Hello everyone! I’m Susan Catalano, and I write fantasy. My
first book, The Timeless Ones is historical fantasy blending a cast of
fictional characters and historical figures within 17th century and
modern-day Salem. Today, I’d like to share an interview led by Alex Olivier, a
TV reporter who will be joining the Timeless family in the upcoming sequel, A
Necessary Darkness, as he talks to the legendary Tall Man.
Alex: Hello everyone, I’m here with the Tall Man. You may
have heard him referenced in the Salem Witch Trials. Apparently, he’s quite the
legend. (Grins and shakes head) Mr. Tall Man, thank you for joining me.
Tall Man: It’s just Tall Man
Alex: Excuse me?
Tall Man: There’s no Mr. in front of Tall Man. It’s singular, like
Satan, Lucifer… although I do prefer “The” in front of Devil. Just sounds
better.
Alex: (chuckles) You really are in character for Halloween. I can see
why you’d be called the Tall Man, you certainly are tall, but how did
you get you the name?
Tall Man: My mother, Tituba, of course. She announced me to the world before I’d even made my way above ground.
Alex: Above ground?
You mean when you were born? You’re birth certainly is fascinating. If I may
read an excerpt from The Timeless Ones…
The night the Tall Man was born, the earth
rumbled and groaned, and the ground heaved rock and soil into the air.
Gravestones tumbled, foliage withered and browned, and trees wrenched their
roots from the ground as though they meant to run away. A howling wind whipped
the fountain of earth into a frenzy, and a shape took form.
Like fast growing vines, muscles threaded their
way around gleaming white bones. Organs developed and veins zigzagged into
place. Blood coursed through each vessel, his newborn heart pulsing with
crimson liquid. Pale skin knitted into place, stretching taut over muscle and
bone. White hair sprung from his scalp like strands of silk. Long lashes curled
out of his eyelids. A dark suit adorned his new form. He opened his eyes to his
new surroundings, revealing fiery red irises.
Birthed from the dirt and decay of the dead,
born from the desperate imagination of the young and bored, the Tall Man rose.
Alex: That’s pretty amazing - to arise from the earth into a fully
formed adult. Is this some sort of allegory?
Tall Man: My truths are often hard for humans to understand; yet they
believe so easily. They’re beliefs feed my power.
Alex: Sure, I get that. We all feel more powerful when someone
believes in us. (The Tall Man grins. His eyes flare an eerie red for a moment.)
Are you warm? Is it warm in here?
Tall Man: Feels rather cool to me.
Alex: Um, yeah. Uh, I can’t seem to remember my next question. Does
anyone in the audience have questions for our guest?
The Timeless Ones
A Timeless Story
Book 1
Susan Catalano
Genre: Historical Fantasy, Paranormal
Date of Publication: July 3, 2014
ISBN: 1499750579
ASIN: B00LJDDGDK
Number of pages: 442
Word Count: 125,000
Cover Artist: Christian Catalano
Book Description:
A legend awakened…
A race against history…
A bond that is timeless…
Merry Chalmers, accused witch, has a secret so hidden that she’s nearly forgotten what she really is. All she desires is for the witch-hunts to end and to marry her secret love, William Darling. But hysteria has taken hold in Salem Village, and the Tall Man, spawned by tales of his existence, is born to fulfill his dark purpose.
Soon Merry and William find their lives taking unthinkable paths. For when Merry leaps from the 17th century into modern-day Salem, she must accept that unlike others who were accused and hanged for being a witch, she truly is one.
Available at Amazon
Chapter One:
Accused
Merry stood in the tall Indian grass, just able to see over the feathery
green heads. They tickled her cheek as a soft breeze stirred, and she smiled as
she pushed them away.
Until the townspeople regained their collective sanity, she and William
had to meet in secret. The same whispered accusations that had put her life in peril had saved her from
an ill-matched marriage. She’d been promised to another in childhood who no longer
wished to pursue the betrothal amidst
all the scandal. To Merry’s mind, this
was just as well. She didn’t dislike Jonathan Parrish, but she loved
William.
From her vantage point at the top of the hill, she saw the grass
separating below, indicating William’s arrival. He moved fast in her direction.
