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Here is the book blurb for Autumn Leaves.
Dural had it all: a loving wife, adorable daughter, and a successful practice as a psychologist – until fates conspired to take his daughter and wife from him. A near miss lightning strike left him with the ability to perceive a person’s bioelectromagnetic field – aura. This helped him handle his patients, but did not fill a gaping hole left in his heart. A chance encounter and a possibility of new love gave him hope that tomorrow might be a better day.
An explosive novel that delves deeply into love, sorrow, and fulfillment.
Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Drama, Some Romance
Sounds like an intriguing read here!
Purchase Links:
Universal Reader link: https://books2read.com/u/3G2A6O
Here is an an excerpt...
A knock on the door jerked him
out of his pensive mood and he turned his head. Pollack walked in and stepped
aside. Lenora stood there, face ashen, her eyes fixed on him, reflecting the
turbulence and horror of her emotions. She walked slowly toward the bed and
gazed down at Daniela. Dural stood and embraced her. She gave a strangled cry,
wrapped her arms around his neck and sobbed.
Pollack stuck a needle into the
drip input slot, then turned. “She’ll come around in a few seconds. I’ll be on
standby in case her condition worsens.”
Dural nodded. “Thank you, Doctor.
For everything.”
The surgeon opened his mouth to
say something, then clamped it shut and hurried out, shutting the door after
him. What was there to say?
Lenora pulled away and dabbed at
her eyes. “Oh, Du. I cannot believe this is happening.”
“I know, Len. I know.”
“How bad?”
Her aura rippled through a
cascade of shifting colors, reflecting her confusion, uncertainty, and pain of
her emotions. Dural grasped her hand and kissed it.
How could he tell her something
he wanted to deny wasn’t real? How could he shield her from what was going to
happen? If he could somehow take on her pain, he would do it without
hesitation, but that was not possible. He would just have to help her adjust,
to cope, to accept…somehow. As he would have to adjust and cope.
“We’re going to lose her,” he
whispered brokenly, the words torn from somewhere deep inside him that left a
searing, gaping wound.
He saw shock and consternation in
her eyes as she struggled to comprehend the impact of his words. Her mouth
opened and she gaped at him. Then her eyes filled and a fat tear rolled down
her left cheek.
“No,” she managed in a barely
audible voice. “No. This is not possible.”
He gathered her in his arms and
held her tight, his own feelings threatening to spill in a torrent of
uncontrolled rage and helplessness at the unfairness of it all.
“Daddy?”
Dural let go and turned to
Daniela watching them with her big eyes. He leaned over her and kissed her
cheek.
“Hi there, little grub.”
“Why are you crying, Mommy?”
Lenora took her daughter’s small
hands and pressed them against her chest, forcing herself to smile.
“I’m just happy to see you, sugar
buns.”
“I don’t feel too well, Mommy.
Will I be able to go to school tomorrow?”
Lenora’s gaze flickered at Dural.
“Perhaps not tomorrow, but soon.”
“I can’t feel my legs, Daddy.”
“You’ve been in an accident,”
Dural said, fighting to keep his voice even. “Do you remember anything?”
Daniela cruncher her nose. “I
remember you calling me, and I saw the car coming at me, but I couldn’t move. I
don’t remember anything else.”
“You are in a hospital—”
“I can tell by the smell.”
“—and the doctors put your legs
to sleep to help you get better more quickly.”
Daniela digested that for a
moment, then let out a slow sigh.
“Tell me a story, Daddy. Please?”
Dural swallowed a lump that felt
like a ball of thorns and cleared his throat.
“Okay. Here goes. Once upon a
time, a beautiful princess lived in a magical castle of glass and crystal. She
had servants to fulfill her every wish, gorgeous clothes, and horses to ride.
She should have been happy. Instead, she was mean and cruel. After a time, her
father the king got tired of his daughter’s meanness and decided to give her to
the first beggar to come to the castle. The princess was horrified, but her
father would not be moved.
“One day, a handsome youth
dressed in ragged, torn clothing came to the castle begging for food and
shelter. The guards informed the king and he led his daughter to the gate. The
youth was startled when the king gave her to him, telling him to tame her.
