Autumn Rose (The Dark Heroine Sequel)

Autumn Rose (1)

I suppose I always knew I was different; that my fate was set in stone, and that one day, I would sit on a cold, hard throne. A symbol of what I am. A deity of my kind.

A deity among many.

I was not conscious. I was running through the green grass, screaming her name in a tongue as familiar to me as the shadow that the tall grey-stone building cast in my path. Tears streaked my face and I struggled to climb the steps, hearing the babble behind the closed entrance doors, like the stream beside the lodge that would swell after the winter rains. My polished, square, school-approved heels squealed in protest as I burst through the double doors, coming across the same sight I had seen a thousand times: hundreds of faces turning to me and then blackness. I waited, breathless though asleep, for the scene to replay itself as it always had in the past.

But this time was different. Instead of waking up in a cold sweat, cheeks wet, bed soaked, I drifted into another scene. Now, a tall statue loomed in front of me and sunlight glinted off pale paving and the tumbling water in two identical fountains. Almost as though somebody had hit fast-forward, the scene sped up and I watched, captivated, as thousands of suit-clad humans and camera-carrying tourists rushed from one side of a square to the other. The clouds sailed across the grey, simmering ocean of a sky, the square darkening as day turned to night, Nelson lighting up on his column as fewer and fewer people passed by. Eventually, Trafalgar Square emptied of any life, except for a few pigeons and a lone girl.

The scene slowed and focused on the girl. Dark hair framed her face and she wore a long black coat, half-unbuttoned to reveal the darkened outline of cleavage and hoisted high enough to show the hem of her black dress, which she tugged down every few minutes. She wasn’t pale, but neither was she blessed with a tan; most striking of all were her eyes, purple, which glowed above the light of her mobile.

Slipping her phone back into her pocket, she moved to sit on one of the long stone benches beneath the trees that lined the square. After a single minute, she perked up again, alert and tense.

Abruptly, the scene cut and was replaced by another. Darkening, congealing red liquid coated the ground and stained the water of the fountains like wine. Bodies littered the floor and I looked on, sickened as their life and energy drained from their necks and seeped across the city I knew and loved; the city I was torn from . . .

I was wrenched back to consciousness. Bolting upright in bed, I reached for the light on my alarm clock, surprised. It had only just turned one o’clock in the morning.

I was sweating now and heaving in air, hugging the clock to my chest so its light illuminated the room. It was empty, but every time I blinked I could see blood, and bodies, and purple eyes . . .

Groaning at the vivid images still implanted in my mind, I grabbed a pen and reached up to the calendar above my bed, crossing out and therefore marking the start of another day of the fast-evaporating summer holidays: the 31st July.

*

FAQ:

How long will the Autumn Rose sample on Wattpad be?

10 parts! My publisher and I have a regular posting schedule which will lead you, with a chapter every few days, right up to the January launch. So no waiting around! Keep an eye out for messages and status updates on Wattpad and make sure you follow my twitter (@AuthorAbigailG) and Facebook (Abigail.gibbs.Canse12) to find out when the next part will be released - mark the dates when you find them and tell your TDH fan friends!

Will Kaspar and Violet be in Autumn Rose?

I don’t want to give away spoilers, but I know a lot of you are very worried about this question. The answer is yes, they will be! However, they appear in the latter part of the book, and so I don’t want you to be concerned when you don’t read about them in the 10-part sample which will appear on Wattpad. No, the sequel is not from their POV; yes, you do get to find out what happens to them after Violet becomes a vamp!

I want to pre-order Autumn Rose. How do I do that? (UK and US residents)

See the links at the end of the Autumn Rose description in the sample and on my ‘About Me’ section, or pop into your local book store and ask them to pre-order it for you.

I live outside the US or UK. Can I pre-order Autumn Rose?

Yes, quite easily! You have several options: check out your localized version of Amazon or iTunes, try websites like fishpond.co.uk (who ship around the world) or indiebound.com, or alternatively, go to your local well-stocked book store and just ask! Many book stores, whether chain or independent, are more than happy to help you find TDH and TDH: AR, and will order it for you. If you want a copy of Autumn Rose in another language, you might have to wait a little longer, but it will soon be available in France, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland and Slovakia, to name but a few. And don’t forget, you can ask at your local library too.