Knotted Roots (27 page)
Authors: Ruthi Kight
The End
This is probably the
hardest part of the entire writing process. There were so many people that
have been there for me from the moment I decided to follow my dream. Without
each and every one of them I’m sure that my dream would not have become
reality.
First, I would like to
thank my family for always being there for me. My mother, God rest her soul,
always supported me, no matter which crazy scheme I got myself caught up in.
She taught me to follow my dreams, no matter how many times people told me I
couldn’t do it. My dad, who has been the Superman of fathers, deserves a
special thank you for helping me stay focused. Thank you Dad. I love you.
To my fiancé Bobby and
my daughter: I love you both so much. I’m thankful that I get to see you both
every day for the rest of my life. You were both blessings in my life and have
been there through all of my crazy moments. I promise there will be fewer
“fend for yourself” nights now that this first book is done. I love you both
with all of my heart and soul. You complete me.
To MaryAnn: You have
been my best friend for more years than I care to think about. (Mainly because
then our true age would show!) When everyone else said I was crazy, you told
me that no dream was out of my reach. When I tried to rush the process, you
brought me back down to reality. You have literally been my saving grace
throughout this entire process. I know I drove you crazy at times (okay...ALL
the time), but I can’t thank you enough for being there for me. I thank you
for your amazing editing skills (you’re my editing ninja!) and I
promise...there will be at least a few months of down time in your future.
To Airicka Phoenix:
You are a Goddess of the Word. That’s your new name. Thank you so much for
coming up with the title for my first book! You’re a dream come true and one
hell of an amazing author! I’m so thankful to call you friend!
To my Book Soul Mate:
Katy, you are truly special. You have encouraged me, slapped me around when I
started to doubt myself, and have been an amazing friend. I’m so very thankful
to have you in my life. I LIVE you lady!
To Cindy Springsteen:
You are seriously an EPIC friend and I’m so thankful to have you by my side!
Your words of encouragement are priceless and I can’t help but think we were
meant to be friends!
To Derinda Love: You
will forever and always be my Fairy Godmother. You make miracles happen every
day for Indie authors. You’re selfless and giving, two attributes that you
don’t find in people these days. I can’t tell you thank you enough, but maybe
one day I can repay the love!
To Ema Volf: Thank you
for keeping me company on those long nights of pouring my soul out. You kept
me from going insane, and for that, I say thank you. And thank you for
formatting this nightmare for me! You saved me from a headache that would
surely knock me on my butt! You’re truly an amazing friend!
To the New Jersey
Versions of Me and MaryAnn: Christy and Katherine, you two are so freaking
amazing! You were both so amazingly helpful through this laborious process,
always encouraging me and calling me on my screw ups. I can’t wait to see you
ladies again! YA’ll Fest 2013 can’t get here soon enough!
To Tara and Amanda: I
love you ladies! You keep the funny rolling in! You are irreplaceable and I’m
so thankful that Katy introduced me to you both! Tara, your guidance and
wisdom is forever needed and appreciated! Mani, I really hope to meet you and
Ms. Bean very soon! Much love to you all!
To My Two Favorite
Gems: Jenny Marie and Mayra Arellano, you two are truly inspirational! You
make the world a brighter place with your infectious smiles and laughter! I am
honored to call you both friend!
To Regina Wamba, of
Mae I Design and Photography: Thank you for the amazing cover! You put up with
my neurotics and gave me the most gorgeous cover I could ever hope to have! You
rock my socks!
And finally (after
being extremely long winded), to my fabulous Beta Readers: Samantha Truesdale,
Melissa Berbrich, Katherine Eccelston, Jennifer Swiger, Melissa Stickney, Kellee
Fabre, and Nikki Archer. You ladies gave me such valuable insight and I can’t
thank you enough for every second, minute, and hour that you spent reading my
book. You are all my heroes!
One last word before I
go. A huge thank you goes out to everyone who has supported me and given me
words of encouragement. When I felt silly for making a Facebook page you were
there to shut me up. The support from the Indie community is immense and I
don’t know what I would do without each and every person out there!
If you had asked 6
year old Ruthi what she wanted to be when she grew up, she would have told you
a Rock Star. Those dreams faded to the background when she found out who the
true Rock Stars are: Authors.
She has always had a
fascination with books, losing herself completely in numerous books, enjoying
the worlds she found that were so unlike her own. They were her escape, and
eventually became her passion.
Her family has been
putting up with her and her incoherent ramblings while she worked on her debut
novel, Knotted Roots. Her five year old and Fiance have suffered through many
“fend for yourself” nights, but somehow still manage to love her anyway.
She is now attending
the Southern New Hampshire University, working on her Bachelor’s in Creative
Writing/Fiction so that she can create her own worlds for others to fall in
love with.
Okay, now that I’m
done talking in the third person, let me just say that I love connecting with
people via Facebook, Goodreads, my blog, etc. If you would like to chat, you
can usually find me online at any given time. I also want to say thank you to
each and every person who reads my book. It was a labor of love and I truly
hope that you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it!
STALKER
LINKS:
http://facebook.com/AuthorRuthiKight
SPECIAL SNEAK PEEK AT
MICHELLE KNIGHT’S DEBUT NOVEL, “TWISTED SNOW,” RELEASING SUMMER OF 2013!
PROLOGUE
I
don’t even remember when I became trapped in this cold, two-dimensional world,
because let’s face it, no one would ever call what I do living. I can’t even
begin to fathom how many years I have been trapped for that matter. All I know
is that the last few decades have been peaceful yet dull. I have watched,
frozen behind glass, as others have lived out their happy existence in the
light, in the heat.
