Well, do you? I know I don’t. The broader question here, however, is do you want to know? If it were someone famous, like James Dean; or royal, like Henry VIII; or pioneering, like Charles Darwin, then yes, I think you’d want to know. But what if it wasn’t? What if whoever lurks in your past is dark and evil and what they did while they were alive was so heinous that they are remembered in history (or not) for their crimes? What if the person in your past is Vlad the Impaler, Adolf Hitler, Jack the Ripper (not that anyone really knows who he was) or Antony Cardover from BONDS? Would you still want to know? I would. To find out that I am descended from Vlad the Impaler would actually make my day. But then again, that’s me and I’m not ‘normal’ (apparently). I’m guessing, though, that most people would rather not know.
Yet, in modern society, there is a fascination with the past; an almost obsessive compulsion to find out from where and from whom we come. Why? Are we looking for someone to blame for the way we’ve turned out? Are we trying to see if we’re doing better or worse than our ancestors? Or is it that we just want to know if there is someone famous in our genealogy; someone notorious?
What would happen if you did find out something dark? What then? You can’t erase that knowledge. You can’t turn back time and choose a different path. You have to face it. You have to learn to accept it and you have to deal with the fallout.
So, say you’ve just found out that you have a psychopathic serial killer in your bloodline. Is this where you get your anger issues from? Does this explain why you completely lose it for no reason? Quite probably. But does this mean that you could also be a psychopathic serial killer? The answer to that, I’m afraid, is……………….. possibly.
It is said that, genetically, some people are predisposed to become psychopaths (the same is said of schizophrenics) and there is absolutely nothing you can do about it. It’s the way you are made; it’s in your blood; it’s in your bonds with your ancestors. However, and this is the crucial bit to remember, you may never end up committing mass murder, or sinking into a delusional world where you have to save the Queen from the evil Lord Slarth. Why? Because there needs to be a trigger; something to push you over the edge, so to speak. This could be a traumatic physical or emotional (or both) event or it could be an environmental trigger, but invariably there has to be one. Does this mean we are all ticking bombs, just waiting to go off? Maybe. I guess we’ll never know until it’s too late.
BONDS is the title of my debut novel and bonds are what link us; what bind us, if you will, to other things and other people.
Blood bonds are, arguably, the strongest bonds any of us have. They are what cause estranged families to come together in times of crisis; they are what move someone to side with their brother over their lover; they are what we are all made from. The blood that courses through our veins is the blood of our ancestors, as are our genes, and with them come aspects of our personalities; our looks; our behaviour; and our predisposition to the arts, academia or sport.
Would it, therefore, stand to reason that less scientifically proven traits, such as clairvoyance and witchcraft, could also be passed down this way? I believe so and in BONDS, this is what has happened to the heroine, Becca.
Becca is descended from a long line of powerful witches, but it is something she refuses to accept. She is already an outsider and has no desire to add to this by outing herself as a witch. But it is her gift which she is forced to turn to in order to protect herself from Antony Cardover. For, as well as her craft, Becca’s blood bonds mean she is a descendant of Isabella Cardover and, hence, the final thing standing in the way of Antony’s freedom.
Four hundred years ago, Antony and Isabella form a bond when they are married. In those days, any betrayal of this bond was seen as a slight on the virility of a man and he would become the object of ridicule and often be forced to leave his home.
Isabella commits the worst kind of betrayal by ‘laying’ with other men in the village. Antony becomes a laughing stock and his pride and humiliation drive him to form an unbreakable bond with a warlock. Antony trades his soul for the chance of vengeance. His price? An eternity as a monster – a man bearing a vampire curse. To stop him, the curse must be broken. To break the curse, Isabella and all her descendants must be destroyed. The catch? Only Antony can break the curse.
‘With a flick of his wrist he snapped Isabella’s neck and let her body slump to the ground.’(BONDS: Prologue)
Has he broken the curse? Will he be free to live his life as a man again?
‘Antony had felt nothing as he’d turned away from them both and had started to walk away. He’d wondered how long it would take before the monster would leave him, when he’d heard Anna’s chanting.
He shouldn’t have underestimated her power. That had been his first mistake. His next had been his naivety. Why had he assumed Isabella had been barren? Arrogance? She’d certainly been with enough men to produce a child.
As the vines had encircled his neck and his eyes had met Anna’s, he’d known the truth. He’d known the curse hadn’t been broken; nor would it be. Isabella had borne a child. The relief he’d seen in Anna’s eyes had said it all.’ (BONDS: Chapter25)
This brings me to another type of bond, that of restraint or imprisonment. Antony could not be destroyed, so the only option was to imprison him. Anna Martindale, a witch shunned by the villagers, entombs Antony within a stone sarcophagus, bound by spells and buried in hallowed ground for the rest of time.
Seventeenth century spells, however, are no match for twenty first century living. As local property developer, Ramply Homes, moves in, the church and churchyard cease to be consecrated. The spells that hold Antony break, leaving him free to finish what he started. Four hundred years ago he failed. He will not fail again.
(BONDS will be available to buy from Amazon in early 2013. Why not click on any of the links for BONDS for a sneak peak at what lies in store for you…..or click on the page for BONDS at the top of the screen)
Oh, what that I have a spell that I may cast, so that you are bound to buy BONDS. I must, however, content myself that my words are enough to entice; to enthral; and to encourage you to do just that.
Remember, dear reader, that there are many bonds that bind us in this life, whether they are bonds of blood; of marriage; of friendship; or of restraint.
How much you allow them to influence you and the way you live your life is down to you……………or is it?
May fear protect you when the darkness comes.
Til next time.
Marie