“The youth lived in a humble
cottage, and there were no servants to wait on the princess. Instead, she was
forced to work in the field tilling and gathering hay, and cook. She missed her
servants and cried, hating the hard life she had to live, and was mean and
spiteful to the youth, who was always kind to her.”
Daniela snorted. “She wasn’t very
nice, was she.”
“No, she wasn’t.”
“What happened then?”
“Well, it took a while, but the
princess began to change. She started being nice to the young beggar, and
actually smiled a little and laughed sometimes.”
Daniela sighed. “I’m a little
tired, Daddy. I would like to rest for just a moment, but finish the story
please. I want to know how it turns out.”
She closed her eyes and her
breathing slowed. The monitor beside her gave a beep and the heartbeat wiggle
flattened. Lenora gasped and clutched Dural’s arm. One by one, the other
indicators slowly flattened, and the aura around Dan’s head flickered and
faded.
For a moment that had no time,
Dural gazed at his daughter’s peaceful face as his chest constricted and he
found it difficult to breathe. A searing bolt of heat raced through his body
and he shuddered. He gulped and exhaled loudly.
“One day,” he began faintly, “the
princess looked at the beggar and saw for the first time how handsome he was.
Without saying anything, she walked up to him and kissed him. At that moment,
his cottage turned into a soaring castle and the beggar was transformed into a
prince. He gathered the princess into his arms and said he loved her. A
magnificent carriage emerged from the front gate and stopped beside them. The
prince helped her get in and the carriage took them into the castle where they
lived happily ever after.”
Dural exhaled slowly, then gently
caressed Dan’s cheek.
“Sleep, my princess.”
He turned and smiled wanly at
Lenora’s tear-streaked face. He spread his arms and she walked into his
embrace.
“Oh, Du.” She clung to him and
sobbed brokenly, crying against his chest.
The door opened and Pollack
walked in. He quickly checked the monitor, took Daniela’s pulse, flashed a
pencil torch into her eyes, and straightened.
“I am sorry for your loss, Mrs.
Sinclair…Doctor. There really wasn’t anything more we could have done.”
“Thank you,” Dural said gravely.
“Can you give us a few minutes?”
Pollack nodded and softly padded
out.
Dural held out his hand to Lenora
and her fingers clamped him hard. They turned and gazed at their sleeping girl.
Whoa, so intense!
Let's chat with the author for a bit...
Stefan, it's a pleasure to have you here on Writing in the Modern Age again! Glad you could stop by!
Can you tell us a little bit about your background?
Also something about your book...when did it come out and where can we get it?
I was born in Croatia. One day, my parents decided to
take me and my sister to the other side of the world seeking a better life.
Australia definitely gave all of us a better life, and offered opportunities I
would never have had if we stayed in the old country. In high school, I was
drawn to chemistry and physics. I was all set to study chemistry at University
when I heard stuff about things called computers. I could not resist, and I
gambled my future on this emerging technology. It turned out to be a great
career and professionally stimulating – with a few potholes and speed bumps
along the way. I never abandoned my love of chemistry and science in general,
and these things help me focus on broader horizons.
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| https://books2read.com/u/4XXL81 |
My first serious attempt at writing a novel produced a
science fiction work, With Shadow and Thunder. It did pretty well, and
set the stage for a total of eight books in the Shadow Gods Saga. Curiously, Thunder
ended up being the sixth in the series. I could not leave readers in the middle
of a complex story without writing introductory books that developed my
principal character and the background within which he found himself. Why I
started writing science fiction? That’s an easy one. Being a science nerd, what
else would I write?
There you go!
So...a lot of readers love origin stories. What inspired you to start writing?
Well, I have always loved writing. Before then, of
course, came reading, and one of the first books I read as a kid was an
illustrated story of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. That was it. I was
hooked on books, and I still am. However, reading a book and writing one, or a
short story, turned out to be far more difficult that I imagined. After all,
how hard can it be, right?
I remember vividly in high school the horrors and
travails of my fellow students when confronted with an essay assignment. I
could not understand what was the big deal. I loved to write, and writing came
easily to me. At university, it was an inevitable step that I would start
writing short stories. Almost all of them can be found in a collection, Fulfillment.
