Day Twenty-Six. The dark is closing in. Striking Balance: The Peculiar Making of Beatrice Benjamin Sophia Scott Schnell Gow is now available for purchase. To celebrate its release and the fact that it is my tenth novel, I have created a one-of-a-kind companion mixed-media art book, the Striking Balance Mixed Media Journey, but creating the book has become been more a personal challenge than anything. That said, I’m sharing the mixed media pages with you because the art created such a direct tie with the author’s, meaning my mind that it can’t help but enrich the reading experience.

Below you’ll find three opportunities to interact with the novel. First, you’ll see the chapter number and its corresponding epigraph. Second, you’ll find images including the book open to the chapter page, a digitally enhanced version of the same spread, and 1-2 detail pieces that may or may not be digitally enhanced. Lastly, you’ll see a link to the corresponding song from the Striking Balance playlist on YouTube and get to read First Lines, a handful of sentences from the beginning of the chapter. This first lines also doubles as this week’s #Rainbowsnippets*.

Today, we’re delving into Chapter Twenty-Six.

 

 

Chapter Twenty-Six: Difficult Decisions

 

 

 

From the Striking Balance playlist – Chapter Twenty-Six selection:

The Unthanks “Magpie”

First Lines/ #Rainbowsnippets 153

     “Fire!” The call brings us from our beds shortly before dawn. We pull on our boots and race toward the barn, Cyrus taking to the air along with Cooper while the rest of us attempt to evade and collect the livestock that have escaped. There is no saving those that have not already escaped the flames, that becomes abundantly clear when we reach the barn.

     “Together!” We heave water with our magic, dousing flames in one area as they rage in others. The very barn where Dane first kissed me is burning to the ground, and while we have yet to round up every missing animal, at least half are dead.

Make certain to check back tomorrow for Chapter Twenty-Seven and remember that this is a dark fantasy. If that sounds like a warning, that’s because something wicked this way comes, more so than ever now.

“Ones for sorrow. Two’s for joy… Seven’s for a secret never told. Devil, devil, I defy thee.” (Thanks, Unthanks. That one is thoroughly stuck in my head.)

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*RainbowSnippets is a safe and welcoming space for LGBTQIA+ authors, readers, and bloggers to share 6 sentences each week from a work of fiction—published or in-progress—or a book recommendation. Feel free to join in.