For
my “teaser” post, I thought I would share the selection
from ASCENDANT that I recently read at the Colorado Book Award Finalist
Reading. The winners will be announced at 2 p.m. on Friday, June 13,
2014, at the Hotel Jerome, 330 E Main St, Aspen, CO 81611—Wish me luck!! This
scene is from chapter eight and
Charlotte is just getting ready to meet her uncle for the first time:
I
followed Emerick down a dimly lit hall connecting the study to his private
offices. The narrow hall was lined with oil portraits illuminated with
individual brass art lamps. A few of the portraits I recognized right away:
Einstein, Beethoven, and George Washington, an
odd portrait to be hanging in an English gentleman’s home. Others I
recognized when I caught sight of their nameplates: Emerson, Thoreau, and Henry
Ford. Hanging just outside his office door was a strange portrait that caught
my attention more than any of the others. A man sat on a throne with his face
obscured by a dramatic mask, half comic, half tragic. The nameplate read Sir Francis Bacon aka Shake-Sphere.
I
stopped and starred at the portrait. “Mr. Wriothesley?”
Emerick
was just opening the door. He stopped and turned, “Yes?”
I
pointed to the nameplate, “What does this mean?”
He
looked to the plate and then back to me. “What does it mean to you?” Emerick
gazed at me. Like in the morning room the day before, his expression was
confusing—his mouth was smiling but his eyes were scrutinizing. Measuring me.
Teachers had the same look when they were waiting for you to disappoint them
with the wrong answer.
It
didn’t mean anything especially to me, but it had struck me. The aka
Shake-Sphere reminded me of Shakespeare. And anything even remotely related to
Shakespeare grabbed my attention.
“Um…”
being asked outright, I felt foolish for the association I had made. I shook my
head and shrugged. “I guess it just made me think of William Shakespeare. I’m
sure that’s not what it meant.”
He
stared a moment longer before turning on his heels. “I am sure you are correct
either way.” He entered the office ahead of me.
He
didn’t answer my question. Either he thought I was too stupid or, like most
adults, he was trying to inspire me to figure it out for myself. Nearly every
time I had tried to get an easy answer from my mother she would reply, Knowledge is sweeter found than given
Charlotte. From spelling words to math facts she would answer, Knowledge is sweeter found than given
Charlotte. And then I would stomp off to either the computer or the
reference section of her private library depending on what I needed. Even
though I had come to automatically expect it, my mother’s stock answer to my
every question always irritated me to no end. It seemed such a normal way to be
with your mother, irritated with her for not giving you what you want when you
want it.
I
wish I had known I would lose her.
I
glanced at the portrait once more and memorized the inscription on the brass
plate. Francis Bacon aka Shake-Sphere.
Emerick Wriothesley didn’t know me. If he thought I was even remotely like his
own son he might be surprised to know I wasn’t stupid or lazy. I would figure
out for myself what it meant.
About Rebecca Taylor:
Rebecca Taylor is the young adult author of ASCENDANT,
a recently selected finalist for the 2014 Colorado Book Award. The second book
in the Ascendant series, MIDHEAVEN, will release in 2014 and her standalone
novel, THE EXQUISITE AND IMMACULATE GRACE OF CARMEN ESPINOZA, will be available
in 2014. You can find more information about her work at:
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