Some of them I kept back as the training wheels are still attached to them. My
first novel was written with stars in my eyes of becoming a famous published
author. Thankfully, no one will ever read that amateurish effort. However, the
attempt honed my skills for my other novels.
Why I started to write, and why I kept going? I could
write an essay on this, but the bottom line is that there is a creative fire
burning deep within me that refuses to go out and drives me to write. As long
as that fire of creation burns, I will keep writing.
Nice! Isn't it fascinating where the muse takes us? ;)
Let's try something else.
How did you get into writing contemporary fiction?
After years of writing hard science fiction, and perhaps
exhausting the storyline in a series of eight books, I decided to tackle a
contemporary political drama/thriller book. Cry of Eagles came out in
2011, to mostly positive reviews. One of the reasons I decided to write the
book was to increase my chances of getting an agent or traditional publisher,
SF being a narrower market. Well, that did not work out, but that did not stop
me from writing five other novels in the genre.
The other reason why I started writing contemporary
fiction was that I had things to say in interesting and sometimes controversial
settings, and this genre gave me a platform to air my views – or more
correctly, the views of my characters! After Cry of Eagles, I knew this
was a platform I wanted to use to launch my books, and I had lots of fun along
the way writing them. After five more books came Lifeliners, a soft
science fiction work that has dark warnings for our future if we don’t curb the
creeping authoritarianism of Western-type governments.
What is next on the
writing pad? The first page is still blank, but I’ll think of something.
So, what do you feel sets Autumn Leaves apart from other books in the genre?
I don’t read romance of any type, which leaves me gasping
for an appropriate answer. The book surprised me when I decided to write it.
Although Autumn Leaves has serious romantic elements, I would not call
it a typical work in the genre. Then again, what is a typical love story? My
book takes a sophisticated man who is happy with his life, wife, and daughter,
and is suddenly plunged into tragedy that rips apart everything he holds dear.
That he manages to find love again after four years is, I guess, a reality that
happens to people. However, fates can be whimsical, and just when he thinks
life shines for him again, darkness descends.
I set out to write Autumn Leaves to explore what I
hope are genuine personal challenges, set against somewhat unusual
circumstances. The gossamer wings of love can snare us and make two people
content for life, or they can flutter away in a moment without a rational
reason, if there is ever a reason why love fades. What I trust readers will
appreciate is regardless how long love touches us, these moments must be
treasured without expectation of having it for years. A day of fulfilling love
can be a lifetime of joy. Does this make my book different from others in the
genre? Only readers will determine that.
Thanks for visiting and letting us know all about your contemporary dramatic fiction novel with a touch of romance, Stefan! What a compelling premise!
This is what people are saying about Autumn Leaves...
☆☆☆☆☆
"" - L. Wattley, Amazon
It sounds like quite a read! :)
Get your copy of this book today, readers!
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| https://books2read.com/u/3G2A6O |
About the Author:
Stefan
Vučak has written eight Shadow Gods Saga sci-fi novels and six contemporary
political drama books. His Cry of Eagles won the coveted Readers’
Favorite silver medal award, and All the Evils was the prestigious
Eric Hoffer contest finalist and Readers’ Favorite silver medal winner. Strike
for Honor won the gold medal.
Stefan
leveraged a successful career in the Information Technology industry, which
took him to the Middle East working on cellphone systems. Writing has been a
road of discovery, helping him broaden his horizons. He also spends time as an
editor and book reviewer. Stefan lives in Melbourne, Australia.
Author
Links:
Website:
www.stefanvucak.com
Blog: https://www.stefanvucak.com/blog/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StefanVucakAuthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/stefanvucak
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Stefan-Vucak/e/B005CDD1RY/
Blog: https://www.stefanvucak.com/blog/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StefanVucakAuthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/stefanvucak
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Stefan-Vucak/e/B005CDD1RY/
Stefan's Books:
Shadow Gods Saga (techno sci-fi)
Science Fiction Standalone
General Fiction/Political Drama/Thriller
Non-Fiction
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