Discoucia: An Extract

Today, I'm excited to announce that I'm part of the blog tour for Discoucia: A Victorianish Fairytale by Nick Lovelock, and that - thanks to Authoright - I have an extract to share with you! I hope you find it just as exciting as I did and if you're interested in what sounds like a fun steampunk adventure I'll have a full review coming soon.

“This scene has Jo dreaming about something that will more or less happen, which I chose because it highlights the premonition side of dreams. It also shows Arthur’s side of being perfectly calm despite the fact he is about to go into a dark forest that is haunted by a metal monster with glowing yellow eyes. He plays golf before his first major tangle in the battle against his sister much like Sir Francis Drake allegedly played Bowls before he defeated The Spanish Armada, an abstract reference to an interesting anecdote.”

Jo was dreaming. She was wandering through a dark forest and the fog was up to her ankles. She was completely alone, the forest was silent and every footstep she made echoed all around the trees. Walking in one direction, she felt that she was heading for something but had no idea what. Then, from far behind her she heard the sound of something crunching its way through the trees. She tried to run but her feet stayed walking and didn’t change pace. She could not see what was behind her but knew that she had to hide. She looked ahead and saw what remained of a castle, but she couldn’t tell its height because of the dark canopy of trees. Her path led her up to a rotting oak door which she pushed open with a creak. She stared into the gloom and two luminous yellow eyes stared back at her. With the prospect of being attacked from both sides, Jo fainted and landed on the floor of Arthur’s bedroom.

She looked around and for a second she forgot why she was there, and then remembered everything as the memories came flooding back. She got dressed and hurried down to the sitting room, expecting to see Arthur passed out on the settee. When she looked out of the windows she couldn’t see anything, as the fog her father had told her about had completely enveloped the ship.

“Artie! Artie!” she shouted when she walked onto the deck.

“What!” echoed a voice from out in the murky distance.

“Where are you?” she shouted.

“Down here, on the beach,” he shouted back.

Jo walked down onto a bewildering sight. Arthur and Corky were playing golf in the sand. “Good morning. Pleasant sleep?” he asked, taking a shot at the hole they had dug into the sand. He missed and Corky sniggered so quietly that Jo could not hear but Arthur heard, and nearly threw his club at him. But then he breathed heavily, calmed down and composed himself.

“Yes, your bed is extremely comfy,” she replied.

“Thanks, anyway are you ready to go monster hunting?” he asked.

“Ready when you are,” she said.

About the author
Based in a small village in Oxfordshire Nicholas Lovelock is the author of the Alavonia series. As well as a passion for history, Nick holds a keen interest in Numismatics — the study and collection of coins, banknotes and medals — counting a 200 year-old 1826 half-crown and coinage of monarchs like Queen Anne, Elizabeth the First and Henry the Eighth as part of his collection.

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