She wondered at his urgency though she also felt it in her own heart. He waved,
arms flailing as though he were drowning. She ran towards him, her eagerness
replaced with alarm as she neared and saw his face, red and frantic.
He shouted her name, his voice hoarse and panicked. “Run,
Merry! To the woods! Quickly! Run!”
Merry stopped and stared. Many men followed William into the meadow. Her
heart raced at the realization that they were coming for her. She shook her
head in denial, but when several men cried,
“Witch!” her denial turned to fear.
Gathering her skirts, she hurried toward the woods. Those gentle
feathered heads that had tickled her only a short time ago whipped mercilessly
at her face as she sped by. William shouted for her to run; her pursuers shouts
grew closer as well. She didn’t dare look back. A thick copse of trees lined
the horizon ahead. If only she could make it
to their shelter, perhaps she’d have a chance of escape. She pushed
onward, her breath harsh and fast. Her skirts tangled around her legs. She
stumbled, shrieked, and ran harder.
At last, she came upon the wood at the edge of the field. The thickly
threaded trees presented a challenging
route, forcing her to
leap over raised roots and dodge low branches. As she made her way deeper into
the wood, silence prevailed. A lone yellow bird twittered from a low-hanging
branch. She paused, her heart racing.
“There she is!”
Merry’s face filled with heat as she recognized John Indian’s booming
baritone. She ran blindly. Her lungs burned. Her legs tired. She broke through the tree line into a small
clearing, the ocean
beyond. Merry screamed and flailed
as her momentum
nearly sent her over a cliff. She
teetered on it’s edge for a moment before falling backwards to the ground, then
scrambled to her feet and ran back towards the
woods.
As she neared the trees, Jonathan Parrish burst into the clearing. Both
halted, shocked at the sight of one another. Merry stared into Jonathan’s widened
eyes. Despite the
fact that he’d
never held her
heart, she’d never treated him with anything but respect and kindness. Was
it too much to hope for the same from him
now?
Merry took a step backwards. “Jonathan.”
He shifted his eyes from her pleading gaze. Merry took another step back.
Then, a hand that had once held hers with gentleness, clamped painfully around
her shoulder. The barest hint of remorse flitted across Jonathan’s face before
he shouted, “I’ve got her!”
His words were cut short as William hurtled into the clearing, crashing
his shoulder into Jonathan’s chest and wrenching his
grip from Merry’s shoulder. Both men went down with a loud thud. The
sounds of men running through the woods grew
louder.
Merry froze.
William shouted for her to run. The woods were no longer an option. The
cliff lay before her. She looked back. Jonathan sat up, holding his head.
William rose from the ground and locked eyes with her for what seemed an
eternity. She ran.
“Merry!
No!” William shouted as she raced toward the cliff.
Anger fueled her movement. She didn’t deserve this fate. None of the accused did. Forced to decide
between the noose or the ocean was no choice at all. But she was a good
swimmer, and if she could get enough
speed to make it beyond the rocks, she might have a chance.
Tears blurred her vision, and she fought the urge to run back to
William. Then just
beyond the cliff,
a woman in
robes of black
appeared, standing on nothing but air. A bright light infused with what appeared to be a swirling rainbow
framed her against the blue sky.
Either she was losing her mind, or an angel had come for her. Rather than
finding comfort at the thought, her head tingled with warning. Merry slowed.
“Don’t stop! Hurry! Or all will be lost,” the angel commanded.
Merry glanced at the fierce bunch of men who were nearly upon her, then
looked at William’s tormented face. She turned
to the woman again. She knew of no angel who
wore black, but
the colors…
The angel smiled.
“You will be safe.”
Merry took one last look behind her, the imminence of capture forcing her
to make the only decision she
could. Then, she
leapt over the edge into the spiraling mass of colors.
About the Author:
Susan Catalano spent most of her youth in a one-traffic-light town in the Catskill Mountains of upstate New York. Her first act of writing consisted of scrawling a murderous confession on a crumpled piece of paper. She then told her 3rd grade friends that she'd found it in the wall of the spookiest room on the scary, vacant floor of the Victorian Hotel her family owned. Eventually, Susan ended up in Massachusetts where Salem, known as Witch City, captured her heart and imagination and inspired her first novel, The Timeless Ones.
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/TimelessOnes
Twitter - https://twitter.com/scatu2
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