” she said.

[...]

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CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

October 13 – 8 A.M.
Olde Town Arvada, Colorado

“You need to move, Alex.”

Alex opened her eyes. She wasn’t sure who had told her to move around but just straightening her leg brought waves of pain. With force, she pushed herself to standing. She had to be ready for them when they came. She glanced at the basement vents. The light turned from halogen orange to yellow.

Was that daylight? Had she been here one day or two?

Not three days.

Surely, not three days. The silent pitch-black night continued in this room.

Feeling for the wall, she began stepping around the edge of the room. When her body loosened, she walked faster then ran with her hand along the wall. As her body warmed the tightness and pain began to ease. Slipping off her jacket, she went through a Sun Salutation yoga routine to stretch her whole body. She dropped to the ground to stretch.

She thought she knew pain. The sharp pain in her forearm was familiar, almost comforting. But the swollen, bruised sensation between her skin and her muscles was a whole other beast. She felt as if the space between her muscles and skin was filled with aching, swollen lumps.

She walked the room ten more times. Ten was probably enough. She promised herself that she would repeat the routine tonight.

Dropping back to her sitting position, she ate another bite of the cherished Snickers bar. She never noticed all the textures and flavors in this candy. Captain Gordon loved these bars and sent them with people on missions. Troy used them when he trained for marathons. Snickers bar. She pushed the rest of the bar into its wrapper.

Only Troy would bring her a candy bar. He didn’t think of bringing water or a weapon. Troy knew that she didn’t really need those things. He brought her something she needed, something for her heart.

[...]

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