Oh,
what I wouldn’t give to feel the sun on my skin again, but I know that probably
will never happen. Time is irrelevant in this blasted mirror. I only have
something, like say a book, if it is reflected from the real world. But, as is
true with all reflections, everything is backwards here.
I
vaguely remember trying for many years to discover if there was anyone who
would keep me company, but in this place, I am totally alone. I guess it is no
small wonder that when that wretched woman started talking to me all of the
time, that I became enamored with helping her, in any way that I could. I had
craved contact with someone, even if it was through the glass, and I would do
or say anything to keep them with me.
Let’s
just say, that was a lesson learned the hard way. Never again will I try to
use magicks of any kind to assist someone, especially not someone who was as
insane as THAT woman. God, she was awful, forever going on about how beautiful
she was and was there anyone fairer than she. The vanity of that idiot woman
would drive anyone batty. But, as I have not seen her in years, I feel quite
certain that my vow will never be put to the test.
A
few years ago, I had the misfortune of being sold to an antique dealer as part
of an estate. The woman I had belonged to for so long left the world quite
suddenly and her ungrateful children soon sold off all of her possessions;
well, at least the ones that they did not squabble over for themselves. For
years I sat, dusty and forgotten in a room where all of the furniture was
draped in cloth, dust covers of some sort I guess.
I
grew weary of staring at the empty room so I would lie down upon a couch in my
world and promptly fall asleep. When I awoke, I was quite disoriented as my
view had suddenly changed. I found myself in a cramped little room stuffed to
the ceiling with old bits of furniture. I remained there for a while until the
creepy little antique dealer had me moved to the showroom.
CHAPTER 1
I
have to say, the view was far better in the showroom than in the cramped
storage room. At least I could now see people drifting about and see
sunshine. But still, I sat in that shop for weeks on end, while the dealer
cackled over the money that he was fleecing from his customers.
One
day I was drifting through my world aimlessly, bored with staring out at
bureaus and tables in the store, when I felt a pulse of energy, one that I had
not felt in countless years. Intrigued, I drew closer to the glass barrier
between myself and reality. A couple wandered the store, looking intently for
something. As I peered, unseen, at them, I detected the pulse again, this time
clearly seeing where it came from. The woman had a faint reddish glow about
her that slowly expanded and contracted as I watched. I had only seen this
phenomenon once before and, despite my reservations, knew that finally I would
have someone to talk to, well I would, if I could only get her attention.
* * * * *
“Alright
Charlie, let’s just pick something for her and get the heck out of here. That
little man is giving me the heebie-jeebies,” Mark murmured to his wife.
“I
know, but I really want to look around a little bit. It would be better if he
would stop looking at us like we were his ticket to a hot meal, and let’s face
it, the man could use some help in the hygiene department,” she said with her
hand in front of her mouth.
Huffing
and puffing Mark followed his wife around the decrepit antique store. He loved
the woman, but damn, it would be nice if she would just hurry it up. He couldn’t
really explain what it was about the man that got under his skin, but something
told him the man just was not all he was cracked up to be. In his mind, he
resembled a rat, with beady little eyes and the two front teeth that peaked out
of his mouth. The way he kept rubbing his hands together was just down right
disturbing. Shaking off a shiver, he turned again to his new bride.
“So,
what did you have in mind for Mari anyway?” he asked, warily keeping an eye on
the dealer.
“Honestly,
I am not really sure. I just know that she is trying hard to deal with this
marriage, that she is not entirely happy with the situation. It has been me
and her against the world for so long, and now she not only has to deal with
having a father-figure in her life, but one that comes with a child of his
own. She needs to know that she is still special to me, to us,” she said, a
little misty eyed as she thought of all of the upheaval that had taken place in
the last couple of years.
“You
know that the few years that we had her father, she absolutely adored him. She
took his death hard, and probably thinks that I am going to leave her too.”
“I
understand honey, I really do, but I wonder if we will be hurting Snow in the
process. She has been through just as much as Mari has and probably has some
of the same issues. I know that she seems like such a happy, well-adjusted
young woman, but she has fears and insecurities as well,” he replied.
“You
know, I didn’t really think about it that way. There are so many things that
we all have to get used to, I suppose. I have to remember that I now have two
daughters, not just one. That is just one of the things that I love about
you. You inspire me to be a better person,” she said in reply.
“Careful,
hon. You keep saying things like that and there won’t be room in our house for
my ego, much less anyone else,” he said, laughing delightedly at her words.
“You are good for me too, that is why I am sure that everything will work
itself out. Why don’t we see if we can find something that the girls can
share, considering they will be sharing a room until we can find a larger
house?”
“Sounds
like a great plan to me. You are so smart, so thoughtful, so…” she teased,
loving their banter.
“Whoops,
there she goes again! Watch it woman, or I won’t be able to get out of the
door!” he replied, laughing.
“Oh,
you” she said, laughing good naturedly along with him.
She
grabbed his hand and tugged him further into the store. Charlie walked slowly
up the aisles that had been created by the various items being lined up in
twisted little rows. She glanced briefly at a vanity set, but decided against
it, as it looked as if one good breeze would have it collapsing in on itself.
She kept browsing until she stopped short, causing Mark to plow into her back.
“Ooof!
Did you find something?” he asked, rubbing his stomach where it had
accidentally collided with her elbow.
